Overlord placement

taarna

United States61 Posts

June 25 2010 18:39 GMT

Early game positions are important.

Midgame positions have some flexibility, especially as overlords become used for transport, gain speed, spew creep, etc.

Late game positions are less important since there will be so many overlords and creep tumors ideally.

Besides the above, what are the most important early/mid/late positions for overlords for each map.

Pics would be nice. Does anyone have a link to a gallery of all the maps?

Krissam

Denmark189 Posts

June 25 2010 18:49 GMT

On all maps, I like having one positioned behind me enemies natural so I can just see a bit in front of the minerals so I can see when they expand.
I like having them on every highground you wont be able to see without air units/scans, especially on LT where you have a highround over pretty much every mineral node on the map.

Wolf

Korea (South)3290 Posts

June 25 2010 19:25 GMT

Always put your overlords over high ground near opponents' bases, naturals, wherever you can. You really want to focus on the natural so that you can know when your opponent is going to expand. Also putting them near towers allows you to know if your opponent is taking the tower (but it's better to put a zergling there instead).

figq

12519 Posts

June 25 2010 19:40 GMT

On June 26 2010 03:49 Krissam wrote:
I like having them on every highground you wont be able to see without air units/scans, especially on LT where you have a highround over pretty much every mineral node on the map.

This. For example:
[image loading]

Saracen

United States5139 Posts

June 25 2010 19:40 GMT

Early Game
1. Overlord to the inside of his base - this sees exactly what he's doing early game
2. Overlord to their natural choke - this sees exactly when he's moving out
3. Overlord to a remote edge of his base - this should be sacrificed at an important tech timing to see his tech choice
4. Overlord to the back of his natural - this sees his natural expansion timing
5. Overlord to natural cliff - for Kulas Ravine and Lost Temple

Mid Game
6. Overlord to each possible expansion - this delays expansions with spread creep
7. Overlords around his base - this detects possible drops and is useful if you plan on using the nydus worm (careful if he has air superiority)
8. Spread the rest over the map to get as good of a map vision coverage as possible.

Wyrmkin

United States12 Posts

June 25 2010 19:44 GMT

Also, try putting an overlord at all the expos on the map. In ZvT or ZvP drop creep so it can delay expansions from going down until they get something over to that expansion to kill it. In ZvZ don't drop creep because you don't want to be doing them any favors, and you will have easy intel on their new expos. This is especially important on maps with island expos, and even more important vs Terran since its easier for them to expand to those islands.

AdahnSC

United States376 Posts

June 25 2010 19:52 GMT

early game is VERY dependent on the race and tech your opponent is going. basically be as aggressive as possible with overlord scouting without losing an overlord (or getting proxied) This is very important if you dont get the speed upgrade later on because two overlords near your opponents base early means two chances to sack overlords for a scout later on.

the problem with middle game positioning is (especially vs a terran player) you will get picked off by vikings or other air if you're not very very careful. Basically it means you need the overlord speed upgrade if you want good overlord positioning mid game.

Late game I'm not so sure on where to put your overlords. on the one hand 100 minerals for a scout late game is great, but on the other hand you can easily make due with creep tumor vision if you haven't been slacking in that department. probably you just want overlords to cover islands and air routes.

Actua

Canada101 Posts

June 25 2010 21:44 GMT

In the early game, I always have overlords lying around his base ready to get in and die for the swarm to get som e good scouting. Behind his nat, and really, anywhere you can fit em in to see as much as you can.

Also, posting em around important chokes/places he'll most likely use to move his army is essential to know the when/where/how of his army.

Just gonna make sure you retreat em all or hide em all if theres any phoenix, viking or mutas coming to cut your losses.

blackodd

Sweden451 Posts

June 26 2010 08:14 GMT

Lost Temple

1: their base: You can hide an overlord on the high ground just at his mineral line. If you play against zerg the zerg can however just move their overlord and kill your overlord with queen.
You have to be careful with this overlord vs terran also, since marines are pesky
Perfectly safe vs protoss
natural: same thing, more safe if you move this as your first overlord

2: opponents army will almost always move from tower to tower so this position is critical.. these overlords might die a lot though, but it's usually worth it

