EPTIntroduction
I'm going to assume that if you're reading this, you already know how to play and the basic functions of each unit/spell. In this guide, I will cover the roles of each unit, spell, and some strategies and tips on how to get better. So without further adieu, let's get into the units!
Units
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Each unit has it's own counterpart that is similar in cost and strength. The counterpart pair is arranged by column in the unit selection box.
Marine:
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Cannon:
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Zealot:
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Roach:
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Hydralisk:
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Ghosts:
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Mutalisk:
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Banshee:
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Tank:
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Immortal:
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Colossus:
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Ultralisk:
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Marine:
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This unit is going to be the unit that spawn the most. 1 of these guys spawns every time you get a match and they're your fodder unit. (Note: Not on autospawn) Super weak and low damage. The opening battle is usually a marine only battle, but then the victor gets eaten up by cannons if they don't reinforce and support.
Strong against: Other marines
Weak against: Everything, especially storms
Strong against: Other marines
Weak against: Everything, especially storms
Cannon:
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Not really a unit, but it still deserves to be mentioned. It has a lot of health and does a lot of damage. Usually you want to engage near these if you're defending, and away from these if you're attacking.
Strong against: Everything except tanks and immortals
Weak against: Tanks and immortals
Strong against: Everything except tanks and immortals
Weak against: Tanks and immortals
Zealot:
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This is your normal chargelot. These guys only cost 50 energy and can quickly surround and kill stuff that it's good against, which is quite a number considering it's cost. However, they don't have much health so they die really quickly to storm and colossi.
Strong against: Roaches, hydras, tanks, immortals, ultras
Weak against: Air, ghosts, colossi, storms
Strong against: Roaches, hydras, tanks, immortals, ultras
Weak against: Air, ghosts, colossi, storms
Roach:
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The counterpart to the zealot is the roach. It costs 25 more energy, but can tank a lot more. These are an all around solid unit. They can also eat up a storm kind of well. Notice how the roach's strengths are similar to the zealot's weaknesses and vice versa.
Strong against: Hydras, ghosts, colossi
Weak against: Air, zealots, tanks, immortals, ultras
Strong against: Hydras, ghosts, colossi
Weak against: Air, zealots, tanks, immortals, ultras
Hydralisk:
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These are another solid unit with high dps, but have less hitpoints (similar to the real sc2). They are good against air and you use them like you would in sc2. They're very vulnerable to storm and cost 100 energy.
Strong against: Air, tanks, immortals
Weak against: Zealots, roaches, ghosts, colossi, ultras, storms
Strong against: Air, tanks, immortals
Weak against: Zealots, roaches, ghosts, colossi, ultras, storms
Ghosts:
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As the hydra's counterpart, ghosts do well against air and light biological units. They have the ability to use snipe, which uses up their own energy. Like the hydra, they also cost 100 energy and gets eaten up by storm. When it comes to pick between the ghost and the hydra against air, I would say ghosts against mutas because of snipe and hydras against banshees because of their better dps. However, both units deal with air effectively.
Strong against: Air, zealots, hydras
Weak against: Roaches, tanks, immortals, colossi, ultras, storms
Strong against: Air, zealots, hydras
Weak against: Roaches, tanks, immortals, colossi, ultras, storms
Mutalisk:
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As one of the two air units in the game, this guy can do a lot of damage if they go unchecked. Due to the glaive bounces, he can take out multiple units, making him ideal against grouped up targets, while banshees are better against single targets, like against one ultra or one colossus. Since the counters to the muta and banshee are the hydra and ghost, if you send some of these and then storm the counters, they will do very well. Costs 200 energy.
Strong against: Stuff that can't shoot back
Weak against: Stuff that can shoot back and storms
Strong against: Stuff that can't shoot back
Weak against: Stuff that can shoot back and storms
Banshee:
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Like the muta, this is a unit that flies and does a lot of dps. These are better against single targets, like colossi, ultras, and cannons. It costs 50 more energy than the muta, for a total of 250.
Strong against: Stuff that can't shoot back
Weak against: Stuff that can shoot back and storms
Strong against: Stuff that can't shoot back
Weak against: Stuff that can shoot back and storms
Tank:
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When StarJeweled first came out, people were declaring this and the immortal to be useless. I, however, disagree because it is the best unit for taking out cannons and making sure they don't do much damage to your units. Just 4 of these with support is enough to wreck through a couple lines of cannons. They have extremely long range, so they don't take as much damage and can eat up a storm as well as a roach. These are basically mobile tanks in siege mode.
Strong against: Roaches, ghosts, immortals, colossi, ultras, cannons
Weak against: Air, zealots, hydras
Strong against: Roaches, ghosts, immortals, colossi, ultras, cannons
Weak against: Air, zealots, hydras
Immortal:
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I find these to be less effective than tanks since they have a short range, but they can take more hits due to their hardened shields absorbing two attacks. They are still good against cannons but I find tanks to fill their role better. I can't find a reason to make these guys.
