Hello Guy's my name is Stun, and I'm a mid masters NA player. I noticed PartinG has been doing this very strong crisp blink build in proleague recently. After also seeing Artosis practicing the build, I decided to post my notes of the build after playing about 2 week with it. I will add replays when I fix my saved game issue, but feel free to post links of other replays, and I will edit original post
Why is this build Strong? This build is very crisp, and short to the point. It gets you a very fast blink (finishes at 7:20) , while not cutting to many probes along the way to full base saturation (16 on minerals, 3 in each gas). The true strength of the build is the early msc core for scouting. This is a very reactionary build, by scouting your op very early with your ms core, you can react properly, and get a lead. At 7:30, you will have 7 blink stalkers with 1 zealot, ms core.
PartinG’s PVP Proleague Blink Stalker Play 13 gate 14 gas 16 pylon 17/18 core 18/19 gas (these depend on scouting and if you missed a probe...) 20 zealot 22 pylon 23 mothership core/warp gate, (~3:40) 25 stalker 31 pylon (out on map for forward warp ins)
Don’t send scouting probe unless it’s a 4 player map, but timings will be delayed slightly by about 7 seconds. Only use 13 probe to scout for proxy in base/around base on 2 player maps.
After 1st stalker (next 100 gas) get twilight council (~4:20), after twilight make your second stalker. When MSC finishes, send to op's base to scout tech, get 2 more gates, get blink when twilight finishes (~5:20). Cut probes after main is saturated, and don’t move out till your first warp in round at home. (6:15)
No chrono on warpgate, should use 3 chrono’s on nexus, rest on blink**
Scouting Reaction using ms core
4 Gate- Use 1 chrono on warpgate** Try to use your 1 zealot 2 stalkers to kill his probe before pylon goes down, sit on top of ramp and wait for warpgate to finish, should have tech advantage and win.
1 gate fe- Pressure the natural, and wait for your op to use his nexus cannon, his mother ship will most likely not have enough energy to use another one in the main, so you msc core to gain vision into main, and just blink your units up there, GG!.
Twilight (blink), no Dark shine- Every time I do this build, if they are going dt’s the shrine will be down be the time my ms core enters the base, so if you don’t scout dark shrine in main, most likely its blink. Since this build is very crisp on its timing, and get a very fast blink, I normally just straight kill my op with the faster blink, just make sure you have a close warp in pylon for the stalker vs. stalker battle.
Dark Shrine- Either once scouted by you, your op will cancel or not cancel. Either way you will have to throw down a robo right away to get your obs, I typically wait for the dt’s to come up my ramp, once I kill them, I’ll move out with 1 obs with my army and one at home. Most of the time, I will straight up kill the op since he wasted a lot of gas on dark Templars.
2/3 gate Robo- If the player isn’t terrible, you can just pressure him a lot, and contain him while you get an earlier nexus, personally, after expand, I get 2 sentries, and 2 stargates. I’ll use the sentries for scouting, while I make void rays. Play a macro game after; you should have a slight lead.
3 gate pressure- I’m undecided if a chrono should be used on warp gate, typically if I can get my mscore home without using energy, I will continue build as normal but just sit at the top of my ramp, waiting for blink to finish. If I lost my ms core while scouting or had to recall so I don’t have enough energy for a nexus cannon, I will use 1 chrono on warp gate to be safe. Once blink finishes, the tech lead should allow you to put some serious hurt on your op and end the game. If he expanded behind his pressure, I like to expand myself, and use my stalkers to harass his front and blink in the main randomly throughout the game, get a sentries asap for scouting, and I go robo in case of dt follow up.
Star gate- If I scout star gate, I just keep 1 stalker after 2nd warp in round at home, if he went fast oracle, it should arrive slightly after your 1st warp in round, so just wait, if he goes oracle use nexus cannon and stalker s to kill oracle right way, so you can bring all your units to go kill him. If he goes phoenix, you can either expand or just go kill him with your blink stalkers, personal preference. Typically, I can just kill my op if he went for early void rays/phoenix. A lot of players I’ve been running into open up phoenix fast expand, this build straight hard counters such players. Just try to keep your msc core away from the phoenix so you have an easier time winning the game early.
