• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 09:17
CET 15:17
KST 23:17
  • 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 #21: Winners11Intel X Team Liquid Seoul event: Showmatches and Meet the Pros10[ASL20] Finals Preview: Arrival13TL.net Map Contest #21: Voting12[ASL20] Ro4 Preview: Descent11
Community News
StarCraft, SC2, HotS, WC3, Returning to Blizzcon!45$5,000+ WardiTV 2025 Championship7[BSL21] RO32 Group Stage4Weekly Cups (Oct 26-Nov 2): Liquid, Clem, Solar win; LAN in Philly2Weekly Cups (Oct 20-26): MaxPax, Clem, Creator win10
StarCraft 2
General
Mech is the composition that needs teleportation t TL.net Map Contest #21: Winners StarCraft, SC2, HotS, WC3, Returning to Blizzcon! RotterdaM "Serral is the GOAT, and it's not close" Weekly Cups (Oct 20-26): MaxPax, Clem, Creator win
Tourneys
Constellation Cup - Main Event - Stellar Fest Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament $5,000+ WardiTV 2025 Championship Merivale 8 Open - LAN - Stellar Fest Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond)
Strategy
Custom Maps
Map Editor closed ?
External Content
Mutation # 499 Chilling Adaptation Mutation # 498 Wheel of Misfortune|Cradle of Death Mutation # 497 Battle Haredened Mutation # 496 Endless Infection
Brood War
General
FlaSh on: Biggest Problem With SnOw's Playstyle BW General Discussion [ASL20] Ask the mapmakers — Drop your questions BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Where's CardinalAllin/Jukado the mapmaker?
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL20] Grand Finals [BSL21] RO32 Group A - Saturday 21:00 CET [BSL21] RO32 Group B - Sunday 21:00 CET
Strategy
PvZ map balance Current Meta How to stay on top of macro? Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2
Other Games
General Games
Should offensive tower rushing be viable in RTS games? Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread 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
TL Mafia Community Thread SPIRED by.ASL Mafia {211640}
Community
General
Russo-Ukrainian War Thread US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine The Games Industry And ATVI YouTube Thread
Fan Clubs
White-Ra Fan Club The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread Movie Discussion! Korean Music Discussion Series you have seen recently...
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion MLB/Baseball 2023 TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
SC2 Client Relocalization [Change SC2 Language] Linksys AE2500 USB WIFI keeps disconnecting Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Learning my new SC2 hotkey…
Hildegard
Coffee x Performance in Espo…
TrAiDoS
Saturation point
Uldridge
DnB/metal remix FFO Mick Go…
ImbaTosS
Reality "theory" prov…
perfectspheres
Our Last Hope in th…
KrillinFromwales
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1602 users

The myterious question. 3 races and map control

Blogs > jameswatts
Post a Reply
jameswatts
Profile Blog Joined October 2012
South Africa127 Posts
June 08 2013 18:21 GMT
#1
Ok.. I hope this writing doesn't evoke a monumental facepalm. But as I began describing the 3 races, specifically my thoughts on the zerg encountered something that made me wonder..

Terran
Transitional, circuitous, disjunctive
The most obvious description, being strategic and tactical. The deliberate race where the player initiates transition when prompted to do so. The Terran player reacts to what he observes.
The terran engage indirectly. Every move is supported with well-timed abilities activated. Their units individually are vulnerable but also everything adapted for imminent mobility survival. The Terran commander, and he must oversee everything guided with micro-management. A single mistake can be fatal and no force or structure is expendable. Map control, constant observation, insurgence and sabotage is the key, in this species of skill they have no rivals. The terran player avoids complacency, being continuingly aware of the enemy. They do not win with force, but method.

Protoss
omnipotent, intuitional, delicate, meticulous
At first glance appearing to be a, combination of the zerg and the terran. alien fibre merged with tech. The protoss are by sight the strongest of them all. They are comparatively a transitional race but do not always react to the behaviour of the enemy. The protoss dictate the course of battle, for the enemy must possess the power and means to undermine their force. The protoss are equipped for all situations and betray no weakness in design. If they amass in large number they are virtually invincible.

