Simple Questions Simple Answers - Page 480

With the kind of early push I'll be describing here the FF isn't really what kills you, it just takes away any hope of defending. You need to scout it early and see the threat coming and be ready for it before it happens or you've already lost. The FF is only a symptom of a problem in this sense rather than the actual issue you need to address.

So, with that said working out when an early Protoss push is coming can be a scouting challenge, but not impossible. Some of the easier things to be doing to help prepare are keeping a Ling at watchtowers and one out the front of their base to warn you as early as possible the Protoss has left their base and how quickly they're moving across the map so you have time to pump units. Second, find the proxy Pylons with a couple of Lings - depending the map there are places more likely than others but if you can shut down the Pylons the attack will be slowed down, and they'll likely have to bring a Probe with them to support the attack which makes the push far more vulnerable and the attack later. There is almost always a Pylon somewhere, check your third, check around your bases in fog of war, check by cliffs around your base, check behind bushes, just find them

So, having covered where your Lings should be, trying to scout the Protoss build can help determine if a push is likely. If the Protoss is on one base it's probably worth getting a Spine at your natural, but if you at any point in your scouting decide that a push is likely then again maybe place a Spine or two as the game progresses. If you see a fairly early Gateway push will be coming at some point placing a Roach Warren and getting a few Roaches out can be all it takes for your opponent to pull back and reconsider. The goal is that when they come you an have as much defense as you need already out at your base so that the FF will not kill you outright.

When you're scouting, some simple things to look for with Overlords are how many Gates and what tech you can see in the main. Early 5 gates off two base for instance means a pretty all in attack is probably coming soon, where 4 means some pressure you need to be aware of. Off one base there are only so many timings to be aware of, and you should be cautious, continually scouting the front and preparing for any hidden tech (aka, get a Spore and a spare Queen if you really don't know what's coming). When scouting the front for 1 base you're seeing what you can see at the top of their ramp. Sentry's and Zealots probably indicate a Gateway push of the kind where a ramp FF may mean GG. On two bases similar compositions will generally mean that kind of push, but it can be harder to see the exact army composition, so you're relying on counting the number of Gates (or if you can see a warp in that can give you a good idea too) and watching for a chronoboosted Forge upgrade which is typical of a timing push where a ramp FF will be a concern.

It occurs to me at this point I'm just rambling, but my point is that by the time the Sentry is in range of your ramp in this kind of push you should have been able to scout the front of their base to see the risk of it. You should have been able to deny any Pylons to show it. You should have seen it move out of the Protoss base and been able to produce Roaches and then follow up with Lings. You should have been able to have Creep Spread to give you as much time as possible to respond when they get to your base, and you should have enough defense to prevent them killing you even if they did get to your ramp, and if they try to run by they should just die and be blocked by your units. Losing to a ramp FF in this situation is having not prepared properly for the Protoss attack, rather than losing to the FF generally.

If you scout a Robotics Facility early then keep a few units in your main. You only need enough to prevent 4 Sentry's from surviving long enough to keep you locked out which isn't enough that if you've been macro'ing well that you'll get crushed by an actual attack. With decent Overlord spread and watch tower control you should usually be able to see it coming as well.

2 Queens in your main for the early portion of the game can also provide a signficant defense against early Warp Prism drops, especially if your Overlord spread lets you get ready to hit the Prism as fast as possible since they will bring down it's shield in around 6 seconds and outright kill it in 12 if your Protoss opponent tries to force the issue. A macro hatch in your main will usually be useful by the point these attacks should be coming and that should leave you with 2 Queens in your main anwyay as well as having two hatcheries worth of production to defend with. You can also use the second Queen to ensure you have creep spread through your main to give you an even greater edge in defending air attacks in the even they don't warp prism drop anyway.

As the game goes on if you're at Lair tech then you'll usually almost certainly have at least Muta's or Burrowed Infestors or Overlord drop or even Tunneling Claw Roaches at which point you're safe anyway.