For players just getting into real-time strategy games, or even long-time players trying out a new one, venturing into online play can be like sticking a toe into piranha-infested hydrochloric acid. The traumatic, merciless, and repeated thumpings you will almost certainly endure at the hands of faceless foes for at least the first few games is enough to make you want to cut your losses and bail while you still have a few tattered shreds of pride.

So, how can you become a competent player without suffering the beating of your life? Many people will tell you that you can learn all you need to know about a game from completing the single-player campaign. These people are not your friends. They’re probably the same ones waiting for you on the multiplayer servers, rubbing their hands together in anticipation of fresh meat. A campaign may teach you the basic functions of each unit at your disposal and how to use the interface, but it probably won’t teach you the most important parts of multiplayer gaming: how crucial the first three to five minutes of a multiplayer match are, how to use complementary units together, and how to out-think an opponent smarter and more adaptable than an AI opponent. Telling someone to simply play through the single-player campaign and then go online is roughly equivalent to potty-training a child shortly before enlisting him in the Marines.

Ideally, the most natural and entertaining way to learn to play an RTS is for you and a few buddies to all get the game at the same time and play against each other. This lets you all advance in skill at the same gradual pace, and everybody’s having a blast the whole time. If one person starts to get too good and unbalances the game, the solution is simple: the other three guys gang up and break his fingers. (And thus the term “playing with a handicap” was born.)


Watching this replay taught me a thing or two I didn’t know about RA3’s Allied air power

But let’s face it: busy schedules and the evil temptation of real-world socializing make regular micro-LAN gaming impractical for a lot of us, leaving anonymous, no-strings-attached online play the only option. So, if you must, heed this advice: the best way to learn quickly is to study at the feet of a master. But, since you can’t afford my rates (plus, I’m nowhere near as good as the top guys online), I suggest you download a master. Most RTS games since StarCraft can record matches for playback, and there are a ton of sites out there that host archives of matches between phenomenally talented players. (Gamereplays.org is an excellent one-stop resource for most games. Also check out the battlecasts at commandandconquer.com.) Yes, watching is generally less fun than playing, but you’ll learn efficient build orders and nasty tricks that would have taken months for you to discover on your own.

Watch a few of the top-level players, but also watch some mid-level action to get a sense of what to expect from the guys you’ll actually be going up against (the hotshots mostly play ranked and arranged games against people they know can give them a half-decent fight). After that, you’re on your own. At the very least, try to take a few of them down with you.

December 18, 2008