Starcraft 2 Guide
APM and HotKeys
In Starcraft 2, actions per minute, or APM, is a measure of how many actions a person takes in a minute. APM includes actions such as moving units, attacking, and using abilities. It does not include selecting units.
In this Starcraft 2 actions per minute guide, I will be revealing a blueprint for how you can learn to improve your APM in an effective and meaningful way.
Why would you want to improve your APM? Well, the main reason you would want to improve your APM is because the best players always have a high APM.
In Starcraft 2, actions per minute are direct measure of how well you navigate the interface, the ease at which you can command your army, and ultimately your ability to execute strategies in battle. All of these things serve two purposes: they save you time and increase the value of each unit.
When a person's APM is better than their opponent's, the higher APM player can up their economy faster than their opponent. Additionally, the high APM player will have better micro, allowing them to win battles with a slightly smaller army. Of course, APM alone will not make up for building nothing but Zerglings when your enemy is a Terran player with Hellions.
With that said, if you took two players, both of whom had the exact same skill set and ability level, then increased one player's APM, the high APM player would win nearly every game.
Increasing your Starcraft 2 actions per minute can only help, so here is a guide for that exact purpose! I have broken down the sections into beginner, intermediate, and advanced strategies.

Effective APM vs APM
In order to artificially inflate APM ratings, many players took to repeatedly performing pointless actions in their downtime to artificially inflate their APM number. Since this is a waste of time and annoying, Blizzard has introduced a new rating, effective APM (eAPM for short).
This value attempts to measure the amount of "effective" actions a player has, so simply spam clicking does not always boost eAPM. While this calculation is not always extremely accurate, it is more indicative of skill than the old APM rating.

But What If I'm Just Not "Twitchy" Enough?
One of the most ridiculous excuses for having a low APM is the belief that you lack the innate capacity to reach a high eAPM. The best pros in the world have true eAPMs of 200, spiking to 300+ during micro battles as players manage dual or triple-pronged attacks or multiple sets of spellcasters. New players often see these APM readings and think to themselves.. "I'll never be able to move my fingers that quickly"!
This of course is a false notion. After all, when you type 30 words per minute (WPM), at 6 characters per word (including spaces), you are actually performing at an eAPM of 180!
By all accounts 30 words per minute is very slow to the average aged Starcraft 2 player. A more respectable typing speed for an average PC user is 60 WPM, or about 360 eAPM. As a result, if you are a decent typist, the idea that you cannot move your fingers as fast as a Pro Starcraft 2 player is simply wrong.
The two keys to a high Starcraft 2 eAPM are the same as typing quickly:
•	Knowing all the keyboard-based commands available in Starcraft 2. This is akin to learning the home keys when it comes to typing.
•	Knowing what you are going to do ahead of time before you actually do it.
Below, we will cover both of these aspects in detail.

Step 1: Hotkeys & Unit Groups: The Basics of Fast APM
In order to be a fast typist, you need to memorize the location of all the keys on the QWERTY keyboard. It may be awhile since you learned how to type, but do you remember the process? At first, you were not a very good typist. Maybe you took a class or maybe you just picked it up on your own, but slowly but surely, you started to remember the positions of more keys, and with practice, you began to type faster and faster.
This is the same process that is involved in Starcraft 2. There is no trickery or elite talent associated with having a high eAPM in Starcraft 2, it just takes practice. The first step is to learn all the hotkeys and to always use unit groups.
Hotkeys refers to the keyboard shortcuts for various actions in game, such as training units, constructing buildings, or attacking enemy units. In order to boost your Starcraft 2 APM, you will have to get good at using these, and by good I mean use them exclusively. You also need to become very good at using hotkeys to shift the camera around.
Mouse movements need to be used to control your units and aim your spells and select the location of structures as a primary function. As a secondary function, the mouse can help control the camera. You cannot click anything that you can use a hotkey for, as doing so will impede your ability to control your units.
The easiest way to learn how to use hotkeys is to always use them. Whenever you do not know a hotkey, mouse over the action you want to take, read the letter, and then press the key on your keyboard (the letter for the hotkey is mentioned on the tooltip), even if taking the time to find the hotkey slows you down. If you always click something, you will never learn the hotkey.
You will want to learn every hotkey. You should know that "H" is for hold position, that "S" is for Supply Depot, and that "S" and "D" is for making Drone. Hotkeys speed up your Starcraft 2 Actions Per Minute immensely. Using the keyboard to train units, build structures, and initiate commands gives you plenty of time to use your mouse for unit control.
Unit Groups refers to assigning your units to a hotkey. By selecting a group of units (or a single unit), you can then hit the CTRL key + any number to assign that group of units to a number. That way, if you press that number, you will automatically have selected that group of units.
You want to assign each type of unit to its own unit group. Individual unit groups will help you control specialist units and use spells. As an example, good players will macro their Sentries to their own group, select them, and use hotkeys to pop Guardian Shield and lay down a ton of Force Fields very quickly.
As an alternative, you can tab through casters in a single unit group by using the "Tab" key. If you have a group of Sentries and High Templar in the same group, you can tab between the two by pressing the "Tab" key, allowing you to cast the abilities of multiple unit types without needing to change unit groups.
However, the Tab key does not provide the advantage of allowing you to better control the movement of specific unit groups. For example, if your Colossi push too far forward, you will want a unit group to pull them back behind your other ground forces so they stay safe.
I also like to put my entire offensive force in a unit group. It makes it faster to pull your entire army back if you feel the need to retreat. I also like to group a Probe/SCV to a unit group as it saves some time when building new things.
I am sure you can see how unit groups can boost your Starcraft 2 actions per minute.
As a beginner, you should focus on mastering hot keys and unit groups as soon as you possibly can. It will be impossible to rank up and get into the top leagues without these skills.
When you are playing in online play, by the time you get to the Silver League, most players are using most of the hot keys and at least some unit groups. To differentiate yourself and further improve your APM, you will have to learn some new skills.

