EPTI've made a new video about scouting in Starcraft 2 which is updated for LOTV content. I'll also include the transcript below this time for those who prefer to read!
Hope you enjoy.
Your opponent, and where to find them.
Introduction:
If you watch a streamer or if you ask a buddy why you lost a game a common response will be, “oh you should have scouted”. What does that even mean, scout what, which base, where?
Ok, so I think to understand what scouting really is we need to understand what its goals are. We can break down scouting goals into two sections, early and late game. Scouting in the early game primarily revolves around checking if your opponent is going to be aggressive. Is Terran going Banshees? Is Protoss going Oracles? Is Zerg doing a Roach Ravager rush? Scouting late game is about knowing where your opponent's army is and its composition, as well as their harassment forces and their expansions.
Early Game How:
Goals:
- Find out your opponent's opening strategy.
- Decide if you want to be aggressive or defensive.
- Scout your opponent's unit composition and position.
In the early game every race has mobile units which can be used to scout their opponent. Workers, Reapers, Zerglings, and Adepts. The goal of these units is to firstly see exactly what our opponent is doing, to try to counter it and secondly try to delay our opponent through harass, just make sure to scout first, harass isn’t worth anything if you die to Dark Templar two minutes later.
Now that you’ve scouted you can play defensively versus what your opponent is doing or aggressively if you think that they could be weak to the build you’re doing. As you tech up you have access to flying units which are more easily able to obtain a scout of your opponent's units. Using these units to harass will mean that your opponent will have to reveal his unit composition to you when he defends. If however you see no units it usually means that your opponent is already sending an attack to your base. If your scout fails you should always follow it up with an addition scout if possible whether it be another overlord, an observer, or a scan. The most important thing in the early game, is to know what your opponent is doing.
At high levels of game-play, scouting is often done at specific time periods, usually when you think your opponent is building their advanced structures. You can find these timings by looking at your replays, or asking players.
Early Game Why:
Goals:
- Macro well and remain composed.
- Make sure our units aren’t going to be countered directly.
- Defend any aggressive builds efficiently.
Awesome so now that we know how to get information let’s look at why it’s important. If we be honest for a moment, most of us know how it feels when we have no idea what our opponent is up to. We worry that any second we could have Dark Templar in our base or a Nydus seconds away from completion somewhere hidden in the corner. KNOWING what our opponent is up to removes all of these worries and allows us to remain composed and macro to the best of our ability.
Scouting also allows us to make sure that the units that we are building are not going to be directly countered by our opponents unit choice. It goes without saying that figuring out what our opponent is doing, especially a cheesy build, can literally win us the game, we are able to build the correct defenses at the correct time and move our army into a good position before our opponent attacks.
Late Game How:
Goals:
- Have cheap map control.
- Know the positioning and composition of our opponents army.
- Know the status of every expansion location.
Ok so we’ve made it to the late game, this is the point where we switch our scouting focus from our opponents structures to their army. The scouting units for Zerg and Terran also change to the most common, cheap army units, usually marines and Zerglings. Scouting from this point becomes more of a dance, both players should be trying to fight for control of the map by sending out single units at a time, the goal of these units is to cheaply scout where your opponent's army is and to try to set up a good position for your army so that your opponent is forced to make an attack that may not be favorable for them. You can also send scouting units to the possible expansion locations for your opponent. If you spot an expansion and you know where your opponent's army is you can easily send a small force to take it out or move your army in that direction.
Late Game Why:
Goals:
- To position our army favorably.
- Know in advance about any harassment forces.
- Know when to attack and when to defend.
Now, I’m going to reiterate, the most important thing in the late game is to know where your opponent's army is at all times if possible. Scouting a push of your opponent allows you to set up your army in advanced in the location they are moving towards. Not scouting leads usually leads to your opponent having the advantage and often times winning the game. Constant scouting of an opponent's army usually lets you know when they send out a harassment force in advance as well. If you have been scouting it should be easy to figure out what composition your opponent is going for. Try to add units that are strong against theirs to your own. If you see that perhaps your opponent is getting too many expensive units and upgrades you may be able to attack in and win straight away. Or alternatively if you see they are only getting cheap units and no upgrades you may want to set up in a defensive position and prepare for an attack. By scouting you can see if your opponent is over committing to defending harass, and it may give you an opportunity to set up a good attacking position.
Conclusion:
Scouting is not simply a check-box we tick once per game, it requires constant management to do well. Scouting is information, information on your opponent’s strategy and position. It allows us to make calculated decisions on what to do next, rather than just attack somewhere and hope for the best. If you slowly incorporate more scouting into your macro games you will find more success I guarantee it.
Appreciate any thoughts or comments! Cheers.
