• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 16:06
CEST 22:06
KST 05:06
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists7[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Fresh Flow9[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash10[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos0Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy21
Community News
2026 GSL Season 1 Qualifiers4Maestros of the Game 2 announced22026 GSL Tour plans announced2Weekly Cups (April 6-12): herO doubles, "Villains" prevail0MaNa leaves Team Liquid18
StarCraft 2
General
Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists Maestros of the Game 2 announced 2026 GSL Tour plans announced Weekly Cups (April 6-12): herO doubles, "Villains" prevail MaNa leaves Team Liquid
Tourneys
2026 GSL Season 1 Qualifiers Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) SEL Doubles (SC Evo Bimonthly) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament $5,000 WardiTV TLMC tournament - Presented by Monster Energy
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players [M] (2) Frigid Storage
External Content
Mutation # 521 Memorable Boss The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 520 Moving Fees Mutation # 519 Inner Power
Brood War
General
Data needed BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ A cwal.gg Extension - Easily keep track of anyone [ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Fresh Flow BW General Discussion
Tourneys
[ASL21] Ro16 Group B [ASL21] Ro24 Group F [ASL21] Ro16 Group A [Megathread] Daily Proleagues
Strategy
What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Any training maps people recommend? Fighting Spirit mining rates Muta micro map competition
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread General RTS Discussion Thread Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Canadian Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books [Manga] One Piece Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion Cricket [SPORT] Tokyo Olympics 2021 Thread
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
[G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Reappraising The Situation T…
TrAiDoS
lurker extra damage testi…
StaticNine
Broowar part 2
qwaykee
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1958 users

ZvZ is the bane of my existence, help welcomed - Page 2

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 Next All
Twaxter
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada190 Posts
January 23 2011 03:52 GMT
#21
Go 11 Over pool, 18 extractor + queen + ling + Roach Waren, get xel naga with lings, force other play to make lings, burst out 3 roaches, and block any speedling/baneling crap. from their on either drone up or react to see if he pushes, go lair get double gas, get +1 get speed and an over seer and push or expand yourself. This works 90% of the time, the other 10% is when you let speedlings runby, which can be easily stopped, block your ramp..., and your reinforcements should be able to kill alot of speedlings, and your areadly won, cause he wasted all that larva.

If you see a 15 hatch, your best off expanding yourself, hopefully the man will waste larva on lings.
If you see no roaches, get +1 attack range and attack his natural.

This works for me at mid high 2700ish masters.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THIS MATCHUP is fienting attacks, so move out of your base then move back in so you can distract the other player to make units or static while you make drones. The more he does this the more your ahead.
Lose and Learn
Kinch2
Profile Joined January 2011
United States2 Posts
January 23 2011 17:42 GMT
#22
On January 23 2011 11:36 ChaosTriggeR wrote:
If you're gonna check out the mrbitter machine vod you might as well watch zvz with Ret as well. Its a better way to fast expand than the way machine suggests imo and can be used in more situations.


I found the MrBitter VOD but where can I find this ret video?
KawasakiJ
Profile Joined December 2010
South Africa58 Posts
January 23 2011 22:25 GMT
#23
I watched yr 1st replay, you not bad. Yr macro was good.
You held opp off well...I tht even with yr mistakes you were gonna win, the loss shocked me.
If you just waited until you had a few more hydras.... 3 cudnt change tide much

Day9 advice above is good...having watched a gazillion replays of pros...it seems the safest build is
few lings, roach, roach attack upgrade then burrow move (not burrow).....hydra, infestor

Fuhrmaaj
Profile Joined January 2011
167 Posts
January 27 2011 03:26 GMT
#24
I agree with Twaxter, I've been using the 11 overpool build and I only lose in the late game in ZvZ. It's great because when your opponent scouts, they will think you've done a 10 pool and the proper response to the 10 pool is to 14 pool roach. If they do that, then you will expand first and be ahead.

If your opponent does a 10 pool, you'll be able to hold with lings/queen/spinecrawler while you're waiting for your roaches to hatch. The key advantage is that you have a queen and they have a low unit count so you'll be able to hold.

If your opponent does the 14 pool roach all-in that Treemonkeys was talking about, then you'll have an expansion and your roaches should hatch just in time to defend. I don't know how to add replays to my response, but I have one I played recently where I held off that exact attack and I made a million mistakes. You have more larvae and economy than your opponent so the longer you hold, the better shape you're in. Bring queens to fight in early battles.

If your opponent does an expand first, you should be able to beat them by doing a speedling all-in. You might not even need to expand. The 11 overpool build is very strong economically and you have more larvae than the other openings so you should be in good shape. I'm not sure though because I've never played a game where the zerg expanded first and then pressured me.

