i picked up brood war for two reasons: one being that a lot of the more prominent figureheads in the gaming community i consider myself a part of (the super smash brothers melee community) talk a lot about brood war and the similarities our communities had shared (grassroots startups in terms of esports) and the basic groundwork for shoutcasting professional level esports; the other being that a high school friend of mine i still talk to quite often used to play and talk about this a lot while we were in high school. the problem i have is that he's not really able to teach me some things and cant be bothered to give me a list of things to learn how to do, not that he should.
my question to you seasoned players is how do i get started in playing brood war? what are some key mechanics i should work on, and how do i know which race is for me?
i appreciate any replies, i hope to become decent at brood war no matter how long it takes, im very intrigued by this game and the legacy its left behind and i would love to indulge. thank you!
Get the game (from Blizzard, filesharing site, or custom client such as shield battery) and play. I highly recommend playing through the campaign, since you will get to see all the units and the lore/story is very good. You will definitely know which race you like by then.
The first mechanic you will need is to be able to gain and use your resources effectively, building units and unit production structures (macro).
On April 20 2017 01:50 J.Dong wrote: Get the game (from Blizzard, filesharing site, or custom client such as shield battery) and play. I highly recommend playing through the campaign, since you will get to see all the units and the lore/story is very good. You will definitely know which race you like by then.
The first mechanic you will need is to be able to gain and use your resources effectively, building units and unit production structures (macro).
thank you for the reply, i will keep that in mind. i was also told to pay more attention to accuracy, not apm.
If you just enjoy playing this game, don't let anyone bother you with how to play it.
If you want to get better quickly, I think these are some good advices to chose from:
Try to follow a systematic approach instead of just massing games. You shouldn't lose all the fun studying, but it's better to practice well-informed than to waste time based on flawed information.
Study good players' live-streams or Vods and replays of their games. Watch carefully and think for yourself, start with the general questions: What is a Real-Time-Strategy game about? What are the goals and components of every game of BW you see? What do you have to practice to play so fast and efficient?
Go step by step. Play the campaign. Pick a race, one matchup to practice, and one common map to practice on. Pick one build-order for that match-up. Pick one hotkey-setup for your race and matchup. Practice without opponent first or against a friend who doesn't rofl-stomp you. Practice your mechanics (macro and micro with hotkeys and precise mouse-clicks) and your build-order well. Before you play real opponents, make a plan how you want to beat them, what your overall strategy is and what attack you want to win the game with.
Study your own replays, identify mistakes and fix them one by one, not all at once, starting with the most basic ones.
Seek the advice of better players who are willing to help you, find good players online and ask them to coach you.
If you don't know a term I or someone is using: Learn to use the encyclopedia called Liquidpedia (see above on this site), and the search-function in this forum. There are threads and posts for everything in the different BroodWar-Sections (the Strategy-Section in your case).
Use the "Simple Questions Simple Answers"-Thread in the strategy-section for everything you can't figure out yourself.
On April 20 2017 05:13 Highgamer wrote: If you just enjoy playing this game, don't let anyone bother you with how to play it.
If you want to get better quickly, I think these are some good advices to chose from:
Try to follow a systematic approach instead of just massing games. You shouldn't lose all the fun studying, but it's better to practice well-informed than to waste time based on flawed information.
Study good players' live-streams or Vods and replays of their games. Watch carefully and think for yourself, start with the general questions: What is a Real-Time-Strategy game about? What are the goals and components of every game of BW you see? What do you have to practice to play so fast and efficient?
Go step by step. Play the campaign. Pick a race, one matchup to practice, and one common map to practice on. Pick one build-order for that match-up. Pick one hotkey-setup for your race and matchup. Practice without opponent first or against a friend who doesn't rofl-stomp you. Practice your mechanics (macro and micro with hotkeys and precise mouse-clicks) and your build-order well. Before you play real opponents, make a plan how you want to beat them, what your overall strategy is and what attack you want to win the game with.
Study your own replays, identify mistakes and fix them one by one, not all at once, starting with the most basic ones.
Seek the advice of better players who are willing to help you, find good players online and ask them to coach you.
If you don't know a term I or someone is using: Learn to use the encyclopedia called Liquidpedia (see above on this site), and the search-function in this forum. There are threads and posts for everything in the different BroodWar-Sections (the Strategy-Section in your case).
Use the "Simple Questions Simple Answers"-Thread in the strategy-section for everything you can't figure out yourself.
I think the first thing to note is, don't get overwhelmed. You'll receive lots of information, guides and advice here, but at the end of it all, it's just about playing the game and having fun. Playing 1v1s is good (same as in Smash) but having a fun old 3v3 BGH (3 vs 3 players on the blizzard map Big Game Hunters (which has no resources constraint)) can be lots of fun as well.
