[AlphaWhale]

TLDR: WHAT DO I DO WITH LARVA

As a zerg player I am more often than not finding myself in a position where I have both larva and resources but not constantly making units and using this larva. I watch my replays and in both games I win and lose I still see myself with money in the bank, larva and free supply but not doing anything with it. In a long macro game I tend to find myself simply going all macro with little focus on aggressive poking.

Should I say be more aggressive with my current army as I'm in a situation where I can easily replenish it? Should I just keep making dem drones? On one SotG Day[9] said as a zerg it can be tempting to max out on roaches in the midgame. I know Day[9] is known for raising more abstract points when it comes to strategy however I almost never do this in the midgame. I'm more concerned about getting upgrades and other units (infestors as it were right now) out instead.

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How do you approach larva macro as a zerg? Is it a case of spend it if you've got it or do you hesitate to constantly use up all that larva at once (whether it be due to what you scout or have not scouted)

The larva is our third resource, obviously required for anything we do. Mo' larvae mo' problems. Obviously a player who has a problem with larva management has a problem with zerg.

Here are a few replays (all games longer than 15 minutes to better showcase situations where there's larva aplenty) Just hit 8x to the midgame if you're in a hurry. Also good for a laugh if you want to watch me absolutely cock up a ZvP.

5 is my hotkey for all my hatcheries, so just click on that to see my larva count.

Thanks.

http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/1...akuras-plateau
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/1...elnaga-caverns
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/1...rg-metalopolis
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/1...rg-metalopolis

[cruxis]

You should have next 0 larva at all times. What use is is a larva if it's not being morphed? It just sits there, doing nothing. If you have money, and larva, build units. If you have larva, but no money, build drones.

The only situation where you want excess larva, is if you're at 200/200, and banking minerals and larva. Even then, staying on 200 just lets them catch up, so go in, get rid of some supply, back off, and get the right combination.

Also, when you have 3 larva at a hatchery, that hatchery will no longer make it's own larva. So you're really just giving yourself less possible units.

[cure]

Originally Posted by cruxis

You should have next 0 larva at all times. What use is is a larva if it's not being morphed? It just sits there, doing nothing. If you have money, and larva, build units. If you have larva, but no money, build drones.

The only situation where you want excess larva, is if you're at 200/200, and banking minerals and larva. Even then, staying on 200 just lets them catch up, so go in, get rid of some supply, back off, and get the right combination.

Also, when you have 3 larva at a hatchery, that hatchery will no longer make it's own larva. So you're really just giving yourself less possible units.

Not really, there are times when you have to save larvae. Eg, you are completely denied scouting and you don't know whether to pop lings or roaches, and u can't really pop everything to drones or you'll get crushed :/

[TCPLemminks]

could it be that you aren't hotkeying your queens?
there are several methods to quickly move between your queens at different hatcheries, such as the backspace method, or hotkeying the queen and hatchery together so that you can just double tap the hotkey and inject larve from there.
that's usually the problem when you have larvae troubles
other than that there's nothing wrong with more larvae i guess

[AlphaWhale]

Originally Posted by Lemminks

could it be that you aren't hotkeying your queens?
there are several methods to quickly move between your queens at different hatcheries, such as the backspace method, or hotkeying the queen and hatchery together so that you can just double tap the hotkey and inject larve from there.
that's usually the problem when you have larvae troubles
other than that there's nothing wrong with more larvae i guess

Watch the replays bro. My hatcheries are 5, my queens are 4. I have F1, F2, F3, F4 and F5 to be camera hotkeys set at my hatcheries and future hatcheries. I can easily bounce between bases and it could be a little faster but larva injects are not a huge problem.

It's not a lack of larva, it's making the best decision with larva on hand.

[FvRelimzkE]

During the early game it's important to have next to no larvae.
During the mid-game you only stock up on larva if the map distance is large and you have no idea what units they're going to rush you with.
During the late game, if you have additional larva AND a bulk of resources, you should be pumping out units non-stop. Even if you're at 200/200, you should be trying to break the other player down. Go for multi-prong attacks. As soon as those armies are engaging, start resupplying as quick as possible.

If you have shitloads of Larva but no minerals, you should be droning up like a b0ss

[Makra]

Forgive me if I'm out of line here, but wtf are < diamond players doing attempting to give advice about one of the most complex and nuanced aspects of zerg, especially when it's a diamond player asking for help.

Is there no humility in the lower leagues?