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Lauren here.
I still need to post a replay - when I posted last, I said that I'd hit a road block and that seemed to be a pretty big suggestion. Life got busy, but I had a couple pretty big losses over the weekend that I definitely think are worth looking at.
That being said... I think I've tweaked a couple of things that have improved my play dramatically. I can't believe they were this simple:
1) I caved and put health bars on all units, all the time.
My probe production and chronoboosting have been much tighter ever since.
2) I changed my 4gate build order.
I originally had been using the 4gate build from Liquipedia, and often when I'd play with/against my friend in silver, I'd find that my gates were finished significantly later than his. I assumed I was just slow (and I probably am). After my last post about getting stuck, though, I decided to see if there was a better build out there - or at least one that worked better for me.
What I ended up with was the MCstyle 4gate from SC2Builds. I don't know if I was just clueless the entire time, or if this build just was easier for me to follow, but it's worked wonders. I don't have exact numbers beyond the last fifteen games (I can only see what's up on BNet right now as I'm at work), but of those, I won nine, lost five. In the past twenty-four, I think I've lost only nine.
Coming from someone who was relieved when she approached winning half her games, this is huge.
That's not to say by any means that I suddenly feel like I've gotten good - but I do feel a lot better than I did before. I don't quiver in fear when I face Zerg like I used to (though two of my last losses were 'ling rushes), and I feel like I have a chance in PvT and PvP. I've been playing people ranked higher than me again, too, which is a relief.
I think that I'm going to continue working on tightening up my 4gate, but I also want to learn another build so that, once 4gate ceases to be enough, I'll have something else in my repertoire. I also want to work on my transitions, and, of course, the ever-constant macro.
Quick story time: I had someone BM me the other day. "Wasn't that embarrassing? You were surrounded by drones. No wonder you're in bronze. Try getting off of one base next time. Good luck."
He was also in bronze.
And on that note, I'll pull up a replay sometime this week. I actually have a fairly long PvZ that I really want to understand. I'm terrible when things get to midgame.
 
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From your post it seems like the number one thing you should learn is a new build. Try the Forge Fast Expand or 3 gate expo. (Both can be found on liquipedia)
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How many games per day or week do you play on average, would you say?
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On October 25 2011 05:27 Lakona wrote:
How many games per day or week do you play on average, would you say?
It varies. On a weekend, I might play 15, 20 a day - I actually am wondering if I should play less, as I tend to get punchy the longer I play. Weekdays? I usually play four or so, more if I feel I'm doing well, or I'll take a day off.
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the two 4gates you compared are exactly the same minus 1 chronoboost different
O_O
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On October 25 2011 05:52 Jakesully wrote:It varies. On a weekend, I might play 15, 20 a day - I actually am wondering if I should play less, as I tend to get punchy the longer I play. Weekdays? I usually play four or so, more if I feel I'm doing well, or I'll take a day off.
Oh sick, that's actually pretty solid. At higher levels I think it can be a bad habit to continually click right into the next game out of rage after losses without stopping to analyze replays, but I don't think playing too much would be any kind of issue at your current level since you're mainly trying to ingrain builds through repetition.
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Good to see practicing being paid off.
The basis of 4 gate is to develop a general game sense. You come to realise the importance of being 'razor sharp' with the mineral/gas timings. Sure your on one-base, but you learn the limits of one base which allows you to learn the limits of two bases.
I remember the first time I started fast expanding, I was trembling, constantly thinking 'hey, I could get demolished right here, right now', but you learn the game at a completely different level and the learning curve grows exponentially. Things like teching, upgrading, defenses and increased scouting requirement come into play.
Start by getting a robo+observers and simply 'observe' whats going on in an enemy base, you learn a lot more of your enemy that way. At your level, the idea you could try tacking on would be to question yourself with the info you got from your observer: "Can my army take on his army?", if yes - expand, if no - build more units.
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On October 25 2011 07:50 Complete wrote:
the two 4gates you compared are exactly the same minus 1 chronoboost different
O_O
I don't think the Liquipedia one chronoboosts at all until the stalker - unless you were supposed to just know to boost after the 9 pylon and after the gateway. The second pylon and core come out at slightly different times as well.The timing with the one from SC2Builds just lines up in timing slightly better, I think.
On October 25 2011 09:50 Zariel wrote:
The basis of 4 gate is to develop a general game sense. You come to realise the importance of being 'razor sharp' with the mineral/gas timings. Sure your on one-base, but you learn the limits of one base which allows you to learn the limits of two bases.
[...]
Start by getting a robo+observers and simply 'observe' whats going on in an enemy base, you learn a lot more of your enemy that way. At your level, the idea you could try tacking on would be to question yourself with the info you got from your observer: "Can my army take on his army?", if yes - expand, if no - build more units.
I've definitely learned the value of strong timing - it's made a world of difference in my 4gate. This game is precise. It's more and more amazing the more I learn. And if I make it past my push, I usually go for a robo next. I'm learning a lot about what works, what doesn't. I definitely still need help recognizing enemy builds, though.
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EPT
