what is micro?

[DSRilk]

Okay, I've read a bunch of forum posts (on other boards, actually) referring to "having to micro" - which seems to have something to do with dodging, I guess? They're definitely not referring to micro transactions. Anyone know what "micro" in that context might mean?

[Taliesyn]

Micro means fine control and having to use a lot of abilities or actions all the time. A class that has a lot of micro means you're going to have to be a lot more active and use a lot more abilities a lot more often than a class that doesn't require a lot of micro.

It's short for 'micromanagement'.

[Dhurn]

It generally refers to micromanagement and control when your talking about gaming. For something like Starcraft it is good unit control and being able to keep low health units alive, focus firing key targets of your opponent etc. For diablo, it would probably mean good kiting ability, accurate and and well time ability usage, etc. I see it more often used with RTS games though.

[Porcell]

You usually hear the term in reference to StarCraft II. Macro refers to your management of your economy, your base, keeping your workers and units in production. Micro refers to when you are actually going in for an attack with your army, so thinks like moving into range for a second to shoot and then moving away, or to spread your army out of an AoE attack, or just generally moving and controlling individual units.

I too thought about the "micro" aspect of D3 while playing. When a DH or Wizard has to move a little, shoot, move a little, shoot, vault out of the way, turn and shoot again. That's the micro (micromanagement) that they are talking about.

[Caiada]

Definitely more of an RTS thing, but it applies here as well. It's specific moment-by-moment game strategy (in D3, character manuevering, choosing when to use skills and how, and enemy position) as opposed to broad gameplay strategy (gearing, skill choice, passive choice, your pacing through the game)

[jackofwind]

It usually applicable in regards to RTS games, where there is a macro game involving expanding and teching and training troops, and the micro game of properly controlling groups of units.

In regards to Diablo 3 there isn't really a macro game at all so one can't really make the argument that there is a micro - they're two sides of the same coin. What I believe they would be referring to is kiting ability, hitting your targets, staying out of bad shit, and perhaps managing your cooldowns properly.

[FearXI]

I use micro as in "need to micro my coffee it's cold."
And besides this topic this is the first I'm hearing it used differently.

[Porcell]

I use micro as in "need to micro my coffee it's cold."
And besides this topic this is the first I'm hearing it used differently.

Really? I don't think I've ever heard someone use micro that way. My family always says "nuke," like "I'm going to nuke a hot pocket."

[FearXI]

Really? I don't think I've ever heard someone use micro that way. My family always says "nuke," like "I'm going to nuke a hot pocket."

I've used nuke too but micro is a bit more common for me to say.

[Solmyr13]

Like others have said, Micro is the skill people use in games but primarily in RTS's. A lot of the best players in the world can literally manage over 100 units in seconds and have everything they want building perfectly.

For instance, if you're playing Terran and you ahve Marines, Medics, Dropships, Tanks, Thor's and you are researching infantry armor in the engineering bay, tank dmg in the armory and training a thor, marine and dropship, your "Micromanaging" skill would involve how quickly you were able to issue the necessary commands without missing any gameplay. Moving away from your units for a second could mean death in a lot of high end games so players have to rely very heavily on their micro-managing skills.

[Ryquis]

Micro in diablo relates to how you play outside the metagame. The metagame is you saying - "oh these 5 abilities let me heal when I hit people, now I'm going to tank the damage in the face and beat diablo" - which is more or less how you can play normal-hell. Micro would be you physically dodging attacks on screen, reading tells, and moving, focus firing dps in groups, rotating stuns in groups, etc.