Pan

[Octopor]

what race do you mainly play in SC2?

 

[Emperor Pan I]

Zerg

 

[Octopor]

k sweet, i started playing again recently but i'm having troubles in diamond 1s because i'm a baddie.

i have some zerg questions, which if you choose to answer would be cool, but if not whatever.

1) What build do you usually open with against an opponent who randoms, before knowing what your opponent is?

2) In ZvP, if the Protoss FE's, do you try to punish it or do you just quickly take a third yourself? If so, when do you usually try to take the third?

3) After starting Metabolic Boost and taking Drones off gas, what do you usually wait for before putting them back on? (if you do this at all)

4) How do you deal with 1/1/1 All-ins?

5) How do you deal with 8 min zealot/sentry pushes? (Blocking off the ramp and killing your expo)

6) Against Terran mech builds, do you bother with Infestors at all or do you just go only for Broodlords and Roaches?

7) In ZvZ, expand and ling/bling, or just 1-base ling/bling?

8) How do you usually open up against Terran and Protoss?

i'll try to think of more later.

 

[Emperor Pan I]

1) What build do you usually open with against an opponent who randoms, before knowing what your opponent is?

Safest build is a 13 pool/13 gas. I usually take my gas first to get Ling speed slightly faster. This is mostly becuase depending on the matchup:
ZvZ:A later han 13 and you lose to a 6 or 7 pool with or without a spine rush.
ZvP/ZvT: Don't have any openings that hard counter a 13 pool, except if they are fast expanding you are slgihtly behind. Not a huge deal, so expand at 15 and skip gas(ie. depending on when you scout your opponent and his FE, pull drones off gas or don't build geyser) .

2) In ZvP, if the Protoss FE's, do you try to punish it or do you just quickly take a third yourself? If so, when do you usually try to take the third?

I usually take a third almost immediately, and when the Nexus completes I get a fourth hatchery and get to 70 drones as fast as possible.
However there are also some really good Roach busts against a Forge/Nexus first expand. Go watch Naniwa vs. Leenock at MLG a few weeks ago.
Probably good to practice both responses.

3) After starting Metabolic Boost and taking Drones off gas, what do you usually wait for before putting them back on? (if you do this at all)

You basiclly wait until you need gas again. It's a minor boost to minerals for at most a few minutes.
I'm prettty sure Day9 said somewhere that if you saw a pro do something, and don't know why you doing it, don't do it. If you need me to tell you when they go back on gas, you probably get a better performance not doing it until you can decipher where in your build you need it.

4) How do you deal with 1/1/1 All-ins?

**** if I know. That would take way to long, depending on map/spawn distance. It basiclly comes down to you playing better than your opponent, and scouting it early enough.

5) How do you deal with 8 min zealot/sentry pushes? (Blocking off the ramp and killing your expo)

Scouting it and jsut making enough units and spines.

6) Against Terran mech builds, do you bother with Infestors at all or do you just go only for Broodlords and Roaches?

Depends. Pure mech, Hellion/Roach/Thor I'd open infestor roach, snag hellions with Fungal and Mind control what I could, grab a thrid and quick test straight to broods.

7) In ZvZ, expand and ling/bling, or just 1-base ling/bling?

Actualy most of my strategy in ZvZ came from Roach expands.

8) How do you usually open up against Terran and Protoss?

ZvP: Pool on 14gas 14 pool, 15 queen. 4 lings to clear expo of any probe. Hatch on 20.
-> If he is one basing, spines and ling/roach production and defend any one basing.
-> if he FE, grab a fast third followed by an early macro hatch. Grab lair, followed by spire. Lots of spinecrawlers at nat and 3rd. All gas into Mutas and +1 attack. Mineral dump is Zerglings. Keep lings around the map and when he moves out to attack simply A-moves lings into his base, and snipe any "walling buildigns" with the flock of mutas. He either comes back or base races, and Ling/muta usually wins in a baserace.

 

[Octopor]

First off, sweet, thanks for helping me out.

You basiclly wait until you need gas again. It's a minor boost to minerals for at most a few minutes.
I'm prettty sure Day9 said somewhere that if you saw a pro do something, and don't know why you doing it, don't do it. If you need me to tell you when they go back on gas, you probably get a better performance not doing it until you can decipher where in your build you need it.

I usually do it just to increase my drone production for a little bit, but I don't really have a great idea of what the timings are or when I should put them back on to try and get lair-tech.

**** if I know. That would take way to long, depending on map/spawn distance. It basiclly comes down to you playing better than your opponent, and scouting it early enough.

Haha, fair enough.

Actualy most of my strategy in ZvZ came from Roach expands.

Care to elaborate? I used to try to go Roaches to turn the game into more of a macro fight instead of the lingbling micro fight, but either I eventually get flooded with enough lings that I lose my roaches, or he just fast techs to mutas and takes enough map control/harasses me enough that I lose any sort of economic advantage pretty quickly.

Another question til I start playing again and run more into problems:

How do you deal with large amounts of Phoenix openings, or just scout it before it's too late?