What build order should I use for Zerg in StarCraft 2?

[BACK]
What build order should I use for Zerg in StarCraft 2?
Posted On: March 14, 2013

I'm familiar with the general mechanics of the game, but what's the best build order for the beginning of the game?


Question from user McKay at gaming.stackexchange.com.


Answer:

An opening dictates how you are going to start the match.


The basic Zerg openings:.


6–10 Pool (Rush).


13–14 Pool (Standard).


14–15 Pool, 16 Hatch (Macro).


14–15 Hatch, 15–16 Pool (Macro+).


14 Gas, 14 Pool (Speedling).


12 Pool (Sen Style).


How to read these: The number indicates the number of drones you should have before your first structure. Since you can only build 10 before an overlord any number over 10 indicates building an overlord on 9 or 10 (9 or Extractor trick is the superior choice). Pool indicates building a Spawning Pool. Hatch indicates building a Hatchery. Gas, indicates building a Vespene Extractor on your nearby Vespene Geyser.


Which opening you choose usually relies on two things:.


Your Opponent.


Your Build.


The Rush: A Rush opening is necessarily an all in, so that is a decision you are making prior to starting the match. .


Standard: 13 to 14 pool is considered standard play, it can easily lead to fast expo or 1 base or speedlings or any of another things. It's considered standard play because of the options it offers you. I believe Slush of Root Gaming still runs this build.


Speedling: This is a strat that cropped up near the end of Beta mostly on Korean servers. If you build your gas before your spawning pool and immediately throw 3 drones in it on completion, then you will have exactly 100 gas when your spawning pool finishes. This leads to early speedlings for heavy pressure. Artosis is a large proponent of this build.


Macro and Macro+: Both of these are fast expansion builds designed to get up a very good early economy. They are very vulnerable to rushes, and require good scouting to support. The advantage of these is that if you can scout when your opponent leaves his base you can quickly put together a large force that will be ready just as he arrives allowing you to hold off the assault and be in better economic position. Idra and Machine tend to run this build.


Sen runs a 12 pool to give him a larger advantage against more aggressive zerg opponents, which are common on the asian server. Outside of him, it is not a very popular build.


9 Overlord vs 10 Overlord.


There has been a lot of debate as to getting your overlord after your 9th drone or after your 10th drones. To add confusion it is possible to get your overlord after your 11th drones by building a vespene extractor, building the 11th drone and then canceling the extractor to get your drone back. It is usually agreed that getting your Overlord on your 9th drone, or building it after your 10th and then using the extractor trick to get an 11th while your overlord is building are the better choices.


There is some evidence to indicate 9 overlord is slightly better.


I first wrote this post shortly after beta and while most of what I wrote here still rings true there has been a shift in the Meta game in that time. While 13 to 14 Pool is still an effective strategy, many more Zerg have shifted towards more Macro oriented builds. 14 to 15 Hatch in particular has really caught on in ZvT. Everything in the post remains valid but I think it's still worthwhile to update on some of the newer developments.


Answer from user tzenes at gaming.stackexchange.com.



[BACK]
What build order should I use for Zerg in StarCraft 2?
Posted On: March 14, 2013

I'm familiar with the general mechanics of the game, but what's the best build order for the beginning of the game?


Question from user McKay at gaming.stackexchange.com.


Answer:

An opening dictates how you are going to start the match.


The basic Zerg openings:.


6–10 Pool (Rush).


13–14 Pool (Standard).


14–15 Pool, 16 Hatch (Macro).


14–15 Hatch, 15–16 Pool (Macro+).


14 Gas, 14 Pool (Speedling).


12 Pool (Sen Style).


How to read these: The number indicates the number of drones you should have before your first structure. Since you can only build 10 before an overlord any number over 10 indicates building an overlord on 9 or 10 (9 or Extractor trick is the superior choice). Pool indicates building a Spawning Pool. Hatch indicates building a Hatchery. Gas, indicates building a Vespene Extractor on your nearby Vespene Geyser.


Which opening you choose usually relies on two things:.


Your Opponent.


Your Build.


The Rush: A Rush opening is necessarily an all in, so that is a decision you are making prior to starting the match. .


Standard: 13 to 14 pool is considered standard play, it can easily lead to fast expo or 1 base or speedlings or any of another things. It's considered standard play because of the options it offers you. I believe Slush of Root Gaming still runs this build.


Speedling: This is a strat that cropped up near the end of Beta mostly on Korean servers. If you build your gas before your spawning pool and immediately throw 3 drones in it on completion, then you will have exactly 100 gas when your spawning pool finishes. This leads to early speedlings for heavy pressure. Artosis is a large proponent of this build.


