• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 17:25
CEST 23:25
KST 06:25
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection1Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview4[ASL21] Finals Preview: Two Legacies21Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO12 Preview2herO wins GSL Code S Season 1 (2026)7
Community News
StarCraft II 5.0.16 PTR Patch Notes may 26th86Weekly Cups (May 18-25): MaxPax wins doubles0Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League4Weekly Cups (May 11-17): Classic wins double1Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO8 Results2
StarCraft 2
General
StarCraft II 5.0.16 PTR Patch Notes may 26th TL Poll: How do you feel about the 5.0.16 PTR balance changes? Changing from 12 to 8 is just asking for StarCraft Weekly Cups (May 11-17): Classic wins double TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection
Tourneys
GSL Code S Season 2 (2026) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League GSL Code S Season 1 (2026) Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule !
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players
External Content
Welcome to the External Content forum Mutation # 527 Hell Train The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 526 Rubber and Glue
Brood War
General
FlaShFTW vs A.Alm Grudge Match Event VPN experiences Every Matchup's Top 5 Winrates (all ASLs & KSLs) BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Pros React To: ASL S21 Finals
Tourneys
[ASL21] Grand Finals [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 [BSL22] WB Final & LB Semis - Saturday 21:00 CEST
Strategy
Any training maps people recommend? Muta micro map competition [G] Hydra ZvZ: An Introduction Fighting Spirit mining rates
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread ZeroSpace Megathread Path of Exile Dawn of War IV
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
Russo-Ukrainian War Thread US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Trading/Investing Thread Dating: How's your luck?
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Facing Challenges in Mobile App Development
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Customization Drives Loyalty…
TrAiDoS
Why RTS gamers make better f…
gosubay
ramps on octagon
StaticNine
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 4933 users

Zerg: A Balancing Act

Blogs > Dance.
Post a Reply
Dance.
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
United States389 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-10-08 11:17:27
October 08 2010 11:09 GMT
#1
This was originally going to be a response to a thread, but the thread was closed. I just wanted to give my thoughts on zerg and the happy medium of micro and macro needed to succeed.

As a zerg player, I feel like all my games require equal attention to micro and macro. No matter how good your macro is, if you don't engage in the right position at the right time, you are done. The opposite is also true. Even if you can micro the shit out of your units, if you are not keeping up with larvae inject and balancing your drones right, the game is over. Though all races arguably suffer from this, I don't think many people would deny that zerg suffer the most (or maybe they would...).

Wether it's early game or end game, zerg can't get away with just strong micro or macro alone like the other races can. It is a constant balancing act for zerg. This is why I love playing zerg. It is so easy to just warp in a bunch of stalker/sentry and spamming force field, but engaging an army like that demands patience and a good game sense.

Please share your thoughts. Is there any aspect of your macro/micro play that you feel is significantly lacking? Specifically, how do you go about improving (I don't just mean more games.)? Let me know if you feel other races demand just as much of a balance that I think zerg do and why.

Thanks TL, you guys are great.

Edit: I put screenshots of some of my more terrible zerg engagments tomorrow.

*
It is what it is...
village_idiot
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
2436 Posts
October 08 2010 11:36 GMT
#2
I feel that zerg is all about defending, macroing and scouting.

You need to know your opponent's army composition at all times and be able to spread creep while larva injecting at the same time. Once you have half of the map creeped it will be much easier to set up flanks and spot possible drops and other enemy movement. Defending your expansions also becomes much easier.

I also find changelings very useful when scouting as you can see enemy tech and army composition for just 50 energy.
keioh
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
France1099 Posts
October 08 2010 12:03 GMT
#3
I feel we zerg are too much a reaction race, as some claim for a little while now.

Learning to play Zerg has tremendously improved my macro and my multitasking ability (it's not great still). I also have to consistentely look at the map and know what is going on at least at my opponent's ramp. Playing zerg FORCES me to have constant attention to most aspect of a game.

When I play the other race, first it's always in team game, second I feel I have not so much thing to do. T & P armies feel so strong when you played zerg, it's almost funny how you can steamroll a poor zerg fellow with just 50 pop. I do think they are easier to handle, but I don't think at all they're easier to master. Playing terran is so freakin' hard when you have to look at positioning... Protoss feels the same way, you feel strong but then suddenly you have no more units, 2K minerals and no gas and opponent is couter pushing.

Now my biggest problem is about decision making and when to strop droning. Which I believe is the hardest thing to master as a zerg.

By decision making I also count how and when to engage a fight, when to pull back, and which transition to do. I still find myself droning too much and losing poorly when the first protoss push come, like "hmm okay I can drone a little bit more, I saw him with only 2 stalkers and 1 zeal OH SHI- HE'S AT MY EXP AND I HAVE NO LARVAE m^ù$ùm^ù$ùm^!ù$ù ".

To improve I just try to learn some timings and to adjust better to what I have the time to scout with my first drone. I do this by playing more. And more. And more.

