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    StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

    Game » consists of 10 releases. Released Jul 27, 2010

    The first chapter in the StarCraft II trilogy focuses on the struggles of the Terran race, as seen through the eyes of Commander Jim Raynor, leader of the rebel group Raynor's Raiders.

    Travels on the Creep Highway (2): Mo Minerals, Mo Problems

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    XTraFries

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    Edited By XTraFries
    This is a blog following my experience with coming back to Starcraft II after a semester's-long absence and diving headfirst into my least-played race, the Zerg. 
    original post

    Today I'm going to talk about my first three matches and what I've been able to take away from them, hopefully being the first steps on the path to Zerg mastery (or at least, Zerg adequacy). I'll start by just giving a brief overview of each match, then go into the common trends between them which I feel are the first hurdles I must learn to jump in Zerg play.
     
    Match one placed me against a Protoss on Jungle Basin. I attempted to go a fairly standard 15 Hatch, 14 Pool into Roaches. It's something I've seen Dimaga do recently and it seemed like as good a place as any to start, since he is a straight baller. The Protoss went a standard 3 Gate Robo, pushing with 3 Zealots, a small number of Stalkers and one Immortal for good measure. He pushed, I didn't have enough units, I lost.
     
    Match two was against a Zerg on Jungle Basin (a map I had never played before today, btw). I stuck with the same attempted build as the previous match. My opponent went for a 14 Pool and went in when he had about 20 lings, just as my first handful of roaches finished. Held off the first wave, I tried to make lings to hold them off, but this of course didn't work and I lost. 
     
    Third match, another Zerg, but on Blistering Sands this time. I decided to change the build up: 13 Hatch, 14 Pool going for ling speed and banelings. This actually gave a bit of an advantage when he sent a dozen or so lings to my base and I held it off with ease. I went in for a counter attack, again to surprising success. I crippled his economy, taking out all but 10 of his drones while I was still on 2 bases (with absolutely horrible saturation, but that's a point to make in a bit). He then went all in and made nothing but roaches, sending them right to my base. He ended up winning this game because I supply blocked myself and his roaches overran me.
     
    These three matches were pretty terrible, all things considered (the last one being respectable until my fumble at the end) but they showed the first major hole in my Zerg play: Larva management. I have been doing for an early-expend play, so drones are essential. However, I continually find myself with hundreds of minerals banked and not knowing how to spend it. Do I build more drones? Do I get a Roach Warren or tech to Lair? What about a third expansion or an in-base Hatch? In each match there was a moment of noticing how high my minerals were and fumbling to spend it. When I played Terran the answer to this problem is "Well, build more barracks so you can build more units and spend that money" or "hey, do a push and expand". I find myself making units either too slowly or too rapidly, either situation leading to a lost game. But in the time I'm fumbling with ideas, my larva build up and my opponent catches me with my pants down and I'm done.
      
    Another hole I noticed is that I was making units at times which could have lent themselves greatly to a little harassment, but I didn't act until it was too late. In each game there was a window where if I had pushed out I could have done some serious damage. Learning the timings for Zerg is another thing I'm going to have to get a feel for (unless they start letting Zerg 4-Gate. Then I'm gold)

    Here's what I'm thinking for my next round of matches: Holding off on the expansion, using my units, and making sure every larvae is spend wisely. Maybe try some 1-base Roach and expand as I push out like I was used to doing.
     
    I'll do another post tomorrow after I play another round of matches and see if I've learned anything from today. Let me know if you guys have any tips, advice, or if you want to hit me up for a match.
     
    TL;DR: I'm still bad at Zerg, but I'm starting to see why and hopefully can get better.
     
    Keep it classy, y'all. I'll be creepin' it up till next time.
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    XTraFries

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    #1  Edited By XTraFries
    This is a blog following my experience with coming back to Starcraft II after a semester's-long absence and diving headfirst into my least-played race, the Zerg. 
    original post

    Today I'm going to talk about my first three matches and what I've been able to take away from them, hopefully being the first steps on the path to Zerg mastery (or at least, Zerg adequacy). I'll start by just giving a brief overview of each match, then go into the common trends between them which I feel are the first hurdles I must learn to jump in Zerg play.
     
