Topic
[Zerg vs Terran] Strategy Writeup
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Edited by ZerkerZerg on 8/24/10 7:11 PM (PDT)
So everybody is busy whining about how TERRAN IZ OP! Zerg can never kill a terran, etc etc. There are many ways to crush a terran play and even kill the "IMPOSSIBLE" mech/bio mech.
Fast expanding is fairly common vs a terran player just beware of a bunker rush it is VERY common that terrans will do this to force the expansion cancel and they basically waste nothing but your time and minerals to defend it as they can just recycle the bunker and get all their minerals back. So just be careful if they bunker rush you, go for roaches and bust their face in with the roach steamroller. Early Game Checklist: -Gas -Zergling speed (YOU NEED THIS EVERY SINGLE GAME) -Survive -Scout his wall for add-on on his barracks or if he flipped for factory Openers: -Speedling/baneling -Speedling/roach -Fast roaches -Baneling bust Midgame: -Mutalisks (and harass) -Speedling/baneling/infestor -Roach Hydra -Infested Terran Spam End game: -The secret to crushing mech build (see below!) -Speedling/baneling/mutalisk -Roach/speedling/infestor/baneling -Infestors/baneling/roaches/hydralisks Early Game Build Orders: 14 hatch 13 pool 14 Hatch 13 Pool 15 Overlord 15 Zergling 16 Queen 21 Gas 20 Queen Excellent for big maps where you are far away from your opponent (like metaolopolis where you are at 11 and your opponent is at 5). This build basically screams BUNKER RUSH ME! But is good for the very early hatch and big boost in economy and unit production. You build both queens at your main hatchery and just walk one down to your natural. 14 Pool 15 Hatch 14 Pool 15 Hatch 15 Overlord 15 Queen 17 Zergling ~20 gas (this one is approximate it can be changed to what you want) Balanced build which has the early expand and the earlier pool to ward off the bunker rush. Gives you a big macro lead over a terran player because of the faster hatchery and a decently fast pool for speedlings. 13 Pool 13 Gas 13 Pool 13 Gas 14 Overlord 14 Zerglings (2 pairs) 16 Queen Take workers out of gas after zergling speed is done 19 Hatchery 19 Zerglings If you are on a very small rush distance maps (Steeps anyone?) do this, it'll have very very fast lings and early gas as well. Personal opinion flip the gas and pool so that you have the 100 gas as soon as the pool pops to have zergling speed. 13 Hatch 14 Pool 15 Gas anti-bunker rush 13 Hatch 14 Pool 15 Gas 15 Overlord Roach warren as soon as pool pops do not make a queen until the bunker is down if you got bunker rushed or until you have 3-5 roaches. This is great for breaking bunker rushes or just having really really fast roaches. Idra Build 9 Overlord 15 Gas 14 Pool Scout on 14 15 Overlord 16 Queen 17 Zerglings (2 pairs) 19 Hatchery This build was seen as done by Idra in the ESL! I don't have much to say about this besides it is solid. The overlord on 9 means you don't waste larva. I prefer my double extractor trick myself. |
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Edited by ZerkerZerg on 8/22/10 5:55 PM (PDT)
Early + Midgame build orders:
1 Base Mutalisk 10 Overlord 14 Extractor 14 Pool 16 Overlord 16 Queen 18 Metabolic Boost 18 Zerglings (2 pairs) 22 Lair 22 Gas 22 Overlord 26 Zerglings (3 pairs) 29 Spire HIDE THIS! Use an overlord to generate creep somewhere in your base usually a corner away from your main base to prevent it from being scanned 32 Overlord 32 Hatchery 31 Queen 35 Overlord Save resources and make mutalisks This is scary when executed and not scouted as it can cause a LOT of damage very fast. Very easy to transition out of into something else as you can pick off scv's, tanks, add-ons (snipe these they don't have a lot of health and slow down a terran by a lot), Marauders, etc etc. This basically hands you map control while the terran spams missle turrets. Baneling Bust (like a boss this is so much fun) 9 Overlord 14 Pool 13 Gas 15 Overlord 15 Queen 17 Zerglings First 100 gas to ling speed 22 Baneling nest (next 50 gas) You need 6 banelings morphed to break a supply depo. Usually having a few extra banelings to bust through any marines that are standing nearby is very helpful. After you break it down run speedlings in and nuke stuff. This IS AN ALL IN BUILD, so be careful if it does not do signifigant damage you are way behind. But if it goes through you can wreck the terran's economy, army and just have free reign to take over from this point on. Sometimes this just wins the game outright. Roach Rush 9 Overlord 13 Pool 15 Extractor 14 Overlord 14 Zergling (2 pairs) 16 Queen 18 Roach Warren 18 Overlord 19 5 Roaches 29 Overlord 29 Zergling Speed 29 Expansion 28 Zerglings This is another way to bust a terran's wall without the all in banelings. This is really powerful as roaches can bust down supply depos fairly easily while eating damage from marines. If your opponent goes marauders though you are in serious trouble, so SCOUT! |
