How to Play Starcraft
Know the factions., Use workers to harvest minerals., Train workers at your town hall., Pay attention to your resources., Construct buildings to expand your base., Build overtop geysers to extract Vespene gas., Assign workers to harvest gas., Learn...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Know the factions.
StarCraft II offers three playable factions, or races.
The Terran are humans adept at defense and maneuverability.
The Zerg are insect-like aliens meant to stage large-scale attacks.
The Protoss, an advanced race of warriors, are slow but powerful.
You only need one Protoss combat unit for every two to three Zerg and Terran units to win a battle. "Units" refer to the tiny characters that play different roles in your army.
Some units can attack, while others have special abilities that can turn the tide of battle when used at the right moment. -
Step 2: Use workers to harvest minerals.
Minerals are currency that pays for things like buildings, units, and upgrades.
At the beginning of every game, you find yourself at a base that consists of a building, four workers, and patches of blue crystals called minerals.
Left-click one of the workers, then right-click a mineral patch.
Your worker will automatically begin harvesting minerals. "Workers" and "harvesters" refer to units able to harvest minerals.
Each faction has one worker unit.
The Terran worker is called an SCV, the Zerg worker is a Drone, and the Protoss worker is called a Probe.
You can select multiple units by clicking and dragging around a group of units. , "Town hall" is a general term used to refer to a Terran Command Center, Zerg Hatchery, or Protoss Nexus, primary buildings where you train workers and other unit types.
Training workers differs depending on the faction you choose.
Terran:
Left-click the Command Center, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click SCV.
Protoss:
Left-click the Nexus, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Probe.
Zerg:
Left click a larva, one of the worm-like critters crawling around near your Hatchery.
Click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Drone. , Every unit, building, and upgrade has a resource cost associated with it.
You can view resource costs by clicking your "town hall" (or a larva if you're a Zerg player), clicking Build, and hovering your mouse cursor over the unit you want to build.
Your resources are represented by three counters in the upper-right corner of the screen: one for minerals, one for gas, and one for supply, or the number of units you can support. , Your worker units do more than harvest resources.
They are the only units able to construct new buildings that give you access to more powerful units, upgrades, and more.
Constructing buildings varies with each faction.
Terran: left-click an SCV, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then select a building to construct.
Begin construction by clicking on a stretch of clear ground.
If the building silhouette glows red, you cannot build on that patch of ground.
Protoss: left-click a Probe, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then select a building to construct.
Protoss players can only place buildings within the blue circle, known as a power field, than emanates from Pylon buildings.
The first building you construct should be a Pylon.
Zerg: left-click a Drone, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then select a building to construct.
Zerg players can only build on the creep, the purple, slimy carpet that surrounds your Hatchery.
When construction begins, your Drone transforms into the building you chose.
You'll lose the Drone, but no worries:
Drones are cheap, so just build another one.
Buildings you can construct are shown in color, along with their resource costs.
Grayed-out buildings cannot be built until you build their pre-requisite buildings.
You can read pre-requisite requirements by hovering your cursor over a grayed-out building in the Build menu. , Near your town hall and mineral patches is a geyser emitting puffs of green fumes.
That's a Vespene geyser, and you can assemble a building overtop of it to harvest Vespene gas, which you need to pay for certain buildings, units, and upgrades.
Each faction uses a different building to harvest gas.
Terran:
Select an SCV, click Build, then click Refinery.
Place the Refinery overtop the Vespene geyser.
Protoss:
Select a Probe, click Build, then click Assimilator.
Place the Assimilator overtop the Vespene geyser.
Zerg:
Select a Drone, click Build, then click Extractor.
Place the Extractor overtop the Vespene geyser. , Once you've built your Refinery, Assimilator, or Extractor, build four to five workers, select them by left-clicking, then right-click the Refinery/Assimilator/Extractor.
They will begin harvesting gas and continue until the geyser is depleted. , Right clicks perform different actions depending on what you click.
For instance, selecting a unit and then right-clicking on the ground orders the unit to move to that position.
Right-clicking an enemy unit causes your unit to attack. , Each faction starts the game with one building that lets you train combat units.
To train other types of combat units, build other types of buildings.
Terran: left-click an SCV, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Barracks.
Place your Barracks on an empty patch of ground.
When it's finished, click the Barracks, then click Marine.
The Marine fires its weapon from medium range and is cheap, so train lots of them and attack in large groups.
Protoss: left-click a Probe, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Gateway.
Place your Gateway within a Pylon's power field.
When it's finished, click the Gateway, then click Zealot.
Zealots are slow, but deal tremendous damage.
Two to three zealots is enough to attack twice as many Terran Marines or Zerg Zerglings.
Zerg: left-click a Drone, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Spawning Pool.
Place your Spawning Pool anywhere on the creep (slimy purple carpet).
When it's finished, click one of the worm-like larva crawling around near the Hatchery, click Build, and click Zergling.
Zerglings are extremely fast and come in pairs.
Build up swarms of them to overrun your opponents. , You can think of supply as food: armies need food to function.
Check your supply, shown in the upper-right corner of the screen next to your supply of minerals and Vespene gas.
As usual, the three factions increase supply in different ways.
Terran:
Select an SCV, click Build, then click Supply Depot.
Place the Supply Depot on any open patch of ground.
Protoss:
Select a Probe, click Build, then click Pylon.
Pylons generate power fields and do not have to be placed inside a power field to function.
Zerg:
Select a larva in front of your Hatchery, click Build, then click Overlord.
Overlords are mobile units that cannot attack, so don't leave them unguarded. -
Step 3: Train workers at your town hall.
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Step 4: Pay attention to your resources.
