Why You AREN'T Improving in StarCraft ( 4 Different Drills that will change your LIFE) |Harstem Hour

[@alltheusernameswastaken8936]

How to improve in Starcraft: step1: shave hair, step2: watch this video, step3: road to rank one baby

[@lordlopikong6940]

"Just rally a void ray across the map. And maybe you too, can be a top level protoss grandmaster" -Harstem

[@zbyszanna]

I have to tell Harstem about this video. From what I've seen recently, he could use it.

[@Necrocidal]

I heard on this channel that he's a prick

[@charact_r9202]

@@Necrocidal from who? Harstem? Don't listen to that guy, he's a prick ;)

[@dizastro5437]

I think he is trolling us?

[@velocirapper]

I think he did, hes playing hot right now

[@cobble3231]

Harstem showing he is Dutch and in team liquid in the bottom right to assert physical and mental dominance

[@peterbrough2461]

Bet he can't canal jump worth a damn, though😜😁

[@Erbmon]

The hardest part of this game is not micro or macro, is how anxious it makes people, I don't give a f*** about my mr or ranking and still I get nervous every time I click that rank button.

[@hexaquras9374]

there needs to be a guide to help ladder anxiety

[@rlinkquish]

@@hexaquras9374 Maynarde put out a pretty good video about dealing with ladder anxiety

[@yummyzerg]

Yes.

[@TTarps]

@@hexaquras9374 @Erbmon The answer is litterally just play more. The only people who have anxiety laddering are people who play only to win or people who don't play enough. Once playing ladder games is normalised the anxiety leaves you. Then you get anxiety when you play tournament games, then the same thing applies, play more tournament games and over time you become less anxious.

[@Necroneer]

That anxiety helps me a lot in waking me up XD

[@Rooachie]

Harstem is streaming from prison. Thats why he got a sink in his room. The madlad

[@th3oryO]

Ditch prison looking pretty aight Edit: there's even bars on his door lmao, crazy that the guards haven't ripped the poster down yet

[@aifefinklea5892]

This. This is exactly what I've been looking for my entire life. Thanks for the great and informative video!

[@eldra-Hey]

If you what you were looking for, why didn't you stop looking

[@spiraldynamics6008]

@@eldra-Hey lol

[@axh2]

36:05 part about playing against Serral was pure gold... or if it was sincere then hang on there Captain, at least you have us! ;)

[@BryanRice800]

I where these flames are going: "more stuff beats less stuff" XD.

[@floriancazacu4504]

Finally someone saying something different than just macro. I think it's so off-putting to tell people "ignore what you like and drew you to this game because your macro sucks" and your channel is an insane statement of how you can reach grandmaster level in so many ways because of how complex starcraft is. Thank you!

[@nicolaslopez3987]

Let’s be honest here, people in low league are so because they don’t know how to macro properly. The only thing ViBE saying (because it’s about him right) is that macro alone can carry you to Diamond, and if you are not it’s because of you macro. It doesn’t mean you should practice micro, but just that improving your macro should be your main focus until Diamond.

[@sirk9565]

F for the 2 zealots that hopefully did a good job

[@fenrack5269]

Damn, you have such a pleasant voice to listen to. I'm not even Protoss, but just listening to this makes me happy.

[@ay.vandelay]

Content so good you get the value of an hour for only 40 min of your time :)

[@dardinoz]

[00:30] Camera Hotkeys [00:50] Drill 1: Maxing on Probes [11:50] Drill 2: Build Order Drill PvZ [22:00] Drill 3: Build Order Drill PvT [31:00] Drill 4: Build Order Drill PvP

[@grandpresidentofegemy5235]

Ay yes, the infamous not so harstem hour.

[@zbyszanna]

Pro tip - if you want to get a full Harstem hour out of the 40 minutes Harstem is giving us, watch the video in three quarters the normal speed.