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Edited by ZerkerZerg on 8/22/10 5:55 PM (PDT)
Midgame: If you survived to this point you are doing something right! You have to decide how the next part of the game will go, if your opponent has been passive thus far they are building up to something so YOU must be the agressor to pin him back as long as possible while you can build up to something scarier. In my games I let the terran harras until they hit passive mode as they can't break me and they go into turtle mode as I go into harras mode and be really anoying and funnel the terran into doing what I want them to. Mutalisk harass can be VERY effective. Normally I get my 6 and just harass the living bajeezus out of the terran trying to poke in at any angle possible and pick off scv's, add-ons, supply depos and make them waste so many minerals doing it. I routinely pick off tanks and other valuables (even a thor here and there) which forces them to go heavy thor and marine which is declicious to eat end game. Speedling/baneling/infestor is another army comp good at taking out bio balls. Infestors fungal growth and just run in with speedling baneling and blow it up! Can't kite banelings when you are fungaled. Roach Hydra For dealing with Banshee shinangigans as it usually leads to tanks with banshees and marines or something like that. Hydras can take out any banshees or tear apart tanks while roaches eat the tank shells. Infested Terran Spam I have done this a whole bunch in 2v2 and it is HALARIOUS. Easier to do in 2's as you can turtle up your gas. Get burrow, 5-6 infestors walk to your opponent's mineral line or just below their base and SPAM infested terrans. NOTE: Infested terrans are like regular marines in damage, health but have a short duration and very slow movement speed but are basically FREE. I use them to nuke a mineral line then focus the command building as it drops really fast and people don't usually see it coming. Do this at their main and their natural and watch them freak out. Don't expect this to work twice. This is also can be easily countered with ANY early game agression. Checklist for Midgame: -Lair -Baneling nest -Evo chambers x2 (double upgrades are VERY important) -Natural expansion (and more expansions when you have map control) -Overlord speed -Overseer (just need 1) -Spire -Scout and decide on army comp Spire is important for many reasons, even if you hate mutas and can't micro them to save your life drop one in the middle of your base to be scanned. It'll make the terran WASTE hundreds of minerals on missle turrets. "Yeah but a few hundred minerals is nothing to a terran." So they drop around 5-6 missle turrets PER base that's what 1,200 minerals so a few less tanks a LOT less marines and maruaders. And you drop, 200 minerals and 200 gas. The threat ALONE may even force thors which are delicious to eat. But remember that mutas are AMAZING for sniping tanks. Overseer can be great for scouting but I usually have one around for those pesky cloaked banshees that every terran is seeming to get to try and catch me without detection. Too bad I have one already have one camped around ready to move. 2 Queens can easily get rid of a pair of banshees just focus one and they'll take off. The overseer can also scout and if you are scared of a big tank push use it to contaminate factories and be really anoying. Baneling Nest is always welcome for baneling drops if they are going pure mech (which makes me giggle seeing these green balls of rolley DEATH run towards scv's and explode), or taking out any bio units. The double Evolution Chambers means you'll have fast upgrades which keeps your army alive longer. Carapace should always be upgrades and either melee or ranged attack damage depending on your final army comp. |
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Edited by ZerkerZerg on 8/22/10 5:55 PM (PDT)
Harassments and dealing with them:
