Hello guys, you may know me from my many many posts on this forum, help in the strategy section or my replay packs. I have always wanted to do this but just didn't feel like I had the time until now. Rofl forgot the e on guide woops.
So I introduce to you my zerg guides/tutorials that I will be uploading on youtube. I don't know a better way to name it so I'll just keep that ^^.
What this is, is my zerg play where I take my replays that I have played (most are going to be from the korean server) and I will go in depth into my decision making and why I do what I do. While I do commentate while streaming most of the time, this will be even more informative (I hope anyway) then that due to not playing and commentating at the same time.
I plan on making this a weekly/bi-weekly thing. The first video I did was a zerg vs terran. Since this is my first time doing this I imagine I can get a lot of good constructive feedback on what I can do better. Right now I just use fraps to record, windows live movie maker to combine, then hamster free video converter to compress and change the file so it's not huge. If anyone knows of a better method or anything feel free to let me know!
I plan on going over many various situations in each match up. Examples would be marauder/hellion all in, then another can be a macro game, how to deal with certain situations. I will be doing all match ups and will probably zvp next, then zvz, then zvt again. I hope this helps a lot of you guys out and hope you guys enjoy it as well.
Thanks again and hope you guys enjoy!
Heart of the Swarm Videos:
Video 2 - Zerg vs Protoss - roach/hydra into ultralisk
Notes: Heart of the swarm zvp, going roach/hydra into a fast hive into viper/ultra/ling/bane and corruptors when he goes air. Shows the viability of ultras in zvp as the army the protoss has when I go ultras is an army that would crush ultras in WoL.
Video 1 - Zerg vs Terran - Playing verse mech as zerg + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcXjWRqG3OE
Description: I saw quiet a few comments saying mech is hard to beat as zerg in hots, so I decided the first video back would be beating mech in heart of the swarm.
Video 12 - Blade(Zerg) vs hOsySpC(Zerg) - roach/ling/infestor into ultralisks
Notes: For anyone who knows about the ling infestor build or the guide I wrote about it this is a slight modificiation to it that is easier to execute and a lot more forgiving then going pure ling/infestor with tons of spines.
Video 11 - Blade(Zerg) vs exioNCourage(Protoss) - holding immortal all in + Show Spoiler +
Notes: This is to show case flanks, there are only a couple times in the game but I go into detail on why it is important and under used. I explain other things of course.
Video 9 Blade(Zerg) vs Aiur(Protoss) - banelings into ultralisks part 3 + Show Spoiler +
Notes: This is on the NA server and this game I mainly showed to showcase ultralisks vs the stalker/colossi. There are of course usual baneling drops :D.
Video 8 Blade(Zerg) vs korean(protoss) - going banelings part 2 + Show Spoiler +
Video 7 Blade(Zerg) vs Matt(Protoss) - Going Banelings + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-8f2hspSFE
Notes: This show cases muta/ling/bane into ultralisks and explains some of the basic concepts of it and the goal if you do make ultralisks.
Video 6 Zerg vs Zerg going ling/infestor into ultralisks + Show Spoiler +
Plan out what you are going to talk about (more if you do it allready) There are points where you seem to 'wing it' and dont bring your point across as clear as you could.
Thanks guys. I know it's a little monotone, but I am not a caster nor do I ever intend to be. Just uploading it to help players out, so if it's boring I do apologize but I doubt that'll ever be fixed xD.
Also vote for which match up you want next, added it a little late but better late then never right? I plan on doing another one next week is my plan!
Nice first video. The length was good and I like the concept, it's like a stream highlight with extra commentary. I don't have time to watch dailies etc anymore because they are too long and have a ton of random filler talk. I rarely watch live streams either because there is quite a bit of downtime when searching for games or getting the "wrong" matchups. (You might be copying the ZvP style from streamer X but use a a completely different style in ZvZ for example). I prefer to watch the recorded versions so I can fast forward and this felt like a shorter and more to the point version of that.
It started and ended well I think. I felt that most of the slow/quiet time was a few minutes in, after you did your initial presentation but before the in game action picked up. I think you could have talked a bit more about the build and general gameplan there perhaps to keep up the flow? Gas/evo timings, what you might be worried about T doing, map specifics etc. You did cover it to some extent though and after the drops started there were more things to talk about.
Any particular reason why you didn't make a bigger wall at your nat with the warren and evos? I've seen you and others build them near the spine(s) to wall off hellions with a queen but this time it was just the one evo at the main ramp and the rest in your main.