Step #2: Navigation Hotkeys, Rally Points, and Building Groups
I think that once you master unit groups and basic hotkeys, you can then save the most time by improving the way you navigate the map via navigation hotkeys, rally points, and building groups.
Navigation Hotkeys
Navigation hotkeys are just as the name states - hotkeys which allow the player to improve the way he navigates around the map. Dragging the mouse or clicking the mini-map is not always the fastest way to get around. Here are some important ones:
Spacebar - Whenever an event happens, such as a new unit has been produced, research has completed, a building has been constructed, or your forces attacked, you can hit the spacebar to instantly move your screen to that location. This hotkey is awful - avoid it! The problem is that the most inconsequential events like a unit being produced or a Creep Tumor finishing will take priority over major events like a drop in your base.
Shift and CTRL - when selecting units, hitting the CTRL key and then clicking a unit selects all units in the area. Hitting the shift key and then clicking a unit adds that single unit to your currently selected units. Holding down both and clicking a unit adds all the units of that type in that area to your currently selected units. This is useful when adding new units to unit groups.
Pressing any unit group twice - If you have units bound to a number, you can hit that number twice (quickly) and your screen will automatically move to that unit group. Very helpful for moving the camera between your base and your army.
F1 - This automatically selects worker units that are currently inactive. You can even hit CTRL + F1 to select all inactive workers.

Rally Points
While even newbie players use rally points, I do not think that most of them use them correctly as to boost APM and improve their level of play. Here are the best ways to use rally points:
Harvesters - Any good player knows that you can rally harvesters to mineral or gas nodes. This way, when they come out of the Nexus, they automatically start harvesting. This gives you the freedom to start producing a harvester and then focusing your attention on other parts of the game.
Troops - Rallying troops can be used to make units automatically guard expansions when they are produced as well as simply move units out of a cluttered base. If you are training units in a Barracks that is part of a wall, you can rally your units behind the wall to ensure that units come out the back side of the Barracks rather than on the bad side of the wall.
Note that troops which are rallying will not attack. Be sure to turn off rallying if you are currently under attack and waiting for a unit to come out.
You can rally a consistent stream of reinforcements in a battle by setting the rally point one of your offensive units. You can actually select a building (or group of buildings), then right click on one of your units. Newly produced units will then automatically rally to that selected unit, no matter where that unit goes on the map.
The major downside to rallying to a specific unit is that if that unit dies, the rally point is cancelled. You can get around this by holding shift and right clicking on a lot of your offensive units. When the unit you clicked on first dies, the rally point will automatically default to the second unit you clicked on, and so on.

Building Groups
Building groups refers to the practice of binding your major buildings to unit groups. You should bind any unit-producing building to your unit groups. This can boost your Starcraft 2 APM significantly. Here are the buildings you want to bind to groups:
Main Base - You can bind your Nexus, Command Center, or Hatchery to unit groups. Set the rally point for harvesters to the mineral nodes when you are on offensive.
This way, you can continue to train harvesters while you are harassing the enemy, without even looking at your base! Simply hit the number that the Command Center is bound to, hit "S" for SCV, and when the rally is set, that SCV will automatically start harvesting minerals. You can do this all while not looking at your base and harassing the enemy with Reapers!
Another great tip is that you can then hit this hotkey twice in order to move the camera back to your base quickly.
Unit Producing Buildings - Binding Warp Gates, Barracks, and other buildings to hotkeys is also a good idea. This way, if you are attacking the enemy, you can train units without looking at your base. You can set the rally point to the front line so the units automatically come up and join you in battle as well.
Binding Warp Gates in particular is key, because you can drop a Pylon near the enemy's base, then warp in units very quickly to this Pylon and send them in.
If you are currently not using these two strategies and are moving the camera back to your base to train workers and units, learning how to use these two methods will save you immense amounts of time.

