Joana's Starcraft 2 Strategy Guide

I recently heard about an awesome strategy guide that details how to become a better Starcraft 2 player, both in multi-player against other humans and in single-player versus the AI.

I created a blog just to talk about it, so if you want to read more, then please click on any part of this sentence!

Good luck in your Starcraft II endeavors!

P.S: I'm still boycotting Cooperative Mode. At the rate Blizzard is going, I'll probably never do Co-op again. :/

New Starcraft 2 Hub at Hubpages.com!

Come check out my newest entry related to Blizzard Entertainment's RTS!

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Starcraft-II-LAN-Conspiracy

(Yes, yes, I know. I haven't posted in this blog for nearly a month. Well, I haven't played Starcraft 2 in nearly a month. So, there. :P)

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

Fishing for Achievements

I've been taking a hiatus from Cooperative play (I would really appreciate a block function in Starcraft II so I cannot be paired with people who have griefed me). Of course, Starcraft 2 is way too much fun to stop playing all-together, so I've been doing 1v1 custom games against the AI to get some achievements. I've currently gotten the Zerg economy achievements for Zerglings produced and Lair mutation and the Terran economy achievements for Marines produced and quick Factory construction.

I'll be doing the Protoss economy achievements whenever I log in again (have been concentrating more on my Dragon Quest IX articles; feel free to check out my HubPages profile for details).

So, if you need any help with any of the achievements, let me know since I've been saving up those replays. I can always send them to you. :)

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

So...

What would you guys like me to write about? It goes without saying that I'm going to try and stay on a Starcraft 2 related topic as much as possible, but what should I write about exactly? Gameplay tips? Campaign help? APM suggestions?

I'll try to come up with answers to these questions, but feel free to help me out here!

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

An Aside to Mention a New Site for Top Reviews

Have you ever wanted to post a list of top items in a category you enjoyed? Maybe you wanted to post your top 5 favorite cheeses, or maybe you just need to mention your top 3 videogames of all time? Well, a new site has come out recently and you can join now! For this week only, there's no validation process, so sign up now and avoid the hassle later!

The link to this new site, called Best Reviewer is: http://www.best-reviewer.com/referral/7777776d

Now go check out the site and find my entry, that relates to my top 20 videogame articles at HubPages right now! ;)

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

Of Elitists and Backstabbers!

Well, a while ago (as in days ago) I talked a little about how I got backstabbed (or sabotaged, if you want to be more politically correct in Starcraft lingo) by a fellow player who wanted me to give him unit control and I refused. If you haven't read that blog post of mine just yet, go find it!

I then decided to write an article over at hubpages.com about the subject, as I believe it's a legitimate problem that will consume this game given enough time (I hope not though).

Anyways, feel free to read the article by clicking any part of this sentence!

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

New Article released at Hubpages.com

As promised, I have released my newest hub at hubpages.com! As you may have suspected by my hint, the subject matter is how to die slowly in a cooperative game of Starcraft 2. Read on at: http://hubpages.com/hub/Starcraft-2-The-Art-of-Dying-Slowly

Feel free to comment on the article either here or over at HubPages.

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

Backstabbers Abound...

So I had the delicious experience (and by delicious I mean I got so ticked off I stopped playing for the night) of being backstabbed. Backstabbing, for those of you who don't know what it means in Starcraft 2 lingo, is when one of your allies wipes you out (whether completely or so close to completely that it's effectively the same thing).

The really sad part was the reason he backstabbed me: I wouldn't give him unit control so he could lead my army. Sheesh! It's my army! I'll live or die with it. It's not like I was playing as fail as our ally was.

So he waits until the computers attack our position, lets me take all the punishment, and then wipes out my production, saying: "This is for not giving me unit control."

The people who enjoy doing this, in a cooperative environment that LOCKS TEAMS (so yes, to destroy my production, he had to force-attack me), deserve to be ostracized. It's not like I was playing a 3v3 custom game with unlocked teams (in which case, that's part of the possible ways such a map can play out).

Oh, and if you do it for the same reasons as him (wanting to control my army in a team game), then you're detracting from my fun and you can go <the rest censored for the kiddies>!

A New Starcraft 2 Article on HubPages! Expect it by Monday!

You read the title correctly. ;)

I'm writing up a hub on hubpages.com related to Starcraft 2. It'll probably be done by Monday, at which time I'll make a new post announcing it formally!

