• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 15:37
CEST 21:37
KST 04:37
  • 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
Tournament Spotlight: FEL Cracow 20259Power Rank - Esports World Cup 202577RSL Season 1 - Final Week9[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall15HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18
Community News
Google Play ASL (Season 20) Announced25BSL Team Wars - Bonyth, Dewalt, Hawk & Sziky teams10Weekly Cups (July 14-20): Final Check-up0Esports World Cup 2025 - Brackets Revealed19Weekly Cups (July 7-13): Classic continues to roll8
StarCraft 2
General
Win Court Cases Spells in Idaho+27734818506 #1: Maru - Greatest Players of All Time Tournament Spotlight: FEL Cracow 2025 Power Rank - Esports World Cup 2025 I offer completely free coaching services
Tourneys
Esports World Cup 2025 FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $10,000 live event $25,000 Streamerzone StarCraft Pro Series announced $5,000 WardiTV Summer Championship 2025 WardiTV Mondays
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 484 Magnetic Pull Mutation #239 Bad Weather Mutation # 483 Kill Bot Wars Mutation # 482 Wheel of Misfortune
Brood War
General
Google Play ASL (Season 20) Announced [Update] ShieldBattery: 2025 Redesign Dewalt's Show Matches in China BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ BW General Discussion
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [BSL20] Non-Korean Championship 4x BSL + 4x China CSL Xiamen International Invitational [CSLPRO] It's CSLAN Season! - Last Chance
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers [G] Mineral Boosting Does 1 second matter in StarCraft?
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Total Annihilation Server - TAForever [MMORPG] Tree of Savior (Successor of Ragnarok) Path of Exile
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
UK Politics Mega-thread US Politics Mega-thread Stop Killing Games - European Citizens Initiative Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread
Fan Clubs
INnoVation Fan Club SKT1 Classic Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Korean Music Discussion
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NBA General Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Installation of Windows 10 suck at "just a moment" Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
TeamLiquid Team Shirt On Sale The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Ping To Win? Pings And Their…
TrAiDoS
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Socialism Anyone?
GreenHorizons
Eight Anniversary as a TL…
Mizenhauer
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 738 users

[G] ZvP Late game ZyM's SimCity

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
Post a Reply
Normal
ZyM
Profile Joined July 2010
Italy50 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-30 14:40:35
November 30 2011 13:30 GMT
#1
Who is this guy?

Hello everyone, i'm ZyM, a 16 years old Italian Grandmaster Zerg player. I've been lurking here on TL for a while I haven't been able to contribute to the community with anything worthwile until now.

A good building placement helps. Wow very useful guide..

Yeh yeh. Its not groundbreaking. But please, stay a while and listen. We are all familiar with the new zerg walls that prevent hellion from going directly into the main in ZvT, right? There's not much else to say about building placement in that match-up, you can hide tech, stop hellions and... well that's it. If you're extra careful you can place your tech in the same spot and protect everything with fewer spines, but there's a big problem here: marines are ranged.

This is why what i'll be showing you in just a second, lovely readers, works best in ZvP.

So? You're wasting my time.

We, poor Zerg players have the habit of losing our misplaced tech to warp prisms drops... Those Zealots and DTs +3 are hard to stop! How many times you lost a game because of your 10 corruptors popping out just as your greater spire was being sniped? Marines are ranged but DTs are not! Yay!

That is the main reason why I've come up with a way to hopefully slow down those frustrating warp prism shenanigans. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you a ZyM's Fortress! :D

[image loading]

You can do this in many different ways. You can use your spawning pool (this forces your fortress in your main) or you could put it anywhere else. You can also use minerals patches to close gaps, but remember to move away your drones when they're too low or else you'll leave your tech unprotected. Walls work too, just be careful not to leave any space free in between buildings if there's no anti-air nearby to avoid having zealots INSIDE your fortress. Geysers are also very good but are kinda tricky to use.

It's still possible for the protoss player to snipe your buildings by investing a lot more into it (protoss players generally prefer having those 10 supply in their deathball during the engagement, you know...)

You can use spores instead of an overseer if you like. You save 50 gas but you're more vulnerable to DTs.. your choice.

Generally speaking, don't build your fortress near cliffs since that makes it terribly vulnerable to big packs of blink stalkers jumping into your main.

This is hardly helpful

That makes me a sad panda.

I'll add some replays and more pics as soon as I find them. If you have any question please ask.

Examples of aviable setups

Minerals:

[image loading]

Cheap:

[image loading]

Examples of bad setups

To be efficient, you have to use few, high HP, cheap buildings.

[image loading]

Replays

Buildings

Spawning Pool: Having 1000 hp the spawning pool is one of the hardest zerg buildings to kill. It's also very cheap BUT it takes a long time to build. Overall, it's a decent building to use if your playstyle doesn't involve zerglings in the later stages of the game.

