[G] ZvP: An Aggressive Playstyle Guide

For many, I require no introduction. I am Jakamakala. (http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/profile/1379755/1/Jakamakala/)

I play Zerg at a mid Masters level on the European clan Maegis, and my best match up is and has always been ZvP. Last season I boasted an 81% win rate in ZvP as I made a tear through the high diamond league to get back into Masters and this season with more appropriate opponents (mid-high masters due to how the BP works) I still hold a 63% win rate compared to 51% and 60% for Terran and Zerg, respectively. I find myself going even against Mid Masters T and Z's and yet find myself regularly beating top Masters Protoss. I've noticed that most Zergs at this level have a great time in ZvT and sometimes bumble around in ZvP or aren't 100% sure what their style is or what they want to be doing. I am an odd opposite; I do worst in ZvT and feel completely comfortable in ZvP and usually know exactly what I want to be doing, and so I will be showing fellow Zergs my aggressive ZvP style.

NOTE: While I think this style is really great all the way up to the Top Masters level, I won't try and argue that it is one of the most viable ways to play at the GM and up levels (leave that to people who actually managed to rank there).

This aggressive build/playstyle is what I consider a pretty good counter against the type of player who isn't aggressive (like a FFE) player who lets you do whatever you want for the first portions of the game and allows you to cleanly execute the first tier timing attack.

Favored Maps for this style:
- King Sejong Station
- Catallena
- Overgrowth
- Merry Go Round (debatable)

Bad Maps (maps I have vetoed):
- Nimbus
- Deadwing

With the new map pool, I would still say the strategy works on Overgrowth, Catallena, Expedition Lost, and Inferno Pools.
Vaani Research Station and Secret Spring have pocket naturals that make it harder to do the initial push, so seek alternate playstyles for those maps.

ZvP is a little different than ZvT. There are timing benchmarks you need to be more aware of (namely 6 minutes and 8 minutes) and ZvP is more about having "more stuff" than ZvT is. Players often lose to strong PvZ timings simply because throughout the early courses of the game they macroed poorly enough that they themselves didn't have an equally menacing amount of stuff.

Drones - Like most Zerg games, you want to be drone drone droning up early on. Protoss has a harder time than you think being really aggressive early on, and so you can drone up safely. If your opponent opens forge fast expand, that's a free ticket to make almost 100% drones up until 7:30 before you decide your next moves. If your opponent opened Gateway FE, you have to be a little more careful, but you can still drone up until 5:30 before you determine your next moves. It's a hell of a lot easier defending a two base all in off of 55 drones rather than 45.

Overlords - Overlord timings are a big part of how fast you can burst drones out. Overlords made too late are an obvious deficit, but so are overlords made too early. You want to time your overlords so that the moment they pop you have the money and larvae to pop another round of drones. Always account for your one or two sacrificial overlords that are being used to scout Protoss tech around 6:30 (you should always be doing this), so you can make a few extra. You should not be starting two overlords at a time at any point until your max available supply is at least 52, at which point you can probably make 3 (on account of the sacrificed one).

My usual overlord supplies are:
9/10
16/18
26/28
31/36
33/36 <---- Your larvae is about to pop and you're about to make 10 drones in a row, the one overlord at 31 supply will be immediately capped
50/54 (Your third is usually done now) Make three overlords as one is sacrificed
65/70 Two more

Early Game Recon:
BY FAR AND AWAY one of the EASIEST and BEST ways to prevent yourself from facing frustrating pressure and give yourself peace of mind. EVERY game of ZvP when I pop my first four lings the first thing I do is I split them up three ways (Two towards the opponents main, and two sets of 1). These sets of 1 lings I set on a VERY long shift-queued- attack move path throughout the sides and edges of the map for the most obvious spots to hide probes/proxies/pylons etc. Here's an example on where my lings would be going on Overgrowth.

Overlord and Zergling Paths:


Search your fourth area and any obvious nooks and crannies where Probes would be hidden. Think like the Protoss. Try to get a few lings in their main (It's easier against Gateway FE).

Third Base Timing:
I almost always open 15 hatch 16 pool in ZvP (unless I drone scout FFE and want to proxy hatch or note proxy gate so I pool first for spine). Assuming it's a normal macro game without any shenanigans, I opt for a 26 supply third hatch. Here's what usually happens.

- 15 Hatch
- 16 Pool
- Hatch finishes at 20 supply, I start 2 queens (24 supply) and 2 pairs of lings (26 supply). I start up one more drone as I move one to my third location. Lings clear the third of any probe and the Hatchery drops at 4:20 and around 26 or 27 supply.

