Hey guys sorry to have to announce this but the Blog will be on Hiatus for the next week in preparation of a new segment that I shall be adding to the blog.
Please tune in next Monday for more tips,tricks,tutorials of Starcraft 2!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Terran: Give him Hellions
Don't you guys just love to harass?
That's a whole lot of Fire
I mean harassing is pretty much one of the most useful skills in the whole game. By having a good harass, you can damage the early economy strongly and also deal distract the enemy while expanding and getting a stronger army
And one of the greatest tools in the Terran Army for harassing is the Hellion.
THEORY
Hellions are created to deal with light units and SCV's. For example Hellions do well against Zerglings and workers but do horrible against Roaches on creep and Marauders.
With proper micro you definitely can deal with zealots who do not have the charge ability.
Of course try to avoid corners and walls, Hellions are fast little buggers they work well in nice open spacers where they can hit and run.
With Infernal Pre-igniter they gain a really good damage boost that allows them to 2 shot workers.
Also since their attack is considered line-splash, its works even better in mineral lines since they are in lines.
So just send in 2 or 3 Hellions and you've got it made.
Examples
BO
If you're going for this the best is to go for an early refinery and for a 1/1 build for the early factory and fast Hellions
10 Depot
11 Refinery
11 Barracks
13 Barracks
13 Reactor
14 Factory
15 Hellion
This is something I've seen used in some games where the single hellions are quite good.
Force SC2
(10) Supply Depot
(12) Barracks
(13) Refinery
(16) Orbital Command
(17) Factory
(18) Tech Lab on Barracks
(18) Barracks
(22) Reactor on Factory
(26) Tech Lab on Barracks
TLO's Hellion Push
[Number = Supply count]
10 Supply Depot
12 Gas
13 Barracks
16 Orbital Command
16 Factory
16 Marine
17 Supply Depot
19 Hellion
21 Command Center
22 Hellion
25 Gas
25 Supply
25 Hellion
28 Armory
28 Hellion
32 Factory
33 Hellion
35 Orbital Command
36 Vehicle Plating LvL 1
37 2x Factory
- More SCV's / Supply Depots
- More Hellions / Thors
- More Factories
Tactics
This is a new Section I'll be adding to all future Articles and to any article I'll be redoing.
Well the tactic with the Hellion is that it is meant as a harasser force or a anti-Light/Infantry support unit for larger troops like Tanks or Thors.
Some good combinations would be to mix Thors with Hellions, Banshees with Hellions, Tanks with Hellions, Hellions up front with Marauders Behind.
Also remember because Hellions die easily its better to get at least 2 or more hellions before using them.
If you're sending it as a lonely Hellion, chances are that the Hellion will die really easy and you won't be able to do enough damage.
Also because their fast and easy to kill, hit and run is advised at all times. 6 Zerglings could probably deal with 2 Hellions who stand still and don't have Infernal Pre-Igniters.
--
Things to note
Hellions are not good En Masse but neither are they any good alone.
A good number of Hellions falls between 2-6 Hellions. Any more would be a waste and if its a lone ranger your hellion won't be able to do much.
Their damage towards light units are much higher due to their flame throwers. Also because of the line style of damage, try to get that Surround as fast as you can.
That Surround with Line-Splash will wreck hell on any light army who dares to challenge you.
Here's a Mental Checklist
1. Early Gas
2. How many Hellions do I have
3. Whats my enemy
4. SCVs
5. Scout
That's a whole lot of Fire
I mean harassing is pretty much one of the most useful skills in the whole game. By having a good harass, you can damage the early economy strongly and also deal distract the enemy while expanding and getting a stronger army
And one of the greatest tools in the Terran Army for harassing is the Hellion.
THEORY
Hellions are created to deal with light units and SCV's. For example Hellions do well against Zerglings and workers but do horrible against Roaches on creep and Marauders.
With proper micro you definitely can deal with zealots who do not have the charge ability.
Of course try to avoid corners and walls, Hellions are fast little buggers they work well in nice open spacers where they can hit and run.
With Infernal Pre-igniter they gain a really good damage boost that allows them to 2 shot workers.
Also since their attack is considered line-splash, its works even better in mineral lines since they are in lines.
So just send in 2 or 3 Hellions and you've got it made.
Examples
BO
If you're going for this the best is to go for an early refinery and for a 1/1 build for the early factory and fast Hellions
10 Depot
11 Refinery
11 Barracks
13 Barracks
13 Reactor
14 Factory
15 Hellion
This is something I've seen used in some games where the single hellions are quite good.
