About Dizzy

Dizzy has been a member since June 23rd 2010, and has created 12 posts from scratch.

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Shokz Starcraft 2 Video Guide

published Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 5:39 am by Shokz

Shokz has just released his new Shokz Video Guide (SVG). The SVG is a video based guide made by two Grandmaster players Shokz and his 2v2 partner Dusk, in this guide they take you through the top Starcraft 2 strategies and build orders teaching you every move they do step-by-step. This guide is great for visual learners you can follow along with the video as Dusk and Shokz will describe to you their every action and the reason behind move allowing you an inside look of how the Starcraft 2 is played from a Grandmasters mindset.

The Shokz Video Guide (SVG) is a growing library of HD 720p streamed guides. They add a new video guide every other day so there is always something new to watch and learn. Besides just watching the videos you can download the replay files to each particular video, allowing you to follow along at your own pace and rematch the match in your own prospective as Dusk and Shokz goes over all their details while playing the game.

The ability to download each video’s replay is a great feature and is something I find myself using a lot. It is the only guide I have seen where you can download a replay for each particular strategy and follow along in game as you watch the video guides.

Free Video Preview

Here is a free video from the Shokz Video Guide

Overall the Shokz Video Guide is a great resource to learn from a true Grandmaster player. With detailed videos going over every step of the build and different strategies this guide will without a doubt help improve your game and get you one step closer to making Masters league.

Watch the Shokz Video Guides

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Starcraft 2 Guide Created By Grandmasters

published Saturday, January 28th, 2012 at 7:03 pm by Dizzy

Yea, I was going through the same thing not too long ago. I was searching around for a quality Starcraft 2 guide. There are tons of guides out there but very few are made by real pro players. I didn’t want to spend money on one at first and I assume you don’t want to either. So I recommend signing up for this Shokz Video Guide that is loaded with free tips and advice from Grandmaster players.

The name of the guide is Shokz Video Guide. It is a very active Starcraft 2 community. Not only do they provide a ton of in-depth articles and replays that are geared towards turning gold players into masters. But they also have a very in-depth guide called The Grandmaster Manual. In my opinion it is the most comprehensive Starcraft 2 guide out there.

Unlike most other SC2 guides they focus on giving the reader a deep understanding of the game. They start off teaching the basics of Starcraft 2 which include the controls (also known as hot keys) and proper macro.

Most guides jump right into build orders and race specific strategies without really covering the basics. When I learned from guides like this I had a major gap in my playing because I didn’t take the time to learn and master the hot keys and macro. I hated having to memorize build orders. I like playing with a deeper understanding of how the game should be played.

Like I said even if you don’t feel like buying The Grandmaster Manual the forum is packed with skillful players willing to help newbies improve their game. You can click here to check it out.

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3 Skills to Master in Starcraft 2

published Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 3:18 pm by Dizzy

It can be daunting to try and master every skill in Starcraft 2 at once. That is why it is best to focus on one concept at a time. Lots of newbies start out trying to master the wrong concept. They ask for build orders to follow rather than trying to develop a deeper understanding of the game. Master these 3 Starcraft 2 skills and you will be well on your way to the upper leagues.

1) Manning the controls. Learn and master your hot keys. Think of learning hot keys like learning how to type with the home row. Sure it takes some time and effort to learn at first but after you master it your speed will be well ahead of someone who only uses the mouse to perform actions.

Start off slowly by learning the basic hot keys such as hitting “A” to attack and “S” to stop. When setting your hot keys make sure to to go with a setup that works for you. Obviously it will be different with every race. I personally play as Terran. I usually set my Command Center(s) to “4″ then all of my Barracks to “5″ and so on.

Once you got the basics down you should learn the specific hot keys of your race. Learn 3 or 4 new hot keys every game you play. Play some practice matches and try using your mouse as little as possible. This is the fastest way to progress. I have found it easier to remember the hot keys by hovering the cursor over the buttons in-game rather than trying to memorize them from a webpage.

2) Scouting. Scout early and then frequently after that. Make it a routine to send a worker out at around 10 supply count. This way you know exactly where your opponent is on a 4 player map and you will see if there is a cheesy play coming.

But you shouldn’t stop there. Instead keep scouting after that. Don’t just try and send a unit up their ramp the second time around. You won’t get a good read. Get creative. If you are Protoss send an Observer. Terran has Reapers and Zerg has Overlords.

3) Building a stable economy. You need combat units, lots of them! Therefore you need resources, lots of them! Get down your macro before getting down your micro. Macro is where lots of lower league players lack skill.

