[G]Kau's Proxy Hatch Guide

Kau

Canada3500 Posts

August 21 2010 08:37 GMT

For my 1500th post, I've decided to try to write a guide! I'm not much of a writer so I'll use images to do most of the talking.

Introduction

Are you tired of playing standard Zerg all the time? Tired of silly Zerg cheese that only consists of 4,5, or 6 pool? Well then you've come to the right place. I introduce to you Kau's Guide to (Mainly In Base) Proxy Hatching. You may wonder why or how I started proxy hatching. Well, it started something like this:

On sometime in the past Kau thought:
I think the first thing that came to mind for me was something along the lines of: "everyone checks Destination for an in base Protoss or Terran proxy, but no one would ever check Zerg, how can I make this work?"

So I started by sending my 5th drone on Destination and found that that didn't get my drone in without passing their worker. So then I tried sending the first drone that brought back a mineral (because you need 7 trips of minerals to be able to get build your second drone, getting that one trip in with your drone gets your second drone out that much faster [trip with 4 drones, then a trip with 3 drones while your other one goes to enemy base]), which also didn't work reliably, so in the end I just end up sending one of the initial 4 without it mining anything.

In this guide I will discuss the ins and outs of proxy hatching through my experiences on ICCUP. I have refined the build (see above) through trial and error and have tested it against the likes D, D+, and C- players mostly from North America and Korea. So without further adieu, I present to you PROXY HATCHING!

The Build

4/9 Send one of your drones to scout or to their base if it's a two player map.
9/9 Overlord
12/17 Spawning Pool
11/17 Extractor
10/17 Proxy Hatchery

+ Show Spoiler [Image Version] +

4/9 Send one of your drones to scout or to their base if it's a two player map.

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12/17 Spawning Pool

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11/17 Extractor

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10/17 Proxy Hatchery

Notes:

Once the pool finishes build 6 lings and keep pumping lings.
When the extractor finishes, mine 100 gas for speed and then put the drones back on minerals.
When your proxy hatch finishes, I like to get two drones for sunkens then start producing lings.
Your second overlord should come around 15 or 16.
You can also fake a natural by sending your drone out. Lots of people tend to follow your drone out to deny, so just pretend like they're doing a good job and eventually give up. Added bonus if they pylon or engineering bay/supply your nat :p

Mind Games: I don't actually intend to expand!
Always look to do damage with your zerglings if possible. Usually the best opportunity comes when they notice your hatchery in their base (hopefully after a sunken or two have been placed) and send most or all of their choke defending units to destroy it. This leaves Terran walls and zealot walls and photon cannons particularly vulnerable to the mass of lings you have been producing.

Pulling zealots to kill hatch

Undefended cannons die real quick

Map Specifics

Two Player Maps

By far your best bet of this strategy working is playing on a two player map. Your drone knows which way to go and has the highest chance of getting into your opponent's base unnoticed. However, not all two player maps allows this to happen, so here's what to expect regarding some two player maps.

Heartbreak Ridge
On HBR, you tend to not be able to get into their base even if you send one of your initial drones. The probe will come out to build that pylon at his nat before you can sneak in and terrans that wall will put a supply depot at the choke before you can go in unnoticed. So that leaves you with a couple of choices:

1. You can proxy on the cliff behind their nat.

This hatch placement is ling proof (and therefore zealot and probe proof)

2. You can proxy along the path that scouting peons don't use (that's the top path)

This really only works against Protoss

When you send your initial drone out on HBR and directly to their minerals, you can mine it out in time for your hatchery to go down as specified in the build order. Now if you chose choice 1, then this is the better way to get your hatchery there. For choice 2, this leaves a good way for your lings to get in.

Almost done...

Matchpoint
Matchpoint is similar to HBR, you can't get past that walling terran or scouting probe.

Caught in the act

The difference lies in what choice you have for hatchery placement. The only place that really works is above the ramp but out of sight of their wall.

There's a forge-gateway wall above that battery

However, even though you cannot get in without passing a probe (or pylon or supply depot, etc), you can still choose to proxy hatch inside their base regardless. Just know that a lot of the time, your opponent isn't absolutely horrible and will clean it out ASAP.

Destination
Destination is the second best map to proxy on. Your drone can usually get into the base before running into a probe or scv and you even have the choice of putting your hatchery behind their mineral line. I tend to favor putting the hatchery above/below (depending on start locations) their main base, just so you have a wider range of buildings to hit and your creep takes a little longer to show up on their screen.

Tons of options on where to put your hatch

Polaris Rhapsody
Similar to Destination, except there's less room for the hatchery. You can try to get behind their natural, but that requires walking right past the Nexus/CC, so it doesn't work very well.

Blue Storm
The best map to proxy on due to it's ridiculously short rush distance and large open area where you can hide your hatchery.