Macro and Macro+: Both of these are fast expansion builds designed to get up a very good early economy. They are very vulnerable to rushes, and require good scouting to support. The advantage of these is that if you can scout when your opponent leaves his base you can quickly put together a large force that will be ready just as he arrives allowing you to hold off the assault and be in better economic position. Idra and Machine tend to run this build.


Sen runs a 12 pool to give him a larger advantage against more aggressive zerg opponents, which are common on the asian server. Outside of him, it is not a very popular build.


9 Overlord vs 10 Overlord.


There has been a lot of debate as to getting your overlord after your 9th drone or after your 10th drones. To add confusion it is possible to get your overlord after your 11th drones by building a vespene extractor, building the 11th drone and then canceling the extractor to get your drone back. It is usually agreed that getting your Overlord on your 9th drone, or building it after your 10th and then using the extractor trick to get an 11th while your overlord is building are the better choices.


There is some evidence to indicate 9 overlord is slightly better.


I first wrote this post shortly after beta and while most of what I wrote here still rings true there has been a shift in the Meta game in that time. While 13 to 14 Pool is still an effective strategy, many more Zerg have shifted towards more Macro oriented builds. 14 to 15 Hatch in particular has really caught on in ZvT. Everything in the post remains valid but I think it's still worthwhile to update on some of the newer developments.


Answer from user tzenes at gaming.stackexchange.com.



[BACK]

Fire Emblem Engage - levelling past level 20? Fire Emblem Engage - levelling past level 20?

Posted On: April 3, 2024
Once my character hits level 20 on advanced class their stats stop growing. I see that I can use that silver seal to select the same advanced class so they keep growing. This disables the class skill ...[More]


Can you swim underwater in Hogwarts Legacy? Can you swim underwater in Hogwarts Legacy?

Posted On: July 20, 2023
I know you can swim in Hogwarts Legacy, but can you swim underwater somewhere in the game or is this not possible? Question from user Shaun Roselt at stackexchange. Answer: Kind of. Hogwar...[More]


I spent 2 minutes laughing. So messed up. I spent 2 minutes laughing. So messed up.

Posted On: September 11, 2024
Question from user napalmblaziken at BaldursGate3 at reddit.com.Answer:Batman approves.Answer from user GabyFermi at BaldursGate3 at reddit.com....[More]


XBox 360 storage device issue with Darksiders XBox 360 storage device issue with Darksiders

Posted On: April 16, 2024
I've been playing Darksiders now for some time now and I've noticed that when I start the game, in the main menu where it says "Press Start", it always triggers me to select a storage device. Why does...[More]


Mob Spawning - Despawning in Minecraft Mob Spawning - Despawning in Minecraft

Posted On: May 30, 2023
So I've been building up my Villager Trading farms and halls and breeders, etc., and one of these builds is the converter - Using a zombie to convert the villager and back again to reduce trade co...[More]


What does researching Advanced Propulsion Tech I and higher do in Master of Orion 1? What does researching Advanced Propulsion Tech I and higher do in Master of Orion 1?

Posted On: May 6, 2023
It looks like once you've finished researching all available technologies up to tech level 50 in a specific category, you are presented with a set of Advanced Something Tech I to X to research. ...[More]


Bad graphics in Hogwarts Legacy Bad graphics in Hogwarts Legacy

Posted On: June 30, 2023
I just downloaded Hogwarts Legacy today on my PS4, but can't really enjoy it because the graphics are so bad. Shadows flicker and everything looks grainy. Its like the graphics settings are really...[More]


Third Person Mode for Portal - Portal 2 Third Person Mode for Portal - Portal 2

Posted On: June 1, 2023
I picked up Portal and Portal 2 when they were on sale on Steam a few weeks back. I think these could be really good games, but I (for whatever reason) get vertigo when playing first person games. ...[More]


in Zelda, Are the names of lightroots the names of shrines spelled backwards? in Zelda, Are the names of lightroots the names of shrines spelled backwards?

Posted On: June 22, 2023
Looking at your map in Tears of the Kingdom, you might notice that each lightroot is directly beneath a shrine. However, something I noticed when watching a video on Youtube is that the Nisoij lightro...[More]


How the Hit Point color bar is calculated? How the Hit Point color bar is calculated?

Posted On: January 31, 2023
I have Silver and Gold (the 2nd gen) in mind, but I guess the logic is the same for the whole serie. I would like to know how the Hit Point color bar is calculated. I guess it would be something li...[More]