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Okay so I can't count how many QQ threads I've seen on Zerg being underpowered how it's uncreative it needs changes blah blah blah. Well I play zerg and I'm constantly around some of the best zergs around and generally I tend to disagree and I'm about to explain why.
Tech Switches
Unlike other races where you need to build a whole new production facility to make a new set of units such as a factory a stargate, the zerg only needs to wait on a single tech building and then every single hatch/lair/hive can produce that unit. This makes Zerg the undeniable king of Tech Switching, yes the tech buildings can take quite a while to build but this is to balance out the fact that as soon as it's done there can be 20+ of that unit hatching at any given time.
This kind of rapid unit composition switching is unparalleled by the other races especially terran who has to deal with addons and switching them around if they want to change their unit composition even while dealing with the same units.
Mobility
The zerg air army can be very frightening when used correctly, creep giving movement boosts when exploited allows for aggressive creep expansion letting the zerg dominate the map early on in the game. Later in the game Nydus networks allow a zerg to move their army from one corner of the map to the other in the blink of an eye. Fungal Growth used effectively can stop the mobility of their opponents completely. Zerg is capable of out maneuvering every other race in the game with the exeption of the use of mass recall by protoss but that has limited uses when compared to a good nydus network setup.
Unit Production
Zerg has the capability to reproduce units faster than any other race with the queen mechanics, larva spit is so completely powerful and watching the top zergs at the moment you will see that even they don't miss larva injections. The zerg macro mechanic is tough to deal with as you have to manage every hatchery seperately requiring a lot more multitasking than warpins or dealing with add-ons. But when done effectively the rate at which a zerg can produce units is rather scary.
Conclusion
Zerg has many mechanics that still have not been used to their fullest:
- Larva Injection (yes pros still mess this up)
- Transfusion strategies
- Contamination
- Nydus Networks both offensively and defensively
So until this game is released and players get the time to REALLY get their hands on zerg and play with it and experiment then I don't think it's right to really be commenting on how zerg is broken it doesn't work yada yada. Previously people complained that Ultras werent usable and that they were the reason why zerg didn't have any units and now Ultras are being used in top level play somewhat. There might be a few more adjustments to zerg units down the road but for now saying "Zerg sucks fix it now" is a bit of an exaggeration.
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RAELCUN FIGHTING!~
No but to be honest, I agree with everything in this post. I've never thought that Zerg was boring, but I suppose everybody is entitled to their own opinions.
Edit: I think that what makes Zerg most interesting for me is the ease of getting new expansions and the additional layer of complexity of balancing workers and military units. Maybe if you don't find that interesting, you might not enjoy Zerg so much.
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Very nice writeup.
Definitely agree that zergs need to utilize Nydus more.
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In my humble opinion,
Zerg is fine as a race, they're just unpolished. Their casters are just not finished, spells are added and removed constantly, and they get swapped a bunch. Roaches aren't finished and need some additional tweaks. Corruptors also seems to fall into that unfinished range.
Compare that to Terran where Blizzard has done such an amazing job. I don't think T is overpowered, I think T is the model. Terran is where the races should be when things are "balanced." Every unit is viable (worst is the Reaper), and almost any tech tree has valid strategies around it.
People mistakenly say "lack of diversity" for Zerg. That's not it. They don't necessarily need any more units, they just need the units they all have to be indispensable in some context. Once all the units have a clear and well-defined niche and an appropriate synergy amongst themselves, the race will feel like T and P.
This won't make them any stronger or weaker. It will just make them have more polish. They're the race that's changed the most probably in the beta and still don't feel settled.
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Ultra's have fared much better than Archons, even Day9 said Archon's had turned a corner in his mind. Totally agree with the assessment that zerg has advantages people still need to learn.
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Zergs not broken, just boring.
wait... does boring=broken?
help me out here
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Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes. I play zerg because I can see that it has the potential to be totally awesome. As much as I (and even the good people) aren't quite capable of using all the badassery that zerg has available, it's definitely there. And once we start getting good enough to do things, it will be totally awesome.
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I completely agree  , zerg has yet to be used at its full potential. Shout out to IdrA he has the best unit control as a zerg player! (I said it)
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Burrow is really underused. I think burrow needs to be used a lot more overall, especially versus Colossus/Siege Tanks.
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On July 22 2010 07:19 Brad wrote:
Burrow is really underused. I think burrow needs to be used a lot more overall, especially versus Colossus/Siege Tanks.
Burrow micro all day!!!
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I agree with the original post. Especially the tech switchability (lol) of zerg
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I don't like how bad they are off creep, that's my biggest complaint. I feel almost encouraged not to leave creep unless I can absolutely win with an a-move
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Just for arguments sake:
How would you respond if I said, zerg creativity and strength demand so much more focus and apm then the other two races, which is why zerg would appear weaker.
Also "tech switching" isn't a major strength in the late game imo. Protoss have warpgates to handle whatever you are trying to switch to, and terran have more than adequate ways to counter any threat from bio-mech. Plus, anyone who knows how to scout easily negates "tech switches"
Mobility? How much more mobile can you get then warp in tech? Also a bio ball can be quite mobile as well especially with a medic + transport combo.
Sure, zerg can produce more units at the same time if you have the apm to sustain constant larvae inject, but I would hope so as our units are much weaker than protoss'. Think about mass killing units like colossus and HT. They cant wipe out an army incredibly quickly. Also, terran bio can have a new ball up incredibly quickly as well...
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I agree that Terran is the finished race. Protoss is also quite far (although the carrier and mothership don't seem perfect). Zerg just had too many things happening in the last phase of the beta..indicating that it's just not finished.. I sincerely hope that Blizzard doesn't wait until the first expansion before adressing these issues... that would be a bit lame..
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it'll be interesting to see zerg play on the larger, custom maps that will (probably) eventually be used on the ladder. more space for mobility is good, but that also means more area to cover with creep. i think it will take some serious apm to manage all the creep tumors
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Usually play terran as it was my BW race and i love them so much.
Played a few games of Zerg in the end of beta and it does not feel more boring than Terran , i mean they have The Infestor , one of the best casters in game and funniest to play and the core units are so strong , and if you want micro , just try to use banelings as mines , use burrowed roaches (dunno why I havent faced a single person that uses this yet...) Ovie Doom Drops... Nydus Worms.... the list is soooo long.
Of course if you see zerg as "that ling-hydra-roach ball and then 1a" yes of course its boring as hell.
PD: hell even mass queen!! tried it once on a friend and its hilarious to try to make it in ZvZ when it works you just smile so wide!!
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On July 22 2010 07:18 Merikh wrote:I completely agree , zerg has yet to be used at its full potential. Shout out to IdrA he has the best unit control as a zerg player! (I said it)
I watched some old IdrA replays and he has improved a ton over the beta. (though that's the way it should be)
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On July 22 2010 07:22 floor exercise wrote:
I don't like how bad they are off creep, that's my biggest complaint. I feel almost encouraged not to leave creep unless I can absolutely win with an a-move
Well that's a big part of zerg play. People see the speed increase on creep and start thinking that creep is just a really nice thing to have when it's really a necessity. Creep is meant to be an integral part of zerg which is why there's methods of spreading it quickly. It is kinda of annoying in the early game when you straight-up can't have creep though. Probably why I love speedlings so much, they can still do things off creep.
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i miss having 9 control groups of lings
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On July 22 2010 07:11 iCCup.Raelcun wrote:
There might be a few more adjustments to zerg units down the road but for now saying "Zerg sucks fix it now" is a bit of an exaggeration.
And saying "Zerg is good" isn't an exaggeration? please...
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EPT