Make sure to always have at least one worker in the making for every base you have. Use the economic advantage your race has. Terran has MULES, Zerg can spawn multiple Drones at a time, and Protoss has Chrono Boost for faster worker production.

Expand at the right time. Usually a good time to expand is around the 9 minute mark. But then again you should adapt to your opponent. If he is producing lots of units off of one base and is playing aggressive then you may need to hold off. Either that or defend your natural very well so you can expand before him and surpass him in resources.

Master these 3 skills and you will become a warrior on the battlefield. If you like what you read then be sure to sign up for free report report, The Diamond Player’s Strategy Guide for more Starcraft 2 tips and strategies.

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Starcraft 2 Guide – Building a Solid Foundation for High Level Play

published Thursday, September 8th, 2011 at 9:56 pm by Dizzy

To get very good at something you have to learn and master the basics. Whether it is getting better at Starcraft 2 or playing a musical instrument you have to not get ahead of yourself. It can be boring learning the basics but you have to go through it or else you will have a huge gap in your play. That is what we will go over in this Starcraft 2 guide. I also recommend signing up to this Starcraft 2 forum for plenty of free tips and strategies.

Starcraft 2 Basics Guide

There are so many concepts to learn about in Starcraft 2 such as countering cheeses, macro, micro, hot keys, unit counters, how to execute strategies, and taking advantage of the map. But before you even think about getting into the details you must slow down and master the control interface as well as the art of macro.

Macro and hot keys are the basics of the game. If you really want to get a comprehensive guide on them then my Starcraft 2 guide can help you out. If you don’t use hot keys then let me just say this once. Hot keys are mandatory!

You need to use them because it makes performing clean actions so much easier. Start by learning how to set control groups. It is very simple. You just select a building or a unit. Then hold control and press the number you want to it hot keyed to. Once you have set it rather than finding that unit or building on the map and using your mouse to click it you can just hit that number and boom, it is selected.

This makes your life so much easier. All pros use hot keys. This is how pros can produce units quickly while still handling their army in battle. Multi tasking is essential when becoming a better player so make sure to use them.

All players set their control groups differently. As a Terran player I like to set my Command Center to “4″, my Barracks to “5″, and so on. That way later in the game I can still produce units while dropping Marines and Marauders into one of my opponent’s mineral lines.

Hot keys make it much easier to outplay your opponent and that is ultimately how you win more games. There are hot keys you can set and then there are hot keys pertaining to each race. Every action has a hot key. For example to use the Force Field ability with a Sentry you need to have one or more selected and then hit “F” to select that action. Then use your mouse to click where you want them set down to.

Hot keys take a while to learn. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to learn them all for your race. Instead start by setting control groups and avoiding using your mouse to select buildings and units once you have hot keyed them. Then try to learn 2 more hot keys for each game you play.

I found it best to not play ranked matches when learning my hot keys since I didn’t feel like I was under pressure. Mastering the controls is how you will build a solid foundation and play at a higher level in no time. You can learn more with this comprehensive Starcraft 2 guide created by Grandmaster players.

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Starcraft 2 Anti-Cheese Guide

published Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 at 2:13 am by Dizzy

You cannot expect to break into the upper leagues of Starcraft 2 if you cannot counter cheesy plays. Cheesy strategies are uncommon especially in the upper leagues. Chances are every Starcraft 2 player has faced a cheesy play. The first few times always suck because at first it seems impossible to counter.

In this guide I am going to teach you how to counter a few cheesy plays. You do not have to learn how to counter every cheesy strategy in the game. In fact once you get the hang of it you will be able to figure out how to counter any cheesy play on your own.

Cheesy strategies are usually all-in rushes that may involve sending workers in to distract whatever combat units you have to defend. Players can get creative and be successful at executing a cheese. This is even true in the upper leagues. Pro players get curve balls thrown at them all of the time.

Cheesy plays are the schemer’s way of winning more games. Sure they may get to the gold or even the platinum league but if they do not have the mechanics or strategy to back it up they will immediately hit a plateau. So lets get into it.

One of the main reasons a player loses to a cheese is because they did not scout their opponent early enough to see what is going on and then immediately work on a strategy to counter it. Remember you may have a good idea of what strategy you want to go for. But that plan will instantly change if your opponent is doing something sneaky.

The other main reason why players lose to a cheese is because they had no idea how to counter it. It is not that difficult but it does require some practice and a good attitude. Cheesing may be the number one cause for rage in SC2. You do not want to get frustrated. Good players learn to deal with situations like these with a positive attitude.

