EPTZerg Build Timings (in seconds) (24fps@Starcraft):
12 Drone
15 Zergling
18 Hydralisk
24 Overlord
75 Hatchery
63 >Lair
24 Extractor
26 Evolution Chamber
50 Spawning Pool
26 Hydralisk Den
12 Creep Colony
12 >Sunken Colony
63 Zergling/Hydra Ups
168 +1 Carapace/Melee/Range
75 Lurker Aspect
83 Overlord Ups
1 larva/15seconds/hatchery = 4 larva/minute/hatchery
24 gas mined/5 seconds/geyser = 288 gas/minute/geyser
all numbers are approximate of course, just timed from a couple replays.
The following are a few builds I came up with while playing/thinking sometime. Obviously they're not completely smoothed out yet. All assume Python.
IDEA: Against FE protoss, the protoss has relatively little defense keeping them alive while they macro up and tech up. This culminates at about 6 minutes into the game, when they tend to add several gateways and switch over to mass unit production. Before that 6 minute mark, the protoss will generally have nothing to protect himself but 1-3 photon cannons and a few zealots at his nat. This idea is for what I'll call an all-in timing push at or just before the 6 minute mark. My current build plans to have ~9 or so hydras + as many lings as you can get, with both hydra range and speed, and +1 carapace (although the carapace may need to be cut since it takes almost 3 minutes, and really pushes the plausibility of getting an extractor in time. It would almost require gas before pool to get 150 gas before 3:12, now that I think of it.).
EXECUTION:
1. Scout early. You're going to open 12hatch, and the protoss will likely respond with nexus first, at which point you may as well go 3hatch before pool. If he for some reason builds his gateway first, you need to build a pool right away obviously.
2. I wanted to get an evo chamber, and get +1 carapace right away for a couple reasons:
- when protoss scouts the evo, he probably won't think you're planning an all in, and
- +1 carapace makes your army much stronger against his zealots (though I'm starting to question this now).
however, it looks like +1 carapace is not viable, and not as useful as I initially assumed. So, you'll probably want to get a hydra den right away to start the upgrades. Range is very useful for positioning while shooting down cannons/microing against zealots, and speed makes microing against zealots much more profitable.
3. Deny scouting. This may be the toughest part of this build. You'll make a few lings initially to deal with his scouting probe, but depending on your opponent's skill level, that may be difficult with slowlings. Zergling speed would be nice, but there may not be gas to spare for it with the timing. The other option is to concentrate on getting rif of that first probe ASAP, then throwing up a sunk to keep out any more scouts. Costs more minerals/worse for econ, but this is an all-in, so that doesn't matter too much. By the way, useful fact: with ~15 drones on minerals, and 1 geyser, you can sustain 3 hatches worth of hydras, overlords, and a few lings indefinitely.
4. Finally, roll out to protoss' nat, rally your hatches, and move in, hydras first, to take out cannons, with lings to support after, or take on zealots while the hydras finish the cannons and reinforcements arrive. Also, make sure to have an overlord sent to his nat from early on, because protoss will likely try to save himself with a couple DTs. Also, you may want to have a hydra patrolling back home to deal with his first corsair, otherwise you won't be able to reinforce the push.
+ Show Spoiler [Results] +
So far, I've tried this twice. One time, I tried to get the +1 carapace and all, and my result was that my timing was way late, with my push coming at around 7 minutes, by which time he had several gateways pumping zealots, and zealot speed. Plus he was a pretty good player too. So that didn't work.
The second time, I skipped the +1 carapace, and also got 3hatch before pool, and it went perfectly, except I had forgotten to put an overlord in front of his nat, and was delayed from moving into his main by DT for quite some time before finally finishing him off.
The second time, I skipped the +1 carapace, and also got 3hatch before pool, and it went perfectly, except I had forgotten to put an overlord in front of his nat, and was delayed from moving into his main by DT for quite some time before finally finishing him off.
Whew. This has gotten pretty long already, so I'll save the rest of the builds for another blog.
