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What if I can't expand...

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IDrankrifqifajarzain
3 years ago
(edited 3 years ago)
I got lose streaks on 1v1 because I forgot how to expand fast.
I've been playing co-op and teams which involve more opponents, which made me can't expand because of more incoming waves of raiders and riots, while my teammates don't want to use raiders in the first phase, especially when they are in the backline of the war.

Anything that I can do, so I could save more economy? Building defenses, when I'm in the frontline, or spam powerplants and heavies, when I'm in the backline?
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CArankTarkin
3 years ago
in 1v1 if you cant expand you sorta die... unless you have massive military advantage. Otherwise you can use raider groups to kill enemy expansions to try and keep balance.
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USrankstrikeshadow
3 years ago
It's pretty simple to use the area construct mex command with a couple constructors so they go do it without your micro. Meanwhile you either have constructors and/or your commander building a few lotus turrets to protect the mexes or choke points. Spend your micro time on your army and your raiders. If you keep the opposing raiders tied up chasing your raiders, then they cannot attack your economy and you need fewer defenses so you spend more on your army becoming stronger instead. Keep the fighting at your opponents economy instead of yours and so long as you lose less (or equal) army value than your opponent, you will very likely win the game when you push with your army.

If you do not win with raiders, then once your opponents defenses become too strong to raid, you factory switch (or build a strider) and surprise your opponent with an army of unexpected units and that might win you the game. Sometimes people raid with assault units, but I find this needs to be more of a push than a raid for the assault units to make cost. If that fails, then it becomes a war of striders and/or super weapons.
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USrankAdminBakuhatsu
3 years ago
What I can recommend for you to do is to do what I did, which is to play games against the brutal AI.

1vs1 on mostly flat, relatively open maps like alien desert, titan duel etc. Do nothing but expand and build raiders. No defenses other than lotus, RADAR and picket. Pretty much any factory other than spiders because their raiders are too awkward for this. This is the easiest way to learn to expand IMO. It's easy to end up over-relying on defenses learning like this, so try not to build more than 2 lotus per mex cluster unless you're feeling really pressured. Playing zoomed out may help you to respond to enemy raids with your own raiders if you don't already do so.

You may lose a lot of games like this but you will eventually be able to win them, and you should see yourself lasting longer against the AI as you get more used to it.
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USrankstrikeshadow
3 years ago
Brutal AI is a good idea - although - it has a weakness, but it would defeat the exercise of learning how to expand if I told you. Just play against Brutal AI concentrating on always having more mexes than the AI.
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IDrankrifqifajarzain
3 years ago
I've beaten Brutal AI a long time ago in Singleplayer until I play multiplayer and like to play with people more than playing alone.
Did you mean I should challenge myself again in Singleplayer against Brutal AI?
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BRrankManored
3 years ago
I'm not sure of what you want. You mean to say that you're sucking in 1v1 after playing teams for a while?

If so, that is natural. The gameplay and rate of expansion are very different. You can't really be good in 1v1 unless you play it regularly.
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USrankAdminBakuhatsu
3 years ago
quote:
I've beaten Brutal AI a long time ago in Singleplayer until I play multiplayer and like to play with people more than playing alone.
Did you mean I should challenge myself again in Singleplayer against Brutal AI?


Yes, in a sort of challenge mode where you only build raiders and small amounts of lotuses and pickets, and radar. Basically play as though the game never leaves the raider stage of the game. Don't cheese by using terraform or anything because that defeats the purpose.

If you play like that, it will force you to defend your expansions reasonably efficiently and work on your own raiding game.

It isn't necessary to do vs AI matches like that all the time, just playing 1vs1 regularly is better for getting good at 1vs1. But it is a pretty good way to focus on the expansion phase.
+1 / -0

AUrank4hundred
3 years ago
You have to juggle attacking defending and expanding simultaneously, it's a dance. Don't make early expensive defence in 1v1. Use units more, positioning is everything.
+0 / -0
BRrankManored
3 years ago
I think that kind of exercise tends to teach bad habits. In my experience with the AI, it is very good at punishing naked expand, poor at dealing with protected expand, and itself tends to expand in a naked and vulnerable fashion, often taking too long to rally its forces to counter your raids.

In contrast, a human player can't pay attention everywhere at once so you can get away with a lot of naked expand, specially if you're distracting them by playing aggressively. Human players deal a lot better with defenses, even if its just llts. Human players respond much better to your own raids and can actually try to outmaneuver you and cut off your retreat, potentially turning a raid into a loss, which is something the AI will never do.
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