Hi folks!
It's been a while. My gaming laptop of 5 years finally died last winter, and with no job or money there was no gaming to be had for months. All of these problems are now fixed, and I'm back with Starcraft, as well as a healthy line-up of badass PC games I can now play on maxed settings :D. And POKER! I'm playing Texas Hold'em online now (micro stakes). It's great fun, and a really deep game. Takes a solid understanding of game theory, mathematics, and psychology to play really well. I always feel like there's more to learn.
Now that I'm back playing Starcraft, I get to see how the metagame has changed in the months I've been inactive. Terrans are crying about imbalance, PvP is all about long passive macro games, and the mothership is a crucial endgame unit. I've sure missed a lot! I'll go over my (re)development in catching back up with Starcraft and hopefully finally shooting for master league.
PvT, I'm trying desperately to emulate the amazing success and domination that Startale's Parting has been enjoying lately. He seems to love doing fast 3rd bases and mass gateway builds with fast high templar. He has gone whole games without going double forge or making colossus, because his storms are so accurate and quick and numerous. I'm not sure if I'm capable of that just yet, but doing 8 minute mass gateway attacks while taking a 3rd seems like a strong build. It hits at a super strong timing, delays drops by pinning the medivacs back home, and gives you some map control to take a fast 3rd. If Terran attempts to take an 11 minute 3rd while dropping you, you should be way ahead. The only dangerous thing is a counter push to the front at 10 minutes. This can be defended with templar tech (feedbacks and archons is all that's necessary) and solid forcefields and positioning. It takes a lot of skill and game sense, though.
The other build that's strong right now is Startale Squirtle's 2 base Colossus pushes. He sometimes gets blink with these pushes, but I haven't tried that yet. I'm sure it's a very tight build. Both Parting and Squirtle seem to dominate Terrans who go for a gasless expand. The toughest Terran builds right now seem to be 2 base banshee/tank builds, 1 base thor all ins, and really heavy drop play. I believe fast colossus can beat the first, I don't know what beats the 2nd, and as always solid play and observers can beat the 3rd. Double Forge builds off 2 base seem strong as well still, but I haven't been trying them lately.
PvZ is going through a lot of changes. Stephano came up with an absurdly strong maxed-out roach attack at 12 minutes, and Protoss has struggled to figure out a way to survive it. The common solution seems to be either a stargate into fast 3rd base or a sentry-immortal composition with a fast 3rd base. Both these methods require REALLY serious micro and building positioning. But this weekend I found a new way. A better way. A greedier way. :)
That way is Admonius' 1-gate nexus aggressive macro build. You open with a 13 gate on high ground at the ramp, but then make a low ground pylon and a nexus. Make constant zealots while making a core and then a forge to wall off the low ground nexus. Add a cannon and stick to 1 gas for a while. You should have 4 zealots ready to go pressure the Zerg 3rd at 6:30ish. At 7:30, warp gate and +1 attack finishes, as well as 3 more warpgates. At 7:30, you're attacking the Zerg's 3rd with 8 +1 zealots, which is an absurdly fast and strong timing off an economy that's equivalent if not slightly better than forge fast expands. The standard followup to this is a +2 attack blink stalker timing that can easily kill Zerg while taking your own 3rd base at 9 minutes. This timing keeps Zerg on a low to even drone count with you, has a VERY high chance of keeping him on 2 base for a long time, and gives you +2 and blink very quickly. Stephano's roach build does not work because the heavy droning in the midgame is interrupted. Mutas are ineffective, since you're rushing to +2 and blink while pressuring Zerg the whole time off a really good economy. Seriously, one of them tried mutas after I killed and delayed their 3rd for many minutes. I had blink and +2, they couldn't do a thing, and our 3rds went down at the same time.
One might ask "How does this build possibly survive early all ins? The forge and cannon are delayed and you're making a nexus off of only zealots with no wall in!" Astoundingly, it survives them pretty well. A 6 pool can be held off the same way as any high-ground gateway opening. Wall in, chrono zealots, defend the choke with zealots and probes. Roach and baneling all ins actually come fairly late compared to your tech (compared to a forge FE!), and you should be able to defend with walls, cannons, sentries and stalkers on most maps. Proxy hatches are also weaker, because you're opening with 4 quick zealots!
All in all I can't wait to play this build more, it's so cool!
PvP I haven't focused on very much yet. So far, I've been opening 1 gate phoenix, expanding, and going 2 base carrier with air attack upgrades. Seems to work very well as long as I don't get proxy 2 gated. Seriously, screw that build, even if I see it coming I can't do anything.
That's all so far, stay tuned for new content on my youtube channel!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
EGHuk's Fast 3rd Base PvZ Strategy
I've been having a ton of success with this build since I saw and studied it a lot at MLG Orlando. It keeps Protoss even with the Zerg economy, and functions much the same way the old 3-gate expand build used to go - we're just starting with an additional base to work with. I feel like this build is incredibly flexible and probably the best safe macro build you can opt for right now. It's also fairly easy to execute.
The gist of the build is this:
Forge FE.
I make 1 zealot and send it straight to Zerg's main to scout.
make nothing but sentries, get +1 weapons and warp gate.
chronoboost probes a LOT. almost exclusively, in fact.
make a total of 6 gates, as if you were doing an all-in.
If Zerg scouts this, he'll cut drones and start producing units and spines in anticipation of the all-in. I've had Zergs overreact so badly they cancel the spire or whatever tech they have building, cut drones at 50 for several minutes, and make 6 spines. This is an added bonus but not at all necessary for success! If Zerg doesn't scout this or your zealot sees some greedy tech like mutas, you can actually choose to all-in here.
As soon as warp gate finishes, warp in sentries (up to 8-ish then stop) and zealots. Right around the 8:30 or 9 minute mark, when warp gate finishes, make the 3rd base. I like to push out at this timing to make Zerg think I'm doing the 6-gate all-in - make sure to include a probe so he'll buy it!