    Match one placed me against a Protoss on Jungle Basin. I attempted to go a fairly standard 15 Hatch, 14 Pool into Roaches. It's something I've seen Dimaga do recently and it seemed like as good a place as any to start, since he is a straight baller. The Protoss went a standard 3 Gate Robo, pushing with 3 Zealots, a small number of Stalkers and one Immortal for good measure. He pushed, I didn't have enough units, I lost.
     
    Match two was against a Zerg on Jungle Basin (a map I had never played before today, btw). I stuck with the same attempted build as the previous match. My opponent went for a 14 Pool and went in when he had about 20 lings, just as my first handful of roaches finished. Held off the first wave, I tried to make lings to hold them off, but this of course didn't work and I lost. 
     
    Third match, another Zerg, but on Blistering Sands this time. I decided to change the build up: 13 Hatch, 14 Pool going for ling speed and banelings. This actually gave a bit of an advantage when he sent a dozen or so lings to my base and I held it off with ease. I went in for a counter attack, again to surprising success. I crippled his economy, taking out all but 10 of his drones while I was still on 2 bases (with absolutely horrible saturation, but that's a point to make in a bit). He then went all in and made nothing but roaches, sending them right to my base. He ended up winning this game because I supply blocked myself and his roaches overran me.
     
    These three matches were pretty terrible, all things considered (the last one being respectable until my fumble at the end) but they showed the first major hole in my Zerg play: Larva management. I have been doing for an early-expend play, so drones are essential. However, I continually find myself with hundreds of minerals banked and not knowing how to spend it. Do I build more drones? Do I get a Roach Warren or tech to Lair? What about a third expansion or an in-base Hatch? In each match there was a moment of noticing how high my minerals were and fumbling to spend it. When I played Terran the answer to this problem is "Well, build more barracks so you can build more units and spend that money" or "hey, do a push and expand". I find myself making units either too slowly or too rapidly, either situation leading to a lost game. But in the time I'm fumbling with ideas, my larva build up and my opponent catches me with my pants down and I'm done.
      
    Another hole I noticed is that I was making units at times which could have lent themselves greatly to a little harassment, but I didn't act until it was too late. In each game there was a window where if I had pushed out I could have done some serious damage. Learning the timings for Zerg is another thing I'm going to have to get a feel for (unless they start letting Zerg 4-Gate. Then I'm gold)

    Here's what I'm thinking for my next round of matches: Holding off on the expansion, using my units, and making sure every larvae is spend wisely. Maybe try some 1-base Roach and expand as I push out like I was used to doing.
     
    I'll do another post tomorrow after I play another round of matches and see if I've learned anything from today. Let me know if you guys have any tips, advice, or if you want to hit me up for a match.
     
    TL;DR: I'm still bad at Zerg, but I'm starting to see why and hopefully can get better.
     
    Keep it classy, y'all. I'll be creepin' it up till next time.
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    StarvingGamer

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    #2  Edited By StarvingGamer

    Build more queens, build more drones, expand expand expand. There is no reason to have both larva and money. Also welcome to Zerg.

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    XTraFries

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    #3  Edited By XTraFries
    @StarvingGamer: Heh, very sound advice. 
      
    My biggest problems aren't knowing what I should be doing in theory, but more of not being able to actually do it. 
     
    I've taken a big break from the game, so even standard controls and macro stuff I need to re-learn. Definitely making this project a lot more difficult.
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    Thule

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    #4  Edited By Thule

    Money tends to pile up if you get supply blocked alot, after which it'll be more diffucult to catch up. I suggest you start making an in-base Hatch if this happens again.(Maybe even two) Even the pro's make in-base Hatches in order to get rid of excess money and Queen energy. Making another Hatchery at another mineral location is only useful if you're ready to expand . (e.g. your main and natural are saturated.)
    Also once you reach a supply of 25-ish, you should start making overlords in two's rather than just single ones and once your reach 50-60 you should start making them in three's.  Also for Zerg it's good to remember that Zerglings are always a good mineral sink. They're always useful and you can send small groups everywhere to scout and harass enemy positions. That's why you should always get the Zergling speed upgrade even if you're planning to go mostly Roaches.

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    davidwitten22

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    #5  Edited By davidwitten22

    Zerg v. Zerg is a very tough matchup at first. Usually roach isn't a good strategy, and a baneling centric build is usually pretty good against everything. If you see roaches, tech to mutas. And don't forget that spine crawlers exist. 
     
    I'd love to play some Zerg with you, my Character Id is Witten and my Character Code is 426. This is only if you're North America of course.

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