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How the fuck do I beat mass goliath - Page 2

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739
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Bearded Elder29904 Posts
August 02 2017 18:23 GMT
#21
If we're talking about mass mutas vs mass goliaths - mass goliaths will win in every scenario.
WriterSalty oldboy that loves memes | One and only back-to-back Liquibet Winner
Piste
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
6183 Posts
August 02 2017 19:34 GMT
#22
On August 03 2017 03:23 739 wrote:
If we're talking about mass mutas vs mass goliaths - mass goliaths will win in every scenario.

Yo do you even broodwar? Goliaths have massive ground to air single target damage with long range, but other than that they are slow, clumsy and quite expensive units.

Since mutas are small units, goliaths will do only 50% dmg to them. Mutalisk shoots bouncing glaives up to three targets and can in mass fights they stack unlike goliaths. Their mobility plays the biggest role in actual games tho.

Maybe you have seen just too many desperate lategame unupgraded muta switches vs 3-3 mech.
Dead9
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
United States4725 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-08-02 19:55:41
August 02 2017 19:48 GMT
#23
mass goliaths beats mass muta in every scenario

unit size doesn't matter when goliaths have more range, more dps (even taking size type and splash damage into account), more hp, lower cost, etc

on top of that upgrades on gols are much stronger than upgrades on mutas

u can backstab the main which is difficult for T to deal with but that doesn't kill goliaths
739
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Bearded Elder29904 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-08-02 19:52:29
August 02 2017 19:50 GMT
#24
Yo bro, I broodwar since late '99 so I guess I do, a bit.

I'm not into theorycrafting, I'm more into what previous games showed us. I can't recall a single pro or semi-pro game in muta vs goliaths scenario where the zerg player came out with advantage but I've seen couple of game where I saw exactly the opposite effect.

And yes, you're right. In theory muta with splash damage should come out on top against goliaths, because of the damage and splash BUT goliaths are : cheaper, have more range, have more health and you can micro it.
WriterSalty oldboy that loves memes | One and only back-to-back Liquibet Winner
yB.TeH
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
Germany419 Posts
August 02 2017 21:31 GMT
#25
On August 03 2017 04:48 Dead9 wrote:

on top of that upgrades on gols are much stronger than upgrades on mutas



they are not
you get +4 on goliaths
it's 2 attacks so it's 2x2dmg
vs small unis it's 2x1dmg
which is countered by a single armor upgrade on mutalisks
ortseam
Profile Joined April 2015
996 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-08-02 21:51:52
August 02 2017 21:49 GMT
#26
No you are wrong. "Unit type" damage reduction is calculated last. Which means: 10+2-1 for each missile, then /2 due to mutalisk being small.
Also, muta glaive 2nd (3rd) bounce is always /3( /9), so +1 muta attack on +1goliath is: (10-2), (3.33-2), (1.11-2). Not sure how the last one is calculated though, it's some rng, but you can see the goliath upgrade is again stronger.
Luddite
Profile Blog Joined April 2007
United States2315 Posts
August 02 2017 21:50 GMT
#27
On August 03 2017 06:31 yB.TeH wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 03 2017 04:48 Dead9 wrote:

on top of that upgrades on gols are much stronger than upgrades on mutas



they are not
you get +4 on goliaths
it's 2 attacks so it's 2x2dmg
vs small unis it's 2x1dmg
which is countered by a single armor upgrade on mutalisks


Yeah but armor upgrades wreck the glaive bounce damage. The Muta attack upgrades only give 1/3 bonus to the bounce, but the armor upgrade still subtracts a full point. So with full upgrades the muta bounces do almost nothing, and you're just left with one hit for 8 damage while the goliaths hit you for 10. Plus they have more health, more range, and only cost 50 gas.
Can't believe I'm still here playing this same game
arb
Profile Blog Joined April 2008
Noobville17922 Posts
August 02 2017 22:38 GMT
#28
On August 02 2017 19:12 2Pacalypse- wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 02 2017 17:38 ninazerg wrote:
I know a really good game where Sziky plays against Sea, and Sea goes mass goliath. You should watch it, and you'll see just how easy it is to beat mass goliath.

Yeah, mass goliaths suck. Here's the VOD of that game:


Sziky was also down 0-1 on upgrades vs 2-2. plus was on even bases. I dont think he would have won that regardless
Artillery spawned from the forges of Hell
Highgamer
Profile Joined October 2015
1470 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-08-02 22:56:11
August 02 2017 22:46 GMT
#29
This thread is one-eyed theory-crafting gone wrong again... It would be so easy if some of you guys chilled and started talking to each other.

