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So I’m a 29 year old American who’s been playing SC since it came out. I didn’t have internet connection as a kid so I never used the multiplayer.. In fact I never used to use BW.. I would play the original with myself vs 7 comps and try to survive using codes. I had a blast doing it.
So a couple years ago I happen to come across a preview for starcraft 2 …which led me to youtube to find more....which led me to HDstarcraft..which led me to Huskystarcraft.. and ultimately led me to here.
I started to play online… Not even knowing about Iccup I’d just go to USeast on battle.net….. boy…I had no idea I was this bad at the game… When I first logged on I was arrogant.. of course having played against 3 or 4 comps with no codes and being able to build a solid wall with terran.. leaving me free to slowly build a fleet of battle cruisers…keep in mind I never used to play broodwar.. lurkers.. wtf was that?.. medic? C’mon overrated.. I don’t want a woman in my army
After watching Husky cast the pro-korean scene I started to fall in love with BW on a whole new level.. I installed the expansion pack and started to learn all the new (to me) units. I recruited my Brother-in-law to play some LAN games with me.. a couple of 25-26 year olds sitting at the kitchen table playing starcraft.. what’s cooler than that?
When I’d play online I was scared to play 1v1.. mostly because when I’d play 3v3 people online were a$*h0L3s and would get so angry at me when I’d try somehting other than the standard rush builds everyone does… god forbid I go for fast nukes.. jeez.. you don’t have to just quit and call me a “f’n noob”..
Then one day I went onto Iccup.. Hey.. this guy wished me good luck.. that was nice of him….
I wouldn’t play much 1v1 because I’d get so amped up.. I mean to me it was personal.. if I lost I would be ruined. “I shouldn’t be losing I’ve been playing since like 99… why are these guys so friggin good”.
Then.. I read about some using hotkeys…”what the hell is a hotkey.. is he hacking?”
That’s right.. I’d been playing years not touching the keyboard other than to type… I could actually hold a D ranking on ICCUP w/o touching the keyboard
Mostly because I knew cheesey quick build orders like 1 base lurker and getting fast DTs… Proxy gates.. why not?!?
I average 70 APM with no keyboard.. I started to take pride in it… I created a hanlde ‘idontusehotkeys’ and would tell people if they asked me why that I only had one arm..
I just got SC2… and I told myself when I got this game I would relearn the game.. I would force myself to use hotkeys…
My problem is.. I fumble all around.. I’m one of those guys who can type 60WPM but with only 3 fingers.. total.. from both hands.
My eyes need to be on the keyboard to type effectively.. so trying to use hotkeys with one hand and multiple fingers.. while not looking at the keyboard is a giant struggle for me.. I have to re-learn everything..
I don’t even know the keys to press.. I know that shift saves commands almost like a que.. and that I can create a control group of units or buildings.. but I don’t know the shortcuts for building or the units…
So here goes.. I’m going to try it out.. My first goal.. get top ten in my bronze league with hotkey use…
 
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You should start using hotkeys dawg.
keep your left pinky on CTRL and start to learn the positions from there.
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70 apm no keyboard is pretty legit
good luck learning hotkeys!
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Calgary25993 Posts
No advice, just wanted to let you know I rarely read Blogs to completion and that I liked your story 
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lol'd at the "I have only one arm"-story only so that you can hide the "dirty" truth 
Maybe you don't know that already, there is an option to display the hotkeys in-game. It will show the key in the corner of each icon and should be pretty helpful.
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Isn't 60 WPM a bit slow? I forget...
In any case, you can set the hotkeys to what you want and to be honest, learning hotkeys is a stairway of learning. Don't try and learn everything at once and divide the steps of learning by categories: 1. Essentials (or commonly used keys [like making larvae -> S then D, Queen Inject -> V]) 2. Then start with hotkeys in battles (Burrow, Fungal Growth) and go from there, don't move on until you master the one before.
And before you know it, you'll be reaching for that stupid fucking I key for the infestation pit!
Don't worry, hotkeys isn't a bitch to learn, but it's like riding a bike, one pedal follows the other and eventually you cycle faster than the wind!
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Just get comfortable with a keyboard. Train yourself to touch type first. If you type faster WPM, you will naturally get higher APM in Starcraft. It's just a general familiarity with the keyboard. Also, listen to Day[9]'s stuff on mechanics. Helps with hand positions on the keyboard.
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lol'd at the "I have only one arm"-story only so that you can hide the "dirty" truth
hahah so true
I did not know they showed you the hotkeys Cope.. helpful hint
Torte.. 60 maybe slow.. to be honest that's what I remember from having to test it in highschool.. which was 11 years ago..so I may actaully be a bit faster now. Maybe there's a place online to test it.. just for curiosity purposes
I'll take your advice.. not moving on... it's so easy just to quit using them when I'm in trouble or rushed.. it's a mental thing.. I need to force myself.
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On February 11 2011 01:40 Ignorant prodigy wrote:Show nested quote +lol'd at the "I have only one arm"-story only so that you can hide the "dirty" truth hahah so true I did not know they showed you the hotkeys Cope.. helpful hint Torte.. 60 maybe slow.. to be honest that's what I remember from having to test it in highschool.. which was 11 years ago..so I may actaully be a bit faster now. Maybe there's a place online to test it.. just for curiosity purposes I'll take your advice.. not moving on... it's so easy just to quit using them when I'm in trouble or rushed.. it's a mental thing.. I need to force myself.
