Strategy by: DJNewStyle
Date: 1/12/00

The beginning of the game is the time that is dependant most on speed.  If you start off wrong, you will probably be set back.  50% of my losses have been from games where I was set back.  Do you have a pattern of steps that you use to start each game?

Having a set of steps helps you in the long run.  Not only will you be building quicker, but if you stick to it it increases your reaction time.   For example, this is what I do at the start of each game:

  -Train a peon
  -Send each peon to it's own mineral cluster
  -Ally with my partners, share vision, Ally chat
  -Determine a rough plan of action

The first step is a no brainer.  Train your first peon before you do anything else, and you can use it's build time to do the rest of your steps.

The second step is a must for me.  Many people have said to me, "Why should I put one peon on each cluster.  Doesn't that take more time?"  To them I say, Yes it does.  The reason why you do it is because putting them all on one cluster may be quick, but you won't get the same amount of minerals.  The peons mill around for a while and then they start mining.  If you put them on seperate clusters, they mine simultaneously and you get more minerals.

The third step isn't too complex.  I ally with my partners after I do the bulk of my steps because it can be done while the other two steps are still taking place.  The peon is still training, and the peons are still mining.   Doing it before either of those steps wastes time.

The final step is the most critical.  Not just determining a plan of action, but agreeing on a plan of action (If it happens to be a team game).   We come up with a quick plan that changes as we go.  If the plan is rigid and incapable of change, you are at risk of losing the game.  For instance, if you or your ally goes straight for a tech unit, you are both open for an early kill!  How many times have you seen a new protoss player go forge first and try for carriers?   Probably the same amount of times you've killed that same type of player.

When I first started using this set of steps, It took me 20 seconds or so to do all this.  Now, I can do it all in the first 10 seconds of the game.  Set up your own steps, and you'll soon find out that you'll be building better, and quicker.