Mother ship was denied scouting- Drop a robo, get an obs, and play from there. Or you could just risk it and go all in with your fast blink but dt’s will murder you
Extra notes: Build is pretty much very safe against everything, just use your ms core to scout, and ALWAYS send to your op’s base on a path that won’t be easily scouted or detected. In a macro game, utilize the blink and always try to harass your op’s bases and get a few kill probes throughout the game.
Weakness of the build- 10 gate into 3 gate pressure, and hidden dark shrines. Very Fast archon busts
On May 26 2013 03:17 LardMaster wrote: I think a [G] should always have replays, and maybe the title should not be in all caps, but other than that a solid build and a good guide (y)
Thanks for the tip, I'm playing ladder right now getting replays, I hope to have some up soon thanks
I agree that replays are always helpful. I also understand that it can be hard to find pro replays and personal ones aren't always the best. What I would find very helpful, is a replay (of you) against no opponent of you executing the build perfectly. Having such a replay allows me to set bench marks and more importantly, if I'm unable to reach those marks myself, I'm able to check the replay to see how you are doing it differently. It might not be a "real world" situation, but I find I learn the best/quickest by just grinding it out against no one.
I also have to get an extra thumbs up because I was thinking to myself, "I need a new PvP build, maybe that blink build Parting did would be good." I then look at my sidebar as see this thread title. Perfect timing.
On May 26 2013 03:32 Blaeu wrote: I agree that replays are always helpful. I also understand that it can be hard to find pro replays and personal ones aren't always the best. What I would find very helpful, is a replay (of you) against no opponent of you executing the build perfectly. Having such a replay allows me to set bench marks and more importantly, if I'm unable to reach those marks myself, I'm able to check the replay to see how you are doing it differently. It might not be a "real world" situation, but I find I learn the best/quickest by just grinding it out against no one.
I also have to get an extra thumbs up because I was thinking to myself, "I need a new PvP build, maybe that blink build Parting did would be good." I then look at my sidebar as see this thread title. Perfect timing.
Good Advice! Ill upload a bench mark build right now! Its up.
On May 26 2013 03:57 MutaKingPrime wrote: Glad someone came around with one of these posts. I'll be using this build for a while so I'll contribute as much as possible as well.
I just watched the VOD of Partings play against Flying and there is a contrary point to your guide - Partings first warp-in was at the proxy pylon and not at home. Good guide though.
On May 26 2013 04:10 BoZiffer wrote: I just watched the VOD of Partings play against Flying and there is a contrary point to your guide - Partings first warp-in was at the proxy pylon and not at home. Good guide though.
Thanks, and yes you are correct, he scouted that flying was also going blink, and decided to be very aggressive, the reason I say to warp in at home first, is because its the safest option....but the strength of this build is the ability to go from 0-60 in .2 seconds
On May 26 2013 04:10 BoZiffer wrote: I just watched the VOD of Partings play against Flying and there is a contrary point to your guide - Partings first warp-in was at the proxy pylon and not at home. Good guide though.
Thanks, and yes you are correct, he scouted that flying was also going blink, and decided to be very aggressive, the reason I say to warp in at home first, is because its the safest option....but the strength of this build is the ability to go from 0-60 in .2 seconds
In the video Parting's WG finishes at about 6:06 and in your replay yours finishes at 6:26. In general, the difference can be explained by using two chrono boosts on WG research. I know Parting uses at least one in the video. Not a huge deal, but you must have copied his build from a different source.
I'm curious as to where you got the build you listed. Can you link us to the vod of that game, or post the replay you have?
On May 26 2013 05:17 Blaeu wrote: In the video Parting's WG finishes at about 6:06 and in your replay yours finishes at 6:26. In general, the difference can be explained by using two chrono boosts on WG research. I know Parting uses at least one in the video. Not a huge deal, but you must have copied his build from a different source.
I'm curious as to where you got the build you listed. Can you link us to the vod of that game, or post the replay you have?