We have to rely on forcefields, cannons, and building placement to survive roach-ling aggression right now. Just like the 3-gate expand - except instead of trying to secure the natural expansion, we're securing our 3rd. Zerg has a 3-base economy to pressure, but we have a 2-base economy and 6 gates. To pressure the expo Zerg has to forgo drones, which is great for us, as long as we survive.
As soon as 3rd base is secure, make robo facility and twilight council simultaneously. This gives a ton of flexibility. Make an observer as soon as the facility finishes.
At this timing is when Zerg's tech will reveal itself. See a flock of mutas? Start blink and make a templar archives. See roach pressure? Start that robo bay! If Zerg hasn't made his presence known at this point, and you haven't pressured to check his army comp, just start the robo bay AND blink. No big deal. Get up to +3 weapons before beginning any armor upgrades. If he goes mutas, delay colossus production in favor of blink stalkers and possibly psi storm. The mutas won't deny our 3rd base because it's already up and running. Just prevent any major damage.
At this point we kind of just sit until we're maxed. Take a 4th AND a 5th base at this timing while you get aggressive (the main and natural should be drying up soon). The maxed protoss army is fearful as hell. You should have 4-5 colossus and a ton of blink stalkers with 8 full energy sentries; OR you should have a bunch of templar with storm, blink stalkers, and possibly some immortals. Whatever you have to do based on what Zerg is making. This is also when you can add a dark shrine and whatever other tech you want to. Assuming you got to this point relatively unmolested, you SHOULD win the game.
This build has some problems, of course. It's weak (like most Protoss builds) to huge infestor-ling attacks when you're securing the 3rd and teching up. It can be weaker to certain early all-ins because there's no stargate tech. The build also only works on maps with an easy-to-defend 3rd base. Building sim-city and cannons are an absolute requirement at the 3rd.
replays
Check out Huk's PvZ from MLG Orlando! All their replays can be found here: http://pro.majorleaguegaming.com/news/mlg-orlando-sc2-replays-get-them-now
http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=239651
http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=239652
http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=239653
http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=239654
The gist of the build is this:
Forge FE.
I make 1 zealot and send it straight to Zerg's main to scout.
make nothing but sentries, get +1 weapons and warp gate.
chronoboost probes a LOT. almost exclusively, in fact.
make a total of 6 gates, as if you were doing an all-in.
If Zerg scouts this, he'll cut drones and start producing units and spines in anticipation of the all-in. I've had Zergs overreact so badly they cancel the spire or whatever tech they have building, cut drones at 50 for several minutes, and make 6 spines. This is an added bonus but not at all necessary for success! If Zerg doesn't scout this or your zealot sees some greedy tech like mutas, you can actually choose to all-in here.
As soon as warp gate finishes, warp in sentries (up to 8-ish then stop) and zealots. Right around the 8:30 or 9 minute mark, when warp gate finishes, make the 3rd base. I like to push out at this timing to make Zerg think I'm doing the 6-gate all-in - make sure to include a probe so he'll buy it!
We have to rely on forcefields, cannons, and building placement to survive roach-ling aggression right now. Just like the 3-gate expand - except instead of trying to secure the natural expansion, we're securing our 3rd. Zerg has a 3-base economy to pressure, but we have a 2-base economy and 6 gates. To pressure the expo Zerg has to forgo drones, which is great for us, as long as we survive.
As soon as 3rd base is secure, make robo facility and twilight council simultaneously. This gives a ton of flexibility. Make an observer as soon as the facility finishes.
At this timing is when Zerg's tech will reveal itself. See a flock of mutas? Start blink and make a templar archives. See roach pressure? Start that robo bay! If Zerg hasn't made his presence known at this point, and you haven't pressured to check his army comp, just start the robo bay AND blink. No big deal. Get up to +3 weapons before beginning any armor upgrades. If he goes mutas, delay colossus production in favor of blink stalkers and possibly psi storm. The mutas won't deny our 3rd base because it's already up and running. Just prevent any major damage.
At this point we kind of just sit until we're maxed. Take a 4th AND a 5th base at this timing while you get aggressive (the main and natural should be drying up soon). The maxed protoss army is fearful as hell. You should have 4-5 colossus and a ton of blink stalkers with 8 full energy sentries; OR you should have a bunch of templar with storm, blink stalkers, and possibly some immortals. Whatever you have to do based on what Zerg is making. This is also when you can add a dark shrine and whatever other tech you want to. Assuming you got to this point relatively unmolested, you SHOULD win the game.
This build has some problems, of course. It's weak (like most Protoss builds) to huge infestor-ling attacks when you're securing the 3rd and teching up. It can be weaker to certain early all-ins because there's no stargate tech. The build also only works on maps with an easy-to-defend 3rd base. Building sim-city and cannons are an absolute requirement at the 3rd.
replays
Check out Huk's PvZ from MLG Orlando! All their replays can be found here: http://pro.majorleaguegaming.com/news/mlg-orlando-sc2-replays-get-them-now
http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=239651
http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=239652
http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=239653
http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=239654
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
What I'm doing in each matchup:
So, for long-time readers of my blog (the very few of you, I really appreciate you guys!) I haven't really been writing much. I'm pretty much playing Starcraft II all the time now. It's all I think about, and it's all I really want to write about. So here's some more Starcraft II content - specifically, what my gameplan is in each matchup right now.
Protoss vs Terran
I love this matchup right now, as long as Terran doesn't do one of the zillions of strong and difficult-to-scout all-in builds. It feels like I'm going to win as long as the game goes past the twenty-minute mark, and Terran isn't going for a pure mech strategy. My gameplan is as follows:
-1 gate fast expand. I believe this is viable against everything Terran can do and sets up Protoss for a decent mid-game. If Terran does a fast 1-base tech, like a 1-1-1 build, 1-gate expand is the most ideal response, and if he does a fast bio expand, we're about even at worst. We only need to worry about bio all-ins with SCVs pulled, but that comes down to micro and it's not totally impossible.
-Get up to 3 total gateways and a robo very quickly, then tech. If we try teching on only 2 gateways or lower in combination with a fast expansion, we're not being safe. We can only survive with great force fields, and a fast ghost push is deadly. And if we tech any later, we'll get run over by stimmed, healed bio with only unupgraded gateway units.