You can hit the gas from here

There's also another spot you can hide your hatchery here

Alternate location (if only it weren't scouted)

Three Player Maps

Your second best type of map to be proxy hatching on. You have a 50% chance of finding your opponent on the first try.

Outsider
When scouting on Outsider, it is important to note that you can find your opponent without them knowing that you found them. To do this, you want to send your drone to just within vision of the minerals so that you can check if they have been mined or not.

Guess he's not here, still 1500 minerals.

Once you have found your opponent, the possiblities for building your hatchery are almost endless. It's up to you to decide how close to his buildings you want to place it.

Moonglaive
You almost always have to let your opponent know you're in their base, as there's no trick like with Outsider (the minerals aren't placed as nicely). No real tips for this map, it's a really hard to get the proxy hatch to work since there is so little room and and high chance of being seen.

This drone walked past a pylon to be able to get there though

Four Player Maps
You usually have to get pretty lucky to slip into someone's base unnoticed. If you do manage that though, chances are high that they don't look around their base for a proxy, because who expects a zerg to proxy hatch on a 4 player map.

Python
For python, I like placing the hatchery close enough to the nat that a few sunkens can hit buildings down there.

Colosseum
If you can't sneak in, then this is the next best place:

All credit goes to Yellow for that hatchery placement

Fighting Spirit
Even if they see you enter their base, you can always hide your drone and hope that that works.

Can you find the drone?

If you don't want to risk it, then you could proxy hatch outside their base.

Works great for ZvZ

Do's and Don'ts

Don't take their natural
Whatever you do, don't take your opponents nat, especially if they're Terran, because they can just do this.

Taking your opponents natural is usually a bad idea

Don't take your natural
While you're playing mind games with your opponent, it is best to continue those mind games by taking a base that is not your nat. This helps make your opponent think you're a horrible player. So take third bases like the ones in these minimaps:

Don't give up
Even if your proxy hatch dies

And your ling bust fails

You can still win in the end.

Do pretend you're leaving

Not once...

But twice! (see timestamp)

Then proxy

Pictures worth a Thousand Words

For your perusal. Just some gems I got from playing this build.

+ Show Spoiler [Infested CC] +

+ Show Spoiler [Maphack] +

+ Show Spoiler [Why Drone Here] +

+ Show Spoiler [Game 1] +

+ Show Spoiler [Game 2] +

]

+ Show Spoiler [Do that Again] +

+ Show Spoiler [Sometimes you don't need sunkens…] +

+ Show Spoiler [Sometimes you don't need any dam…] +

Rep Pack

18 Handpicked Games If I had to choose two to watch, it would be 729 and 857.
[url blocked] for anyone who doesn't like rars.

Anyways, hope you guys have fun using this build. Stop playing standard all the time, it's boring :p

Feel free to ask any question about proxy hatching and I'll do my best to answer them!

Cube

Canada777 Posts

August 21 2010 08:44 GMT

I can attest to the fearsome nature of this build. also kau is a jerk

.

+ Show Spoiler +

just kidding you're awesome

IntoTheWow

is awesome32274 Posts

August 21 2010 08:51 GMT

This guide got me to A- in TWO weeks.

alffla

Hong Kong20321 Posts

August 21 2010 09:52 GMT

lol awesome guide!! :D:D

Frigo

Hungary1023 Posts

August 21 2010 09:57 GMT

Hate losing to this. It's fucking insulting.

Invictus

Singapore2697 Posts

August 21 2010 11:01 GMT

thumbs up for one of the most epic strategems ever.

CoWsGoesMoo

250 Posts

August 21 2010 12:48 GMT

"what is standard".

flamewheel

FREEAGLELAND26781 Posts

August 21 2010 14:24 GMT

This is quite awesome. Happy 1500 Moo Kau.

Iplaythings

Denmark9110 Posts

August 21 2010 14:33 GMT

Kau is awesome.

virpi

Germany3598 Posts

August 21 2010 15:22 GMT

#10

i really enjoyed reading this! gotta try it soon.

Smoothie

18 Posts

August 21 2010 16:01 GMT

#11

i love you, tried and currently owning :D

blahman3344

United States2015 Posts

August 21 2010 18:10 GMT

#12

Kau the sneak ;D

heh...now i have to be careful when playing zergs on iccup =(

EsX_Raptor

United States2801 Posts

August 21 2010 19:32 GMT

#13

Haha I had fun reading what your opponents had to say.

^^

d(O.o)a

Canada5066 Posts

August 21 2010 21:09 GMT

#14

This is an excellent guide when I started reading it I was a newby d- zerg but now 3 days after following this guide I've become a solid B zerg! Thanks Kau!

I recommend the guide to all aspiring zergs.