But there is more to their design than what meets the eye. While being immeasurably powerful, they are also, delicately fragile. Like resilient razor sharp crystal, abruptly shattering under a fatal blow. The protoss are vulnerable to harass and unprecedented aggression. The passive player will lose if they assume the enemy is idle. The protoss must play with care, placing every structure with deliberation. They must secure themselves against indirect invasion, endeavouring to predict enemy thought. Their weakness, is the danger of being unwittingly circumvented, while being lured into a trap where within the enemy has the upper hand. The opposing races possess exceptional tech, enough to disarm and render the protoss paralysed.
The core of the protoss is found upon their strength and power, and the player who assembles that power with devious malice remains unstoppable.

Zerg
Instinctual, imperviable, amorphous
Zerg, the race of shapeless essence. I do not believe the zerg have form. They are a mephitic stream of swirling energy the player directs with his mind. I would say. there isn't truly a distinctively unique zerg player. There is only the best zerg player. The best zerg player is the one who applies the entire race as a unified function. It is true, there may be some variation concerning the concentration of units, and that may effect the apposing transition of the opponent. But saying this, we are brought to the crux of my conjecture. The key unit of the zerg race is the queen, not really a unit per se but an integral function of the race. The zerg consume resources, expanding their Omni-presence across the field. If you like playing with instinctual brutality, a mode where little or no words describe your intent, this is your race. They are the most difficult race to play by far. I draw this conclusion not so much from theory but the sum total of their practical application. The zerg units cannot be separated, and work together as a harmonious entity. Every unit supports the next, while remaining indispensable in itself. But here I implicitly hint that the zerg player can simply perform by routine, while ignoring the enemy. I do not say this is true, but I question if it's possible. Why consider the zerg in a unique light is the nature of their tech tree.

They are constrained to progress upon 3 linear tiers of tech, based strictly upon the availability of resources and time. They cannot make a swift transition with duly response timed. But is it possible to play the zerg without considering the movements of the enemy? Is it possible to secure your self by routine against all forms of invasion, sustaining the swarm unconditionally? Are the preliminary resources accumulated enough to secure against everything. Basically what I'm saying is it possible to play so well and fast that you don't even need to scout your enemy. It sounds delightful in theory but vague and grim in practise. Foresight one must have, pre-emptive knowledge of some event, knowledge is needed to guide the actions of the player. Consider the familiar analogy, where an unlimited amount of monkey critters are found in a realm, surrounded by unlimited typewriters, and they're expected to eventually, by chance, produce the works of shakespeare. That will never happen. Such an outcome is impossible. Only if a higher intelligence intervened would order and structure manifest. And thus, some degree of conscious decision is needed in starcraft II anent the movements of the enemy.

So then, consider this scenario. There is a zerg player, who is absolutely elite. He is the greatest yet. His Mouse precision and knowledge is inexorable. It is impossible for him to get any better because he is the best. He plays the race with maximum efficiency. Natural expansion, banelings, maximum saturation, periodic scouting, spore crawlers, deadly viper micro, fungal growth and secures his base against all intrusion. He will remain undefeated but if he eventually loses, the victor would either be a terran or protoss, but theoretically never a zerg, because he is too powerful. Now if he remains unbeatable it is possible the zerg race is over-powered or he really is that good. If he does lose there might be some immutable advantage concerning the apposing race, being over-powered in comparison to zerg. Other reasons could be the map chosen, that the physical battleground played an unseen part favouring his opponent. Or maybe in THIS specific game his performance faltered but this is unlikely cos he's the best. It could be the opposing player, being terran or protoss is the best in the world with their respective race and so when two similar but disparate forces collide, unpredictable results transpire. OR, here we have a notion which is either false or slightly true to a definitive degree, where within all previously mentioned factors are taken into consideration, and merely remain contributive variables of influence. This notion, being that the environment of Starcraft II is a relative realm of chaos and the scope of the player, is eventually restricted within limits, unable to wholly seize control of the situation.

