Coach Eric Morgan
Starcraft Beginners Tutorial: Zerg v Terran - Basic Opening & Concepts
updated
Group F: AviLove, Cryoc, Kingtoss, UltrA
Arya (T)
Dazed (P)
iRk-Agge (Z)
DocHoliday(Z)
KingPi(P)
Roughly, I talk ab out making sure to check your build. Do you make constant workers, or if zerg, do you make the correct amount of upgrades? Do you get gas at the right time? Do you mine gas right away and start buildings ASAP? Do you get your upgrades ASAP?
Note any major mistakes, and keep them in mind. From there, ask yourself what felt like the pivotal moment where things went wrong and work back from there. Maybe you were terran trying to deny zergs third. Did you have upgrades and the right army at the right time? Were you too hesitant? Was it a control/micro issue? Did you make the wrong army?
Try to understand why you ended up in that bad position. From there, if the game continued, ask yourself if you made the correct choice of transition that gave you the best opportunity to salvage the position. Did you have further tech at the right time? Would harass have been a better option? Should you have expanded or gone for something all-in?
If you get absolutely stuck, then I would ask either in the strategy forum on TeamLiquid, in my Discord, or in FBW discord. All are good resources to use.
Links:
TeamLiquid: teamliquid.net/forum/bw-strategy
LMaster's Fan Club + New Player Discord: discord.gg/pbH2feC
FBW Discord: discord.gg/YQ2NAfR
Rules:
-Minerals over 1000 = GG
-Must have 60 probes by certain time limit (I think 10')
-Can't die
-Must rescue Tassadar witha shuttle from the 3 o'clock base before mission end
-Must kill PC by end of time limit
*Built Nexii at the end because with maxed supply you can't make more units unless you already have a que going.
Guess I technically lost though...I was about two seconds too slow ;)
If it seems short...it is. Lots of no shows for these two groups ;(
8 - Pylon
10 - Gateway
11/12 - Gas
13 - Cybernetics Core
15 - Pylon
100% Cybernetics Core - Goon, Goon Range
21 - Pylon
22 - 2nd Dragoon
100% 2nd Gateway - Dragoons 3, 4
If more than 3 or 4 marine - Dragoons 5, 6
Nexus
Robotics Facility
+2 Gateways
After here, decide on how you want to play picking on of three options:
1) Fast tech from 2 bases to arbiter
2) Mass gateway + shuttle to attack or defend a 2 base attack
3) Expand quickly to a third base
*Numbers are not given after the start because it's too much to remember, and skirmishes can throw the numbers off. As long as the resources are used immediately and don't float over 400-500 minerals, and probes are made all the time the build will be correct.
1) Know where the mines are. Make sure there aren't too many mines. Just one at a time is safest
2) Take a BABY step towards the mine
3) Immediately step back
4) Hit H for hold position to make the dragoons shoot
This is a very useful trick for when just a few mines stand between you and victory or between you and defeat. If there are too many mines too close, or you don't know the exact location it's very easy to mess up, so use it carefully!
Group D: Tech, Dissection, CadenZie, yOp
Group B: Ty2, Arcneon, Kingdom, Unco
ZvZ:
1) Place sunkens and spire IN or behind mineral lines so only a few zerglings can attack at once and drones can be used to block.
2) At natural, sunkens can should be placed near hatchery, covering both minerals and ramp.
ZvP:
1) Building placement is primarily used to block zealot rushes/attacks
2) Usually two hatcheries and an evo chamber/hydra den are used to make a wall. Behind that wall sunkens are placed. This limits the area zealots can run through, making blocking with drones/units much more powerful. Many different placements are possible. Experiment with your own to find what works, or use the excellent reference broodwall, found here: broodwall.com
ZvT:
1) Third hatchery usually placed in main base away from starting hatchery
2) Spire if often placed near third hatchery to hide from scanner
3) Sunkens to defend marine attacks should be placed at the front in a line. Having them in a line is absolutely critical so they don't get picked off one by one.
4) If you suspect vultures, sunken should be placed near the expansion hatchery so that it covers ramp and as much of minerals as possible
5) Harass defense sunkens should be built in minerals to defend not drones, not far away
6) As soon as third hatch completes, a nydus cannon should be made safely behind your sunkens, and immediately placed near the third base
7) When a fourth base is taken a second nydus should be placed at that base for quick reinforcements and defiler transfers.
The three main usage for FKeys are:
1) Unit Production - FKeys can be set over key production areas to quickly jump to them and be able to produce units.
2) Running Workers From Harass - This is down by having 2 or 3 mineral lines set to FKeys. Use the FKey to go to the incoming harass and box workers. Press a different FKey of the location you want to run to and right click one of those mineral patches. Once the workers can come back, box them again and press the original FKey (Note: this can also be used for worker transfers)
3) Rally Locations - FKeys can be used to re-rally, covered in this video here: youtube.com/watch?v=t-Kway1aJFY
Video to follow explaining more in depth how to quickly run workers from harass.
The video shows zerg, as this is the most common race to cannon rush, but the defense is the same for any race.
Steps:
1) Have good scouting and see it in time. If you don't find the cannons until some are already done, you will usually be unable to stop it
2) Pull workers if the cannon is at a distant base
3) Find a "nook" in the minerals and spam right click that nook with 4-8 workers
4) Alternate spamming "s" with the workers selected and right clicking on the cannon. This will cause the workers to unbunch, shoving some of them across the gap
5) Kill the probe, then the cannon.
6) If you are zerg, and aren't quite going to get the cannon, starting a sunken can help you save your hatchery.
We discuss gateway placement, cannon placement for defending attacks and harass, the value of "spotter" pylons at the edges of bases, pylon walls to defend vulture harass, and walling concepts for Protoss v Zerg.
Specific walls are not given, because they will differ for every map, instead the concepts are outlines to give you an idea of how to design good building placement. If you want to get it perfect, the only way is to look up ideal building placement for the specific spawn on the map, or practice your own building placement until you love it. Or watch Horang2...he good at building placement :)
Most newer players in a crisis tend to think "I'm going to die" and focus only on controlling their units, oftentimes too much to even be effective. One of the biggest differentiaters in the early and midgame between higher league and lower league players is what happens during an intense crisis situation. A higher level player will continue to produce works, units, and perhaps even send them to mind and add buildings. A newer player on the other hand will usually do nothing but watch the battle, banking up to 500 or even 1000 minerals and forgetting to make workers or army during the battle. This leads to no reinforcements and a very weak economy.
During a crisis there are some key priorities:
1) Use good hotkeys so you can make workers and army without ever taking your eyes of the battlefield
2) Don't overmicro. Easier said than done, but stay calm, and click only as much as needed. Many players, for example with the dragoon, with click so quickly they cancel the dragoon attack animation and don't get off a shot at all. Be deliberate, not panicked.
3) Focus on the critical tasks. You won't be able to do anything during crisis. Focus on what's critical. This is usually: not dying, making workers, making reinforcements.
Today we are looking at how to get your army up a ramp or through a tight choke.
1) Select the top 2-6 units or so at the very top of the ramp.
2) Spam right click up the ramp, but close to the units, spamming like this helps pathing.
3) Repeat for the next group now at the top
4) Don't stress too much about the units already at the top, or far in the back. They might not be fighting optimally, but it's much more important to get your entire army fighting than to be perfect with a couple units already up while everything else sits idle.


