• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 22:41
CET 04:41
KST 12:41
  • 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
RSL Season 3 - Playoffs Preview0RSL Season 3 - RO16 Groups C & D Preview0RSL Season 3 - RO16 Groups A & B Preview2TL.net Map Contest #21: Winners12Intel X Team Liquid Seoul event: Showmatches and Meet the Pros10
Community News
RSL Season 3: RO16 results & RO8 bracket12Weekly Cups (Nov 10-16): Reynor, Solar lead Zerg surge1[TLMC] Fall/Winter 2025 Ladder Map Rotation14Weekly Cups (Nov 3-9): Clem Conquers in Canada4SC: Evo Complete - Ranked Ladder OPEN ALPHA12
StarCraft 2
General
RSL Season 3: RO16 results & RO8 bracket SC: Evo Complete - Ranked Ladder OPEN ALPHA RSL Season 3 - Playoffs Preview Mech is the composition that needs teleportation t GM / Master map hacker and general hacking and cheating thread
Tourneys
RSL Revival: Season 3 $5,000+ WardiTV 2025 Championship StarCraft Evolution League (SC Evo Biweekly) Constellation Cup - Main Event - Stellar Fest 2025 RSL Offline Finals Dates + Ticket Sales!
Strategy
Custom Maps
Map Editor closed ?
External Content
Mutation # 500 Fright night Mutation # 499 Chilling Adaptation Mutation # 498 Wheel of Misfortune|Cradle of Death Mutation # 497 Battle Haredened
Brood War
General
Data analysis on 70 million replays A cwal.gg Extension - Easily keep track of anyone soO on: FanTaSy's Potential Return to StarCraft [ASL20] Ask the mapmakers — Drop your questions FlaSh on: Biggest Problem With SnOw's Playstyle
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 [BSL21] GosuLeague T1 Ro16 - Tue & Thu 22:00 CET [BSL21] RO16 Tie Breaker - Group B - Sun 21:00 CET
Strategy
Current Meta Game Theory for Starcraft How to stay on top of macro? PvZ map balance
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread EVE Corporation Path of Exile [Game] Osu! Should offensive tower rushing be viable in RTS games?
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
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas
Community
General
Russo-Ukrainian War Thread The Games Industry And ATVI US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine About SC2SEA.COM
Fan Clubs
White-Ra Fan Club The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Movie Discussion! Anime Discussion Thread Korean Music Discussion
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
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
The Health Impact of Joining…
TrAiDoS
Dyadica Evangelium — Chapt…
Hildegard
Saturation point
Uldridge
DnB/metal remix FFO Mick Go…
ImbaTosS
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 2046 users

PvP advice for noob

Forum Index > Brood War Strategy
Post a Reply
1 2 3 4 Next All
sanelicv
Profile Joined September 2019
Peru3 Posts
November 01 2021 15:56 GMT
#1
Hi, I'm a C protoss player and I am having trouble against 3 gate obs.
Basically this guy makes gate robo gate gate and then goons + obs, no reavers. I understand this is one of the safests builds you can do in PvP. He then applies pressure as he expands.

I usually go gate gate robo or gate robo gate and then reaver expand.
I was wondering if there is a way to hard/soft counter the 3 gate obs BO that I just mentioned. Perhaps a timming window to push? Perhaps as soon as I have 2reavers+shuttle? What would be your advice against this particular build?

Thanks!
Soulforged
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
Latvia934 Posts
November 01 2021 16:06 GMT
#2
1g reaver nex is a soft counter to it, although you'll want to avoid committing to the fight until the reaver pops, it may be a few seconds late to the party. battery helps keeping the reaver alive, so does goon positioning and e.g. pylons
the most important part is not being late on your robo and reaver, though

