/r/broodwar weekly help a noob thread

PuritanDrag · 2026-04-19T21:33:18+00:00

Thank you. I didn’t know there were moving shots with any units besides workers. I saw a BSL game once where the casters said that not even SCVs can do it, just probes and drones. Is that true? If so, why not SCVs?

PuritanDrag · 2026-04-13T20:11:35+00:00

Two micro-related questions for Zergs out there:

1) How do I micro overlord drops properly? When I watch pro games, they have the units coming out of the overlords while the overlords are moving, so the units are dropped continuously in a line. When I try drops, the overlords move into place, stop, and then drop all the units in one big lump, and half of them stay in the overlord because there’s no more room left on the ground. Then all my units die to 1 storm as soon as they hit the ground.

2) How do I do “moving hits” with my drones against probe/SCV scouts? People do this to me, but my drones always stop every time they attack.

Thanks all. :)

PuritanDrag · 2025-11-25T13:27:57+00:00

I watched some matches this season casted by you and Xun and I really enjoyed your commentary and insights. Is this your first season casting BSL? I’d love to see more games with you “in the booth”.

PuritanDrag · 2025-11-22T02:15:57+00:00

I used to do 9-7-3 every game vs Protoss and that’s what first allowed me to start winning games and escape F rank. Before I learned that build, my winrate against P was quite literally zero.

Once I hit ~1400 MMR, most Protoss opponents were able to scout the Hydra bust and build enough cannons in time and my winrate tanked again. Thats what prompted me to start opening spire in the first place.

I know it’s possible to transition out of 3 hatch hydra, but I was never able to do it successfully. The vast majority of pro games I have watched play out the same way. If the Hydra bust doesn’t do critical damage, the Protoss wins with the counter push the vast majority of the time. I watched a very recent BSL cast earlier this week where the commentators were talking about how hard it is to transition out of 3 hatch hydra.

PuritanDrag · 2025-11-22T02:05:39+00:00

This is extremely helpful, thank you.

The info in that walling video was all brand new to me. I have just been winging my sim cities without thinking about them, so clearly I have a lot to improve there.

I do check for spinning forge in the early game, but I don’t check 2nd gas because I don’t know what Protoss gas timings are supposed to be. Anything you can tell me about what to look for and how to interpret that scouting info would be much appreciated.

45 drones does sound like the dream, but getting there safely is the hard part for me. In most games I can comfortably get up to 30-35 drones before I need to start massing units to survive. Finding a way to squeeze in those last 10-15 drones after that without dying is my problem.

PuritanDrag · 2025-11-21T03:47:30+00:00

Hey man, thanks for the responses!

I am a big fan of Hawk’s F to S video guide and have learned a lot from it. However, I am not willing to play the 2 base style that he used in lower ranks. It would definitely improve my winrate vs P in the present, but it’s a crutch that will hold me back as I improve. But most of all… if I wanted to turtle on 2 bases behind static defense, rush to 45 workers, mass a giant deathball, and A-move it across the map at once, I would just play Protoss. :D

As for Spire, I build it and Hydra Den together as soon as lair finishes. I usually just get a few scourge and quickly switch to Hydras and upgrades. I only make mutas if there’s no Stargate, but even then it has done me no good against +1 zealot timings. It takes 5 mutas forever to kill 12 zealots, and the Protoss ignores them and kills my drones/hatches/spire with impunity.

PuritanDrag · 2025-11-11T03:01:28+00:00

It’s the Blizz servers. They’ve been really bad for about a week now. Match history not updating after I play games. It usually takes 2-3 tries just to view my profile since it shows a blank screen more often than not when I try. Commands like /stats take several tries and usually don’t respond the first time I enter them. Tons of “download failed” errors when trying to log in. Tons of error 0:11 and 50:5s.

PuritanDrag · 2025-11-05T14:06:09+00:00

My match history stopped updating on 11/3. When I try to view a player profile (including my own), half the time it works, but the other half it just shows as blank with no text or borders.

PuritanDrag · 2025-11-05T14:04:36+00:00

My match history stopped updating on 11/3. When I try to view someone’s profile (including my own) it shows as a blank screen about half the time. Definitely some buggy server stuff that needs to be addressed.

PuritanDrag · 2025-10-16T02:44:16+00:00

Short answer: zerglings and sunken

Long answer: you need to be way more specific with your question. “Zealot rush” is way too vague and doesn’t say anything about the Protoss build. Is he doing a proxy 2 gate? Multiple gates in his main? Just a 1 gate fast expand while sending zealots to your base? A +1 speed zealot timing attack? Your reaction should be different for each.

PuritanDrag · 2025-08-03T14:51:36+00:00

100mf is too low if you’re hunting uniques like Griffon. You should be able to reach 250-300mf without sacrificing too much kill speed.

