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[D] Extractor Trick

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
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1 2 3 Next All
CharlieMurphy
Profile Blog Joined March 2006
United States22895 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-09 00:31:09
March 09 2010 00:14 GMT
#1
I've only seen one top level zerg video where the zerg used this (actually used 2 at once in one of those asian tourney games).

I've been using this for a long time assuming that it's really good because the cancel cost compared to BW is so much less. But I just got to thinking about milikitov's post about how workers basically gather 1 mineral a second got me to wondering if this is efficient every game.

So even if the extractor (which cost 25) is made and canceled (and assuming that you still lose 25%-30% of cost like scbw) it's still not worth it in regular economic builds. (also add in lost mining time for doing it which would be 2-5seconds)

Now, i know gaining that extra worker before lord on something like 6pool is totally beneficial, but what I am talking about is usage like:
10 drones, make extractor, make drone 11/10, cancel extractor, make lord.
OR
10 drones, overlord, make extractor, make drone 11/10, cancel extractor.

Also, if these are legitimate to use which one is better? I'm thinking the lord then extractor trick might be a little better than the ex trick then lord.

OT- wow that's crazy some guy made a similar thread like 3 minutes after me.

mod edit- He linked wikipedia so here is his OP as well

On March 09 2010 09:17 2WeaK wrote:
Hey, I played against a Zerg barely 5-10min ago and he did a double (Wiki)extractor Trick and it got me wondered, is it worth it?

I saw a thread a while back in the SC1 strategy forums saying that most of the time you lost minerals doing that, thus bringing me to question it now that the extractor cost half of what it used to. Any thoughts?

..and then I would, ya know, check em'. (Aka SpoR)
MorroW
Profile Joined August 2008
Sweden3522 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-09 00:19:43
March 09 2010 00:19 GMT
#2
but if u make another drone before ur overlord wont that delay ur other drones? seems more logical to me if u make the gas trick after u started the lord :p ah read the rest now and ye the second option sounds pretty clever to me, i still dunno if its worth it tho (t user :d)

its defiantly debatable now tho, since it cost 25 gas now instead of 50. and also placing buildings as a zerg is faster than before
Progamerpls no copy pasterino
Zelniq
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
United States7166 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-09 00:21:02
March 09 2010 00:20 GMT
#3
I use these all the time but wonder how effective it is. im almost positive it's worth doing either way, tho i'd also like to know which is more efficient.

note that overlords build faster in sc2 so it may not be a huge benefit but probably makes a very minor increase in income early on

@morrow, but you get the drones quite a bit faster if you do it before overlord.

actually sometimes i'll even do a double extractor trick for 12/10 but not sure if this is worth over 11/10
ModeratorBlame yourself or God
CharlieMurphy
Profile Blog Joined March 2006
United States22895 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-09 00:27:06
March 09 2010 00:20 GMT
#4
Morrow,
25 mins yea, placing buildings- the drone doesn't have to wiggle his little tail anymore, it's instant as well.

and yea delaying the 3 drones after lord is also one of the concerns about ex trick before or after lord. Since workers mine so much more efficient now, the 3 drones are instantly + maximum gain per minute on minerals. So by delaying all 3 of them at once by getting an earlier single drone by 20~? seconds might not be as good.

So the 3 would be mining 20~ seconds longer while the single drone is waiting for his other 2 buddies. I'm thinking this would only be better if you plan to 11/10 overpool?
..and then I would, ya know, check em'. (Aka SpoR)
Kasperknop
Profile Joined February 2010
Denmark6 Posts
March 09 2010 00:33 GMT
#5
I haven't done the math, but tbh it doesn't seem like it would help you. Normally when you go ovi at 10 it will finish just as you have 3 lavas and enough minerals to create 3 drones... If you do this trick you will have one less larva when the ovi spawns, so guess it comes down to if the one extra drone will be able to mine enough minerals (app 20 minerals?) on app the time it takes to spawn an ovi and unfortunately I think thats less than 20 sec... someone correct me if I'm wrong
2WeaK
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Canada550 Posts
March 09 2010 00:37 GMT
#6
TY for quoting my post. ^^;
Zelniq
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
United States7166 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-09 00:39:13
March 09 2010 00:38 GMT
#7
another big thing to worry about is larvae generation.
if you dont do any extractor trick, you sit at 3 larvae while waiting to get overlord, but if you do 1 before overlord (or after) it's just perfect (3rd larvae pops out just as overlord pops)