2g obs nex is another one, as they'll need an extra production round from the 3gates before they're even on goons after travel time. 3 rounds of production will get them 1 extra goon, but by that time the numbers will be so high for both that defensive arc advantage may make it not matter (plus it gives you time to either get a reaver or 3rd gate of your own)
WGT-Baal
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
France3414 Posts
November 01 2021 19:05 GMT
#3
if you want to go full all-in you can also just 4 gate goon allin yourself. but it s not a reliable strat. Any dt and you die essentially, and you need to end the game right there too. but if you hit as he expands it may work out for you.
Horang2 fan
ProMeTheus112
Profile Joined December 2009
France2027 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-11-01 23:14:32
November 01 2021 23:10 GMT
#4
have you tried shield battery at your nat to help your reaver? that can be really effective
if you get your expo up you can have it earlier than him unless he won't make actual use of his gates, then you have eco advantage or tech advantage due to already having reaver out
btw robo being a bit forward close to exp is good, it's even possible to make robo at nat i think but hard
confusedzerg
Profile Joined July 2021
Russian Federation102 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-11-02 02:59:37
November 02 2021 02:58 GMT
#5
in early game when you both have a zealot and dragoon, take your probe and shift right click it on his geyser a ton at his natural. then shift right click inside his main and push up his ramp with your goon and zealot. i have 77% winrate pvp because the probe goes through and you scout his tech and just counter it.
I am a Westerner and I like homosexuality. Thank you.
Jealous
Profile Blog Joined December 2011
10239 Posts
November 02 2021 03:54 GMT
#6
On November 02 2021 11:58 confusedzerg wrote:
in early game when you both have a zealot and dragoon, take your probe and shift right click it on his geyser a ton at his natural. then shift right click inside his main and push up his ramp with your goon and zealot. i have 77% winrate pvp because the probe goes through and you scout his tech and just counter it.

Isn't this glitch historically banned in competitive play? The new generation is so savage
"The right to vote is only the oar of the slaveship, I wanna be free." -- бум бум сучка!
Timebon3s
Profile Joined May 2018
Norway751 Posts
November 02 2021 04:15 GMT
#7
These new kids have no honor :o

I find that skipping reaver if you’re low rank is the best way to win since it requires a lot of practice and attention/micro.

Maby you should also do 3g obs and try?
It’s also a good idea to play the strategies you struggle to defeat. In that way you learn the weak spots of that strategy.

Liquid`Drone
Profile Joined September 2002
Norway28712 Posts
November 02 2021 06:10 GMT
#8
On November 02 2021 11:58 confusedzerg wrote:
in early game when you both have a zealot and dragoon, take your probe and shift right click it on his geyser a ton at his natural. then shift right click inside his main and push up his ramp with your goon and zealot. i have 77% winrate pvp because the probe goes through and you scout his tech and just counter it.


ya this is considered cheating. don't do that.
Moderator
Jealous
Profile Blog Joined December 2011
10239 Posts
November 02 2021 06:22 GMT
#9
On November 02 2021 15:10 Liquid`Drone wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 02 2021 11:58 confusedzerg wrote:
in early game when you both have a zealot and dragoon, take your probe and shift right click it on his geyser a ton at his natural. then shift right click inside his main and push up his ramp with your goon and zealot. i have 77% winrate pvp because the probe goes through and you scout his tech and just counter it.


ya this is considered cheating. don't do that.

I also like how he said "just counter it" but didn't actually answer OP's question. Now that I think about it, this was effectively a brag post mixed with a self-admission of abusing known bugs on ladder, lmao.

More to the point, 3g obs is meant to be a safe build that doesn't outright lose to anything. To put it more simply, it's not something you "just counter". Traditionally, the key to beating safe builds is to get ahead economically; in this case it could mean expanding with Reaver before the opponent does, or skipping Robo until after Nexus, as has been suggested above.
"The right to vote is only the oar of the slaveship, I wanna be free." -- бум бум сучка!
Bonyth
Profile Joined August 2010
Poland591 Posts
November 02 2021 06:55 GMT
#10
First answer is the best one in my eyes.
kogeT
Profile Joined September 2013
Poland2041 Posts
November 02 2021 08:48 GMT
#11
On November 02 2021 11:58 confusedzerg wrote:
in early game when you both have a zealot and dragoon, take your probe and shift right click it on his geyser a ton at his natural. then shift right click inside his main and push up his ramp with your goon and zealot. i have 77% winrate pvp because the probe goes through and you scout his tech and just counter it.


Ladder is sadly full of wannabe bisu koreans doing this in PvZ / PvP - I hate these people.
https://www.twitch.tv/kogetbw
ajmbek
Profile Joined November 2008
Italy460 Posts
November 02 2021 13:04 GMT
#12
On November 02 2021 00:56 sanelicv wrote:
Hi, I'm a C protoss player and I am having trouble against 3 gate obs.
Basically this guy makes gate robo gate gate and then goons + obs, no reavers. I understand this is one of the safests builds you can do in PvP. He then applies pressure as he expands.

I usually go gate gate robo or gate robo gate and then reaver expand.
I was wondering if there is a way to hard/soft counter the 3 gate obs BO that I just mentioned. Perhaps a timming window to push? Perhaps as soon as I have 2reavers+shuttle? What would be your advice against this particular build?