So the first thing you must do is scout. Scouting is always a very important aspect of Starcraft 2. Always be scouting. Start with the early worker scout at around 10 supply count. The point of sending a worker out is to not only find your opponent on a 4 player map but to see if they are going to throw a curve ball at you.

Then of course you need to know how to counter whatever cheesy play your opponent is executing. For example let’s say you are facing a Protoss player who is going for the 4 Gate Rush.

Protoss Strategy – 4 Gate Rush

This is very common among Protoss players. Getting 4 warpgates is the standard build for Protoss but they can also turn it into a rush. It is very easy to use and goes good against any race. Don’t confuse a 4 Gate rush with a standard 4 Gate because he is taking a big economic risk. All you need to do is basically survive the wave of units at your base as I will explain.

Indicators

So how can you tell if he is making the move? Make sure to keep your scouting worker around his base long enough before getting killed by the early stalker. One good indicator is if his chrono energy at his Nexus is over 60 once his Cybernetics Core is complete. Another hint is if there is no 3rd pylon in his base as he could be proxying the other gateways. If you can some how get vision of his Cybernetics Core then you will be able to tell for sure if he is rushing since all of his chrono boost will go to researching Warpgate Tech.

How to Counter

Terran: This is quite an easy counter for a Terran player. The key is obviously seeing the rush coming early enough because you will need to build a couple Bunkers at the top of your ramp.

Then once you see his units bring all of your SCVs over to repair the Bunkers. Of course you need to pump out Marines and Marauders with a couple of Barracks. Then once you survive be sure to take some time to build up an army to finish him off as he will be too far behind in resources to hold up.

Zerg: One word, Roaches! The second you suspect a 4 Gate Rush put down a Roach Warren and build up a Roach/Ling army. Just mine off of one gas. Also get a couple of spine crawlers to help defend your expansion. Remember, Roaches do well against Zealots while Zerglings are good against Stalkers.

Zerg Strategy – 6 Pool Rush

This has been one of the most common strategies a Zerg player will use. It works like this. A zerg player will stop making workers once he has 6 or 7 so that he can save up for an early spawning pool. Naturally this will set him back big time with his economy. So again you just need to survive to basically win the game.

Indicators

Always be sure to scout a Zerg player early on. If you see he only has 6 or 7 workers while you have around 12 then you don’t even have to see the Spawning Pool. But if you must be extra sure feel free to find it probably behind his mineral line.

How to Counter

When facing a Zerg player as Terran or Protoss you should always wall off to avoid getting lings in your base. To wall off as a Terran player you just build two supply depots and a Barracks in between like so.

Be sure to use a second SCV to build the second supply depot before getting a refinery. Right when the barracks is finished get out a marine to defend behind the wall. You may need to use a few SCVs to repair the supply depots.

As a Protoss player you should wall off by building two pylons and a gateway only you should make sure to leave a grid of space somewhere in between. Then get a zealot out to hold position in the gap. That way they have no chance of getting through. If the pressure is on then you should get out a sentry or stalker to shoot from behind.

Terran Strategy – Blue Flame Hellion Drop

This is more of a tactic than a cheese. Those pesky Terran players want to be as sneaky as they can be. And why not, they sure have the units for it. Hellion harassment has been very common as they are the best units to get to take out lots of workers at a time. With the blue flame upgrade they can one shot workers making an unexpected harassment lose you the game.

Indicators

If your Terran opponent is staying on one base and is trying hard to prevent you from scouting inside then you should already be prepared for a sneaky tactic like this. It could be a different strategy such as cloaked banshees but hellion drops are more common. A hellion drop usually happens at around 8 or 9 minutes into the game.

How to Counter

This is a tactic that is strong against any race. If there is no early push and he is being a turtle then you should already prepare for something like this. I like to have a unit watching the front of my base for an army.

Make sure to guard your mineral line as that is where he will be heading. They always try dropping them at the far corner of your base then ride them right into your mineral line. Not having units there and ready to attack can easily lose you the game. Ideally you do not want to lose more than 5 workers. On top of having units around your mineral line you can also build a sim city to make it difficult for the Hellions to move around.

Be sure to practice these counter attacks. You won’t face cheeses that often. But if you keep playing chances are you will go up against some cheesy plays even in the advanced leagues. Be prepared and you will come out on top.

If you found this guide helpful then feel free to sign up for my free Starcraft 2 strategy guide.

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