Gas Timing: A very common mistake from Zerg players is taking their gas far too early. This is, in my opinion, far worse than taking it late (though I'd rather you did neither). soO himself doesn't even give himself gas in ZvP until at least 6:30. The fact is, minerals are still far and away the more important resource and the one that is the basis for the most basic infrastructure. Too many players throw down 2 extractors when the mineral line is not even fully saturated and then throw 6 of their workers into the geysers so they have even fewer minerals. I go mad every time I see this.

Generally in ZvP, you take your first two gases around 5:40-6:10. Afterwards your next choice has room for variation. Generally the third and fourth gas are taken together a minute after your first two, but you can also choose to just go for one more gas and go for a more mineral heavy playstyle (roaches and lings, no upgrades) off three base. The main point is, if you're playing by ear, don't take your gases until your mineral income is about to get fully established.

Drone Count: Unlike ZvT, where you want to get a ton of drones and get the war machine going, in ZvP I find that overdroning can easily cost you your life. When I play ZvP, I try to keep a careful eye on how many probes my opponent has, and I'll try to just slightly edge them out with Drones. Extra bases are often taken more as a placeholder/passive threat rather than something I intend to fully saturate. For example, if my opponent is 2 base all inning on 44 probes, I'll try to have just about 54-55 drones to have a slight edge without having my immediate army suffer. If my opponent has 66 Probes I'll try to go for about 75-78 drones.

Macro Benchmarks:
6:00 - At this point, your supply should be between 42 and 46, depending on how many Queens/lings you made early on. At this point of the game, if your opponent opened FFE, feel free to proceed to drone more (scouting their base of course). If your opponent opened 1 gate FE, then you need to be on the look out for 4 gates with recall.

6:40: Throw down your Roach Warren. This isn't really a benchmark it's just something you should always do if you want to live in some of your games.

8:00 - The more popular benchmark. This is the point of the game where you can pretty much tell if you've won or lost. At this point of the game, unharassed, there is no reason you should not be at least 65 supply, and preferably over 70 supply. This can only happen if you're responsible about droning heavily early on, and usually only doesn't happen if Protoss opened Gate FE, is heavily aggressive, or manages to pull a fast one early on with Oracles/Phoenix. Players in Diamond and up should have at least 60 supply by this benchmark or they are probably not "in the game" and have a very low chance of coming back.


- 46 drones, 9 about to pop, my supply is just shy of 70, with Lair and Ling speed well on the way. (Note: The minimap shows that I had vision of a good half of his base with my overlord)

ZvP is a match up that is far more about game knowledge and mind games than it is about mechanics. If you know what to do in a given situation in ZvP and have at least half decent mechanics to back it up, you can find yourself at a higher league in ZvP than your mechanics account for.

Things you might see:
5:00-5:30: Three Gateways at their natural wall off 1 gate FE and only 1 gas in their main (if you get a ling inside)

This means there's a heavy four gate coming for you and you need to cut drone production and make a lot of Zerglings and you'll need Queen support. You might also want to throw down an early 1 gas so you can get Zergling speed for a counter follow up.

2 gas variation: Same thing, but they intend to transition out so know when to stop making lings and start making drones again

6:30-7:15 (With your overlord sacrifice/scouts):
- Mass gateways being warped in and a lack of gas at the natural.

This is a 7-8 gate all in and you need to cut drones (around 40-45) and make a mass of slow roach and speedlings. If you target your force well (slings on stalkers, roaches on zealots) you can hold and win.

- Robo: Obviously Robo based tech. I choose to respond to it with hydras, unless they're still two base, then roaches

- Stargate: I respond with Hydras

- Twilight Council: I respond with mass roach ling and burrow.

Now that the light review on ZvP is over (I really wasn't interested in doing that part), here's the part I actually wrote this thread for:

My playstyle revolves around showing myself committing to a style of unit aggression that forces a response out of Protoss. There are two timing attacks and an end game follow up in this style, and the two timing attacks cause Protoss to respond in a way that makes your next attack more favorable, while at the same time having a rather heavy chance at crippling them outright. It's important to drone up early on for these timing attacks and even more important to know when to make more drones when one tier of attack isn't going to end the game. It's worth noting that this style is NOT upgrade dependent and very dependent on advancing your tech as fast as possible behind your attacks.

The three tiers are:
1) Ling/Hydra Timing Attack
2) Roach/Hydra Viper Follow Up Timing
3) Mass Mutalisk

- Speedling Hydra Timing Attack at 10:30

A variation of the all in taught to me by my teammates, this attack attacks the Protoss right before they have any form of reliable splash (their colossus, if any, will have equal range to your hydras) and may destroy their third base outright. The attack has extremely high DPS potential, and great engagement opportunity as your Speedlings tend to dictate when or where they want to fight (buffering for hydras) and also eat a ton of PO damage. Be sure to attack in between the natural and third so you can simply swing to the base that is more poorly defended as well as make their reinforcements awkward. If the opportunity arises to run a few lings into their main, do so, it'll make their crisis management literally 10 times worse.