Force SC2
(10) Supply Depot
(12) Barracks
(13) Refinery
(16) Orbital Command
(17) Factory
(18) Tech Lab on Barracks
(18) Barracks
(22) Reactor on Factory
(26) Tech Lab on Barracks
TLO's Hellion Push
[Number = Supply count]
10 Supply Depot
12 Gas
13 Barracks
16 Orbital Command
16 Factory
16 Marine
17 Supply Depot
19 Hellion
21 Command Center
22 Hellion
25 Gas
25 Supply
25 Hellion
28 Armory
28 Hellion
32 Factory
33 Hellion
35 Orbital Command
36 Vehicle Plating LvL 1
37 2x Factory
- More SCV's / Supply Depots
- More Hellions / Thors
- More Factories
Tactics
This is a new Section I'll be adding to all future Articles and to any article I'll be redoing.
Well the tactic with the Hellion is that it is meant as a harasser force or a anti-Light/Infantry support unit for larger troops like Tanks or Thors.
Some good combinations would be to mix Thors with Hellions, Banshees with Hellions, Tanks with Hellions, Hellions up front with Marauders Behind.
Also remember because Hellions die easily its better to get at least 2 or more hellions before using them.
If you're sending it as a lonely Hellion, chances are that the Hellion will die really easy and you won't be able to do enough damage.
Also because their fast and easy to kill, hit and run is advised at all times. 6 Zerglings could probably deal with 2 Hellions who stand still and don't have Infernal Pre-Igniters.
--
Things to note
Hellions are not good En Masse but neither are they any good alone.
A good number of Hellions falls between 2-6 Hellions. Any more would be a waste and if its a lone ranger your hellion won't be able to do much.
Their damage towards light units are much higher due to their flame throwers. Also because of the line style of damage, try to get that Surround as fast as you can.
That Surround with Line-Splash will wreck hell on any light army who dares to challenge you.
Here's a Mental Checklist
1. Early Gas
2. How many Hellions do I have
3. Whats my enemy
4. SCVs
5. Scout
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Terran: When You've Enough Of Those Stinking Rays
So yeah I know.
That Protoss guy. He's an asshole. Your big marauder army which was meant to deal with what you thought was a 4 gate, since you saw an early gas, is now useless to the 5 voidrays that your enemy has.
You're probably like. WHATS THE MEANING OF THIS! HOW CAN 20 MARAUDERS BE TAKEN OUT BY 5 ENEMY UNITS THAT LOOK LIKE THEY CAME FROM A DOLLAR STORE IN MEXICO.
Kinda like one of those Imitation Gundam Toys
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
Well since this is a Counter Guide, I'm going to change it a bit. Instead of the usual aggressive style of playing. To counter you need to be reactive.
Kinda like Taichi!
So ultimately the whole point of a counter would be to scout and know what to look out for. In this case, the list up there. Basically all you need to do to be sure of anything is to know what your opponent is doing and thus scouting is the best way possible.
Scouting never lies, he bets his honor on it!
How to Counter it
And you've found out your opponent is getting Void Rays.
What should you do?
Well there are a few things you can do.
Lets start with the first one.
MASS MARINES
I know, its too simple to think about. How in the world can a whole bunch of marines deal with the epic Void Rays? Well think of it this way. By the time your enemy can get 10 Void Rays, provided you've used a 3 Barracks Opener, you'll probably have triple that amount in marines. Even better if you have a lot of Barracks and they keep pumping out Marines.
You got that right Advice Geek!
Well I think that's pretty much all I can think of to help you deal with Void Ray Rushes.
I mean Terran has only 2 units which have Anti-air ability in the early part of the game which are easily massable.
So yeah I hope this helps you out in your games against Protoss Players!
This is Fireport with another article for thebronzeleagueplayer.blogspot.com signing off!
That Protoss guy. He's an asshole. Your big marauder army which was meant to deal with what you thought was a 4 gate, since you saw an early gas, is now useless to the 5 voidrays that your enemy has.
You're probably like. WHATS THE MEANING OF THIS! HOW CAN 20 MARAUDERS BE TAKEN OUT BY 5 ENEMY UNITS THAT LOOK LIKE THEY CAME FROM A DOLLAR STORE IN MEXICO.
Kinda like one of those Imitation Gundam Toys
Then again no one asked you to make a purely land army. I mean there are more tactics in the Protoss army than Blink Stalkers and Immortals.
So here's a Counter Guide to Void Ray Rushes.
So here's a Counter Guide to Void Ray Rushes.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
Well since this is a Counter Guide, I'm going to change it a bit. Instead of the usual aggressive style of playing. To counter you need to be reactive.
Kinda like Taichi!
For example here's a bunch of things you need to look out for in case of a Void Ray Rush.
1. If you're opponents going for a Void Ray Rush, he probably is going for that double gas.
Yes he'll probably want to go for an early double gas. If your scout SCV is going into his base and all you see is 1 gateway, 1 cybernetics core and 2 Assimilators. Your opponent is either really dumb and believes his 1 gateway can send him the whole army from Shakuras or most likely your opponent is going for the Ray Rush.
2. Its been 10 minutes, you haven't seen a single enemy unit. Not even a miserable probe that comes to scout what you're doing.
