Strategy players split their attention two ways. Macro is the big picture: how many units you make, where your economy grows, which ground you hold. Micro is the fights: moving a group well, pulling back the hurt, picking targets. Every guide tells you both matter. In a short match, the question is which one first.
Why short matches change the balance
In a forty-minute game, small economic edges compound for a long time. A slightly better economy at minute five becomes a crushing one at minute thirty, so macro dominates.
In a five-minute match, there is less time to compound. A fight won at minute two can decide the game before any economic edge pays off. Micro matters relatively more. But only relatively: a short match is still won by the side with more to fight with, and getting more comes from macro.
The rule of thumb: macro decides what you bring to the fight; micro decides how much of it you keep.
Where to look, minute by minute
The first minute: macro. Nothing to fight yet. Your attention belongs to growth: which neutral cities to take, in what order, and how. Every second here pays back for the rest of the match.
The middle: alternate. Look at the map, decide, issue orders, then watch the one fight that matters. When it settles, look at the map again. The rhythm is: big picture, one fight, big picture.
The end: micro, then macro. Late fights are big and decisive. Give them your full attention. When one is won, turn straight back to the map and spend the advantage before it fades.
Making micro cheap
The less effort each fight takes, the more attention is left for the map. Games help with this in different ways:
- Groups, not units. Command a group once and let it work. In Dot Conquest a command always goes to the whole group, and there is no share to set.
- Automatic abilities. Units that act by themselves at the right moment free your attention. Dot Conquest's Siege shell, Medic burst and Heavy charge all fire on their own. See the three abilities.
- Pause points. A game that pauses for decisions gives you a moment to look up. Dot Conquest's Councils do.
Making macro visible
Macro is easier when the numbers are in front of you. Learn to read a game's summary at a glance. In Dot Conquest, the top bar shows your cities, your army against its limit, and your share of the map against the share that wins. If those three are growing, your macro is working.
A simple habit
Every time a fight settles, ask one macro question before the next fight starts: is there a city I could be taking right now? That one question, asked often, is most of the difference between a beginner and a good player.
Where to go next
- The words used here: the glossary.
- The shape of a whole match: opening, middle and close.