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Advantages of Each Race?

Blogs > OdiousTea
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OdiousTea
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Australia357 Posts
August 29 2011 08:28 GMT
#1
So the other day, a friend of mine whom just bought StarCraft 2asked me a pretty tough question, What are the advantages of each race?

After giving it some thought I came up with this:

Terran: your everyday RTS race, Terran rewards you the most for superior mechanics (multitasking, macro, micro etc.).

Zerg: The race that most easily dictates the pace of the game because the non- linear unit production from larvae. (Extreme examples, Powering Drones, 6 pool)

Protoss: Possibly the hardest to define, but I feel it relies on army composition, micro and positioning due to the race's reliance on core units (Colossus, High Templar)

What are your thoughts on this?

+ Show Spoiler +
Not sure where this is supposed to go, so I'm putting this in my blog. Chill this is my first OP


***
Vlare
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
748 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-29 08:40:11
August 29 2011 08:39 GMT
#2
The advantage of Terran is being the best race.

I really don't know how else to answer.

There aren't "advantages" to being zerg or protoss, as both races feel unfinished and are simply unique. Zerg has mobility I guess. But even their slow/clunky units are good so it just depends what you make.


I think each race is simply unique.

Edit: Oh and protoss has OP forcefields =)
Mass zerglings doesnt fail
BLitZkRiEG.
Profile Joined June 2011
Australia1 Post
August 29 2011 08:53 GMT
#3
@ Vlare I think what he's trying to get across is not what is the best race, but how each race's different design plays out compared to other generic rts games' races.

to the op: I agree with the you about terran and zerg, but protoss just seems to be the race that relies the most of timings or making an unbeatable army, not so much on positioning.
"i wouldnt play terran cuz i have self respect"
FoolieCoolie
Profile Joined November 2010
Serbia71 Posts
August 29 2011 08:59 GMT
#4
Zerg likes to fight in open spaces. Also positioning.
Protoss likes to fight in chokes . Also timing.
Terran likes to fight in multiple places, in small numbers. Micro.
Vlare
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
748 Posts
August 29 2011 09:06 GMT
#5
On August 29 2011 17:53 BLitZkRiEG. wrote:
@ Vlare I think what he's trying to get across is not what is the best race, but how each race's different design plays out compared to other generic rts games' races.

to the op: I agree with the you about terran and zerg, but protoss just seems to be the race that relies the most of timings or making an unbeatable army, not so much on positioning.


Well in that case.

Terran : Every unit has the potential to end the game
Zerg: Many very quick and flimsy units - Super succeptible to quick losses by being caught off guard.
Protoss: super dependent on not losing units and using unit spells well/actively.

User was warned for this post
Mass zerglings doesnt fail
vanhio
Profile Joined November 2010
Niue1017 Posts
August 29 2011 09:08 GMT
#6
I think currently, zerg can easily abuse infestor.. Fungal so easy to use, unlike storm if you hit once its all over, you cant dodge. And if you have 3 infestors with full energy you can destroy expansions in seconds. Very, very easy to abuse.
Vlare
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
748 Posts
August 29 2011 09:10 GMT
#7
On August 29 2011 18:08 vanhio wrote:
I think currently, zerg can easily abuse infestor.. Fungal so easy to use, unlike storm if you hit once its all over, you cant dodge. And if you have 3 infestors with full energy you can destroy expansions in seconds. Very, very easy to abuse.


I don't think this really is relevant to what the OP is asking for.
Mass zerglings doesnt fail
vanhio
Profile Joined November 2010
Niue1017 Posts
August 29 2011 09:12 GMT
#8
Your spell caster is very easy to use - advantage ?
Vlare
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
748 Posts
August 29 2011 09:14 GMT
#9
On August 29 2011 18:12 vanhio wrote:
Your spell caster is very easy to use - advantage ?