-Focus on upgraded gateway units until 3 bases. Opening fast colossus or fast psi-storm will leave us in a vulnerable and delicate mid-game, where a few EMPs, a few too many vikings, or a bad engagement will end the game for us immediately. Therefor I prefer going with fast upgrades and a lot of gateways. Our army can be reinforced faster, and our army size will be larger in general without relying on flawless micro to just survive. The faster upgrades also sets us up for a stronger late-game, and they're more mobile, allowing us to respond better to drops. I always get the charge upgrade for zealots before blink, as well as fast attack and armor upgrades from two forges. I also like to make some immortals, because they bolster a gateway army a LOT.
-Zealot-Archon in the mid-game. Against low to medium amounts of bio, zealot-archon is an amazing army composition that's difficult for Terran to kill. Conversely, Protoss has a hard time killing Terran with this army, because a good Terran will place buildings and bunkers to make the melee-only Zealots very ineffective close to Terran's base. This army is only meant to secure a solid economy in the mid-game in preparation for the last step.
-Double-robo colossus once on three-plus bases. I'm coming to the conclusion that it's hardly worth making colossus as a lynchpin of your army, unless it's from two robotics facilities from a strong 3-base gas income. Colossus one at a time is flimsy, and losing them means losing the game because they can't be reinforced quickly. It's also a gradual build-up, giving Terran plenty of time to make and upgrade his Vikings. By suddenly beginning colossus production two at a time in the late game, we catch Terran without many vikings on the field and we're able to reenforce the colossus much faster. Even if Terran has enough vikings, thanks to the great gateway and upgrade infrastructure set up in the mid-game, the colossus will thin out the bio army enough that the zealot-archon reinforcements will be enough to win the game. Because of Warpgates, Protoss has a production advantage against Terran in late-game and essentially gets a round of units a full 30 seconds faster after a huge engagement. It's important to take advantage of this.
Protoss vs Zerg
This is a hard matchup right now. Zergs realized how ridiculously overpowered Infestors are, and now we have to deal with them every game. Typically Zerg dictates how the game goes, with a roach-infestor or ling-infestor mid-game, including a potentially devastating timing attack, leading into very fast and numerous brood lords at the twenty-minute mark supported by infestors. The most effective style at the moment appears to be a very passive turtle strategy with a slow build up to a colossus, void ray, high templar army. Here's the general gameplan:
-A safe fast expansion. This one's a no-brainer, but also pretty difficult to pull off. Zerg has some strong all-ins they can do. I've been two-gate expanding and making two cannons at my natural to defend aggression.
-Tech quickly to blink or stargate to gain some map control. This will also pressure the Zerg a bit, and even potentially can kill a base if he's being especially greedy and unsafe. This prevents Zerg from making 80 drones before any units, and it also helps deal with infestors in the mid-game.
-Get colossus in time to defend a ling-infestor timing attack. I believe that two-base colossus is necessary now because of the threat of the infested terran + zergling timing attack. It's hard to not die to mass infested terrans without a splash damage option such as colossus or psionic storm, and psi storm takes too long to tech to. If Zerg attacks with infestors plus anything, we need to prevent the Colossus from being neural-parasited, so we have to have blink or phoenixes to snipe the infestors.
-Turtle on 3 bases. This is an unfortunate effect of heavy infestor play. Protoss can't leave their base with a big army once infestors are on the field in large numbers. All it takes is a fungal on the entire army and a massive surround with roaches or zerglings and Protoss loses the entire game. The only way to reach the late game is to not attack. We need to rely on stargate units, Dark Templar, or zealots to harass Zerg's bases and economy while we build up the death ball. Typically Zergs will aggressively try to kill our third and harass the economy with baneling drops at this point in the game.
-Make two stargates by the twenty minute mark. We need to pump out void rays in time to deal with the brood lord switch. A lot of void rays. I also like to add a mothership right as I reach max supply. The cloaking field and vortex can help a lot.
That's pretty much all I know about PvZ right now. After this stage in the game, I've either won or lost depending mostly on my micro and timings and other factors. It's difficult for any Protoss, even on the highest levels, to win against Zerg right now.
Protoss vs Protoss
My gameplan in PvP is pretty simple, actually.
-Geiko's defensive 3-gate. This is a great build I use every PvP to be safe against 4-gate while teching. Reply on the comment if you want to see a video demonstration of this build, or check out my youtube channel.
-If he 4-gated aggressively, rush to blink and end the game. This is a push that ought to kill the opponent or at the very least give us a faster expansion, because his tech was much later than ours. At this point I transition to charge zealots and archons.
-If he isn't 4-gating, make a robo quickly. This keeps us safe from a Dark Templar rush and from blink rushes.
-Once we know we're safe from a blink all-in, make a twilight council. If he went for fast blink, I get my own blink and counter-push with immortals and blink. This ought to win the game if he expanded. If he didn't open blink, for example if he went robo as well, I research charge and tech to archons.
-Chargelot Archon Immortal mid game. This army beats every other army in medium army sizes. We basically win automatically if he went colossus or pure gateway.
And that's all I know about PvP. The late game is very unexplored by most Protoss players. I've been experimenting with a void ray transition but I'm unsure how good it would be yet.
Protoss vs Terran
I love this matchup right now, as long as Terran doesn't do one of the zillions of strong and difficult-to-scout all-in builds. It feels like I'm going to win as long as the game goes past the twenty-minute mark, and Terran isn't going for a pure mech strategy. My gameplan is as follows:
-1 gate fast expand. I believe this is viable against everything Terran can do and sets up Protoss for a decent mid-game. If Terran does a fast 1-base tech, like a 1-1-1 build, 1-gate expand is the most ideal response, and if he does a fast bio expand, we're about even at worst. We only need to worry about bio all-ins with SCVs pulled, but that comes down to micro and it's not totally impossible.
