[souljah]

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Hey TL, I just did some quick analysis of APM by race for a couple of different datasets.

I used sc2gears to get APM info (so the APM will be much higher than what is shown in game, especially after patch 1.4) and then used a one way ANOVA in SPSS to analyze the differences between groups.

The first dataset was my last 209 opponents over the last month and a half in high masters (I'm currently 950+). Here are the results:

Protoss: 129
Terran: 158
Zerg: 185

I used Tukey's HSD to determine that all three groups differ significantly from each other (p <.01, in all cases). This means that Terran APM is statistically significantly higher than Protoss APM and Zerg APM is statistically significantly higher than Terran.

The next dataset is the 236 replays in the MLG Raleigh replay pack just recently released. Here are those results:

Protoss: 168
Terran: 201
Zerg: 221

Terran and Zerg do not differ significantly. However, both Terran and Zerg APM are significantly higher than Protoss APM.

I thought this was neat because it lends support to the idea that Protoss is the easiest race. I know many people already believe this, but many Protoss players out there are in denial. These results, of course, aren't the final word on the issue, but they are piece of objective, empirical evidence in support of the "Protoss is EZPZ" hypothesis

P.S. I'd love to do an analysis of Korean data, but I need a big replay pack of a Korean pro (100+ replays). Or, if anyone wants to take the time to just download 100+ korean replays off a replay website and send them to me as a zip, that would work too.

Personally, I feel that least mechanical demanding does not translate into it being the easiest race to play? While APM is a good statistic for skill (if you compare APM across leagues, from bronze up till masters), the macro style of zerg and terran are different from protoss (pressing A 10 times for 5 reactor barracks = ten food, pressing Z 10 times = 10 food while pressing Z 5 times for 5 zealots = 10 food), leading to protoss generally having less APM cos Protoss units are more expensive foodwise.

Quick Comments

Kringe:

Wow very nice

[FaDeHellfyre]

Possibly. i think each race has it's easy and hard things.

I agree that apm doesnt necessarily mean the race is easier. In my opinion having less units being equal to the food of the other races, this means that protoss is more reliant on army micro than the other two races. So macro-management i suppose would be easier, but micro not.

[JKTabjad]

wow... i thought terran must have realy high apm, but its zerg.
as a zerg player i dont feel that way. my apm is 90 though lols... just a newbie

[StitcH]

APM doesn't really mean anything, but having a high APM certainly help. Like Savior from BW, his APM was pretty low and he was a force to be reckon with back in prime days. Personally I do not think Protoss is the easiest, but it really depends on the player's personality and style.

Like some players are not comfortable playing certain matchup and decides to cheese or turtled up, but that's not their playstyle in other match-ups.

You guys get what I mean?

[SuperHero]

APM matters very little if you are making the wrong decisions and using your APM for the wrong things. There are many starcraft 2 professionals with around 100APM (White-Ra is the best example) and they use their APM very efficiently and make good decisions with their actions.

[Zepph]

Yeah as people are saying...APM only matters in terms of effectiveness. I can have 200 APM but if I'm spending it all spam clicking on random stuff what does it matter? I also feel like the point about toss macro is pretty valid...more of the APM comes out of the engages/micro so it will spike (e.g. zeNEXPuzzle hitting 550 apm with blink stalkers). Their unit production is in rounds and also during engages when they are replenishing so I feel like unless they're microing air units while macroing, the APM won't be as high as say a terran who needs to constantly cycle through production facilities and queue units.

Zerg as well as unit production is spending APM injecting and spreading creep which the other 2 races don't do. That said, bare in mind that especially in the late game when you're remaxing and pumping units you pretty much hit s + zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz or whatever. It'll be interesting to see this average APM thing again with the new patch taking away the spammed APM.