Remember that you can wall of most ramps with two roaches and a queen. Make sure you have a ling to scout when they move out and you should be fine.
Random player
charlie420247
Profile Joined November 2009
United States692 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-27 05:02:42
January 27 2011 05:01 GMT
#25
the only two strats ive seen in high diamond level are mass roach and mass zergling with the OCCASIONAL ling bane style play.

my favorite build is just to open with speedlings and expand. if you see him doing the same you can add bane. if you see him going roach forget the nest and just mass tons and tons of lings.

if he comes out at a normal timing and you attack the roaches in the open, ie not in your mineral line or on a ramp or between a buch of buildings you should be able to stomp his army. (try hitting the roaches when there in a line, as opposed to being in a balll so that each roach can get surrounded.)

if he waits befor pushing out the lings are gonna be very much less effective. so in this case your gonna need to get roaches of your own and continue to scout. the unit counters in zvz are some of the roughest most unforgiving counters in the game. \

dont feel bad about being lost in zvz it is a very troublesom and complex matchup that has been evolving for some time now. just be diligent and watch some reps.

if there was one key word i could convey to you that i think has helped my zvz the most.

macro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT MISS INJECTS (they WILL cost you the game)
there are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who dont.
Quagmire
Profile Joined November 2010
Ireland50 Posts
January 27 2011 05:23 GMT
#26
Just practice 15 gas 15 pool and defending any early lings with your drones get queen as soon as pool is down. as soon as queen is done get liar and 2nd gas. make sure u see wats coming out his ramp(build 2 lings early and try to get them into his base to see for banes or roaches, if banes u need roaches) if its 6 pool or 8 pool u might need to get a spine crawler up and few ling. Its all about not losing many drones to this and you will be ahead. From that point its up to u wat u want to do. If he hasnt got his liar up go burrow speed roaches and anytime a roach is close to the red burrow him. Deny his scouting and use overseers to keep scouting him. By seeing his army you know wat to build and when to drone. Something ive been playing with is putting up a spire, if he scouts it, alot of the time they put down 6 spores and quickly techs to hydra, if he doesnt spot it get a bit of defence and go muta pwn him. Wat will happen is he has built lots of roaches and will run to ur base as soon as he sees muta in his. so do dmg and get back in time, if ur defences are good its pretty much gg from there
Giggidy
Whale
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States18 Posts
January 27 2011 05:34 GMT
#27
On January 24 2011 02:42 Kinch2 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 23 2011 11:36 ChaosTriggeR wrote:
If you're gonna check out the mrbitter machine vod you might as well watch zvz with Ret as well. Its a better way to fast expand than the way machine suggests imo and can be used in more situations.


I found the MrBitter VOD but where can I find this ret video?


http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=177791
Chinesewonder
Profile Joined November 2010
Canada354 Posts
January 27 2011 06:00 GMT
#28
Machine said in another one of MrBitters videos that his builds are kind of "outdated" and he is looking to incorporate one of Day9's 1 base roach into lair builds. Look up day9's 235 daily episode, its a great build and Im thinking of using it as a standard on maps where FE is risky. On maps like lost temp and metalopolis FE and go into roach play and watch for mutas. also with day9's build you dont have to worry about learning baneling/ling play which is great so you dont have to master as much
Ghad
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Norway2551 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-08 13:37:03
March 08 2011 12:59 GMT
#29
Thought I would give a little feedback here, after some time, hopefully I'm forgiven for bumping:

I am actually doing a bit better zvz now. My present main gameplan is going 11 pool, then pump 4 roaches ASAP to combat any ling pressure and then block my ramp. After that I go lair tech of one base and aim for getting an advantage so i can secure an expansion early in the midgame.

I haven't perfected anything yet to be sure, but at least i seem to have gotten rid of my tragic mindset i had going into zvz. I think one big change is that at least now I have one thing prepared up to 25 supply that I am using pretty much every game, this increases the quality of practise by a lot.

Thanks for your kind input everybody who wrote here and the guy who sent me a crazy long pm!
forgottendreams: One underage girl, two drunk guys, one gogo dancer and starcraft 2. Apparently just another day in Europe.
EvilZergling
Profile Joined September 2010
United States194 Posts
March 08 2011 15:57 GMT
#30
I'm pretty good at my ZvZ but keep in mind I am only a 3300 Diamond ranked player.