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Step 5: Construct buildings to expand your base.
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Step 6: Build overtop geysers to extract Vespene gas.
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Step 7: Assign workers to harvest gas.
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Step 8: Learn context-sensitive actions.
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Step 9: Construct a building capable of training combat units.
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Step 10: Increase your supply to build more units.
Detailed Guide
StarCraft II offers three playable factions, or races.
The Terran are humans adept at defense and maneuverability.
The Zerg are insect-like aliens meant to stage large-scale attacks.
The Protoss, an advanced race of warriors, are slow but powerful.
You only need one Protoss combat unit for every two to three Zerg and Terran units to win a battle. "Units" refer to the tiny characters that play different roles in your army.
Some units can attack, while others have special abilities that can turn the tide of battle when used at the right moment.
Minerals are currency that pays for things like buildings, units, and upgrades.
At the beginning of every game, you find yourself at a base that consists of a building, four workers, and patches of blue crystals called minerals.
Left-click one of the workers, then right-click a mineral patch.
Your worker will automatically begin harvesting minerals. "Workers" and "harvesters" refer to units able to harvest minerals.
Each faction has one worker unit.
The Terran worker is called an SCV, the Zerg worker is a Drone, and the Protoss worker is called a Probe.
You can select multiple units by clicking and dragging around a group of units. , "Town hall" is a general term used to refer to a Terran Command Center, Zerg Hatchery, or Protoss Nexus, primary buildings where you train workers and other unit types.
Training workers differs depending on the faction you choose.
Terran:
Left-click the Command Center, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click SCV.
Protoss:
Left-click the Nexus, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Probe.
Zerg:
Left click a larva, one of the worm-like critters crawling around near your Hatchery.
Click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Drone. , Every unit, building, and upgrade has a resource cost associated with it.
You can view resource costs by clicking your "town hall" (or a larva if you're a Zerg player), clicking Build, and hovering your mouse cursor over the unit you want to build.
Your resources are represented by three counters in the upper-right corner of the screen: one for minerals, one for gas, and one for supply, or the number of units you can support. , Your worker units do more than harvest resources.
They are the only units able to construct new buildings that give you access to more powerful units, upgrades, and more.
Constructing buildings varies with each faction.
Terran: left-click an SCV, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then select a building to construct.
Begin construction by clicking on a stretch of clear ground.
If the building silhouette glows red, you cannot build on that patch of ground.
Protoss: left-click a Probe, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then select a building to construct.
Protoss players can only place buildings within the blue circle, known as a power field, than emanates from Pylon buildings.
The first building you construct should be a Pylon.
Zerg: left-click a Drone, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then select a building to construct.
Zerg players can only build on the creep, the purple, slimy carpet that surrounds your Hatchery.
When construction begins, your Drone transforms into the building you chose.
You'll lose the Drone, but no worries:
Drones are cheap, so just build another one.
Buildings you can construct are shown in color, along with their resource costs.
Grayed-out buildings cannot be built until you build their pre-requisite buildings.
You can read pre-requisite requirements by hovering your cursor over a grayed-out building in the Build menu. , Near your town hall and mineral patches is a geyser emitting puffs of green fumes.
That's a Vespene geyser, and you can assemble a building overtop of it to harvest Vespene gas, which you need to pay for certain buildings, units, and upgrades.
Each faction uses a different building to harvest gas.
Terran:
Select an SCV, click Build, then click Refinery.
Place the Refinery overtop the Vespene geyser.
Protoss:
Select a Probe, click Build, then click Assimilator.
Place the Assimilator overtop the Vespene geyser.
Zerg:
Select a Drone, click Build, then click Extractor.
Place the Extractor overtop the Vespene geyser. , Once you've built your Refinery, Assimilator, or Extractor, build four to five workers, select them by left-clicking, then right-click the Refinery/Assimilator/Extractor.
They will begin harvesting gas and continue until the geyser is depleted. , Right clicks perform different actions depending on what you click.
For instance, selecting a unit and then right-clicking on the ground orders the unit to move to that position.
Right-clicking an enemy unit causes your unit to attack. , Each faction starts the game with one building that lets you train combat units.
To train other types of combat units, build other types of buildings.
Terran: left-click an SCV, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Barracks.
Place your Barracks on an empty patch of ground.
When it's finished, click the Barracks, then click Marine.
The Marine fires its weapon from medium range and is cheap, so train lots of them and attack in large groups.
Protoss: left-click a Probe, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Gateway.
Place your Gateway within a Pylon's power field.
When it's finished, click the Gateway, then click Zealot.
Zealots are slow, but deal tremendous damage.
Two to three zealots is enough to attack twice as many Terran Marines or Zerg Zerglings.
Zerg: left-click a Drone, click the Build button in the lower-right corner, then click Spawning Pool.
Place your Spawning Pool anywhere on the creep (slimy purple carpet).
When it's finished, click one of the worm-like larva crawling around near the Hatchery, click Build, and click Zergling.
Zerglings are extremely fast and come in pairs.
Build up swarms of them to overrun your opponents. , You can think of supply as food: armies need food to function.
Check your supply, shown in the upper-right corner of the screen next to your supply of minerals and Vespene gas.
As usual, the three factions increase supply in different ways.
Terran:
Select an SCV, click Build, then click Supply Depot.
Place the Supply Depot on any open patch of ground.
Protoss:
Select a Probe, click Build, then click Pylon.
Pylons generate power fields and do not have to be placed inside a power field to function.
Zerg:
Select a larva in front of your Hatchery, click Build, then click Overlord.
Overlords are mobile units that cannot attack, so don't leave them unguarded.
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