Coming from Smash Melee you'll be able to quickly grasp certain concepts such as : Mechanics (each race and many units have specific mechanics in Brood War, similar to all the Smash characters, certain playstyles are only viable if you have mastered the necessary mechanics for it) Matchups and maps (advantages and playstyles, map specific knowledge)
I think one of the key differences you'll have to deal with is lack of information. In Smash while your opponent can trick and bate you and play mind games, you're still always aware of where his character is on the screen. In BroodWar you are often playing on limited information, hence you need to Scout (looking for you opponent and seeing what choices/builds they've made).
otherwise as others have said, download the game(currently free from Blizzard, can also be gotten multiplayer only from iccup.com ) and just play some games vs the computer to get a feel for it.
Enojoy playing, do fun things, enjoy the feeling of improvement. At the start I suggest playing vs 1 computer, then 2, then 3. Then switch to playing players, which is a whole different level. If you don't want to play 1v1 immediately, play 3v3 and 4v4 hunters or big game hunters (BGH). Get some friends around your level so you can play and have fun with them while learning.
Try all races, but in the end, after you get comfortable, try narrowing it down to just one race.
Watch progamer vods (like in the post liked above, the korhal site, or to the right, look for TLPD and choose "BW Korea" and search for players listed above, then go to their games list and click on the yellow + signs left of the game to access the vod).
Try to be precise with the mouse, it's more important than speed. Speed will come later, and then you'll have both. Doing it the other way is harder. Also try to learn all the hotkeys and their functions (there are many many, which even some good players don't know), read it up on some page (maybe liquipedia, not sure how complete the hotkey list there is).
Have a good mix of players to play against. When you get too cocky, it's good to play against a vastly superior player, just to get perspective. In most cases it's best to play vs people around your level or slightly above you. Playing against weaker players can help you train mechanics and builds, and to identify some things which can be exploited, which you then test vs stronger players.
Get ready to get your ass handed to you many many many times while you try things out, before you can start winning here and there! It's fun! :D
Not sure what a good server to start on is... maybe make games with NOOBS ONLY in the game name on iCCup?
One advice that veterans easily forget, because it's so ingrained in their brains, they don't even have to think about it:
When you've already played more modern RTS's, it's hard to get accustomed to the fact, that the map is not visible at the start. If you're unfamiliar with the layout, you're almost unable to scout and playing more of a game of exploration and you're at an extreme disatvantage against enemys that already now it (including the CPU!).
What helps is printing map layouts from Liquipedia/TLPD on cardboard or display them otherwise at first (second monitor, tablet). You can also mark starting positions, chokepoints and expansions to see them more easily.
Of course you should try and remember the maps as fast as possible so you don't have to rely on this crutch for too long, but the start is a lot less frustrating with this method. You can also add a simple build-order to guide you through your first games, until you know it by heart.
You will most likely only play on FS (Circuit breaker is slowy turning into the new FS, but it's gonna take time).
It's very helpful to have 1 or 2 go to build for every match-up (doesn't realy matter what kind of build). By doing this you will be able to play early-mid game. I used to be playing somewhat randomly depending on how i feel the game goes and it didn't go too well =(.
play vs computer and beat it, then watch korhal's site, play vs computer some more to mimick builds, simcity,bugs,etc, then you go play vs low level humans
I would say start with campaign and beating the computer then move on to 3v3 BGH games then move to 3v3 Regular hunters then move to 2v2 low money maps then finally move to 1v1 competitive.The good thing about team games is you can check your allies bases and unit composition and get to grips with that better than just doing 1v1s.
i just started playing smash last year after being a bw vet since the beginning, so i feel the same way as you.
smash goes so deep and it's really daunting to get into. but i think it's important to just have fun with the game. you'll naturally get better if you ease into it slowly and enjoy the game, instead of trying to 'get ahead' right away. i stopped trying to catch up to my friends who have played for years and just try to enjoy the movement and tech, and catch games when i can.
i'd recommend playing team games/bgh or dicking around on UMS maps. those are always a blast
On April 26 2017 13:38 intrigue wrote: i just started playing smash last year after being a bw vet since the beginning, so i feel the same way as you.
smash goes so deep and it's really daunting to get into. but i think it's important to just have fun with the game. you'll naturally get better if you ease into it slowly and enjoy the game, instead of trying to 'get ahead' right away. i stopped trying to catch up to my friends who have played for years and just try to enjoy the movement and tech, and catch games when i can.
i'd recommend playing team games/bgh or dicking around on UMS maps. those are always a blast
I've spent like 3 years becoming proficient at melee I don't know why I'm deciding to pick up broodwar now. If I just played league this whole time I'd probably add 5 years on my lifespan. I think I'm just a sadist.
you gotta be a sicko to be into bw or smash. probably true of quake, dota, cs, and a few others. just super fucking hard games that require masochistic tendencies to master
It's normal to lose your first 50 (even 100) games on iCCup because of smurfs but don't give up. Every lose will give you strength. Play on maps like FS, CB or even LT. GLHF!
