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PvZ: The Main-Line - Page 3

Forum Index > Brood War Strategy
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ShadowMaster
Profile Joined September 2004
United States238 Posts
October 23 2004 11:18 GMT
#41
Excellent notes on the value of Reavers in the PvZ matchup. Salutes to NonY! Checking out the rep now.
ShadowMaster
Profile Joined September 2004
United States238 Posts
October 23 2004 11:22 GMT
#42
Ooh... a TL.net game! NonY vs. Liquid.Drone... good stuff! Better get back to the game...
ShadowMaster
Profile Joined September 2004
United States238 Posts
October 23 2004 11:55 GMT
#43
Hey NonY, nice game! Where did you get the BO? It seems pretty solid!
NonYold
Profile Joined April 2004
United States2814 Posts
October 23 2004 12:06 GMT
#44
I made it up myself. A lot of my builds, especially at the time of that game, were original
kloownz
Profile Joined October 2004
26 Posts
October 23 2004 13:11 GMT
#45
no man protos is so weak
go kloownz!!
kloownz
Profile Joined October 2004
26 Posts
October 23 2004 13:12 GMT
#46
actually, sorry p.oss isnt weak, its just hard to control well
go kloownz!!
red.venom
Profile Joined October 2002
United States4651 Posts
October 23 2004 17:50 GMT
#47
It's hard not to win when most Toss play like they are reading cue cards now. Zerg as well though. Just learn all the cue cards:D
Broom
Veigh
Profile Joined November 2003
Netherlands300 Posts
October 23 2004 20:37 GMT
#48
Damn this is actually one of the few pvz threads in that enormous see of spam that really makes sense
Mirror matchups are imbalanced by definition
ParasitJonte
Profile Joined September 2004
Sweden1768 Posts
October 23 2004 21:24 GMT
#49
On October 24 2004 05:37 Veigh wrote:
Damn this is actually one of the few pvz threads in that enormous see of spam that really makes sense


yea unlike all othyer "plz I suck at PvZ" posts you can actually learn something from this one
thx all who contribute with awesome posts, appreciate it.
Hello=)
IntoTheWow
Profile Blog Joined May 2004
is awesome32274 Posts
October 24 2004 00:57 GMT
#50
If you want to see a good reaver/goon usage or maybe some sair dt (dt drops to kill tech included), you should start downloading Fisheye reps. His builds are very solid. He is like 5 minutes ahead in the map always.
Moderator<:3-/-<
Hautamaki
Profile Blog Joined December 2003
Canada1311 Posts
October 24 2004 01:03 GMT
#51
a guy advised me to start building more goons mid/late game. I just played a pgtout pvz and pumped practically pure goons out of 3 bases. It raped the hell out his hydra/ling/ultra force, surprisingly. I had about 6 zealots and 40 goons, was 2 upgrades ahead, and he had maybe 40 lings, 20 hydras, and 9 ultras. I lost I guess about 9 goons and my zealots. The ultras died so fast to the concentrated goon fire, and the lings died shortly after getting through my zealots. The hydras did the best, but still no hell. In the past I would have had an army of maybe 30 zealots with some archon/temp backup. In the future, I'm figuring I'm going to go heavy goons with light templar/zealot support, and archons only if I'm behind in ups vs a hard ling user. Goons seem to do the job against ultras, and in numbers hold their own vs hydra/ling with only minimal zealot/temp support required. At the beginning of the game they're pretty worthless though, unless the zerg is up to some kind of 1 base lurker build or something.
True learning is not the memorization of knowledge; it is the internalization of patterns.
Liquid`Jinro
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
Sweden33719 Posts
October 24 2004 01:23 GMT
#52
Which is what I said the first time I saw your strat guide
Moderatortell the guy that interplanatar interaction is pivotal to terrans variety of optionitudals in the pre-midgame preperatories as well as the protosstinal deterriggation of elite zergling strikes - Stimey n | Formerly FrozenArbiter
Hautamaki
Profile Blog Joined December 2003
Canada1311 Posts
October 24 2004 01:57 GMT
#53
it was probably you
True learning is not the memorization of knowledge; it is the internalization of patterns.
ShadowMaster
Profile Joined September 2004
United States238 Posts
Last Edited: 2004-10-24 09:27:28
October 24 2004 07:27 GMT
#54
I would like to post a few notes of my own on the instructive game and ideas NonY posted. I include NonY's valuable notes here first.