Advanced APM Guide - Predicting Future Moves
Now I know about half of the players reading this guide already use hotkeys (or at least most of the hotkeys) along with unit groups, but still do not have an APM nearly as high as a professional player. Learning and using these principles will increase your APM, but there certainly more to having an extremely high APM than just knowing hotkeys and unit groups.
So what is the difference between pros with very high APMs and average players who know the hotkeys but lack a high APM?
Interestingly enough, we get our answer from looking at typists. Some people can type 60 WPM, whereas others can type 150+ WPM. Both are using the same keyboards, typing the same words, and using the same QWERTY system.
The difference between average typists and fast typists is not a better mastery of the keyboard itself but rather a difference in projecting future actions. To clarify, when typing up a pre-written sentence, the very fast typist is reading much further ahead in the sentence than they are actually typing - five or more words even, while the slower typists only look 1-2 words ahead. The fastest typists are thinking about what words they will be typing a few seconds into the future, while slower typists are looking at the words they are typing that very second.
Imagine typing up something you have already typed many times before. Type the same sentence for example 10 times in a row. With each repetition, you will get much better at typing up that sentence. Your WPM will skyrocket. Did you get better at using the keyboard? Of course not. Instead, you are able to project further and further ahead in the sentence, allowing faster and faster typing.
In Starcraft 2, the "sentence" you can repeat is your build order. This is the part that most Starcraft 2 players do not "get". Pro-level players are practicing the same builds over and over again. They know what building and unit come next, and they have practiced this many times. This allows pros to think of their actions a few seconds before they actually do them, whereas slower players do not have this luxury, as they have no idea what they are doing next!
Of course, you also have to examine how not knowing what happens next can work against you. To continue with the typing example, what happens when you are typing and do not know how to spell a word? Major slowdown! You might have to stop typing altogether for a few moments, sitting there to think about how to spell the word. Even if you ignore the spelled word and plan to look it up later, that error will nag at you in the corner of your brain, reducing your ability to concentrate on the task at hand.
It is no different in Starcraft 2 when you are unsure of what unit, structure, or research to get next. Every time you have to stop and "think about it", your eAPM is falling rapidly while your brain figures out what to do next.

Conclusion
Starcraft 2 APM is something that does take practice to master, but you can definitely speed up the time it takes to get great APM through steady application. The first steps are to learn all the hotkeys, use unit groups, rally points, use production hotkeys to macro reinforcements, and learn to move the camera with the keyboard.
Once you have mastered the basics, practice similar tactics and builds repeatedly in game after game. The more comfortable you get with a particular build, the better you can predict what you are going to do next. This is key to great eAPM.




Races:
Today, I am covering what is potentially the #1 thing you can do to ensure your long-term success on battle.net, and that is choosing the right race for your playstyle. Most people tend to pick the race they think looks coolest, or they decide is the most powerful, but in actuality, all of the races are fairly balanced yet quite different.  By picking the race that suits your brain and personality the best, you can significantly improve your number of wins in online play!

To assume that one race is the best for all players is a bit short-sighted. Each race has its own strengths and weaknesses that you should evaluate carefully before making a single race your "main" race. It all comes down to macro and micro, two terms which you have probably heard by now. If you are unfamiliar with these terms, here is what they mean:

- Macro refers to large scale actions: managing multiple bases, controlling dozens of units, and coordinating large-scale battles are all considered "macroing".

- Micro refers to using a few units very carefully. Using 3 Reapers to kite enemy Zealots and slowly pick off the enemy's Probes one by one is considered micro.

Now, the reason this is so important is that because for some reason, most players (even low ranked ones) are very good at either micro or macro, but rarely both. Think about what you do best. Are you the one who makes a fool of the enemy with a handful of units and is able to carefully pull away near-dead units, allowing them to live another day? If this describes you, then you prefer microing. Or, are you the player who likes to build 3 bases, 6 Gateways, and mass produce units? If you prefer this playstyle, you are best at macroing. Fortunately for us, it seems that each race best suited to a certain type of player.

If you like to macro, then the Zerg should be your race of choice. They excel at producing mass quantities of units and operate best off multiple bases. If you are a fantastic microer, you would be better off with another race.

If you like to micro, then the Protoss should be your race of choice. The Protoss are micro-heavy and you need to be able to elegantly control the Sentry's Force Field ability in battle if you want to be a serious Diamond-league player.

If you do not have a preference and are equally good (but do not excel at either) types of play, then you should pick Terran. Terran have some microing units, like the Reaper, Ghost, and Viking, but also have a lot of macro combinations like Marines and Marauders or Tanks and Thors. Picking Terran allows you to optimize both of your skill-sets.

Now, many of you may have a preferred race. That's perfectly fine - but at this stage in the game, you should not force yourself into a class that does not suit the way your brain is wired!

Personally, my favorite class was Protoss, and I hated the Zerg. I played as random to learn all of the races and write my guide, but as I soon found out, I won all the time as Zerg and lost frequently as Protoss. When I switched to playing Zerg full time, I shot up to the top of the Diamond league. It turns out that I am terrible at micro, but excel at macro. It is no surprise I was able to win a lot more games when I switched over to Zerg. Take a look at your games and notice whether you excel at micro or macro, and switch to the appropriate race. Once you learn the ropes, your rankings are sure to go up!