Thanks!



Hi,

as you said the 3 gate obs is not easy to counter as it is a safe bo. What you can do is expand faster and play defensivly, but you had to know he is doing this build.

At this point I am not sure if you are asking for a general PvP opening advice or just to be told for some counter.

Going 2 gate 2reaver push is an option, but keep in mind that you will get may looses with this bo vs 3gate obs. It is based a lot on micro managemant of the shuttle, witch can be very hard at C level.

A safer option vs 3gate obs can be: 1 gate, robo at ramp, reaver with no shuttle and nexus.
Sic iter ad astra
confusedzerg
Profile Joined July 2021
Russian Federation102 Posts
November 02 2021 17:50 GMT
#13
On November 02 2021 15:10 Liquid`Drone wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 02 2021 11:58 confusedzerg wrote:
in early game when you both have a zealot and dragoon, take your probe and shift right click it on his geyser a ton at his natural. then shift right click inside his main and push up his ramp with your goon and zealot. i have 77% winrate pvp because the probe goes through and you scout his tech and just counter it.


ya this is considered cheating. don't do that.

says who? none of us are playing in tournaments.
I am a Westerner and I like homosexuality. Thank you.
confusedzerg
Profile Joined July 2021
Russian Federation102 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-11-02 18:04:41
November 02 2021 17:52 GMT
#14
On November 02 2021 15:22 Jealous wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 02 2021 15:10 Liquid`Drone wrote:
On November 02 2021 11:58 confusedzerg wrote:
in early game when you both have a zealot and dragoon, take your probe and shift right click it on his geyser a ton at his natural. then shift right click inside his main and push up his ramp with your goon and zealot. i have 77% winrate pvp because the probe goes through and you scout his tech and just counter it.


ya this is considered cheating. don't do that.

I also like how he said "just counter it" but didn't actually answer OP's question. Now that I think about it, this was effectively a brag post mixed with a self-admission of abusing known bugs on ladder, lmao.

More to the point, 3g obs is meant to be a safe build that doesn't outright lose to anything. To put it more simply, it's not something you "just counter". Traditionally, the key to beating safe builds is to get ahead economically; in this case it could mean expanding with Reaver before the opponent does, or skipping Robo until after Nexus, as has been suggested above.


sorry i assumed he knew how pvp tech generally works since he said he has been playing many years.
OP, if robo, go nexus and prepare to hold his one base reaver push. he will likely try a 2 gate reaver push, maybe 3 if he sees you expand.
if he dt, go 3 gate goon obs.
if he 4 gate, you can either go DT or 2 gate reaver with very delayed obs. DT isn't as risky as you may think here because a fast storm transition is very viable and works well if for whatever reason he doesn't die straight up.
if he 3 gate obs, then you can go 1 gate robo nexus 2nd gate reaver. go straight reaver and make a shield battery at the nat because he will likely get aggressive, and battery synergizes extremely well with reaver. make sure you make robo near top of your ramp so that fatass can crawl its way down quicker.

if i am missing any other tech paths that you want to know how to counter then let me know, but those are the most common.
I am a Westerner and I like homosexuality. Thank you.
Timebon3s
Profile Joined May 2018
Norway751 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-11-02 18:30:32
November 02 2021 18:30 GMT
#15
On November 03 2021 02:50 confusedzerg wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 02 2021 15:10 Liquid`Drone wrote:
On November 02 2021 11:58 confusedzerg wrote:
in early game when you both have a zealot and dragoon, take your probe and shift right click it on his geyser a ton at his natural. then shift right click inside his main and push up his ramp with your goon and zealot. i have 77% winrate pvp because the probe goes through and you scout his tech and just counter it.


ya this is considered cheating. don't do that.

says who? none of us are playing in tournaments.

This is true.
Tournaments dont dictate the ladder
confusedzerg
Profile Joined July 2021
Russian Federation102 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-11-02 18:51:06
November 02 2021 18:50 GMT
#16
yes, and before someone says it, blizzard outright said flying scv is cheating. they have not said this for shift right click geyser. so thats not a valid comparison
I am a Westerner and I like homosexuality. Thank you.
Jealous
Profile Blog Joined December 2011
10239 Posts
November 02 2021 18:53 GMT
#17
On November 03 2021 03:30 Timebon3s wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 03 2021 02:50 confusedzerg wrote:
On November 02 2021 15:10 Liquid`Drone wrote:
On November 02 2021 11:58 confusedzerg wrote:
in early game when you both have a zealot and dragoon, take your probe and shift right click it on his geyser a ton at his natural. then shift right click inside his main and push up his ramp with your goon and zealot. i have 77% winrate pvp because the probe goes through and you scout his tech and just counter it.


ya this is considered cheating. don't do that.

says who? none of us are playing in tournaments.

