EPT
I hope most of you are aware of that 
and a lot of us have taken the downtime to visit with family/friends or go outside and enjoy the summer weather....but where the fun in that? This is the perfect time to hone your skills by working on your Build Order or increase your APM, but don't worry even with no battle.net there are still plenty of ways to quench your thirst for training methods1.Custom Maps
Luckily even with Battle.net down we can still take advantage of the Starcraft 2 Custom Map Editor there are some great maps that can really assist you in training, so you can own those noobs when the Beta comes back up. I created a post with links to a lot of these maps so feel free to check them out from the link bellow.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=130114
2.Listen to the Day[9]Daily
Each day Mr.Plott graces us all with his amazingly informative Day[9]Daily. Anyone from Bronze to Diamond can learn a massive amount of information by listening to his analyses of various games. There are tales of players that merely looked into his eyes instantly enhanceing there APM and strategic skills. You can get to his Team Liquid Post by looking on the front page or following the link bellow.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=104154
Here is a quick list of some very helpful Daily's for players wishing to improve there game
Here is the Bisu vs Canata video he wants you to watch for Back to the Basics: The Mental Checklist
+ Show Spoiler +
3.Browse HD & Husky's YouTube Channel
HD & Husky have done a lot for Starcraft 2 from there high successful HDH invitational tournament to there regularly updated YouTube Channels. There Channels have tons of informative videos Pro Match-up Analysis, Custom Map Reviews, Pro Interviews and even tutorials for newer players and if you haven't already watch there HDH invitational there are some amazing games that took place during there epic tournament sponsored by Irip
.YouTube Channels
HDstarcraft
HuskyStarcraft
HDH Invitational Thread (With All Game VoD's)
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=118879
HuskyStarcraft Tutorials
- StarCraft 2 Tutorial - An Introduction to RTS - pt 1/2
- StarCraft 2 Tutorial - An Introduction to RTS - pt 2/2
- [Lets Learn StarCraft 2] - Gameplay Analysis 1 - TvZ - p 1/2
- [Lets Learn StarCraft 2] - Gameplay Analysis 1 - TvZ - p 2/2
4.Check out Team Liquids Beta Vacation!
TeamLiquid has organized a series of fun, community-oriented events to help keep everyone entertained during the Beta down time theres some cool stuff they have planned and a great opportunity to get to know your fellow gamers
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=130010
5.Play Starcraft Brood Wars or Warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne
When one great game is down play another? Playing Brood Wars is a great way to keep up with your Macro skills and stay familiar with your race
however playing The Frozen Throne can be a great way to get more familiar with some of the new features of Starcraft 2 like Control Groups and Health Bars especially if you were a hardcore Brood War player. If you don't already have one of these great games you can always buy them digitally from the blizzard store, or you know just go to Wal Mart 
Starcraft Anthology [$14.99]
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos [$19.99]
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne [$19.99]
6.Watch/Read/Listen Pro Interviews
A great way to learn something new about Starcraft 2 is to see the game from someone else's point of view and whose point of view would be better than a Starcraft 2 pro? I have some links to some great interviews from some of the top ProGamers in the Starcraft 2 scene.
The Android Bites
This is the personal portfolio of Patrick O'Neill with tons of pro interviews on a variety of topics focusing on Starcraft 2 a great site with tons of great reads.
http://androidbit.com/wordpress/
A great article from that site that everyone should check out is Micro Revisited which asks various pros what do you think of micro in Starcraft 2?
Micro Revisited
The Elitist
The Elitists is a Starcraft 2 interview show, bringing you the newsmakers and learning more about the greats and their insight into current events in the community.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=126248
Sen - DuskBin Electronic Sports
Ace interview from game.163.com
Idra Interviewed by Fragster.de
Interviews: IdrA, Artosis, MorroW
Artosis interview on readmore
Interview With Orb
iNcontrol interviewed on myMYM.com
7.Save up for Phoenix Training Camp
You can take the Downtime to work a few extra hours and what better way to spend that extra money you ask? Well how about on a trip to Phoniex Arizona to play Starcraft 2 for 4 days with some of the best American players around? Fun times indeed you can check out all the info from the link bellow but spots are limited so get to work!
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=124561
8.Anaylize your replays with Starcraft Gears
Starcraft Gears is an awesome program you can download to analyze your replay files without actually running them. Gears puts a lot of valuable information in easy to read charts which can give you a better insight of why you won or lost a match. Gears can also reorganize your replay files and do tons of other stuff I am sure I have no idea how to do.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=124689
9.Work on Mouse Precision with
In a recent Day[9]Daily Mr.Plott explained how playing Mine Sweeper could improve you Mouse Precision which will obviously improve your game and the best part? You can play it at work! Most of you have Minesweeper on your computer Start>Programs>Games>Mine Sweeper however if you cant find it or for some reason dont have it
your in luck like everything else in the world its on the internet.Update - Thanks to TzTz for suggesting Mission Red for Mouse Precision Training this game is super fun and will undoubtedly improve your Precision or break your wrist trying
http://www.missionred.com/games/reflexte.html
http://www.mine-sweeper.com/
10.Shop For New Gear to Improve Your Game
If all this other stuff doesn't keep your busy you can always shop for some new gear. Sure working on your build order for 4 hours can improve your game but sometimes doing something simple like getting rid of that shitty ball mouse can do the trick. Check out these high end Gaming Companies and drool over there overly expensive products......that we all buy >
.Razer (Keyboards, Mice, Headphones)
Steel Series (Keyboards, Mice, Headphones)
Astro (Headphones)
Logitech (Keyboards, Mice, Headphones)
Sennheiser (Headphones) [Thanks: dahornnn]
Blizzard (Tons of Starcraft Apparel)
Don't forget to check out Razer's newly announced line of Starcraft 2 peripherals.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=131223
Well there you have it 10 things to keep you busy while we wait for the Beta to pop up if I missed anything or you want something added to the list feel free to let me know on the comment section bellow. Thanks for reading everyone! Enjoy the Downtime
11.Play Badass Flash Games
Inori suggested some pretty badass flash games to help hone your Starcraft 2 skills while the beta is down my favorite out of the two he suggested is Multitask its tons of fun and gets you in the mind set you need to be in while playing Starcraft 2 you can find it here
http://www.kongregate.com/games/IcyLime/multitask
Another cool flash game he suggest was PoPoint 2 while not as fun as Multitask (in my opinion) others may think its great. You can check it out from the link bellow
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/games/play/1145/
-Shaggy
![[image loading]](http://solonsimmons.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/shaggy.jpg)
