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[H] ZvZ - I don't get it.

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
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Pr0xxis
Profile Joined July 2010
United States60 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-11-03 00:48:48
November 03 2010 00:22 GMT
#1
Okay, I can handle ZvT and ZvP just fine. But I have no idea whats any good anymore in ZvZ. Everytime I play this match-up it seems like not going muta's means you lose. Then when I do, its seems like mass roach is better. I don't know what to do. Any thoughts/ suggestions. I would upload some reps... but alas I don't know how... >,<

I generally 10 pool to avoid cheesy zerg players who like mass ling.
then I grab some roachs and go straight for mutas hoping to beat my opponent to it. I skip the expo and ling speed for a fast lair and spire.
I think my build in itself is the problem. Which is why I'm asking you fellow TL'ers to help me out.

EDIT: Here are 2 replays.

http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/99348-1v1-zerg-blistering-sands

http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/99349-1v1-zerg-xelnaga-caverns
alwaid
Profile Joined October 2010
United States96 Posts
November 03 2010 00:28 GMT
#2
i'm no diamond player but it seems like the idea behind your build is for a mixed unit comp all in? it seems open to pushes at all times. ZvZ mirror is basically centered around who scouts better. I try not to sac econ for an all in usually.
Small Frog
Profile Joined August 2010
United States4 Posts
November 03 2010 00:29 GMT
#3
If you want serious replies, I would highly suggest replayS. (emphasis on the multiple there)

May I ask what what level of play you are in? Platinum and lower the answer may simply be that your opponent is doing the basics all slightly better than you are.
Ribbit.
WrathOfAiur
Profile Joined May 2010
Germany243 Posts
November 03 2010 00:30 GMT
#4
well im not a zerg player, but if you sacrifice your economy in EVERY zvz just to be safe, maybe this is the reason you loose all the time?
Pr0xxis
Profile Joined July 2010
United States60 Posts
November 03 2010 00:31 GMT
#5
On November 03 2010 09:28 daowns wrote:
i'm no diamond player but it seems like the idea behind your build is for a mixed unit comp all in? it seems open to pushes at all times. ZvZ mirror is basically centered around who scouts better. I try not to sac econ for an all in usually.


Okay, see the thing is I really have no idea how to play this match-up.

On November 03 2010 09:29 Small Frog wrote:
If you want serious replies, I would highly suggest replayS. (emphasis on the multiple there)

May I ask what what level of play you are in? Platinum and lower the answer may simply be that your opponent is doing the basics all slightly better than you are.


I would like to put up replays, but Im not sure how... >,<
Im high silver, so thats entirely possible. But im mostly looking for what are people are doing in this match-up.
emc
Profile Joined September 2010
United States3088 Posts
November 03 2010 00:33 GMT
#6
mass roach and infestor is a very safe build, infestors completely shut down mutas and mass roaches destroy all ground. Infestors can stop alot of things including banelings (one fungal kills them out right). If they end up going roach hydra, then cut down on the infestors and get more banelings, fungal the hydras, bane them and clean up with the roaches. Also upgrades are even more useful as a 1/0 roach is hugely stronger than a 0/0 roach. Strategies aren't the problem in ZvZ, it's knowing when to expand, when to drone and when to build up. I still don't have a complete grasp on this, but the best way is good overlord placement, you can get away with aggressive overlords for a long period of time which will really help you figure out what you need to do. Setting OV's out side of their natural, outside of your natural and somewhere in the middle of the map is a good place to start.
Xaggah
Profile Joined October 2010
Canada45 Posts
November 03 2010 00:36 GMT
#7
I'll start by saying ZvZ is my worst MU, but i would not just 10 pool to avoid cheesy zerg players.. Even if you come up against a few cheesy players, you will almost always lose to someone who has gone a more economic based build..