Hellions: 1 spine crawler 1 queen and 12 zerglings can deal with 4 hellions. 2 spine crawlers, 1 queen and 12 zerglings can deal with 6 hellions. If you suspect blue flame drop roaches on your ramp and block it off with roaches and HOLD POSITION ON THE RAMP it prevents your roaches from getting shoved aside. If you suspect this kind of harass is coming (poping up the ramp and seeing a factory instead of a barracks), drop 1-2 spine crawlers at your natural by the ramp it will usually deter them from running up the ramp as they'll get smoked in the face on the way up. You can also block the ramp with queens which they won't expect to happen. It is very important to surround the hellions when they pause to attack as without it you are just running in a line which is very easy to kill. Banshees: An extra queen at each hatchery will deal with a few banshees but if they are going multiple starport drop a hydra den or get the spire going. Part of going to lair one of the first things I do is get an overseer which is why it is a part of the check list! You are already ready for the cloaking banshees. MM Push: Few extra spine crawlers and a LOT of speed zerglings. If there is hellions and marauders surround the hellions and kill them FIRST. Lots of hellions and you might want to add some roaches to eat some of their damage and just kill the marauders first. |
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Edited by ZerkerZerg on 8/22/10 5:56 PM (PDT)
End Game
Wow you really made it this far? Hive tech done? Well it's time to kill or be killed! Speedling/baneling/mutalisk very common against bio comps. Mutas are there to pick off tanks and marauders while banelings tear apart marines. Make sure you get your melee upgrades and range damage upgrades for this one as it can tear apart huge armies. Roach/speedling/infestor/baneling anti bio with some mech thrown in for flavor, roaches with tunneling claws can ambush the tanks while the speedlings and banelings run in and kill the bio. Infestors can spew infested terrans for more cannon fodder and can be really effective if used before you send your lings and banes in to eat some tank shells. Infestors/baneling/roaches/hydralisks bio crushing fury and something to take out the pesky medivacs. Infestors to fungal banes to explode stuff, roaches to eat the damage and hydras to kill everything else that is left standing. End Game Checklist -3/3 upgrades for your main army -Hive -3+ bases -Good idea of what's going on around the map -Army which can stand against the terran -Killing the terran |
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Edited by ZerkerZerg on 8/22/10 5:57 PM (PDT)
MECH CRUSHING FURY - The ZerkerZerg way
In the replays you will see something rather strange that after harassment is over and the terran goes into passive mode I flip over to "THE MAP IS MINE NOW!" mode and start poking the terran with a stick to which they respond with IMMA MASS THORS AND KILL YOUR MUTAS! To which I giggle and smile. Once my harassment starts I drop an infestation pit usually a 3rd and go right for the hive while massing upgrades. When the terran finally shows their face and think they have won the game they encounter their worst NIGHTMARE... Their cry sends shivers down mine spine, they take about 6 HUNDRED years to morph, they are the scariest thing on land they are... THE ULTRASLISK now that everybody has hit the back button and called me a nub let's go over the ultralisk. Minerals: 300 Gas: 200 Supply: 6 Time: 700 Years (70 game seconds? Yeah right it's calculated in YEARS) Melee attack: 15 (+25 vs armored) and vs buildings of 75 damage Health: 500 Armor: 1 (+2 from their own upgrade and +1 each carapace upgrade) These things are TANKS. A handful of these can rip apart terran mech armies like you wouldn't believe. In one of my replays I go against a bunch of thors with a handful of ultras which fall, a few more spawn and just trample what is left with his army. Also note that their ground attack is a CLEAVE in a 1.5 range so while the bio is trying to surround the thor to protect it they are getting DEMOLISHED. They are rather clumsy and really stupid sometimes but use these with KRACKlings (from SC1) and they can rip apart bases and armies with complete ease. Still missing your 40 kills with a single unit achievement? Throw these at your enemies. I had an ultralisk with 46 kills one game before he FINALLY fell, but the rest of my ultras were all over 20-30 kills each. Alternate Mech Crusher and runner up prize goes to: Broodlords! Sorry guys are way too slow, too vulnerable and just generally don't do enough because the mech army can walk right past you and kill everything while they are not able to shoot at you. |
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Edited by ZerkerZerg on 9/19/10 12:23 AM (PDT)
Credits:
ZvP Sheth's Guide (which is mostly ZvT guide and is pure gold GO READ IT!) http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=133023 1 Base Muta http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/1_Base_Muta_(vs._Terran) Baneling Bust http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Baneling_Rush_(vs._Terran) 5 Roach rush http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=145740 Replays: Bio ball: http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/61612-1v1-terran-zerg-scrap-station Bio ball: http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/61534-1v1-terran-zerg-scrap-station Mech: http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/61471-1v1-terran-zerg-scrap-station MMM: http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/62222-1v1-terran-zerg-metalopolis MM: http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/62266-1v1-terran-zerg-scrap-station NEW There are the replays I have been able to get so far, more to come as soon as I can find terrans who are actually laddering only finding ZvZ's. So ZvT isn't as broken as people say, yes terran has it bloody easy and Z needs to work so much harder but the victory is just that much better when you achieve it as you can stand over the crumpled army and the terran will sit there in shock and go what can I do against...THAT!? ZvT Guide: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/540705711 ZvZ Guide: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/541085489 ZvP Guide: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/628237881 |
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Edited by nubsauce on 8/22/10 6:25 PM (PDT)
Great guide .... I like that you linked to Sheth's which I continously check up on :D
I still struggle with mass hellion ... like 12+. T comes in to try to smoke my econ advantage. Most of the time, I've simply neglected to tech up to lair and drop a spire as fast as I can. Hopefully I'll get just a bit faster and I can fend off this ridiculous timing attack from a ball of hellions (or dropshipped hellions ... love that move too :/). I have not had luck with roaches yet vs hellion. They are too slow and/or I am too slow micro-ing or not positioning them properly. Blocking your ramp is moot when T techswaps the factory with the starport and mass drops them into your main. Crawlers are good but you would need a WALL of them (which I have seen pro's try against hellion ball with some success too .... till T dropships them). T just lets a few hellions get spanked by your 2-4 crawlers and your drones are toast .... fair trade for him. Edit: same with mass reaper :( |
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Yeah I linked Sheth's guide because let's face it that's where I learned MOST of my ZvT ideas then came up with this stupid idea while playing 2v2 ... I'll find the replay it's HALARIOUS along with my allie's quote ;)
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/62141-2v2-terran-protoss-zerg-tarsonis-assault just speed up till the last few minutes when the epic quote comes. Huge amount of hellions humm if it was like LT I would just put a few spines behind a wall of roaches INFRONT of my base. In stuff like met, bunch of spines as well roaches blocking ramp. If they drop them, I would have spire tech by then and just snipe the dropship out of pure ZERGRAGE (tm) |
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My only issue is Ultralisks. It's too easy to lose them to Marauders and Tanks. Even Marines will down an Ultralisk before it manages to kill its cost in units, since it takes three hits for an Ultralisk to kill a single marine, and ALL of those marines are firing on the Ultralisks at once. The damage stacks up pretty quick. Just watch some of IdrA's games against MorroW -- Ultralisks were a liability.
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My only issue is Ultralisks. It's too easy to lose them to Marauders and Tanks. Even Marines will down an Ultralisk before it manages to kill its cost in units, since it takes three hits for an Ultralisk to kill a single marine, and ALL of those marines are firing on the Ultralisks at once. The damage stacks up pretty quick. Just watch some of IdrA's games against MorroW -- Ultralisks were a liability. Adding another replay of an MMM with marauders attacking my stuff AND buildings all around. yeah I lost a bunch to stupid AI and getting stuck but it WRECKED this guys army in just a few swipes. Remember that ultralisks CLEAVE which is huge when you are dealing with a giant ball of junk. |
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Thanks for posting this! :) I have trouble with playing with the zerg and terran is by far the hardest to beat. This will probably help me out more than anything else I have seen so far.
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Sweetness dude. I've been needing major help in my ZvT matchup. I play random but for some reason Blizz loves morphing me into a Z... Thanks for the replays, I'll be sure to study up and pwn those Terran bums! LoL, you love to eat thors eh? You are one funny motherf....!!!
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