Until then, feel free to speculate on what I'm writing about! :P

Hint: It's related to the only phrase that I've placed in italics in any of my blog posts. ;)

Anyways, until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

Some of My Pet Peeves in Starcraft 2 Cooperative

I wrote up some tips in my last post. Now, I'm going to write some things that really drive me up a wall while playing Starcraft 2:

• Allies who don't help you fend off an enemy assault when it's painfully obvious you're heavily outmatched. At the very least, they could go for a counterattack on the enemy forces. In that case, even if you get wiped out, it becomes a 1v1 or 2v2 (depending on the map type).
• People who leave the game in the first minute of the game. Obviously, life happens (sudden power/internet outages, emergencies), but I doubt that that's always the reason it occurs. I don't see why they can't stay and play. As far as I know, there's no achievements unlockable by losing games. :P
• People who turtle and don't leave their main area until they're out of resources (and sometimes not even then!). Earth to "you-know-who-you-are": We're playing a Cooperative game, I/We (depends on map type) can help you! No need to turtle for 20+ minutes. Oh, did I mention that the greatest offender of this pet peeve actually got wiped out anyways? You would've thought he'd have the decency to not get stomped after all of those defenses he set up. -_-
• Triple Terran on the AI side in a 3v3 match. Then the legion of Marauders knocks on MY door. While I'm playing Zerg. Oh, for the love of the Swarm!! -_- 
• (Pro Tip: Counter with Zerglings. Hydralisks are flimsy and Roaches are Armored).
• The Bio Ball aka. MMM aka. Marines/Medivacs/Marauders. I hate myself when I use it; that's how bad I hate it. Seriously, I feel like Protoss and Zerg require actual effort to master but Terrans can stomp with their basic Tier 1 infantry and some healing ships (which, mind you, just make the Bio Ball stronger; you don't really need the healing if you get to your enemies fast enough). I don't think I've used half of the Terran tech tree yet, because MMM works that well. To be fair, it's fun the first dozen times you use it. After that, you feel like you're coated in Cheese. :P
• I loathe how my micro and macro slips at regular intervals while playing Zerg. How I miss the days of the first version where the extent of playing Zerg well was just expanding fast. Now you need to micro Queens as well (which can get overwhelming if you're trying to do so for multiple bases at the same time).

/rant

I hope you enjoyed reading through my pet peeves. :P
You're probably peeved by some of these things as well. :D

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

Some Helpful Multiplayer Tips for Starcraft 2 Cooperative Gaming

I'm going to write up some helpful tips I've picked up for playing Starcraft 2 with other human players.

• If you get a notification that your ally is under attack, go help him/her out. A 2v2 or 3v3 gets much harder if it's suddenly 1v2 or 2v3 (respectively).
• Synergize your unit selections. For example, if you're playing Zerg and your ally is Terran, you should use Zerglings to complement his ranged firepower. Roaches are optional, but Hydralisks are essentially buffed up Marines (look at the stats, I'm not joking!).
• Assist your ally's efforts to expand. Several maps in the Cooperative map pool have destructible rocks guarding some of the mines (this is especially true if they are High Yield mineral fields). When you see your ally trying to destroy some rocks, send your units to assist.
• If an ally is getting attacked and you are sending units to defend, prioritize his economy and his main tech buildings (such as the Spire, Dark Shrine, Factory, and other buildings that are mid to high tier and can cause quite the setback if lost).
• By the same token, that's what you should be aiming at if you're attacking an opponent.
• If you're being attacked by all the computers in a Co-op match, entrench. This involves creating defensive structures and units to protect those structures. You may not win, but you'll usually buy your allies enough time to either assist you or counterattack your opponents. I call this Dying Slowly when the skirmish in question is visibly unwinnable.
• If you're playing as Zerg, be particularly mindful of where you place your Creep Tumors. If you have Protoss and Terran allies, your building foundation (aka. Creep) can work against them as they cannot build on it. Or, maybe you're evil and that's what you want to do... :P

These are just a few tips I've figured out during my game time in Starcraft II. Feel free to add more tips in the comments sections! :D

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

Some StarCraft II Articles I wrote up on HubPages!

Here are links to every StarCraft II article I've written up on hubpages.com as of the time of this writing! Enjoy! :D

http://hubpages.com/hub/Starcraft-2-The-Five-Hardest-Missions-in-the-Campaign

http://hubpages.com/hub/Starcraft-2-Walking-the-Brutal-Path-Part-1

http://hubpages.com/hub/Starcraft-2-Walking-the-Brutal-Path-Part-2

http://hubpages.com/hub/SC2-Review

http://hubpages.com/hub/Starcraft-2-Top-5-Campaign-Tech-Upgrades

Hello World! (And Starcraft 2 fans!)

Well, my username is Winterfate. If you want to find out my real name, go check the copyright at the bottom of this blog. ;P

I decided to create this blog because of a splendid idea I had. What if I decided to blog about my experiences playing Starcraft 2 (mainly in multiplayer cooperative mode; that's the reasoning behind the title of this blog) and others could ask me for help or just follow along?

After all, if you've even heard about Starcraft 2, you've probably heard about games played at the highest stratas of the leagues. But what if you're someone who just likes to stomp some computer players (aka. the AI)? Or, at the very least, just aren't in that category of "top level, pro, player"?

I was thinking about writing a hub about this on hubpages.com, and I may yet do so. But, making a blog about it allows me to update it every so often, unlike hubs which are meant to be more like published articles (so little to no editing after publishing).

I'll try to keep this updated (on the range of a few days to a week between updates) on my latest developments (memorable games played; achievements earned, etc.)

Anyways, I hope you follow me on this blog and feel free to follow me on hubpages.com as well!

See you later, ladies and gents! ;)
-Winterfate