Game Analysis: NonY vs Liquid.Drone, Lost Temple 12 vs 6.
Category:
Sair + Reaver to Reaver + Goon
Replay:http://www.duke.edu/~tjw4/PvZmainline.rep

On October 23 2004 16:42 NonY wrote:
Notes about the replay:
1. Zerg that early expand and defend against corsairs are weak against reaver drops. With the corsairs you can harrass overlords, until many hydra gather under many overlords, and reavers can be dropped somewhere else. Also, the corsairs can scout for oncoming hydra, so the reavers can retreat in ample time.

2. Reaver/goon doesn't really work against well-controlled mass hydra in open ground. Unless you have a strong initial attack with the zerg on defense at his natural, you're unlikely to win. In the replay, you can see that you must switch to high templars/zealots at the right time, without getting too weak during the switch.

3. Mid-game reavers are strong (and for that matter, so are late game reavers, although this isn't displayed in this replay) The reavers allow you to be as fast as the Zerg. A speed shuttle can zip around to expansions when you can't afford to commit your army to go across the map to attack an expansion. On the defensive end, reavers flying in to support a nexus only defended by cannons is amazing. Cannons + reavers is a million times stronger than cannons alone.

4. In the replay, look at about 19:45 as the reavers go to 9:00's main, and then return to 9:00's mineral-only to mop up battle. Or at the very end of the replay, a reaver flies to 6:00's natural to attack drones (although it is unsuccessful) at the same time a frontal attack occurs. Basically, this use of the reaver/shuttle is having 2 arms instead of 1. You can be effective in 2 different spots at once, without having to split up your army.


Tactical Notes:
Early game:
  • The Corsairs distracted the Zerg Hydras to one area while the Reavers hit
    another.
  • The Reavers were an invaluable defense from the top of the ramp, raining death down on
    clusters of Hydras -- and this was without a shuttle.


Mid Game:
  • The timely switch to Storm before battles out-proportioned the Reavers.


All game:
  • Protoss who hope to use this strategy must be familiar with the usual Reaver
    Dance:
    loading the Reaver when it is attacked and dropping it as soon as it can, while
    the Zerg tries to thwart this by faking at the Reavers, luring a pick-up, and then quickly
    destroying the shuttle with focused fire. Oh, how many Reavers have been sunk this way!
    Note, however, that this entire tactic can be taken to favor the Protoss by
    building surplus shuttles when cash allows. A single extra shuttle immediately renders this
    tactic much less effective for the Zerg.

  • NonY used a clever Corsair Screen to distract the hydras while the Shuttle made a timely
    escape.


Strategic Notes:
Protoss only built 2 Corsairs all game, but it was enough. Had the Zerg gone for
Spire tech, it would have been a different story.

The positions (12 vs 6) of the players were definitely favorable to this strategy;
in nearer positions (like 12 vs 3) the map control provided by the Corsairs would mean much
less and the speed with which Zerg could assault Protoss would make things much more
difficult. On the other hand, the Reaver drops would be faster; but this shouldn't provide full compensation.

The strategy employed by the Protoss immediately gave the game a very tactical nature
as the entire game could be decided by the better macromanagement of either player. This
should appeal especially to those players who enjoy micro battles.

As effective as this strat was shown to be by NonY, imagine what it could do under the
super-human control of a pro like Reach.

Zerg was caught off-guard by the unusual strategy and and failed to find either a tactical
or a strategic counter to the effective Corsair + Reaver to Reaver + Goon strategy.
Tactically he failed to counter the Reavers, losing handfuls of Hydras every time he
skirmished with them. Strategically his pure-hydra didn't seem to stand a chance vs.
the goon/Reaver and his Mutalisk came too few, too late to help.

I would like to re-emphasize the point made by NonY in his original post: notice the
timely switch to Storm, in time to prepare for larger battles. Let's face it; you can't
micromanage the number of Reavers you would need in a goon+reaver battle vs. hydra combos
late in the game. The power of the Reaver is inversely proportional to the relative size
of the skirmish.


