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[Q] Overlord Scouting Techniques

Forum Index > Brood War Strategy
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traceurling
Profile Joined December 2012
United States1240 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-03-03 18:11:41
March 03 2013 06:13 GMT
#1
Hey guys, so this has been something I've been planning on learning for a long time as Overlord scouting is a pretty small thing to do, but also very important, and a forum search turned up some info but not everything I wanted to know...So I was wondering if you guys could give me a quick lesson on how to scout with my overlord for each matchup properly, I know there are like rules of thumbs and minor tricks to follow...this is what I know so far...

General
-On (2) player maps, send the overlord to their natural to see if they're going early expo or not
-On (3) and (4) player maps, scout the main where your overlord will pass over their natural as it travels to the main

vZ
-If your initial overlord meets their overlord halfway or 3/4 of the way towards a main, they are there
-if your second overlord meets their overlord 1/4 of the way towards a main, they are there
-if possible, know where you should have vision of their creep so you can turn your overlord faster
-if you want to 12 hatch, send overlord to scout cross map on (4) player maps so your overlords won't run into eachother

vP

vT
-keep overlord outside their natural, don't lose it to marines.
-use second overlord to scout for bunker rush

Some things I don't understand
-In one of Day[9]'s Dailies, he analyzed a ZvP where the Zerg send I believe his second overlord to the middle of the map, Day[9] said something along the lines that by being in the center of the map, this overlord can reach any of the other 3 spawn locations really quickly...how is this beneficial why didnt he just scout another main?
-Why do some people (in ZvP) send their overlord to just outside their natural, I know it's in the hope they can see which direction the probe comes from, but does the benefits really outweight the costs?

That's all I know, are there any more tips and tricks and general rules? I found out the thing about scouting cross map when you 12 hatch from Bakuryu(I think it was him) commenting on one of Sayle's casts...I thought it was really cool and I was wondering if there were any other neat tricks...I guess I'll update the OP with what you guys say so other people can use this as a resource...
"Appreciate the things you have before they become the things you had."
Birdie
Profile Blog Joined August 2007
New Zealand4438 Posts
March 03 2013 06:30 GMT
#2
-Why do some people (in ZvP) send their overlord to just outside their natural, I know it's in the hope they can see which direction the probe comes from, but does the benefits really outweight the costs?

If you keep it at your natural I believe it's to watch for cannon rushing inside your mineral line, so you usually move it so that you can see the mineral line.

In ZvP (let's say you're bottom right, you send first overlord to bottom left) you send your scouting drone to top right anyway so you don't have to send the overlord there, you can send it to the middle instead where it can see proxy gates and can go to either top right or top left naturals quickly depending on what your drone and first overlord scout. So if your drone scouts top right and nothing's there, and your first overlord scouts bottom left and nothing's there, your second overlord is already on its way to the top left and you've also got a chance of seeing proxy gates.
Red classic | A butterfly dreamed he was Zhuangzi | 4.5k, heading to 5k as support!
Harem
Profile Joined November 2007
United States11390 Posts
March 03 2013 07:07 GMT
#3
They send it outside natural so that they know if they can 12hat safely or have to overpool if they see a probe. In addition, they know where the protoss is. Now, since every P will double scout assuming FE, you'll eventually start to be wary if you don't see a probe by x time, this means that you send that ovie through middle in case of proxy gates (or they are 1basing)

However, you can also accomplish this by drone scouting which arguably is even better on iccup esp with how much 1base and 2gate people like to do. Send that drone cross-map, first ovie to nearest nat ie fs bott left to top left and then second ovie to bott right.

Also for zvz, on maps like ground zero, if you are 9pooling then you send the first ovie horizontally. This is because lings will see their overlord as they see ramp. If they don't see ovie and your first ovie doesn't see them, then they are cross-spawn.
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Slayer_Chessi
Profile Joined January 2013
Czech Republic30 Posts
March 03 2013 11:26 GMT
#4
dont forget ZVT, when u 12hatch, u always got to place ovie infront of your naturl to see bunker making, on destination u preferably want to see if hes making bunkers early midgame behind the bridges too.
traceurling
Profile Joined December 2012
United States1240 Posts
March 03 2013 16:39 GMT
#5
Oh also, on a related note, when should I drone scout on ZvP? Ive been relyin on overlord scouts but I've seen good players drone scout...
"Appreciate the things you have before they become the things you had."
Bakuryu
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Germany1065 Posts
March 03 2013 17:31 GMT
#6
11th drone when u go overpool and 12th drone when u go fe.
traceurling
Profile Joined December 2012
United States1240 Posts
March 03 2013 18:11 GMT
#7
Should I drone scout every game or only in some games?
"Appreciate the things you have before they become the things you had."
Bakuryu
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Germany1065 Posts
March 03 2013 18:32 GMT
#8
u must have a reason to drone scout, otherwise u dont drone scout.
if u have a reason to drone scout, u can play safe by always drone scouting, or u play risky and dont drone scout.
FlaShFTW
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States10191 Posts
March 05 2013 04:54 GMT
#9
vP should be something like...
send to natural first before the main to see if they are forge fe, 2 gate aggro, or 1 base play.
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TL+ Member
LRM)INF3cted
Profile Joined October 2012
Bulgaria242 Posts
March 05 2013 21:55 GMT
#10
They send it outside natural so that they know if they can 12hat safely or have to overpool if they see a probe. In addition, they know where the protoss is. Now, since every P will double scout assuming FE, you'll eventually start to be wary if you don't see a probe by x time, this means that you send that ovie through middle in case of proxy gates (or they are 1basing)

However, you can also accomplish this by drone scouting which arguably is even better on iccup esp with how much 1base and 2gate people like to do. Send that drone cross-map, first ovie to nearest nat ie fs bott left to top left and then second ovie to bott right.

Also for zvz, on maps like ground zero, if you are 9pooling then you send the first ovie horizontally. This is because lings will see their overlord as they see ramp. If they don't see ovie and your first ovie doesn't see them, then they are cross-spawn.


100% accurate.I have 2-3 secret overlord scouting in ZvZ but i can`t reveal it.Always scout whit drone and check proxy locations first.On maps like Ground Zero u can scout whit first overlord horizontally in ZvT match , just because your second overlord can safely fly over the natural and u get better position early in the game.
Play whit honor , die whit glory.
Freakling
Profile Joined October 2012
Germany1529 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-03-06 18:27:03
March 06 2013 18:26 GMT
#11
About ZvP drone scouting: You can also use your scouting drone to 3 hatch far expand to another nat, if you play standard.

If you send your ovi to scout your opponents main in a 3+ player map, it can pay off to not send it there directly, but directed a bit towards the middle, and then into the main in a diagonal angle, leaving your enemy guessing where it came from, but also delaying your scouting slightly, so this is most suited for builds like 12 hatch, where you are not going to be aggressive early, but need to be wary of enemy aggression.
It does not require additional micro, just shift-click the intended ovi path on the minimap. You also have to consider their scouting paths, of course, because your overlord could run into their scout. So this is somewhat map-specific.
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