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Start Your Ladder Journey

Everything you need to go from "I've never played" to queuing your first ranked game. No experience required.

Why StarCraft 2 in 2026?

StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void is one of the greatest competitive games ever made — and it's completely free to play. Blizzard made the full multiplayer experience free in 2017, which means you get:

  • ▶ Free ranked ladder — 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 matchmaking with no restrictions
  • ▶ Free Wings of Liberty campaign — a full single-player story mode to learn the basics
  • ▶ Free Co-op mode — team up with a friend against AI in objective-based missions
  • ▶ Free custom games — arcade modes, practice maps, and community creations

The community is active, the game is well-balanced, and there are more learning resources than ever. If you've been curious about real-time strategy, there's never been a better time to start.

How to Install & Set Up

Getting started takes about 15 minutes. Here's what to do:

1

Download Battle.net

Head to starcraft2.blizzard.com and download the Battle.net launcher. Create an account if you don't have one.

2

Install StarCraft 2

Find StarCraft 2 in the Battle.net launcher and hit Install. The download is around 30 GB, so it may take a while.

3

Play the tutorial

SC2 has a built-in tutorial that teaches you the basics of building, gathering resources, and commanding units. It takes about 20 minutes and is well worth doing.

4

Try vs. AI first

Before jumping on ladder, play a few games against the AI. Start on "Easy" difficulty and work up. This lets you practice building workers, expanding, and making army units without any pressure.

Your First 10 Games on Ladder

Clicking "Find Match" for the first time is scary. Your heart will pound, your hands will shake, and that's completely normal. Here's what to expect:

You will lose games. Every single player in StarCraft 2 loses roughly half their games — that's how matchmaking works. GMs lose. Pros lose. You will lose, and that's fine.

You will feel overwhelmed. There's a lot happening on screen: building workers, making supply depots, scouting, producing units. You can't do it all at once yet, and you're not supposed to. Focus on one thing at a time.

You will get cheesed. Some opponents will rush you early. You'll lose to things that feel unfair. That's part of the game. Over time, you'll learn to spot and stop these strategies.

You will have moments of magic. The first time you hold a rush, the first time your army crushes an opponent, the first promotion — these moments are what make SC2 special. They're coming. Keep playing.

Settings & Hotkeys to Configure

Before you play, tweak a few settings that will make your life easier:

Game Settings

  • • Turn on "Show game timer" — helps you track your build order timing
  • • Enable "Always show worker status" — see how many workers are mining at each base
  • • Turn on "Display build grid" — makes placing buildings much easier

Hotkey Tips

  • • Use "Standard" or "Grid" hotkeys — Grid layout makes building keys consistent across races
  • • Learn control groups early — Ctrl+1 assigns selected units to group 1, press 1 to select them
  • • Use F2 sparingly — it selects all army units, but can pull defenders from bases

Pick a Race

StarCraft 2 has three races. Each plays differently, and there's no wrong choice. Pick whichever sounds most fun:

Terran

Human military. Versatile and familiar. Great for players who like flexibility and defensive play.

Protoss

Advanced alien tech. Powerful units, fewer in number. Good for players who like quality over quantity.

Zerg

Alien swarm. Fast production and overwhelming numbers. Perfect for aggressive, reactive players.

Next Steps: Find a Guide

The single best thing you can do as a new player is follow a Bronze-to-GM (B2GM) guide. These are video series by experienced players who start from the bottom and climb to the top, teaching you what to focus on at each level.

We've reviewed the most popular guides and compared them so you can pick the one that fits your race, playstyle, and available time.

Ready to find your guide?

Compare B2GM series side by side. Filter by race, APM level, and difficulty.

Browse B2GM Guides