Sometimes though, I want to kill protoss users so badly I have to stop playing for a while ^^
GIMME ALL THE BELGIAN WAFFLES I CAN GET FOR THIS MONEY !!!!!! BELGIAN WAFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFLEEEEEEEEES
Scorcher2k
Profile Joined November 2009
United States802 Posts
October 08 2010 12:58 GMT
#4
I think this is honestly how all the races are now. I honestly miss the play style of reaver+goon and Bisu build from BW a lot when I play because I felt that if I could pull off some good micro then I could seriously turn the tide and make up for my poor macro (vice versa of course). The game kind of feels bland at times right now because it doesn't have this kind of play imo.
SubtleArt
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
2710 Posts
October 08 2010 15:29 GMT
#5
I feel that zerg is all about defending, macroing and scouting


Three general terms that apply to all races....
Morrow on ZvP: "I'm not very confident in general vs Protoss because of the imbalance (Yes its imbalanced, get over it)."
AssuredVacancy
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States1167 Posts
October 08 2010 15:32 GMT
#6
On October 09 2010 00:29 SubtleArt wrote:
Show nested quote +
I feel that zerg is all about defending, macroing and scouting


Three general terms that apply to all races....


Really.. half of the terrans I play don't scout besides the initial scv, and push blindly on one base while cutting scv at 26. There's nothing about defending/macroing or scouting in there.
We spend our youth attaining wealth, and our wealth attaining youth.
SubtleArt
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
2710 Posts
October 08 2010 15:36 GMT
#7
On October 09 2010 00:32 AssuredVacancy wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 09 2010 00:29 SubtleArt wrote:
I feel that zerg is all about defending, macroing and scouting


Three general terms that apply to all races....


Really.. half of the terrans I play don't scout besides the initial scv, and push blindly on one base while cutting scv at 26. There's nothing about defending/macroing or scouting in there.


Then you play horrible Terrans
Morrow on ZvP: "I'm not very confident in general vs Protoss because of the imbalance (Yes its imbalanced, get over it)."
AssuredVacancy
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States1167 Posts
October 08 2010 16:04 GMT
#8
On October 09 2010 00:36 SubtleArt wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 09 2010 00:32 AssuredVacancy wrote:
On October 09 2010 00:29 SubtleArt wrote:
I feel that zerg is all about defending, macroing and scouting


Three general terms that apply to all races....


Really.. half of the terrans I play don't scout besides the initial scv, and push blindly on one base while cutting scv at 26. There's nothing about defending/macroing or scouting in there.


Then you play horrible Terrans


Probably, I don't know the level of 1400-1500 diamond terrans right now because of point inflation. But most of them do some sort of blind one base push involving thor/marine/hellion, or banshee/marine/hellion, or marauder/hellion/scv while cutting scvs.
We spend our youth attaining wealth, and our wealth attaining youth.
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
BSL
19:00
S22 - WB Final & LB Semis
Bonyth vs eOnzErG
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
PiGStarcraft801
Railgan 81
elazer 81
ProTech77
Vindicta 32
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 14006
ZZZero.O 390
Dewaltoss 30
ajuk12(nOOB) 14
NaDa 11
Dota 2
capcasts67
League of Legends
Doublelift5066
JimRising 321
Other Games
Grubby5223
fl0m1063
summit1g225
KnowMe154
Chillindude59
UpATreeSC48
ViBE28
ForJumy 15
fpsfer 3
minikerr3
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1018
BasetradeTV228
Counter-Strike
PGL185
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• StrangeGG 80
• printf 46
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota260
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
2h 36m
RSL Revival
9h 36m
Lambo vs Rogue
Clem vs TBD
herO vs TBD
Maestros of the Game
15h 36m
SHIN vs Nicoract
Rogue vs Gerald
ByuN vs Shameless
Cure vs TriGGeR
OSC
15h 36m
IPSL
18h 36m
Dragon vs Artosis
dxtr13 vs Hawk
BSL
21h 36m
Wardi Open
1d 14h
Monday Night Weeklies
1d 18h
Replay Cast
2 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
2 days
[ Show More ]
WardiTV Spring Champion…
2 days
Maestros of the Game
2 days
The PondCast
3 days
Kung Fu Cup
3 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
3 days
Maestros of the Game
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
WardiTV Spring Champion…
4 days
Maestros of the Game
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
5 days
Maestros of the Game
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Solar vs Classic
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Escore Tournament S2: King of Kings
2026 GSL S1
Heroes Pulsing #1

Ongoing

2026 KK StarCraft Pro League
BSL Season 22
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
KK 2v2 League Season 1
Acropolis #4
CSCL: Masked Kings S4
YSL S3
SCTL 2026 Spring
WardiTV Spring 2026
Maestros of the Game 2
2026 GSL S2
RSL Revival: Season 5
Murky Cup 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026

Upcoming

BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Heroes Pulsing #3
Heroes Pulsing #2
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.