-Get up to 3 total gateways and a robo very quickly, then tech. If we try teching on only 2 gateways or lower in combination with a fast expansion, we're not being safe. We can only survive with great force fields, and a fast ghost push is deadly. And if we tech any later, we'll get run over by stimmed, healed bio with only unupgraded gateway units.
-Focus on upgraded gateway units until 3 bases. Opening fast colossus or fast psi-storm will leave us in a vulnerable and delicate mid-game, where a few EMPs, a few too many vikings, or a bad engagement will end the game for us immediately. Therefor I prefer going with fast upgrades and a lot of gateways. Our army can be reinforced faster, and our army size will be larger in general without relying on flawless micro to just survive. The faster upgrades also sets us up for a stronger late-game, and they're more mobile, allowing us to respond better to drops. I always get the charge upgrade for zealots before blink, as well as fast attack and armor upgrades from two forges. I also like to make some immortals, because they bolster a gateway army a LOT.
-Zealot-Archon in the mid-game. Against low to medium amounts of bio, zealot-archon is an amazing army composition that's difficult for Terran to kill. Conversely, Protoss has a hard time killing Terran with this army, because a good Terran will place buildings and bunkers to make the melee-only Zealots very ineffective close to Terran's base. This army is only meant to secure a solid economy in the mid-game in preparation for the last step.
-Double-robo colossus once on three-plus bases. I'm coming to the conclusion that it's hardly worth making colossus as a lynchpin of your army, unless it's from two robotics facilities from a strong 3-base gas income. Colossus one at a time is flimsy, and losing them means losing the game because they can't be reinforced quickly. It's also a gradual build-up, giving Terran plenty of time to make and upgrade his Vikings. By suddenly beginning colossus production two at a time in the late game, we catch Terran without many vikings on the field and we're able to reenforce the colossus much faster. Even if Terran has enough vikings, thanks to the great gateway and upgrade infrastructure set up in the mid-game, the colossus will thin out the bio army enough that the zealot-archon reinforcements will be enough to win the game. Because of Warpgates, Protoss has a production advantage against Terran in late-game and essentially gets a round of units a full 30 seconds faster after a huge engagement. It's important to take advantage of this.
Protoss vs Zerg
This is a hard matchup right now. Zergs realized how ridiculously overpowered Infestors are, and now we have to deal with them every game. Typically Zerg dictates how the game goes, with a roach-infestor or ling-infestor mid-game, including a potentially devastating timing attack, leading into very fast and numerous brood lords at the twenty-minute mark supported by infestors. The most effective style at the moment appears to be a very passive turtle strategy with a slow build up to a colossus, void ray, high templar army. Here's the general gameplan:
-A safe fast expansion. This one's a no-brainer, but also pretty difficult to pull off. Zerg has some strong all-ins they can do. I've been two-gate expanding and making two cannons at my natural to defend aggression.
-Tech quickly to blink or stargate to gain some map control. This will also pressure the Zerg a bit, and even potentially can kill a base if he's being especially greedy and unsafe. This prevents Zerg from making 80 drones before any units, and it also helps deal with infestors in the mid-game.
-Get colossus in time to defend a ling-infestor timing attack. I believe that two-base colossus is necessary now because of the threat of the infested terran + zergling timing attack. It's hard to not die to mass infested terrans without a splash damage option such as colossus or psionic storm, and psi storm takes too long to tech to. If Zerg attacks with infestors plus anything, we need to prevent the Colossus from being neural-parasited, so we have to have blink or phoenixes to snipe the infestors.
-Turtle on 3 bases. This is an unfortunate effect of heavy infestor play. Protoss can't leave their base with a big army once infestors are on the field in large numbers. All it takes is a fungal on the entire army and a massive surround with roaches or zerglings and Protoss loses the entire game. The only way to reach the late game is to not attack. We need to rely on stargate units, Dark Templar, or zealots to harass Zerg's bases and economy while we build up the death ball. Typically Zergs will aggressively try to kill our third and harass the economy with baneling drops at this point in the game.
-Make two stargates by the twenty minute mark. We need to pump out void rays in time to deal with the brood lord switch. A lot of void rays. I also like to add a mothership right as I reach max supply. The cloaking field and vortex can help a lot.
That's pretty much all I know about PvZ right now. After this stage in the game, I've either won or lost depending mostly on my micro and timings and other factors. It's difficult for any Protoss, even on the highest levels, to win against Zerg right now.
Protoss vs Protoss
My gameplan in PvP is pretty simple, actually.
-Geiko's defensive 3-gate. This is a great build I use every PvP to be safe against 4-gate while teching. Reply on the comment if you want to see a video demonstration of this build, or check out my youtube channel.
-If he 4-gated aggressively, rush to blink and end the game. This is a push that ought to kill the opponent or at the very least give us a faster expansion, because his tech was much later than ours. At this point I transition to charge zealots and archons.
-If he isn't 4-gating, make a robo quickly. This keeps us safe from a Dark Templar rush and from blink rushes.
-Once we know we're safe from a blink all-in, make a twilight council. If he went for fast blink, I get my own blink and counter-push with immortals and blink. This ought to win the game if he expanded. If he didn't open blink, for example if he went robo as well, I research charge and tech to archons.
-Chargelot Archon Immortal mid game. This army beats every other army in medium army sizes. We basically win automatically if he went colossus or pure gateway.
And that's all I know about PvP. The late game is very unexplored by most Protoss players. I've been experimenting with a void ray transition but I'm unsure how good it would be yet.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Core Concepts of the Protoss Matchups
To celebrate my ascension to the almighty Diamond League (lol), I want to share some conceptual epiphanies I've had that drastically improved my play in various matchups. I feel like many players don't understand crucial and unintuitive specifics about PvX matchups, and this lack of understanding is all that holds them back from higher levels of play.
