EPTPicking a race is a serious business in Starcraft 2. You are not only dedicating yourself to mastering a particular race, but you are also joining your respective Terran / Protoss/ Zerg brothers as representatives in the Starcraft community. There is much to consider, and I hope this little guide will prove useful if not mildly entertaining.
Zerg
Heroes:
![[image loading]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6176/6178360778_b05168e09d_z.jpg)
Attitude:
Zerg attracts players who deep down really just want to play a straight up macro game (no rush 20min, ok?). They hate cheese and cutesy strategies and see these as bugs in the game that Blizzard has yet to patch. Due to their straight up play they feel like when they win it is because they really are better than their opponent, but also respect that when they lose a macro game that they have been out-played.
Play Style:
If you don’t want to die as Zerg you have to learn to scout, because a fast void ray / DT / hellion/ bunker rush will end the game if you don’t prepare for it. However if you prepare for everything, you will lose to anything.
The fun really starts with Zerg after about 10 minutes into the game when you have successfully defended the early aggression and you are churning out huge numbers of units. Although your units are weak you can make many more of them than your opponent. You are Zerg and you know the power of good macro, and eventually this will lead to most of your wins.
Most likely bad manner:
The no “gg” rage quit.
Protoss
Heroes:
![[image loading]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6157/6177835369_9a5d7d3ca1.jpg)
Attitude:
Protoss players know that Starcraft 2 is a game, and therefore should be fun. Protoss have the most fun units and you looked at them and just imagined the destruction you could cause. You take wins and losses equally well and wish that the world were a friendlier place. On the other hand, anything that gets the win is fair game.
Play Style:
Protoss play often revolves around a few power units supported by a cast of less powerful gateway units. With good micro control/spell casting you can make seemingly week units incredibly cost effective. Also, with many different interesting and powerful units there are many play styles that are available to you which will both keep you interested, but also challenged as the meta-game shifts.
Protoss is most famous for it’s “death ball” in which a player sits back defending on 2 bases and then pushes out with an unstoppable army, as well as the always present fear of Dark Templars appearing in your base destroying your economy before you can get detection. Although this doesn’t encompass all of protoss play, it continues to be a strong and popular style.
Most likely bad manner:
One line of abuse typed in all caps.
Terran
Heroes:
![[image loading]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6168/6178360826_2926ff6f28.jpg)
Attitude:
Terran attracts very competitive players. I mean, all Starcraft players are competitive, but these guys really like winning a lot. Also, a lot of people are attracted to this race because they are the humans, the good guys, us. Terrans don’t have cool units, but they are your trusted rusty old units that have never let you down.
Play Style:
1 word: Multi-tasking. If you can micro 2 drops in different locations and control you main army and also continue to macro then you should play Terran.
Terran relies on strong build orders more than the other 2 races, knowing that if executed perfectly their timing attack is almost impossible to stop unless their opponent has adequately prepared. Having a handful of these prepared and practised will net you a lot of quick wins.
Most likely bad manner:
Lifting and hiding buildings around the map
Every now and then people post asking what race they should pick, and I hope this gives those people a little inspiration. As a new player you should definitely try to play all the races for a little bit. Somehow most people eventually find they prefer one race more than the others. I guess this is one of the genius things about Starcraft 2, but remember if you want you can change race at any point and those skills you have acquired will help you no matter what race you play.