My opening goes as follows:

-15 hatch
-15 pool
-16 gas
-17 overlord
-@Pool 100% done, drop roach warren immediately before queen
-6 Zerglings for defense and/or scouting
-Queen
-Overlord
-4-6 Roaches depending on how aggressive your opponent is being
(cont'd: If you notice OP is being really zergling heavy I like to drop a banelings nest and keep 4-6 banes near my roaches and 2 on ramp to make sure those lings do absolutely nothing.)
-Drone up but keep making 2 roaches at a time to ensure you can hold off pressure

From here you go wherever you want.
I like to get 1 evo chamber and start +attack until I have +2 attk then get armor. If I notice I can easily afford the 1 evo chamber I get 2 evo's for double upgrades on atk and armor.
Upgrade to lair as soon as possible because you want roach speed as soon as you can get it which you will use for harassment as well as denying a natural expansion if they are 1 basing or to deny a 3rd. Keep the 4-6 banelings you made at home for a zergling counter while you are away from your base.
Continue to deny his expansions while you take a 3rd. Get a hydra den and the rest should be fairly simple.

That's normally what has been winning games for me lately. Make sure you constantly scout as well, not only with attacking units but also with overlords. Position overlords around his bases so that if something tricky comes out like mutalisks... the muta attack the overlords while you have time to spore up. Since you already have your evo chamber(s) up for upgrades you can easily get 2-3 spores per base which completely denies the muta doing anything useful then you make a few hydra if you haven't already, push out and win.
CC first, or die trying. [http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=438152#11]
Deadeight
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United Kingdom1629 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-08 18:16:04
March 08 2011 18:14 GMT
#31
I hate ZvZ, and I too have the problem where I'm getting ZvZ about 50% of games. I have no idea why, it's not like everyone is playing zerg. Wish I'd had this many vZ matchups back when I was a protoss.

In my experience, to actually play it well you have to be at such a high level to scout correctly and know the responses. It's basically throwing shit at each other hoping you might get an edge somehow, and then if that doesnt work one person tries to go muta. Half the time they'll die before mutas are out, the other half they'll get mutas and that's the game won.

In terms of openings, in general I've also found:

Speedling > Roach
Roach > Baneling
Baneling > Speedling

a.k.a.

Scissor > Paper
Paper > Rock
Rock > Scissor

What a shit matchup.

I know the speedling>roach seems a bit weird but most speedling openings can bum rush a roach opening before it gets going, and if you catch roaches in open field you can get a really good surround on them and they just drop.

But yeah if you can scout well I think it becomes a lot less rock/paper/scissor. But I'm not there yet.



EDIT: I wish that you could queue for different matchups, and have a different ranking for each. In the same way you have a ladder for each 2v2 team you are on, you would have a seperate ladder and matchmaking for your ZvT, ZvP, ZvZ and your ZvAnyone.
Lingy
Profile Joined December 2010
England201 Posts
March 08 2011 18:19 GMT
#32
If you arent diamond, mechanics are the way that you will see the greatest improvements in mirrors
Hydraliskuuuuhh
Coolguy
Profile Joined January 2011
68 Posts
March 08 2011 18:35 GMT
#33
Day9 made a newbie tuesday about zvz if you want to watch it. Easy and simple, even if you find the skill level's below you, you can definitely take something away from this
Here's the link:
http://day9tv.blip.tv/file/4650275/
defteH
Profile Joined December 2010
United Kingdom134 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-08 18:48:43
March 08 2011 18:45 GMT
#34
Gold/Nearly Plat here; ZvZ is my best matchup. Unless I don't scout early and I get 6/7/8/9/10 Pooled I just assume that they're going speedlings and then plan transition from there. More often than not you'll hit Bling/Roach tech and the game plays out from there in my experience.

You need to pressure early, if you can stop them expanding, snipe drones/his first queen and force them to do what you want them to do (Which by using speedlings is either make banelings or roaches) you can plan ahead and control the game.

Also punish a 15 hatching zerg as much as possible, if you can harass his expo or even kill it while expanding yourself you should have no trouble mopping up his inferior force, just make sure you don't let his economy kick in or you'll be wayyyy behind.

I tend to 14gas, 14pool, Speed, Queen then make Lings til 22 and expand behind unless you've got his back against the wall in which case just macro up and spam him with lings til he taps out.

Just my 2 cents, prolly a lot of mistakes people will pick up on but hey
"Think outside the box, collapse the box and take a f***ing sharp knife to it"
mothergoose729
Profile Joined December 2010
United States666 Posts
March 08 2011 20:13 GMT
#35
If your opponent goes 15 hatch on a close positions map go for a banneling all in and win 95% of the time

if you opponent does a early pool, go 14 pool, take no gas, and save three larva for right when your pool finishes to make six zerglings.