Roach Warren: Cheap but risky. Best used when roaches are not part of your lategame composition.

Evolution Chambe: Best building ever. Cheap, fast to build, 750 HP

Hatchery: Using your macro hatch to block your spire is good. High HP and costs only minerals.

Everything else: You can use your infestation pit if you want...its just more expensive and risky. It depends a lot on how the game went.
"Starcraft2 better not suck"
Ahelvin
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
France1866 Posts
November 30 2011 13:35 GMT
#2
I came here expecting an awesome way to protect your spines in mid-game/late-game...

And all I got was a pack of zerg buildings with a trollface on it :/.

Not quite thread worthy IMO, but could be posted in the Tips and Tricks thread.
Join the Liquipedia Zerg Project ! PM me for more information :).
rEalGuapo
Profile Joined January 2011
Germany832 Posts
November 30 2011 13:36 GMT
#3
Well no Roaches/Hydras/Infestors for you, enjoy my Voidrays

Greetings, Protoss.
jakek95
Profile Joined November 2010
United Kingdom351 Posts
November 30 2011 13:37 GMT
#4
Slightly obvious yes, but i suppose you do see a lot of late game spire snipes via DT so this could be something that you use on occasion, especially if its late game and you already no he has DT's. Cheers
ZyM
Profile Joined July 2010
Italy50 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-30 13:42:41
November 30 2011 13:38 GMT
#5
On November 30 2011 22:35 Ahelvin wrote:
I came here expecting an awesome way to protect your spines in mid-game/late-game...

And all I got was a pack of zerg buildings with a trollface on it :/.

Not quite thread worthy IMO, but could be posted in the Tips and Tricks thread.


I agree, but I will add more infos later so that it turns out a little bit more intresting and useful.

On November 30 2011 22:36 rEalGuapo wrote:
Well no Roaches/Hydras/Infestors for you, enjoy my Voidrays

Greetings, Protoss.


Well yeah, but voidrays kill buildings slower (they take time to charge) than dts and zealots and are much more visible on the map. And you can do that even when buildings are not stacked like that :/
"Starcraft2 better not suck"
Champ24
Profile Joined August 2010
177 Posts
November 30 2011 13:40 GMT
#6
A lot of juicy targets surrounding your spire. I'm very happy if I'm able to snipe almost any of those structures.
inF.LiFe
Profile Joined January 2011
Italy75 Posts
November 30 2011 13:40 GMT
#7
I think it could be a good idea to apply at mid/late game, i have just to keep it in mind during the game :D
http://www.gamerslegacy.it/
FallDownMarigold
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States3710 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-30 13:51:35
November 30 2011 13:44 GMT
#8
On November 30 2011 22:36 rEalGuapo wrote:
Well no Roaches/Hydras/Infestors for you, enjoy my Voidrays

Greetings, Protoss.


You think sending in a few voidrays to clean up clumped buildings is smart? Here's a hint, voidrays are pretty cost inefficient when hydra+infestor is on the field. If you're able to focus down that many tech structures with VRs...it means youre already in a position where you've won the game, so it doesnt matter anyway. Where is his army while you are focusing down the "fortress"? Is it killing your base? Is it dead? Does it stand by and let you do this while your ball fights elsewhere? No multi task from the zerg? I dunno, I don't think your criticism is enough to keep him and others from setting his buildings up in that way. Sounds like you think seeing this simcity is an automatic win via VRs..not following the logic

OP you should make it more like a proper guide where you include your favorite set ups that are successful in EU GM. Use pictures, be very detailed, etc. It isn't totally helpful to just tell people to have good simcity. On each map show multiple examples of exact building placements that are optimal in the majority of situations, then I think it might be somewhat helpful.
ZyM
Profile Joined July 2010
Italy50 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-30 13:45:42
November 30 2011 13:44 GMT
#9
On November 30 2011 22:40 Champ24 wrote:
A lot of juicy targets surrounding your spire. I'm very happy if I'm able to snipe almost any of those structures.


It's not like you can't do that when buildings aren't stacked. Rebuilding a roach warren is kinda different than rebuilding a greater spire.
"Starcraft2 better not suck"
Champ24
Profile Joined August 2010
177 Posts
November 30 2011 13:59 GMT
#10
On November 30 2011 22:44 ZyM wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 30 2011 22:40 Champ24 wrote:
A lot of juicy targets surrounding your spire. I'm very happy if I'm able to snipe almost any of those structures.


It's not like you can't do that when buildings aren't stacked. Rebuilding a roach warren is kinda different than rebuilding a greater spire.


Agreed, but if I'm in a situation late game to be able to snipe your tech I'm likely already in a favorable position.

