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Hello experts!
First-time poster, long timer lurker. This is a great community, very glad to be a part of it.
I wanted to ask the experts if there was a magic way to ensure zerglings attack/prioritize probes/drones/SCVs as a priority when they break into a base.
Often times I can break into a terran/protoss base by creating a small crack and my little horde of zerglings rush in, and I'm thinking "Ah HAA I WILL DO INCREDIBLE ECONOMIC DAMAGE", only to see my little zerglings get confused and do very little damage before dying.
Mechanically, I move the zerglings (not attack move) into the center of the mineral line. I may even click-attack a few probes. I've even tried shift-A (hold) and clicking probes. However, one stalker/cannon/etc shoots them and all the zerglings immediate give up on probes and run (sometimes through obstacles, around buildings etc - losing precious time) to attack the new threat.
How do I get them to prioritize the probes? I'd like these little guys to suicide themselves (by ignoring units shooting at them) while taking as many probes with them as possible. However, I can't seem to effectively do probe damage, and frequently the attack is wasted when my lings all rush off to chase whoever is shooting at them from across the base. Clicking them "back" to the mineral line is even worse - then they have made the cross-base trip twice!!
Recently I tried an experimental game where I make huge numbers of zerglings just for fun (and I get demolished). I'm going to post it as an example - and in it is an example of what I'm struggling with. Please see at around 5:50 of the replay, when I get 8 zerglings into his base and only manage to kill 1-2 probes despite having free range on his mineral line for almost 30 seconds.
The rest of the game (my macro/micro control, queen injection, etc) - I already have more (excellent) tips to work on from day9/teamliquid that I know there's lots of room for improvement. Plus, it's kind of a silly game where I am just having fun making screenfulls of zerglings to see if it would work (tip - it doesn't, at least once collossi arrive!). If possible, please restrain yourself from ripping my overall game apart and focus on the zerg vs worker micro I'm trying to master.
Anyone have any great tips?
![[image loading]](http://www.gamereplays.org/community/uploads/repimgs/repimg-33-145403.jpg)
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If there is a good way to do this, I'd like to hear it. On a somewhat related note, definitely never send your lings into the middle of a worker line before hitting attack. Nothing makes me happier than surrounding a 7pool noob with my workers and trading 2 workers for his entire game plan.
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I have the same problem. I'll shift attack a few probes but only one or two lings can get in position to hit it so they end up dancing around in the mineral line while a stalker kills them. And if I attack move I either take out just the shields of 10 probes, or they get drawn away by a stalker.
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Attacking units have greater priority than units that don't attack. This means that if you can get the probes to attack you, the lings will attack them as well as the other units.
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Go to mineral line, hold position.
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Yeah, mineral line and click Hold position... best way to maximize damage done to workers when there are units nearby or static defense
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you have to manual unfortunately 
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Hold Position won't help much what you do is micro them, that's why you need high apm, there's no short cut. Terrible, terrible damage requires precision.
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Sparkz - Lets pretend it's a fantasy universe and I have infinite APM. what would you click? 2-3 zerglings attack each worker?
What is a realistic micro goal for someone, say at the almost pro-level (something for me to work towards). Can you describe the micro you are suggesting? Multiple control groups shift clicked to a few workers each?
The hold position idea sounds interesting - I will definitely give that a try. Sounds like it might work pretty well actually! Well enough for non-APM-gurus like myself anyways. Glad I made this thread - good idea from it and nice to know others are struggling with the same problem.
GrumpyM
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if they have stalker, your lings will die one by one, in that case i'd grab 3-4 lings and hold shift attack multiple probes(in the same mineral patch or one next to it), repeat for other remaining lings. if its just zealots, i'd move around and pick off lonely probes or pylons.
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I just shift click probes as much as I can. That's the only guaranteed way and is the most efficient.
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Depends on the number of lings you have. Repeated move -> attack move to kill workers if you have 6 or so, 4 or less and i'll single target.
Don't get surrounded, if they start to surround you realize that you have to back up, if they have a combat unit realize that a-move is useless, etc.
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Low number of lings and without speed, shift queue a few fringe workers and back away and repeat. It is way too easy for workers to suddenly turn around on you and destroy the lings without any support from his army. at a largish number of lings just go in hold / a move / hold a bit then run out before his army wants to chop your lings up. Like most people have said theres no shortcut to this. If you want a shortcut make a bunch of banelings and roll your way to victory!
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Yep, I'm almost sure the best way in such a case, if you got enough APM, is to make several groups of zerglings and shift-click several probes for each group. Holding position doesn't work very well in my opinion since zerglings are very short-ranged and most of them will stay inactive.
However, hold position is really useful with many other type of units (especially roaches and mutas).
In the case of a a 6, 7, or 8 pool rush, on the contrary, I would try to snipe buildings or fighting units first while running my lings everywhere avoiding the probes, and waiting reinforcements till around 12 lings, which is enough to kill the workers (while 6 lings would've been crushed). I often beat diamond protoss with this strat on scrap station since the choke is wide
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if you a attack they run away but if you right click(the same one for moving) directly on the probe it will ignore everything until it gets to and destroys that so shift move probes or keep right clicking
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One way, not super effective but good to keep in mind: click 1 worker, deselect 3 or maybe two zerglings by shift-clicking their unit cards, click next worker, deselect another bunch. Repeat until out of zergies 
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Lol.. its simple what you do. You hotkey all your lings in one group and don't over extend yourself. A attack into the probes until they come off the line then move back. If one probe is sticking out surround it and kill it. The key is just to annoy him, you don't have to do lots of damage. And unless you have 8-10 or more lings your not going to do much more damage then just delaying mining and getting a few workers. The most important thing is piss him off, and keep your lings alive as long as possible for scouting.
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i think hold position is the best way to do it cause if you shift a the probes a lot of your lings are gonna be running around while only ~4-5 attack. and if they try to run the probes just surround and hold.
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Thanks all for the suggestions and tips, especially the hold position suggestion. I'll give that a try this weeken, sound like it should improve my results a fair bit.
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Using stop seems to work a bit. A couple of times I tried it, only the lings close to the ones being attacked will shift priority.
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EPT
