Getting Better -- Playing other races

So, I figure that the next step in getting better as a player is to play as the other races to get to know their strengths/weaknesses/openers/etc.

Do you recommend this practice? What do you think about as you are doing it? Is there a good meta strategy that you recommend? Do you play scored games? Or do you play against AI to avoid getting crushed on record?

Just wondering what you think?

Solution 1:

I think what helps to a certain extent. I recommend instead of playing random, pick one of the other 2 races and play a good amount with them, I'd say at least 10-20 real games (if you've never played the race at all maybe play against AI just to learn the hotkeys), and then do the same with the 3rd race. Just going straight into random is just going to throw you off and practicing with consistency is better than practicing many different things at the same time.

Solution 2:

Personally, I stick with just Zerg at the moment because of how I view the game. I want to get really good with Zerg before I switch to a different race because I would rather be a great Zerg player than a mediocre random player. That is just a personal preference.

So then how do I learn about other races? Replays, game casts, gaming.se, friends that play other races basically tapping into the community. Using this benefits me solidly enough as a casual player.

I do think there is a lot you can learn from playing multiple races though but I feel this requires more time with the game which I just can't afford.

Here are a few links to help you with getting better:

1. Training Maps
2. AI training
3. Learning Methods