• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 10:17
CEST 16:17
KST 23:17
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL22] Finals Preview: Sweet Victory!9[ASL22] Ro4 Preview: Mirror Mirror6[ASL22] Ro8 Preview: Within Reach5[ASL22] Ro8 Preview: In A Tizzy11[ASL22] Ro16 Preview: Holy Diver5
Community News
[$1250] International ShieldBattery League31Weekly Cups (October 5-11): Farewell to 5.0.162Rollback Netcode in Brood War1275.0.17 Patch Notes - October 7, 202624Weekly Cups Results (Sep 28-Oct 4)0
StarCraft 2
General
Server Blocker SCII needs to put more weight on strategy and tact No more sc2 streamers on team liquid? Terran AddOns placement How do you feel about the mass reverts in the 5.0.17 PTR?
Tourneys
RSL goes to London! 2026 Offline Finals Nov 21-22 Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament Stellar Fest TWO the Moon (Dec 16-20) Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) $3,500 WardiTV Not-Summer Championship
Strategy
[H] ZvP Mid-Late Game: Stalkers Collossi HT
Custom Maps
[G] How to playtest arcade maps [A] Nemrods 1/4 players [M] (2) Sweltering Sands [M] (2) Frigid Storage
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 547 Temple Of Terror Mutation # 546 Catch the Train Mutation # 545 And Drops and Rifts
Brood War
General
Mineral gathering rate (boosted) for each patch Practice Partners (Official) Rollback Netcode in Brood War [Megathread] Daily Funny Videos GG Lan Fest Sofia, Bulgaria [this November]
Tourneys
[ASL22] Grand Finals [$1250] International ShieldBattery League 2v2v2v2 Tournament Small VOD Thread 2.0
Strategy
Cliff Jump Revisited (1 in a 1000 strategy) Simple Questions, Simple Answers Replay Review Process - What do you do?
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Dawn of War IV Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread General RTS Discussion Thread
Dota 2
Dota 2 Champions League Season 3 Begins April 25!
League of Legends
[TL LoL EUW IHs] Teemo shall perish
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Artificial Intelligence Thread The Chess Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
Serral Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Movie Discussion!
Sports
MLB/Baseball 2023 Football (Soccer) Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
Recent Gifted Posts
Blogs
ShieldBattery on Mac
Kraekkling
The Link Between Gaming and …
TrAiDoS
[ASL22] Ro4 Day1 Ticket Giv…
bITt.mAN
38 yo Retired SWE loo…
PurE)Rabbit-SF
Can Bots Beat Pros?? Starcr…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 9053 users

[D] Roach ling all in/agression, how does P expo?

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
Post a Reply
1 2 3 4 5 17 18 19 Next All
gheyrobot
Profile Joined November 2010
United States30 Posts
May 18 2011 19:11 GMT
#1
Hello my name is Rob I'm a mid level masters toss player. This thread is to discuss the current trend in PvZ, the infamous roach ling build, and if possible try to find a new way to safely expand against zerg. I'm sure Most of you know it from watching GSL and other tourneys but here are the basics. I'm sorry if this explanation seems vague but there is no one build order.

step one: get an expansion

step two: get your desired number of drones, this can be high or low eco depending on how all in you want your attack to be(note you must stay on hatch tech)

step three: attack the toss shortly after he expands before the eco kicks in and his gateway ball is still primarily sentry (you can stream units or drone depends on the game)

step four: there is no step four you just won

http://www.gomtv.net/2011gstl3/vod/65338
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors3/vod/65293
As these reps show the RL build crushes the two most common protoss expand builds relatively effortlessly

The real strength of this build is just the threat of it at any moment, you just don't know if zerg is massing for a massive attack or a minor attack and expanding. Hell zerg can even feign aggression then rush burrow roach

Effects of this build on toss:
As most of you also know the favored way for a toss to take his natural has been 3 gate sentry expand. Well tough luck that build cannot hold this if it is executed properly unless you blind hard counter by making a few hundred cannons. Another problem i have with this build is my inability to scout it before it's on top of me. Hallucinate finishes just in time to tell you that you are in fact going to die in 15 seconds.