I think pressing emp is just about as hard as hitting fungal. I wouldn't call it a unique advantage.
Mass zerglings doesnt fail
vanhio
Profile Joined November 2010
Niue1017 Posts
August 29 2011 09:16 GMT
#10
Ok, use 200-300 energy with your ghost on my expo and try to kill it.
Vlare
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
748 Posts
August 29 2011 09:19 GMT
#11
On August 29 2011 18:16 vanhio wrote:
Ok, use 200-300 energy with your ghost on my expo and try to kill it.


Terran doesn't need to use 200-300 energy because they can just drop 4 marauders and stim. I really think if someone brand new to the game is told "HEY RACE X CAN MAKE A SPELLCASTER TO KILL AN EXPO IN SECONDS". This is a pretty terrible way to introduce them to the game.

And while my explanations were rather vague as well, they did cover some major points that a new player should know.
Mass zerglings doesnt fail
vanhio
Profile Joined November 2010
Niue1017 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-29 09:23:16
August 29 2011 09:22 GMT
#12
Im just saying what is one of the advantage of Zerg. With 6 food army you can destroy tech/bases, its good to now. Im not saying its imbalanced or something. Simply its easy to abuse, you can use it, its not a bad thing.
Vlare
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
748 Posts
August 29 2011 09:25 GMT
#13
On August 29 2011 18:22 vanhio wrote:
Im just saying what is one of the advantage of Zerg. With 6 food army you can destroy tech/bases, its good to now. Im not saying its imbalanced or something. Simply its easy to abuse, you can use it, its not a bad thing.


Sure ^ You can also say this for DT, banshee, any burrow moving unit, any drop, nukes and many other things.

Mass zerglings doesnt fail
Malyce
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Switzerland112 Posts
August 29 2011 09:27 GMT
#14

Terran: is a scrappy race that relies on good unit positionning and multitasking to win the game It has a very strong harass potential and is very cost-effective in small numbers. It has a wide variety of units that can serve every purpose and really adapts to play style. Terran basics are accessible seeing that it is easy to turtle up, but very hard to master due to complex macro and micro.

Zerg: is a swarm race that relies on heavy scouting and timing knowledge to optimise its production. It has massive amounts of very cheap and cost-effective units and good harassment potential. It has complicated macro when executed correctly, but slightly easier micro in most circumstances. This race is difficult to begin with but progress comes smoothly once the basics are mastered. It can be strong in all stages of the game.

Protoss: a technological race that relies on few expensive units. It has the least harassment potential, and is usually most effective when massing up a large and expensive death-ball. Its units are mostly cost-effective in large numbers. It is also the most spell-casting race. It has macro and micro of medium difficulty. A race that is slightly less accessible for beginners than terran namely due to early-game relative weakness, but you can get better quicker.

These descriptions are very general though, if Terran is playing mech for example the description won't apply as much. I hope this helped in some way though.
Opera
Profile Joined March 2011
France469 Posts
August 29 2011 09:42 GMT
#15
I'll speak for the two races I know best: Zerg and Terran.

Zerg: For a newcomer to RTS, the main advantage of Zerg is that the macro is quite forgiving. If you don't miss to many larva inject, you will always be able to spend your money by creating a shitload of units at once. On the other hand, the thought process is really different because of the way unit/building creation is handled (larvae and drone "sacrifice").

Terran: It's the most straightforward race to play. You have tech buildings, unit creation buildings and the queuing system is very easy to understand. As a drawback, I'll say that if you don't have good mechanics, you'll have a lot of difficulties producing a strong army.

I think army compisition is easier to handle with Terran. Bioball + tanks + medivacs work in the three matchups at bronze - platinium level.
It ain't over till it's over
marttorn
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
Norway5211 Posts
August 29 2011 09:42 GMT
#16
I'm not exactly GM myself so I'm not the know-all be-all on this, but I'll try. And besides, doesn't hurt to get in a somewhat long post considering I participated in the MLG LR's. I'm ashamed.

