Secret StarCraft Game Play Tips/Tricks

False Surrender Trick

If you have an expansion, and one of your bases is under attack, press enter and type in “has left the game” (make sure you have chat set to “send to all”), but don’t send it yet! Pause the game and then send the message. People will think you have surrendered! This looks more realistic than the Fake Elimination Trick because the color of the fonts is the same when the game is paused! I actually got fooled by this trick before!

Nuke Defense Trick

If a small group of your units has been targeted for a nuke, and you can’t see where it’s coming from, simply use Stasis Field with an Arbiter, and the covered units won’t even be scratched. This trick can save your key units during intense battles.

Invisible Supply Depot

If you are a newbie or you know you’re going to lose, and you’re playing Terran, here’s a nifty trick: when you have some spare cash, send an SCV behind a mineral patch and build a Supply Depot right when he starts building it. Click on the SCV (not the Supply Depot) and press cancel. It will almost look as if it weren’t there. When you lose all your buildings (except the Supply Depot), your opponent will think the game is messed up and leave. You should probably build a few all around the map, ideally one behind your enemy’s minerals.

Invincible Tank Glitch

This trick can give your Siege Tank the hit points of a building! To do this, first hotkey a tank and put it next to a building capable of flying. Lift off the building and land it. While it’s landing, get your tank, move it under the landing building, and siege it. You must do this VERY QUICKLY. The tank will now have the life of the building and be invincible to melee units! With practice, you can get 5+ tanks hiding under 1 building!

Critter Trick

A VERY easy and cheap way to scout your opponent’s base! This is simple to do: all it requires is a map with critters (preferably Kakarus because they fly) and you being Zerg. Get a Queen with 75 energy and look for a critter. Parasite the critter, and you can see what it sees! Once the critter walks (or flies) into your opponent’s base, enjoy the view! This is cool because your opponent will not automatically attack the critter, as it’s a neutral unit! However, it won’t work very well against AI opponents because they always kill critters.

Tips from the Pros

ALWAYS expand! Don’t be afraid to!
Against AI, ALWAYS build defense.
Against humans in a no-rush game, do not build towers or choke point defenses. It wastes time, money, food, and is not needed. Just have anti-air detection towers (e.g., Missile Turrets) scattered around your base.
When attacking, ALWAYS leave some units behind in your base.
When attacking, focus on the workers, supplies, and key production buildings.
As Zerg, build Nydus Canals in your expansions for quick backup against attacks.
NEVER have more than 2 workers per mineral field, and 4 workers per geyser.
Attacking with a mix of units is more effective than attacking with large numbers of the same unit.
Combining spells with attacks can greatly increase your chances of winning a battle.
Go Overlord hunting with Devourers, Corsairs, and Valkyries. Zerg players often place all their Overlords at the back of their bases, near their primary resource area.
Cloaked units work well against humans early in the game.
As Terrans, ALWAYS build a Comsat on your first Command Center; NEVER a Nuclear Silo.
Against Zerg, don’t bother attacking Larva or Eggs; attack eggs only if you have strong units.
Trick your opponents by doing a small attack with air units, and after they spend a lot on anti-air, launch a massive ground attack, or vice-versa.
As Terran, don’t nuke buildings unless you have more than one nuke available. If you only have one, target units instead.
When playing big money maps, always perform frequent attacks on your opponent to wear them down.
Attacking one unit at a time is much more effective than having all your units attack different targets. To do this, hold down the shift key while issuing commands, so your units finish each command before moving on to the next.
A cheap, but useful tactic is to parasite critters (especially Kakarus because they fly). The critter will explore the map for you, and when near enemy defenses, it won’t get attacked!