Try going 13 pool 13 extractor, this will put you somewhere in the middle of economy and early defense vs cheese. If your opponent does cheese and u hold it off with a couple zerglings and ur queen you'll be in a better position then ur opponent. Remember a spine crawler only costs u one larva to produce, and will do the job of about 6 zerglings, leaving u more larva to power drones.

If you go Muta, be very active with them. Snipe overlords and try to pick off some drones. This will keep his unit count down because of supply block and the need to replenish his drone count.

If you go for some kind of mass roach push get an evo chamber and upgrade +1 carapace. This way you can throw down some spore crawlers to fend off muta harass, and ur roaches will rip through any ground forces he may have (if he went muta his ground force wont be as big anyways).

I hope this helps!

gg
For The Swarm!!
Pr0xxis
Profile Joined July 2010
United States60 Posts
November 03 2010 00:36 GMT
#8
On November 03 2010 09:33 emc wrote:
mass roach and infestor is a very safe build, infestors completely shut down mutas and mass roaches destroy all ground. Infestors can stop alot of things including banelings (one fungal kills them out right). If they end up going roach hydra, then cut down on the infestors and get more banelings, fungal the hydras, bane them and clean up with the roaches. Also upgrades are even more useful as a 1/0 roach is hugely stronger than a 0/0 roach. Strategies aren't the problem in ZvZ, it's knowing when to expand, when to drone and when to build up. I still don't have a complete grasp on this, but the best way is good overlord placement, you can get away with aggressive overlords for a long period of time which will really help you figure out what you need to do. Setting OV's out side of their natural, outside of your natural and somewhere in the middle of the map is a good place to start.


Sweetness. Thanks a lot! I think my irrational fear of cheese/mutas is really messing with me. So I will definitely get a build up revolving around those units. I find hydra's in general are useless, although I did play a zvz today where my opp used them. So roach/infestor it is. Prolly have to just scout more to learn those timings.
Small Frog
Profile Joined August 2010
United States4 Posts
November 03 2010 00:37 GMT
#9
On November 03 2010 09:31 Killswitch wrote:
I would like to put up replays, but Im not sure how... >,<
Im high silver, so thats entirely possible. But im mostly looking for what are people are doing in this match-up.


Find replays in folder
Host replays on the internet
Link us to the replays


Frankly, in Silver, you really don't need to worry too much about unit composition, or advanced strategy. I know it sounds silly but honestly, I'd be willing to bet that with better Macro you could do exactly what you did and win.
Ribbit.
emc
Profile Joined September 2010
United States3088 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-11-03 00:53:52
November 03 2010 00:46 GMT
#10
just make sure you get pathogen glands (150/150 upgrade at infestation pit) that allows +25 energy on spawn to allow instant fungal growth. It's expensive but VERY worth it, any time you need a fungal make an infestor and you are good to go. A good timing is getting the upgrade which takes 80 seconds, wait till 31 seconds then build your infestors which take 50 seconds, you're upgrade and infestors will finish at the same time and you'll have 75 energy ready for those crucial fungals. Just remember not to be afraid of using banelings late into the game and also don't be afraid to get an evo chamber on two base to begin upgrading.

Also I would recommend getting hydras if you haven't scouted their tech or army comp, if only 6-8 of them. The added DPS will destroy a pure roach army and they are very safe against mutas. Sometimes infestors cost too much gas and a couple hydras will be enough to stop early muta and get some infestors out. I don't find hydras useless, mass hydra is useless as they get owned by banes (which will often happen against a muta/ling comp) but a couple hydras surrounded by roaches is very very strong. For later stages of the game and you have a ton of gas, infestor/hydra works well as infestors can kill banes outright, you can fungal mutas and out range them with hydras, they just sit there. Against roaches you can fungal a group of them then micro back and attack them, like the mutas they also sit there.

