What are Micro and Macro in Starcraft 2?

[Valks 2,373]

Micro and Macro are two terms that are thrown around to describe different aspects of your playstyle, but newer players to the RTS genre might not be familiar with the terms. When playing a game like Starcraft, there is always two battles being fought at the same time within the game - a battle between units that are actively being controlled and a battle between units and structures that continue to work while the other battles happen. The construction of units and structures does not stop simply because a battle is happening elsewhere on the map. 

Micro is the small, controlled actions that occur with your current arsenal of units and structures. The aim is to, through constant adjustments, extend the life and usefulness of each unit in the game. This can be ensuring that scout units live long enough to efficiently fulfill their job or focusing certain mobs and attacking styles during fights to reduce downtime between attacks, for example.

Macro, on the other hand, focuses on the larger picture, as the name suggests. While small battles are being waged around the map and your focus is trained on certain units, it can be easy to remember that one small skirmish is not the whole war. While these small battles occur, your "macro" skills will be taking care of your base, ensuring you do not cap any resources and that you are still using your other units efficiently, rather than allowing them to idle.