Reason being they are either have been massing a Void Ray Rush or they massing gateway units to end your miserable marine army! To prevent your army from being unprepared, the only piece of advice anyone can give you instead of going for mass marines with tanks and marauders which can be easily defeated and melted away by Colossi would be to scout.
Just scout, keep scouting, save that energy for scan instead of a mule. Its a few hundred minerals but its worth it compared to losing your whole army.
3. I keep destroying them but they keep showing up in my base really fast, as fast as they are built!
Your opponent probably has a proxy base right out side yours. This works well because many lower tier players do not scout and thus its almost always that you probably could build a base in a blind spot right next to your enemy's main and not ever get detected.
So lets sum up what you should be looking out for if you suspect your enemy is going for a Void Ray Rush.
1. Early Double Gas
2. No enemy movement for a long time
3. The Enemy has a few units but they show up really quick.
1. If you're opponents going for a Void Ray Rush, he probably is going for that double gas.
Yes he'll probably want to go for an early double gas. If your scout SCV is going into his base and all you see is 1 gateway, 1 cybernetics core and 2 Assimilators. Your opponent is either really dumb and believes his 1 gateway can send him the whole army from Shakuras or most likely your opponent is going for the Ray Rush.
2. Its been 10 minutes, you haven't seen a single enemy unit. Not even a miserable probe that comes to scout what you're doing.
Reason being they are either have been massing a Void Ray Rush or they massing gateway units to end your miserable marine army! To prevent your army from being unprepared, the only piece of advice anyone can give you instead of going for mass marines with tanks and marauders which can be easily defeated and melted away by Colossi would be to scout.
Just scout, keep scouting, save that energy for scan instead of a mule. Its a few hundred minerals but its worth it compared to losing your whole army.
3. I keep destroying them but they keep showing up in my base really fast, as fast as they are built!
Your opponent probably has a proxy base right out side yours. This works well because many lower tier players do not scout and thus its almost always that you probably could build a base in a blind spot right next to your enemy's main and not ever get detected.
So lets sum up what you should be looking out for if you suspect your enemy is going for a Void Ray Rush.
1. Early Double Gas
2. No enemy movement for a long time
3. The Enemy has a few units but they show up really quick.
So ultimately the whole point of a counter would be to scout and know what to look out for. In this case, the list up there. Basically all you need to do to be sure of anything is to know what your opponent is doing and thus scouting is the best way possible.
Scouting never lies, he bets his honor on it!
How to Counter it
And you've found out your opponent is getting Void Rays.
What should you do?
Well there are a few things you can do.
Lets start with the first one.
MASS MARINES
I know, its too simple to think about. How in the world can a whole bunch of marines deal with the epic Void Rays? Well think of it this way. By the time your enemy can get 10 Void Rays, provided you've used a 3 Barracks Opener, you'll probably have triple that amount in marines. Even better if you have a lot of Barracks and they keep pumping out Marines.
You got that right Advice Geek!
The thing here is that because Void Rays do extra damage to armored units and not so much damage to light units like the Marines. It also helps that they do 5 DPS for the first 20 seconds while your Marines with Stims will probably do a lot more, and since you out number them you'll probably out gun them 2 to 1 easily.
EARLY VIKINGS
Yep somehow these really crappy Gundam Wannabes are good ways to deal with Early Voidrays.
Fight or Flight, Yeah Right!
With their 9 Range and really fast flying, as long as you have your reactor up and made 2 Vikings and start pumping them out mass to clear Voidrays, you're probably gonna win.
Because Vikings are really fast they can fly away from the Rays really really fast and cause the Void Ray to be unable to charge up its lasers.
The good thing about the Vikings when you've massed them, their ability to attack both air and land pays off since their really good with harassing the enemy's mineral line.
You'd probably only need like 5 Vikings to deal with the mineral lines. And if you learn to lose units instead of insane micro and forgetting to macro, well then you probably could use the time your opponent is using to attack your harassers to Macro up and build up an even bigger army for your opponent!
EARLY VIKINGS
Yep somehow these really crappy Gundam Wannabes are good ways to deal with Early Voidrays.
Fight or Flight, Yeah Right!
With their 9 Range and really fast flying, as long as you have your reactor up and made 2 Vikings and start pumping them out mass to clear Voidrays, you're probably gonna win.
Because Vikings are really fast they can fly away from the Rays really really fast and cause the Void Ray to be unable to charge up its lasers.
The good thing about the Vikings when you've massed them, their ability to attack both air and land pays off since their really good with harassing the enemy's mineral line.
You'd probably only need like 5 Vikings to deal with the mineral lines. And if you learn to lose units instead of insane micro and forgetting to macro, well then you probably could use the time your opponent is using to attack your harassers to Macro up and build up an even bigger army for your opponent!
Well I think that's pretty much all I can think of to help you deal with Void Ray Rushes.
I mean Terran has only 2 units which have Anti-air ability in the early part of the game which are easily massable.
So yeah I hope this helps you out in your games against Protoss Players!