So how does toss expand now with out playing a guessing game? Hey i know lets do a void ray expand roaches and lings sure can't shoot up. Well we all know how that turns out, the roaches and lings destroy your entire natural while your void rays sit above tickling them.

The one obvious hard counter is DT rushing, but ill come back to my original point that you cannot scout roach ling thus you must blind dt expand. While that may work out ok on the ladder i feel that the pvz match up is starting to force both sides to just play guessing games. If this will requiring patching or just further understanding of the game is not for us to say

http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors3/vod/65293 Nestea knows that inca cannot stop Roach ling and assumes he will go DT. Nestea assumes correctly and blind counter wins. (no hate towards nestea i would give him both my kidneys)

I would love to see some high level players figure out some kind of PvZ robo expand build that actually works but i have yet to dabble. Post some reps ploz gogo immortal use!
Arcanefrost
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Belgium1257 Posts
May 18 2011 19:19 GMT
#2
I go voidray expo, or get a stargate right after i expo and cut sentries a little (and still only on maps you cannot forge fe on). 3gate used to be the safe build with average economy, and now it's just a build with average economy.
Valor is a poor substitute for numbers.
hi im new
Profile Joined May 2010
Germany150 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-05-18 19:21:46
May 18 2011 19:20 GMT
#3
you pretty much have to blindly go at least 2 cannons and if he builds dones you will have to play from even more behind than you used to.
dt build doesn't hard counter this by the way. just a few minerals for a safety evo chamber won't hurt his attack at all and if he sees dts he will just go back build spores and a milllion drones because you can't attack him with the few units you have and play from there.

defend all game and build colossi ht ball (you will lose to infestor bling without ht) and hope he messes up. or be a million times better and outmicro him with blink. not sure what else works right now.

gheyrobot
Profile Joined November 2010
United States30 Posts
May 18 2011 19:24 GMT
#4
My problem with stargate expand is that roach ling STILL kills it. On forge FE maps ok that's different but what about the nestea spine crawler rush, not seeing it to much yet but i see it becoming a standard play vs Forge FE
Bair
Profile Joined May 2010
United States698 Posts
May 18 2011 19:28 GMT
#5
On May 19 2011 04:19 Arcanefrost wrote:
I go voidray expo, or get a stargate right after i expo and cut sentries a little (and still only on maps you cannot forge fe on). 3gate used to be the safe build with average economy, and now it's just a build with average economy.


This is a very strong move. I am only mid/high diamond, but I encountered similar shenanigans the other night. It looked like a 3 gate expand and he moved out and killed all my forward lings at the expo timing. When I attacked shortly after I was met with no expo, many zealots, a few sentries and 2 voids (a third joining shortly after). I was pretty surprised and I was unable to hold it off.
In Roaches I Rust.
hi im new
Profile Joined May 2010
Germany150 Posts
May 18 2011 19:30 GMT
#6
spine crawler rush only works on maps you don't usually forge fe on. if the spines can only shoot the wall and aren't close to the nat it's not all that good.
evanthebouncy
Profile Joined November 2004
China491 Posts
May 18 2011 19:31 GMT
#7
It's just something you have to deal with and get better at. If you look at zerg when we expand we play the guessing game ALL THE TIME.
BOINK BOINK! Recursively defined
Jaeger
Profile Joined December 2009
United States1150 Posts
May 18 2011 19:34 GMT
#8
On May 19 2011 04:24 gheyrobot wrote:
My problem with stargate expand is that roach ling STILL kills it. On forge FE maps ok that's different but what about the nestea spine crawler rush, not seeing it to much yet but i see it becoming a standard play vs Forge FE


You can forge fe safely on more maps than you may think although there are still some maps you have to open one base.


