as a fairly new SC player, would you recommend going for random play? or picking 1 race and just sticking with it? is random play actually beneficial to a new player?
A lot of people I know play random, some good ones, some bad ones. Personally, I would suggest checking out every race just so you understand what you're playing against, no matter what you end up playing as. It seems that amongst some of the random players I know, they are under some sort of false idea that playing random makes them a better player. I usually get a response regarding how they can play every race, which is great, but it doesn't mean they can play every race well. So personally, I would say just play around with every race, watch replays, and learn a bit about each race just so you get some knowledge of them. After that it's completely up to you, you can become a good player regardless of what you choose.
when i was new i played terran for a bit, but was fasinated my toss, tried zerg and enjoyed them as much as terran, but i knew after 1-2 games toss were gonna be my main race, and thats all ive played in 1v1s doing quite well tbh.
Well in 2v2 I usually play Random, just for fun, but if you want to be a great player, I would suggest to stick with one race and master it.
I would play random in customs for a bit and read up on each race. If you know everything about all the races you will be a much better player. Whether it be through counters, sniffing out build orders or just generally knowing what you'd hate to see against you. It also gives you the freedom to change to another race if you feel the one you selected is getting dull. Playing through the campaign gets you up to speed with terran so you at least have a race you are comfortable with when your randoming.
You don't have to play 'Random' to experience all the races. you can choose to play zerg this time and protoss next time, experience the same under control. To my understanding the random factor is playing more of a part on the rivals. they do not know what you are and they will not have ready-to-go strategy as it might be wrong. they will need to decide after they scout you out, and that will put initiative in your court. missing or being behind for 10 seconds might not sound much at very begging level, especially if your opponent do not know what to do, and tend to save up huge army before they even move out. but on higher level it is. good players tend to do a lot of scouting to ensure they know what is going on, and they can genuinely analyse and adept to respond correctly to what they see, so it would be less impacting if they scout right. I think the advantage is more at low to mid level when people have fixed mindset and do not scout a lot, or on the random player side, simply try to rush. if they do not know you are a protoss and you are proxying then you will have higher chance of success. just my understanding though.
I play random and much prefer it. Either way is viable, neither will make you a "better" player, and there are advantages to both. Random benefits include: Better knowledge of counters, generally random players dont complain about a specific race being massively OP, simply because they know what counters it from personal experience. In general random players know more about what an opponent may be doing based on your race vs theirs. Simply because you have fought from their point before. Opponent does not know what to expect early on Specific Race benefits include: Much more specialized knowledge. With only one race to learn you are better at build orders, you know specific counters better, and your race can be played like a fine violin. Counters for your race, if the enemy masses something you are better at instantly countering/knowing what to do. Hotkey mastery, you know by heart what key does what, and you rarely cast psi storm instead of guardian shield. Obviously, these differences are much more pronounced the newer you are. Pro randoms know as much as lesser single race players about every single race. However, the difference is still there. Jack of all trades vs, master of one.
I play almost exclusively random and I just love it. You get a nice variety of play experience which leads to more fun IMO. Also, as a bonus, your opponent won't have a set strat in place "Ok so he's terran so imma go straight to stalkers",. I do actually think it makes you a better player (same could be said if you just rotated choosing races). And even though I've lost many many games I've NEVER complained of a race being OP ( I've lost enough with all races, and against all races to realize that). The only time I usually choose races is when I'm wanting to try some new stuff out.
That's exactly how I used to play BW. Though I had a special preference to toss and dislike to zerg, I obly picked a race when playng bets or stuff
Hobart, I never said that if you dont play random you WILL complain about perceived OPness. Its just less likely for random player, or at least players who have a good amount of experience with all the races. In general the players who are whining (not discussing, but flat out whining, complaining, pissing and moaning, QQing, or whatever you want to call it) are players who stick to one race, have a limited repertoire of strategys, and limited skill in general.
I play random exclusively as well, and i love it. Nothing better than going random, winding up as zerg, when they have terran picked, especially on a smaller map, and coming in with a blindesided 8 pool rush.
I really think you should stick to one race. It's a whole lot easier to learn the hotkeys, build orders, and proper counter units of just one race, whereas if you played all three races you will likely end up confused and unfamiliar. I actually used to main protoss back in beta and in SC1, and was pretty good as that race. However when I started a 2v2 team with my friend, for a few games I decided to play random, partly as a joke. But I found out that there were parts to the other races that I really liked, and resolved to stick with playing random to learn every race, even in my 1v1 games. But I could only make that choice confidently because I felt I was already generally skilled enough that I could handle it. Even still, I think I would be a few ranks higher in my league if I just played protoss.
As other people have said, it's a good idea to learn all 3 races, even if you eventually pick one to play with.
Random is deffinetly the best. You get to play all the races, try new builds and eventuallly lose with each build and it helps you get used to or just know what to do when something happens, and what builds look like and counters and timing etc.. I love Random, only thing I play as.
So far as I can tell I'm the only Diamond 1v1 to have commented, I would choose one race and play it into the ground. Once you've mastered them you can move onto another race, but I wouldn't bounce around with Random until you really know what you're doing. I play Terran pretty much exclusively and I'm not even the best I can be yet. How can you expect to play all three races and master them all?
