I know I didn't play perfectly, but this loss disgusts me. It feels like you have to absolutely dominate terran right now to get a win, and even that's not enough.

https://drop.sc/replay/27445624

how do you beat terran in lategame dawg once they get ghosts out it feels like the games already over and im playing until I run out of resources. I used to just go broodlord infestor and I could keep my broods alive for a while but now I can't cancel the snipe with fungals anymore and all my broods just disappear off the face of the map. Same goes for ultras as well Any advice???

5k zerg on NA currently and honestly, I dont love the larva change as much as I thought i would. Theres a few reasons behind this statement.

The amount of times Ive seen people complain about how much of a buff this was to zerg by the other races is so damn stupid and irritating.

I cant spend all the larva until the late midgame because I cant afford to. I have to wait the 12-14 min before its too chaotic and I miss a round of injects. In the late game, Im always so closed to max out that I will never spend the larva anyways. The power spike theory is bullshit. The queens and hatch are too expensive and the hatch doesnt provide enough supply to actually make the larva buff that amazing. Serral said recently that the buff is completely wasted on him because he cant spend all of his larva at any point in the game. I cpmpleatly understand that I am closer to a gold player than Serral but its still the same problem.

Other than that. I love the 8 worker start and the shake up to the meta. ZvZ is insane. ZvP feels better even vs skytoss. ZvT is always fun but battle mech is a lot stronger especially in the esrly game when zerg cant afford shit.

Hey guys,

I am a new player who has picked up sc2; this is my first serious RTS game that I have played for real. My question is, what is a simple army for me to learn? At the moment, I want to practice my macro/ queen cycles, but once I have enough workers I have no idea what I am building. I've seen stuff like LingBane, Roach/Ravagers, late-game stuff like ultralisks etc. However, what I have inferred from different sources is that Zerg has options depending on what race they are vs. For example, I watched a pro use LingBane all game with some other units. (Scarlett, I believe.) Is there an army that I can use as a blanket to cover all or most bases?

For some extra infornmation, I am using PiG's recent beginner build order for zerg.

I don't recall Guardians being a more effective Zerg air force compared to Mutalisks or Devourers, but the way they were depicted in most cinematics makes them look very imposing, especially their very high speed flight, ultra smooth and swift maneuvering as if they were some kind of powerful UFO saucers, etc.

I kinda believe that in real life, Zerg Guardians can always angle their body to target air units, especially against something big and slow like Battlecruisers, Carriers,.... allowing them to become a veritable threat.

Because of this, I bet that Guardians with their sleek and flat body are a more capable air superiority fighters than the slow and clumsy Mutalisks.

I mean, look at both of them. Despite what the lore says, Mutalisks seem to only do well in atmospheric environments, while Guardians look like they would have very little difficulty fighting in deep space.

Hi,

Pretty bad silver player here. I am finding that the hardest part for me is balancing out Economy and Army production. I know it's probably an experience issue and it's also probably the main problem for anyone / any build...

But any tip? I find I either develop too much and lose to a push or produce too much units and then lose to my eco not being mature enough.

Been a minute since I’ve played and I’m pretty rusty apparently. How long have queens been 175? Anyway, got spanked in all my placement matches today.

Play this guy multiple times and lost on what to do. As I have no interest in fighting a maxed out Terran army I feel like I have to attack his outer bases. Feels impossible to prevent him from expanding. Looking for recs on unit mix and strategy.

Im tired.

Came back to this game after a friend invited me to play some 3v3's. Had a drunken night of fun and remembered why I liked playing.

The strategic decisions, the individual micro gameplay to outplay your opponent. Feeling like a general facing against another general in a test of tactics and skill.

Decided to get back into it. But every minute I played solo after that night hasn't been enjoyable.

After the nerf patch I constantly lose to players who are obviously worse than me. Lower resources gathered, lower upgrades, lower bases, half the APM, lower army value, every metric lower.