One group is talking about pro-level and no-mistake-games only - the other group is talking about 90% of the games being played where everything can happen... so none is 100% correct, aight?

With relatively good, evenly matched players facing each other, goliaths have the advantage. If the game unfolds somewhat normally, if Terran knows what to do and doesn't take a big blow early, then enough well upgraded goliaths should be out in time to deal with the mutas at all points in time. Zerg can do some harrass but has to transition eventually.

BUT: Writing "gols win mutas in every scenario" is just plain bull****, you have to admit that if you're not a complete ignorant or make private assumptions what 'every scenario' means (aka: you don't know what 'every' means).
If Terran doesn't know what to do, takes a blow earlier, plays the early game the wrong way, mutas can beat gols. You cannot just exclude those scenarios by default as in "Idiot, we're only talking about perfect games here, self explanatory...".
Gols can be overwhelmed if the Zerg uses his mobility advantage to cripple, buy time, expand.
And if we're talking about lower levels or not evenly matched opponents - of course mutas can seem unbeatable even with all the gols a newb can produce.

Makes me sad everytime when some smart-arse barges into such a thread and tells the guy that what he experienced could not have happened...

Guy should post replay tho... these threads wouldn't derail like that...
TheFoReveRwaR
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States10657 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-08-03 05:06:39
August 03 2017 04:57 GMT
#30
Quite simply, you learn to macro properly and make ling/hydra/muta with upgrades. Especially armor upgrades, goliaths fire 2 shots for ground and air so your armor upgrades are twice as effective. Get a 3rd gas quickly, sunken up to stop vult harass/ early gol push if needed, drone up, and then gain map control. Dont waste your mutas early. Hit where the goliaths arent to keep them in base. Take 4th gas --> win. If they start going vessels, sac a couple mutas to scourge them to keep vessel count down.

Never engage with pure muta, they are used to buy time only. They should be used in combination with hydra/ling to become cost effective.

To summarize, beating mech is about overall game management and efficient macro. Not taking damage to vulture run bys, and not wasting units on losing fights. Use Sunkens to drone up! Sunkens are super effective against goliaths because of their high armor/hp. A few hydras early at the proper places with proper building sim cities will protect you from vultures efficiently.
Being healthy, it has been said, really consists of having the same disease as everybody else.
TheFoReveRwaR
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States10657 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-08-03 05:02:05
August 03 2017 05:01 GMT
#31
And to comment on the Sziky vs Sea game... common. Sea out classes Sziky by so much It's not a good example.
Being healthy, it has been said, really consists of having the same disease as everybody else.
739
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Bearded Elder29904 Posts
August 03 2017 10:38 GMT
#32
On August 03 2017 14:01 TheFoReveRwaR wrote:
And to comment on the Sziky vs Sea game... common. Sea out classes Sziky by so much It's not a good example.

Boxer doesn't outclass sAviOr at his prime time
WriterSalty oldboy that loves memes | One and only back-to-back Liquibet Winner
Jukado
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
805 Posts
August 03 2017 12:11 GMT
#33
ZvT How to play vs Pure Mech:
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/bw-strategy/513900-zvt-how-to-play-vs-pure-mech
Star Tale Public Domain project. Maps: (2)Gates Of Memphis, (2)Marshmallow Toast, (4)Bubbles, (4)Clay Fields, (6)Numbskull Desert. Also the Vaylu Public Domain Tileset. Also Ramp Palettes, Brood War guides and some fun stuff. Links in my profile
Liquid`Drone
Profile Joined September 2002
Norway28804 Posts
August 03 2017 12:44 GMT
#34
Yeah mass goliath well executed is totally a legit strategy and not something that is 'easily beaten by any unit combo' or whatever. I've had pretty consistent success with one counter though; the 100% backstab. Make a big hydra muta army, when he comes to attack you and has gone so far that retreating is gonna be tough, attack with eeeverything. He has 1 cycle of unit production done and another one coming, mutas target tanks and your 24 or whatever hydras crush the goliaths. Then he has the choice between going back (he will lose entire natural and some more stuff and then a big part of his army, and you can save your mutas, this puts you in a really, really favorable position), or between both of you losing your mains.

The key here is that you should take a far-away third expansion and research lurker. During the basetrade, you can focus on killing his scans pretty easily, and then you can spread some lurkers around on the map making his goliath army unable to really walk around much. If he gets a vessel before attacking, you need to focus on building scourge.