Protoss vs Terran
Scouting is the most important part of PvT, hands down. There are a few diverging paths the Terran can take, the largest being bio vs mech. Early game there are cloaked banshees and helion drops to worry about, and the way Protoss needs to respond to bio or mech in the late game are very different. Observer use will win or lose games against Terran, so it's important to get them. Countering bio and mech aren't difficult once you know the Terran has committed to them. So the most important building in PvT is the Robotics Facility. Observers, colossus, immortals. The other most important building in PvT is the gateway. I've noticed that it is just not tenable to have two-robo colossus or robo and stargate off of two bases. Gateway units are strong. Colossus are made of glass. They need to be in a supporting role, not a main role, within the army. Off two bases, there should only be a single tech building (robo, templar, stargate) with a collection of gateways and at least one upgrade building being used constantly. It's too fragile to add anything more until you're on three bases.
Protoss vs Zerg
Stalkers and sentries. Add immortals constantly against pure roaches, add Colossus against anything else. Build Dark Templar when you hit three bases. Be active with your army to force the Zerg to make units - don't commit unless the Zerg just isn't making units, at which point it's an easy win. Against an aggressive Zerg, defending a lot while building up and expanding will mean an easy win later in the game. Against a macro Zerg, they'll feel on the back foot all game long and eventually just die.
Protoss vs Protoss
This matchup is one I didn't understand for the longest time. I thought I could get away with a really technical build designed to hold the 4-warpgate rush and just win every game because I wouldn't die to 4-warpgates. The truth is that any counter-4-gate build is actually really weak against anything else.
PvP is based on the 4-gate attack. What this means is both players need to deal with the possibility of 4-gate. Neither player actually needs to do an offensive 4-gate, as often both will do a defensive build instead. But against a well-executed offensive 4-gate, there are only about three builds that will defeat it which aren't 4-gates themselves. The defensive 4-gate is probably the safest build with the best transitions after the 4-gate timing has passed.
After the timing for 4-gate has passed, or the 4-gate has been defended, the game can really only go in a few directions. The safest bet is to immediately make a robo and get an observer. The opponent can branch into a few tech patterns after the 4-gate. He can go for robo tech, which includes immortals or colossus. He can go for stargate tech, which usually means phoenixes. He can also go for twilight council tech, including blink, charge, and DT.
If you spot the opponent going robotics tech, you want to begin colossus production and make only zealots. On large enough maps, you can expand after your first colossus or two is out, because his re-enforce time for his colossus will be a huge disadvantage if he tries to attack. Otherwise, 1-base colossus pushes will probably decide the game. Do not get thermal lance until you've committed to expanding and the opponent is doing the same. At this point, get ready for dozens of colossus and war of the worlds. Teching to mothership late in the game is viable for a colossus toilet, which will end the game. Against immortals and stalkers, this is the best choice, but if the opponent is going for colossus before you commit to it yourself, you can throw down a stargate. He'll have very little anti-air and you'll get map control at the very least, allowing you to expand and harass. Blink stalkers or immortals is a good followup yourself.
Against a stargate build, you want to expand and get blink stalkers. That's actually it. Defend the harass while expanding, and you ought to come out on top. Use observers to get high ground vision and harass with blink, too.
If you scout a twilight council play, robotics play is going to be fine. If it's blink stalkers, go heavy on the immortals and do a timing push. If it's charge, a 1-base colossus timing push ought to end the game. You'll have mostly zealots yourself, negating the benefits of his charge upgrade, and you'll have colossus. If he's making a dark shrine, make observers and expand. Perhaps a cannon at your natural, depending on the map. You should gain a commanding lead and be able to win with virtually anything. Pure zealot+stalker with upgrades is a fine choice.
And that's all I know about PvP. Early game is defensive 4-gate, then the mid-game transition is a sort of rock-paper-scissors game. Use the observer to respond to the opponent. Don't expand until you know he isn't going for a robo-based timing push. 1-base 2-colossus timing attacks will beat a good number of followups. Far too often I see opponents who get past the 4-gate timing, and then begin expanding while getting colossus AND getting range. A 2-colossus timing will actually kill that. It should be your standard followup until you see otherwise.
Protoss vs Terran
Scouting is the most important part of PvT, hands down. There are a few diverging paths the Terran can take, the largest being bio vs mech. Early game there are cloaked banshees and helion drops to worry about, and the way Protoss needs to respond to bio or mech in the late game are very different. Observer use will win or lose games against Terran, so it's important to get them. Countering bio and mech aren't difficult once you know the Terran has committed to them. So the most important building in PvT is the Robotics Facility. Observers, colossus, immortals. The other most important building in PvT is the gateway. I've noticed that it is just not tenable to have two-robo colossus or robo and stargate off of two bases. Gateway units are strong. Colossus are made of glass. They need to be in a supporting role, not a main role, within the army. Off two bases, there should only be a single tech building (robo, templar, stargate) with a collection of gateways and at least one upgrade building being used constantly. It's too fragile to add anything more until you're on three bases.
Protoss vs Zerg
Stalkers and sentries. Add immortals constantly against pure roaches, add Colossus against anything else. Build Dark Templar when you hit three bases. Be active with your army to force the Zerg to make units - don't commit unless the Zerg just isn't making units, at which point it's an easy win. Against an aggressive Zerg, defending a lot while building up and expanding will mean an easy win later in the game. Against a macro Zerg, they'll feel on the back foot all game long and eventually just die.
Protoss vs Protoss
This matchup is one I didn't understand for the longest time. I thought I could get away with a really technical build designed to hold the 4-warpgate rush and just win every game because I wouldn't die to 4-warpgates. The truth is that any counter-4-gate build is actually really weak against anything else.
PvP is based on the 4-gate attack. What this means is both players need to deal with the possibility of 4-gate. Neither player actually needs to do an offensive 4-gate, as often both will do a defensive build instead. But against a well-executed offensive 4-gate, there are only about three builds that will defeat it which aren't 4-gates themselves. The defensive 4-gate is probably the safest build with the best transitions after the 4-gate timing has passed.
After the timing for 4-gate has passed, or the 4-gate has been defended, the game can really only go in a few directions. The safest bet is to immediately make a robo and get an observer. The opponent can branch into a few tech patterns after the 4-gate. He can go for robo tech, which includes immortals or colossus. He can go for stargate tech, which usually means phoenixes. He can also go for twilight council tech, including blink, charge, and DT.
