EPTGame 3
My third game in the practice league has been my hardest so far. The map this time around was Metalopolis . And shaking like a crack addict before the game was me staring into my new 24inch LCD like a kid waiting to be yelled at or being bitten by my mouse.
So far it seems that every map in this league is new player friendly. By that I mean, early rushes are basically impossible due to the rocks blocking each ramp (For this I am very grateful). And for some reason the game speed is on normal. I have chalked this up to a function of the League in am in. I am not complaining, I am just use to the faster setting against the A.I. opponents.
Now my start was like I have been practicing, Macro my Nexus to 4 and rally on the crystals. Then I start my probes on farming. I continue to pump out probes until 9 supply then I drop a Pylon. Now at this point I actually remember to use my Chrono Boost as I should to boost production. But since I am fighting a bad case of nerves like I said earlier. I Boost the Nexus that is building nothing but sweet air for a few seconds. Right after my pylon finishes and I have the resources. I build my Gateway and continue pushing probes until 13 supply when I build my first gas. Now this does not mean I stop building probes, I am just indicating where my gas was built.
Now, I knew immediately when I saw the map that this will be an aerial fight. So going on that I forced focus on getting my star ports up as fast as I can. Going on this I build Cybernetics on 18 next then immediately started warp research upon completion. On Reflection this could have waited and the resources spared until later in the game. My second gas went down on 20 and the probe push was still going strong. Now at 4:12min into the game the only unit I had that can hit anything is a lone Zealot ( BOB ). So if my opponent played any sort of Air Rush or fast unit push I would have been dead by now. On 22 supply my Star Port went down. Everything was going smoothly so far, I didn’t really make any major mistakes so far and I felt on track. I set my Robo down at 24 supply purely for the Observers at this stage. I was getting nervous (more actually) because my opponent has been very quiet up until then. So I host of scenarios where running through my mind. Early medevac or Banshee harass was a big worry at this stage in the game for me.
At this stage my Terran opponent was expanding to his second base around the 6:30 mark. Now expanding has not even crossed my mind yet. I was too focused on my first Phoenix finishing so that I can scout him for the first time in the game. My first view of my opponent was of his expansion, when I saw the lone Command center. I felt a sense of relief ……. No early butt whooping for me. I immediately started building my first Void Ray. My plan at that stage was to harass his expansion and force him to commit a defense. This in my inexperienced mind should give me time to expand myself and get my Carriers going. I scouted his main and found that he was only pushed out a Ghost Academy, Barracks X 2 , Factory with no attachment and his Bay was half way done. The only unit I saw (besides the SCV’s ) was a lone Ghost . Being content that I was safe for the moment , I pointed my bird home, receiving a few hits form the Ghost on the way. Now on hind sight, I should have killed it with beam.
By this time my first Observer was scouting the other areas of the map for other expanses. Lucky for me, he was not that industrious yet. My second Stargate went down at 39 supply and I lunched my first attack on his expansion. My only Void Ray and two Phoenixes where going to apply the first pressure of the game. Also at that point 8:41 min I decided now will be a good time to not be a scrub and expand myself. So I built a Warp Prism to get my drone there. On hind sight, I should have used BOB the Zealot to break down the rocks and clear a path. Since he has been picking his nose (Errrr whatever) for this whole time. Also around the same time, I decided that upgrading my Arial weapons was a good idea so why not. Now this is where my first real mistake comes in. I leave my Void Ray to do its thing on the command center and I happily move away my focus back to my new base that I just built around the 9 min mark. Now I only jump back when a Turret starts tearing through my Ray. I know what you’re thinking; “Why didn’t you kill the workers and pick the base off later”. Face palm moment number one. Now wise to my plan my opponent starts going anti air through his fits of laughter. Not learning for my mistake, I take my new Ray and the one that had its tail kicked and send them back into the fray. Only to lose them to the old Turret and the new one he just built (Face palm moment number two ) Now at this stage I decided a ground invasion will be better so I moved my Prism into place for a warp in attack. Only to discover, I never upgraded my Gateway to use warp (Face palm moment number three). Fixing my error I expand into a second and third gateway while I am at it.
All the while my Void Rays are being produced and sent to his expansion. To cut it short I invaded with three of Bob’s cousins and three stalkers. They did most of the work until they were picked off by the gun the command center sprouted. I cleared the platform with more warps and continued my Ray production and upgrades. I deployed my Phoenixes and Observers at majority of his possible expansion points to see him coming. At 74 supply and 17:30 my first Carrier was being built and I was thinking of going base three. I managed to turn away a flying command center and prevent him from expanding again at the 18:46 mark. This was promptly met by a Cruiser response and his expansion going up at 19:32.
He did a very strange tactic with his ghosts at one stage. He sent 8 of them to my base but they were picked off by my Rays for the loss of only one. Now I am not sure if he was going nuke or just cloak bash but that did not work out for him. At this stage I was getting a sizeable army going combined of Carries and Rays and I was getting ready for my push on his new expansion.
At 24min I invaded his expansion and a dog fight ensued between my forces and his five Battle Cruisers. I leveld the platform by adding some warp units to the mix. My opponent conceded a few min later.
Now this has been a long post and I do apologize. But I feel this helped me to see my errors.
Valnus