The spinecrawler rush is just a gimmick, probe scout before ling speed finishes you'll see a lair building and 1 gas with no guys mining gas. Add a second gateway and chronoboost a few stalkers and kill the spinecrawlers before they morph in and kill the overlords, stay near your cannon to defend your stalkers against speedlings.
https://www.dotabuff.com/players/8137911
gheyrobot
Profile Joined November 2010
United States30 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-05-18 19:38:39
May 18 2011 19:36 GMT
#9
Clearly you did not watch the replays, The timings on roach ling crush void ray builds with much ease
And yes Forge FE is still very strong PvZ spine crawler rushing comes down to the zerg preventing scouting.
Gescom
Profile Joined February 2010
Canada3516 Posts
May 18 2011 19:39 GMT
#10
Nothing stops you from getting 3-4 gates and expanding gently with a forge and decent sim-city. ?_?
Jaedong Hyuk || Bisu Jangbi || Fantasy Flash
hi im new
Profile Joined May 2010
Germany150 Posts
May 18 2011 19:40 GMT
#11
what stops you from building all drones then. ?_?
HIPHOPPANDA
Profile Joined March 2011
5 Posts
May 18 2011 19:41 GMT
#12
Forcefields + cannons - win.

User was warned for this post
gheyrobot
Profile Joined November 2010
United States30 Posts
May 18 2011 19:42 GMT
#13
On May 19 2011 04:31 evanthebouncy wrote:
It's just something you have to deal with and get better at. If you look at zerg when we expand we play the guessing game ALL THE TIME.


Thats why i posted, i want people to think of new types of Toss expands. And that's really not true i played a lot of zerg season 1 and it is very easy to pin the protoss player on either Templar stargate or gateway by scouting the front and noting expo timings.
Jaeger
Profile Joined December 2009
United States1150 Posts
May 18 2011 19:44 GMT
#14
On May 19 2011 04:39 Gescom wrote:
Nothing stops you from getting 3-4 gates and expanding gently with a forge and decent sim-city. ?_?


Except for the other response for a zerg seeing a 3gate expand is to drone up super heavily after ling speed and taking a slow nexus will give you a large disadvantage in the midgame.
https://www.dotabuff.com/players/8137911
hi im new
Profile Joined May 2010
Germany150 Posts
May 18 2011 19:47 GMT
#15
larger*
you've always been behind when 3gate expanding vs zerg.
gheyrobot
Profile Joined November 2010
United States30 Posts
May 18 2011 19:49 GMT
#16
We all know zerg has scouting issues vs terran but vs toss you should never be surprised early game to an extent that loses you the game or your expansion ALWAYS build a third queen

EX you see a late nexus and low sentry count Conclusion: DT or Stargate Reaction: Build a fourth queen and a spore crawler+drones

EX High sentry count+fast nexus Conclusion: no dts no stargates

you should be doing very little guessing as zerg vs toss and if you use your speedlings to their potential you should prevent ALL scouting untill obs/hallucinate
Suerte
Profile Joined July 2010
United States117 Posts
May 18 2011 19:54 GMT
#17
Because of this, when I 3 gate expand I drop a forge, and 4th gate down at my natural and always 2 cannons while sending out 2-3 probes periodically to check on the Zerg.
Gescom
Profile Joined February 2010
Canada3516 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-05-18 19:59:14
May 18 2011 19:58 GMT
#18
On May 19 2011 04:44 Jaeger wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 19 2011 04:39 Gescom wrote:
Nothing stops you from getting 3-4 gates and expanding gently with a forge and decent sim-city. ?_?


Except for the other response for a zerg seeing a 3gate expand is to drone up super heavily after ling speed and taking a slow nexus will give you a large disadvantage in the midgame.

The whole game revolves around scouting and reacting! If a zerg is building mass drones you can still chrono two nex worth of probes to keep up. If a zerg is cutting drones then throw down many cannons.
Jaedong Hyuk || Bisu Jangbi || Fantasy Flash
Jaeger
Profile Joined December 2009
United States1150 Posts
May 18 2011 20:01 GMT
#19
On May 19 2011 04:58 Gescom wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 19 2011 04:44 Jaeger wrote:
On May 19 2011 04:39 Gescom wrote:
Nothing stops you from getting 3-4 gates and expanding gently with a forge and decent sim-city. ?_?