Oh, you can quit during panicky states. Don't force yourself to ruin games just to learn hotkeys.
It comes in time. When things are slow and simple, use hotkeys. When things require more of your attention, don't bother with the hotkeys, you probably won't recall what you are learning to use anyways.
Steps man, steps
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Nope just took an online test.. deifnately still 60WPM ..
according to wiki the average professional typist reaches 50-70WPM
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On February 11 2011 01:42 Torte de Lini wrote:Show nested quote +On February 11 2011 01:40 Ignorant prodigy wrote:lol'd at the "I have only one arm"-story only so that you can hide the "dirty" truth hahah so true I did not know they showed you the hotkeys Cope.. helpful hint Torte.. 60 maybe slow.. to be honest that's what I remember from having to test it in highschool.. which was 11 years ago..so I may actaully be a bit faster now. Maybe there's a place online to test it.. just for curiosity purposes I'll take your advice.. not moving on... it's so easy just to quit using them when I'm in trouble or rushed.. it's a mental thing.. I need to force myself. Oh, you can quit during panicky states. Don't force yourself to ruin games just to learn hotkeys. It comes in time. When things are slow and simple, use hotkeys. When things require more of your attention, don't bother with the hotkeys, you probably won't recall what you are learning to use anyways. Steps man, steps
that's good.. because I don't think I'd win a game for a long time if I forced myself lol
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Oh, I'm only 80 WPM
Guess I was thinking of something else ):
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D on Iccup is respectable will get u into top 10 plat no prob!! GLGL
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On February 11 2011 01:50 Torte de Lini wrote:
Oh, I'm only 80 WPM
Guess I was thinking of something else ):
ONLY. 80 WordsPerMinute is around the 400 to 500 LettersPerMinute. Unless your confusing it with ActionsPerMinute.
Being able to type blind helps but isn't needed for SC2 as long as you know where the hotkeys are. After knowing their location with near perfect accuracy it's all about speed building.
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On February 11 2011 02:09 Nyxs wrote:Show nested quote +On February 11 2011 01:50 Torte de Lini wrote:
Oh, I'm only 80 WPM
Guess I was thinking of something else ): ONLY. 80 WordsPerMinute is around the 400 to 500 LettersPerMinute. Unless your confusing it with ActionsPerMinute. Being able to type blind helps but isn't needed for SC2 as long as you know where the hotkeys are. After knowing their location with near perfect accuracy it's all about speed building.
I did some cheap WPM test on this site. Said 80 with like 2 faults.
Oh wow, really? 400-500? Guess I'm a fast typer ;D! Too bad it doesn't translate into good gaming on SC2 ):
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lol don't sweat it man, i think i read somewhere there were pros who didnt' use hotkeys too =]
...can't remember though. Just whatever makes you comfortable.
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let's not turn this into a wpm thread; a lot of people on TL type way over 100 WPM, some even over 150, but it shouldn't* correlate with sc/sc2 skill
i liked your blog :-) personally when i go about learning hotkeys (building-wise) for a brand new game (for instance i started playing age of empires2 a while back), i just find the things i click the most, and spend a second to mouseover and see what the hotkey is. then i just focus on that one hotkey (sometimes i learn more than one in a game) for that game. and i just keep on adding to this. the progression goes something like worker hotkey -> basic militia -> any farm/supply type of building -> necessary upgrades -> etc
eventually you just pick most of them up. some i still don't know to this day, even in sc1 (rare researches like scout range for example)
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On February 11 2011 02:21 JeeJee wrote:
let's not turn this into a wpm thread; a lot of people on TL type way over 100 WPM, some even over 150, but it shouldn't* correlate with sc/sc2 skill
i liked your blog :-) personally when i go about learning hotkeys (building-wise) for a brand new game (for instance i started playing age of empires2 a while back), i just find the things i click the most, and spend a second to mouseover and see what the hotkey is. then i just focus on that one hotkey (sometimes i learn more than one in a game) for that game. and i just keep on adding to this. the progression goes something like worker hotkey -> basic militia -> any farm/supply type of building -> necessary upgrades -> etc
eventually you just pick most of them up. some i still don't know to this day, even in sc1 (rare researches like scout range for example)
150 is crazy sick lol but yea some people are crazy 
60 with 3 fingers is insanely fast
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On February 11 2011 02:21 JeeJee wrote:
let's not turn this into a wpm thread; a lot of people on TL type way over 100 WPM, some even over 150, but it shouldn't* correlate with sc/sc2 skill
i liked your blog :-) personally when i go about learning hotkeys (building-wise) for a brand new game (for instance i started playing age of empires2 a while back), i just find the things i click the most, and spend a second to mouseover and see what the hotkey is. then i just focus on that one hotkey (sometimes i learn more than one in a game) for that game. and i just keep on adding to this. the progression goes something like worker hotkey -> basic militia -> any farm/supply type of building -> necessary upgrades -> etc
eventually you just pick most of them up. some i still don't know to this day, even in sc1 (rare researches like scout range for example)
Thanks, that sounds like a good approach. One thing I practiced last time I played was just using the "A" for attack, I was so used to clicking a group of units, the attack icon, then a spot on the mini map.. by doing that I would have to right click on the map.. using the A key let me use the left click.. it felt so abnormal.
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Make a stream, I'd like to watch that. PrinceXiscor (sp) was trying something similar on his featured stream.
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EPT