This is Fireport with another article for thebronzeleagueplayer.blogspot.com signing off!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Terran: A Raven's Reason
So you've seen the Raven unit in your Starport but you have no idea what its for and why you should build it.
Sure you've played the campaign and picked the raven over the Science Vessel so you can have that really cool Seeker Missle and Auto Turret over Irradiate and Defense Matrix.
But do you know the real reason of why the Raven is better than the Science Vessel? Or why it replaced it?
THEORY
Looks a bit like a star ship
So what makes the Raven a good unit? Ok it detects stealth but I have missile turrets and Scan for that.
Hmm how bout that auto turret, Ok it adds DPS and that Seeker missile helps me deal with massed Zerglings.
This can also be all up in your base killing your SCVs
But the real merit lies in the Point Defense Drone that the Raven is equipped with.
Ever heard of the phrase from old Broodwar players saying that Blizzard gave Dark Swarm to the Terrans?
This but Terran =/
Well yeah they did, in the form of the Point Defense Drone. For a selected area the Point Defense Drone absorbs range fire that isn't considered splash.
That means it absorbs Hydra Spines, Stalker Lasers, etc...
Its a ShamWow Version 5000
Woah isn't that imba incase? Well no your broodlords and banelings and pretty much melee units can still deal damage. So can your sentries and High Templars. (But hey we all know what a mass of Marines can do)
That's a lot of Marines o.o
The other perk? Detection? It might cost a lot to build a raven so you might not think its worth it. But its also the most useful detector unit in the whole game.
It gives you a Point defense drone to let you run from Hydras and also a whole bunch of other weapons which other detectors don't have.
Basically Raven > Overseers and Observers.
EXAMPLES
Here are some youtube examples of how Ravens have been used.
Build Orders
There's actually not much you can do in terms of Build Orders if you want to get out that early raven which might not help much early game but it does well mid-game and late game.
But here's a Build Order I found in some little corner of an EU site.
9 Supply 10 Barracks 10 Refinery 12 Refinery 12 Factory 13 Orbital Command 14 Bunker 15 Tech-Lab 16 Starport 17 Supply Depot 18 Switch your barracks with the Tech-lab over with your Starport 18 Raven 20 Research Raven Energy
Things to note.
Despite Ravens having offensive capabilities, remember that they are still mainly spell-casters if anything.
That means that they aren't meant to be a main attack force or anything close to that manner. They are pretty much made of paper and can be destroyed and their usefulness as an attack unit ends when its energy runs out.
That's probably the most hardcore thing on this site.
Too bad that's not a Raven.
I mean if you really want to have a nice harass and a quick game to finish you'd probably get Banshee and Cloak for them and try to get them to clear out the enemy economy as fast as possible while you defend your little Terran Turtle.
Here's a mental checklist for you.
1. SCV's
2. Mule
3. Gas
4. Tech lab at Barracks!
5. Lift off to change to Starport
6. Get that Raven if you suspect your opponent of using cloaked or burrowed units.
7. If you're getting that Raven get Auto-Turret.
I know its not a lot but this post definitely tells you about the uses of Ravens and shows videos of how Ravens have been used.
Most people who use Ravens usually only do in the late game or when their trying some weird auto-turret Harass build.
Raven has many weird uses, especially when you're dealing with Zerg players since the Seeker missiles could help turn the tide of the battle when you spam them against Hydras who are off creep.
I hope this tutorial can actually help instill the use of Ravens in your gameplay.
This is Fireport writing another article for thebronzeleagueplayer.blogspot.com Signing Off!
Sure you've played the campaign and picked the raven over the Science Vessel so you can have that really cool Seeker Missle and Auto Turret over Irradiate and Defense Matrix.
But do you know the real reason of why the Raven is better than the Science Vessel? Or why it replaced it?
THEORY
Looks a bit like a star ship
So what makes the Raven a good unit? Ok it detects stealth but I have missile turrets and Scan for that.
Hmm how bout that auto turret, Ok it adds DPS and that Seeker missile helps me deal with massed Zerglings.
This can also be all up in your base killing your SCVs
But the real merit lies in the Point Defense Drone that the Raven is equipped with.
Ever heard of the phrase from old Broodwar players saying that Blizzard gave Dark Swarm to the Terrans?
This but Terran =/
Well yeah they did, in the form of the Point Defense Drone. For a selected area the Point Defense Drone absorbs range fire that isn't considered splash.
That means it absorbs Hydra Spines, Stalker Lasers, etc...
Its a ShamWow Version 5000
Woah isn't that imba incase? Well no your broodlords and banelings and pretty much melee units can still deal damage. So can your sentries and High Templars. (But hey we all know what a mass of Marines can do)
That's a lot of Marines o.o
The other perk? Detection? It might cost a lot to build a raven so you might not think its worth it. But its also the most useful detector unit in the whole game.
It gives you a Point defense drone to let you run from Hydras and also a whole bunch of other weapons which other detectors don't have.