Strong against: Roaches, ghosts, colossi, cannons
Weak against: Air, zealots, hydras, tanks
Strong against: Roaches, ghosts, colossi, cannons
Weak against: Air, zealots, hydras, tanks
Colossus:
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Tied with the ultralisk as the most expensive unit, the colossus does splash damage in a line and has a long range. It roasts up anything with low hp in one or two hits. They are easily warp cell'd though, but thanks to its long range, it does not take much damage. It can also eat up multiple storms.
Strong against: Zealots, hydras, ghosts, storm
Weak against: Air, roaches, tanks, immortals, ultras
Strong against: Zealots, hydras, ghosts, storm
Weak against: Air, roaches, tanks, immortals, ultras
Ultralisk:
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Like the colossus, the ultralisk does splash damage and has a lot of health. Due to its short range, it is often the first unit focused down. It is also easily warp cell'd and can absorb multiple storms.
Strong against: Roaches, hydras, ghosts, colossi
Weak against: Air, zealots, tanks, immortals
Strong against: Roaches, hydras, ghosts, colossi
Weak against: Air, zealots, tanks, immortals
Spells
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Each spell is strong and can change the tide of the battle easily. Each has its own cost and should be used when it is more cost effective than sending units. This means not using storm on a marine only army since marines don't cost any energy.
Reset Board:
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Warp Cell:
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Time Bomb:
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Healing Wave:
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Psionic Storm:
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Reset Board:
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This is kind of a free ability you use, but it comes at the cost of energy lost while the board is resetting. I use this extremely sparingly, but sometimes the game tells you there are no more moves and you have to reset it. It has a cooldown of 15 seconds, and you should never ever have to wait for the cooldown in order to use it.
It becomes a matter of whether the board will speed you up or not. Use your own best judgment when you start seeing matches almost instantly.
On February 02 2011 02:18 Liquid`Tyler wrote:
I almost always have the most energy at the end of each match and I use reset board a couple times each round. Sometimes the board can get quite stale and only have 1-3 moves possible. A fresh board always has a ton of moves.
I almost always have the most energy at the end of each match and I use reset board a couple times each round. Sometimes the board can get quite stale and only have 1-3 moves possible. A fresh board always has a ton of moves.
It becomes a matter of whether the board will speed you up or not. Use your own best judgment when you start seeing matches almost instantly.
Warp Cell:
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This is similar to stasis from Brood War, which is why I call it that when I'm on Skype with my friend. It only costs 150 energy and nullifies a single unit, making it ideal against colossi and ultras, but make sure you have enough units to kill them while they're warp cell'd or else it will be a waste. I also use this on lone air units when I don't have any air to let my marines take care of it. This is also useful against a tank in the back that is shelling your units.
Time Bomb:
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This spell is extremely useful when your opponent has a group/line of units that is either attacking your defenses or preventing you from attacking theirs. It slows down the movement and attack speed by one half. Imagine if this ability was in game. It would be imbalanced. At only 200 energy, this spell is highly effective in multiple situations. I call this spell "bubble" because that's what it is. This is also super useful when you're almost at their base. Just put a time bomb at their spawn, reducing the effectiveness of their units right when they spawn.
Side note: You can use this spell for bming. When you're close to winning, save up 1000 energy and then draw a picture using 5 of these, preferable phallic shaped. Work with your teammate and you can make a smiley.
Side note: You can use this spell for bming. When you're close to winning, save up 1000 energy and then draw a picture using 5 of these, preferable phallic shaped. Work with your teammate and you can make a smiley.
Healing Wave:
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This is a relatively underused spell, but at only 250 energy, you can heal multiple units that are close to death. This is crucial when you have a colossus against a lot of chargelots and when your push is getting low on health. This is generally saved for big units, like tanks and ultras, though a cluster of banshees or mutas can benefit greatly as well.
Psionic Storm:
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Arguably the best spell in the game, this can really change the tide of the battle. It eats up most units, except for colossi and ultras. Never storm colossi and ultras. Never. It's not worth it. Just warp cell them. This spell is awesome against everything else, especially those expensive air units, just make sure to storm the dots underneath the units. Be careful though, it's high energy cost can quickly drain your reserves. It's a good idea to always be close to 300 energy so you can storm if you need to.
Strategies
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This covers some basic strategies I like to use. This game is new and I haven't had a chance to experiment much, but I have some effective tactics.
Openings:
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Mid Game:
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Late Game:
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Openings:
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The opening is basically a marine only battle while both players try to get energy as quickly as possible. Opening with a spell is dumb because nobody has invested any energy in units yet. I like ultralisk opening and then reinforcing because it gives time for the ultra to get in range. Roaches are also strong since they can tank. Speaking of tanks, tanks are good to start pounding on your opponents' cannons. I don't recommend air because they have low health and are taken out by cannons easily. Generally, just focus on getting energy quickly and also reacting to your opponent.
