[Q] What is the importance of stutter step?

TheLindyHop

United States51 Posts

July 29 2011 18:14 GMT

Hello, I just recently got into Diamond, not sure where I am in diamond, haven't played a lot of 1v1s this season yet.

Anywho, I play Zerg, and was wondering what is the advantage of stutter step with ranged units is? I see T and P do it all the time while attacking forward and around things, whereas I just stutter step to retreat.

Thanks =D

Noximous

United States29 Posts

July 29 2011 18:18 GMT

They are doing it to get their units in position for their next attack. There is a slight pause between all units' attack animations. Good players use this moment to reposition their armies. That's basically it.

mythandier

United States828 Posts

July 29 2011 18:20 GMT

Stutter step, shuffle step, shoot-n-scoot...etc. Has one major role and functions differently whether or not you're advancing or retreating. The major advantage of using this method of micro is that it allows the ranged units to cover ground while still dealing damage.

In the case of advancing stutter step it allows the user to fire at units and/or buildings while advancing to a more forward position or toward another target.

In the instance of retreat stutter step, if done properly, it allows the user to take as little damage from melee units as possible while still doing the maximum amount of damage in return.

The OP might have been better placed in the general forum though.

zhengsta

United States126 Posts

July 29 2011 18:21 GMT

shutter stepping is waaaay important when you're attacking into a narrow position (or up a ramp), or else 80% of your units are sitting back with their thumb in their asses unable to attack.

Saishuuheiki

United States188 Posts

July 29 2011 19:44 GMT

One thing I think they haven't mentioned is that it's more important for some units than others. The reason marines in particular use it a lot is their very short attack animation means they can move again nearly immediately after firing, which means they can keep most of their movement speed while stutter-stepping.

With zerg units, you (or at least I) probably won't use stutter step retreating. The roach's attack animation/turning is comparatively slow, so I'm not sure I've ever seen it used retreating except against zerglings or zealots. You won't be able to keep your distance from the enemy, but any distance you gain against melee is some time they have to spend moving and not attacking. Hydra movement is already kind of slow, so I never really use it, but that could be my mistake.

Attacking however, stutter step will help you quite a lot. Particularly with roaches where your range is lower than most enemy units. If you simply attack-move at the enemy, the roach will stop at its max range and shoot from there. Any roaches behind this roach will be unable to fire and will either have to move to the side of your attack-arc that forms or wait for a roach in front to die. Your enemy units, with their longer range, will all be able to attack your roaches because even the ones in back will be able to reach the close roaches, since they move up due to shorter range.

Yoshi Kirishima

United States10366 Posts

July 29 2011 19:56 GMT

The attack animation up until the attack actually starts is shorter than the cooldown, meaning between the time the attacks actually goes and the next time you can start to attack, you can move. So it's just being efficient.

EmilA

Denmark4618 Posts

July 29 2011 20:04 GMT

Minimizing number of zerglings in melee range and avoiding total surounds when fighting heads on or to maximize time in range (or number of shots you can get off while in range) while chasing.

TUski

United States1258 Posts

July 29 2011 21:04 GMT

Stutter step micro is probably only relevant in ZvP and ZvZ, where you ideally are chasing a retreating enemy army. Using your roaches, you can follow their army and pick off stragglers if you time it out perfectly.

Netherlands12045 Posts

July 29 2011 21:20 GMT

On July 30 2011 06:04 TUski wrote:
Stutter step micro is probably only relevant in ZvP and ZvZ, where you ideally are chasing a retreating enemy army. Using your roaches, you can follow their army and pick off stragglers if you time it out perfectly.

actually it applies to all match up:
PvZ stalkers vs slow roach
ZvZ ZvP ZvT speed roach vs anything slower queens vs air units
PvT TvP stalkers vs marines, MM vs zealot based army
TvZ: marines vs banelings off creep

PvP: stalkers vs zealots
TvT: MMM vs everything

you can find shutter step in BW, war3, sc2. Its everywhere

. Even in DotA they called it "animation canceling" to get extra hits of a hero.

chaopow

United States556 Posts

July 29 2011 21:21 GMT

#10

Its mostly used vs melee units. There is a cooldown for every ranged attack, and if you stutter step correctly, you can attack with the same dps while repositioning your army so it doesn't get surrounded.

