Hey everyone.

I started watching sc2gg's english commentaries about two months ago and since then got really excited about the pro scene, the community and everything else. As it was sure to follow, I also started playing the game a few days ago. Picking a race wasn't really hard for me, because I really like the Tyranids in GW's board game Warhammer 40k, so there I go, starting off as a zerg.



Little bit more about my play style:

So far I've played 12 1v1 games (all on iCCup). I got 4 wins (2x vs. T, 1x against an even worse Z and 1x against P), in all other games I failed miserably with average game time of 6-8 mins.

in almost all 12 games I 9 pooled, trying to understand better the mechanics and tech behind the particular build (except in 2 - in one of them I 4 pooled only to loose to a fast T rax build, and in the other one I tried to 9 pool but forgot to build an overlord afterward).


BWChart sums up my average APM to be 115 (no idea if this is good or bad for a newbie)









General Questions:
- As a newbie, should I spread the Overlords over the map (as I do atm) or should I just hide them somewhere? Ppl say that spreading them is useful, because you can see your opponent on the move, but so far that led to overlords being killed, slowing down my army/drone productuin
- At the very beginning of the game, how should I deal with my drones? First split, then build drone, or first build drone, then send drones to mine?


ZvT:
- When exactly should I place Creep colonies in my natural
- How should I manage larva between Drones and Lings - just build up drones after initial 4 or 6 lings and get more when he's on the move or what?
- I understand that mutaharass is over when irradiate is out, but when exactly am I supposed to tech up with hydra den and when should I research lurker upgrade (same Q. for defilers, ultralisks and what upgrades should I pump out of Evo chambers - mele or ranged atk?)
- If possible, can someone tell me a basic timeline of when to expand beyond the natural, so that I can still lead economically, but am able to defend all my bases with the current army

ZvP:
- If protoss Fast Expands, how far can I go expanding and building drones (after initial lings), before I have to build Hydra Den and start pumping hydras, so that he doesn't just own me with ground force, or more likely corsair/reaver. Then when do I tech to spire. And finally is Spore Colony viable answer to river harass.

ZvZ:
- When is my last chance to build pool without getting overrun by a rush zerg and can I get an expansion before that?
- How important are scourges in the ZvZ air battle (because for now I fail miserably at microing those)




Thanks for everything in advance!

P.S.
I have read Ahzz's zerg guide, but in all the build he offers, only the very early game is covered, and right after that is where I start falling apart.

Welcome to the forum! The goal of our commentaries in part is to attract the foreign scene to starcraft and every person who comes by saying they got into starcraft again from english commentaries makes everyone a little happier and a little more motivated to do a good job




It's important to understand that different builds are good in different matchups. 12 pool i think its a very safe build in ZvZ but I wouldn't recommend it ever against a terran opponent. To learn good zerg builds I would suggest watching modern day foreign zerg players in all matchups



115 apm is plenty to work with for a newer player, and as long as you are effective it should be enough to turn you close to a 50% win ratio at D level iccup, definitely enough to improve.


In ZvT, I really wouldn't consider a 9 pool a safe build and it is pretty much as close to an all-in(attack that sacrifices economy in order to do damage) as you can get, because if you dont do damage with the 9 pool or it is scouted before you're zerglings are out you're going to be disadvantaged from the start. 9 pooling in ZvT is an important build to know how to use effectively but it doesnt help you to get better IMO, as games are won and lost within the first minutes of the game.

It's strange that the game went to that, and typically games dont go to that extent of tech. I really wouldnt use that sort of a game as a stepping stone for learning ZvZ.


Yes, if your protoss opponent has 1 base the entire game I really wouldn't consider it a very close matchup =/.


9 pool and 12 pool in general isnt a very safe opener for the exact reason you stated, you start off with zerglings and if they play defensive you are behind in expansions. I would suggest opening every ZvT with an overlord on 9, followed by 3 drones, a hatchery, then spawning pool. This will allow you to still have zerglings up to defend your expansion but if you start off taking your natural from the beginning it puts the terran on the offensive instead of you being forced to try to fight up a ramp.