Basically Raven > Overseers and Observers.
EXAMPLES
Here are some youtube examples of how Ravens have been used.
Build Orders
There's actually not much you can do in terms of Build Orders if you want to get out that early raven which might not help much early game but it does well mid-game and late game.
But here's a Build Order I found in some little corner of an EU site.
9 Supply 10 Barracks 10 Refinery 12 Refinery 12 Factory 13 Orbital Command 14 Bunker 15 Tech-Lab 16 Starport 17 Supply Depot 18 Switch your barracks with the Tech-lab over with your Starport 18 Raven 20 Research Raven Energy
Things to note.
Despite Ravens having offensive capabilities, remember that they are still mainly spell-casters if anything.
That means that they aren't meant to be a main attack force or anything close to that manner. They are pretty much made of paper and can be destroyed and their usefulness as an attack unit ends when its energy runs out.
That's probably the most hardcore thing on this site.
Too bad that's not a Raven.
I mean if you really want to have a nice harass and a quick game to finish you'd probably get Banshee and Cloak for them and try to get them to clear out the enemy economy as fast as possible while you defend your little Terran Turtle.
Here's a mental checklist for you.
1. SCV's
2. Mule
3. Gas
4. Tech lab at Barracks!
5. Lift off to change to Starport
6. Get that Raven if you suspect your opponent of using cloaked or burrowed units.
7. If you're getting that Raven get Auto-Turret.
I know its not a lot but this post definitely tells you about the uses of Ravens and shows videos of how Ravens have been used.
Most people who use Ravens usually only do in the late game or when their trying some weird auto-turret Harass build.
Raven has many weird uses, especially when you're dealing with Zerg players since the Seeker missiles could help turn the tide of the battle when you spam them against Hydras who are off creep.
I hope this tutorial can actually help instill the use of Ravens in your gameplay.
This is Fireport writing another article for thebronzeleagueplayer.blogspot.com Signing Off!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Shoutout: Lag in the posting
I haven't been able to do any articles at all in the last few days due to camp and me being too tired from being in camp and stuff.
I hope this won't actually slow down the number of articles I'm able to churn out.
So yeah I'm just posting this in case I might not be able to get up next Monday's article on time.
I tend to write a lot of articles and slowly do editing before posting them up a week before time.
So I hope I can recover in time to get the articles up.
For any questions just email me at fireport@gmail.com
PS: I've been plugged in at HDPhoenix's channel check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/HDPhoenixx
I hope this won't actually slow down the number of articles I'm able to churn out.
So yeah I'm just posting this in case I might not be able to get up next Monday's article on time.
I tend to write a lot of articles and slowly do editing before posting them up a week before time.
So I hope I can recover in time to get the articles up.
For any questions just email me at fireport@gmail.com
PS: I've been plugged in at HDPhoenix's channel check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/HDPhoenixx
Friday, September 24, 2010
Protoss: Going into the Void
Void Rays....
I hate them... I seriously do.... As a Zerg player they are my bane and I hate them because the protoss players can get them out so darn fast.
But that's provided I decide to go macro and not Roaches.
Well anyways despite my dislike for the Void Ray, this is a tutorial on how to get that early void ray and how to use them to end your enemies.
THEORY
Looks cool? Wait till it charges
So whats up with the Voidray?
Its an air unit with a laser which hurts like hell. Sure it might look small and takes time to charge into its awesomeness.
I don't want to face that
When charged its DPS is insane.
Here's a piece from liquidpedia.
The Prismatic Beam consists of 3 stages: The first two do not differ in terms of damage and only slightly in graphic effects. The third, however, doubles the base damage and comes with a bonus against armored units on top of that. This third stage is visually indicated by the central ray becoming brighter and thicker. The approximate DPS of the Void Ray is as follows:
So as you can see. The liquidpedia entry pretty much tells you that the voidray is pretty much one of the best Air Siege units they have in the game.
Also since they attack both air and ground and fly fast with good range you can use them to take out Marauders.
They do well against Thors too!
EXAMPLES
Here are a few video examples on how to fast-tech to Voidrays and also transitioning.
This is a Video by UEN.tv
And another video by corranhorn666
I know the first one isn't much of an example but its pretty much the situation you'll see if you're gonna use the void ray rush.
Build Orders
Since both of them don't have Build Orders here's the one which I use.
9 pylon
10 Gate
10 Gas
12 Core(When your first gas finishes here send all your probes to the core)
14 Gas (the 2 food here is zealot)
16 Stargate
16 Pylon
And this is what I use when I transition. Since its a transition and its mid-game, I'll probably have double gas by then.
38 X2 Stargate
38 X2 Pylon
Things to Take Note Of
In a sense to do a Void ray rush is really so much of an all-in build but to transition to Void Rays is not as difficult as you think.
Since you pretty much need only 1 Stargate but if you're going for mass Void Rays you have to remember to build a second Stargate if you need to.