Scouting:
Today's topic will be scouting. Players always say how important it is to scout, but in reality most of these players do not even know what they are looking for! That's the thing - scouting is completely just about completely worthless unless you know what exactly you are looking for.  In 1v1 matches, you need to scout early in order to detect what is known as "cheese".  "Cheese" refers to gimmicky strategies that will not work if you find out the enemy is doing them. It is short for "I smell cheese"...  As soon as you scout it, you know what it is and how to counter it. Be sure to scout by your 8th or 9th worker in 1v1 match-ups. When playing versus Protoss players, be sure to check the inside of your own base for pylons. After checking your own base, check the enemy's base. Versus Terran players, you may need to send your scout by the 9th supply, to get in before the wall goes up. Once inside, you are need to know what you are looking for. First and foremost, if you get inside the enemy's base and see nothing, start checking for cheese. If the enemy has nothing, he is most likely building either inside or outside of your base with a proxy pylon or Barracks. Be sure to defend your base quickly if this is the case and then launch an early counter- attack. If it is a Zerg player, check for an early expansion (since Zerg players can't proxy).  If everything seems "normal", there are a couple of things that you can be looking for, and we will break this down race by race.

When playing Protoss players, you are looking for the number of Gateways, the presence of an Assimilator and/or a Cybernetics Core. If you see multiple Gateways pop up before an Assimilator or Cybernetics Core, expect a Zealot rush and prepare for one. The great thing about playing Protoss players is that you can scout until they get an advanced unit. Harvesters (SCVs, Drones, and Probes) move faster than Zealots. Make your SCV (or equivalent) patrol in a square shape (hold shift and then select multiple points in a circular/square shape). Now, your harvester will permanently move in a circle until it is killed (which won't happen until they get something other than Zealots). Meanwhile, if you see a single Gateway and then a Cybernetics Core go up, you can be sure that a Zealot rush is not imminent. This player is teching. Now, the next thing you are looking for is the number of Assimilators. If you see two Assimilators pop up, you can be sure that this player is going for a gas- intensive unit such as air or machinery. If you see 3 total Gateways go up, prepare for a early-mid game push with Zealots, Stalkers, and Sentries.

When playing against Zerg players, you are looking for how early the Spawning Pool goes up. If it does not go up until supply #14 or later, expect the Zerg player to go for an early expansion (which will make them vunerable to a rush). If the Spawning Pool goes up at 10 or earlier, expect to be hit with a lot of Zerglings and prepare accordingly. The key is if the player builds a Spawning Pool between 10 supplies and 15 supplies. What you are looking for at this point is the number of extractors. If one extractor goes up, expect either speedlings, Roaches, or both. If two extractors go up quickly, be careful of a fast tech to a Lair and then Mutalisks. An early second extractor (before you see any Zerglings) is a hallmark sign of a fast tech. Delaying a second extractor means the player does not think he needs much gas and is getting Zerglings with the speed upgrade.

When playing against Terran players, you are monitoring the activity of the Command Center, the number of
Barracks and the number of Refineries. Now, if you get to the Terran players base and see practically nothing, be careful of a Barracks building Reapers or Marines near your base, especially if you see an extraordinarily early refinery (the refinery will be almost done by the time you get there). If the Command Center goes quiet before 15/19 supplies, you should also be expecting a rush or cheese. SCVs should are always produced until 15/19 unless some sort of unusual strategy is in the weeks. If you see very early gas, expect Reapers, a Banshee rush, or simply a fast tech to the Factory. If a player builds multiple Barracks, expect infantry, and possibly an early push with Marauders and Marines. Players with a single Barracks and lots of SCVs tend
to be teching towards a mech build.

Now that you have this information in hand, be sure to scout and use this information to act accordingly. There is no point in scouting if you do not actually know what you are looking for or do anything with the information!

Picking the Right Upgrades:
Today I am going to discuss one little-known and frequently underused strategies in Starcraft 2: picking the right unit upgrades. This simple mistake can actually cost you a lot of games and you would be surprised how many players are actually making it! After all, by default only 20% of the player-base gets to be in the Diamond League!

What I am referring to is picking the right upgrades, both armor, weapon, and research upgrades. It turns out that depending on which race you are playing, your upgrades should change on a game- by-game basis. For example, did you know that it takes 3 attacks for a Zealot to kill a Zergling, but if the Zealot has a +1 weapons upgrade, a Zealot kills a Zergling in 2 hits? A Zealot normally deals 16 damage a swing, and a Zergling has 35 health. After two swings, a Zealot would normally deal 32damage. This is not enough to kill the Zergling. However, with +1 to weapons, Zealots deal 18damage a swing and will end up dealing 36 damage and killing the Zergling in two hits! This is like a 50% damage upgrade for your Zealot.