[@SlizZeRz]

Just watch it twice at 1.25x Speed

[@Actaris80]

Thanks for this, I just started Protos, I was playing Terran... Only gold, but this has massively helped with my Protos planning. Very basic but fantastic for foundations. Only played since lockdown... Big love buddy ✌🏻

[@somethingsomethingsomethingdar]

So I’ve been playing learning on my own for a while and I’ve been stuck somewhat in the low gold 2-3 rank. Sometimes I do good and then I’ll run into a higher deranged player who wipes the floor with me. Watching this today I decided to stop worrying about learning new builds and focused on JUST the first exercise. Then once I practiced for about 30 minutes went back to rank for a few games of practice. Won EVERY SINGLE game. Not even close. No cheese or crazy stuff just felt like the macro side became more automatic. Thanks for the video even if it is 3 years old

[@coronnation8854]

The Captain is the new Day9. Best SC2 content out there right now! Keep it up.

[@jordanwhite8567]

This should be a private class. Sc2 coaches are sad you’re doing their job for free. You’re the man!

[@goodoldingus1889]

I absolutely adore your new guitar stand! Looks lovely o7

[@Dank_Lulu]

Hello, Harstem! I don't play SCII at all (except those 5-10 games back in WoL), just enjoy watching competitive, but I still really appreciate this video. Not only is it usefull if I decide to give it a try, but the basic concepts in acquiring professional-level skill are covered here in an easy to digest manner. Things like practicing basics , time/mental resource-management and skill learning-curves. It always feels good to at least know how to be smart, so thanks for that!

[@FickleWid]

Found harstems alt account

[@ZergIingLover]

@@FickleWid no, this guy is a top commenter on Lowko's channel too.

[@vasilstoyanov5465]

14:18 well that escalated quickly :D

[@Heliaced]

"I'm sure you'll go to Aiur real fast, pew" xD

[@alex.projects1400]

I really love this part about balanced training 35:51. Our goal [...] is to improve as fast as possible. [...] better enemies mean better practice. [...] (or, if you just focus on one skill) in the end you fight against Serral and you're never able to beat him and you've wasted 10 years of your life. It's almost a life lesson 🤔... (like SC2) you need to balance everything you do (with your health, time and money).

[@danielskrivan6921]

16:20 This build order is like an onion. It has layers.

[@maxou2252]

Exactly the video i was looking for Thanks for great content and well commented

[@FirstBatalion]

hey i just started playing SC2 and just wanted to say thankyou, a lot of these tips have helped me especially the camera hotkeys which i didnt know existed. thanks again!

[@xyYz12387]

The joy of Starcraft with Harstem Ross

[@yeye3999]

I find that most of the people I go against cant keep up their macro while attacking. Thats why I think a lot of people (winter in particular) says that macro trumps micro; because if you don't have a functioning production line and economy while attacking then the other player will not have any units after the fight. I've won a lot of (Silver; yeah I'm a silver, started playing recently) games by just having a lot more shit than the other player but yeah whenever I go up against someone that can macro and micro I am completely destroyed.

[@TayakiNoTenshi]

The value priority thing reminds me of an Age of Empires 2 game I had a while ago, where I sent out some units to micro, pestering enemy's economy. 5-10 minutes later, I look back and find that most of my base had been wiped off the map.

[@malusmundus-9605]

This dude is actually the best sc2 teacher

[@patrickcampbell957]

A tip I would give for improving your micro would also be to watch the minute micro series there is a lot of good stuff in there that instantly improves your micro.

[@NewsIdeasInnovation]

Great video, appreciate the new format.

[@ni_ls_91]

prolly one of the best sc2 guides out there.

[@andrewdixon7894]

Thank you! Great video!

[@RainingArtillery]

Ah indeed, so that's what it was! I thought I wasn't improving at SC2 because I don't play SC2 at all, but this makes a lot more sense.

[@angry_zergling]

Ah...thinking of attention as a limited resource and considering how to invest that as exactly as and with the same relative value as which you might consider how to spend your minerals or gas is truly a paradigm-shifting way to look at things. You're a smart guy, Harstem. =)

[@SlayPlenty]

4 drills that will change you LIFE. KZbin appropiate. Perfect for people's reccomendation. Very informative.