The Build Order Timings for The First Tier:
- 15 Hatch
- 16 Pool
- 26 or 27 Third Hatch
- Either Drone Up or Prepare against Gateway FE 4 gate
- 5:40 Two gases
- 6:40 Two Gases and Start Lair @100 gas
- Start Ling Speed with Next 100 gas
- Drone up to 54 drones (10 on the third)
- 8:00 - 8:30 Hydralisk Den @100% Grooved Spines
- 8:30 Fire up about 10-16 speedlings and use them to start sweeping around the map while your Hydra Den builds. Look for runby opportunities
- 9:00 Make 12-15 Hydras (Yes you would have been floating a ton of money at this point to do it)
- 9:45 Move out with your Mass Hydras and have mass speedlings being morphed to reinforce. You should be at 120+ supply when you hit at 10:30
- 10:35 Start roach speed, infestation pit, hydra speed, and 2 evos and prepare to drone up. Add your fifth and sixth extractors.


The attack in progress. Note the squad of about 16 speedlings in his main (sniped robo tech, sniped probes and pylons, split his warp ins)

Whether or not the attack will deal the killing blow, prepare a transition by throwing down 2 evos (recommended but not 100% necessary), starting roach speed, and starting your hive (I like to throw down the infestation pit as the attack is going on).

NOTE: If you have done almost NO Damage to the Protoss, however, you've pretty much lost the game and you've been outplayed or got harassed too much early on. You HAVE to do damage with this attack so make sure to execute the attack properly and hit at the right time with the right quantity of stuff.



Note my production tab as well as the super awkward position I caught him in.


On time, wedging myself between his natural and third to force him to make a choice of which one to defend.

Roach Hydra Viper at 15:30

Before I start this part, I will actually say that I am almost always a little late on this timing, but it is more than possible to actually hit the timing right if you aren't a X!@#$ like me. If you start your infestation pit at 10:30 as your first attack hits, you can start the Hive at 11:30, have it done by 13:10, have 3-4 Vipers by 14:00, Consume done at 14:30, and then be in your opponents face by 15:30. This is all more of a doing the right move as soon as the requirements finish them sort of deal.

The Build Order:

There isn't a specific BO at this point in the game as much as gearing towards your fourth base, more gas, getting your Hive ASAP (start it by 11:30-12:00) and working on 1/1.

Your Ling Hydra attack would have "Strongly Encouraged" your Protoss foe to make colossus based tech. If you killed their third you are in a fantastic position. At this point of the game you should be going straight to hive and perhaps getting +1/1 for your hydras. Complement your Hydras with roaches and rebind your Zerglings to another hotkey. At this point in the game you should be using lings primarily for scouting around for pylons and looking for run by opportunities. Be sure to go for your fourth base at this point (for the gas).

When your Hive finishes go straight for a few Vipers and make plenty of roaches (You should have a lot of leftover hydras from early on so you don't need to make that many)

Throw down your spire and fifth base right before the attack and engage.

Focus on abucting colossi and immortals and your Roach Hydra can take care of the rest. Many opponents outright die here because their tech isn't up to snuff. Get a good concave be sure to utilize your leftover speedlings if you didn't find an opportunity before (fights are a good distraction). Be sure to saturate your fifth base gas behind this. You're going to want all ten of your geysers running just in case.


By the way, got a Zergling run by while he was fighting the Roach Hydra Viper. Distractions work.


Zergling Run By vs Protoss:


I CANT EMPHASIZE IT ENOUGH KEEP LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO RUN LINGS BY INTO HIS BASE OR PROBE LINES THEY DO SO MUCH DAMAGE TO PROTOSS! Check if the guard zealot is there check for sim city holes just CHECK CHECK CHECK! If they move out to attack put 16 lings in their base while you defend! USE YOUR SPEEDLINGS!



14:40 I am maxed and hitting him with Roach Hydra with 1/1 and 4 Vipers. Colossus and Immortals are rendered useless and I have my 5th base going up for the gas income for my next tech switch. Timing is key here to avoid Templar wrecking your Vipers.

Now, if you are facing an opponent who has high templar ready at this point, then they're playing right. They're not completely dumb and were able to keep up with your mindgames or macro well enough (given that the first tier should have slowed them down). You forced colossus out of them and followed up with Vipers but they knew Colossus are weak vs Vipers and prepared templar. Congrats, now it's time to bring the game to the final tier.

Mass Mutalisks:

Build Order:
Step 1) Press Hatchery Hotkey
Step 2) Press S
Step 3) Hold Down T

Inject as necessary.

In my opinion, there are only two units for Zerg in lategame ZvP that are viable "Core" units: The Mutalisk or the Swarm Host. I never use SH, nor would I be as comfortable using them with this style as I would Mutalisks as Mutalisk are swifter to either win/lose the game and you've forced your opponent into Templar and Robo tech, which can be used against SH.

