Date: 2021 May 9
Game: Starcraft 2
Patch : 5.07
Mode: vs. AI
Commander: Zerg
Opponent: Random / Terran
Map: Beckett Industries
Difficulty: Elite
Video Capture: OBS 26.1.1
A viewer wanted to know if I still played vs AI. I was wondering if I'd be any good. It has been a while since I played, much less uploaded, a game vs. the AI. Turns out, the AI wasn't as bruising as I thought it would be.
It started off as vs. Random, so I had to be ready for anything. If I went hatch first vs. 12 pool? Oh well. That happens. The opponent turned out to be terran. Also, when my first overlord got to their natural, no base.
Instantly, you must anticipate cheese. The AI cheeses in several different ways. The first is banshees. You need spores. You cannot get lair, overseers, and hydras fast enough. Usually, banshees get to your base by about 4:30. The next possibility is a marine marauder push. Generally, between 10-12 marines, and up to 4 marauders come to your base at around 4:00. You need lots of lings, some queens, and a spine, possibly 2 spines. Honestly, I did not have enough to defend against this, if this had happened. I just took my base at 4 min, and hoped nothing too crazy happened.
In this game, the AI did not cheese. They just played poorly, economy-wise. The usual method, from the 4 to 8 min mark, is to saturate 3 bases, take gases at a 4th, possibly a 5th, and go up to hive. Make sure you aim for about 150 supply. In ZvT, you get a mix of ling, banes, and hydra. My usual round of activities are: inject, creep spread, make 4 or 5 hydras. Make 12-24 lings, and turn as many lings as you have currently into banes.
Against the AI, I try to turn about 75% of my lings into banes. I know that seems to be a lot, compared to what you would do against a human opponent. The AI doesn't split, and does not stim marines and put them behind their marauders. So, generally, in every fight, if you have enough banes, all of your opponent's marines will die. You will be left with marauders and tanks.
This game was actually poorly played by the AI. I expected tanks or thors, or really any factory unit. They made nothing, as far as I could see. Once you win the first fight, and maybe the second, you need to tech up to vipers, and start thinking about making brood lords or ultras. If your opponent makes heavy ground, go broods. If they want to challenge you in the air, go ultras. Keep in mind, once your opponent has a high enough viking count, all of your overseers and vipers will die, but if you made ultras, they will tank for your hydras, which should eliminate all their air.
The key to winning the matchup is timing. As terran or protoss, you can turtle until you have a maxed army, and just a-move over their nat. This does not work as zerg. Zerg needs to win a fight, quickly make any army at all, and counter-attack. Terran and protoss will not be able to re-build their army fast enough to defend. Once you have them on the back foot, just drive up the ramp and get on their production.
Keep making lings. Lings with adrenal glands make short work of structures and workers. They will also distract all of the fighting units, so that your hydras can deal the damage. Keep your hydra count high and flood with lings.
If you encounter a pf, back off until you can blinding cloud it. Morph banes, make a lot of stuff, make lurkers, or wait until broods. You cannot just charge at a pf, especially if your opponent still has an army. Never fight an opponent's army and their pf at the same time. You will most likely lose.