Otherwise a 14gas/14 pool, make 4 lings, pressure and poke to get a feel they are doing, expand and go roach from there. ZvZ is hard mostly because there are so many effective cheases, but once you make it to 11 minutes ok the game is pretty straightforward from there. He who has the most roach/hydras wins.
Schnullerbacke13
Profile Joined August 2010
Germany1199 Posts
March 08 2011 21:10 GMT
#36
a simple strat with good win rate: 11 (over)pool, speed, banenest (even try bane before speed, will surprise many opponents). after queen and 15 drones, just pump lings, get +1 in case he is going roach, do not macro or drone up, if minerals stack up => 2cnd hatch. If you got lotso lings, morph some banes and attack with lings, go with banes for eco. Ensure your mass lings get not scouted. Most Zerg start teching and macroing, so they are simply killed by a timing push. If they go fast muta => instant attack, they will have no defense :-) + queen+spores
21 is half the truth
EvilZergling
Profile Joined September 2010
United States194 Posts
March 08 2011 21:15 GMT
#37
On close positions it can be a bit tougher but with proper micro you can still pull off my build with fast roaches doing a 15 hatch 15 pool. The key is to use the roaches to kill the banes and block the choke to start. Given proper scouting you notice he is ling heavy or if you are lucky you spot a baneling or banelings nest in which case you make one of your own and send 2 banelings at a time toward his incoming baneling group. 2 Banelings will kill an infinite number of banelings that are bunched.

I've won many times doing this.
CC first, or die trying. [http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=438152#11]
Schnullerbacke13
Profile Joined August 2010
Germany1199 Posts
March 08 2011 21:22 GMT
#38
i don't get it how you get away with 15h14p. I always crush them with agression, roaches are too late to defend fast ling/fast bane rushes .. it requires very good micro to defend a 15h15p against this.
21 is half the truth
shabinka
Profile Joined October 2008
United States469 Posts
March 08 2011 21:41 GMT
#39
Double hatch speedling builds are effective. You can pump out enough lings to make banes ineffective.
Ksyper
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Bulgaria665 Posts
March 08 2011 21:43 GMT
#40
I got tired of trying to go roach so now I just go for a speedling expand build, the hard part about the speedling expand build is knowing when to stop attacking and start droning and when to transition into roaches or banelings.
But it's great practice for micro so I enjoy it, and I have a fairly good win rate since many people are greedy.
Prev 1 2 3 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 3h 55m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
mouzHeroMarine 515
elazer 253
IndyStarCraft 181
ProTech135
UpATreeSC 100
JuggernautJason30
Railgan 22
StarCraft: Brood War
Calm 3255
firebathero 161
Soulkey 114
Dewaltoss 109
Counter-Strike
fl0m5646
pashabiceps2581
Pyrionflax192
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King68
PPMD26
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu388
Other Games
summit1g7653
Grubby3005
tarik_tv2918
FrodaN1790
B2W.Neo476
C9.Mang0164
ArmadaUGS123
QueenE61
mouzStarbuck54
Organizations
Counter-Strike
PGL137
StarCraft 2
angryscii 19
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 17 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Adnapsc2 17
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• sooper7s
• intothetv
• Migwel
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
StarCraft: Brood War
• blackmanpl 26
• HerbMon 25
• FirePhoenix9
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
League of Legends
• TFBlade2270
Other Games
• imaqtpie1321
• Shiphtur234
Upcoming Events
PiGosaur Cup
3h 55m
CranKy Ducklings
12h 55m
Kung Fu Cup
15h 55m
Replay Cast
1d 3h
The PondCast
1d 13h
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
1d 14h
Replay Cast
2 days
Escore
2 days
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
2 days
OSC
2 days
[ Show More ]
Korean StarCraft League
3 days
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
3 days
IPSL
3 days
WolFix vs nOmaD
dxtr13 vs Razz
BSL
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
4 days
Ladder Legends
4 days
BSL
4 days
IPSL
4 days
JDConan vs TBD
Aegong vs rasowy
Replay Cast
5 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Wardi Open
5 days
Afreeca Starleague
5 days
Bisu vs Ample
Jaedong vs Flash
Monday Night Weeklies
5 days
RSL Revival
6 days
Afreeca Starleague
6 days
Barracks vs Leta
Royal vs Light
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-04-13
RSL Revival: Season 4
NationLESS Cup

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
ASL Season 21
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
IPSL Spring 2026
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
Nations Cup 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: W3
Acropolis #4
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
RSL Revival: Season 5
WardiTV TLMC #16
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.