I agree with the advice in this thread that said: - play the campaign, it will get BW to your blood in a healthy, non invasive way, and plant a seed of mystery - remember to enjoy, and go wherever the fun takes you. Be it watching VODs, playing 3v3s, 2v2s, 1v1s or compstomping. - there's no reason to force yourself to be good in 1v1, there's no intrinsic reward, other than your own passion.
But if you are a 'sicko' like intrigue said, then maybe you've just found the right game and 1v1s will rub you just the right way ! ;D Whatever aspect of BW you realize makes you have fun, you're not alone.
Once you play thru the campaign and get to know the races thru your first ~50 games, I suggest occasionally exploring some famous matches from before. It will show you the magic each race can produce, and how passionate BW can be.
On April 29 2017 06:33 outscar wrote: It's normal to lose your first 50 (even 100) games on iCCup because of smurfs but don't give up. Every lose will give you strength. Play on maps like FS, CB or even LT. GLHF!
I wouldn't advise him to play on iccup at this point at all. He should start gently, get to know BW a bit, and have fun. Then Remastered will come soon, with matchmaking system, and in my opinion that's the best way to start competing.
If he starts 'too seriously' he may get frustrated and give up on such a great game because he's been thrown into the fire too quickly.
On April 26 2017 13:38 intrigue wrote: i just started playing smash last year after being a bw vet since the beginning, so i feel the same way as you.
smash goes so deep and it's really daunting to get into. but i think it's important to just have fun with the game. you'll naturally get better if you ease into it slowly and enjoy the game, instead of trying to 'get ahead' right away. i stopped trying to catch up to my friends who have played for years and just try to enjoy the movement and tech, and catch games when i can.
i'd recommend playing team games/bgh or dicking around on UMS maps. those are always a blast
Yeah agreed with easing into it and having fun. Playing with friends or acquaintances on TL rather than randos on ladder is definitely better.
Seconding playing campaign as well. Many of us have an emotional bond with the race we play, and oftentimes it comes from our experience with the Campaign. The other influence tends to be progamers by whom we were inspired.
Watching pro replays together, micro arena while on discord while complaining "wtf this is impossible", 3v3 hunters crushing randos on bnet, stripping Jessica Alba, etc., all good fun that's good to splice in in between 1v1obs.
When I started playing the game in 2005, having a social group of a regular set of TL friends to hang out / play with was huge. My first 30 games were getting crushed by Intrigue on Lost Temple with every proxy imaginable, haha. I was so happy when I got my first win against him.
mining/spending efficiency, micromanagement and multitasking - if you have fast keyboard reflexes and you think fast, being good in those three will probably get you far into the top levels. i think creativity and brilliance just comes when you play 10000 games of drilling the same things over and over
You can either try to follow the perfect plan on how to become the best player possible the quickest, and deliberately practice and follow all best practices.
Or you can just play games and try to have fun.
It is easy to either say "Just go play 3vs3 hunters", or give a detailed game plan on how to as quickly as possible ingrain proper hotkey usage and multitasking, ingraining correct thought patterns.
In the end, you just try to find a balance that suits your needs.
If you are interested in 1vs1, there is no point playing the campaign. All it can do for you is help you memorize the tech tree and stuff like that.
Playing vs AI I also found to be iffy in the past, but currently there are some AI's that actually micro and play well. But, their nature is very different from that of real players. A game feels completely different when you play vs a human, and you can feel their intentions and thoughts.
It can be quite hard to find someone near your level. Getting beaten by people building mass scouts because they are just so far ahead of you can seem quite pointless.
In the same way, if you take two players from back in 1999, and you let them play a 1000 games against each other, they might not really improve because they 'see' no real need to. So playing vs an equal inside your own save bubble is also not the right way to practice properly.
On April 20 2017 00:13 orc.hid wrote: i picked up brood war for two reasons: one being that a lot of the more prominent figureheads in the gaming community i consider myself a part of (the super smash brothers melee community) talk a lot about brood war and the similarities our communities had shared (grassroots startups in terms of esports) and the basic groundwork for shoutcasting professional level esports; the other being that a high school friend of mine i still talk to quite often used to play and talk about this a lot while we were in high school. the problem i have is that he's not really able to teach me some things and cant be bothered to give me a list of things to learn how to do, not that he should.
my question to you seasoned players is how do i get started in playing brood war? what are some key mechanics i should work on, and how do i know which race is for me?
i appreciate any replies, i hope to become decent at brood war no matter how long it takes, im very intrigued by this game and the legacy its left behind and i would love to indulge. thank you!
If you want to practice against new players you can join NHFFA discord here:
On April 29 2017 06:33 outscar wrote: It's normal to lose your first 50 (even 100) games on iCCup because of smurfs but don't give up. Every lose will give you strength. Play on maps like FS, CB or even LT. GLHF!
I lost 72 straight when i started playing back in 2011ish, lol.