@2weak
thank manifesto7 he's the one who added it in
ModeratorBlame yourself or God
Yammiez
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
Canada186 Posts
March 09 2010 00:39 GMT
#8
I do this all the time now everytime I random zerg (into the 7 roach injection build I saw from somewhere...)
It seems to work out with double extractor trick to 12 drones. You'll then get enough money for an overlord, and when that's done you can pool, queen at 15-16 etc. etc.

If I have time I'll find some replays and measure this though.
Smash fear, learn anything; except for spiders
Defrag
Profile Joined February 2010
Poland414 Posts
March 09 2010 00:44 GMT
#9
On March 09 2010 09:38 Zelniq wrote:
another big thing to worry about is larvae generation.
if you dont do any extractor trick, you sit at 3 larvae while waiting to get overlord, but if you do 1 before overlord (or after) it's just perfect (3rd larvae pops out just as overlord pops)


@2weak
thank manifesto7 he's the one who added it in

9/10 - make overlord, then drone to go 10/10.
Once you hit 100 minerlals the overlord spawns and u can make 2 drones instantly ( should be out 100% of time ), then 3rd larva spawns exactly around 50 minerals mark.

Going 10/10 drones and then overlord is way slower.

With the proper build I described I dont think extractor trick has any use at all.
sixduck
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
United States301 Posts
March 09 2010 00:45 GMT
#10
I find that if I do extractor trick at 10/10 supply around 60 minerals there will be ~2-3 drones returning to the hatch with minerals so I immediately get 50 to make that 11/10 drone. I then make the overlord after and will always have 3 larva up when the overlord pops.

To me it feels faster but I don't have any proof that it is.

jabberwokie
Profile Joined September 2009
Canada142 Posts
March 09 2010 01:27 GMT
#11
you only lose 1 mineral canceling an extractor.

Also if you cancel an egg you get a new larva yeah!!
2WeaK
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Canada550 Posts
March 09 2010 01:31 GMT
#12
On March 09 2010 10:27 jabberwokie wrote:
you only lose 1 mineral canceling an extractor.

Also if you cancel an egg you get a new larva yeah!!


You lose more than 1mineral if you take into account that you're losing mining time with that drone or those 2 drones if you double extractor.
wrags
Profile Blog Joined April 2008
United States379 Posts
March 09 2010 01:44 GMT
#13
it's weak to proxy gate (rare enough as it is)

from my experiences
zvz is pretty much always safe
zvp on 2 player maps it's probably something to avoid, proxy gates will have like ~5-10 extra seconds on the zerg to attack. not really anything huge
zvt inconclusive for me, maybe someone else could share bunker rush experiences with and without gas trickery
cowsrule
Profile Joined February 2010
United States80 Posts
March 09 2010 01:47 GMT
#14
I normally do 10 ov, then extractor after ov for 11/10, then you go for 13 (and 14 if you want) after ov spawn (you can do two right at the ov spawn). This avoids having 3 larva sitting around at any point of the build, and if you like scouting early, you can send your extractor drone for a scout. Also, if you manage where your workers are mining properly, you will only really lose a few seconds of mining time with the drone that makes the extractor if you send him back to minerals.

The 11/10 drone will be about half done by the time your ov pops, thus will get that much extra mining time as well as you get another larva a few seconds earlier since you didn't sit with 3.