Yes his warpgate finishes quicker, that's because I built an extra probe before warpgate, and mine was a 18 core, instead of a 17 core. If you watch my replay you will notice that i didn't start warpgate asap, and getting core on 18 not 17, if you count up the few extra seconds their, than min eis only about 10 second off, I think that he used a chrono on warp gate cause he scouted his op, and knew that their was a weakness. Like I said this build is very reactionary, so timings will be slightly different between games. But you can find more VODS of parting doing this in the proleague on their youtube channel.
Alright, thanks. I'll take a look when I don't have access to the game.
I'm sure there are a few reasons why the builds don't sync up. My intent wasn't to "attack" your guide. I just like to have a reason for every action within a build order, and since the video and the guide didn't sync up, I just wanted more reference points.
I have a question about the Zealot actually. I assume it is needed since he doesn't scout so he needs something for early aggression. However, he takes the Zealot with him when he attacks. With a Blink build, it doesn't seem like the Zealot will contribute much to the attack, and it is too slow to run away if you need to retreat. My first thought was to leave it behind in case your opponent does a Zealot warp in behind you, you need one less warp in at home.
I guess my question is, does that Zealot really add enough to your push where it is worth bringing?
On May 26 2013 05:29 Blaeu wrote: Alright, thanks. I'll take a look when I don't have access to the game.
I'm sure there are a few reasons why the builds don't sync up. My intent wasn't to "attack" your guide. I just like to have a reason for every action within a build order, and since the video and the guide didn't sync up, I just wanted more reference points.
I have a question about the Zealot actually. I assume it is needed since he doesn't scout so he needs something for early aggression. However, he takes the Zealot with him when he attacks. With a Blink build, it doesn't seem like the Zealot will contribute much to the attack, and it is too slow to run away if you need to retreat. My first thought was to leave it behind in case your opponent does a Zealot warp in behind you, you need one less warp in at home.
I guess my question is, does that Zealot really add enough to your push where it is worth bringing?
My theory behind the zealot is....1) Most blink stalker builds i see skip the zealot and open with some sort of sentry or 3 stalker rush. I think the zealot helps hide a blink build as in most players skip it. When I scouted player before, I'd always wait to see what was coming out of the gateway, and if it was a zealot first, I found normally it wasn't a blink build. So that could be 1 theory.
2) Zealot gives you extra defense if your op is putting early game pressure, and gives you a little extra dps if you decide to be aggressive. Also you can use the zealot to chase away scouting probe.
Is it a must to all-in a protoss that goes DT expand as soon as you get observers out (or at least put pressure on him)? I've just tried to play a macro game with this build vs dt expand, but it felt kinda iffy because my opponent was a few probes ahead, but when he took his third earlier his economy went sky high.
On May 26 2013 10:55 vhapter wrote: Is it a must to all-in a protoss that goes DT expand as soon as you get observers out (or at least put pressure on him)? I've just tried to play a macro game with this build vs dt expand, but it felt kinda iffy because my opponent was a few probes ahead, but when he took his third earlier his economy went sky high.
Do you guys think this just poor execution and/or macro? Or was it really a bad decision to go for a macro game?
PS: I've been practicing more and more recently in order to get better, but my PvP sucks.
if you do a blink build you pretty much HAVE to put pressure on them and contain(or at least threaten to blink into their base when they decide to move out). that's the entire point of blink in pvp, without it you just put a lot of resources into an extremely weak tech route and not using it's strength., which is quite silly.
edit: what i do against a dt expand is get out 2 obs. 1 goes with my army after i kill the initial dt(s) and the other one stays at home with my msc(you can also leave a stalker if you want). btw, this shouldn't be a build you do at lower levels to try to win games but rather to improve you skills. making sure you can get out a good army behind the blink stalkers is really challenging to do when your opponent is making a lot of robo/stargate units
On May 26 2013 10:55 vhapter wrote: Is it a must to all-in a protoss that goes DT expand as soon as you get observers out (or at least put pressure on him)? I've just tried to play a macro game with this build vs dt expand, but it felt kinda iffy because my opponent was a few probes ahead, but when he took his third earlier his economy went sky high.
Do you guys think this just poor execution and/or macro? Or was it really a bad decision to go for a macro game?