Likewise, a Zerg player could upgrade Zerg armor and allow his Zergling to survive once again for 3 hits versus a Zealot.  There are a few specific instances of this. Here
are some notable examples:

- A Siege tank in Siege Mode with +2 weapons will kill a Hydralisk 2 hits. This allows a two Siege Tanks to hold to defend a base from nearly any Zerg ground-based invasion force.

- A Hellion with the Pre-Ignitor upgrade will begin to kill Drones and Probes in 2 hits.

- A Reaper or Ghost with +1 weapon will kill Drones and Probes in 2 hits.

- A Thor with +1 ground weapons will kill a Roach in 2 hits (as opposed to 3).

In all these examples, getting +1 weapon makes a huge difference to the actual amount of kills a unit will get without actually changing its damage too much.  There are quite a few examples of this. Take notice in game of what you have and what your enemy has and see if an upgrade would or would not be of benefit for you.

Here are some general rules of thumb:

- Zerg should always focus on carapace upgrades for ground units. This will give more flexibility if you want or need to switch between Hydralisks, Roaches, Zerglings, and/or Ultralisks. Upgrading each weapon independently is not a great use of money.

- Protoss should almost always go for +ground weapons. Most of their units seem to benefit immensely from this, and unless you are going for Void Rays, you will probably use ground as a Protoss. Additionally, +ground weapons adds bonus damage to a ton of units: Zealots, Stalkers, Sentries, Immortals and Colossi. A single upgrade rarely benefits so many units.

- Terran players will almost always want to opt for +vehicle weaponry as these units seem to benefit immensely. +5 damage to the Siege Tank's and +6 damage to the Thor's ground attack is a big damage upgrade. If you are using infantry as a Terran player, I almost always opt for +weapons. This will allow you not be negatively penalized for fighting very high-armor targets like Ultralisks.

You should also look at other types of upgrades. For example, in the original Starcraft, Psionic Storm was one of the most powerful abilities in the entire game. In Starcraft 2, it is not as powerful, and in order to get this ability, you will need to build a Templar Archives, a High Templar, and research Psionic Storm. This is a large investment and this same amount of resources would be better off spent adding another 5 Sentries and 3 Zealots to your army. Try to stay away from any unit-specific research unless you plan on making a lot of use out of that one unit. Also, be sure to consider the cost of the building that you are doing the research at. If you are pulling off a Void Ray rush, don't think of the Void Ray +speed upgrade as costing 150 minerals and 150 vespene gas. You need to consider the cost of the Fleet Beacon you will also need to build in order to research this technology. This is an additional 300 minerals and 200 vespene gas, which is very expensive! You could buy 2 more Void Rays for the cost of  the building and upgrade. If you are rushing, more Void Rays is likely to be better than +speed for a few Void Rays.

Building the Perfect Army:
In Starcraft 2, having the biggest army is not good enough if you are planning on ever getting into the Diamond leagues. You not only need a large army, but it needs to be composed of the right units. You have two options for this:
 1. You can build a balanced army of units that complement each other well.
 2. You can scout your opponent and build units that counter what he is doing.

Option #1 is fairly easy to do, since you can follow since you can learn the same build order and follow it every time. Terran has a lot of balanced builds which is why it is such an easy race to play.
 Here are some common builds for Terran:
 - Marines, Marauders, Medivacs, and Vikings:
 Marines kill light ground and air units, Marauders kill heavy ground units, and Vikings kill heavy air units. This is a balanced army as all your bases are covered.
 - Hellions, Thors, and Siege Tanks
 This is another balanced army as Hellions kill light ground units, Thors kill air units, and Siege Tanks are great versus armored ground units. SCVs can and should be used to repair Siege Tanks and Thors on the battlefield.
 For Protoss, you can use the following combination:
 - Zealots, Sentries, Immortals, and Colossi
 This is a very common set-up as Immortals destroy heavy ground units and Colossi melt light ground units. Your Zealots serve as tanks for your heavy armored units, and your Sentries can corral the enemy's army with Force Field and serve as anti-air units.
 For Zerg, you can use the following combinations:
 - Roaches, Hydralisks, and Mutalisks
 In this set-up, the Roaches go in front and serve as shields for your high-powered Hydralisks. Use your Mutalisks to pick off any high-value units like casters and Siege Tanks. Add a few Infestors for extra credit.

However, note that this strategy cannot be used if you ever want to see your character ranking in the Diamond league. You must build your army with your opponent's army in mind.

In Starcraft 2, every unit has a strength and a weakness. Your goal is to figure or guess what your enemy is building. You can do this by scouting, which I discussed in Part 1 of the mini-course.

To refresh, if your enemy is Terran and is getting two early refineries, he is obviously interested in producing units which require a lot of vespene gas, such as Siege Tanks, Thors, or Banshees. Someone going for Marines and Marauders would focus on minerals first and vespene gas later.

Back on track, you should start out most of your games by executing whatever strategy you like,
such as a rush or going for one of the balanced builds as mentioned above. As the game progresses, switch your unit production to whatever units counter the enemy's. For example, if you are a Terran player and your Protoss enemy has mostly Immortals, you will want to stop building Factory units and focus on Marines and Banshees.

