EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8SlfT6R.png)
The Unofficial Day[9] New Player Resource Hub
Starcraft: Brood War information, tactics, and analysis to help new players
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• Let's Learn Starcraft
• Introduction to Brood War
• Tutorial videos
• Introduction to unit control
• Secrets of control
• The Day[9] Daily
• Day[9] Podcasts
• Bear Semen
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Sean Day[9] Plott has been producing Starcraft: Brood War content for many years. This post attempts to consolidate this content in one location, and is intended to be a source of information for new players who wish to improve, or simply gain a better understanding of the game.
Sean "Day[9]" Plott is Nick "Tasteless" Plott's younger brother, and a former high-level American Zerg player, rated A/A+ on ICCUP/PGT throughout multiple seasons and accounts. His main tournament spotlight has been his invitation to represent the United States at the WCG Grand Final three times and winning WCG Pan-American Championship.
He is known for his deep strategic analysis.
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Liquipedia article
He is known for his deep strategic analysis.
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Liquipedia article.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/y4J9zFo.png)
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/yrT7tub.png)
Let's Learn Starcraft: From Zero to Hero
Schedule
• Tuesday @ 5PM PST | Countdown:
• Thursday @ 5PM PST | Countdown:
How to Watch
• Livestream on Twitch
• VODs on YouTube Playlist
Show information
Starting on September 7th, Day[9] is airing a new show called Let's Learn Starcraft. The purpose is to help bring someone from "zero to hero," from someone who knows little to nothing about StarCraft to someone who can enjoy the game as a regular player and watcher of competitive SC:R.
The show will cover a wide range of topics, from strategy to mechanics to simply covering great games of the past. The first episode will be an in-depth analysis of Stork vs Fantasy, a PvT game from the
2008 Incruit OSL grand finals. This should get new players excited to see where the game can take you if you put some time into it.Day[9] made a more detailed post on r/Starcraft, outlining the plans for the show going forward. You can read that below:
+ Show Spoiler [Post from Day9] +
Ahoy /r/Starcraft!
As many of you know, I am over the moon happy that StarCraft: Remastered has released. I grew up playing StarCraft as basically the only thing I did, and now I’m once again BGHing and 1v1ing away! Loads of people are revisiting StarCraft (or even trying for the first time) and, as many reddit posts have noted, the gameplay of the original StarCraft can be a bit daunting.
So, for the next several months, I’m going to be doing a twice weekly show called Let’s Learn Starcraft! The purpose is to help bring someone from “zero to hero,” from someone who knows little to nothing about StarCraft to someone who can enjoy the game as a regular player and watcher of competitive SC:R.
StarCraft is a true challenge, but once you’ve learned enough, the simple act of playing StarCraft feels so good whether you win or lose. I sincerely hope this series can help showcase the joy and beauty of StarCraft
How to Watch
Topics and format
There are three categories of topics that will be covered and shows may be broken into smaller chunks. For example: Zerg Micro Tuesday with four 20-25 minute videos that each focus on a different core zerg unit micro - Mutalisk, Ling/Lurker, Hydralisk, and Defiler
Strategy
How to think about strategy in StarCraft, common builds / compositions in each matchup etc.
Mechanics
How to properly macro / micro / manage your base / manage different unit compositions etc.
Awesome Matches
Let’s watch amazing games of StarCraft (some old, some new!) to see the glory of competitive Brood War! Huge thanks to OGN for providing these replays.
Any Questions?
Are there any topics you want me to cover? Any question you’d like to ask? Feel free to dump it in this thread. I’ll be back in an hour because I need to drop a friend off at the airport woo!
As many of you know, I am over the moon happy that StarCraft: Remastered has released. I grew up playing StarCraft as basically the only thing I did, and now I’m once again BGHing and 1v1ing away! Loads of people are revisiting StarCraft (or even trying for the first time) and, as many reddit posts have noted, the gameplay of the original StarCraft can be a bit daunting.
So, for the next several months, I’m going to be doing a twice weekly show called Let’s Learn Starcraft! The purpose is to help bring someone from “zero to hero,” from someone who knows little to nothing about StarCraft to someone who can enjoy the game as a regular player and watcher of competitive SC:R.
StarCraft is a true challenge, but once you’ve learned enough, the simple act of playing StarCraft feels so good whether you win or lose. I sincerely hope this series can help showcase the joy and beauty of StarCraft
How to Watch
Topics and format
There are three categories of topics that will be covered and shows may be broken into smaller chunks. For example: Zerg Micro Tuesday with four 20-25 minute videos that each focus on a different core zerg unit micro - Mutalisk, Ling/Lurker, Hydralisk, and Defiler
Strategy
How to think about strategy in StarCraft, common builds / compositions in each matchup etc.
- What is strategy and how does it tie into execution / mechanics
- How to practice
- A thorough review of each matchup - common units, strategies, openings, cheeses, and counter cheeses
- How to construct a strategy and adjust it over time
- How to identify weaknesses and strengths in an opening build order
- How to change plans during crisis management
- How to scout and what signals to look for
- A review of tactics
- How tactical considerations can affect game-wide strategies
Mechanics
How to properly macro / micro / manage your base / manage different unit compositions etc.