If you spot the opponent going robotics tech, you want to begin colossus production and make only zealots. On large enough maps, you can expand after your first colossus or two is out, because his re-enforce time for his colossus will be a huge disadvantage if he tries to attack. Otherwise, 1-base colossus pushes will probably decide the game. Do not get thermal lance until you've committed to expanding and the opponent is doing the same. At this point, get ready for dozens of colossus and war of the worlds. Teching to mothership late in the game is viable for a colossus toilet, which will end the game. Against immortals and stalkers, this is the best choice, but if the opponent is going for colossus before you commit to it yourself, you can throw down a stargate. He'll have very little anti-air and you'll get map control at the very least, allowing you to expand and harass. Blink stalkers or immortals is a good followup yourself.
Against a stargate build, you want to expand and get blink stalkers. That's actually it. Defend the harass while expanding, and you ought to come out on top. Use observers to get high ground vision and harass with blink, too.
If you scout a twilight council play, robotics play is going to be fine. If it's blink stalkers, go heavy on the immortals and do a timing push. If it's charge, a 1-base colossus timing push ought to end the game. You'll have mostly zealots yourself, negating the benefits of his charge upgrade, and you'll have colossus. If he's making a dark shrine, make observers and expand. Perhaps a cannon at your natural, depending on the map. You should gain a commanding lead and be able to win with virtually anything. Pure zealot+stalker with upgrades is a fine choice.
And that's all I know about PvP. Early game is defensive 4-gate, then the mid-game transition is a sort of rock-paper-scissors game. Use the observer to respond to the opponent. Don't expand until you know he isn't going for a robo-based timing push. 1-base 2-colossus timing attacks will beat a good number of followups. Far too often I see opponents who get past the 4-gate timing, and then begin expanding while getting colossus AND getting range. A 2-colossus timing will actually kill that. It should be your standard followup until you see otherwise.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
The Development of a Build Order - Part 4
Day 4.
Experimented against Muta-Ling a bit more. I believe I definitely need to research hallucination to spot the spire in time. If I wait until my first few stalkers to push, a Zerg could have a good number of mutalisks and zerglings already on the field and force me into an early defensive posture. Now I need to determine when to begin researching hallucination and whether to chronoboost it. Gas is at a premium before I take my expansion nexus, because it is all going into sentries. Directly after the nexus goes down and I have 7 or 8 sentries seems to be the reasonable time to begin the research. I'll need to examine whether it has to be chronoboosted in order for a phoenix to scout the spire in time. I doubt it.
If I scout an early spire, I believe I can skip the robotics facility and put down a fifth gateway and push, which should win the game. If I can't succeed with the timing attack, as has happened because of scouting the spire late, I have to get blink very quickly. I have been making the templar archives off of two bases. I don't know if I can survive purely on blink until I get my 3rd base. I know that iNcontrol also favors dark templar to regain some map control, which is a solid idea, but the gas consumption conflicts with the high templar tech. It may be a better response than the high templar. I'll need to try it out in the future.
I did have one game against an opponent who made pure roaches with burrow. I was able to crush it with good forcefields, stalkers, and a single robotics facility making immortals. Once on three bases I added high templar, anticipating a hydralisk switch, but none came, and I walked in and killed his roaches. A large stalker army with some immortals and templar mixed in can dominate roaches, and forcefields help immensely as always. I also decided to push much more aggressively all game long, relying on forcefields to escape if he had too many units. This kept me economically even or ahead.
Experimented against Muta-Ling a bit more. I believe I definitely need to research hallucination to spot the spire in time. If I wait until my first few stalkers to push, a Zerg could have a good number of mutalisks and zerglings already on the field and force me into an early defensive posture. Now I need to determine when to begin researching hallucination and whether to chronoboost it. Gas is at a premium before I take my expansion nexus, because it is all going into sentries. Directly after the nexus goes down and I have 7 or 8 sentries seems to be the reasonable time to begin the research. I'll need to examine whether it has to be chronoboosted in order for a phoenix to scout the spire in time. I doubt it.
If I scout an early spire, I believe I can skip the robotics facility and put down a fifth gateway and push, which should win the game. If I can't succeed with the timing attack, as has happened because of scouting the spire late, I have to get blink very quickly. I have been making the templar archives off of two bases. I don't know if I can survive purely on blink until I get my 3rd base. I know that iNcontrol also favors dark templar to regain some map control, which is a solid idea, but the gas consumption conflicts with the high templar tech. It may be a better response than the high templar. I'll need to try it out in the future.
I did have one game against an opponent who made pure roaches with burrow. I was able to crush it with good forcefields, stalkers, and a single robotics facility making immortals. Once on three bases I added high templar, anticipating a hydralisk switch, but none came, and I walked in and killed his roaches. A large stalker army with some immortals and templar mixed in can dominate roaches, and forcefields help immensely as always. I also decided to push much more aggressively all game long, relying on forcefields to escape if he had too many units. This kept me economically even or ahead.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Development of a Build Order - Part 3
Day 3.
One notable game to report on today. It was a very nonstandard game, so the build and timings were not very helpful practice. My Zerg opponent opened with a fast roach warren off of one base, prompting me to put down a forge and cannon early. Upon seeing the cannon, the Zerg expanded, and I proceeded with my 3-gate expand normally. My observer was unable to scout much beyond two bases, a roach warren, a hydralisk den, and two evolution chambers. As I had seen a roach opening, I expected roaches, and began immortal production from a single robotics facility. I researched hallucination but never used it once, which was a big mistake. As I moved out to poke and scout the Zerg's army, he dropped a large quantity of hydralisks in my main. I cleaned up his army but many buildings were destroyed in the process. I figured we were about even, economically, because he had made so many hydralisks unprompted. I also discovered in engaging so many hydralisks without colossi that guardian shield makes an absurdly big difference. It is 100% necessary whenever engaging hydralisks.
