Please advise on Transitioning to lategame Eco

Despite over 2'000 games and some amount of research on the topic (including watching replays) I am embarassed to say that I still suck in building up my Economy. I seem to be especially slow during the phase going from t2 to t3.

I just can't put my finger on it. I am getting my T2 mexes about the same speed like everyone else but then suddenly I find myself still at 100ish mass income while others have 300+.

Can I get some advise on this topic? Is there a specific timing to "Eco up" that I am missing or should I have just constantly some workers upgrading mexes while starving mass or what? it seems to be the main factor why I can't improve past the 1'000 rating.

To give you an Idea what I do or what I tried:

I try to upgrade my mexes 1 by one. I build mass storages around my t2 mexes before going to t3 (that's correct right?). But in that phase of the game I am already in fights and feel like I cant cut production. So should I constantly just "starve" mass and have slow production or stop producing at a certain time to focus on eco or what?

Once I have all my t3 mexes it get's better. I make t3 mass fabricators, get RAS and RAS Acu and all the good stuff but I ALWAYS fall behind in during the transition from T2 to T3. I feel like everyone elses mexes just upgrade faster thatn mine and I fall behind.

Bonus Question: Is it a "no-go" or at leas ill advised to go t3 tech before having a t3 economy? I mean in general, not if you play a specific strategy.

Thanks in advance for the replys

Are you talking about a teamgame? Ladder? A teamgame you can be putting 50% or more of your mass income into continued scaling. Shouldn't be lower unless you intend to end the game within next 3 minutes or the enemy is intending to end the game in the next 3 minutes. Impossible to say anything without a replay.

@thomy100 said in Please advise on Transitioning to lategame Eco:

But in that phase of the game I am already in fights and feel like I cant cut production. So should I constantly just "starve" mass and have slow production or stop producing at a certain time to focus on eco or what?

Try it and see what happens

You need to be able to get a sense of when you can cut production and when you can't

That comes from experience, which means the experience of either being successful or unsuccessful. If you never try, you will never get a sense of how much you can get away with.

It's the same with using your ACU aggressively. The only way you can learn how far you can push it, is if you push it. You have to "eff around and find out" in order to find out.

I agree with FtX that it's best to point out specific replays to ask for advice. Find replays where you felt like you were doing your best and you still came up short on eco. And then a more experienced player can review that replay and give you some pointers. They will have a good idea of what to tell you. Your biggest problem might not even be ecoing, it might be, for example, the way you use your units or your unit comp. It's best to get advice from multiple people and find what works for you.

Is it a "no-go" or at leas ill advised to go t3 tech before having a t3 economy?

From what I've seen, it's often the right move to go aggressively into T3 production before getting T3 mexes. And it's normal to get a T3 HQ after just 1-2 T3 mexes.

Well okay, here is a replay:

https://replay.faforever.com/19344508

It's not a strong game of me but the fact that my main opponent (dark blue) has faster a stronger eco and also me being behind everyone in eco before the 30min mark kind of shows my problem I think.

mainly team games, since in custom maps like dual gap the eco difference doesnt get so big or at least it doesnt show so significantly.

Thx for your replys!

Just remember that first 2-4 t2 mexes are almost crucial for your eco scale, don't build anything before those and you will have great scaling to get a leverge for late game eco

I watched the replay you gave and you start your spam before you get a couple t2 mex up. Try to delay those tanks at the beginning of a team game on most maps because they usually aren't worth it, you'd rather just spend the mass you spent on the factory and tanks on more economy.

Those early tanks aren't really useful because its hard to raid on that map and the acus are so strong they can counter them pretty easily for free.

Dark blue has a pretty big boost mid game when he pushes your t2 commander back before he can get enough t2 pds up to counter the gun com. He kills a bunch of tanks and structures in mid, allowing him to scoop more reclaim and pump his eco harder. He is also able to raid the few expansion mexes you have, which makes it impossible for you to get ahead of him from there.

I suggest watching Zockyzock's lessons he gave a long time ago to different players, he is one of the GOATs of FAF and is really good at explaining his reasoning for why to do things in the game. They are old videos, but the principles he teaches still apply.

Hope this helped a bit, here's the link to his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ZockyZock

@arkangel_ Thank you! Very helpful.