 Building Efficiency:
All strategies and tactics aside, the one thing that all top-ranked players do is they maximize their building's efficiency.

Diamond ranked players do not:
 - Build more unit-producing buildings than they can support with their current economy.
 - Build buildings and research upgrades long before they plan to actually use them.
 - Have excess minerals sitting in their inventory. Rarely will you see a Diamond-ranked player with over 1000 minerals at a time.

Let's examine these things one at a time. We will start with the optimal number of buildings that you should build.

Terran players can support the following off of 1 base (by 1 base I am referring to your starting location supplied by 22 harvesters and having no expansions):
 - 3 Barracks (if you are doing nothing but building units) or 2 Barracks if you are trying to tech up while producing some Marines and Marauders.
- 2 Factories and 1 Barracks or 1 Starport (if you are doing nothing but building units) or 2 Factories, 2 Starports, or one of each (if you are trying to expand or tech up).
In short, Terran players generally can support two unit-producing buildings if they are working on expanding or researching new technologies. If you are pumping out units, you can generally support 3 buildings.

Protoss players can support the following off of 1 base:
 - 4 Gateways (if you are doing nothing but producing units) and 3 Gateways if you are planning on teching up or expanding. Protoss units to support a lot of Gateways.
 - 1 Robotics Facility and 3 Gateways (if you are doing nothing but building units). Drop to 2 gateways if you are trying to expand or research new technology.
 - 2 Gateways and 1 Stargate (if you are building units exclusively) and 1 Gateway and 1 Stargate (if you are building up your base still).
 Protoss air units are very expensive and you do not need more than 1 Stargate if you only have 1 base. Use Chrono Boost to maximize the efficiency of your lone Stargate.

Zerg players are a bit different. For each expansion you should only need 1 Hatchery. To maximize efficiency, you need to be sure to use the Queen's Spawn Larva ability to always be producing extra Larva. If you ever fall behind on using Spawn Larva and forget to use it, you will quickly rack up extra minerals and that will put you behind in the long run. In order to catch up in this situation, I recommend expanding.

While you want to build the right number of buildings, you do not want to build them before you need them. The numbers above reflect having a full 22-harvester base. If you only have 14 harvesters, you will only need 2/3 the building. For example, if you are performing a Zealot rush, odds are you will forego harvesting in order to produce your Gateways faster. In this situation, 2 Gateways is usually optimal; any more than that and you will fall behind.  You also do not want to build buildings before you need them. I have won a lot of games because the other player spent all his money trying to tech (like building a Stargate, Robotics Facility, and Robotics Bay), while I focused on tier 1 units. It is an easy win for the person who focuses on building units. Recall yesterday's newsletter about unit counters. You do not necessarily want to gear up your base for producing a specific unit if you have no idea what your enemy is building! That would be a huge mistake.

The final part of this strategy is the exact opposite of point number #2. Just as many players build too many buildings and stretch themselves too thin, many players do not build enough buildings and end up racking up extra resources. If you are in battle and forget to spend your minerals to build new units that is a mental error rather than a need for more buildings. Be sure to bind your buildings to hotkeys by selecting all buildings of a certain type and hitting Crtl + a number key. Now, when you hit that number key, those buildings will be brought up. You can then train units while not even looking at your base and directing your troops. This way, you will always be getting the most out of your resources rather than letting them stack up and then struggling to spend them all later. This is tougher for Zerg players - but you can do this just as easily by binding your Queen and your Hatchery to the same hotkey for easy selection while your focus is directed elsewhere. By being efficient, you are bound to win more games and can often beat a more skilled opponent just by outproducing him with the same amount of minerals.

Facing “Random” Players:
In the final part of your 6-part Starcraft 2 Mini Course, I am going to discuss something you will run into in just about 20% of your games but will rarely read about online. I'm talking about "Random" match-ups. Make no mistake; players who play as Random do not play like traditional players. Additionally, it can be hard to pick a build order if you have no idea what your enemy's race is! In this article, I am going to discuss the sneaky strategies random players will often try to execute, and the best build orders to start out as versus Random players.

One of the sneakiest thing Random players will try to do is pull off a cheese rush. Cheese rushes normally do not work, but if you are not expecting it, they can be devastating. Here is what I am referring to:
 - If a random player gets Zerg and builds a Spawning Pool at 6/10 Supplies and then rushes with 6 Zerglings (known as a 6-Pool Rush).
 - If a random player gets Terran and tries to perform a proxy Reaper rush (building a Barracks outside of your base that is producing Reapers).
 - If a random player gets Protoss and tries to perform a proxy Zealot rush (building 2 Gateways outside of your base and rushing with Zealots).