[nirvAnA]

this confirms my belief, protoss is the least mechanical race which also means the lowest skill ceiling since "mechanical depth" gets maxed out quickly across the spectrum of players and you just have to rely on "strategtic depth".

zerg def has the highest skill ceiling, at least in terms of mechanics and APM. which also means they are the hardest race for newer players to master

[Daboo]

Apm probably has a slight link to skill, but a lot of peoples obsession over apm is just plain weird,especially seeing how a lot of stuff is done for you in sc2 as opposed to bw.

Sjow is living proof that apm != skill, his apm is probably lower than most high diamonds, but still manages to take games off top players.If you cut the spam out, there will be a rise in apm(purely because of the number of things they remember to do), from bronze to masters,but most players spam, so comparing the apms of players wont really tell you too much about their skill.

Playing zerg automatically ups your apm because of the amount of stuff you have to make, and also spamming zzzz in the late game.And currently zerg are probably the most demanding mechanically, especially because their primary production depends so much on injects, and the consequences of not injecting are very obvious. And the tough part of zerg is that they dont follow the normal straight forward mine-make stuff-attack route that the other two races follow.

However I think we will get to a point when the game gets figured out, where missing a chronoboost/mule will be as penalizing as a zerg missing injects,

[Cordance]

Originally Posted by nirvAnA

this confirms my belief, protoss is the least mechanical race which also means the lowest skill ceiling since "mechanical depth" gets maxed out quickly across the spectrum of players and you just have to rely on "strategtic depth".

zerg def has the highest skill ceiling, at least in terms of mechanics and APM. which also means they are the hardest race for newer players to master

Personally Ive always seen protos having less clicks but each click is more important to be exact. Which in my mind makes it a harder barrier for entry (easier to off race once you have build those skills up). One miss places force field can equal failed game. We see it in the pro leagues and we see it in every other level. It is reflected in the cost of the units and the foods which you have. Even at T1 tech a single zelot is worth twice as much as Terron and Zerg. Less units but more important per unit.

I have always felt protos is cursed by its own power. It has powerful abilities but if you miss use a single one of those abilities it hurts you more significantly than the other races accept for maybe banelings vs Marine/lings. Even when it comes to scouting they dont have a cheep unit that isnt a worker to scout with act as a tower holder.

[Dox]

Well Protoss tends to have APM "spikes" as they warp in a round of units and then go idle, so that will have a lot to do with it!

[Zealo]

i play random, and my apm when playing each race follows the same general pattern (relatively high for zerg, low for toss)

obviously i just become a worse player when the dice gives me certain races, as protoss requires such a small amount of skill i subconsciously don't use half the skill i do have just to give my opponents a chance.

(either that or apm has nothing to do with skill, but that would be ridiculous)

Quick Comments

Cordance:

Im glad you give people a chance when you play protos lol.

[StitcH]

In my opinion, to play effectively as Zerg, it's better to have an higher APM than the other 2 races. Cause there's so much things you need to pay attention.

Zerg units don't really have "A-move death ball" army until late in the game and if that army dies, it could the end for you.

Zerg units are not like Terran's; where their army dies and yet can get another big one in a few moments. Zerg can too, but not very cost effective.

[emart]

Zerg=macro APM race, Terran=Micro APM race, Protoss= 0APM race

Quick Comments

	Daboo:	why so much blind protoss hate? Care to explain?
	souljah:	try playing protoss and not micro your units... esp early in the game

[johnnyli]

APM doesn't really mean much anymore after the patch though playing the game with lots of macro/micro actions is very import. If you refer to emarts post

Zerg is a very macro intensive race so high APM in micro'ing would be required

Terrans is a 70/30 Macro/Micro race.

Protoss would be more micro then macro.

[Kringe]

Hmm im having trouble believing all this talk of protoss being easiest race to play because it is as hard as all the others, the macro is different to all other races cause we cant watch a battle at the same time as macro unlike a terran or zerg who can use hotkeys, and microing is much different to every race so really the only reason we have lower apm is because we cant do both at once we have to choose micro or macro