[@tolkkiturilli]

I don't even play the game anymore and even I can appreciate this amazing video. Thanks!

[@Tom_Aquagardens]

Damn kids 😉 this is gold! One may say even a lesson to life👍

[@ChimaeraTom]

i switched to zerg from protoss after a 6 year break from sc2, way more comfortable with macro, my biggest thing is not getting supply blocked. always at 44 and at 172 and randomly between them. also Harstem kept his hair and made it into a wig, just to troll us

[@yummyzerg]

Macro is easier? I switched to Zerg from Protoss and I think the macro is way harder. At Plat 3, all I had to do as toss was put all my Nexuses on one hotkey, spam build worker every 3- seconds, and make sure I had at least 8 gate and a robo. I was just rolling over everybody. As zerg (diamond 3), I find inject micro to be killer. I'm always starving for Larvae until about 4 base (or 3 base + macro hatch). I get killed by terran mech 100% of the time, or by any turtle terran, and I pretty much die in any long game vs toss. I'm pretty good at spending my money after I have enough larva to consistently make units wave after wave, but at that point I'm typically floating thousands of min/gas. I'm just happy the battle micro is simpler, it's just an A move while not letting expensive units die too fast.

[@TTarps]

@@yummyzerg Do example one from the video butfocus on injecting, building drones, building queens, spreading creep. If you're only diamond 3 then your fundimental mechanics aren't good enough yet so drill one from the video would be extreamly beneficial. When people say Zerg macro is easier all they mean is there is a rhythm to it, spend larva, inject, spread creep. A lot of people find Protoss macro harder due to there being less flow and having a mixture of macro styles, warpgates's or the more traditional robo/SG.

[@ChimaeraTom]

@@yummyzerg soz I didnt intend to say Zerg macro is easier. Just that since i came back i've been more comfortable with it. As @LDS said i find the rhythm easier and it might simply be the old "5-SD every few seconds -> injectx3 -> creep if time" is more ingrained. With Protoss i have 'blackout moments' all the time, where i just freeze and forget stupid stuff. i am mid-silver so everything i'm saying is probably pointless

[@yummyzerg]

@@TTarps Thanks.

[@fantastic_n0b]

Harstem you have such a stoner mood i love it

[@katatsumuri404]

Thanks!

[@jacksontrust6035]

Harstem, would you possibly do a video on how to construct a practice schedule for the game? Maybe based on what you do or something like that. For instance, I want to set myself to practice for 5 hours a week as a 3.5k Zerg, how should I structure those 5 hours and how can we structure our hours generally? Also loving the content, keep it up captain

[@ralf87100]

I WAS SO FOCUSSED... and then this happened and i lol :D 28:02

[@CPeyser08]

29:40 - 3 things to look for in a replay

[@nickmorrison9092]

I dont even play sc2 ladder but your vids are always fun to watch regardless

[@Ghi102]

I think the reason people focus so much on macro is because for people in gold league or below (which is around 50% of people), their macro is so bad that if they focused on spending their money, no matter what it is, they could just F2 A-Move and probably win the game. It is their "easiest" way of winning the game Most of the micro they do is also anti-micro, A-Moving is the best micro strategy for a player of that level. Both since it allows them to macro, but also they won't reduce their dps with bad micro

[@АлексГергинов-в5ш]

I like how in 36:21 he shares someone`s lifestory... Who this guy is noone knows...

[@jmgutierrez962]

Thanks for this very helpful and informative video Harstem..gonna practice then soon and get better in the game too..

[@Pitapie]

Yesterday I was Plat and I just beat Big Gabe with my eyes closed, can confirm.

[@You-ul8qw]

Harstem you reached 50k subs! nice! (thats alot of people)

[@bclayton9539]

Congratulations on 50k subs!

