EPTThis blog will be about me and my experiences with SC2 WoL after 3 weeks of played time since the beta. Why 3 weeks? It was the time it took me to reach 1st in my Diamond division.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/W0C8A.jpg)
/flex
Thoughts on the matchups
I always, always play Protoss. Not because I belive they are the strongest, but because once you go toss you never go back. (Protoss since '98 baby!)
Statistics are only going to be for the last 25 games. CBA to click all the way back.
PvZ
Record: 8-1
Summary:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/KCXfZ.jpg)
Explained: Wow. Either all zergs at Diamond level are terrible or there's something wrong with the matchup. I've only bothered to learn one build so far in PvZ: 3 gate expand. Not any specific build order, just 3 gates at some point, followed by a Nexus at around 6.30 and then some pressure with 4-5 sentries, 3 stalkers and 3 zeals at around the same time. Sooo many games end right there, and if they don't usually the zerg has overlinged to the extent that I'm up 10 workers and happily adding tech back at home.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/QBI4D.jpg)
A good deal of games end right here.
What have I lost too: 2 base roach all ins and an epic game where I faced Broodlords for the, so far, only time. And one time I faced a Zerg who knew what he was doing - somehow he was mid-diamond? That was a complete facestomp.
However, something seems less than balanced from what I've seen: it happened so rarely that a Zerg came out of the first 10 minutes with an advantage, and usually it was because I screwed up. And collossus/templar can make up for so much lost ground in the later stages.
PvT
Record: 5-2
Summary: MARAUDERS, MARAUDERS, MARAUDERS.
Explained: I like PvT. Nearly all tech is viable from the protoss perspective and nothing is set in stone from the get-go.
However, there's something missing. The harassment style of play that I so loved from BW is just not viable anymore. I tried a couple of times to go 2 gate robo into some fancy drop play, and I was fun, just not something I won many games off. What inevitable seems to happen from a toss POV is that I defend his pressure in the early game and ride my advantage off to a victory in the later stages.
One trend that seemed universal was the Ts always made an obscene amount of Marauders, which made me wonder about the possibility of a late-game Void Ray switch. I'd imagine there would be a huge timing window for the T to abuse, but if the trend keeps up in Master League - hoping for a promotion later tonight! - I'd really like to experiment with that.
But so far storm also works.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/anBU2.jpg)
What have I lost too: 3 rax pressure before expo. A lot. Then I started making zealots and sentries instead of just pure stalker. Sucess! Also very harassment oriented playstyle was a bitch: no need to micro the drops, just dropping 2 marauders and 4 marines along with a medivac takes quite a lot of force to deal with.
PvP
Record: 6-3
Summary: Flip a coin. If heads you win, if tails your opponent does. Or?
Explained: PvP in its current state is less than fun. Despite not experiencing many 4 warpgates - the few I did encounter were fairly easily scouted and dealt with a more economic 4 warpgate - the matchup still has a feelnig of randomness to it.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ckx0X.jpg)
DE-nied.
The strategy I had the most sucess with - if my opponent did not 4 WG - was 2 gate collossus, so I stuck with that I found myself having quite a lot of sucess. I had a few epic games past the 30 minute mark with VR/Collosus/Templar battles and when PvP gets to that point it's super fun. Unfortunately it rarely does.
The warpgate mechanic is superfun, but unfortunately wrecks quite a bit of PvP. I have no earthly idea how to fix this, but at the current state it seems the only fix is an unspoken gentlemens agreement among protoss-players that 'we do not 4 WG', despite it being super-strong.
What have I lost too: proxy-gates, good blink stalker and stargate play.
Overall
Despite my skepticism, Starcraft II is fun. It is nowhere near the BW level yet, but I look forward to playing my games and having only briefed encountered the mythical world of custom maps I know there's a lot of unexplored potential there.
The campaign was good, but I missed the other two races. I know they're coming, but focusing on just Terran really limits the epicness and thus I still enjoy the originial BW campaign more. Not by much, but watching Tassadar crash into the Overmind and killing it will forever be one of the greatest moments in video game history. En Taro Tassadar indeed.
Regarding the difficulty level in the campaign, Brutal was definitely fun, but I still 1-shotted a lot of missions. The only ones I really had trouble with 'The Gates of Hell' and 'All-in' - the former took 10+ tries (sub-10 fps really didn't help) and the latter 4. Still compared to the BW campaign this is a huge improvement.
Difficulty wise in multiplayer, it should come as no suprise that we are nowhere near BW-level. I was C-/C on iCCup and still missed so much stuff with 200 apm. In SC2 I miss many chrono-boosts and the occasional after 10 minutes and that's about it.
However, I'm not yet at the point where I feel like I'm evenly matched with my opponents and thankfully there's still a significant portion of the ladder left to climb.
What I need to work on as a player
- being more active with my chronoboosts
- scouting better: I lose a few games because I forget to be active with my first stalkers and maintain control of the Xel'Naga Watchtowers
- checking the minimap. This is a huge impairnment for me. I need to learn to check that with the corner of my eye all the time. If I can deny drops and see reapers before they hit my base I should be able to win so many more games.
- learn better and more solid build orders. Despite topping my Diamond division I'm still relying almost exclusively on mechanics, and if I want to become better I'm going to need serious, well-refined builds. Liquipedia here I come.
What I'm looking for
- practice partners. HansTitan.631 on EU. Message me, I'm almost always up for a game. Looking for high-Diamond/low-Masters mostly.
- a clan. Things become much more epic when you have a clan. Are you looking for a dedicated protoss player, who can and will practice and is eager to learn? HansTitan.631.
Overall my friendslist is soooo empty. Forever alone.
Questions, comments, ratings? Bring 'em on! I'm going to hit the gym - Starcraft doesn't do much for your physique - and will be back in 1½ hours time.
- Hans-Titan
