Sunday, October 10, 2010

Actions Per Minute (APM)

Today I want to post something about pro gamers. Here's a short video excerpt from a Razer documentary about two Korean players, NaDa and Moon. Here, they will demonstrate how they play StarCraft and WarCraft III. It's a definitely must-see for those who aspire in becoming competitive gamers. See the end of the post for this complete documentary.



APM stands for actions per minute and it is the number of actions completed within a minute of gameplay. High APM is often associated with skill. Newbies usually have a low APM count, say around 50. Professional e-athletes in South Korea have APM of about 300 and some occasionally exceed 500 when in the heat of a battle.

Do note that high APM does not make you a great player. It's about the efficiency and accuracy of your actions! Mindless clicking everywhere and spamming your hotkeys won't make you top tier. However, this "spamming" can be used to warm up your fingers in the beginning of the match. With StarCraft II, it is possible to save replays of your games and then view them. By pressing M, you can view all players' APM counts. Once you become better and better, you should (slowly) see a rise in your APM.

I will consider some tips and tricks on how to improve your gaming skills in StarCraft II in future posts. In essence, practice makes perfect and learn from your mistakes.

Here's the link to all 4 parts of the original Razer: The Hax Life documentary on one page. On a side note, Razer makes delicious equipment targeted for gamers. I myself have the Razer Mamba and Razer Lycosa Mirror; gotta love the shiny black! What's your gaming equipment?

29 comments:

  1. There are insane. My APM is only about 120, but at least it's all effective and not wasted. I guess that's why I'm in the lower tier of diamond. :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. not sure how to check my apm but whatever... thanks for the info

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Hotsaucer Wow, 120 APM is very, very great!!

    @OC-STEVEN Check the Replays tab in-game, you can easily view a replay from there as the game always keeps a few recent games. Just select APM from the dropdown-list in the top-left of the screen.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i...i don't...i...*sigh*

    i've wasted my life

    ReplyDelete
  5. i need to train myself to have a higher apm

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow the APM stuff is something I didnt know about, now I wanna know whats mine

    ReplyDelete
  7. that was intense.. I can't belive you can do that....

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have an APM of like...20. And maybe 40 when the going gets tough, hahah. Currently trying to beat the campaign on Brutal.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I approve of all things starcraft! moar posts! :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. IT feels like it's not even fun anymore, it's like going in a trance.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Starcraft! Jaedong is my favorite Korean player.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great read! Looking forward to reading your next post.

    ReplyDelete
  13. not sure about my starcraft APM but in games like heroes of newerth/ dota I am about 100, obviously it matters much less in HoN/Dota than it does starcraft.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've never checked APM.

    This Starcraft II is crazy though

    http://makenonevermind.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  15. this is a good follow up post to the previous one

    I have a new post on GTL Everyday too :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. seen this before, crazy fast =D

    ReplyDelete
  17. i have the razer mamba, its great for starcraft, but i usually use it for browsing

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for the comments on my blog :)

    I have new bubbles on Enhanced by MS Paint!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I will never be 1/10th that good.

    ReplyDelete