3: the lower 3's sees both the gold exp and any potential air harass coming, transports etc.
you might want to have more ovvies at the upper 3 if you play against terran - tank drops are annoying

basically cover air space and high ground with ovvies, creep tumors fixes the rest

TheNomad

United States134 Posts

June 26 2010 08:50 GMT

#10

I personally wouldn't send too many out so early, if an annoying Terran decides to get an overlord sniping viking to roam the map then you can lose a lot of vulnerable ovie's early game before speed.

savysmith

Canada44 Posts

June 28 2010 06:22 GMT

#11

I try to keep some of my overlords mobile as this can sometimes result in a longer lifespan. For example, patrolling back and forth between the gold expansions on metalopolis will allow you to cover both with just one overlord. And if you position the patrol commands just right, you're overlord will barely appear on the opponent's minimap. I do this with the overlord assigned to watch the opponent's natural as well, moving it into sight range and out again. Keeping the overlord's moving might delay the time I learn of an enemy expansion by a few seconds, but it greatly increased map coverage.

On scrapstation, I'll also plant an overlord within range of the rocks closest to the enemy to keep tabs on any plans to break them down.

Also, there are some places to absolutely avoid when placing overlords. Most importantly, avoid clustering any "extra" overlords in any one place. I always try to keep my supply at least one overlord more than I need so I don't get supply-blocked if one get's sniped. But losing a flock of a dozen overlords that you tried to "hide" in a corner of the map would be disastrous. And if you have to cluster them somewhere, then do it in your base, over your mineral line and surrounded with spore crawlers. This will give the overlords some protection while also helping to protect some drones.

sinn

United States132 Posts

June 28 2010 10:07 GMT

#12

Since the beta's down, now would be a good time to go and research great positions. Pretty much every pro/top tier zerg player has amazing OV placement - if you really want solid OV spots for every matchup, try watching some replays of higher-level players. Artosis recently released a huge replay pack - his OV placement is spot on.

Lighioana

Norway466 Posts

June 28 2010 10:15 GMT

#13

On June 26 2010 04:40 figq wrote:

Show nested quote +

This. For example:
[image loading]

You need an overlord at the rocks.

sinn

United States132 Posts

June 28 2010 10:18 GMT

#14

On June 28 2010 19:15 Lighioana wrote:

Show nested quote +

You need an overlord at the rocks.

And an overlord between the enemy's base and the islane. And one that can see just the edge of the minerals at the enemy's expansion.

Lighioana

Norway466 Posts

June 28 2010 10:19 GMT

#15

On June 26 2010 17:14 ayadew wrote:
[image loading]

Overlords near the towers are easy kill because of the vision provided by the towers. If you place them on the other two highgrounds you see the middle AND the areas hidden by "fog" (what's the name of that?) so it's hard to sneak anything without seeing it.
[image loading]

figq

12519 Posts

June 28 2010 12:02 GMT

#16

On June 28 2010 19:18 sinn wrote:

Show nested quote +

And an overlord between the enemy's base and the islane. And one that can see just the edge of the minerals at the enemy's expansion.

Yep, the earliest ones are just to signal for the earliest rushes (which are not through the rocks, that happens a bit later). For the rocks I prefer spreading creep. Expos are scout's duty.

Bluedraqy

Denmark496 Posts

June 28 2010 12:24 GMT

#17

"fog" (what's the name of that?

Fog of war, yes =)

CharlieMurphy

United States22895 Posts

June 28 2010 13:04 GMT

#18

hold on let me get a post with all the maps up, I'm high level diamond btw.

It might actually be a good idea to send 3rd lord towards their base if you plan on sacrificing it to scout around early mid game or so. In that case, add 1 to each placement.
[image loading]

Note that the placements are often moving around in a small area or poking in every so often. And I might swap around 1, 2, or 3 depending on what's happening. Generally the further away/less safe path to the spot is, from me positionally, the earlier I put a lord there.

Doing 4 player maps now..

Actually, some of the 4 player maps (metalopolis) are totally different for every positional angle and luck based on scouting. so I'll just put dots where overlords are likely to go. You're just going to have to figure out when it's safe for each place etc.
[image loading]

I may have forgotten a couple dots here and there, but most of the stuff is mirrored.
Metalopolis should get rid of the middle ramps of the gold bases.