PS: I've been practicing more and more recently in order to get better, but my PvP sucks.
if you do a blink build you pretty much HAVE to put pressure on them and contain(or at least threaten to blink into their base when they decide to move out). that's the entire point of blink in pvp, without it you just put a lot of resources into an extremely weak tech route and not using it's strength., which is quite silly.
edit: what i do against a dt expand is get out 2 obs. 1 goes with my army after i kill the initial dt(s) and the other one stays at home with my msc(you can also leave a stalker if you want). btw, this shouldn't be a build you do at lower levels to try to win games but rather to improve you skills. making sure you can get out a good army behind the blink stalkers is really challenging to do when your opponent is making a lot of robo/stargate units
That makes sense. Pushing with the msc imo is better than leaving it at home to be honest, because time warp maximizes the blink advantage quite a bit imo. Thanks for the help.
Just won a game the other day with blink PvP. My opponent expanded with gateway units only, I blinked into his main and time warped his ramp. As soon as he came up his ramp to defend and used photon overcharge there, I blinked down to his expansion and repositioned. He was getting some immortals, so I contained him with sentry/blink stalker and got double stargate + nexus to make sure his colossus wasn't gonna crush me. The void ray transition worked out pretty well against robo.
this sort of build was super popular during beta when blink + msc was basically unbeatable. Players getting better at deflecting dt's and lots of maps favoring blink again make this popular now.
The build as shown is a bit rough though, i think it can be smoother.
First of all, I don't get the zealot in this build. The zealot is pretty lousy for pressuring, the problem with a zealot now is that it's usually so slow it dies while baiting out the nexus cannon. When you start doing blink shenanigans you practically don't use the zealot either so i don't see much use in it. It may have been some proleague mindgame trick where zealot first makes your opponent misread you, perhaps what happened in the VOD as flying seemed to be playing for dt's, but for ladder i would recommend cutting it. If you cut it and go 2 gas before core you can basically just get 30-40 ish gas more and cut ~10 secs off blink. You also don't have a spare gate for as long. I don't get why you would only produce 2 stalkers from the first gate and not 3, you have plenty of time for it as you don't really boost warpgate and you're aggressive timing just gets stronger. Basically instead of having 5 stalker 1 zealot you can have 6 stalkers even a bit earlier. I like to boost warpgate once and the rest on blink, basically that results in the same blink timing as in your replay but in faster warpgate and more stalkers, not only do i make one stalker more normally, wg also finishes earlier.
I'm not sold this automatically breaks 1 gate FE though, I think a good 1 gate fe into robo can just barely defend if done well but it depends on the map a little bit. For neo planet S and similar maps this is definately my call for best build.
On May 31 2013 02:27 McHawk wrote: i can t defend 4gate with this build, wgr is so much delayed, how do you defend against it?
if you have a feeling that's coming up you can just make sure you have the msc at home and you'll be fine or even go dark shrine instead of blink. Way it plays out though your msc is likely away and you'll notice the 4 gate too late and you just die. Funnily enough 4 gate actually beats a fair number of strats now because most people play blind and try to get ahead in the tech wars, but the trick is basically just sniffing it out and brining your msc back ASAP.
On May 31 2013 02:27 McHawk wrote: i can t defend 4gate with this build, wgr is so much delayed, how do you defend against it?
if you have a feeling that's coming up you can just make sure you have the msc at home and you'll be fine or even go dark shrine instead of blink. Way it plays out though your msc is likely away and you'll notice the 4 gate too late and you just die. Funnily enough 4 gate actually beats a fair number of strats now because most people play blind and try to get ahead in the tech wars, but the trick is basically just sniffing it out and brining your msc back ASAP.
I repectfully disagree, hopefully you can prove me wrong I'm always looking to learn. I do not possess psychic abilities and I don't believe in playing on just feelings. If you send you MSC to your opponents base, his 4 gate will be weaker. He either has to pull his probes or warp in units at home to defend. Either way it's pretty good for you.
4 gates and 11 gate into 3 gate is tricky to hold with this build if it is played exactly like in the OP but not as hard if you 13 scout. If you see lots of chrono and only 1 gas or lots of chrono and 2 gas with 2 dudes mining from each? Skip second stalker, get sentry, chrono warp gate once or twice. Still send your MSC to scout and be agressive though.