Another strategy is to have one person focus on making units and one person to focus on spells. You gain the most cost effectiveness out of the few units you have. This require lots of communication so you don't waste energy on your limited units.
Another strategy is to have one person focus on making units and one person to focus on spells. You gain the most cost effectiveness out of the few units you have. This require lots of communication so you don't waste energy on your limited units.
Mid Game:
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During the mid game, there are some strats I like to do. My favorite is tank ghost, which relies on the tanks being able to pound the cannons and take care of any ground, and the ghost to kill anything that counters the tank. All units that counter the tank is countered by ghosts. Having a colossus or two to kill chargelots is also beneficial. When you reach a nice mass of tanks, nothing will be able to defeat it. Even air will not be able to save their base.
Mid game is when spells start coming into play. Use them effectively to make your opponents waste energy trying to replenish their army.
Mid game is when spells start coming into play. Use them effectively to make your opponents waste energy trying to replenish their army.
Late Game:
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StarJeweled's late game differs from Starcraft 2's late game. Your income remains steady, and sometimes declines because you're too focused on the action. Tanks should be prevalent here because you want to do as much damage to your opponent while you are in their base. Don't be afraid to fall back and get energy instead of reinforcing a losing battle. Just make sure to communicate to your teammate when you're falling back.
Tips
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Just some general tips for StarJeweled that I have found that I hope will make you a lot better.
• Learn the hotkeys. Just like in Starcraft, hotkeys make everything a lot faster. Instead of using your mouse that should always be making matches, you can use the keyboard for everything else. The hotkeys are in a grid layout and don't take long to learn.
• To make lots of matches faster, especially at the beginning, I like to mentally divide the board in half and make matches by alternating sides. This way, while gems are falling on one side, you can make matches on the other side. It takes practice with looking for matches, which brings me to my next point.
• Practice. StarJeweled is all about pattern recognition and looking for the cascades. Even if you're not able to be on Starcraft, play Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook and try to keep the speed bonus for as long as possible. It's free and all computers and run it, so practice and get better with that.
• Communicate. I'm always on Skype with my friend so I can tell him what they enemies are making if he's not paying attention. It's also faster to coordinate what units to make so you function like one person.
• Macro and micro. Just like in Starcraft 2, you need to macro and micro simultaneously. You need to be able to play Bejeweled at a fast pace while keeping an eye on your opponents and use spells. It just takes practice and I've gotten better at it.
• Although there isn't a Energy/Minute stat at the end of the game, you can still roughly calculate it to see if you're getting better. Make sure you have the game timer on, and at the end, just divide your total energy by the number of minutes. You can get a rough estimate of how you did that game. I haven't calculated mine too much, but I got 1600 epm in a short game and 1300 epm in a longer game.
• Don't spend all of your energy at once. Even though in Starcraft you want to keep your money low, in StarJeweled, you want to have around 200-300 energy just in case you need to do a last-minute spell. A clutch heal or storm can work wonders.
• Learn the hotkeys. Just like in Starcraft, hotkeys make everything a lot faster. Instead of using your mouse that should always be making matches, you can use the keyboard for everything else. The hotkeys are in a grid layout and don't take long to learn.
• To make lots of matches faster, especially at the beginning, I like to mentally divide the board in half and make matches by alternating sides. This way, while gems are falling on one side, you can make matches on the other side. It takes practice with looking for matches, which brings me to my next point.
• Practice. StarJeweled is all about pattern recognition and looking for the cascades. Even if you're not able to be on Starcraft, play Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook and try to keep the speed bonus for as long as possible. It's free and all computers and run it, so practice and get better with that.
• Communicate. I'm always on Skype with my friend so I can tell him what they enemies are making if he's not paying attention. It's also faster to coordinate what units to make so you function like one person.
• Macro and micro. Just like in Starcraft 2, you need to macro and micro simultaneously. You need to be able to play Bejeweled at a fast pace while keeping an eye on your opponents and use spells. It just takes practice and I've gotten better at it.
• Although there isn't a Energy/Minute stat at the end of the game, you can still roughly calculate it to see if you're getting better. Make sure you have the game timer on, and at the end, just divide your total energy by the number of minutes. You can get a rough estimate of how you did that game. I haven't calculated mine too much, but I got 1600 epm in a short game and 1300 epm in a longer game.
• Don't spend all of your energy at once. Even though in Starcraft you want to keep your money low, in StarJeweled, you want to have around 200-300 energy just in case you need to do a last-minute spell. A clutch heal or storm can work wonders.
Conclusion
This is my most favorite thing to do on Starcraft 2 at the moment. I've been trying to get back into 1v1s (I'm 750 Diamond with 58% win rate), but I think I can put that on hold for this awesome game. I know that this guide doesn’t have much other than some basics, but as the game progresses, I will add stuff to it. If you have questions, comments, or tips of your own, just post below. Have fun StarJeweling it up!
and thanks OP for the guide. made me play the game before i went to uni today. (needless to say i stomped some nerds)
) But we are addict to Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. 