Frankly, when I've tried to engage the first tank goliath attack head on, it's close, and I lose against players that are mechanically superior to me. But it's a really immobile army and it doesn't reproduce fast at all.
Moderator
Liquid`Drone
Profile Joined September 2002
Norway28804 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-08-03 13:06:55
August 03 2017 13:04 GMT
#35
Also pure goliath beats pure muta, and they beat them harder and harder the more upgrades both players have. +1 mutas vs 0 0 goliaths is a reasonable fight for mutas (and one you can sometimes get to fight), but if you somehow managed to get 3-3 mutas vs 2-2 goliaths, the mutas would end up performing worse than in 0 0 vs 0 0. Mutas are still very good against pure factory mech, but this is because of a )immobility, b) gas invested into goliath tanks and factories makes terran have less irradiate, which is the real reason why most zergs never have more than 1 group, c) terran's lack of production flexibility. Zergs can change between having a more hydra or more muta oriented composition depending on whether terran is more goliath or tank vulture heavy. But really, once upgrades kick in, muta vs goliath becomes an increasingly terrible fight.

To clarify, 0 0 goliath vs 0 0 muta is 10 damage for goliath, 8-2-0.5 for muta. 1-1 goliath vs 1-1 muta ends up being 11 damage for goliath. You have two attacks dealing 10+2 damage, then you subtract 1 armor from both of those, then you have 2x11, then you split that in half because of explosive. Mutas on the other hand end up dealing 8-1.3-0.5. 2-2 vs 2-2 you get 12 damage for goliaths and 8-0.5-0.5. 3-3 vs 3-3 ends up with 13 for goliath, 8-0.5-0.5 for muta. This is a massive difference from the 10 vs 8-2, or occasional 10 vs 9-2.3 you can get early on - and it's certainly true that a big muta army can destroy unsupported unupgraded and outnumbered goliaths. And this doesn't even take into account that when terran is meching, they'll often have two armories against one spire, so in reality you get like 2-2 goliath vs 2-0 mutas and stuff like that. This math is a little simplified and rounded down, but this is basically how the numbers play out.

Like I guess on a map like blue storm, you could do 2 hatch muta into 3 gas muta and flat out win a muta vs goliath war against someone doing 5 factory pure goliath, but most mech iterations on most maps won't really let you do that.
Moderator
kogeT
Profile Joined September 2013
Poland2042 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-08-03 14:27:56
August 03 2017 14:26 GMT
#36
Apart from different all-in options you have two:

- go for fast tech so you can get lurkers / swarm in time while taking 4 bases total
- go for mass muta / hydra timing where you can try to outmacro terran and win in a straight fight or for something like Drone mentioned in above post. Whatever you do you should make a bunch of mutas for harassment when possible.

Both situations, when you see terran being somewhat defensive try to take +1-2 bases asap. Of course terrans tend to play different "mass goliath" builds that vary from fast 4-5 goliath pushes to slow 3 base high upgrade high limit goliaths. Also the beggining of the game may be purely economical or a terran can do different vulture openings.
https://www.twitch.tv/kogetbw
Crispy-G
Profile Joined July 2017
3 Posts
August 03 2017 20:51 GMT
#37
mass whatever
Eywa-
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Canada4876 Posts
August 03 2017 21:17 GMT
#38
Coming from an absolutely terrible BW player, I can see why people think mass goliath is easy to counter. It is a niche build and with the right composition and proper macro, is easily overcome.

With that being said, when I was dabbling in the realm of Terran play, I could not win vs Zerg except with mass goliaths. Now, on the surface that seems weird, but when you get down into the details, it's easy to see why it's so effective at a lower level of play.

For Terran, as a low level player, going mass goliaths gives you a few key advantages:

You don't have to balance gas heavy/min heavy units
You have flexibility to deal with ground units (as their numbers will be low before you move) and mutas
You don't really have to worry about lurkers
You can relatively easily move out on the map vs any composition to pressure the zerg 3rd
You don't have to siege
You only really have to micro against Muta (if you get caught in a bad position vs Hydra, you might as well just leave the game, no micro involved)

As Zerg, you have a lot more concerns

Defending your third as you are vulnerable regardless which composition you go for unless your macro is on par
Not overcompensating with too many units
Not committing too much to micro while letting your macro slip
Harass the Terran so that he can't easily contain you (or take a third)
Being mannered is almost as important as winning. Almost...
razorsuKe
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Canada2036 Posts
August 04 2017 08:18 GMT
#39
Here you go, mass Goliath vs mass Muta with mass mutas winning during a Nation League battle:

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=39984185772697130587


Ty2 vs TerranBoy, both A rank players.
EntusGalleries.com - CJ Uniform Sale
KungKras
Profile Joined August 2008
Sweden484 Posts
August 04 2017 09:41 GMT
#40
This thread feel like the old days on TL when new people asked about strategy ^_^

I want to see the thread starter's reaction to this discussion.
"When life gives me lemons, I go look for oranges"
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