- Small scale unit control (micro)
- Mid and large scale unit control
- Worker scouting and management
- Base management
- Hotkey setups and tricks
- Mouse and keyboard control
- Macro
- Building placement tricks
Awesome Matches
Let’s watch amazing games of StarCraft (some old, some new!) to see the glory of competitive Brood War! Huge thanks to OGN for providing these replays.
- Stork vs Fantasy PvT Incruit OSL 2008 Finals
- Jaedong vs Yellow[ArnC] ZvZ Bacchus OSL 2009 Finals
- Iloveoov vs Reach PvT Ever OSL 2004 Semifinals
- Movie vs Shine Ever PvZ OSL 2009 Semifinals
- Flash vs Fantasy TvT Tving Semifinals
- Flash vs Shine TvZ Tving Quarterfinals
- Jangbi vs Mini PvP Tving Quarterfinals
- And moar!
Any Questions?
Are there any topics you want me to cover? Any question you’d like to ask? Feel free to dump it in this thread. I’ll be back in an hour because I need to drop a friend off at the airport woo!
Quote Day[9]:
StarCraft is a true challenge, but once you’ve learned enough, the simple act of playing StarCraft feels so good whether you win or lose. I sincerely hope this series can help showcase the joy and beauty of StarCraft
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Preamble: Introduction to Brood War
This video is an unofficial primer for the show Let's Learn Starcraft. In it, Day[9] highlights what may be the most important aspect for you to understand as you begin to learn Brood War: The mechanical difficulty is not a barrier you must overcome so that you may then begin to play the game -- it is the game.
How you deal with that difficulty - how you choose to allocate your APM to do certain things in the game - becomes a big part of Starcraft strategy. Day[9] gives a few examples, and explains how different approaches lead to different styles of play.
- Also read:
Mechanics Guide on LiquipediaEpisode 0: Why Starcraft is Awesome
In this first episode of Let's Learn Starcraft, Day[9] talks about what's coming up in the show, shows off some build order examples and counter-examples to give people an idea of the multiple ways you can counter what your opponent is doing. This was to prepare everyone for episode 1 - released the same day - which was a fairly deep but newbie-friendly analysis of the Stork vs Fantasy 2008 Incruit Grand Finals.
As new episodes come out, I will post them in a playlist below, adding topics to each one so that it will be easier to find the ones you're looking for. I hope you all tune in to his streams for future episodes!
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+ Show Spoiler [Old announcement post] +
In case you've missed it, Sean "Day[9]" Plott has talked about his hype for Starcraft: Remastered on his stream lately, and since it's Day[9] talking about Starcraft it's pretty damn good.
First off, he made a rant about what Brood War is and why it's so beautiful. He talked about how the mechanics of Starcraft is what defines the game, that the control limitations are not obstacles to overcome so that you can then play StarCraft, but that these limitations is exactly what StarCraft is. Here's his rant on Brood War if you want to hear it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP9F-AZezCU
Earlier in the same gaming session he talked briefly about his plans for video content surrounding SC: Remastered. It was a sporadic talk since he was playing Hearthstone at the time, but he gets into his general ideas for upcoming content.
SC:R content talk begins at 55:45 (the video should start there when you press play), and continues on and off until his main rant [the one above] begins at 1:10:52.
Out of all the things SC:R is bringing back, Day[9] talking about StarCraft again is one of my favorites. Sean, your content has always been great, and you have always gotten people interested who wouldn't ordinarily understand why Starcraft is so good. You are the man, and I hope you have a lot of fun this summer. <3
UPDATE:
Day[9] made a post on r/Starcraft about his upcoming show. Check it out!
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![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Kennigit/GetAttachmentaspx.jpg)
Tutorial Videos
Day[9] has made quite a few videos in the past covering basic concepts and simple mechanics. This is a small collection featuring the most useful videos that new players should watch.
Introduction to unit control
Units often behave strangely in Starcraft: Brood War. The AI is wonky, and the pathfinding is frankly complete bullshit. However, this system does lead to some very interesting mechanics which can be abused by good players.
Muta stacking, dodging Scourges, and spam-clicking to override pathfinding are some examples of manual control which lets players get more value out of their units at the cost of attention spent elsewhere. Day[9] gives a good introduction to these concepts and quirks despite his cat's desperate pleas for attention.
Secrets of control
This video will tell you everything that you've been doing wrong for a while, and help you correct them. This is, in the most basic sense, how you play the game optimally. The episode covers a lot of important topics, going from stretching exercises and mouse positioning to talking about effective APM and what you should be focusing on as a player.
While the game featured in this video is StarCraft II, everything he talks about is 100% applicable to Brood War as well.
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THE DAY[9] DAILY
Where we learn to be a better gamer
The Day[9] Daily was a video series that began in 2009. Five days a week, Day[9] would analyse games by pro players, explaining what they were doing and why. As time went by he would occasionally do low-level replay analysis, or even showcasing games he played during his days as a competitive Starcraft player.