Immediately when contemplating this notion, several conflicting thoughts are evoked and I resist a facepalm of execrable disenchantment. Do not let disenchantment deter you, but do contemplate the notion, however paralysing, while too reconciling hope that the degree beyond are control may be definitively gauged. The purpose of this writing was not to destroy the spontaneous nature of gameplay but to introduce a thought, that must be confronted and engaged. Whether it is erased or solved may differ between people. But the question is not so much as to how much control we have, it is the mystery of which race is the most powerful?
concerning my opinion, I think we have 99.99% control of the battlefield. And the 3 races are equal in potential strength.
BUT OF SCOUTING, I STILL wonder - though I do not care to test this - how a veteran platinum or diamond would fair against a grand master, while the former has the advantage of 'tooktheredpill' cheat and the latter remains surrounded in shroud. In any case, the point is, play the game!! the enemy is surrounded in darkness, there is shroud everywhere, use it!! move through the shadows.. surprise him. OR conversely, establish map control, dominate the minimap and sweep away the darkness!

***
The essence of life flows within. The way is made clear when viewed from above
pluu.mooh
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
Austria142 Posts
June 08 2013 23:29 GMT
#2
Wow I must admit really well written and nice thinking. Basically I guess you describe all races as deep as possible.
Antylamon
Profile Joined March 2011
United States1981 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-06-08 23:49:32
June 08 2013 23:48 GMT
#3
Another nice thought I've heard about races is the following:

Zerg is the hard to learn yet easy to master race
Terran is the easy to learn yet hard to master race
Protoss is in between

EDIT: WHAT. Why is this blog only 3 stars?
isleyofthenorth
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
Austria894 Posts
June 09 2013 04:28 GMT
#4
On June 09 2013 08:48 Antylamon wrote:

Zerg is the hard to learn yet easy to master race
Terran is the easy to learn yet hard to master race
Protoss is in between


yeah thats a whole bunch of BS
Marcinko
Profile Joined May 2013
South Africa1014 Posts
June 09 2013 10:02 GMT
#5
Nice Blog, but on one point I disagee with you. Zerg needs to scout, no scouting = death.
Still like your theory though.

FruitDealer was that Zerg once.
....
kubiks
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
France1328 Posts
June 09 2013 11:41 GMT
#6
As far as scouting goes, it's always usefull for all the races.
But I think you can distinguish between 3 kind of distincts informations :
-all-ins : is he all-inning/cheesing me ? -> that information is equally valuable for each races
-composition : is he doing mech/bio, is he going stargate/robo/concil, is he going roaches ?
-> terran don't really care that much, it's not like they can really change all their production on the fly (well you can add vikings/ghost academy but it won't help you for the next 3-4 minutes), zergs care a lot (because some of their units are really hardcountered, you don't want to mass zerlings agaisnt hellbats, protoss use it too)
-> tactical scouting (where is the army/expand) : usefull for everyone.

If there's a race that would be the best with maphack, it's zerg, because you can just drone so much more if you know your opponents timings

On June 09 2013 08:48 Antylamon wrote:
Zerg is the hard to learn yet easy to master race
Terran is the easy to learn yet hard to master race

I can blindly know your race just by looking at this post
Juanald you're my hero I miss you -> best troll ever on TL <3
Marcinko
Profile Joined May 2013
South Africa1014 Posts
June 09 2013 13:01 GMT
#7
On June 09 2013 08:48 Antylamon wrote:
Another nice thought I've heard about races is the following:

Zerg is the hard to learn yet easy to master race
Terran is the easy to learn yet hard to master race
Protoss is in between

EDIT: WHAT. Why is this blog only 3 stars?


So what you are trying to say is that Protoss is the easiest to learn yet the easiest to master?