The cannon fast expand (coined sometimes as the "bisu build") is a pretty safe build unless you are designed to beat it. To understand how the build works and how your opponent is going to react to it you would need to learn a little bit of protoss build orders. As a rule of thumb, for 1v1 maps opening with a pool on 9(before or after overlord) can be considered a safe build and a hatchery on 12 is also alright as long as you are for sure he is making cannons and not gateways.





- As a newbie, should I spread the Overlords over the map (as I do atm) or should I just hide them somewhere? Ppl say that spreading them is useful, because you can see your opponent on the move, but so far that led to overlords being killed, slowing down my army/drone productuin
It is important to spread overlords out, as whenever your opponent gets air to air capability the 100 minerals lost will be less important. Its important to note that on 99% of maps theres is a designated spot for zerg to place their overlord outside of the opponents main or natural that allow the zerg to detect unit flow, and "spreading overlords out" doesnt mean moving them in a grid so you can see everything, but placing them in key locations. Some locations to consider
1 overlord outside of enemy base to look at the natural+troop movement
1 overlord by each of your mineral patches
1 overlord outside other bases that your opponent may consider expanding to, as long as your opponent can not attack it with ground units.
Rest of overlords on top of troops that can defend them in either your natural or main.
It is important to get vision of the map, but you should have predetermined spots where you put overlords on the map not just putting them randomly.

- At the very beginning of the game, how should I deal with my drones? First split, then build drone, or first build drone, then send drones to mine?
select all 4 drones to mine a single patch, build drone, then split each drone indivicially to put them to different mineral patches. After a few weeks of playing you should be able to confidently get each drone to its own mineral patch and build a drone in the first few seconds of the game. Leave moving the overlord for last.


ZvT:
- When exactly should I place Creep colonies in my natural
Right when your natural expansion comes out your first sunken can go down when your creep expands to the desired position(defending both natural and main) to insure that he doesnt attempt to rush some marines early, and this also denies scout access to your base without having to worry about zerglings. Once you see that he has left his base with a force of marines above 10 you need to add two more (3 in total) because medics will be on the way soon. The 4th and 5th sunkens are only necessary to defend against marine breaks and should be started when your lair is about half health, or earlier if you are fearing a rush. As a rule of thumb for play if you dont know what your opponent is doing always put up enough defense to defend. You'd rather put up extra defense and be behind a little if he doesnt go for a marine break then not put it up and lose the game immediately when he does it.

- How should I manage larva between Drones and Lings - just build up drones after initial 4 or 6 lings and get more when he's on the move or what?
This depends on style of play. On very spread out maps it is safe to only build 2 zerglings initially and produce only drones. Groups of 10+ zerglings arn't too effective vrs marines until you get speed upgrade, so if you are going for heavy lings early you really need to dedicate it. The standard style of play would be get the initial 6, then produce only drones. If you want to play a more aggressive opening then start making zerglings again when you start your lair and get the speed upgrade, and if you want to play a more macro based zerg get your expansion out and hold off and only begin producing zerglings again once your lurkers start.

- I understand that mutaharass is over when irradiate is out, but when exactly am I supposed to tech up with hydra den and when should I research lurker upgrade (same Q. for defilers, ultralisks and what upgrades should I pump out of Evo chambers - mele or ranged atk?)
Once again, it really depends on what style you like to play. The standard zerg ZvT, developed by savior, says you should start your hydralisk den right after your spire goes up. Then you get 9 mutas, research lurkers, and hatch 2-3 and then they will escort and defend your new third gas. Defiler tech begins once you secure your third gas, defilers should give you some breathing room to get you're 4th gas. (Obviously, if you are losing the game and cant secure a third gas you still want to get defilers), but never rush ultralisks as they are not useful when not alongside defilers and with carapace and speed upgrades. Never research ranged attack, as most of the time your damage is coming from zerglings and eventually ultralisks. Carapace is always the choice for most zergs simply because it is just working against terran +1 weapons upgrades, and +5 armor is what makes ultralisks useful at the end of the game. A zerg player can probably go further in depth over why +1 armor is better then attack but always go armor.