I've also been finding 14 hatch 14 pool to be very strong. Delay your gas to around 17 or 18 supply and you will still be safe because with this build as you should be able to get 2 queens at the same time from each hatch and a couple lings. The delayed gas also helps you get a roach warren down as you don't need early gas for roaches. 18 supply roach warren with an extractor around the same time, put 3 drones on gas when it finishes and you should be good to go.
Pr0xxis
Profile Joined July 2010
United States60 Posts
November 03 2010 00:49 GMT
#11
Okay I edited in some replays for viewing/bashing pleasure.
ezdez
Profile Joined September 2010
Australia28 Posts
November 03 2010 00:49 GMT
#12
As everyone has said - replays or you're going to get some pretty generic replies like you need to out macro and out upgrade. I'm a little confused though as the problem you're having with the two "strategies" - when you go fast mutas, you lose to mass roaches? Are you building enough lings? Ling strength against roaches is speed and catching the roaches in the open. Try to not skip ling speed, and get lair 100gas later.
NyuNyu
Profile Joined September 2010
Canada146 Posts
November 03 2010 00:49 GMT
#13
Infesters do very well vs mutas if you want to macro up if your opponents always go muta. ( infesters work well vs everything though)
1800~ Random Diamond, C+ ICCup 2008 - "Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
Pr0xxis
Profile Joined July 2010
United States60 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-11-03 00:58:24
November 03 2010 00:51 GMT
#14
On November 03 2010 09:49 ezdez wrote:
As everyone has said - replays or you're going to get some pretty generic replies like you need to out macro and out upgrade. I'm a little confused though as the problem you're having with the two "strategies" - when you go fast mutas, you lose to mass roaches? Are you building enough lings? Ling strength against roaches is speed and catching the roaches in the open. Try to not skip ling speed, and get lair 100gas later.


I wish I had the replays that go along with that statement. But, thats probably the problem. I've realized too, I my BO isn't solid. I try getting a little of everything which is terrible...
tskarzyn
Profile Joined July 2010
United States516 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-11-03 01:06:37
November 03 2010 01:05 GMT
#15
ZvZ is tough because there are more options than any other matchup, and you will get more build order wins or losses than any other mu. There is a very small margin of error, and you have to be very keen on what you can get away with versus certain compositions. best solution would be to watch lots of ZvZ...

from your post I can tell you definitely play too conservatively... this is a mirror match, and if you 10 pool and your opponent 13 pools you have just crippled yourself. if you 13 pool into roach and your opponent fast expands into roach, he should be able to defend and you are way behind again. if you aren't comfortable in long macro games, try variations of ling/baneling, mass speedling, and ling/muta play. if you prefer the longer macro games and have more passive style, play around with roach/infestor/hydra builds.

here are some general unit comps (take with grain of salt, my humble opinion)
- early game
roach > ling/baneling rush
speedling> roach
pure roach > roach/hydra

mid/late
roach/speedling > pure roach
roach/hydra/infestor > muta ling
muta ling > roach
roach/hydra = muta ling (small maps i think roach/hydra has edge, large maps i think muta ling has edge)
roach/infestor > pure roach
roach/infestor > roach/hydra/infestor
speedling muta baneling > roach/hydra



demosthenes.460
Profile Joined September 2010
United States25 Posts
November 03 2010 01:14 GMT
#16
I play a lot of ZvZ and it's probably my best match up. Basically what it comes down to is waiting for him to make a tech choice before you do. By 'tech choice' I mean something that isn't zerglings.

Here's how my games typically play out.

12scout
14gas
14pool
Metabolic boost

From here I'll typically drone to 20 and get four lings out for scouting. Based on what I scout, I'll take a certain path.