You can't predict which strategy they are going to try to do unfortunately. However, I recommend following these build orders for maximal safety:

Protoss Build Order:
- Pylon at 8/10
-Gateway at 12/19
-Cybernetics Core at 15/19
-And then use the Nexus' Chrono-Boost ability on the Gateway to build a Stalker.
As a Protoss Player, you have nothing to fear about the Zergling rush, as Probes are actually pretty strong versus Zerglings. If you scout an early rush, chrono boost out a Zealot instead of a Stalker and use the Zealot to wall off the ramp to your base.  The fast Stalker will protect you from a Reaper rush and set you up to tech into whatever build you would like. The only thing you have to worry about as a Protoss player playing versus "Random" is players performing a Proxy Zealot rush. Be sure to scout at 8/10 supplies and scout all around your base. Next, scout outside the perimeter of your base to look for Gateways. After making sure you are safe, you can then scout the enemy's base.

Terran Build Order:
 - Supply Depot at 10/11 supplies
- Barracks at 11/19 supplies
- A second Supply Depot at 12/19 supplies (be sure you are building the second Supply Depot with a second SCV). This second Supply Depot should be used to finish off the wall at the ramp to your base.
 As a Terran playing against random, you have to be careful of the 6-Pool Zergling rush and Proxy Zealot rush. In order to stop this from happening, I recommend sealing the entrance off to your base with an early second Supply Depot. This way, with just a few Marines, you can defend yourself against fast Zerglings and Zealots. You will rarely see a Proxy Reaper rush when the random player ends up as Terran, since a few Marines can kill a Reaper.

Zerg Build Order
 Zerg do not have too much to worry about when playing versus a random player. The Proxy Zealot rush could be a bit dangerous, and so can some of the Terran air rushes, such as the Banshee Rush and Viking Rush.  As Zerg, I recommend scouting at 8/10 supplies and going for whatever your normal build order is. I do not alter my build order when playing against Randoms as a Zerg. Traditionally, I go for 10/10 Spawning Pool at very small maps and a 15/18 Spawning Pool at big maps when playing at very large maps.

Playing as Random
 If you are good with all races, you can use some of these strategies when playing as Random.
Here are the two most effective strategies:
 1) Rushing at small maps
 Whenever the map is very small and you know exactly where your opponent is, you can pull off a fast rush like a Proxy Zealot rush or a 6-Pool Rush and generally do very well, even in the Diamond league (provided you can transition into a normal game if you fail).
 2) Fast expanding at large maps
 Whenever the map is really big and has 4 starting locations, I like to fast expand, especially if I get Zerg. Very few players know what to expect when playing a random so they often are unprepared to counter a fast expansion particularly at a large map where it will take the enemy awhile to find you.
By following these simple strategies, you can not only prevent simple losses versus Random players but also pick up a few wins of your own!

Rushing Overview
I often hear many players complain that once they get up in the higher leagues, every game
turns into a rush. What these players (and nearly every player that is trying to get into the Diamond league) fail to understand is that there is a difference between rushing and pressure. By the time players get into the platinum league, generally their unit choice, micro, and macro are adequate, but they simply do not understand the principle of pressure.

At a basic level, here is how 90% of gold and platinum league games play out:
 - One player rushes or opts for a "cheese" strategy like a cannon rush or 8 pool, and the game ends right there if the person is successful.
 - Alternatively, both players build up in their base, engaging in minimal action until they have both build large armies.

The first situation is a complete waste. The reason that an 8 or 10 Pool can be so effective is not because it is likely to do significant damage (lets be serious - 6 Zerglings do not have a chance vs 12 Probes). However, simply by having to deal with the early Zerglings, the Protoss player now has to deviate from his pre-planned build order and general game-plan. The Zerg player can then get an early Queen and catch up shortly in resource count, while significantly modifying the Protoss players build order. The "rush" in essence was just pressure designed to irritate the Protoss player and slow him down. Even if he did minimal damage, the Zerg player could easily transition into a normal build and play a regular game. The second situation is more common and even worse one to be in. When both players sit in their bases undisturbed, it is a disaster for both teams.  After all, why would you bet on your opponent taking less expansions than you or being less skilled in micro than you? It is a needless risk.

So many games end up with 1 or both players near the unit cap by the end of the game before any major battles occur... and this is a terrible situation to be in. Even if you have no intention of rushing, you always need to be on the offensive. When you are actively attacking your enemy, the following happens to your opponent:
 - The opponent is no longer building new tech, as he is worried about defending against your attack.
 - The opponent is not able to expand, because you are keeping him in his base.
Meanwhile, you can expand, and you can build new technologies, because the fight is not in your base but rather in your opponent's. This is why Reapers are so effective versus Zerg players. Truth be told, Reapers are a terrible unit versus Roaches, yet Terran players utterly decimate Zerg players with the Reaper. Roaches are cheap, fast to produce, and very strong for the investment, whereas Reapers are slow to build and expensive for a 1 supply unit. However, the Reaper is able to put out tons of pressure on the Zerg player. Terran players can harass expansions, pick off Queens, and force Zerg players to build more defense and more units. Meanwhile, the Terran player is free to expand, tech, and basically dominate the entire map, completely unchecked. The Terran is using Reapers to pressure the Zerg opponent, rather than by trying to kill him outright. This same principle works with early Roaches or Speedlings as Zerg, or with Zealots, Sentries, and Stalkers as Protoss. By massing T1 units and attacking the enemy, you can at a minimum force him to turtle within his base For example, if you are playing a walled-in Terran player, you may not be able to break into his base right away. However, you can at least kill any expansion attempt he might make and starve him of resources by applying steady pressure throughout the game.