Gently scout around with first stalker and zealot. See probe + some units being agressive (1z 2s)? Delay blink, get second sentry. At the first warp in you should have figured out if it is a ruse or an actual 4 gate. If it is a 4 gate, keep getting sentries and do the normal 4 gate defence.
Watch Artosis stream next time he plays, he's quite good at the build and manages to survive 4 gates and other gateway pressure.
I've just noticed Parting's macro in this build is NOT as tight as it could be.
Look at his income during the push. It's a bit too high for such an aggressive build. I've just tested this and my conclusion is that he should have started his third stalker right after he started blink research. So basically, you should start your third stalker and only then build your fourth pylon at 33 supply instead of 31. That's one less stalker Parting didn't get because his build wasn't as tight as it could have been.
If you were going for twilight how does the 4 gate 'solution' stand to reason?
What will be your tech advantage if you have nothing but blink researching but far away from being completed? You will also not have your gateways completed until 6:25 or so.
When you scout your op, you have to decide right away what to use your chrono boost on, you will have plenty of energy...You can decided to use it against warpgate, tech or on more units if you need too. Against aggresive builds, you will die if you chrono your blink.
BTW sorry for all who are waiting on replays, as I just started a new full type position. I haven't had much time to play SC2, but i will devote time friday-sunday this week to make the guide more complete. Thanks.
I have been playing in the top 100 gm this season and use this for every pvp. I think it is a very strong build. Here are a few things you guys might find helpful.
There is a popular sentry first fe into robo and three gates. This build has a very strong time stopping that. If you move out with your first zealot and MSC and go directly to their base you will hit when they have a sentry and a MSC with a stalker or stalker on the way, while your stalker will be moving across the map. You will kill his sentry with your zealot/MSC and deal probe damage with good micro you can even kill his stalker and force his nexus cannon to be at his main to defend your small poke. I find if I don't deal early damage like this I can't break his natural, the immortal count gets too high. I am forced into expanding and playing from behind and then I lose. This poke also can deal game winning damage against greedy dt or stargate builds. Since you have to scout his base anyways to insure he does not go dts I recommend doing this opposed to the MSC scout. The only downside is that against the three stalker MSC opener you will lose at least your zealot. To insure you do not lose more make sure to lead with your zealot so your MSC can retreat if you find three stalkers.
If your scouting is somehow denied make a forge at 5:30 and then a cannon in mineral to prevent losing to dts.
If you scout stargate, good players will make an oracle once they see your being aggressive. Since your units will be across the map if an oracle gets in your base and your gates are on cool down you basically lose. You either need one cannon or 2 stalkers to stop an oracle. No oracle will get in your base before your warp tech finishes so if you scout stargate warp in 2 stalkers and keep then in your mineral line. Since you got the better end of the build orders (blink V stargate) you can afford to be safer.
When you move your zealot across the map if a probe and zealot pass you. Or you see his zealot before the middle of the map (meaning he chronoed it out or went early gate). You are most likely being hit with a warp gate timing. The best thing to do here is go dt instead of blink. The timings work out the same since dt shrine has same gas cost as blink. You use your nexus cannon to hold off. Your dts will be done by the time the nexus cannon is over and then its gg.
Some players will react to blink by staying on 1 base and powering immos. The key here is to set up a sentry contain and expand. You will be very ahead since he needs collo to walk down his ramp. Just be careful of warp prisms in your base, elevator shenanigans with a WP (just keep poking up and blinking out to scout this). And lastly sometimes ppl just randomly run down their ramp hoping to catch you off guard.
One last note is that I have found this build is great against a Terran who goes reaper-> reactor and expo. You send the zealot on a path to avoid the first reaper. It will get to the terrans base as the bunker is being build. If you target the scv the bunker will not get up. Your stream of units (zealot MSC, stalker, stalker) will keep his rine count low and with good micro and a time warp you can force scv pulls to get the bunker up. Then his econ will be damaged and your blink timing should finish him off.
On September 10 2013 13:50 LastLemming wrote: I have been playing in the top 100 gm this season and use this for every pvp. I think it is a very strong build. Here are a few things you guys might find helpful.