Everything you've done up to this point (provided they survived) works up to this moment. You forced them to make Robo units in response to your Hydra Ling and you forced them into twilight tech with your quick follow up Viper timing. You've put them in a position where they don't want Stargate units, but hey, if your opponent is as sharp in the mind as you are, they may have prepared some and you're up for a fight. If your Roach Hydra Viper hasn't killed or cripped them, it's a decent idea to find the best possible engagement to trade army for army (take out at least 70% of theirs) and remove their high gas units like Colossi, immortals, and kill as many stalkers as you can to prevent any counter attacks/force more gas spending.

Usually when an army trade happens, off of 5 base gas (with upgrades going in your spire) you should be able to afford upwards of at least 20 mutalisks, at once, sometimes more. Keep adding to this number and immediately snipe their Stargate Tech and then their templar tech. From here your opponent will either concede the game or if they're still in a solid position and have played well against you this game this is where you go into a basic base trade scenario. You snipe all their buildings while you spread drones around the map (as they attack your base) and you spine up certain locations as you put them in a situation where they have to protect their final structures while you slowly rebuild infrastructure (putting them on a timer) or they split up their army and bits get picked off by Mutalisks.

Needless to say, this is the point in the game where you either win due to the cumulative efforts of your first two attacks or you die because they're able to get phoenix out in time and repel your late game.



I retain a HUGE portion of Hydras from that fight and have a large amount of mutas morphing in order to decisively close the game. My 5 bases mean that I can keep producing Mutalisk at a rate of 12 per minute including upgrades. Extra minerals may be used to spam spine crawlers in a closer game. Add Corruptors against Phoenix if necessary


Trading armies

Note my high gas bank. Note his.


This is hardly SIXTY SECONDS after the second tier attack traded with him. Note leftover roach ling ready to attack his third if Stalkers respond to Mutalisks. He is not prepared for this. Sorry about the BM language, couldn't find a frame without any for this.

This build is still rather safe vs Protoss two base all ins. Obviously if they are two base all inning you should no longer be sticking to the script of this aggressive playstyle. Rather, you need to cut drones and produce units. This build produces enough drones that you can hold and 8-10 minute based all in. Based on your overlord scout see if they're going for a mass amount of gateways, a Robo, a Twilight, or see if they've gone for a third base.

If you've confirmed a 2 base all in of the gateway variety, you should just produce a MASSIVE amount of roaches off of 3 hatches and around 55 drones. I've personally maxxed out at 12:40 while adapting my build in the face of a +2 Blink Stalker All In. He couldn't find a good angle of attack due to creep spread and the massive amount of roaches and eventually I just maxed out and rolled over him.

If you see a Robo or SG based all in, you CAN go ling hydra. Roach Ling works just as well vs Robo but if you are afraid of Force Fields Ling Hydra is a stronger choice as Hydras with range ignore FF's.

What you should take away from defending against a two base all in is that you should have droned up earlier so you have money and you don't overdrone now and die as a result. If the all in is stalling feel free to drop your fourth hatch off of 55-60 drones but do NOT COMMIT anything else to it. The Hatchery is now just a placeholder that you can use later in the game if you need to. Keep pumping mass units and choose your engagements wisely and many 2 base all ins will become free wins for you at this level. A good Protoss player is one who knows how to pressure you hard (like PartinG) while macroing behind it.

This part isn't very complicated, so let's try to keep it short and sweet. In between your tiered attacks (or in any game ZvP whatsoever) if you've established a lead, you really don't want to be losing it. Of all the races Protoss is the one that is the comeback king. DON'T LET THEM gimmick their way back into the game at your expense. If you're ahead, you can afford to spend a little money to stay safe. Consider it life insurance.

When you're ahead in the game there's a few things that Protoss can do to put themselves back on the radar, chiefly Warp Prisms and Dark Templar. Things like mass air switches and blink stalkers may work but air switches are hard to do with you're being so aggressive against Protoss and Blink Stalkers suck vs Roach Hydra if they get caught.

All it really takes once you have a lead is to put a spore and 2 spines (3-4 in the main) at each base and things like warp in zealots and dark templar become free units for you and lost money for them. Sure it'll cost you nearly 1000 minerals but you're so far ahead you can replace the drones and you should already have the extra money to spare. Plus if they actually do try DTs/Zealot drops (I've had so many players do this after I deal critical blows to them) they'll just put themselves further behind (which my opponents did).

ALWAYS think to yourself "How can I lose this game now that I'm ahead; what can Protoss do to blindside me?"

The answer is usually the 200 mineral Fast as hell Flying Pylon or the warp in OHKO to Workers Invisible Protoss Sniper.