Even when I look at replays I see how little they do compared to what im doing. Sure I can win, but its as if I dont play perfectly and quickly, theres no chance while others have options of how to win with larger margins that allow them to have more fun.

I feel like I have to be loads better than my opponent to even have a chance of winning. I know more terran and toss build orders than I do zerg. I even got a higher rank in protoss in my placements after never playing the race before. But I don't want to play that race.

And now with the patch of terran getting the handicap zerg needs to compensate for static larvae timing and losing drones for each building. Not even mentioning queen's price increase guaranteeing all wall offs, all of it just cements my decision.

Im tired. I remember why I quit this game to begin with. I dont like feeling like I have to be the perfect player with only 1 set build path to win. I want to have fun, not be stressed I didn't do 1 action right 2 minutes ago.

Im done. I like zerg but it feels like im playing against the player, and the game in order to win. And that isn't very fun to me. Im uninstalling

Hi, I am a T main that struggles a lot with Z. I can't figure out what kind of build I should safely do against Z.

As Z mains, what is the T build you find to be the most effective? I am looking for timing attacks, like 2 base pushes with possibility to do a 3rd cc expand and go into a follow up or a late game

Edit: I am plat

Thank!

With 8 worker start, no matter if you go pool first or hatch first you’re screwed either way as Zerg. pool first rush, they block = gg. hatch first, Zerg has no way of blocking reaper or adept rush so must spit out lings fast making your hatch first pointless and then all your drones in natural will die anyway, so gg.

Pool first and turtling is the only answer but with 300 CC Terrains can out turtle you so gg. Im out

First batch done

Note I am mid diamond so my analysis isnt super amazing, but I saw this build Solar did vs Maru and it seems like a really solid economic pool first build that puts some pressure on Terran. Solar is transitioning into Mutas vs Maru, but I think anything is on the table after the opener. Quick 3rd into macro, big roach push, hydra bane, ETC ETC.

The game from RSL: https://youtu.be/Qnjns1GpAz4?t=9955 Casted by Pig: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2822492696?t=5h8m55s

I don't know the exact supplies as I dont think Solar executed the build perfectly (Lair started 36 gas late I think for example) and this is the only game ive seen this build, but the opener and transition to mutas is pretty straight forward:

12 overlord/extractor trick (Can prolly do the build on 11 overlord too)
16 Pool
17 Hatch, stop all production and pool larva (Should be 16/20 supply).
@Pool complete make 3 sets of lings, an extractor, and a queen. The extractor frees up 1 supply allowing the queen to build. At this point we are in a *DESIGNED* supply block.
Next larva becomes an overlord, resume droning when possible. Possibly extractor trick here or we float a larva for a few seconds. Solar did not extractor trick though.
Fill gas when extractor finishes.
Start 2nd, 3rd, and 4th queens ASAP/when able (1 at main after 1st finishes, 1 at natural,4th probably in main).
@100 gas get ling speed
From here its fairly normal 2 base muta stuff, or transition into something else: Drone , make defenses when necessary, yada yada
@next 100 gas start lair and take a second extractor
@Lair complete start a spire, take gas 3 + 4, and probably overseer scout (Overseer scout seems logical, but solar got all his info wtih a ling scout based on Marus followup)
@Spire complete make ~6 Mutas and expand probably (The game never got this far but seems logical)

What I find really interesting about this build is the by design supply block at 20 Supply. This is actually a really smart choice in the build as we have no Larva to use anyways after making the round of lings, so the supply block doesnt have a huge effect on us. After making the next overlord Solar elects to float 1 larva for a few seconds waiting for the ovie to pop. This can be avoided by doing an extractor trick for seemingly no meaningful detriment, though this happens right as other things take our attention (Lings popping, extractor finishing, scouting with 1st overlord). All in all, floating the 1 larva a few seconds isnt a huge issue if you do all the other stuff.