There is a marine stutter step practice map that qxc made that may help you understand it. The goal is to attack a moving unit and do the same damage to it as a computer unit attacking a stationary building. If everything is stutter stepped correctly, the damage should be the same between the moving unit and the building.

Kal_rA1

160 Posts

July 29 2011 21:25 GMT

#11

you could attack, or you could run away... stutter step essentially allows for both

Horst

338 Posts

July 29 2011 21:33 GMT

#12

ZvP, stutter stepping hydras against chargelots makes a LOT of difference on creep.

whoopingchow

United States293 Posts

July 29 2011 21:48 GMT

#13

A really basic example is for example, Marines vs. scouting probe/drone/SCV. If you just click attack, the marine will shoot until it's out of range, and then chase it. If you stutter step micro your marine, you end up continuously attacking while staying in range. The same same concept can be applied for attacking retreating units, positioning, kiting etc.

yngwie

2 Posts

July 29 2011 22:29 GMT

#14

On July 30 2011 06:20 NB wrote:

Show nested quote +

PvP: stalkers vs zealots
TvT: MMM vs everything

you can find shutter step in BW, war3, sc2. Its everywhere

. Even in DotA they called it "animation canceling" to get extra hits of a hero.

not only rts
IE quarter step in guild wars
also called - you guessed it - stutter step

Soluhwin

United States1287 Posts

July 29 2011 22:38 GMT

#15

I think what others haven't touched on is how studder step gives an advantageous spot for lower attack speed units. For example:
Marines vs slow lings: marines have an attack speed of .83 compared to a ling's .7, but when studder stepping the lings can only attack the marines when the marines are attacking, so it effectively slows the ling's attack speed down to .83
Same for stalkers vs. marines: A stalker can take advantage of its faster speed and higher range to make up for its attack delay, generating the same results as the ling vs. marine scenario. The marine's attack speed gets slowed to be the same as the stalker's

TERRANLOL

United States626 Posts

July 29 2011 22:41 GMT

#16

On July 30 2011 03:14 TheLindyHop wrote:
Hello, I just recently got into Diamond, not sure where I am in diamond, haven't played a lot of 1v1s this season yet.

Anywho, I play Zerg, and was wondering what is the advantage of stutter step with ranged units is? I see T and P do it all the time while attacking forward and around things, whereas I just stutter step to retreat.

Thanks =D

A lot of times you can run into a situation where zerglings catch your ball of marines out in the open... so you know you need to get into a better position and if there is one nearby, you can stutterstep into it. Of course this means that instead of just running to that position you shoot and run there.

SkaPunk

United States471 Posts

July 29 2011 22:42 GMT

#17

yeah when you stutter step away, you minimize damage from melee units or shorter range units ex. MMM vs gateway units, Stalkers vs marines, lings, zealots. the shorter range higher dps units cant hit use as much as theyd like while you deal your maximum damage, therefor optimizing your units completely. Conversely, if you have shorter range units with higher dps, see stimmed rines vs stalkers or roaches vs stalkers, you want to stutter step into them so all of your units are shooting 100 percent of the time, because if you dont, only some of your units are shooting while the longer ranged units get a natural concave, with higher dps, because more of them are shooting.

ZeromuS

Canada13405 Posts

July 29 2011 22:47 GMT

#18

For you any immiediate advantages include making sure your Roaches "Hug" any protoss units whenever you engae. You would issue a move command followed by an attack command then before the attack cooldown ends you can move a little bit and if you use the attack command again they will attack. Instead of standing there shooting the roaches will close in on for example stalkers, making sure more roaches can hit the stalkers. This increases the efficiency of your units by making sure a) all units are hitting as best they can and b) ensuring the time they spend waiting to spit again is spent usefully

Xahhk

Canada540 Posts

July 29 2011 22:49 GMT

#19

People do it offensively so that you can move into position but still be attacking all along the path. This is much better than right clicking to get close to the enemy but doing zero dps.

skirmisheR

Sweden451 Posts

July 29 2011 22:49 GMT

#20

Stutter step isn't THAT important for zerg because of the attack animations and because they have a lot of melee units. You can stutter step with roaches pretty good which is important (especially against protoss while attacking), hydras are a bit harder but I would advise you to try it out and see if it works for you!

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[Q] What is the importance of stutter step?

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