Using your 15 hatch into roach tutorial to pimp my zvz nearly one year ago helped me turn it into my best matchup by far nowadays =D I don't use roach openers anymore in ZvZ but it was crucial in helping me to get a grasp on the matchup. I liked your first video, looking forward for the next ones.
On May 03 2012 22:36 chlindell wrote: Nice first video. The length was good and I like the concept, it's like a stream highlight with extra commentary. I don't have time to watch dailies etc anymore because they are too long and have a ton of random filler talk. I rarely watch live streams either because there is quite a bit of downtime when searching for games or getting the "wrong" matchups. (You might be copying the ZvP style from streamer X but use a a completely different style in ZvZ for example). I prefer to watch the recorded versions so I can fast forward and this felt like a shorter and more to the point version of that.
It started and ended well I think. I felt that most of the slow/quiet time was a few minutes in, after you did your initial presentation but before the in game action picked up. I think you could have talked a bit more about the build and general gameplan there perhaps to keep up the flow? Gas/evo timings, what you might be worried about T doing, map specifics etc. You did cover it to some extent though and after the drops started there were more things to talk about.
Any particular reason why you didn't make a bigger wall at your nat with the warren and evos? I've seen you and others build them near the spine(s) to wall off hellions with a queen but this time it was just the one evo at the main ramp and the rest in your main.
Looking forward to the next one.
Yeah you should always make a wall, sometimes I am just lazy and don't or just plain don't think about it at that game.
Thanks for the feedback, going to try to do that with my next one, always appreciate the feedback ^_^.
If possible, can you make your videos "full screen" aka without the black edges all around? Just a little pet peeve of mine, but also allows more clarity with "full screen."
On May 04 2012 03:37 FalconPunch wrote: If possible, can you make your videos "full screen" aka without the black edges all around? Just a little pet peeve of mine, but also allows more clarity with "full screen."
I don't know how, I record with fraps - combine it all with windows live movie maker and it shrinks the screen. No idea how to fix that.
You got some nice tips for a fellow zerg player like me. But now a days when terran are being so greedy, cant you just punish it with a bling/ling all-in attack? I have much trouble take the third against terran but also against protoss.
On May 04 2012 04:47 ajizi wrote: You got some nice tips for a fellow zerg player like me. But now a days when terran are being so greedy, cant you just punish it with a bling/ling all-in attack? I have much trouble take the third against terran but also against protoss.
Not really, terran's now of days kind of deal with all ins farely easily. At least whenever I try it on korea they hold it easy peasy. There was a period of time where you could, but now terran's figured out how to defend vs that while still going 3CC. It can work just it's not a solid way of dealing with it as time goes on terrans are just going to get better and better at dealing with it.
On May 04 2012 04:47 ajizi wrote: You got some nice tips for a fellow zerg player like me. But now a days when terran are being so greedy, cant you just punish it with a bling/ling all-in attack? I have much trouble take the third against terran but also against protoss.
Not really, terran's now of days kind of deal with all ins farely easily. At least whenever I try it on korea they hold it easy peasy. There was a period of time where you could, but now terran's figured out how to defend vs that while still going 3CC. It can work just it's not a solid way of dealing with it as time goes on terrans are just going to get better and better at dealing with it.
So its not going to work in the higher leagues and since I'm aiming for High Master, maybe I should focus on defending my third then?
On May 04 2012 04:47 ajizi wrote: You got some nice tips for a fellow zerg player like me. But now a days when terran are being so greedy, cant you just punish it with a bling/ling all-in attack? I have much trouble take the third against terran but also against protoss.
Not really, terran's now of days kind of deal with all ins farely easily. At least whenever I try it on korea they hold it easy peasy. There was a period of time where you could, but now terran's figured out how to defend vs that while still going 3CC. It can work just it's not a solid way of dealing with it as time goes on terrans are just going to get better and better at dealing with it.
So its not going to work in the higher leagues and since I'm aiming for High Master, maybe I should focus on defending my third then?
Yes if you plan on playing high masters you should learn how to defend your third for sure. It doesn't mean never all in, but you shouldn't only rely on it as that is a bad habbit that you will find hurting you as you get higher in the ranks and realize you can't play a solid macro game vs them ever and your all ins get stopped most of the time.
How would you change up this z v t build if you saw banshees either 1 or 2 starports with or without cloak? It seems like the third might be vulnerable to cloak banshees?