This is true.
Tournaments dont dictate the ladder

That's arguably only due to Blizzard's laissez-faire approach, if we are being generous in what we call it. Bugs like these have historically been banned from all competitive play, which includes ladder. By centralizing the competitive ladder on their own servers, which they provide no oversight for, they have removed the community's standards and management.

So yes, sure, you're not going to get banned for abusing these bugs (most likely). That's why we have legit hackers and bug abusers in the top 10 of ladder, at least from time to time (haven't checked recently). However, that doesn't mean that it isn't socially derided. If you want to be a ladder hero and gain points by abusing bugs which have historically been banned, good for you I guess.
"The right to vote is only the oar of the slaveship, I wanna be free." -- бум бум сучка!
confusedzerg
Profile Joined July 2021
Russian Federation102 Posts
November 02 2021 18:56 GMT
#18
i think you are just Jealous.

you know what else is socially derided? cheesing. are you going to say that is cheating too?
I am a Westerner and I like homosexuality. Thank you.
Liquid`Drone
Profile Joined September 2002
Norway28712 Posts
November 02 2021 19:19 GMT
#19
I mean, nobody is gonna ban you for using it in ladder, but I'm gonna consider you a cheater, and I'm gonna think that whatever mmr or win % you achieve is not legitimate, and if you did it against me in a practice game, I wouldn't bother playing with you again. I think that's a fairly common point of view. It is also banned in tournaments. Just because blizzard is too incompetent or ignorant or not caring to fix it doesn't mean it's okay.

Also, flying scv bug is a game-breaking bug. This is something that somewhat influences pvp and hardly matters at all for other matchups. Both being cheating doesn't mean both are equally important to address.
Moderator
Timebon3s
Profile Joined May 2018
Norway751 Posts
November 02 2021 19:45 GMT
#20
I just don’t like the idea of tournament organizers being in charge of the online ladder.
It’s fine if blizzard made rules for the ladder and said that this is illegal, or even better fixed the bug.
1 2 3 4 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 3h 49m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RuFF_SC2 233
PiLiPiLi 27
EnDerr 2
StarCraft: Brood War
PianO 513
Leta 62
Sexy 50
NaDa 38
Noble 22
Dota 2
monkeys_forever185
NeuroSwarm110
canceldota49
LuMiX1
League of Legends
JimRising 617
Other Games
summit1g15059
fl0m614
WinterStarcraft416
C9.Mang0309
ViBE178
Trikslyr61
kaitlyn29
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick923
StarCraft: Brood War
UltimateBattle 23
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 16 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 114
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• Azhi_Dahaki29
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota22214
League of Legends
• Doublelift4605
• Rush1096
Other Games
• Scarra1513
Upcoming Events
RSL Revival
3h 49m
Classic vs MaxPax
SHIN vs Reynor
herO vs Maru
WardiTV Korean Royale
8h 19m
SC Evo League
8h 49m
IPSL
13h 19m
Julia vs Artosis
JDConan vs DragOn
OSC
13h 19m
BSL 21
16h 19m
TerrOr vs Aeternum
HBO vs Kyrie
RSL Revival
1d 3h
Wardi Open
1d 10h
IPSL
1d 16h
StRyKeR vs OldBoy
Sziky vs Tarson
BSL 21
1d 16h
StRyKeR vs Artosis
OyAji vs KameZerg
[ Show More ]
OSC
1d 19h
OSC
2 days
Monday Night Weeklies
2 days
OSC
2 days
Wardi Open
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Wardi Open
4 days
Tenacious Turtle Tussle
4 days
The PondCast
5 days
Replay Cast
5 days
LAN Event
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2025-11-16
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
CSCL: Masked Kings S3
SLON Tour Season 2
RSL Revival: Season 3
META Madness #9
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
IEM Chengdu 2025
PGL Masters Bucharest 2025
Thunderpick World Champ.
CS Asia Championships 2025
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2

Upcoming

BSL 21 Non-Korean Championship
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
HSC XXVIII
RSL Offline Finals
WardiTV 2025
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026: Closed Qualifier
eXTREMESLAND 2025
ESL Impact League Season 8
SL Budapest Major 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.