[@e1211]

Can you talk where your hands are on the keyboard? Maybe i have small hands but i probably won't be able to reach f7 if my pinky is on control

[@bmjoaco2339]

use your right hand to hit f7

[@brandonpearman9218]

I dont agree that you can micro your way to a win when opponent has superior macro (unless the rank difference is enormous which generally doesnt happen on ladder). Micro is where you win or lose when all else is even. It is easy to say just focus on everything when you are good at the game. I'm not convinced that lower level players should NOT focus on macro first. When I say lower level players I mean up to gold. I think from plat micro starts to become relevant. Maybe he is referring to plat/diamond as low level players?

[@jaroslavstepan6084]

Very helpfull stuff. Thanks!

[@redfox7623]

Hit the thumbs up 5 seconds into the preload ad cause the description made me laugh way more than it probably should. The video also has good info in it as well

[@IzalorDantin]

thank you for this video

[@otoburkaplan]

According to the legend, that guitar was grounded next to lavatory after singing about macro...

[@reinux]

"Because last time you played the game was 2014... I'm looking at you" STOP LOOKING AT ME

[@vjekoslavranogajec1900]

6:54 a wild SCV appears

[@taylorolson6228]

but harstem, what if i wanna stay gold? 69th comment nice

[@dgogolinwork-account811]

thanks a lot for cool guides! Are you going to capture the next steps for the exercise?

[@javaskull]

Gonna try your drills.

[@NewGuyRacing]

This video is more like life lessons, using starcraft as an example.

[@princessrandom8564]

Damn this was one of the most informative videos ive seen bout sc2, thanks cap'n Im a zerg but still helpful!!

[@isaackvasager9957]

I didn't know Eminem played SC2. Thanks for the tips, Em!

[@SnkobArts]

Love you Cap! this is exactly what im looking for #harLip #harbitch4lyfe

[@benmckinlay1902]

Harstem, I notice in the final game you have a pylon as hotkey 3. Could you explain why you'd ever need a pylon hotkeyed? It's not something I've seen done

[@awooawoo9628]

He just does it to spam hotkeys in the beginning to warm up, he does that also with supply depots to iirc.

[@wsmeans]

I'll usually hotkey my first pylon where I'm going to build my gate then hotkey my gates to it as well. It's particularly handy if the pylon is on the low ground.

[@FickleWid]

On top of what others said, it's a good way to physically see the timing to know when it's good to send a probe for the gateway build.

[@silvergreydragon]

Rockin that Hardstem haircut I see

[@yummyzerg]

36:25 You okay, Captain?

[@IsaacFNghost]

I can see how this would help. Can’t tell you how many replays I’ve watched where I see a good 10 second window with no scv production. And then wondering why I’m broke later in the game

[@NotaThing13]

The Starcraft professor!

[@SandcakePaw]

Thanks for video .

[@TheDarkruler211]

Great video good sir, thx a lot

[@rivermadrid610]

Zealots don't go to Aiur, they go to the Khala X| Unless you mean they aren't dying and they are getting warped out to the nearest safe-haven... But over the duration of SC2 in particular, Aiur has fallen to the zerg, so it wouldn't make sense that they go there. And... after the campaign the fighting has stopped, so it still wouldn't make sense; I always imagine that PvP is some squabble that happened during the SC2 campaign, but wasn't in the campaign. Not trying to be an overanalytical doucher, just really like the lore. Literally teared up multiple times during the entirety of all 4 campaigns.

[@fanningconstruction2050]

Good morning harstem.

[@ggolez7293]

This definitely changed my life

[@mareker]

Don't forget kids: playing guitar translates to your mechanical skills in SC2

[@sakatasankai1392]

Please Harstem, do a video about your hotkeys! That would be very helpful! Also, how do you guys do stuff with your camera hotkeys? I used to think of them as permanent, so that one can really build up their muscle memory: say you always have the Main base on F1, natural F2 and so forth, then over time one will really get fast with them. The problem is, it seems like pro gamers always change up their camera controls, so instead of having F1 as the main base the entire game, they use F1 for multiple important places on the map during the game, but at the same time, pro gamers also jump from a specific base to another in seconds. How is that possible? Do they just use like 10 camera hotkeys? Please someone make a video about it!

