The best way to improve in Starcraft 2 is to play a lot. It sounds silly, but it’s just true. When I started playing, I was originally placed in the gold league and stayed there for a full three months. Then slowly but surely I rose to the top 50 of America’s Grand Masters.
Obviously, not everyone can become a Grandmaster (it requires, among other things, exceptional reflexes, reaction time, and coordination), but I firmly believe that, with practice, everyone can become a teacher in Starcraft 2.
The first thing to work on is understanding the mechanics of the game, namely: armor vs unarmored, range, attack speed, damage reduction, hidden bonuses, splash damage, etc. For example, one thing that makes ground siege tanks so powerful is the fact that they can hit not just one unit, but up to 8. Obviously, the 70 damage can quickly turn into 300-400, which becomes one of the highest. damage units in the game.
Each unit has its peculiarities and becoming intrinsically familiar with them will greatly improve your game. Any Protoss player, for example, knows how to individually blink their stalkers to save them when they are about to die. Similarly, a Zerg player knows not to group their Mutalisks during a raid if the enemy has air splash damage, like a Thor.
The second thing to improve is your knowledge of group battles. Almost all Starcraft 2 games are decided by a grand confrontation, where the loser will be left on the defensive, backing off, while the victor will continue to pressure and destroy the loser’s economy and production capabilities. In my opinion, it is better to retreat from a battle that is clearly lost rather than losing each and every one of your units in a lost defense. There are things in Starcraft 2 like the Pyrrhic victory, where you somehow manage to maintain a magnificent defense, but waste so much time and resources in the process that your other bases are left defenseless.
Another key trick to improve in Starcraft 2 is to fully master the art of macro making, that is, producing units, mining bases and, above all, expanding. If you watch professional games, you will notice that they all expand very fast, sometimes dangerously fast. While risky, an early expansion can bring you twice the amount of minerals and gas that you would grab at a base, giving you a decisive mid-game advantage.
Lastly, take the time to define and improve your style, be it microaggression, economy, or turtle. Learning which race is best for you will also help you develop as a Starcraft 2 player and progress slowly to become the master. In my opinion, with one or two hours a day, any player can become a master in 6 months if they practice correctly.