Not checked out the video yet, but will when eatin, just wanted to say thnx fo producing SOOOO much content haha, not sure you get the credit that you deserve! <3
Great job, keep it up! Maybe you could talk about "what ifs" a little bit, for example if he went banshees or helion/marauder how you would adapt your build. I'm really looking forward to the next one
On May 03 2012 17:11 blade55555 wrote: Thanks guys. I know it's a little monotone, but I am not a caster nor do I ever intend to be. Just uploading it to help players out, so if it's boring I do apologize but I doubt that'll ever be fixed xD.
I personally think your casting on the game is fine. Not a lot of enthusiasm but it for sure isn't boring, and you know what you are talking about. Keep up with these I'd love to see more!
On May 04 2012 07:24 RedDragon571 wrote: How would you change up this z v t build if you saw banshees either 1 or 2 starports with or without cloak? It seems like the third might be vulnerable to cloak banshees?
The third should be done before cloak and banshees come. This is assuming he is doing a reactor hellion expand then cloak and not 1 base cloak banshee. If it is 1 base you should not be taking a third super fast.
On May 04 2012 08:47 Mekrah wrote: Mr Blade. I usually get smoked by mass hellions. I have no clue how to react or how to scout it in time. Any help?
As you see I get roaches, I make more if I see more then 4 hellions. Roaches are the great counter
Hello everyone! For those that enjoyed my first video and hunger for another, I have just finished and uploaded my next one! This is zerg vs protoss standard opening vs forge FE. I give my thoughts and all that fun stuff that hopefully helps you guys out that struggle in zvp! I will do zvz next, but the poll is going to see what you would like after that.
Here it is! The next video should be actual full screen as after I uploaded this a friend of mine told me how to fix it !
thank's guys! Don't forget to vote in the poll because after my zvz one next week I will be doing it by poll votes! So far zvt is winning ^^.
Also again, the video's will be stretched to what they should be! A friend told me how to do it and now I know how to fix the smallish screen! So apologies for that!
I literally watch blade in my underwear because his game-play is so good. Why do I do this? Well i usually wear jeans and when I get a boner from his spectacular mirco it just gets uncomfortable.
Also again, the video's will be stretched to what they should be! A friend told me how to do it and now I know how to fix the smallish screen! So apologies for that!
Yup. I'll get Blade's vids fixed in a week or so, or at least any ones going forward. :D
Nice vid, the commentary felt more natural than in the first one.
What would you have done if you hadn't held off his first push so easily? Like you losing most of your army but saving your third, him retreating with his core army before your reinforcements hatch. Do you still try to put on heavy pressure to desperately try to keep him on 2 base and keep his army size down or do you go to plan B?
I find that happening sometimes in my games. If I hold the gw attack easily then countering with a bunch of roach/ling usually works just fine to either kill him or put me well ahead while delaying his third, which is why they call it an all-in I guess. However, if I take heavy losses without wiping out most of his army I'm scared of committing to an all out roach/ling counter since toss can be so incredibly cost efficient while defending unless I have a much bigger army.
Should I try to trade no matter what or should I do something else instead? Is there some rule of thumb I could use for deciding what to after he backs off depending on how the battle went? I know this depends on a lot of things so I guess I'll put that type of video my wishlist for another week if there's no easy answer
On May 10 2012 23:00 chlindell wrote: Nice vid, the commentary felt more natural than in the first one.
What would you have done if you hadn't held off his first push so easily? Like you losing most of your army but saving your third, him retreating with his core army before your reinforcements hatch. Do you still try to put on heavy pressure to desperately try to keep him on 2 base and keep his army size down or do you go to plan B?
I find that happening sometimes in my games. If I hold the gw attack easily then countering with a bunch of roach/ling usually works just fine to either kill him or put me well ahead while delaying his third, which is why they call it an all-in I guess. However, if I take heavy losses without wiping out most of his army I'm scared of committing to an all out roach/ling counter since toss can be so incredibly cost efficient while defending unless I have a much bigger army.
Should I try to trade no matter what or should I do something else instead? Is there some rule of thumb I could use for deciding what to after he backs off depending on how the battle went? I know this depends on a lot of things so I guess I'll put that type of video my wishlist for another week if there's no easy answer
Thanks!
If I had lost most of my army but was able to kill his whole army I would be in a better position then what happened in that game. Had I killed those sentries also as I said in that game I believe I would have won a lot faster, but since I messed up a little and he was able to save them he was fine since he only lost a few zealots.
Now if I lost most of my army and he lost very little of his then I am in a bad position if for some reason he killed most of my army but retreated I would probably lose .
Lately in zvp I have been messing around with something, infestors vs twilight play, mutalisks vs robo play (I can't remember if I mentioned that in this video). I plan on showcasing that in future zvp videos ^^.