Except for the other response for a zerg seeing a 3gate expand is to drone up super heavily after ling speed and taking a slow nexus will give you a large disadvantage in the midgame.

The whole game revolves around scouting and reacting! If a zerg is building mass drones you can still chrono two nex worth of probes to keep up. If a zerg is cutting drones then throw down many cannons.


Except you can't reliably scout after ling speed until hallucination/stargate tech kicks in which is too late.
https://www.dotabuff.com/players/8137911
Mirl
Profile Joined May 2011
Turkey173 Posts
May 18 2011 20:03 GMT
#20
You should try 3 gate+stargate+forge+expand.Void Rays doing amazing job.

when you get void rays;
1.At least you kill 1 Overlord(100 mineral)
2.Zerg scared roach&ling all in
3.Zerg get extra quenn or evolution chamber(150 gold)
4.You can kill Creep Tumors
5.you can deny zerg 3rd Base
(-_(-_(^_(-_-)_-)_-)_-) Entusman Hwaiting~ (^_ = Horang2! Artosis #1 Nerd
1 2 3 4 5 17 18 19 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
OSC
22:00
King of the Hill #265
EmpressLilyy78
Liquipedia
AI Arena Tournament
01:00
Swiss - Round 6
Laughngamez YouTube
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
ByuN 420
TKL 194
SHIN 38
MindelVK 28
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 49545
Calm 4612
EffOrt 1043
Horang2 914
Mini 715
firebathero 408
Soma 393
Stork 370
BeSt 329
Soulkey 298
[ Show more ]
actioN 289
Zeus 175
ggaemo 147
Hyuk 139
Snow 138
Last 101
Leta 98
Sharp 83
Killer 60
Free 59
Sea.KH 55
Hyun 54
910 53
Shinee 51
Pusan 49
hero 46
PianO 40
Hm[arnc] 39
Barracks 29
Creator 29
Sexy 25
ToSsGirL 22
JYJ 21
Trap 20
Sacsri 18
HiyA 18
Bishop 14
yabsab 11
Rock 10
sorry 8
Icarus 6
Dota 2
Gorgc4966
Dendi908
420jenkins244
syndereN233
Counter-Strike
fl0m16
Other Games
singsing2358
B2W.Neo1592
Beastyqt588
Khaldor427
Mlord374
XaKoH 277
crisheroes158
KnowMe122
Hui .121
Liquid`Hasu121
Fuzer 72
[ Show 16 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Adnapsc2 17
• Response 2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• Michael_bg 5
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• C_a_k_e 5590
• WagamamaTV612
League of Legends
• Nemesis3724
• Jankos785
Other Games
• tFFMrPink 6
Upcoming Events
IPSL
1h 43m
BSL Open Qualifier
4h 43m
WardiTV Weekly
20h 43m
IntoTheTV X SOOP
1d 20h
PiGosaur Cup
2 days
The PondCast
2 days
Kung Fu Cup
2 days
IntoTheTV X SOOP
3 days
FEL
5 days
FEL
6 days
[ Show More ]
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

ASL Season 22
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Copium Cup

Ongoing

Acropolis #5
IPSL Winter 2026-27
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 4
Acropolis #5 - GSC
HCC Season 3
Thunderpick World Champ. '26
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
1win Private Club #1
Logitech G Play Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
FISSURE Playground #3
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026

Upcoming

BSL Season 23
SC4ALL II: Brood War
BSL 23: Non-Korean Championship
HSC XXX
Stellar Fest 2: Lunar Cup
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Offline Finals
eXTREMESLAND 2026
PGL Major Singapore 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 6
BLAST Rivals Fall 2026
IEM Beijing 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 5
PGL Masters Bucharest 2026
1win Private Club #2
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.