I guess legitimate replays would help, because I don't see this being worthwhile. I just see myself being in a more favorable position if I'm able to snipe your preferred tech path outside of broodlords because that fortress won't scare me away from suiciding zealots for your infestors, roaches, or hydras.

I think your better off having the spire at your nat surrounded by as many mineral patches as you can.
T.O.P. *
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Hong Kong4685 Posts
November 30 2011 14:13 GMT
#11
Lol, I expected more after reading preface. I wouldn't put all my buildings in one base.
Oracle comes in, Scvs go down, never a miscommunication.
ZyM
Profile Joined July 2010
Italy50 Posts
November 30 2011 14:16 GMT
#12
Yeah the first pic is disappointing
"Starcraft2 better not suck"
T.O.P. *
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Hong Kong4685 Posts
November 30 2011 14:27 GMT
#13
I'm definitely gonna start putting evo chamber around my spine.
Oracle comes in, Scvs go down, never a miscommunication.
Jojo131
Profile Joined January 2011
Brazil1631 Posts
November 30 2011 14:56 GMT
#14
I guess it's always worth the extra effort to think about building placements. Interesting post, but needs a bit more organization/effort for a real guide. I def took something away from this though, so thanks for the tips!
lknockoutl
Profile Joined November 2010
Italy15 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-30 16:23:29
November 30 2011 16:18 GMT
#15
On November 30 2011 23:27 T.O.P. wrote:
I'm definitely gonna start putting evo chamber around my spine.


rofl, agreed

It would probably be much better to make 3x greater spires than "mass buildings" in the late game
WarBobz
Profile Joined September 2011
68 Posts
November 30 2011 16:35 GMT
#16
I actually think this is a good post, as the DTs are always getting inside my tech and killing it.
Ahem. My time to shine. I haz 4k+ achi points and I'm zerg! =D
TheSwamp
Profile Joined November 2010
United States1497 Posts
November 30 2011 16:43 GMT
#17
The only good thing about this post is the use of Overseers rather than spores.
MLG: How is your Protoss? Idra: I make Blink Stalkers, so really, really good.
ZyM
Profile Joined July 2010
Italy50 Posts
November 30 2011 17:05 GMT
#18
On December 01 2011 01:18 lknockoutl wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 30 2011 23:27 T.O.P. wrote:
I'm definitely gonna start putting evo chamber around my spine.


rofl, agreed

It would probably be much better to make 3x greater spires than "mass buildings" in the late game


You're not making anything. You're just using a building that you should have anyway.
"Starcraft2 better not suck"
inF.LiFe
Profile Joined January 2011
Italy75 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-30 17:14:54
November 30 2011 17:14 GMT
#19
On December 01 2011 01:18 lknockoutl wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 30 2011 23:27 T.O.P. wrote:
I'm definitely gonna start putting evo chamber around my spine.


rofl, agreed

It would probably be much better to make 3x greater spires than "mass buildings" in the late game


You just have to use your buildings that you should do in any case to defend your greater spire (i think the most important tech in ZvP, without it you lost the game) it has sense, even on brood war we were doing it.
http://www.gamerslegacy.it/
Gantritor
Profile Joined January 2011
Italy112 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-30 17:30:48
November 30 2011 17:30 GMT
#20
What a great guide, I really appreciated it as the whole community.

clever_us
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States329 Posts
November 30 2011 19:04 GMT
#21
Dunno about the rest of these guys but I found this pretty helpful ^^ certainly something I've never thought much about, and whether it's supposedly common knowledge or not, I'm grateful that you posted it.

Losing that greater spire is one of the biggest bummers in zvp...
glhf <3
ElPeque.fogata
Profile Joined May 2010
Uruguay462 Posts
November 30 2011 19:48 GMT
#22
god, it is annoying as fuck losing your unit buildings while having a great economic advantage. Now here come a couple minutes in which all you can do is make drones.

and so you lose


i often find myself in games in which i keep rebuilding spines in my main and the protoss keeps warping +3 attack zealots and killing them. It sucks that they don't scale with upgrades.

maybe i should consider having better building placements in general.