Clearly this is anecdotal evidence and I would be interested in seeing someone actually coming up with numbers and how fast you have to do it for it to be worthwhile, but it at least makes me feel like I'm getting a slight advantage from doing it.
Piousflea
Profile Joined February 2010
United States259 Posts
March 09 2010 02:18 GMT
#15
I believe you lose 6 minerals from canceling an extractor.

The extractor trick at 11/10 allows you to start building the 11 drone at around halfway done with the overlord. That's around 12 seconds sooner than you would get a drone if you waited for ovie to finish.

Assuming that a drone mines an average of 1 mineral per second, as long as you don't lose more than 6sec mining with the drone that builds the extractor, you're golden.
Seek, behold, and reveal the truth
Attica
Profile Joined February 2010
United States277 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-09 02:32:15
March 09 2010 02:30 GMT
#16
It doesn't matter how many minerals you lose when canceling as long as it isn't over 25. Since everything is in increments of 25 minerals. 1 mineral = 25 minerals as does 20 minerals = 25 minerals...If you know what I'm trying to say.

Edit: Actually I'm wrong because each drone brings in minerals in smaller increments. Nevermind.
onmach
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
United States1241 Posts
March 09 2010 04:26 GMT
#17
Doing a trick with one extractor just feels right. If you don't do it, your queen tends to want to start building awkward timing like 17 supply, and so you end up having to make a choice of either not building a drone or delaying your queen.

I just did a test, just one attempt per style, there's probably some variation. I did it until 2:24 to be sure that no build was supply blocked.

Standard without trick.
2:24 I had 16 supply (1 drone @ 60%) and 335 mins (total ~1115)

One drone trick to 11 supply, then overlord
2:24 I had 17 supply (1 drone @ 15%) and 314 mins. (total ~1121)

Overlord at 10 then one drone trick.
2:24 I had 17 supply (1 drone @ 15%) and 309 mins. (total ~1116)

Total being the total minerals + cost in drones (estimated cost of partial drone). Since all of the results are within a single trip to a patch, it seems like it doesn't matter very much. I'm sure there was more error in my split than there was in the difference between these trials.

I was expecting more variation from that. Kind of disappointing.
CharlieMurphy
Profile Blog Joined March 2006
United States22895 Posts
March 09 2010 07:48 GMT
#18
onmach, I don't think you can stop the testing like that. I would think this kind of thing would matter later on.
..and then I would, ya know, check em'. (Aka SpoR)
CharlieMurphy
Profile Blog Joined March 2006
United States22895 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-09 08:15:20
March 09 2010 07:56 GMT
#19
Shit I just realized that it's possible to do extractor trick on the next supply block as well (after you make queen and waiting for lord to pop you get another larva)

anyways, here are 3 reps:

1 with no extractor trick, 1 with it before lord, and 1 with it after lord.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mdngym0ykjn

Other than the extractor trick, the basis of the build is to do the standard fast queen fast roach opening.

So it's essentially 15pool, 14 gas, 17 roach warren, 16 queen, 18 lord. 3 onto gas asap, Then keep making drones and the rep ends after first roach.

btw, I dunno if it's a bug or not but I can't see APM or Income shit in single player game without a computer.
..and then I would, ya know, check em'. (Aka SpoR)
Nikon
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Bulgaria5710 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-09 09:40:46
March 09 2010 09:23 GMT
#20
Is 15 pool the cool macro build now? I usually do 13 pool and if I continue with 1 base play I start a second overlord at 15 - it finishes together with the pool and you have 2 larva at that time, with enough money to morph a pair of lings, a drone (or 2 drones) and a queen. Going to play around with extractor trick around around 10 supply tho.

OK, so if you extractor trick before your overlord you get a third larva at your hatch exactly when the ovie pops, 14th drone started at 1 min 12 sec. When I did the overlord before trick thing, I got the same result. When I did no extractor trick, I actually got my 14th drone at 1 min 14 sec, so if you're going for the 15pool, it's definitely worth it. I guess it's also nice if you go 10pool.
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