EPTPiG Daily Articles
Welcome to the third PiG Daily strategy article! The PiG Daily is a show by Jared "PiG" Krensel that focuses on StarCraft 2 strategy and becoming a better player. We've joined forces to create an article series that summarizes his dailies into short, digestible articles that provide insight on builds, tactics and game sense. By combining with Spawning Tool, this series will bring you the most comprehensive learning experience for build orders and strategies.
How to use Spawning Tool
We highly recommend using Spawning Tool in order to follow the basics of these builds. The PiG Daily and our strategy articles will serve as supplementary guides to understand the subtleties behind each decision.
Today, we change paces and feature a build for protoss against zerg. Expanding is one of the most crucial decisions in StarCraft 2, and nothing can be more frustrating than being broken right after building a new base. PiG gives some advice on how to handle zerg pressure and survive until your economy gets into gear.
Link to the Spawning Tool Build
Taking a Third in PvZ
This is a textbook replay and build order of a simple gladept opening that does a sharp pressure whilst securing a very early 3rd. This is one of the safest and most solid build orders in the book. The Daily attached goes over the many details that go into making you solid defensively vs the huge range of attacks zerg can throw at you.
Textbook gladept opening
| 15 | Pylon |
| 16 | Gate |
| 17 | Gas |
| 19 | Nexus |
| 20 | Cybercore |
| 21 | 2nd gas |
| 22 | 2nd pylon | @100% gateway -> adept (chrono) + warpgate | Nonstop adept production until you have 4 | @100 gas -> twilight council | @100% twilight council -> Resonating Glaives (swap chrono between Glaives and WG) | @300 minerals -> 2nd and 3rd gateways | ~3:40 2 pylons at the 3rd base | @400 minerals -> third base then start mothership core | @100% WG -> turn into warpgates and warp in 3 adepts | Pressure with your adepts + MSCore to the 3rd base | Flexible at this point. Choose your tech or stay defensive with more gateways. |
A Guide to Walling Off
Walling off is one of the basics of PvZ, and it's important to learn all the ways to effectively wall of your base. A poor wall off can either unwittingly let units into your base or cause your structures to be vulnerable from certain spots. This guide shows you how to secure your bases on the most popular maps in the pool.
Keys to a Good Defense
A good defense takes a lot of practice and discipline. Even the best pro players forget one or two things during the madness of a tight game. With time, these tips will become second nature to you and you'll be able to ward off even the most powerful timing attacks.
- Wedge units in between minerals and chokes. Put 2 adepts in between minerals at the 3rd base as you’re taking it.
- Always keep a unit in your choke once ling speed is done. You might choose to bring all 7 adepts for your pressure when glaives finishes if you want to take the risk and know you have more warpins soon.
- Build extra pylons at your 3rd or natural (wherever they’re attacking). Pylons will be the first things targeted down and you’ll need more options for overcharge as well as more supply so you can keep producing.
- Hold position your guy in your wall
- Always send 2nd/3rd adept or a probe to check for a ling drop; don’t rely on a pylon to cover an entire side of your base.
- Keep warping in during the action.
- Steadily fall back and use choke points/mineral line area to avoid being surrounded by lings.
- As you pull back, it buys you APM to focus on warping in, dropping pylons/extra gates, and other macro tasks.
- Stutter step if your adepts are focusing on roaches. This way they will “re-target” more effectively on the lings — lings are the big damage dealers.
- Add extra gates as soon as the zerg shows an aggressive stance. Normally, go up to 7 gates soon after dropping your 2nd tech structure (TC is your first).
- “Sim City” wall off your natural if they’re trying to break you there.
- If they ever move between your 3rd/natural, don’t get lured into the open. Just build gateways to fully wall off your natural and stay in the tight chokes around your 3rd mineral line.
- Remember all you need to do is buy time! Your units are so much more valuable and as your numbers grow the zerg units will become ineffective.
- Never give up! Even losing a 3rd isn’t a death sentence. You usually still have a bigger economy and can retake it once you stabilize.
- Shading adepts out front to get forward warning of attacks is a nice way to use bonus APM.
- MSC should float out front a bit for forward warning of incoming attacks — every extra second to react is vital.
- As soon as you, stabilize drop a templar archives. You will have banked gas from building so many adepts and focusing on defense, so archons are a perfect way to spend your cash and give you a bit of beef for your counter push.
