With Heart of The Swarm soon coming, it's always important to brush on the basics game-play skills. There will always be a lot that a beginning player needs to learn in order to improve their game-play already. But one of the most important things many players sometimes forget during their game is early scouting.

I noticed that even many pro-gamers have issues with early scouting. This leads to the result of early rushes that they aren’t prepared for or even enemies having the tech or units that they aren’t expecting. This simple skill of not scouting the enemy could make the difference of being prepared for the enemy or even staying alive in the game.

Why should players early scout?

Sending a worker unit out to explore the map could cost mining time, but in return it gives the player information about what their opponent might be preparing. The opponent could be preparing for an early rush or even a proxy base hidden around the map or even a photon cannon rush that players tend to hate being caught off guard by.

Just by sending a single worker out to explore the map and finding the enemy base, players can learn what they might be going up against later in the game. Also be able to plan according to the information they gather from early scouting.

What players should be scouting for?

The first important thing about scouting is discovering the location of the enemy. Unless it’s a one versus one map, where you already know where the enemy is located, it’s still important to scout out their base to see what the enemy got in store for you. Once you located the enemy base, look for key buildings. Examples: Expansions, Gas, key buildings or no buildings at all. Once you have scouted the enemy base and noticed whatever they have in their base, start preparing according to what the enemy might build later on.

If the enemy ends up expanding early, you can expect they're not going to be an early rushing. If the enemy ends up going one base, then you can expect they might be preparing for a rush with a one base all-in. If you end up scouting early gas, there is a high chance that they might be going for better tech. Always try to be on the look out for the buildings that the enemies are constructing.

Normally if you scout an early Forge in a Protoss player's base and it's not a PvZ, then there shouldn’t really be any reason for the enemy to be building a forge. You would need to prepare yourself for enemy Photon Cannon rushes or even a hidden proxy pylon around the map. Always look in corners of the enemy base or even your own, to make sure there aren’t any hidden tech or proxy bases being built.

Just sending a worker for early scouting can make a huge difference. Gathering information is important to reach victory, since it’s always important to have map control and map awareness. Scouting also helps players prepare for what the opponent might have in store for you. Look for key buildings or even harass enemy workers, while they are building to delay their timing. Just by blocking the drone that is trying to build a hatchery with your scouting worker gives you an edge over the enemy. Always try to early scout with a worker, in order to avoid being rushed or proxy by the enemy.

I hope this helps you in your games, good luck!