Going 1st/2nd air-a mistake?

[Flynn]

I am often of the opinion that going 1st or 2nd air is a mistake because it is not worth the amount of micro required which could otherwise be spent on expanding and building your base. Air can be risky, you do need a degree of luck to make it work and the right circumstances. On most maps air is not worth it because you need a lot of mass to go on a pgen spam and then to spam bombers. What do other people think?

[ZaphodX]

I am often of the opinion that going 1st or 2nd air is a mistake because it is not worth the amount of micro required which could otherwise be spent on expanding and building your base. Air can be risky, you do need a degree of luck to make it work and the right circumstances. On most maps air is not worth it because you need a lot of mass to go on a pgen spam and then to spam bombers. What do other people think?

It is worth the amount of micro. It just depends whether you have the micro skills and inclination to effectively pull it off. You will never get better if you do not push your micro skills beyond places that you find uncomfortable.

[ColonelSheppard]

1st air is a mistake on non-naval based maps
2nd air is on nearly every map viable, if you can use your bombers good, or build a jester at some point

[Flynn]

Whenever I tell the bombers to bomb something all they do is fly over and don't drop the bomb Then I lose the land spam because my opponent out numbers me 2:3 since the cost of an air factory + pgens is equivalent to 2 land factories. I tried it today and failed miserably. Bombers are completely and utterly shite

[ZaphodX]

Watch a replay of a pro doing it and hold shift. Look from their perspective (Example in the video description below).

Make lots of small move commands until you get in radar range (but not too close). Then choose a target that looks like an engineer and attack. Choose your second target as you make the run or just use that method again.

Or you could just build a single scout first.

I explain it in a perfect example here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iurv5DlqzX0#t=82s

[ColonelSheppard]

or lok ZLO_RD/Cerberus1st channel, that can help much

[Yynatago]

Watch a few recent 1v1 game with Evaphilipp playing and try to tell me that Air is ineffective.

[Flynn]

Watch a replay of a pro doing it and hold shift. Look from their perspective (Example in the video description below).

Make lots of small move commands until you get in radar range (but not too close). Then choose a target that looks like an engineer and attack. Choose your second target as you make the run or just use that method again.

Or you could just build a single scout first.

I explain it in a perfect example here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iurv5DlqzX0#t=82s

I was pissed when I made my last post but I still can't see how bombers are effective because you've got to spend 1-2 minutes microing them constantly which means you can't expand across the map during that time. Plus if you make a scout you lose the element of surprise.

Watch a few recent 1v1 game with Evaphilipp playing and try to tell me that Air is ineffective.

I'm talking about 1st or 2nd air specifically.

[ZaphodX]

If you can't micro them effectively then they won't be effective. If you can micro them effectively and still maintain macromanagement and unit micro then they are a viable strategy to use. Practice will improve your micro so you can use air effectively.

[ColonelSheppard]

I searched out a second air replay on theta:

FirstAirTheta.fafreplay

Sheppard & Napalm Theta

(48.56 KiB) Downloaded 128 times

i think it's a pretty good example how to use second air, and my apm is so low that it can be easily followed