i mean, you are probably gonna have a couple evos anyway, so there is no reason for not putting them to protect more important buildings.
GribStream.com - Historical Weather Forecast API - https://gribstream.com/
Acidosis
Profile Joined April 2011
United States172 Posts
November 30 2011 23:23 GMT
#23
i feel like these building placements would just be bad against void rays, especially the ones near the edge. Just my opinion.
“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.” -BK
Girondelle
Profile Joined December 2010
France969 Posts
November 30 2011 23:27 GMT
#24
This is is a neat idea, thanks !
TangSC
Profile Blog Joined July 2011
Canada1866 Posts
November 30 2011 23:37 GMT
#25
I like the idea of using bigger buildings to surround your spines so they can't get focused down by warped-in zealots or DTs.
Coaching www.allin-academy.com | Team www.All-Inspiration.com
Arpayon
Profile Joined November 2011
Italy35 Posts
December 01 2011 13:46 GMT
#26
I always wondered why Z players weren't using clamped buildings to defend their greater spires. If I played zerg, i'd definitely use this.
lknockoutl
Profile Joined November 2010
Italy15 Posts
December 01 2011 14:57 GMT
#27
On December 01 2011 02:05 ZyM wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 01 2011 01:18 lknockoutl wrote:
On November 30 2011 23:27 T.O.P. wrote:
I'm definitely gonna start putting evo chamber around my spine.


rofl, agreed

It would probably be much better to make 3x greater spires than "mass buildings" in the late game


You're not making anything. You're just using a building that you should have anyway.


Are you trying to tell me that you are making an evo chamber, a roach warren, an hydras den and an infestors pit AFTER the spire? Or eventually you are assuming you will have a greater spire and going for a premeditated simcity?
mage36
Profile Joined May 2011
415 Posts
December 01 2011 16:12 GMT
#28
so this is like putting all your eggs in one basket? which could work for some, but if they kill all your tech it's insta-lose.
thesideshow
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
930 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-12-01 16:19:37
December 01 2011 16:18 GMT
#29
nvm
OGS:levelchange
sambour
Profile Joined September 2010
Canada62 Posts
December 01 2011 16:24 GMT
#30
It's a premeditated simcity, exactly. This is actually pretty clever. I love it when zergs try to cover their spire with overlords, as if that's gonna do anything. ZyM's fortress might just keep you from losing games to tech snipes and it doesn't cost you anything. I like the way you think, ZyM.

To people harping about void rays. At this point in the game, if there are voids in your base getting charged you're doing something terribly wrong. If they've gone voids you will have spores, queens, probably getting corruptors for the collosus switch and maybe hydras. I think this is a non-issue.

tldr: nothing to lose with this trick, much to gain.
mrGRAPE
Profile Joined November 2011
Singapore293 Posts
December 01 2011 17:19 GMT
#31
Don't know why so many people are hating on this idea - I personally find it helpful. I guess it would take some practice to adapt the sim city idea to different maps though.
Starcraft 2 and eSports enthusiast. https://twitter.com/#!/mrGRAPETV | http://mrgrapetv.wordpress.com/
Normal
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
18:00
RO8 Round Robin Group - Day 4
Bonyth vs Zhanhun
Dewalt vs Mihu
Hawk vs Sziky
Sziky vs QiaoGege
Mihu vs Hawk
Zhanhun vs Dewalt
Fengzi vs Bonyth
ZZZero.O266
LiquipediaDiscussion
FEL
09:00
Cracow 2025
SKillous vs LamboLIVE!
Clem vs TBD
Reynor vs TBD
RotterdaM2695
ComeBackTV 2119
IndyStarCraft 732
WardiTV460
3DClanTV 225
CranKy Ducklings171
EnkiAlexander 103
Rex72
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RotterdaM 2695
IndyStarCraft 732
Rex 72
MindelVK 52
Vindicta 45
StarCraft: Brood War
Shine 315
ZZZero.O 266
firebathero 216
Soulkey 131
Dota 2
capcasts149
LuMiX1
League of Legends
febbydoto5
Counter-Strike
fl0m3791
flusha253
Super Smash Bros
hungrybox1722
Mew2King1360
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor654
Liquid`Hasu559
Other Games
Grubby2766
B2W.Neo1062
KnowMe145
mouzStarbuck53
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick2746
StarCraft 2
angryscii 17
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 20 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• davetesta26
• LUISG 17
• Legendk 6
• Hupsaiya 4
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Migwel
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
StarCraft: Brood War
• HerbMon 22
• Azhi_Dahaki10
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• WagamamaTV976
• masondota2715
Other Games
• imaqtpie1404
• Shiphtur450
Upcoming Events
Wardi Open
15h 23m
Sparkling Tuna Cup
1d 14h
WardiTV European League
1d 20h
Online Event
1d 21h
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
2 days
The PondCast
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Korean StarCraft League
5 days
CranKy Ducklings
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
Murky Cup #2

Ongoing

Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
BSL 20 Non-Korean Championship
BSL 20 Team Wars
FEL Cracov 2025
CC Div. A S7
Underdog Cup #2
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25

Upcoming

ASL Season 20: Qualifier #1
ASL Season 20: Qualifier #2
ASL Season 20
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
BSL Season 21
RSL Revival: Season 2
Maestros of the Game
SEL Season 2 Championship
WardiTV Summer 2025
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
HCC Europe
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
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 © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.