Pressure comes in many forms. It could be sneaking around the enemy's base with Dark Templar or Ghosts, by using Warp Prisms, Air Harassment, fortifying the area outside of the enemy's base, and more. The key point is pressure does not involve sitting in your base being left alone. Isolationism does not work in Starcraft 2. Your objective is to defeat the opponent, not build a base, train units, and research technologies. Throughout an entire game, you should use every opportunity you have to pressure the enemy. If your opponent does not want to participate and isolates, expand the map and crush them with brute force. Just know that when Diamond league players "rush" - it's not really a rush. They are establishing early pressure so they can control the tempo of the game from start to finish.

Best Time To Expand
I have been getting a lot of e-mails lately from players who have been struggling with getting and securing their first expansion. This is not surprising, given that one of the major differences between Diamond-league players and everyone else is the timing of their expansions. If there is one simple thing you could do today to start winning more games, figuring out the perfect time to grab your expansion would be it.

There are two ways you can go about grabbing your expansion: grabbing it right in your opponents face or grabbing it during feigned aggression. The method you choose should be based on preference and skill level, and I will explain both below.  The first method is just grabbing your expansion right in your enemy's face. This involves simply building your expansion whenever you have the money for it. It is pretty hard to hide this expansion, so with this move you are basically saying to your opponent: "I am expanding and there is nothing you can do about it."  Naturally, if your opponent does not have an expansion already, this is just daring him to attack, because your natural expansion is much more vulnerable than your main base. Here is where most players goof when going for this type of expansion: they do it way too late in the game, on maps where it is wholly inappropriate, or simply fail to defend their fledgling expansion.

If you wait until the 11-12 minute mark in a game to grab your natural, you are most likely way too late. It is simple than that. Your expansion has to come earlier than this.  If you have not already ended the game off of 1 base at this point, odds are not in your favour to win. Try again next time! Additionally, blatantly grabbing a quick expansion on a small, 2-player map is a really bad idea because more than likely your opponent will scout that out very early in the game. Stick to 4-player maps for fast expanding, as it will take your opponent a lot longer to find your base (and your expansion) on maps like these.  The final part is pretty simple - if you are going to expand, you need some sort of defense.

The real question is: how much defense is appropriate? This depends on your race and the race of the opponent. When grabbing a quick expansion as Terran, one common method is to open with a 2 Barracks build. Once both your Barracks are up, you can then throw down your Command Center inside your base. Train Marines and Marauders and then move out to your natural. Throw down a few Bunkers in front of your natural expansion. You should have some extra minerals thanks to MULEs. You can always salvage these later to get the mineral investment back. This is a pretty safe play versus Protoss and Zerg, but versus Terran you have to know odds are you will face early Vikings, Banshees, or Tanks, so be prepared. Zerg actually have the simplest method: grabbing the Hatchery as the first building. You can get to about 14-15 Drones, and then throw down your expansion. This way, by the time the enemy can get a decent army out, your Hatchery is already done and the creep is already spread in case you need to throw down a few Spine Crawlers. As a Protoss player, you can grab your expansion by laying down a Forge as your first building, and then throwing down a few buildings to "wall off" the entrance to your base. Behind this wall, you can add a few Photon Cannons.This works especially well versus other Zerg players. However, many players have trouble against the rush and hence do not perform the previous expansion techniques very well.

One fool-proof method for grabbing your expansion is to open with some sort of early aggression and expand while you are attacking. Your enemy will be too busy dealing with your attack to worry about stopping your expansion, so you get a free chance to get your expansion up and running. As a Terran player, I recommend opening with an early 2 Barracks, pumping out some quick Marines and Marauders.  As a Zerg player, throw up a Roach Warrenand pump out ~8 Roaches quickly. As a Protoss player, get your 4-Gate going, pump out a dozen or so units, and move in. Right before you attack, start building your expansion. While your opponent is dealing with your attack, your expansion will finish, which gives you plenty of time to defend it. Additionally, this attack forces your opponent to waste money on tier 1 units, so it slows down his expansion attempts and diverts money away from teching up. This works great at 2 player maps especially. If you can help it, try not to lose your units in the attack. You are simply trying to inflict a little damage and entice the enemy player to build more units. It works best if you can come in, snipe a building or two, kill off a few units, and then back out before the enemy is able to rally enough troops to stop you completely. If your army does wipe out, you have plenty of time to build more units while the enemy's army has to travel all the way across the map.

Just remember the golden rule: if you can't end the game in 11 minutes, make sure you get an expansion - you won't last much longer than that on one base. Try out the strategies listed above and getting your expansion will be much easier.