I'll only be looking at the races from a complete beginners perspective.

Terran: Probably the easiest to get into because of simple, recognizable (as in recognizable from other RTS games) mechanics. Having played AoE when I was younger, I instantly familiarized with Terran. Your units build over time, you build workers from your Town Hall, it's easy to understand basically. The more advanced mechanics like teching up, dropping mules and using scans come with time. I remember when I first started playing I never dropped mules or switched addons etc, because it was too difficult to execute TT;;

Protoss: Makes units in rounds as opposed to building them slowly, like terran. This has obvious benefits, but it gets tough if you miss one round of units. Has a very powerful, cost-efficient lategame army that many (if not most) people in the lower leagues easily get crushed by. Chrono boost makes everything faster, and it's an easy mechanic to use. As for how beginner-friendly it is I'd say protoss is in the middle.

Zerg: Zerg has the most unfamiliar and "weird" mechanics of all, and will probably be the hardest for complete beginners to get into unless they have extensive RTS experience. I recall asking a zerg friend of mine when I first started playing: "But wait... Uhm, what's the zerg barracks called"

This represents basically the most unique and special aspect of zerg, in that (put in simple terms) their town hall builds units, instead of having to build a bunch of barracks or warp gates. They have weaker units (in general) but can build very very many of them. Due to being generally weaker, their units are also very fast. Queen management and use is very important to understanding zerg, but that's just mechanics stuff that comes with time.
memes are a dish best served dank
GhostKorean
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United States2330 Posts
August 29 2011 10:00 GMT
#17
I'd argue that Zerg is not swarmy at all :\. Roach/Infestor is closer to Protoss than Zerg if anything
jhNz
Profile Blog Joined September 2006
Germany2762 Posts
August 29 2011 10:59 GMT
#18
i think the biggest advantage of zerg are the easy tech switches.
http://twitter.com/jhNz
Klaca
Profile Blog Joined August 2011
318 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-29 11:11:19
August 29 2011 11:10 GMT
#19
The advantages are immediately visible from unit speed: EVERY zerg unit is faster than EVERY protoss unit which are in turn faster than EVERY terran unit: Truly, it is the speed that seperates the races, the and is the defining quality in how their units are used for gameplay
deathly rat
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
United Kingdom911 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-29 11:25:31
August 29 2011 11:23 GMT
#20
On August 29 2011 18:27 Malyce wrote:

Terran: is a scrappy race that relies on good unit positionning and multitasking to win the game It has a very strong harass potential and is very cost-effective in small numbers. It has a wide variety of units that can serve every purpose and really adapts to play style. Terran basics are accessible seeing that it is easy to turtle up, but very hard to master due to complex macro and micro.

Zerg: is a swarm race that relies on heavy scouting and timing knowledge to optimise its production. It has massive amounts of very cheap and cost-effective units and good harassment potential. It has complicated macro when executed correctly, but slightly easier micro in most circumstances. This race is difficult to begin with but progress comes smoothly once the basics are mastered. It can be strong in all stages of the game.

Protoss: a technological race that relies on few expensive units. It has the least harassment potential, and is usually most effective when massing up a large and expensive death-ball. Its units are mostly cost-effective in large numbers. It is also the most spell-casting race. It has macro and micro of medium difficulty. A race that is slightly less accessible for beginners than terran namely due to early-game relative weakness, but you can get better quicker.

These descriptions are very general though, if Terran is playing mech for example the description won't apply as much. I hope this helped in some way though.


I approve this message.

On August 29 2011 20:10 Klaca wrote:
The advantages are immediately visible from unit speed: EVERY zerg unit is faster than EVERY protoss unit which are in turn faster than EVERY terran unit: Truly, it is the speed that seperates the races, the and is the defining quality in how their units are used for gameplay


What? You have to be trollin'. Stalkers are faster than roaches, everything is faster than hydra, hellions are really fast. It's like you never even seen a game of SC2.
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