Starcraft 2 is a very fun game especially once you know how to play it well. Lots of players skip the basics of the game and get right into the more advanced concepts which hinders their skill. To surpass them and become a good player yourself you need to take the time to master the basics first. Do this by first learning the controls of the game. These are also known as hot keys. They are keyboard shortcuts that enable you to be faster and make less mistakes in game.
You need to break the habit of using just your mouse to select buildings and units. Instead you need to learn how to set your hot keys. Hot key each production building and each type of unit. For example lets say you were terran facing a zerg player with banelings. You would have to quickly select your marines to run away from the banelings in order to minimize your losses. Hot keys make this so much faster rather than just selecting your marines with the mouse.
Macro is another concept you need to practice to become a great player. It is all about keeping up with production. Macro simply refers to your ability to gather resources and spend them. You want to gather as many resources as you can to maximize your economy. Then spend them as fast as you get them. As a rule of thumb never let your bank exceed 500 minerals or gas.
You would be surprised at how many players never bother learning the mechanics of Starcraft 2. They always lose to an opponent who took the time to master the control interface. Make sure to know the hot keys of your race forward and back. It is a real tough habit to break when starting to use hot keys. So be sure to lose the mouse and force yourself to do it for the first ten or twenty games no matter how slow you are. Trust me the reward will be worth it. Make sure to master the art of macroing. This ensures your bank does not get too big and you are constantly producing lots of workers and combat units to take out your opponent.
Don’t forget to use hot keys with your army as well. As you play Starcraft 2 more and learn about the strategies you will understand how important it is to control your army. Again using hot keys makes controlling the game much easier. If you are a protoss player that is getting stalkers and colossi you need to set each type of unit to their own hot key. Select your colossi, hold the control key, and set them to whatever number you feel most comfortable with. That way you can get them to retreat faster from air units like vikings while the stalkers take them down.
Once you have learned the hot keys pertaining to your race and have practiced keeping up with production you will want to take your game up a notch. The basics of Starcraft 2 include macro and the controls which refer to the hot keys. Once you got these two concepts down it is time to learn about unit counters, strategies, and micro. There is no one concept that is the most important. The best players strive to be great in all areas.