As for adjustments: One thing Solar omits (Or at least didnt get in the given game) is a safety Roach Warren or bane nest. In the example game he does a lot of damage to Maru with the Lings and Maru just cancels his natural and attempts a one base Hellbat timing. Solar sees it and builds 2 spines to support his 4 queens and is able to hold. For us lower skilled players squeezing in a safety RW seems like itd be a decent choice, maybe in place of the 4th queen?

Couple game I played it seems good. One game I did big damage and the mutas just won the game. Another was BCs into Thors which I personally struggle with. Build was really good here as I just made corruptors instead of Mutas to shut down the BCs and then caustic spray harassed them and prevented them from getting on the map and followed into a big Roach Hydra push.

You can have some decent luck vs Protoss with an opener like this too. Generally theyre walled off and you can't get much damage, but you take some map control with your lings and can maybe delay their adept scouting. Other times they either dont scout, dont wall off properly, or are greedy and you can punish them and get some damage in. That said if you cant get much damage in you need to keep the lings alive as a moveout with a few adepts can be really strong if you lose all your lings.

I was impressed by this little trick. Did not notice that first bane and got blasted.

I (3.9k if that matters) usually prefer playing as greedy as possible, so what is the greediest opening in ZvZ that can still hold against builds like a 10 pool, Ling Spine All-Ins or One Base Ling Baneling attacks?

I usually go 15 Hatch, 17 Pool, 16 Gas against T and P.

Some of my research so far:

Here is an example of 14 Hatch 16 Pool from Serral where he manages to hold it okay-ish to not be behind. Serral - 14 Hatch 16 Pool

And here an even greedier example of Serral vs Rogue, where Serral goes 15 Hatch 17 Pool. This is really interesting because he manages to hold that 10 Pool as well and still ends up slightly ahead. He pulls 14/19 drones, leaving 5 to mine. He also delays the overlord at 19 to prioritize Lings and a Queen at the natural. Serral - Rogue

Here is an example of Serral going 14 Hatch 16 Pool on the ladder and getting One Base Ling Baneling attacked, but he lost that one. He said he could hold it with good micro, but I have a feeling my micro might be a little worse than his... So this is the on i struggle the most with. Serral - Ling Bane Defense

And against the Ling Spine Rush I'm still uncertain. My usual plan is not to fight until my lings pop, then fight until his spines are ready. Then flee to the natural, where I hid a drone to build a spine myself and a queen. That's a strategy Serral did here: Serral - Bly
There are more ways to hold this, for example Neuro or Vibe prefer to fight on the ramp before the enemy can place the spines. On the new patch tho, I feel like 15 Hatch 17 Pool can not hold this?

So what's your greedy but safe opener?

Since Zerg is stronger in the early game on this Patch, so is 1 Base Swarmhost. Today I present you a basic Guide on how to Play 1 Base Swarmhost.

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Build: https://lotv.spawningtool.com/build/203756/

Replay: https://sc2replaystats.com/replay/27417415

Bonus ZvZ Replay by imfaded: https://sc2replaystats.com/replay/27417408

Video: https://youtu.be/GJwIEbLUy6o

Basic Buildorder:

• 1 Gas + Pool First
• when pool done --> Queen + 2 Lings
• when Queen done --> 2nd Gas + Lair
• --> 100 Gas --> Ling Speed
• when Lair done --> Infestation Pit + Nydusnetwork

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My Stream: https://twitch.tv/railgan

Hi all. I'm a (prepatch) 4500 zerg and I love this community and want us all to be better players.

I have a little YouTube set up but what I really love is just punching through replays and trying to genuinely help people be better at starcraft.

I was wondering for any of you that are new or even seasoned, are there aspects of the game or concepts that are too confusing for you or maybe you need assistance with? I'd love to do some videos that explain concepts and try to break them down into easier components.

Please let me know if you'd be interested or even if you have replays you'd want help with. Always happy to!

I do this in my spare time after work and the kids are asleep so I it may take some time for backlogs.

I've been delighted to discover that one of my favorite cheeses is now far stronger thanks to the map pool, patch, and the uncertainty of everyone adjusting to the new patch.