- If possible, can someone tell me a basic timeline of when to expand beyond the natural, so that I can still lead economically, but am able to defend all my bases with the current army
Standard TvZ timeline
Opponent makes barracks, you make expansion, then terran usually expands (if he doesnt expand then get ready for an attack). Alright, now both of you have expansions now its time to tech. You should be researching lair and you're spire will begin then his engineering bay will begin as well as his factory. You build 9 mutas, and his eng bay finishes and turrets go up and he starts tech for starport and eventually science vessels. The goal of the mutalisk harass is to secure your next expansion, the third gas. You arent jaedong and you probably arent going to kill him with mutas, so be content on just taking your third gas for now. Immediately when your 9 mutas leave your base your drone should be headed out as well as lurkers on the way. Remember to take an expansion that can be easily defended vrs atleast 12-16 marines with only 2 or 3 lurkers(ramps are awesome! chokepoints good too) You "defend" your expansion with your mutalisks. You need to force him to keep enough forces back to deal with the mutalisks that he cant dedicate to you're third. If he tries to sneak groups of units out or makes alot of turrets, send mutas back to eliminate them with some extra lings or lurkers. Once that hatchery finishes and you have a handful of lurkers you can probably start queens nest.

ZvP:
- If protoss Fast Expands, how far can I go expanding and building drones (after initial lings), before I have to build Hydra Den and start pumping hydras, so that he doesn't just own me with ground force, or more likely corsair/reaver. Then when do I tech to spire. And finally is Spore Colony viable answer to river harass.
Well, if you are 100% sure your opponent fast expanded then you should know comfortably that he wont be able to match you in unit count for a long time. After fast expansion builds protoss usually advance for corsairs, so even if you dont NEED the hydralisk den to defend the attack, you need atleast 1 or 2 hydralisks to defend your overlords. Remember to make 6-8 lings as well as a sunken depending on how many zealots he has because protoss alot of time like to push out with their first 3 zealots and a dragoon. hydra den can come late, and you can probably even squeeze out 4 hatcheries before taking your hydra den and still get a hydra den out in time. The pseudo economic safe ZvP build would be hatchery in main, hatchery in natural, third hatchery somewhere inbetween, then take your gas and start lair tech. While lair is building you are probably safe to take another expansion somewhere in the map as long as you have enough units to deal with the initial 3 zealots+1 dragoon. When lair is almost done make your hydra den and then a spire at the same time because 2 scourge is sooooooo much easier to take out corsairs then using hydras, even progamers go spire immediately after lair for only 2 scourge. It's up to you if you want to try to make alot of mutas or if you want to mass up some hydra and lurk. Many time your opponent is just playing passively, and zerg is much harder to play late game then protoss so you want to set up for later as much as you can. After you have some extra gas from den and spire i would make an evolution chamber and constantly upgrade as well as try to keep protoss to 2 bases as long as you can. If you can keep your third base and keep him to two bases until your defiler tech out then it is much easier to take and deny expansions.

ZvZ:
- When is my last chance to build pool without getting overrun by a rush zerg and can I get an expansion before that?
For the most part zerg vrs zerg is rock paper scissors for opening. It works like this.
(as a note for vrsing 4 pool[cheese], 9 pool beats 4pool every time, 12 pool you're gonna need to out micro him, and if you 12 hatch you lose)
9 pool beats 12 hatch
12 pool beats 9 pool
12 hatch beats 12 pool.
If you try to make a hatchery on 12 (before spawning pool) and your opponent builds spawning pool on 9 is going to have zerglings at your doorstep a little before your pool is finished, so he has free reign on your base for quite a while.
However, if your opponent makes spawning pool on 12 and you make hatchery on 12, you can still get your zerglings out on time, giving you a slight economic advantage.

If you try to make a pool on 9 and your opponent builds his pool on 12, your opponent will have lings out on time to defend with a drone advantage.
However, if you make pool on 9 and you're opponent makes his hatchery before pool, then you have some free reign on your opponents base.

If you make your pool on 12(which i would consider the safest opening) and your opponent makes pool on 9, your lings come out on time and you have the drone advantage.
However, if your opponent makes hatchery on 12 when you make pool, you wont be able to do any damage to him and he will have slight advantage.