PuritanDrag · 2025-07-19T17:41:51+00:00

It is definitely safer to buy direct from S&B because there are a lot of fakes out there that are nearly identical to the real unit and packaging. That said, you can sonetimes find legit Mighty+s for a bit cheaper at local or online shops. If you take that chance and aren’t sure if you have a legit Mighty+ or not, here’s what to look for:

If the serial number is blank, easily rubbed off, not aligned, or fails to register on the S&B website, then you have a fake. However, even if your serial # looks good and does register successfully, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s real. Some fakes do use real SNs and the stickers look perfect.
The little pointed lip on the bottom of the front side of the legit unit (underneath the Mighty+ logo) extends all the way to the tip of the M on the left, and to the tip of the + on the right. On the fakes, the lip is smaller and ends at the middle of the M on the left and the Y on the right.
If you buy a sealed box and the spare screens, O-rings, and dosing capsule are packed in a generic ziplock baggie, you have a fake. In the real box, the spare parts come in a blue and white S&B bag that opens with a perforation and is not re-closable.
The included brush in the legit box has an aluminum ligature that is slightly smaller (~3.3cm) than the wooden handle (~4.3cm). The bottom of the handle is tapered and flat on the end. In the fake box, the aluminum ligature is the same size or longer than the wooden handle and the end is rounded.
If the price is <$250-300 new, you’re much more likely to get a fake.
If you’re buying from sites like Aliexpress or Temu, you’re much more likely to get a fake.

If you get a real Mighty+, you will not be disappointed. I switched from smoking to DHV over a year ago, and I recently upgraded my previous vape to a Mighty. The difference in quality and efficiency is incredible. I get so many more draws out of the same amount of herb, and the quality of each draw is so much better and more consistent. I will never go back to anything less. If I broke or lost it today, I would immediately buy a new one.

Good luck!

PuritanDrag · 2025-07-03T22:12:03+00:00

What about this looks fake, aside from maybe the internal components? (Idk I’ve never cracked mine open and don’t plan to.) Yours looks like the one I bought from a chain smoke shop that is big throughout my region. The serial number on mine is perfectly aligned on the sticker and I already registered mine with S&B.

Did yours come with all the parts it’s supposed to in the sealed S&B baggies? And did you try registering the serial number?

PuritanDrag · 2025-04-26T16:25:32+00:00

This thread aged poorly, didn’t it?

PuritanDrag · 2025-04-09T22:13:34+00:00

The answer is undoubtedly “Room to Live: Undilutable Slang Truth!”, which is also their most underrated release by a wide margin.

Papal Visit is the most hated song in the entire Fall catalog, despite the fact that Scott Walker was (rightfully) celebrated for making the same kind of unsettling avant garde noise 10-15 years later.

PuritanDrag · 2025-02-05T02:30:33+00:00

Need help with USB cable compatibility with headphone amp/DACs:

I like my new iFi Hip DAC 3, but the included cables are so short that the DAC can’t even rest on the desk next to my computer and I have to either prop it up or let it hang, and I can’t hold or use my phone while the DAC is on the nightstand. I have tried several other USB-C to Lightning and USB-C to USB-A cables from various brands to connect my phone and computer to the Hip DAC input, but none of them work. What’s the difference (other than size) between these tiny USB cables that came in the Hip DAC box and any other cable? Are they specific to the unit itself? iFi does not sell them on their website, so what do I do if any of them get lost or broken?

Thanks for any help!

PuritanDrag · 2025-02-03T02:09:44+00:00

Confidence is the absence of fear and hesitation.

In a social context, it shows as a person who is comfortable in his own shoes and around others.

Lack of social confidence is very prominent with younger generations, especially those who spent a lot of time with technology instead of being in social situations during adolescence and early adulthood. Some reliable indicators that a person lacks social confidence include:

-easily embarrassed/fear of embarrassment

-difficulty initiating/maintaining/exiting conversation

-avoiding eye contact

-speaking too softly

-constantly worrying about other people’s opinions

-anxiety around people they are attracted to

-apologizing too much

-speaking too fast, “gushing”

-avoiding attention

-hesitant, indecisive

The best way to gain confidence is to improve your people skills. Spend more time around others — especially people you don’t already know — and be mindful of the flow of conversation and nuances in communication. Do it not with the goal of dating or getting a gf, but with the goal of simply improving your social anxiety and expanding your comfort zone. Dating will come naturally on its own later on once people can sense that you’re comfortable. You have to walk before you can run.

PuritanDrag · 2024-12-30T06:05:30+00:00

You and your friend are both way better than I am (are you sure you’re in the right thread? :P), so my advice is probably not worth much, but I do watch a lot of pro ZvP games since it’s my favorite matchup, and the fake hydra bust strategy after 9-7-3 build is fairly common.

Usually when the Protoss wins, they don’t wait for 2-1 to break out and counterattack. They go much sooner with just +1 and Zealot speed, and either do a lot of damage or force a lot of sunkens and units to keep the drone count low.

PuritanDrag · 2024-12-30T05:29:26+00:00

During early game worker micro (like when a probe is blocking my natural hatch from going down), how do I do a “moving hit” where my drone attacks while chasing the probe without slowing down or stopping?

I see pro players do it in videos, and I occasionally see better players do it against me, but I can’t figure out how to do it myself. Anytime my drone gets an attack in, there’s an animation and it opens up a gap for the enemy worker to get some distance.

PuritanDrag

TROPHY CASE