So pretty much the answer to your question for if you should put pressure, if you kill most of his army yes you should be able to prevent the third all game long as long as you can kill most of his army even if you lose most of yours. If you kill say half and you lost most of yours it's very dependent on how many sentries he has and all that. Hope I was able to answer your question ^^.
Ok, so it's more dependent on how much army (gas units a least) HE lost rather than how much I did then. Usually if I lose much I'll be scared to push regardless of how much it cost him to do that which I guess is wrong but this "rule" should be simple enough to remember in game. Haven't really thought about it like that before so yeah that's a good answer, thanks.
Hey guys thanks again for the nice comments and everything. I have now uploaded my zvz muta guide today and hope you guys enjoy it! I will be doing many strategies with all the races so if you aren't interested don't worry there will be more!
The next one will be zvt vs mech as I think that is one a lot of people want to know how to fight. Unless I am told in this thread what they want to see that is my plan for now. This one should be all right and hopefully you guys enjoy it!
Thanks guys just remember for future ideas please feel free to ask in this thread what you would like to see, if I see none I will just pick something ^^. Next one is planned zvt vs mech and then after that will be either zvz/zvp!
Hello guys I have uploaded my next video which will feature me vs quanticHashe in a zerg vs terran on ohana where he goes mech. I have 2 replays vs him where he goes mech and will be doing the other game some time this week. So this will be a week of 2 video's and not just one!
I haven't faced to much mech in awhile on korea in like a month, so I decided to pick these 2 as they are very current (within the past 7 days) and both have me beating it differently. So without further ado here it is!
Description: How I deal with mech and locating weaknesses, how I decide when to be aggressive, when to transition, how to engage the army, etc.
On May 22 2012 12:42 blade55555 wrote: Description: How I deal with mech and locating weaknesses, how I decide when to be aggressive, when to transition, how to engage the army, etc.
Regarding mech with banshees, is your roach/ling/bling attack on a quick third a viable option considering banshees significantly delay tank production and, subsequently, siege tech?
On May 22 2012 12:42 blade55555 wrote: Description: How I deal with mech and locating weaknesses, how I decide when to be aggressive, when to transition, how to engage the army, etc.
Regarding mech with banshees, is your roach/ling/bling attack on a quick third a viable option considering banshees significantly delay tank production and, subsequently, siege tech?
It is if he doesn't have tanks. That game I was able to attack because I scouted low amount of tanks or units in general that can kill roaches and attacked. If he hadn't played so greedy and gotten tanks faster and more of them you couldn't attack the fast third most likely.
Nice! I remember reading a lot of your guides and watching a lot of your replays and taking a lot away from them. I will definitely check these out, Go go, blade!
Hey blade, REaaLLLLYYYYyyyyyYY Learning a LOT from your videos! thanks a lot!
I have one Doubt, would u recommend the Ling infestor Ultra zvz style to players below diamond league? coz it seems like it involves a lot of key decisions that bronze - plat players are incapable of making ?
On June 25 2012 06:57 daffy07 wrote: Hey blade, REaaLLLLYYYYyyyyyYY Learning a LOT from your videos! thanks a lot!
I have one Doubt, would u recommend the Ling infestor Ultra zvz style to players below diamond league? coz it seems like it involves a lot of key decisions that bronze - plat players are incapable of making ?
Hm I am not really sure, probably not because it takes good injects/macro as you need a ton of lings and missing injects will hurt more then if you were going roaches since lings are very larva inneffecient. It might be fine, not sure I would try it and if you don't think you can do it just don't. Won't hurt anyway to try it if you are interested in it
I don't know, blade. I think if he didn't go speedbanes on that first attack and instead poured that money into more roaches, you would have certainly lost your third and probably the game.
Hey guys new video out for zerg vs protoss! This is going to be a 2-3 parter, by that I mean I will be doing a couple more zerg vs protoss videos for the next couple weeks to show case banelings and some ways to use them effectively!
Video 7 Blade(Zerg) vs Matt(Protoss) - Going Banelings
Notes: This show cases muta/ling/bane into ultralisks and explains some of the basic concepts of it and the goal if you do make ultralisks.
one Question, woulds banelings be usefull early game before drop and overlord speed is researched? would you deal with a 6/7/8 gate attck with only lings and blings or add in roaches?
On June 29 2012 22:33 daffy07 wrote: Really awesome job blade, keep it up! :D
one Question, woulds banelings be usefull early game before drop and overlord speed is researched? would you deal with a 6/7/8 gate attck with only lings and blings or add in roaches?
