The Importance of Build Execution in StarCraft II

Most people who have played StarCraft multiplayer are familiar with the concept of builds or build orders: Rigid timings and exact instructions on executing a strategy or timing. Builds can be used as general guidelines and practices for mechanics as well as for working on perfecting high level attacks and precise timings. Build orders are most commonly laid out in terms of supply count, like the example below.

Theoretically speaking, you could find or write up build orders for all the strategies and timings that any successful pro player has used and then use them yourself. So then what is it about the execution of these builds that makes it difficult? On paper it seems incredibly simple to build X unit or structure on Y supply. But that then begs the question of why it never works out that way for 99.9% of the StarCraft II playerbase. So let's take a look at where the challenge comes from.

Pro players may practice single build orders for hours a day, drilling and executing until their use of the build is as refined as possible. In general, that's simply an amount of practice that we don't get. The difference in those hours of practice is refinement and crisp, clean execution of builds. It's very easy to underestimate the importance of execution and timing but I am a firm believer in the idea that they account for many of the losses in timing-attack based builds or in the early game at all.

Carrying out a build to the exact supply and having every timing line up perfectly will unlock all the potential of a strategy. Assuming an all-in, you would have the most units you could at the earliest time and have the proper infrastructure back at home to support exactly what you'd need. The difference of seconds in razor-thin timings is just one of the factors that makes StarCraft tense, and one of the reasons that you should have your builds down to a science.

Obvious examples include any kind of 1 or 2-base all in builds where timing will be of paramount importance in winning the game. Hitting just a few seconds late with a 4-gate in PvP or with a roach all-in in ZvP can give your opponent just the amount of time he needs for an extra forcefield or stalker to be available. Of course, the burdon of timing is on both players. When defending an all-in or any kind of pressure, having a properly-timed infrastructure and economy will give you the most you can get out of your choice of opening. Games are decided by very slim margins in a lot cases and refining your build can save you tons of headache (as well as plenty of ladder points!) and will allow you to utlize everything you can in a build.

Take, for example, a player like SKT T1's PartinG: The king of the Immortal/Sentry all-in. PartinG is a player who took the time to practice a build, make it his own, and did so with great success. PartinG still arguably has the best Immortal/Sentry on the planet not only  because of his stellar micro and positioning but because he hits the earliest, he hits the hardest, and he hits the most efficiently. A deadly combo indeed.

PartinG has now played a countless number of matches with his trademark Soul Train all-in, a number of which have been broadcasted and are still on record. PartinG's execution with the Immortal/Sentry build has become so clean and so refined that we see him win against Code-S level Zergs who know exactly what they're up against. This, of course, isn't to downplay the importance of micro in a fight like that but there has yet to be a player who has shown that their Immortal/Sentry all-in is even on the same level as PartinG's. 

 

In a game as precise and punishing as StarCraft II, crisp and clean is the way to play and organizing your openings will help you immensely on both the offensive and defensive fronts. So go study a build, watch a replay, and hit that Find Match button! Perfect, exact play won't come overnight but it's one of the most fundamental points to advancing in StarCraft II.