He's going roaches: mass speedlings (take two drones off gas, take expo as soon as I'm out of larva and have 300)
He's teching to lair: mass speedlings (same)
He's fast expanding: speedlings (same)
He threw down a baneling nest: roaches!
He just has zerglings: get banelings and roaches, this is honestly the only build order i have trouble with.

obviously i'll transition out of this into mutalisks or hydras, but honestly, most games are won or lost at tier 1, it's the most important

basically, try to stay at just speedlings as long as possible, because pretty much any tech path he chooses has a hard counter to it
I
zerg rush kekekeke ^-^
Gimpb
Profile Joined August 2010
293 Posts
November 03 2010 01:26 GMT
#17
In the first game your decision making was pretty weak but I think your big issue was elsewhere. I like watching zvz games with lots of attention paid to the income tab. That should pretty clearly show you what happened in this game.

The second game you did much better--you got a large enough group of roaches that lings wouldn't be super effective against them and then followed with lots of drones and tech which is pretty logical. You expanded at a decent time and had good decision making regarding when to attack and retreat. Most importantly, you made enough drones to be able to actually do stuff.
throttled
Profile Joined August 2010
United States382 Posts
November 03 2010 01:40 GMT
#18
Just watch ZergBong.
"Look to the river rushing. Unparalleled in its power. It carves away at the land, eroding the banks, consuming the sands and washes away to her majesty."
ezdez
Profile Joined September 2010
Australia28 Posts
November 03 2010 01:47 GMT
#19
On November 03 2010 09:51 Killswitch wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 03 2010 09:49 ezdez wrote:
As everyone has said - replays or you're going to get some pretty generic replies like you need to out macro and out upgrade. I'm a little confused though as the problem you're having with the two "strategies" - when you go fast mutas, you lose to mass roaches? Are you building enough lings? Ling strength against roaches is speed and catching the roaches in the open. Try to not skip ling speed, and get lair 100gas later.


I wish I had the replays that go along with that statement. But, thats probably the problem. I've realized too, I my BO isn't solid. I try getting a little of everything which is terrible...


That's not 100% true - if you have a look at FruitDealer's builds, he often gets a bit of everything. The reason is that even ZvZ, you end up being reactive. Just make sure you're going to be using the buildings to full effect before you build them - popping out 3 mutas out of a spire and then falling back to roaches might not be the greatest investment. But if it forces hydras whilst you get banelings or you force spore crawlers whilst you mass roaches, and that wins you the game, are those mutas wasted?

But as everyone has already said, it comes down to scouting. Your BO should get you to your first 20 or so supply, but by the sounds of it you need to have more than one BO - you need one to react to different builds. Instead of naturally going for 10 pool to defend against cheese, scout for cheese before you reach 10 supply. Learn a FE build, learn a fast lair build, learn a muta-ling build, learn a roach build.
itsme
Profile Joined December 2009
Canada46 Posts
November 03 2010 02:00 GMT
#20
k im a 1800~ turning 1900 very soon z and right now my zvz is alot better that i can honestly say that i almost always win using this build. because it utilizes my full capacity when it comes to micro. my build order is this
10drone scout
10ovie
usually around this time im able to see whether if hes goin early pool or any other build.
14gas
13pool
try to make a manner evo chamber right when the opponent makes a gas so that either he has to deal with having to go maneuver around with his drones for his gas= slower tech and usually when he tries to kill it with queens or lings i can either kill his drones with the leftover broodlings or weaken his starting army so that i can have an advantage early in the game/win
first 250/100 for queen and speed ups, send lings in front of main
make baneling nest for the next 50 gas. keep making lings
if he goes for roaches, lure their army out and then just run around to kill his drones, leave 2 on the corner of his main and morph them to banelings. keep him busy till the banelings just kill his min line, either kill his roach army by a good surround or leave and make some sunkens to tech or expand. u have the lead anyway.
if hes going for mirror build, send 1 ling at a time when u see him making banelings to waste them. when going for a push, never group them all in 1 hotkey. 1 for everything and 2 for just banelings when ur going for a push, just amove the 1 and for banelings quickly move them instead of amove into his min line so that they wont explode when they try to micro 1 at a time. Also, when fighting a large ling army they will explode at a right time and just keep going like an unstoppable wall.
starcraft games are never fun without the swarm
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