Playstyles

This will be a more abstract, but still applicable post.

When I was first starting to regularly practice build orders-something that every strong player on the planet has practiced endlessly-I always had trouble deciding which ones I should focus on. The simple answer is a solid background with all styles of build order is a great start, but being realistic, you have to figure out what will play to your strengths. You may be in the same position, or may shortly end up there, so I'm going to lay down some things to consider. By the way, don't be disappointed if you aren't sure what your style is. It can take quite a while to develop one, but it comes with time.

Safety First - If you are like me, then your style fits into this category. Please don't assume that this means you are a timid turtling sissy who get's slapped around at the first sight of someone aggressive. This type of player focuses on using "safe" builds which guarantee survival into the later stages of the game, while slowly overtaking your opponent with superior mechanics and flawless build order execution. This style is best suited to people with a lot of dedication to practice, as you'll need exactly that to be able to play safe builds to your advantage. This style also allows for a lot of variance as a player.

Risk Taker - If you are more this sort of player, then you like to add a certain amount of luck into your game. You'll choose build orders which when not seen coming cause a lot of damage to your enemy, but if scouted you can pretty much type gg right then and there. This style makes for some interesting games, but also be aware that there just because you may play some less mainstraim builds (you hipster, you), you'll still need to have stellar mechanics to capitalize on whatever advantage you may get.

Macro Drone - This style is not all that common, but it is implemented by some of the best players in starcraft, including flash (he's an exception though), best, nada, and a few others. This type of player uses his ungodly strong mechanics to overwhelm his opponent. You'll want to use builds which give you lots of macro capabilities quickly, and you'll want to stray away from macro intensive builds. This type isn't quite as versatile as safetoss can be, but likely just as safe.

Cheeseball. I'll quit starcraft again if you play like this. ;,,,,,;. These players use the riskiest types of builds imaginable and will use all-ins, proxies, rushes, and anything they can think off to one hit punch you out of the game. I don't recommend you play like this. The only person who gets away with it consistently is iefniaj (aka JF), and he can do it because he can still out play many people playing standard.

There's a little insight into playstyles. Like I said before, it took me quite a while to figure out what my style was, but it came eventually, and it was a big force in deciding what builds I should use. Play to your strengths, and don't be a fucking chobo.

gl hf
Rad301