[@FickleWid]

I'm not sure I've ever seen someone reuse F1. Are you sure they are not just double tapping a unit control group on the map or physically clicking on the minimap?

[@bushsc2412]

My life has changed!

[@eriksundell1400]

Interesting idea, makes me wonder how to get rid of social media habit loops.

[@nosemeocurrenada93]

What works for me is to put the phone in the wardrobe. I want to scroll the feed but not that much as to get up from the chair

[@gewinnste]

11:10 This! Especially for protoss "more stuff beats less stuff" is absolute nonsense at any level. Fights are won by better positioning and good force fields play a huge role, regularly make the difference between winning an engagement and lights out.

[@EpicJuiceFilms]

This is perfect - I just hit diamond with Protoss and i'm excited to practice these drills and shoot for masters!

[@emmetsmith6402]

i think the point of telling people to focus on macro is that it's the boring part, so people have a tendency to undervalue it. and the excerise of doing, say, vibe's B2GM builds, is that it proves to stubborn nerds that macro is important, where on some level the wouldn't believe it otherwise. but yeah winning with macro->max->a-move can feel almost troll-y because you have to crush your opponents in macro to actually win with inefficient trades

[@Joppsta360]

36:20 that got pretty dark, u ok hun?

[@AntiDoctor-cx2jd]

Is there a way to set your nexus to always be a certain hotkey so you don't have to set it, and don't have to add to your hotkey group; it would just automatically happen?

[@TripWithTheMoon]

Wait, you're hitting the F-Keys with your thumb, while pressing CTRL?! I wanna see that!

[@SlizZeRz]

I assume hes just using his thumb for F5, F6, F7 and his index or middle finger for the first 4.

[@TripWithTheMoon]

@@SlizZeRz yeah ok, but even then - If i press CTRL+F7 my fingers are horizontally aligned with the keyboard and my thumb is spread by 90 degrees.

[@SlizZeRz]

@@TripWithTheMoon Yeah exactly, thats why Iam no fan of using F-Keys with any modifiers like CTRL. But I guess if youre used to it its okay :D

[@namehere4285]

This is great content

[@felix-ht]

would you use camera hotkeys for zerg as well, or would us cycle with (rebound) backspace?

[@93rwolf]

I prefer the camera hotkeys as Zerg just Incase I screw up an inject I won't have to cycle back through all of the bases.

[@leagueresurrection]

I love Harstem

[@velocirapper]

Man, remember Harstem hour?

[@basicuser54]

APM is a resource like min or gas or time

[@nicom.6260]

Niento el sharko sends his regards

[@mama5552]

good lecturer you got there

[@realNaniByte]

It's really not a secret on how to improve. All the pros say the same thing in different ways. It's just hard work. It's not very fun to just drill a build order for a hour or just refine your mechanics for two hours. It's not pleasant to re-watch a lost game. I watch enough pro games and analysis to see all the mistakes I make and how not to make them. It's just hard work tho. There are other things that are hard work as well that are probably more enjoyable to improve at and more profitable. It's all about if you want it bad enough.

[@1Gaumer]

Does he cast from his bathroom? why is there a sink in the background?

[@joshuadalton6063]

He is in a shared student housing. So central kitchen and showers I think, but private toilet and sink

[@gammaerra3087]

He's poor.

[@whisped8145]

Bookkeeping and homework is always important in anything you want to improve. Artistic skill, games, hobbies, study... Whoever thinks only Macro is important never understood the intricacies of games like this at all. You don't even care where your damage goes? You just hope it randomly goes well? You never snipe a damaged unit? You haven't done the math.

[@MrSAv1Or]

im zerg and play mass ling in macro game. focus on creep, overlords and nonstop production. its rly good if you inactive long time

[@godinnicolas5692]

This video made me learn about learning, and saved me ten years of my life! Thanks captain!

[@HearterSG]

shoutout to hamster