• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 07:43
CEST 13:43
KST 20:43
  • 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 Finalists2[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
Weekly Cups (April 6-12): herO doubles, "Villains" prevail0MaNa leaves Team Liquid18$5,000 WardiTV TLMC tournament - Presented by Monster Energy5GSL CK: More events planned pending crowdfunding7Weekly Cups (Mar 30-Apr 5): herO, Clem, SHIN win0
StarCraft 2
General
Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists Weekly Cups (April 6-12): herO doubles, "Villains" prevail MaNa leaves Team Liquid Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy
Tourneys
SEL Doubles (SC Evo Bimonthly) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament $5,000 WardiTV TLMC tournament - Presented by Monster Energy RSL Revival: Season 5 - Qualifiers and Main Event GSL CK: More events planned pending crowdfunding
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
A cwal.gg Extension - Easily keep track of anyone [ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Fresh Flow BW General Discussion ASL21 Strategy, Pimpest Plays Discussions ASL21 General Discussion
Tourneys
[ASL21] Ro16 Group B [ASL21] Ro16 Group A [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2
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
Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread 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 Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread The China Politics 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
lurker extra damage testi…
StaticNine
How Streamers Inspire Gamers…
TrAiDoS
Broowar part 2
qwaykee
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 3000 users

[Q] Overlord Scouting Techniques

Forum Index > Brood War Strategy
Post a Reply
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 States11393 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.
Moderator。◕‿◕。
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 States10363 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.
Writer#1 KT and FlaSh Fanboy || Woo Jung Ho Never Forget || Teamliquid Political Decision Desk
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
Germany1533 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.
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
10:00
Open Qualifier
WardiTV478
Liquipedia
Afreeca Starleague
10:00
Ro16 Group B
Snow vs PianO
hero vs Rain
Afreeca ASL 17468
StarCastTV_EN471
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SortOf 121
herO (Afreeca) 9
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 44304
Calm 11814
Bisu 7496
Jaedong 2859
Horang2 1831
BeSt 1428
Mini 729
EffOrt 696
Hyuk 466
Zeus 460
[ Show more ]
Pusan 414
Stork 395
actioN 336
ZerO 281
Hyun 168
Leta 160
Light 153
Larva 144
Killer 73
ToSsGirL 62
Sharp 56
Rush 46
Free 42
Backho 34
Aegong 32
Shinee 31
Hm[arnc] 30
yabsab 21
Sacsri 18
soO 17
Movie 15
IntoTheRainbow 15
HiyA 14
[sc1f]eonzerg 12
Nal_rA 12
Terrorterran 11
GoRush 9
Dota 2
Gorgc4820
XaKoH 673
League of Legends
JimRising 326
Counter-Strike
zeus601
x6flipin381
allub178
edward102
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King63
Westballz25
Other Games
Liquid`RaSZi956
B2W.Neo741
Lowko238
QueenE48
Organizations
StarCraft: Brood War
UltimateBattle 379
Counter-Strike
PGL283
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• StrangeGG 44
• iHatsuTV 9
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• TFBlade1860
• Stunt450
Upcoming Events
GSL
17m
PiGosaur Cup
12h 17m
CranKy Ducklings
21h 17m
Kung Fu Cup
1d
Replay Cast
1d 12h
The PondCast
1d 22h
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
1d 23h
Replay Cast
2 days
Escore
2 days
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
2 days
[ Show More ]
Korean StarCraft League
3 days
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
3 days
IPSL
4 days
WolFix vs nOmaD
dxtr13 vs Razz
BSL
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
4 days
Ladder Legends
5 days
BSL
5 days
IPSL
5 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
6 days
RSL Revival
6 days
Afreeca Starleague
6 days
Barracks vs Leta
Royal vs Light
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Escore Tournament S2: W2
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
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
IEM Rio 2026
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.