I think it works just like this one
Its always good to hotkey your Stargate at an easy to reach number like 5 or 6.
Hotkeys are really essential in this game. Most times people would go for 1 to be the main army, 2 as the flank, 3 for Spellcasters and 4 for any additional army/Nexus.
That Chick should be on Group 3!
So if you have 4 as your nexus and 5 as your stargate. Hit 5 twice and then press V then hit 4 and chronoboost that Stargate so you can get your void ray out as fast as you can.
Since if you're rushing for a Stargate at the start of the game you'll need to have that early core keeping your drone count to 16 till you get your first void ray out is pretty much advisable.
Not so important yet.
Remember since you don't have a defense yet you could probably fit in a forge into your Build Order. Most people do since its pretty much the only defense you can afford if you're rushing out Void Rays.
The Main thing about a Void Ray Rush is the element of surprise. Don't let the enemy scout you. If you need to go watch the match of IdrA vs Lotze.Prime on the recent GomTV Starcraft League Tournament.
You'll see on the second match how Lotze.Prime kept his star gate at the far end of the map instead of in his base.
Proxy bases do work on occasion. Just don't do it often.
And again this build only works if your opponent doesn't have a lot of anti-air so it doesn't work well against Terrans but good against most Protoss and Zerg players since AA for them requires a bit of teching up.
Now here's a mental checklist to help you keep a note on things if you're rushing.
1. Build Pylon yet?
2. Early Gate?
3. First Gas?
4. Early Core?
5. Second gas up?
6. PROBES!
7. Stargate?
8. CHRONOBOOST!
9. Pylon?
If you're transitioning you won't need much of a checklist. Its more of remember to build pylons instead of probes and remembering to get gas and stuff. Unless you're going for a mass zealot build which I hope none of you are doing since its the easiest thing to counter, you'll probably already have double gas.
Well I hope that tutorial would be able to help you.
I really had to scour all over the net just to put that one together man. Most people do the Void rush weirdly and stuff. Its quite common in the lower tiers already for protoss players.
Just most of them do it wrongly and I hope this tutorial actually helps them do it right.
They tend to miss out on the defense part when they rush and thus they start to fail.
But I hope they actually can improve instead of just rushing void rays all the time.
This was another article by Fireport written for thebronzeleagueplayer.blogspot.com Signing Off
I hate them... I seriously do.... As a Zerg player they are my bane and I hate them because the protoss players can get them out so darn fast.
But that's provided I decide to go macro and not Roaches.
Well anyways despite my dislike for the Void Ray, this is a tutorial on how to get that early void ray and how to use them to end your enemies.
THEORY
Looks cool? Wait till it charges
So whats up with the Voidray?
Its an air unit with a laser which hurts like hell. Sure it might look small and takes time to charge into its awesomeness.
I don't want to face that
When charged its DPS is insane.
Here's a piece from liquidpedia.
The Prismatic Beam consists of 3 stages: The first two do not differ in terms of damage and only slightly in graphic effects. The third, however, doubles the base damage and comes with a bonus against armored units on top of that. This third stage is visually indicated by the central ray becoming brighter and thicker. The approximate DPS of the Void Ray is as follows:
- Against non-armored targets
- Stage 1: 5(+1) dmg / 0.6sec = 8.33 dps (+1.67 per upgrade)
- Stage 2: 5(+1) dmg / 0.6sec = 8.33 dps (+1.67 per upgrade)
- Stage 3: 10(+1) dmg / 0.6sec = 16.67 dps (+1.67 per upgrade)
- Against armored targets
- Stage 1: 5(+1) dmg / 0.6sec = 8.33 dps (+1.67 per upgrade)
- Stage 2: 5(+1) dmg / 0.6sec = 8.33 dps (+1.67 per upgrade)
- Stage 3: 25(+3) dmg / 0.6sec = 41.67 dps (+5.00 per upgrade)
After one initial attack, it takes an additional 6 consecutive attacks to reach the next stage: The Void Ray is therefore fully charged after its 13th consecutive attack (7.2 sec)
It remains on its current stage for another 5 seconds after having ceased fire. (Briefly) attacking anything, friendly units or structures included, within that time frame will reset the timer.
So as you can see. The liquidpedia entry pretty much tells you that the voidray is pretty much one of the best Air Siege units they have in the game.
Also since they attack both air and ground and fly fast with good range you can use them to take out Marauders.
They do well against Thors too!
EXAMPLES
Here are a few video examples on how to fast-tech to Voidrays and also transitioning.
This is a Video by UEN.tv
And another video by corranhorn666
I know the first one isn't much of an example but its pretty much the situation you'll see if you're gonna use the void ray rush.
Build Orders
Since both of them don't have Build Orders here's the one which I use.
9 pylon
10 Gate
10 Gas
12 Core(When your first gas finishes here send all your probes to the core)
14 Gas (the 2 food here is zealot)
16 Stargate
16 Pylon
And this is what I use when I transition. Since its a transition and its mid-game, I'll probably have double gas by then.
