EPTI'm curious if people have specific macro cycles, what they are, and how they adjust them. My hope is for this thread to develop a small list of basic cycles that cover more than just drones/probes/scvs, and some guidelines for adapting/adding to them. I play Zerg, so those are the cycles I'm most interested in, but obviously any race's cycle is desired and welcome.
[D] Macro Cycle List and Guidelines
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Cheshyr
United States78 Posts
I'm curious if people have specific macro cycles, what they are, and how they adjust them. My hope is for this thread to develop a small list of basic cycles that cover more than just drones/probes/scvs, and some guidelines for adapting/adding to them. I play Zerg, so those are the cycles I'm most interested in, but obviously any race's cycle is desired and welcome. | ||
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essencesc2
United States18 Posts
terran cycle: 1. follow build timings 2. scvs 3. units 4. count scvs on each cc / re-rally ccs 5. upgrades zerg cycle: 1. follow build timings 2. inject 3. units / drones 4. count drones on each hatch / re-rally hatches 5. creep 6. upgrades | ||
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Sianos
580 Posts
1. Build scvs 2. Build units 3. Build supply depots 4. Follow build 5. count scvs and rally ccs 6. upgrades 7. watch minimap | ||
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benthekid
United States132 Posts
1. follow build timings 2. scvs 3. units 4. count scvs on each cc / re-rally ccs 5. upgrades You forgot mules, Army movement and building static defense | ||
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Nuclease
United States1049 Posts
1. Warp gates 2. Probes 3. Pylons 4. Other production (robo, stargate, etc.) 5. Upgrades | ||
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Demonhunter04
1530 Posts
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Mavvie
Canada923 Posts
1) Drone count at each base 2) Progress of upgrades 3) Overlords derping around, not spread around the map And then I micro army until the next inject cycle, making units/overlords as needed. | ||
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Sianos
580 Posts
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HeeroFX
United States2704 Posts
On July 02 2012 01:44 Demonhunter04 wrote: Interesting. I don't follow a specific cycle, I just do whatever is almost done (queue units if they're almost done, get ready to continue upgrades, etc) Lol same here. I just keep in mind what i want to do and just do it. | ||
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Entirety
1423 Posts
1. Build SCVs 2. Built units 3. Supply Depot 4. MULEs (when is the last time I scouted my opponent? Sometimes save a MULE in favor of scan) 5. Check saturation + overall count of SCVs (60-80 is a good place to stop) 6. Check rally points 7. Upgrades 8. Check production facility ratio (not enough Barracks? that sort of thing) 9. Check add-on ratio (using recently scouted information, need more Marauders = more Tech Labs) 10. Do 1-4 again 11. Build more CCs/Turn existing ones into OCs/Build more upgrade buildings (Armories and whatnot) 12. Build Refineries/check Gas saturation/check Gas to Mineral ratio 13. Check tech (lay down Ghost Academy, etc.) 14. Check idle SCVs/misc. stuff (I didn't Supply Depot block my 3rd, etc.) 15. Rebind camera hotkeys Lategame macro cycle (short, used during battles) 1. Unit spam 2. Lay down a production facility | ||
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Servius_Fulvius
United States947 Posts
Inject Overlord Build Upgrade Creep (optional scout or move units) I stopped doing this in the early game because many of the actions are "built in" with all the repetition of learning my builds. As the late game progresses it becomes "inject, build, upgrade, expand (or static defense/replace drones)", but most of the time I'm managing battles and only have time to inject and check upgrades. I'm working on trying to fit the cycles into late game more efficiently. | ||
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shishy
United States115 Posts
Look at supply (See if I need to make depots) Check orbitals/CC/PF to make SCVS Check production on army units Check upgrades Then I go back to my Orbitals to check energy, and decide if I need to mule or save scans in case I am pushing (e.g. TvZ for creep or TvT/TvP for enemy positioning) Then I look at resources right after making units to see if I have extra that I can invest in Army, Tech, or Econ (Depending on what's appropriate). I constantly hotkey my army at the end and examine my map presence at this time before I repeat the cycle. When I am pushing or what not, I always push right after I make new units, not after they are done so I can push initially without worrying about macro immediately. When I need to macro during a push, I make sure I position myself so I don't get raped while I am doing something else. | ||
EsportsJohn
United States4883 Posts
1. build SCVs/MULES 2. build units (2 marines/1 marauder) 3. build supply depot 4. rally rax The first 3 are done watching the minimap as well as money. In general, I try to look at the minimap while building a building and look at my money/supply when building units. Practicing 2rax in a custom game will immensely help any terran player to understand and practice a macro cycle. I'm still trying to understand how to macro well at 10:00+, experimenting with different things. In general, my APM as terran drops off the edge after a certain point because I don't know what to do when I don't need to make supply depots or make SCVs, as dumb as that sounds. It's easier for zerg because you're ALWAYS doing the same actions the entire game. | ||
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rufflesQueso
100 Posts
*Pay very close attention to minimap while going through the cycle. 1. Check resources / supply 2. Build SCVs 3. Build Units 4. Upgrades 5. Allocate left over resources where needed 6. Cycle through CCs/OCs for saturation. After macro cycle: 1. Micro 2. Repeat macro cycle | ||
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Yoshi Kirishima
United States10383 Posts
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Kotreb
Croatia1392 Posts
On July 02 2012 02:00 HeeroFX wrote: Lol same here. I just keep in mind what i want to do and just do it. yeah, same here. i know what i want to do and just do it. | ||
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KingLumps
74 Posts
1. Probes 2. Units 3. Pylon(s) 4. Forges/other upgrades If I still have extra resources then more gates/production/expo | ||
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LiSAuCE
United States47 Posts
P - production I - income M - minimap p - pylons Breaking this down to: 1. probes 2. pylons 3. warpgates 4. robo/stargate 5. upgrades and tech(storm, charge) 7. observers (2-3, check up on them, move them around, see whats up) 6. expand? (y/n) Throw in check minimap every 2-3 steps. http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=203113 | ||
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Clarity_nl
Netherlands6826 Posts
On July 02 2012 01:44 Demonhunter04 wrote: Interesting. I don't follow a specific cycle, I just do whatever is almost done (queue units if they're almost done, get ready to continue upgrades, etc) I think the better way to look at it is: In what order do you check what needs doing? And if multiple things need doing, what do you do first? (they should be one and the same, but it's possible that they're not) If you can be conscious of this it'll help As for mine: Production (watch minimap) Overlords (watch minimap) Army movement Injects (watch minimap) Tech/gas etc Creep Overlord spread (watch minimap) Saturation check If too much is going on or I'm playing too slow, stuff at the bottom gets scrapped. Army movement includes scouting, burrowing lings at expansions, battles etc etc | ||
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Cheshyr
United States78 Posts
In all the following cases, keeping an eye on the Minimap was assumed. For Terran, it appears almost everyone starts with SCVs. Half the cycles didn't mention Mules, and none of those that did were consistent with each other. Some people check supply before SCVS, most after Units. The most general 'summary' of the cycles listed appears to be:
Protoss seems pretty consistent, although the top three appeared in 3 different permutations.
The Zerg lists were pretty sparse. This is likely because Zerg is a reactionary race, but you'd think it could benefit from some of the structure the other race's cycles show.
So that's the summary of the currently suggested cycles. What can we improve? | ||
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