I moved to take a 3rd base while remaking my buildings. I forgot to begin my templar archives for a very long time, which was certainly what lost me the game. I didn't have storm researched until well after my third base was up, and I continued to try to engage hydralisks with charge zealots, which does indeed work very well. The rest of the game wasn't very relevant to my strategy, except that Zealot+Templar seems very viable against pure hydralisks. I simply didn't have enough of them, fast enough, and I continued to suffer from drops in my main, hurting my macro a lot. From watching the replay, my interpretation of the game state at all times was fairly good: the Zerg played aggressively with large numbers of hydralisks, and I thought (correctly) that we were economically very even, or I was ahead. This was true, and some Dark Templar harass actually brought me substantially ahead later in the game. What hurt me was my lack of production buildings, because they kept getting destroyed, and not enough high templars. The game was surprisingly close, but I simply couldn't quite catch up to my opponent's hydralisk army.
The game
Interesting fact: a single psionic storm brings the health of a hydralisk to 1 hp. This makes me think that as soon as Templar are on the field, I should switch from Zealot support to stalkers. Beyond that, this game has made me think about the ordering of the tech route I want to take. Early roaches should prompt me to go stalker+immortal first. This combination then prompts the Zerg into hydralisks. At this point I should already have psionic storm, which should be enough to beat virtually anything the Zerg can throw at me at that point. If, on the other hand, the Zerg opens with Hydralisks fast, I have to go for Zealot+Templar to open. If I execute this correctly, I hope it will be so dominating that the Zerg will need to get air units or roaches. Mutalisks are weak enough to high templar that I should be able to safely transition to blink stalkers. The most dangerous counter after fast hydralisks would be a very fast tech to brood lords, which require a large number of blink stalkers to counter, or void rays.
While my path from stalkers to immortals to a third base to templar seems reasonably clear, my path from zealots to templar to a third base to immortals does not. I'll need to work on rushing to storm and charge off two bases and trying to stay alive. An obvious problem here, as well, is knowing that a Zerg is going for fast hydralisks. If the Zerg began making hydras or just the hydra den early, but then made roaches or even mutalisks, I would be in some serious hurt, I think.
One notable game to report on today. It was a very nonstandard game, so the build and timings were not very helpful practice. My Zerg opponent opened with a fast roach warren off of one base, prompting me to put down a forge and cannon early. Upon seeing the cannon, the Zerg expanded, and I proceeded with my 3-gate expand normally. My observer was unable to scout much beyond two bases, a roach warren, a hydralisk den, and two evolution chambers. As I had seen a roach opening, I expected roaches, and began immortal production from a single robotics facility. I researched hallucination but never used it once, which was a big mistake. As I moved out to poke and scout the Zerg's army, he dropped a large quantity of hydralisks in my main. I cleaned up his army but many buildings were destroyed in the process. I figured we were about even, economically, because he had made so many hydralisks unprompted. I also discovered in engaging so many hydralisks without colossi that guardian shield makes an absurdly big difference. It is 100% necessary whenever engaging hydralisks.
I moved to take a 3rd base while remaking my buildings. I forgot to begin my templar archives for a very long time, which was certainly what lost me the game. I didn't have storm researched until well after my third base was up, and I continued to try to engage hydralisks with charge zealots, which does indeed work very well. The rest of the game wasn't very relevant to my strategy, except that Zealot+Templar seems very viable against pure hydralisks. I simply didn't have enough of them, fast enough, and I continued to suffer from drops in my main, hurting my macro a lot. From watching the replay, my interpretation of the game state at all times was fairly good: the Zerg played aggressively with large numbers of hydralisks, and I thought (correctly) that we were economically very even, or I was ahead. This was true, and some Dark Templar harass actually brought me substantially ahead later in the game. What hurt me was my lack of production buildings, because they kept getting destroyed, and not enough high templars. The game was surprisingly close, but I simply couldn't quite catch up to my opponent's hydralisk army.
The game
Interesting fact: a single psionic storm brings the health of a hydralisk to 1 hp. This makes me think that as soon as Templar are on the field, I should switch from Zealot support to stalkers. Beyond that, this game has made me think about the ordering of the tech route I want to take. Early roaches should prompt me to go stalker+immortal first. This combination then prompts the Zerg into hydralisks. At this point I should already have psionic storm, which should be enough to beat virtually anything the Zerg can throw at me at that point. If, on the other hand, the Zerg opens with Hydralisks fast, I have to go for Zealot+Templar to open. If I execute this correctly, I hope it will be so dominating that the Zerg will need to get air units or roaches. Mutalisks are weak enough to high templar that I should be able to safely transition to blink stalkers. The most dangerous counter after fast hydralisks would be a very fast tech to brood lords, which require a large number of blink stalkers to counter, or void rays.
While my path from stalkers to immortals to a third base to templar seems reasonably clear, my path from zealots to templar to a third base to immortals does not. I'll need to work on rushing to storm and charge off two bases and trying to stay alive. An obvious problem here, as well, is knowing that a Zerg is going for fast hydralisks. If the Zerg began making hydras or just the hydra den early, but then made roaches or even mutalisks, I would be in some serious hurt, I think.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Development of a Build Order - Part 2
Day 2.
My practice partners were pretty busy today but I got a couple PvZ's in, between ladder and custom games. The rest was practicing the build order execution and some specific timings against an easy AI, as well as some testing in Unit Tester Solo.
In a platinum ladder game on Shattered Temple, I scouted roaches during my initial push coinciding with the observer. I did not use hallucination to scout. I went for double-robo immortals off of two bases upon seeing roaches. My 3rd base felt delayed and I was unsure of when to take it. I was surprised how much money double robo immortal uses. My opponent made roaches and zerglings and went for hydralisks later. The immortal and stalker combination seemed very powerful with decent forcefields. However, after perusing the replay I discovered that my opponent simply didn't make more than 40 drones all game long. I won by superior macro, not necessarily by the strategy. Still, I was able to discover some aspects of my build in a live scenario.