38 X2 Stargate
38 X2 Pylon
Things to Take Note Of
In a sense to do a Void ray rush is really so much of an all-in build but to transition to Void Rays is not as difficult as you think.
Since you pretty much need only 1 Stargate but if you're going for mass Void Rays you have to remember to build a second Stargate if you need to.
I think it works just like this one
Its always good to hotkey your Stargate at an easy to reach number like 5 or 6.
Hotkeys are really essential in this game. Most times people would go for 1 to be the main army, 2 as the flank, 3 for Spellcasters and 4 for any additional army/Nexus.
That Chick should be on Group 3!
So if you have 4 as your nexus and 5 as your stargate. Hit 5 twice and then press V then hit 4 and chronoboost that Stargate so you can get your void ray out as fast as you can.
Since if you're rushing for a Stargate at the start of the game you'll need to have that early core keeping your drone count to 16 till you get your first void ray out is pretty much advisable.
Not so important yet.
Remember since you don't have a defense yet you could probably fit in a forge into your Build Order. Most people do since its pretty much the only defense you can afford if you're rushing out Void Rays.
The Main thing about a Void Ray Rush is the element of surprise. Don't let the enemy scout you. If you need to go watch the match of IdrA vs Lotze.Prime on the recent GomTV Starcraft League Tournament.
You'll see on the second match how Lotze.Prime kept his star gate at the far end of the map instead of in his base.
Proxy bases do work on occasion. Just don't do it often.
And again this build only works if your opponent doesn't have a lot of anti-air so it doesn't work well against Terrans but good against most Protoss and Zerg players since AA for them requires a bit of teching up.
Now here's a mental checklist to help you keep a note on things if you're rushing.
1. Build Pylon yet?
2. Early Gate?
3. First Gas?
4. Early Core?
5. Second gas up?
6. PROBES!
7. Stargate?
8. CHRONOBOOST!
9. Pylon?
If you're transitioning you won't need much of a checklist. Its more of remember to build pylons instead of probes and remembering to get gas and stuff. Unless you're going for a mass zealot build which I hope none of you are doing since its the easiest thing to counter, you'll probably already have double gas.
Well I hope that tutorial would be able to help you.
I really had to scour all over the net just to put that one together man. Most people do the Void rush weirdly and stuff. Its quite common in the lower tiers already for protoss players.
Just most of them do it wrongly and I hope this tutorial actually helps them do it right.
They tend to miss out on the defense part when they rush and thus they start to fail.
But I hope they actually can improve instead of just rushing void rays all the time.
This was another article by Fireport written for thebronzeleagueplayer.blogspot.com Signing Off
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Zerg: Interview with HGHX
So I have Terran Interviews and Protoss interviews.
I finally found the Zerg Interview I've been waiting for!
Recently I had the chance to catch up with Justin aka HGHx for an email interview about how Zerg players should deal with Terran Turtlers.
Here's the interview.
Hi, HGHx how are you today?
HGHx: Hey man, i'm doing fine. Haven't been laddering alot, settling some of my personal life issues. But i do spend 1-2 hours clocking up 9-10 ladder games per day still.
Many lower tier Zerg players have been having trouble with 1 Base Turtling Terran players. What's your view on this?
HGHx: Basically if a terran turtles up in his base to just build up an army for the push onto your base, its very important to get scouting information on what is his exact unit composition (number of units + type of units). In fact in all games, its important to know what your opponent is going for. Because Zerg is so much of a reactionary race in Starcraft II, it is crucial to understand your opponent's units before making decisions on making your own army. The ability to sacrifice overlords into your opponent's base at the right time probably is the difference between having a sweet victory or a crushing defeat. If he continues to turtle up, just macro up and expand. You don't really want to macro too hard, so at least you're still prepared for a timing push from the Terran. Of course, macro is the hardest part of the game, lower tier players will need to practise alot in order to master this. As of now, I feel Muta+baneling and speedlings are key to winning in a Z V T matchup.
So what do you do when you face a Turtling Terran with all the might of his Bio-Ball and tanks?
HGHx: Burrowed and upgraded roaches does farely well against tanks, but I would still prefer to stick with Muta+banelings with speedlings tanking for your banelings. The timing of the engage must be perfect, otherwise your ground army will be toasted by the tanks. Catch your terran opponent off guard when he unsieges his tanks so you can ram your banelings and speedlings into the bio ball, with the marines dead, your Mutalisks can fly over and destroy the tanks. All these need practice, it might sound easy on paper, but when you play its a different story altogether.
And if they decide to use fast reapers despite Turtling?