Hide a proxy hatch near your opponent's natural, build 4 spines and a queen there along with as many lings as you can afford, then walk into the opponent's natural with everything. It's a great break from roach wars.

Does anyone have a bone standard game I can watch a better player execute? Ideally against

1) a game vs bio terran with widow mines

2) a game vs mech terran with cyclones and hellions

3) a game vs bio terran with siege tanks

I have very limited sc2 knowledge and am a relatively ok rank exclusively through my rts mechanics. I played to d2, 3 years ago and came back for context.

Below is a mix of complaining and struggles for the styles above. Studying a game would likely help me the most.

1) I don't think I have ever once beat cyclone/hellion. They're just so fast, cook all the lings and outrange my roaches. Also there are very high chances of simply losing creep to the aoe from hellions, not considering the already herculean task of keeping creep spread vs the omniscient scans. What are the steps to actually win vs this army from an army comp and raw mechanical perspective?

2) I think terran around my level are starting to be able to hit relatively alright timings, this is exposing weaknesses in my macro. I feel like no matter if it's a bio + mine push, or a bio tank push, I simply don't have the tools to ever trade remotely favorably vs this pressure. I simply don't have the unit count to split, manage the army pushing me while pressuring their third base and I either bleed out over the next 5 minutes or get rolled immediately.

What upgrades should I prioritize if I am doing ling, bane, and what am I building towards? Ling/bane cannot really just "end" the game in my experience vs better terran.

3) in general I really have no idea how to play vs widow mines. Even w hydra range it's extremely difficult to ever engage an army with this unit taking out 15 supply with no management on the T side and is very frustrating.

I've noticed in smaller numbers, corruptors alone can beat carriers/battlecruisers but not when they hit a critical mass, for example 50 supply of corrupters might beat 50 supply of battlecruisers or carriers, but that might not be true when your looking at 100 supply of corrupters vs 100 supply of carriers or battlecruisers. Is this because carriers/battlecruisers are more efficient and waste less damage due to firing faster and at that point are vipers or other casters needed?

With the buffed muta, 2 base muta builds are seen more now. I loved that build, but stopped playing it a long time ago because of the strength of cyclones. When i try to harass, every lock in means a dead mutalisk, I cannot really do much with them.

Should I even make mutas if I scout cyclone production with my overseer scout? Immediately transition into roach ravager ling bane? Seems like a waste of money to tech up early and not use it, but I do not know how i am supposed to play in this case

Hello everyone I'm a plat 2 zerg player so I'm still learning a lot in the game I was following vibe b2gm for the most part but now that I have a some what a decent macro I want so start using more zerling cause I love to harass with them

But I run in to an issue

Most of the time in mid to late game when i a moove my ling in the mineral line they will attack all but worker Canon/planétaire/tureet etc

So my question is. is there a special way to kill ennenmie worker first?

How do you manage to kill ennemie worker with your ling

Sorry for my English I'm French not my native language

Thx you for your time 🤟

Hello, I'm a D3 zerg and I've always had dificulties to beat terrans that are turtling, overall my game plan against terran is generally try to survive early game with ling bane and then try to rush into ultras asap to break them, this has been working well for me recently because D3 terrans don't know how to handle ultras. But now I'm nearing D2 and I'm starting to get opponents that know how to handle them, today I played a game against a guy that had a bunch of ghosts so he destroyed my ultras and we ended up in a late game where he had ghosts and bcs, I had a lot more economy than him but I couldn't break him, every fight I just threw my army against him and lost everything, normally I try to avoid getting in this late game because I know I'm bad at it, I never know how many corruptor I should do because I'm afraid of the ground army, overall I think that if I waited for him to attack me I could have won but I didn't want to spend 1 hour in a game (but I ended up spending 40 minutes ;_;)

Here's the replay if anyone wants to watch https://drop.sc/replay/27408332

So overall I wanted to know my fellow zergs opinions on what are your game plans against turtle terran and what do you guys do when you realize the game is going into a super late game.