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Hm banelings would probably be useful early game to defend say the +1 4 gate zealot pressure that tosses do, but if he is doing a gateway all in get roaches. Roach/ling is what you still want vs any sort of gateway all ins (or any 2 base all ins in general). There are some timings that would just kill ling/bane if you only did that, that being an archon timing attack you would never hold.
Also glad to hear it whole I have been doing really good doing the style as well :D
Just thought I would update as well that part 3 will be out today or tomorrow instead of next week thanks to no work :D
In ZvZ, do you always do Ling/Infestor or is it map dependent? Because I would like a video of standard Roach/Infestor ZvZ, but if you don't even do Roaches anymore, then you can't really do a video on it XD.
On July 04 2012 00:38 Whole wrote: In ZvZ, do you always do Ling/Infestor or is it map dependent? Because I would like a video of standard Roach/Infestor ZvZ, but if you don't even do Roaches anymore, then you can't really do a video on it XD.
Oh no. I feel it's a bad idea to only do 1 strategy and that's it, especially in a match up like zvz. I do all sorts of things from roach timings, to roach/hydra/infestor to muta to ling/infestor ^_^.
Also guys part 3 is released!
Notes: This is on the NA server and this game I mainly showed to showcase ultralisks vs the stalker/colossi. There are of course usual baneling drops :D.
Hey guys just bumping this to state that I am going to attempt to do a live showing while recording my next video.
The next video I am doing is going to be zvt and I plan on streaming it live at twitch.tv/blade55555 at 4 pm est and it will still be uploaded to youtube so there will be a good quality video if you don't like the lower quality since my stream isn't amazing quality. Hope to see some of you tune in as that's my plan. Going to be done tomorrow (wednesday) 4 pm est.
Going to be watching some of these when I get home from work. I'm really rusty from not playing in about a year and these might help me understand the new meta game and timings better.
Thanks so much for this. I am learning zerg and I can not seem too find any great learning tools, but this works for me. I already have some of your replay packs but it is so much easier hearing someone explain their strats.
On August 17 2012 07:12 AmbitioNsc2 wrote: I watched the banelings vs protoss videos and they show Protosses who attack and then you crush your push. (I think)
What if Protoss does not attack and turtles on say 4 base? Do you go offensive with the ling bane ultra infestor army or tech to brood lords..?
If he takes a fourth I skip ultralisks and go straight infestors. You can still do ultras if you want and try to attack, but it would only be worth trying on a map with some open area, otherwise just skip it and do the bl/corruptor/infestor composition.
On August 17 2012 07:12 AmbitioNsc2 wrote: I watched the banelings vs protoss videos and they show Protosses who attack and then you crush your push. (I think)
What if Protoss does not attack and turtles on say 4 base? Do you go offensive with the ling bane ultra infestor army or tech to brood lords..?
If he takes a fourth I skip ultralisks and go straight infestors. You can still do ultras if you want and try to attack, but it would only be worth trying on a map with some open area, otherwise just skip it and do the bl/corruptor/infestor composition.
Okay thanks a lot! Pretty eager to try this style out and hopefully switch to it for all my ZvPs. Do you do it for all of yours?
If I saw mass immortal/zealot compositions I wouldn't go ultralisks, 4'th base, pretty much if he's going an army that is very good vs ultralisks on 3 base then I will just go bl's instead.
So in parts 2 and 3 of ZvP banelings you go infestor. In part 1 you decide to go muta. Is this solely because of the map, Condemned Ridge? And do you think there is a better choice overall for zvp? (infestor vs muta)
Hey guys just thought I would let you guys know I have released a new video, but it is for hots!
Video 1 - Zerg vs Terran - Playing verse mech as zerg
Description: I saw quiet a few comments saying mech is hard to beat as zerg in hots, so I decided the first video back would be beating mech in heart of the swarm.
I just watched the hots video. I really like it, the only thing I think is bad though is that Terran, he seemed awful. More Widow mines spread out work WONDERS with the splash.
Thanks for the comments. I was asked to do a zvp one and I am going to be doing 2. Here is part 1 and the 2nd one will come out either late this weekend or sometime next week.
Notes: Heart of the swarm zvp, going roach/hydra into a fast hive into viper/ultra/ling/bane and corruptors when he goes air. Shows the viability of ultras in zvp as the army the protoss has when I go ultras is an army that would crush ultras in WoL.
EPT
gj man
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and record, or disable scaling/fullscreen, 0-0