In my opinion 12 pool is the safest opening, as you wont automatically lose to any build orders and the only build that beats it is a 12 hatchery, which is pretty risky. Against randoms and iccups i would recommend 12 pool every game just because STATISTICALLY it is safest, although maybe on iccup another build works better just because a majority of the people do one thing.

But don't think that even if your opponent has a better opening you lose, as zvz is very unforgiving and if you can pick a few drones early you can swing the advantage back in your favor quickly. Just remember that if you get your pool out faster your options are
A. get more zerglings and try for an attack (do this if your opponent tries to rush for mutas or gets greedy and makes too many drones)
B. rush mutas (since your pool is out faster your spire will be out faster, then you can do the same thing as A only with mutas)




- How important are scourges in the ZvZ air battle (because for now I fail miserably at microing those)
Zerg air battles are 100% critical because that is the only thing you are going to do, ever. Zerg air battles will make or break the game, so the better you can get at those the better your overall ZvZ game will become.



Thanks for everything in advance!

P.S.
I have read Ahzz's zerg guide, but in all the build he offers, only the very early game is covered, and right after that is where I start falling apart.
Guides are good, but IMO the best way to get better is to keep playing. I guarantee as long as you are pointed in the wrong directions and can effectively determine point of failure in the games you play and learn to correct them you will get much better then trying to learn "strategy" watching videos or reading when in actuality you arent getting any psyically better. Vids+guides are important, but as a supplement to playing, not by themselves.

Hope some of this helps, gl!

Thanks a lot for taking your time, writing such a long answer to all my questions, I really appreciate it!

I got just one more thing that I was wondering about:

Do zergs tend to have less food count than other races? Because both in my games and in a lot of the pro games I see, when they consider sides equal, zerg has less control than opponent, and when the zerg starts winning, the food count equalizes. Why is that?



Again - thank you petzergling for answering all my questions!

Yes, in both ZvT and ZvP, it's not uncommon for zerg to be completely outnumbered. The most important thing about a Z army's strength is the tech. So if P is almost maxed and you're only at 100 but you have 4-5 bases with plenty of drones with defiler/ultra tech ready, you're still very much in the game.
ZvT, you'll often see 100 supply vs 150 supply like ZvP. Again, you're fine as long as you have defilers coming with good econ (4+ gas).

Zergs also have less drones comparatively to P and T which means the mining rate is slower. It's not uncommon for a ZvT game to drag on with the Z's supply slowly catching up to T's simply because t was unable to secure an additional base. As the maps start to mine out, it becomes harder and harder to secure further expos without having too many holes in your defense. So in that sense, Z is better suited for longer games.

Petzergling got most of the points a couple draw my attention.

- At the very beginning of the game, how should I deal with my drones? First split, then build drone, or first build drone, then send drones to mine?
select all 4 drones to mine a single patch, build drone, then split each drone indivicially to put them to different mineral patches. After a few weeks of playing you should be able to confidently get each drone to its own mineral patch and build a drone in the first few seconds of the game. Leave moving the overlord for last.

I think that everyone does it a different way. I press the hatchery 9the mouse starts on top of it at the start of the game) and press s d. This makes a drone the immedietly select all the drones (doesn't matter if you get overlord or larvae) and press on mineral patch. Then you split them using shift click. Then you start moving your overlord to scout.

When exactly should I place Creep colonies in my natural
Right when your natural expansion comes out your first sunken can go down when your creep expands to the desired position(defending both natural and main) to insure that he doesnt attempt to rush some marines early, and this also denies scout access to your base without having to worry about zerglings. Once you see that he has left his base with a force of marines above 10 you need to add two more (3 in total) because medics will be on the way soon. The 4th and 5th sunkens are only necessary to defend against marine breaks and should be started when your lair is about half health, or earlier if you are fearing a rush. As a rule of thumb for play if you dont know what your opponent is doing always put up enough defense to defend. You'd rather put up extra defense and be behind a little if he doesnt go for a marine break then not put it up and lose the game immediately when he does it.

Just want to add something. Try to put your sunken colonies to a line so that all the marines won't come from the side and pick them off. Make it like this diagram
S=Sunks
0=Unpassable terrain
M=Enemy units
`=Passable Terran

00000
S''''''''MM
S''''''''MM
S''''''''MM
''''''''''0
00000