Ok ok, I'm just joking..
....
Antylamon
Profile Joined March 2011
United States1981 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-06-12 23:50:55
June 12 2013 23:47 GMT
#8
On June 09 2013 20:41 kubiks wrote:
Show nested quote +
On June 09 2013 08:48 Antylamon wrote:
Zerg is the hard to learn yet easy to master race
Terran is the easy to learn yet hard to master race

I can blindly know your race just by looking at this post

I heard about it from someone else who plays Random... ._.
It's also an exaggeration when I say "easy."

Also, I'm Diamond Zerg. I main Terran, true, but at least I'm not blindly balance whining, which is what you seem to believe. SC2 is very balanced.
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Wardi Open
12:00
#59
WardiTV1702
OGKoka 344
Rex111
IntoTheiNu 48
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
OGKoka 344
Hui .267
Rex 111
Vindicta 20
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 8152
Jaedong 3769
GuemChi 2046
Sea 1812
Horang2 1807
Pusan 433
firebathero 339
Stork 338
Mini 314
Larva 221
[ Show more ]
Hyun 192
PianO 92
Backho 75
ggaemo 69
Killer 66
Barracks 55
sSak 54
Aegong 52
ToSsGirL 51
JYJ44
Mong 38
JulyZerg 37
Sharp 26
soO 21
sas.Sziky 19
zelot 13
scan(afreeca) 12
Sacsri 9
ajuk12(nOOB) 8
Rock 8
Noble 8
SilentControl 5
Terrorterran 5
Dota 2
Gorgc4313
qojqva2629
Dendi967
XcaliburYe245
420jenkins165
syndereN7
Counter-Strike
olofmeister1706
zeus714
allub330
oskar110
Super Smash Bros
amsayoshi62
Other Games
B2W.Neo983
Pyrionflax441
hiko414
crisheroes323
Lowko268
Fuzer 238
Sick202
Liquid`LucifroN136
Mew2King73
QueenE55
Organizations
StarCraft: Brood War
lovetv 8
Kim Chul Min (afreeca) 3
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• Michael_bg 2
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• WagamamaTV273
League of Legends
• Nemesis1885
• TFBlade501
Upcoming Events
Wardi Open
1h 43m
Replay Cast
8h 43m
WardiTV Korean Royale
21h 43m
Replay Cast
1d 8h
Replay Cast
1d 18h
Kung Fu Cup
1d 21h
Classic vs Solar
herO vs Cure
Reynor vs GuMiho
ByuN vs ShoWTimE
Tenacious Turtle Tussle
2 days
The PondCast
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
Solar vs Zoun
MaxPax vs Bunny
Kung Fu Cup
2 days
[ Show More ]
WardiTV Korean Royale
2 days
PiGosaur Monday
3 days
RSL Revival
3 days
Classic vs Creator
Cure vs TriGGeR
Kung Fu Cup
3 days
CranKy Ducklings
4 days
RSL Revival
4 days
herO vs Gerald
ByuN vs SHIN
Kung Fu Cup
4 days
BSL 21
5 days
Tarson vs Julia
Doodle vs OldBoy
eOnzErG vs WolFix
StRyKeR vs Aeternum
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
RSL Revival
5 days
Reynor vs sOs
Maru vs Ryung
Kung Fu Cup
5 days
WardiTV Korean Royale
5 days
BSL 21
6 days
JDConan vs Semih
Dragon vs Dienmax
Tech vs NewOcean
TerrOr vs Artosis
Wardi Open
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2025-11-07
Stellar Fest: Constellation Cup
Eternal Conflict S1

Ongoing

C-Race Season 1
IPSL Winter 2025-26
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 4
SOOP Univ League 2025
YSL S2
BSL Season 21
IEM Chengdu 2025
PGL Masters Bucharest 2025
Thunderpick World Champ.
CS Asia Championships 2025
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual

Upcoming

SLON Tour Season 2
BSL 21 Non-Korean Championship
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
HSC XXVIII
RSL Offline Finals
WardiTV 2025
RSL Revival: Season 3
META Madness #9
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026: Closed Qualifier
eXTREMESLAND 2025
ESL Impact League Season 8
SL Budapest Major 2025
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
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 © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.