EPTI figure I'd blog a bit about whats been helping me improve most. While I don't believe I can get from D to C+ in a few days alone, I've started doing a few things that've helped me out in the last 15-20 games.
My favorite utility right now for improvement is hands down the sticky-note (Post-Its!). I've got them taped around the perimeter of my screen. This actually started because I couldn't for the life of me hotkey all my units consistently. That was the birth of a little guy in the upper right hand corner that says "Hotkey!!!" Soon it turned into "Check your supply!" Then spawned off "Macro up!" These three initial notes have displayed some interesting results.
Hotkeying everything has given me more control and awareness over the whole map and game. I can coordinate my attacks more efficiently, and I have much better access to spell casters.
Checking supply gave me room to keep building more units. I realized after hotkeying things that I don't seem to have enough units (I found myself desperately hitting the '4' key once hoping something would be there). This in turn demanded more macro.
Results?
D level games don't seem so nerve-racking anymore. I recalled a ZvT I played where I got scared to attack. I hadn't seen the inside of his base, but I knew he saw my muta-tech, so I thought he'd have clumps of turrets and mnm ready to counter. What I didn't account for was that my unit count was much higher than his because I'd expanded to a third earlier in the game. I'd been pumping units waiting for an attack that never came.
He didn't have turrets, but that meant something new for me to work on: Scouting!
I'm posting today to remind myself about that fourth post-it. It's weird how well it's worked. I opened up BWChart for the first time all season and really surprised myself. Last season I had to go on a hiatus and maxed out at 115 APM (countering a cheese against me). The last game played was much longer and reflected 143APM. Truth is I didn't feel the difference, so we'll see what happens.
