StarCraft 2 Strategy and StarCraft 2 Strategies

While being flexible is a key aspect of Starcraft 2 strategy, it’s generally a good idea to go a general build route with whatever race you choose in order to make the most out of your upgrades. For many Terran players, focusing on mechanical armies (as opposed to bionic or air) provides the highest chance for success against their opponents....

Introduction This Starcraft 2 strategy guide is mainly for new players or players who are having a hard time improving their game and advancing in rank or league. This 3 Barracks guide will be easily countered in high level play, and is not intended for intermediate or advanced players! However, learning and using this build will help less skilled...

Shortly after StarCraft 2 came out, it was generally believed that Ghosts were very weak units that didn’t have much of a place in the game. Besides being used to EMP Protoss shields, many players didn’t believe they had much of a role in StarCraft 2 strategy. Since then though, with many patches and a different meta game, Ghosts have been...

The 1 Gateway Fast Expand is a StarCraft 2 strategy that is gaining a lot of popularity among Protoss players as of late because it draws its strength from the pressure of Warpgate technology along with the economy of fast expanding. If you follow StarCraft 2 tournaments, this is a strategy that HuK is highly fond of. Build Order: 9: Pylon 13: Gateway 15:...

This is a classic StarCraft 2 strategy that Terran players have been using since release. It is an “all in” cheese that revolves around pumping out as many Marines as possible in a very short period of time in order to overwhelm your opponent. While this cheese is very powerful and can be adjusted depending on the circumstances, it’s...

As a Terran player, dealing with Protoss opponents can be extremely difficulty and finding the right strategy troublesome because of one particularly annoying unit: the Protoss Colossus. While not overpowered, the Colossus’s extreme attack range coupled with its ability to attack multiple units at once makes it powerful against a typical Terran...

The PvP Phoenix Build is not only an extremely powerful build to use against Protoss players, it is also an extremely fun strategy to execute. While there have been Phoenix builds in the past (HuK recently used one in a popular StarCraft 2 tournament), they have always been extremely situational. This build however is much more viable and versatile....

Time to take a break from your favorite StarCraft 2 strategies and check out this brand new information on the upcoming StarCraft 2 expansion: Heart of the Swarm. Heart of the Swarm Concept Art   First up is some pretty interesting concept art. There are a few pictures of Char, where the Zerg seem to still be planning out their strategies even...

  Blizzard has just released a teaser trailer for the upcoming StarCraft 2 expansion “Heart of the Swarm.” For those those who don’t know, Heart of the Swarm will be similar to Wings of Liberty but will take on much more of a RPG feel as Sarah Kerrigan improves her psychic powers as long as the powers of the Zerg Swarm. This...

The StarCraft 2 Warp Prism is a new community website that lets you browse through StarCraft 2 streams effortlessly and quickly within a single browser window. Most of these streams have commentators Warp Prism is a great way to learn StarCraft 2 strategies or just a nice way to relax and learn about the game. The UI is very simple, letting you easily...

The MLG Pro Circuit’s 2nd weekend is about to start on June 3rd and will last through June 5th and will feature Halo: Reach, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and of course StarCraft 2. MLG Columbus will have some of your favorite StarCraft 2 players including LiquidTLO, IdrA, SeleCT, EGiNcontrol, LiquidRet, and many more, all of whom will be separated...

For structures that produce ground units, units in production will not spawn if all the area around the structure is currently “occupied.” In most cases, trying to surround the structure with units to stop its production wouldn’t be feasible, but in a PvZ match, there is a little trick Protoss players can use against Zerg opponents. ...

Introduction to APM When trying to improve your game, the most important thing you can do is work on your StarCraft 2 strategy such as build orders, timings, and counters. These strategic elements are at the heart of StarCraft 2, and mastering them are the only way you can master the game. However, there is another and more technical aspect of the...

Download Diamond Gamer Now A new addon has just been released for StarCraft 2 that actually walks you through build orders, strategies, and counters while you are still actually in game. This means you don’t need to memorize and study every opening and build order in the game, or even minimize the game if you’ve forgotten something. All...

The 4 Warpgate Rush is an extremely popular StarCraft 2 build for Protoss players that focuses on putting heavy pressure on the opponent, and keeping it on by constantly warping in units at a proxy Pylon. While it is technically possible to transition out of this rush, it is considered “semi-all in” as you must either do significant economical...

As all Terran players can tell you, getting rushed with Void Rays in TvP can be extremely irritating, and leads many players to believe that Void Rays are simply overpowered. While they are extremely efficient, Void Rays are defeatable and there are a plenty of things you can do in StarCraft 2 to protect yourself from them. Scouting The most important...

The 1 Gate Core Build is an extension of the 9 Pylon 12 Gateway Opening and is the most popular build used by Protoss players. The intent of this build is to get an early Cybernetics Core in order to quickly research Warpgates. While this build is considered safe from almost all rushes and “all in” strategies, it is also an extremely passive...

The 2 Rax Orbital build is a Terran opening that slightly delays gas and tech in order for quick Barracks and an Orbital Command. The main goal of this opening is to produce a lot of early Marines without sacrificing your economy (while not as economical as the Orbital Command Opening, this build is much more resilient to early rushes). Additionally,...

Shokz StarCraft 2 Strategy Guide When I was first creating StarCraft-2-Strategy.net, I looked through a lot of the StarCraft 2 strategy guides available on the internet to see what was out there already, and most of them looked like garbage. They all had the same typical landing page that are very typical of trying to sell a product, I’m sure...

The 14 Gas Speed is a safe ZvP build that focsuses on getting out quick Zerglings with the Metabolic Boost upgrade without hurting your economy. With these Zerglings, you can put early pressure on the Protoss player, containing him inside of his base; if he does not correctly protect his choke point, you can also cause extreme economical damage by...

The Baneling Rush is a ZvT build that focuses on rushing Banelings in order to break the Terran’s wall in of Supply Depots/Addons and go for the quick win. This build puts extreme pressure on the Terran player, and if he or she does not scout and adjust his build correctly, will usually result in a win for the Zerg player. However, if the rush...

The 9 Pylon 12 Gateway opening build is one of the strongest and most frequently used openings for the Protoss. While it ensures a strong economy, it is also resilient to rushes and extremely early pressure (as opposed to the 9 Pylon 13 Gateway which is much riskier). This opening is extremely versatile and can transition into nearly all Protoss builds. There...

The Orbital Command Opening is a simple yet effective opening that can transition into nearly any other Terran build. This build focuses on getting a quick Orbital Command in order to start producing MULE’s to boost economy. It is considered the most standard opening build in almost all Terran games and knowledge of the build is crucial to all...

The Dark Templar rush is primarily a PvZ build that exploits Zerg’s lack of detection in the early to mid game, abusing the Dark Templar’s extreme damage output. While a rush, this build is not considered an “all in” build as it can transition fairly well into the mid to late game, and forces the Zerg player to invest in heavy...

Ever seen a list of numbers with buildings and units next to them? These lists, known as build orders, often confuse players new to Starcraft or RTS games in general. Build orders lie at the very heart of StarCraft 2 strategy and are essential to nearly all aspects of the game: economy management, unit timings, and macro. Build orders dictate whether...