=Reading What A Zerg is Doing= -Basic Strategies of ZvPBasically zerg will either do a 2 base or 3 base game vs protoss. 2 base means that he is doing some all-in @ some point (if he doesn't, then he is behind because his 2 base is wasted and he cannot catch-up to the protoss economically with a late third hatch). 3 base means that he wants to match/slightly exceed your economy, however will be playing defensively rather than trying to "break" your FE. 3 base zerg is ever so slightly ahead of a 2 base protoss, but a protoss can match up army wise off 2 base vs a 3 base zerg. However, the benefits of 3 base is that his army will continue to replenish while the protoss is being starved off 2 base, so it's pretty essential to get a third base when zerg 3 bases. This is usually done right after the first push. Once those cannons are up at the third protoss is very ahead and is likely to win the game. Another thing I would like to point out is that if you have not gotten enough info from your scouting probe, you must send out another one. If he goes for a overpool speed type of build, he wants to deny you expo. This is a guaranteed way to get cheesed/lose. The key to stop this is to send out 1 (hell, even 2 if you want to) probes out before your first probe dies/his lings get to your base. This way, you are not in the dark. Anyway, the key is to recognize whether or not zerg is going 2 or 3 base. Here are some zerg strategies: 2 base -2 hatch hydra bust How to recognize it: - no third hatchery/expo - fast second gas after 2nd hatch - no lair How to react: - Put cannons up with timing accordingly (not too early or else you are too far behind) - Get a fast leg speed + storm -2 hatch muta How to recognize it: - no third hatchery/expo again - fast second gas after 2nd hatch - fast lair! How to react: - Put cannons up with timing accordingly (the cannons will be slightly later than 2 hatch hydra and will be half in your main and half in your nat (3 in your main, 2 in your nat is a good rule). - Get fast archons
- to stall his push you can send your zealots out to attack his main, he has to bring his mutas to kill them and should give you enough time to get cannons up. -2 hatch ling all-in (not too common) How to recognize it: - no third hatchery/expo - fast second gas after 2nd hatch - no lair + no den + taking drones off gas for speed How to react: - Put cannons up fairly fast (3, maybe even 4 if you don't have awesome positioning) - when he attacks your cannons use your probes to glitch up the lings -3 hatch ling all-in (easiest way to beat a protoss who isn't very good) How to recognize it: - a bit more tricky, b/c he can put his 3rd base up and still do it - the main thing to see is fast ling speed/late lair. - low drone saturation as well - the key is to keep scouting How to react: - Put cannons up with timing accordingly put up like 4 in good positioning, 5 if you REALLY need it but that is a bit too much imo. Depends how many lings you think he is making. -3 hatch muta bust (usually followed up with an expo/hydra bust)\ How to recognize it: - seeing a fast second gas with corsairs - he CAN place the third base @ the expo, however it's harder that way. This is often done on maps like andromeda or medusa b/c zerg gets a free mineral only and protoss cannot always tell the difference b/w a 2 or 3 base attack - NO FOURTH AND FIFTH HATCH!!! How to react: - Put cannons up with timing accordingly (3 in main, 2 in nat (b/c you already have some cannons in your front of the nat anyway - Fast archons, BUT ALSO FAST STORM! You will need a fast storm b/c the follow up quite often is hydras! -3/4 hatch hydra bust How to recognize it: - no lair / late lair - fast den - low drone saturation How to react: - Put up a lot of cannons and get a storm asaply Another general thing. If you don't see a third hatch @ an expo, it's a guaranteed 2 base attack. That's the EASIEST way to tell. There are other ones like 2 hatch lurker or some drop play, but these are the most common that you will have to deal with (and are the most difficult to deal with if you don't expect it).
3 base The key to this is seeing that his third hatch comes up at the second expo. This is generally followed up by a spire and scourge into 5 hatch hydra. The scourge are basically to get rid of the corsairs + scout to see what the protoss is doing. The reason why scourge are so important for scouting is because zerg wants to see the follow-up to the FE (ex. fast speedlot attack, or a later timing attack, how many gates, etc.). Most of the time zerg will go 3->5 hatch hydra. This will either be followed up by either a lurker or muta, which depends on what the protoss is doing. Generally if: -the protoss is goign heavy high templar/zealot, the zerg will do a muta switch to snipe the hts. It's pretty well always worth it to have @ least 1 archon in the army, just incase of a muta switch. -if the protoss is going less heavy high templar, and more of an "overall" army, generally just hydra/lurk/ling. This is pretty well the army of zerg from 3 base most of the time. Muta switch is quite risky if zerg loses too much mutas, so most safe players such as myself will just go hydra/lurk/ling and simply try to out-macro the opponent. Muta switch again generally only happens with HEAVY zealot/templar, so keep that in mind when the zerg sees your army. Another way to tell if zerg is going muta/hydra or hydra/lurker/ling is looking at the number of evos. If it's 1 evo at lair tech, then he is more than likely doing a muta switch. If 2 or more, then he is going a hydra/lurk type of build. 3 evos means hydra/lurk/ling heavy. Another thing to watch out for 3 base are general adaptations that the zerg will do. If he is really behind (let's say that you do a lot of harassment early on), he might go for a semi all-in and not saturate his bases so much. This will either be a muta/scourge "e-han timing" (basically means he HAS to do a lot of damage/win now or else zerg loses), or a hydra bust. Hydra busts are usually more easier to spot and less effective b/c they are a bit late if going 3 base. A muta/scourge timing can be very deadly. The way to spot this is to see that second gas. Second gas already running pretty well ALWAYS means mutas. Some scourge will usually accompany the mutas to get rid of the scourge. Sometimes if the zerg is confident, he will slow the production of hydras to make muta/scourge to do a lot of damage w/that. As long
as you recognize it you should be able to react accordingly (for mutas, just make an archon asap, get cannons up, and if you REALLY need to attack his base w/your zealots to stall his push, also keep making corsairs, not TOO many though just enough to hold off). Things to look out for with your scouting corsair when scouting a 3 base: - seeing a second gas!! This means mutas! Keep pumping sairs, add a couple cannons, make archons asap. 1 gas/a second only coming up means hydras. - how many evos. This will indicate what his later army composition will look like. These are the basic ways to tell what zerg is doing, coming from a zerg player. Again, practice is the best way to be able to read a zerg, but this should be a sufficient guide line for what to expect from a zerg.
-eMrg)resonance-