There is a popular sentry first fe into robo and three gates. This build has a very strong time stopping that. If you move out with your first zealot and MSC and go directly to their base you will hit when they have a sentry and a MSC with a stalker or stalker on the way, while your stalker will be moving across the map. You will kill his sentry with your zealot/MSC and deal probe damage with good micro you can even kill his stalker and force his nexus cannon to be at his main to defend your small poke. I find if I don't deal early damage like this I can't break his natural, the immortal count gets too high. I am forced into expanding and playing from behind and then I lose. This poke also can deal game winning damage against greedy dt or stargate builds. Since you have to scout his base anyways to insure he does not go dts I recommend doing this opposed to the MSC scout. The only downside is that against the three stalker MSC opener you will lose at least your zealot. To insure you do not lose more make sure to lead with your zealot so your MSC can retreat if you find three stalkers.
If your scouting is somehow denied make a forge at 5:30 and then a cannon in mineral to prevent losing to dts.
If you scout stargate, good players will make an oracle once they see your being aggressive. Since your units will be across the map if an oracle gets in your base and your gates are on cool down you basically lose. You either need one cannon or 2 stalkers to stop an oracle. No oracle will get in your base before your warp tech finishes so if you scout stargate warp in 2 stalkers and keep then in your mineral line. Since you got the better end of the build orders (blink V stargate) you can afford to be safer.
When you move your zealot across the map if a probe and zealot pass you. Or you see his zealot before the middle of the map (meaning he chronoed it out or went early gate). You are most likely being hit with a warp gate timing. The best thing to do here is go dt instead of blink. The timings work out the same since dt shrine has same gas cost as blink. You use your nexus cannon to hold off. Your dts will be done by the time the nexus cannon is over and then its gg.
Some players will react to blink by staying on 1 base and powering immos. The key here is to set up a sentry contain and expand. You will be very ahead since he needs collo to walk down his ramp. Just be careful of warp prisms in your base, elevator shenanigans with a WP (just keep poking up and blinking out to scout this). And lastly sometimes ppl just randomly run down their ramp hoping to catch you off guard.
One last note is that I have found this build is great against a Terran who goes reaper-> reactor and expo. You send the zealot on a path to avoid the first reaper. It will get to the terrans base as the bunker is being build. If you target the scv the bunker will not get up. Your stream of units (zealot MSC, stalker, stalker) will keep his rine count low and with good micro and a time warp you can force scv pulls to get the bunker up. Then his econ will be damaged and your blink timing should finish him off.
Very interesting post, could you post some replays against various builds?
Novadays, people doing 3gate robo expand which can't be countered by suggested:
2/3 gate Robo- If the player isn’t terrible, you can just pressure him a lot, and contain him while you get an earlier nexus, personally, after expand, I get 2 sentries, and 2 stargates. I’ll use the sentries for scouting, while I make void rays. Play a macro game after; you should have a slight lead.
http://ggtracker.com/matches/5232821 Here I did early pressure with my stalker and MSC, but opponent had army already and had an expansion... we were in a quite same situation except of he had robo which counter stalkers by immortals... until I have enough stalkers i can pressure him.
If you execute correctly you still should be able to harass and expand behind your pressure. It's really hard and takes a lot of execution (as well as some help from the map - it needs to have a lot of space for your stalkers to move around) though.
Also, 3gate robo>expand (unless it's an aggressive 3gate) is actually a terrible build.
Yeah Teoita is pretty correct, 3 gate robo is just really bad. However, it does pretty well at countering your build if you dont have good micro. To get ahead you'll need to expand and then use your blink stalkers to continuously pick off stalkers/zealots/sentries and maybe even immortals if theres a good opportunity. Unfortunately this takes really good micro so it will take a lot of practice . That's pretty much always the case with blink though; it's much easier to play defensive styles in pvp.
It's not as economical as a fast expand, it can't put any pressure on, it can't harass in any way shape or form, it's the single worst build against stargate openers, and going 3gates into robo means your observer and immortals are delayed so a really crisp blink build can even kill you straight up.
EPT
