Community Manager
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This week, we’re discussing:
Replay Analysis - Do you review every match to see what went right, and what went wrong? When watching a replay, what kind of information are you looking for? Strategy, tactics, and skill. At the heart of StarCraft II are the legion of skilled tacticians and brilliant strategists leading armies of zerg, protoss, and terrans to war across the scarred battlefields of the Koprulu Sector. Knowledge is power; the greatest commanders throughout history earned their victories not merely by virtue of strategic brilliance, but also by applying themselves to rigorous study of warfare and the tactics used by those who fought before them. You too can tap into this valuable resource, and that’s where StarCraft Art of War comes in. Are you a veteran player? Are you new to StarCraft II and striving to improve your skills? In this weekly feature, we invite players of all skill levels to ask questions, share their tactics, post replays, and provide advice for understanding, executing and defeating today’s most popular strategies. Don’t forget to up-vote forum posts that you find on-topic and helpful! Art of War Rules:
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#1
3/9/2012
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Edited by ArtVandelay on 3/9/12 8:10 PM (PST)
IMO Important things to look for in replays.
1 - What information didn't you see when you scouted. Similarly - where better should you situate yourself to deny them. 2 - How is your macro (economy/army) vs theirs. Was that fight even? Should you have kept up the pressure? You can infer this from the game, but to improve your sense for this sort of thing, you need to see it in replays etc. 3 - Watch engagements at NORMAL speed. You want to see what micro went into it, as well as identify what micro could have gone into it to improve it further more. |
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Many players will look towards analyzing a replay in order to discover why and how they've lost. Problem is, many players don't know where to start or how to improve.
Things to look for include discovering when you started to fall behind. Did your macro start failing? Did you miss an inject? Fail to continuously pump harvesters? Perhaps you failed to Chronoboost probes while microing your forces? A good way to also look at this is when the supply started getting lopsided. There are many occurrences/variables that can alter your play. Discovering those that negatively effect your play will help you out dramatically. |
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Edited by SamirDuran on 3/10/12 4:42 AM (PST)
I watch replay on any of my match WHEN:
1.) How did I win a close fight 2.) How did I lose a close fight 3.) What went wrong when all ins of opponents are successful(is it my macro/micro, decision making) 4.) Build orders of opponents where I lose - for future reference on future matchup versus that race. 5.) to improve myself I also watch replays of progamers for tips and build orders vs particular race and I watch Livestreams :) |
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Edited by tEhBuLaTz on 3/18/12 3:49 AM (PDT)
Aside from the other things already pointed out, there are 2 things I usually look for in replays.
1. I look at game replays when I'm sure I made a mistake in game, especially when armies engage. Most of the mistakes are due to bad micro, so that exposes what needs to be improved. 2. I also look at the replays when I win a battle where I had the inferior army. This helps in seeing what is wrong with the other guy's micro, which also helps me improve, especially on mirror matches. |
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Watching replays is essential for improving. Playing in-game and watching replays have two entirely different views.
For example: when I am in-game, I am so focused on getting my next tech upgrade or droning up or getting some additional static defences, not what I do to achieve these goals. The four major elements I look for in a replay are: 1) Scouting - Information gathering on what your opponent is doing is vital in Starcraft II. Not only do I watch replays to see how frequently I scout, but also how I strategically react to whatever build they may be going. 2) Macro-management - The timing of my expansions is another key element, aswell as worker counts. Additionally, watching how I react to a push from my opponent is important. Do I perhaps cut too many workers to produce too much military? Do I forget about my workers after I start producing military? 3) Micro-management - Sometimes the fight can be a rather large clash I cannot see what went wrong/right. For example: Did my banelings hit the tanks? Did my mutas clump up against the thors? etc. 4) Harrassment - As a Zerg player, I tend to focus too much on my expansions I forget to harrass! I don't look at APM and other such categories too much yet, as I am yet to master other areas of my gameplay. One step at a time! :) |