The show found new life and popularity among StarCraft II fans once Day[9] began to focus more on that title, but his old Brood War videos are full of high-level commentary that remain relevant today.
Some episodes have been lost to time, but the archive in general was preserved for years until Day[9] uploaded all of the old Brood War Dailies to his YouTube channel. The videos are available in this playlist.
The first episode was produced on October 23rd, 2009. The final Brood War episode was #112.
Where to view
• YouTube Playlist
• Torrent links:
VOD Torrent 1 (Ep. 1-35)
VOD Torrent 2 (Ep. 6-112)
In April of 2010, Day[9] made Day[9] Daily Episode #100, also known as My Life of Starcraft. "Hear about my life of Starcraft, its downs and ups and everything in between." It is a fantastic retrospective on Starcraft: Brood War and of Day[9] as a player, from his humble beginnings of cheating vs AI players to his major tournament wins.
The video has 3,718,000 views on YouTube and remains Day[9]'s most memorable and emotional video. You will get a great many things out of watching this 2-hour talk, but perhaps the most important one is an understanding of why StarCraft is such a good game and why it matters as an e-sport.
If you watch nothing else, you should watch this again.
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![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/funkie/daynine3.png)
Before there were Day[9] dailies, there were Day[9] podcasts. The topics ranged from beginner tips to advanced concepts, and lasted for several episodes until Day[9] started work on his Day[9] Daily series.
As the podcasts were sporadic and somewhat random in content and intended audience, it may be better for you to revisit this section once you have a particular topic in mind.
Transcripts and more detailed information about the podcasts can be found on the
Liquipedia article. If you wish you can also download a Torrent with all the podcasts here: Day[9] Podcasts TorrentBeginner topics
Introduction to MechanicsMechanics Why You Should Play Against Worse PlayersA New Look at Build OrdersTransitions and a Simple Goon Reaver PushNote from Day[9]: I misspoke through this entire cast! I repeatedly say Zealot after Stargate. I meant Zealot after Cybercore.
Not sure how I said "Stargate" so many times when I was thinking about the Core the whole time.
Advanced topics
Hallmarks of Expert Play - IntroductionHallmarks of Expert Play Hallmarks of Expert Play Hallmarks of Expert Play Stopping Mech as ZergVariations on 5 Hatch Hydra in ZvPBuilding TriggersRelative TimingsSidestepping: The Art of Abusing WeaknessTvZ Midgame on Heartbreak Ridge: Fantasy&+ Show Spoiler [Ordered by release date] +
• Stopping Mech
• Building Triggers
• Hallmarks of Expert Play #0 - Introduction
• Hallmarks of Expert Play #1 - Winning with an Advantage
• Hallmarks of Expert Play #2 - Redundancy and Purpose
• Why You Should Play Against Worse Players
• Introduction to Mechanics
• Mechanics #1 - Basics
• Variations on 5 Hatch Hydra in ZvP
• A New Look at Build Orders
• Relative Timings
• Transitions and a Simple Goon Reaver Push
• Sidestepping: The Art of Abusing Weakness
• Hallmarks of Expert Play #3 - Having a Good Mindset
• TvZ Midgame on Heartbreak Ridge: Fantasy's Play
• Building Triggers
• Hallmarks of Expert Play #0 - Introduction
• Hallmarks of Expert Play #1 - Winning with an Advantage
• Hallmarks of Expert Play #2 - Redundancy and Purpose
• Why You Should Play Against Worse Players
• Introduction to Mechanics
• Mechanics #1 - Basics
• Variations on 5 Hatch Hydra in ZvP
• A New Look at Build Orders
• Relative Timings
• Transitions and a Simple Goon Reaver Push
• Sidestepping: The Art of Abusing Weakness
• Hallmarks of Expert Play #3 - Having a Good Mindset
• TvZ Midgame on Heartbreak Ridge: Fantasy's Play
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Bear Semen
Various Day[9] related content
Day[9] has been around for a long time. Here is a small collection of Day[9] things just for the hell of it. Spoilered because it has nothing to do with strategy.
+ Show Spoiler [Bear semen] +
Chill vs Combat-Ex - Best of Five Showmatch
- YouTube Playlist -
In 2009, TeamLiquid moderator Chill got into a row with controversial content creator Combat-EX- over some ladder drama and win-trading shenanigans.
The rest of the story is nothing but trash talk, e-penises, and bear semen.
Featuring what is objectively Day[9]'s best commentary, the resulting best-of-5 showmatch is a classic, dare I say legendary match full of observatories, messed up colors, and a loudly shrieking Hot_Bid.
WCG 2005 Footage Cut with Day[9] Daily 100 Featuring Tastless, Artosis and Day[9]
The tournament that started Tasteless' casting career. This is tournament footage and games intercut with commentary by Day[9], taken from the Day[9] Daily #100.
Day[9] scream
Ow.
Sean Plott - eHarmony Rant
A bit from Sean Plott's stand-up routine.
When Day9 fell off his chair on State of the Game Episode #100
Also notice his stream placard when he falls.
Day[9] laughing at himself laughing
It's the circle of life.
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