[Benji]

I cast quite a few games, and every now and again I see players end up in a basetrade situation and its astonishing how well and how poorly some players end up after the mains and expansions are killed, so I thought I’d do a write-up to maybe get players thinking when put in this situation.

Firstly, when to basetrade?

You should be looking to basetrade when you have a significantly more mobile army, but weaker army than your opponent (eg: Ling Muta in ZvP) If you engage his army, you'll lose but you can use your speed to win the game. Wait for him to move halfway across the map with his deathball and go and attack his natural. If he turns around, kill a few tech structures and probes and pull back, you'll come out ahead as you've done free damage, turning around is usually a poor decision.

So what do you do in the basetrade scenario to ensure you win?

The first thing I do is Pull drones from bases not under attack and expand on my opponents side of the map, forcing him to move back across the map after he deals with my pre-existing bases. Having a hatchery and 3 drones, or a hatchery and 30 drones is a significant difference. This gives you a macro advantage when everything is dead, and puts pressure on your opponent to react.

Next I ensure I kill off my opponents probes/drones/scvs for the exact reason I am saving my own, it also slows down the rate he can hide buildings around the map.

I then use my units to showdown his production, pylons for protoss, tech structures for zerg and factories/rax for terran. You can't let him continue macroing.

After cleaning out his bases, and he has finished cleaning out yours, you need to scout your opponent and evaluate the game and base your decisions based on that, for example:

- I have a base up and running, he has a pylon and an extractor defended by his army.

In this situation you win in the long game, so you need to threaten to kill his remaining buildings (without losing your units obviously). If he moves out, kill them and win, if he stays put, just macro and tech up and win in 5 min time. Why dive in and grab the last few buildings when you win in the long run?

- Neither of us has a base up and he has the larger army.

Here you cannot engage his army, you need to avoid it and destroy his remaining pylons, if you engage, you lose.

- Your opponent has a base up and you don't, but you have a stronger army.

This situation is difficult, the longer you wait, the more ahead your opponent gets, you need to push out asap and hit your opponents army, or if you have quite a few pylons/depots/extractors spread around the map you can just try to kill his remaining buildings before he does yours.

Few final pointers:

When basetrading, if you can get a few defences up to pick off a few units, it can be useful in the long run, but also consider the cost investment, your first goal should be setting up another base.

Never split your army. Unless you have a mobility advantage (Mutas) keep your army together, if you split it, one half will get crushed. The only exception to this is when you are 100% sure that each half of your army can take on his full army.

Make sure you don't run out of buildings :P Extractors/depots/pylons are cheap, but don't spam them, your goal should be setting up a new base. If you have a mining base, you have many more options than your opponent and it forces him to react.


If you have anything to add, post below and I’ll edit/add, also ask questions ^_^

Quick Comments

	breadfan:	great read, thanks
	Nemo:	Usefull
	Rageboredguy:	well written

[ProAnnn]

Question: How to survive a base trade in PvZ scenario when your opponent going masssss muta

[SLCN.NXZ]

mutas are really hard for toss, defending it depends on your comp. Ideally you'll want to use blink and archons to secure a third then go into storm and start adding more zealots. If you go colossus you have to basetrade in which case you lose unless its steppes so DON'T MAKE COLOSSUS. gotta defend till you have a huge archon, HT, blink, chargelot army with good upgrades. Then you want to bring as many probes with you as possible. Mutas vs toss is really hard right now as toss of course

[Benji]

Originally Posted by iRLProAnnn

Question: How to survive a base trade in PvZ scenario when your opponent going masssss muta

Do the basetrade, but kill his drones, don't let him get many across the map, and at the same time get as many of yours across the map as you can. If you get a base up with 30 miners and he has one with 3, you can just play a standard game but be significantly ahead.

Quick Comments

SLCN.NXZ:

[ROOTPetraeus]

Great write up, Benji! I also find base trades useful when being contained. If you don't want to engage a siege line, run around it

[DtorR]

I totally misread the title, thought it said how to be a bastarde with a spanish accent. Anyway good write up.

[Zealo]

Originally Posted by iRLProAnnn

Question: How to survive a base trade in PvZ scenario when your opponent going masssss muta

have a mining base with 4 archons and some cannons, (and a couple of storms if it's a really big muta ball)

[Highlander]

One little tip of mine. If you aren't dead, you enough cash and the worker for a new structure, but your structures are being revealed, try and avoiding building your last structure for as long as possible.

It may be the difference between their whole army crossing the entire map, potentially a lot of time.

[TARane]

motherships help alot in ZvP basetrades (vortex and recall)

Quick Comments

Rageboredguy:

great point!

[TADivinity]

As zerg, make extractors on random gases around the map. It is obviously the cheapest building in the game, and technically there is no economic loss to losing the drone here - the extractor is the larger asset.

I win a lot in basetrades thanks to cheap cost extractors.

[Rageboredguy]

Really well written guide with some great pointers.

I don't often get base trades but i have learnt some stuff for when i do get into that situation.

[iM yang]

Can't base trade Mutaling in PvZ, don't try.

Quick Comments

Eldrid:

people keep trying and giving us free wins but :p

[ROOTPetraeus]

Originally Posted by SQLTt.yang

Can't base trade Mutaling in PvZ, don't try.

I do it all the time

[Eldrid]

Originally Posted by iRLProAnnn

Question: How to survive a base trade in PvZ scenario when your opponent going masssss muta

if zerg plays it right and is not stupidly behind when the basetrade begins you (protoss) shouldnt win...

[iM yang]

Originally Posted by Petraeus

I do it all the time

PvZ (Protoss) The guys who play the Protoss race.

ie, the people you play against

[SLCN.NXZ]

OK so if you can't base trade what do you do? It's not like they're gonna fight you. Only way I see to kill them on big maps is mothership.

[ROOTPetraeus]

Originally Posted by SQLTt.yang

PvZ (Protoss) The guys who play the Protoss race.

ie, the people you play against

Oh, silly me ><

[DeekZ]

Cool guide, thanks. I love when Protoss or Zerg try to base trade me without a huge amount of mutalisks or Void Rays, makes it real easy..

Funny base race story:

+ Show +

I had an interesting base race scenario the other day where this Protoss managed to kill off everything I had with a few DTs, he got all my workers except for 1 and all my orbitals so I couldn't mine or make units, I had about 200 minerals and a medium sized MMM army with 1 Tank and 1 SCV, I put down a Missile Turret just outside his ramp (Taldarim Alter) and engaged his smaller army, then as I got up in his base I seiged my Tank and spent my last bit of resources on a Missile Turret right behind the tank, I put a small forced of Marines and Marauders on hold position surrounding the Turret, he couldn't do anything while I finished off his base. :P

[aLtNinja]

One thing i would like to add is hiding hatcheries/nexi/command centres in unlikely locations! if the opponent has to waste time scouting the edges of every single base just to find hidden hatcheries it puts you in an even greater position.

Also proxying buildings in hidden locations can be the difference between win and loss some games against terran when they have the stronger army and still some kind of income and you keep losing your bases, for example drop creep in a location that is less likely to be scouted so you dont have to keep rebuilding your spawning pool, spire and baneling nest