[CagnacciKid]

Hey everyone, hopefully I can keep this opening post clear and concise for once.

Basically, I'm bored of Terran, they're so dull. I had a look at switching to Protoss but, I dunno, something turns me off of the 'toss. Zerg, on the other hand, look really cool, have some wacky mechanics, and generally seem like fun to play.

However, going from a Terran (read: average RTS) style of play, to dealing with creep spread, larva injects, unit production (drone or no drone?) and other Zerg-specific mechanics will be a very jarring transition unless I can get some advice. I've played a few games of Zerg and I'm usually overwhelmed due to my lack of knowledge on how to play the race.

Now, I realise that in the eyes of quite a few players, Zerg is underpowered at the moment. Frankly, I don't care. It's the race I want to play, I'll make it work for me - and at my level of play (Bronze/Silver) race balance is most likely an unimportant factor, just like map balance.

So, what I'm asking for is links to helpful guides, articles, videos and Day9 Dailies that give meaningful advice on learning the core of playing Zerg. Also any general advice from the Zerg-playing community would be great.

Thanks in advance,

Cheers.

[AvPoker]

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/view...opic_id=192233
Look under the zerg section, there's lots of helpful guides on playing zerg as well as other guides on mechanics, basics etc

You can also look at liquidpedia but I think the builds there are a bit unreliable or outdated.

[Aean(:]

Ive switched to zerg, and even though i am not as good as i was with terran, i can say the switch was worth it. There's so much more things to do, like overlord positioning, creep spread, larva inject, etc. Terran is like ezmode -__-

[CagnacciKid]

Thanks for the link pokerface, there's a lot of material there to read through!

Haha Aean, I feel like I'm following in your footsteps.

I've had a few practice matches (mainly AI) and I've found that larvae injects, creep spread, etc is not too hard to wrap my head around - I just need to remember to do it!

My two main problems are that I often get lost in the amount of things to be doing, and I don't know what to build (openers, army composition, etc). If someone could post a "mental checklist", as Day9 would say, that has a list of everything I need to remember to do and build in each match, that'd be great and much appreciated.

Cheers.

EDIT: Aean, I don't know about "easy mode" for Terran but they're pretty damn boring to play as, at least for me!

[aztecx]

Quit while you still can!!!

[CagnacciKid]

Originally Posted by aztecx

Quit while you still can!!!

I don't understand...

[Eryx]

Spitting larva is key if you don't spit you got no units learn a way to effectively do it and constantly work on smoothing out the timing to re-vomit

[crAzerk]

If I may chip in with a piece of advice - on top of all the new mechanics you have to get used to, scouting is one of the most important ones now.

As Zerg, you cannot afford to play in the dark as it is such a reactionary race. You need to be constantly on top of what's happening and know what your opponent is doing. Noticing his unit composition just 5-10 seconds too late can spell the end of a game for you. (e.g. you get sling/bling ag a Terran, only to find him with mass hellions + marauders)

Good luck ! Feel free to hit me up on Battlenet if you want someone to discuss things with Always glad to see more zerggsss

[Zanderax]

Zerg is a very fast race. You must get into the mindset that if you lose your whole army you can still win. Don't gg early. The speed of your units is important, spread that creep. If you don't already know it use the shift backspace method for injects as shown here:

You Tube

You Tube

And one last thing, if you are not doing something at all times when you are playing, you are playing wrong.

[Eryx]

On the back space thing remapping to ~ is pretty good but I'm thinking about using space i don't see snapping to an event that useful

[dKiWi]

Just open 14gas/14pool for now, its very safe for all match-ups so it simplifies things and forces you to macro harder, which is good. After u get promoted to gold u can start thinking about going hatch first.

Easy to learn transitions:

Speedling expand (ZvT/ZvP/ZvZ) - Pull drones off gas as soon as you have 100 gas and start zergling speed. This should occur around the same time the pool pops. Make 6 zerglings to pressure opponent and expand around 21 food.

Baneling all-in (ZvZ) - After getting zergling speed, get a baneling nest with your next 50 gas. Cut drone production and keep making zerglings. Never pull drones off gas.

[CagnacciKid]

Originally Posted by dKiWi

Just open 14gas/14pool for now, its very safe for all match-ups so it simplifies things and forces you to macro harder, which is good. After u get promoted to gold u can start thinking about going hatch first.

[...]

Speedling expand (ZvT/ZvP/ZvZ) - Pull drones off gas as soon as you have 100 gas and start zergling speed. This should occur around the same time the pool pops. Make 6 zerglings to pressure opponent and expand around 21 food.

Thanks, this is one of the things I really needed - a good opener for all my match-ups.

So once I have expanded, I should have scouted my opponent's army composition and reacted accordingly? Also, should I be continuing pressure with "kamikaze" waves of lings, or just droning up after my initial pressure push?

[Aean(:]

Originally Posted by CagnacciKid

Thanks, this is one of the things I really needed - a good opener for all my match-ups.

So once I have expanded, I should have scouted my opponent's army composition and reacted accordingly? Also, should I be continuing pressure with "kamikaze" waves of lings, or just droning up after my initial pressure push?

With the speedling expand build, your hatch usually comes at around 5minutes, which is a good time to sac an overlord. Don't forget to send your starting overlord in position ready for that Then you can react and adjust.

[dKiWi]

Originally Posted by CagnacciKid

Thanks, this is one of the things I really needed - a good opener for all my match-ups.

So once I have expanded, I should have scouted my opponent's army composition and reacted accordingly? Also, should I be continuing pressure with "kamikaze" waves of lings, or just droning up after my initial pressure push?

You should try to lose as little lings as possible while pressuring.. this isn't like terran or protoss pressure lol. It is very very light pressure, just to poke up the ramp and check what's going on etc. Against protoss, its possible to apply good pressure because zealots dont have range. So harass his gateway, and if he breaks and moves his zealot out of position, run 2 lings in to check his tech. Against terran u can't really "pressure", its more like poking. Same for zerg, except against zerg u can just run your zerglings all over his base to scout since he cannot wall off.

Always try to obtain as much information with pressuring/poking zerglings before the overlord sacrifice. Makes the overlord's life more worth it :P

[cruxis]

http://day9tv.blip.tv/file/4210235/

That video is the Holy Grail of Zerg. I recommend watching it 2 or 3 times, then putting it to practise.