Replay
In a custom game against a diamond Zerg friend, I again poked at the front once my observer was out with my army. I scouted spinecrawlers and zerglings, making me suspect mutalisks. I then used my observer to scout to confirm the spire. I rushed for a twilight council for blink, as well as armor upgrades, while massing stalkers. My 3rd base again felt late - I took it while close to maxed. My templar archives also felt late - I didn't get storm before the game ended. Against good macro, I don't know if I would have won. The zerg didn't drone enough and didn't harass with his army at all, and a single push was able to win the game with good force fields and an excellent chokepoint engagement area. A goal of my strategy is definitely to be adaptable to roaches, hydras, lings, mutas or banelings, depending on my scouting, and I feel like I did that in this game. Still, I want to get a 3rd base sooner and I want psionic storm earlier. I'll focus on these points in the next few games.
Replay
In Unit Tester Solo, I wanted to find out just how powerful equal-resource armies of immortals and zealots fare against roaches and hydralisks. Immortals in decent numbers are ridiculous against roaches, as I expected. Chargelots against unmicroed roaches are actually cost-effective, which surprised me. Immortals are not terrible against Hydralisks in combination with stalkers, but it's not something I would want to stick with in a long game against mass hydralisks. A surprising find was how good sentries were against hydralisks. Sentries are actually an important damage dealer against Hydralisks, in combination with other units, but they die quickly to hydras like everything else. 8 sentries can actually kill 5 hydralisks.
By far the coolest find, however, was the effectiveness of zealots against hydralisks. Unlike roaches, hydralisks can't micro against zealots, and charge is a solid upgrade in this fight. Zealots are incredibly cost-effective against hydralisks, as long as no roaches are present in the fight. I'd like to start experimenting with staying alive against a hydra rush by using sentries and rushing to charge on my zealots while teching to psionic storm. I'd like to use a comparison to Protoss vs Terran here: in PvT, Marauders are weak against zealots and strong against stalkers, and they are the tank of the bio army - they absorb the most damage. The marines are good against zealots, while having very little health. In PvZ, Roaches are the tank unit equivalent to the marauder, except they are strong against zealots and weak to stalkers. Hydralisks are strong against stalkers and (apparently) weak to zealots, and have very little health. Both marauders and roaches can micro against zealots. And unlike marines, hydralisks cost a significant investment. I'm very excited about the possibilities here. It is also difficult for the zerg to transition from hydralisks to mass mutalisks, and the Zerg will not have enough gas to field both units in large numbers. Overall, reacting to a hydra rush with fast chargelots seems like a cool idea that I need to test more. Naturally storm will be necessary when the zerg has too many hydralisks, and when roaches are on the field, because the zealots won't be able to reach the hydras before dying.
My practice partners were pretty busy today but I got a couple PvZ's in, between ladder and custom games. The rest was practicing the build order execution and some specific timings against an easy AI, as well as some testing in Unit Tester Solo.
In a platinum ladder game on Shattered Temple, I scouted roaches during my initial push coinciding with the observer. I did not use hallucination to scout. I went for double-robo immortals off of two bases upon seeing roaches. My 3rd base felt delayed and I was unsure of when to take it. I was surprised how much money double robo immortal uses. My opponent made roaches and zerglings and went for hydralisks later. The immortal and stalker combination seemed very powerful with decent forcefields. However, after perusing the replay I discovered that my opponent simply didn't make more than 40 drones all game long. I won by superior macro, not necessarily by the strategy. Still, I was able to discover some aspects of my build in a live scenario.
Replay
In a custom game against a diamond Zerg friend, I again poked at the front once my observer was out with my army. I scouted spinecrawlers and zerglings, making me suspect mutalisks. I then used my observer to scout to confirm the spire. I rushed for a twilight council for blink, as well as armor upgrades, while massing stalkers. My 3rd base again felt late - I took it while close to maxed. My templar archives also felt late - I didn't get storm before the game ended. Against good macro, I don't know if I would have won. The zerg didn't drone enough and didn't harass with his army at all, and a single push was able to win the game with good force fields and an excellent chokepoint engagement area. A goal of my strategy is definitely to be adaptable to roaches, hydras, lings, mutas or banelings, depending on my scouting, and I feel like I did that in this game. Still, I want to get a 3rd base sooner and I want psionic storm earlier. I'll focus on these points in the next few games.
Replay
In Unit Tester Solo, I wanted to find out just how powerful equal-resource armies of immortals and zealots fare against roaches and hydralisks. Immortals in decent numbers are ridiculous against roaches, as I expected. Chargelots against unmicroed roaches are actually cost-effective, which surprised me. Immortals are not terrible against Hydralisks in combination with stalkers, but it's not something I would want to stick with in a long game against mass hydralisks. A surprising find was how good sentries were against hydralisks. Sentries are actually an important damage dealer against Hydralisks, in combination with other units, but they die quickly to hydras like everything else. 8 sentries can actually kill 5 hydralisks.
By far the coolest find, however, was the effectiveness of zealots against hydralisks. Unlike roaches, hydralisks can't micro against zealots, and charge is a solid upgrade in this fight. Zealots are incredibly cost-effective against hydralisks, as long as no roaches are present in the fight. I'd like to start experimenting with staying alive against a hydra rush by using sentries and rushing to charge on my zealots while teching to psionic storm. I'd like to use a comparison to Protoss vs Terran here: in PvT, Marauders are weak against zealots and strong against stalkers, and they are the tank of the bio army - they absorb the most damage. The marines are good against zealots, while having very little health. In PvZ, Roaches are the tank unit equivalent to the marauder, except they are strong against zealots and weak to stalkers. Hydralisks are strong against stalkers and (apparently) weak to zealots, and have very little health. Both marauders and roaches can micro against zealots. And unlike marines, hydralisks cost a significant investment. I'm very excited about the possibilities here. It is also difficult for the zerg to transition from hydralisks to mass mutalisks, and the Zerg will not have enough gas to field both units in large numbers. Overall, reacting to a hydra rush with fast chargelots seems like a cool idea that I need to test more. Naturally storm will be necessary when the zerg has too many hydralisks, and when roaches are on the field, because the zealots won't be able to reach the hydras before dying.
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