HGHx: Even better. If they turtle up and just make reapers, you have the clear advantage. Make sure to spread your creep well and get roaches out fast while making sure that your speedlings still maintain defensive control over your base. Remember, you cannot win a 5 rax reaper build only with 1 base, so i cannot emphasize enough how important it is for Zerg players to expand and get their 2nd hatchery at their natural for the income and larva. Only with this economic advantage, you'll be able to pump out roaches at a much faster rate to counter the reapers. If they still stick with reapers despite seeing your roaches, just gather 20 roaches and push into his base for the win. Most of the time, they will transit into a bio ball comprising of more marauders than marines to counter your roaches, so just get enough mutalisks to snipe off the marines, and the marauders are all yours to eat :)
Ah Alright, So do you have any words of advice and encouragement for the lower tier players?
HGHx: Hard work pays off in Starcraft II . You cannot learn good macro in a single day. Continue to learn and focus on defending against timing attacks. A fast reaction really helps in being a Zerg player. And remember, no one is stopping you from going a 7 pool if you think its the right decision. At the end of the day, there is only 1 winner, not whether you CHEESE or MACRO. :)
Thank you HGHx for your time :)
HGHx is one of the best players on my friends list and he ranks 2nd in his ladder as a Diamond Zerg Player. You can hear him cast next to HDPhoenix at Phoenix's channel which can be viewed here.
I definitely learned quite a bit from HGHx and it has helped improve my game a bit.
As a Zerg Player I think this interview will do more for you than reading tutorials and guides.
SO FELLOW ZERGLINGS GO OUT AND TRAIN!
This is Fireport here with another interview for thebronzeleagueplayer.blogspot.com signing off!
I finally found the Zerg Interview I've been waiting for!
Recently I had the chance to catch up with Justin aka HGHx for an email interview about how Zerg players should deal with Terran Turtlers.
Here's the interview.
Hi, HGHx how are you today?
HGHx: Hey man, i'm doing fine. Haven't been laddering alot, settling some of my personal life issues. But i do spend 1-2 hours clocking up 9-10 ladder games per day still.
Many lower tier Zerg players have been having trouble with 1 Base Turtling Terran players. What's your view on this?
HGHx: Basically if a terran turtles up in his base to just build up an army for the push onto your base, its very important to get scouting information on what is his exact unit composition (number of units + type of units). In fact in all games, its important to know what your opponent is going for. Because Zerg is so much of a reactionary race in Starcraft II, it is crucial to understand your opponent's units before making decisions on making your own army. The ability to sacrifice overlords into your opponent's base at the right time probably is the difference between having a sweet victory or a crushing defeat. If he continues to turtle up, just macro up and expand. You don't really want to macro too hard, so at least you're still prepared for a timing push from the Terran. Of course, macro is the hardest part of the game, lower tier players will need to practise alot in order to master this. As of now, I feel Muta+baneling and speedlings are key to winning in a Z V T matchup.
So what do you do when you face a Turtling Terran with all the might of his Bio-Ball and tanks?
HGHx: Burrowed and upgraded roaches does farely well against tanks, but I would still prefer to stick with Muta+banelings with speedlings tanking for your banelings. The timing of the engage must be perfect, otherwise your ground army will be toasted by the tanks. Catch your terran opponent off guard when he unsieges his tanks so you can ram your banelings and speedlings into the bio ball, with the marines dead, your Mutalisks can fly over and destroy the tanks. All these need practice, it might sound easy on paper, but when you play its a different story altogether.
And if they decide to use fast reapers despite Turtling?
HGHx: Even better. If they turtle up and just make reapers, you have the clear advantage. Make sure to spread your creep well and get roaches out fast while making sure that your speedlings still maintain defensive control over your base. Remember, you cannot win a 5 rax reaper build only with 1 base, so i cannot emphasize enough how important it is for Zerg players to expand and get their 2nd hatchery at their natural for the income and larva. Only with this economic advantage, you'll be able to pump out roaches at a much faster rate to counter the reapers. If they still stick with reapers despite seeing your roaches, just gather 20 roaches and push into his base for the win. Most of the time, they will transit into a bio ball comprising of more marauders than marines to counter your roaches, so just get enough mutalisks to snipe off the marines, and the marauders are all yours to eat :)
Ah Alright, So do you have any words of advice and encouragement for the lower tier players?
HGHx: Hard work pays off in Starcraft II . You cannot learn good macro in a single day. Continue to learn and focus on defending against timing attacks. A fast reaction really helps in being a Zerg player. And remember, no one is stopping you from going a 7 pool if you think its the right decision. At the end of the day, there is only 1 winner, not whether you CHEESE or MACRO. :)
Thank you HGHx for your time :)
HGHx is one of the best players on my friends list and he ranks 2nd in his ladder as a Diamond Zerg Player. You can hear him cast next to HDPhoenix at Phoenix's channel which can be viewed here.
I definitely learned quite a bit from HGHx and it has helped improve my game a bit.
As a Zerg Player I think this interview will do more for you than reading tutorials and guides.
SO FELLOW ZERGLINGS GO OUT AND TRAIN!
This is Fireport here with another interview for thebronzeleagueplayer.blogspot.com signing off!
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