Notice: The Protoss may be forced to expand a little later than with conventional
strats, but don't get worried; expanding ~10 minutes under support of upgraded goons and
two Reavers is perfectly acceptable. But please don't go sending the Reavers on any
expeditions until AFTER your Nexus completes and the base is consolidated.

The Power of Corsairs
The Protoss kept those two Corsairs alive for a long time, and all the while they provided
invaluable services:
1) Emergency damage soaks when things started getting hot for a Reaver Drop: the corsairs
would intercept the incoming hydralisks and distract them, giving the Shuttle time to get
away.

2) Constant full-map scouting. There were no secrets for the Protoss -- and every experienced
Toss player knows how much this means in a PvZ game.

3) As annoying as can be for the Zerg. I mean, really, how would you feel if someone was
constantly poking you in the eye? Distracting, no?

Could It Work?
From this game we can draw the conclusion that hydra tech is rather ineffectual vs.
Reaver/Goon, as the hydras melt and going Lurkers would be strategic suicide as both
Reavers and Goons counter them while Observers are only half a step away. This severely
limits the Zerg options and is likely to put your opponent at a psychological disadvantage
as well; notice how such an experienced and respectable player as Liquid.Drone utterly
failed to counter it.

Of course, one cannot justify such a broad -- and tactically risky --
strategy off of one game; it definitely needs more testing and refining. However,
this game definitely shows that it is worth looking in to.
NonYold
Profile Joined April 2004
United States2814 Posts
October 24 2004 07:56 GMT
#55
Here is some more support of my reaver theory that I was talking about...

http://www.duke.edu/~tjw4/PvZreavers.rep

The game shows the awesome utility of reavers on offense and defense. Also, watch the game before you look at it in bwchart. Take note of my micro, macro, and multitask, and try to guess my APM :O
ahk-gosu
Profile Joined July 2004
Korea (South)2099 Posts
October 24 2004 08:11 GMT
#56
the thing is if you got mainly a hydra force and you dont spend your gas on lurkers, get queens.
ensnare owns on zlots which makes their leg upgrades nearly worthless and the broodlings kills templars. also if you parasite templars they will have to waste them or keep them with their army so you can see where they advance.

queens are nice.
Micro.Macro.Scouting.Harassment.
ahk-gosu
Profile Joined July 2004
Korea (South)2099 Posts
October 24 2004 08:14 GMT
#57
shadow master please use the edit tool
thx
Micro.Macro.Scouting.Harassment.
ShadowMaster
Profile Joined September 2004
United States238 Posts
October 24 2004 08:42 GMT
#58
ahk-gosu,
I'm not sure which strategy or post you are responding to. However, I agree with you about Queens: they are a great unit and are especially effective against Protoss. I'm sure you've realized that they are also extremely rare from Zerg gamers. If Protoss strategies are forcing the Zerg to use units that were formerly never used, I say good!
Of course, DA (which we are seeing much more of lately) > Queen ^-^ Also, I think that parasite-happy players can be countered by hallucinations and, especially, shuttles: pick up the parasited units and suddenly he can't see from them anymore. True, parasite > shuttles, but you have to make concessions somewhere.
I use the edit tool almost gratuitoiusly What are you referring to?
Thanks for the posts!
NonYold
Profile Joined April 2004
United States2814 Posts
October 24 2004 08:46 GMT
#59
I think ahk-gosu wants you to edit your subsequent posts into your original post, so that all the info is in one place.

Also, I think his discussion on queens was completely out of place and I don't know why he posted it (wrong thread?) :O
ahk-gosu
Profile Joined July 2004
Korea (South)2099 Posts
October 24 2004 10:40 GMT
#60
if you know how to exploit the ai of the lurkers you can take them out ez.
either you can 1 storm 1 goon hit kill them

or...

you can use an archon or some zlots to lure the spines away from the front by rushing them past like what you do with firebats or marines when you wanna kill lurkers.
ive done this numerous times. archons and goons are a must for killing lurker contain.
Micro.Macro.Scouting.Harassment.
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