Basic Mouse/Hotkey Shortcuts that Everyone Should Know?

So I recently found out today that Starcraft 2 lets you queue up movement....i.e. for scouting...Doh. i've been microing my scouts just like I did in Starcraft 1 for the last....month and a half? I feel like such a fool.

SO!

I thought I'd ask if there's anything MORE I've been missing in terms of commands...might not be a bad list to turn into a compendium either

Off the top of my head:

1) Select Multiple workers, Shift click build to get one worker at a time

2) One worker, shift-build to queue building

3) SCV building, Shift-Rclick to minerals to mine after building is done

4) Shift-Click movement to queue movement



That's all I can think of for now...anyone know of any more that are useful?

 

There are some other, more comiplicate, orders. Such as:

1) Order an SCV to build a supply depot, then shift click a medivac, so when the SCV finishes building he...or she... will hop into the Medivac and fly away happily...

This principal can be put into place anywhere really. In other words, it's too early for me to be arsed to come up with any more. Use your imagination, and you will always succeed.

 

1. You don't have to shift click to minerals, just right click.
2. You can use abilities such as blink with shift clicking, for expample.
Select Stalkers > Right click to edge > Shift blink click the other side > Shift right click to the other side.
3. Tab while using multiple units with abilities, to shuffle through.
4. Holding control while clicking on the idle worker button will select them all.
5. You can rally point Zerg eggs.
6. Chrono Boost can be cast on wireframe selections such that the player doesn't always have to go back to their base.

 

Oh wow the Tab thing is really useful, I've always grabbed a bunch of units, then realized I needed specific abilities and had to go find those units...this is great! I like how more accessible Starcraft 2 is than Starcraft (although I'm sure some hardcore players will be unhappy about how micro is "easier" now)

 

The control groups should be a basic in my opinion. At least having the command center(s) and the scout for example. Or an important unit. And the most basic ctrol group: Your army.

It is easy to make one: You select the units or building you want. Hit CTRL then hit a number while still hitting the CTRL button.

To select the buildings/units in that control group, simply hit the number and it will select the units. If you want to add some units to a control group, I am not sure of the hotkeys but it may be Shift plus the number of the control group. Am I right?

 

Yes it is very useful indeed. What some people do is making a control group for the stalkers with blink, 1 for the sentries and another one for the zealots. It works but the TAB is very nice aswell.

 

Shift-queuing (as previously mentioned) and ctrl-grouping (i.e. ctrl + <number 0-9>) to assign unit selections to a hotkey) are probably the two most basic but important hotkey functions in the game that are the same for all races by default.

I also find shift-left clicking to remove units from a group pretty useful. And ctrl-left clicking to select all units of a specific type.

There are more I'm forgetting I'm sure, including others I don't use, like jumping to the last engagement area etc.

 

I want to get used to using space for that jumping thing, but I always forget in the action. ^^ Also, buildins hotkeys should be known, hitting b+e for the extractor saves a lot of time, especially when a fight goes on similarly. Even memorizing b for basic buildings window and v for advanced helps alot.

 

DarkCommander,

try not to double post unless it is spacejunk, there is an edit button for a reason.

While it is in fact easier to micro in that sense. Many other aspects of the game, still require a pro to make full use of. Just to name a few, chrono boosting effectively, always spawning larvae, spreading creep, making sure you use your orbital commands. Even more that don't have to be used by a main base or queen.

 

Soryy but I just didn't knew how to quote something in an edit post so I just made another reply.

 

Absolutely. At the same time, I feel like they're evening out the game a bit so that if you have the macroing and microing abilities, you can still get an edge, but it isn't difficult to just build units and have them be pretty effective. I feel like a new player's ability to do this is greatly amplified in SCII. Pretty sweet, I hope this means that the SC2 community will be much more diverse than SC1's. Sooo many bad memories with original Battlenet.


These are all some really great tips. I wish there was a video compendium out there for this, demonstrating everything! Perhaps I'll give that a shot sometime. Keep em comin, all!

 

Double clicking also selects units of the same type. Someone said ctrl+click does this, but I find double clicking to be much easier personally.

 

Special request, is it possible to keep a compilation of shortcuts in an organized fashion on the first post?

e.g.
General:
Units
A = Attack
S = Stop

Workers
B = Basic Building
V = Advanced Building

Terran:
Workers
-> Basic Building
C = Command Center
R = Refinery
S = Supply Depot
B = Barracks

Typing this from an iPhone so it's a bit hard but yeah, that's the idea. A list of all those mouse shortcuts would be nifty, too.

 

^^ Here are Terran Hotkeys:

Command Center:
- Train SCV: S
- Orbital Command: B
- MULE: E
- Extra Supplies: X
- Scan: C
- Planetary Fortress: P
- Load: O
- Unload: D
- Lift Off: L
Supply Depots:
- Lower: R
SCVs:
- Repair: R
- Build: B
- Command Center: C
- Refinery: R
- Supply Depot: S
- Barracks: B
- Engineering Bay: E
- Bunker: U
- Missile Turret: T
- Sensor Tower: N
- Build Advanced Structure: V
- Ghost Academy: G
- Factory: F
- Armory: A
- Starport: S
- Fusion Core: C
Barracks:
- Marine: A
- Marauder: D
- Reaper: R
- Ghost: G
Factory:
- Helion: E
- Siege Tank: S
- Thor: T
Starport:
- Viking: V
- Medivac: D
- Raven: R
- Banshee: E
- Battlecruiser: B
To get a Tech Lab on a building: X
To get a Reactor on a building: C

I could add all of the hotkeys for the techs from the tech lab, engineering bay, etc. Just let me know, 'cause it's a lot of stuff.

 

Orbital scan is C. Edit gogo.

 

Edited it in, thank you!

 

I watched the computer play in a replay and I noticed in the beginning when it sends its initial probes to work it sends each one of them to a different crystal. How do you do that? Is there a hotkey ? I usually select all of them and send them to a crystal , then they will move to separate crystals by themselves. I figured you can win a second or two just by doing that. Thanks in advance.

 

^AeG: The computer is a computer, you can't expect to have the same micro ability as it will. That being said, if you select all your miners (CTL+CLICK) and assign them all to one mineral (near the middle) you should be able to then click+drag select three of them and assign them to another mineral patch.

This seems like the most effective way to assign them at first, and I've seen quite a few pros do it this way too. There are no hotkeys for assigning to minerals afaik. Just practice and you'll get quick at it

 

Here's one that hasn't been mentioned yet:

1. Bind all your Queens to one key (I use 4)
2. So press 4 and press V (spawn larva)
3. Click hatchery on minimap

The closest Queen will spawn larvae to the hatchery you clicked

 

and if you misclick on the minimap your queens will move to that location? lol or will the cast just fail due to "not targetting the correct building"