blade55555 Profile Blog Joined March 2009 United States 17373 Posts Last Edited: 2016-01-31 01:36:56 #1



So without further ado below is the build order along with an explanation of everything. Both Build orders I put are with 3 hatch before pool and without, their very similar other than the beginning.



Hello everybody! After a couple months I finally have made my ZvP guide. I have been asked a lot on the progress of my zvp guide and I am happy to say that I finally found a build I like that I felt was good enough for a guide. I will go over defending certain all ins, but the main focus of this guide is my macro style of hydra/ling/lurker into hive, drop play and all that.So without further ado below is the build order along with an explanation of everything. Both Build orders I put are with 3 hatch before pool and without, their very similar other than the beginning. Build Order Hatch first

14 – Drone Scout (optional)

18 – Hatch

18 - Gas

18 – Pool

20 – Overlord

100 gas – Transfer to Natural

Spawning Pool finishes – Metabolic Boosts + queens

32 – 3rd base

3:45 – 4:00 – Guys back in gas + 2nd gas + overlord sacrifice

4:00 – Roach Warren

4:30-4:45 – Start Lair + 3rd and 4th gasses + double Evo

6:00 – Get 5th and 6th gasses

Evo’s finish - +1 Ranged and +1 Melee

Lair Finishes – Hydra den

Hydra Den Finishes – Lurker Den

After Lurker Den finishes – Hydra Upgrade

8:30-9 – Start infestation Pit

Infestation Pit finishes – Start hive + spire





Build Order Three Hatch Before Pool

14 – Drone Scout (optional)

18 – Hatch

20 - Hatch

20 – Gas

20 – Pool

100 gas – Transfer to Natural

Spawning Pool finishes – Metabolic Boosts + queens

3:45 – 4:00 – Guys back in gas + 2nd gas + overlord sacrifice

4:00 – Roach Warren

4:30-4:45 – Start Lair + 3rd and 4th gasses + double Evo

6:00 – Get 5th and 6th gasses

Evo’s finish - +1 Ranged and +1 Melee

Lair Finishes – Hydra den

Hydra Den Finishes – Lurker Den

After Lurker Den finishes – Hydra Upgrade

8:30-9 – Start infestation Pit

Infestation Pit finishes – Start hive + spire







Detailed Explanation of the Build



The above is what happens in a perfect, normal macro game. Timings will change depending on the situation. The Drone scout as I say is optional, I like to Drone scout so I know what I am up again. To know if I am playing against a Proxy, 2 gate opening, nexus first or just gateway expand. All these feature different timings and kind of harass they can do, this is why I drone scout. You can easily not drone scout, which is fine as most Zergs don’t.



Something I did not mention above was the baneling nest. I will make a baneling nest if I think he’s doing a heavy adept push or some sort of 2 base all in (very easy to scout when no third at 4-4:30 and overlord sacrifice). Alternatively I will use just roaches and make a few ravagers, this is up to you on how you want to defend, I have messed with the baneling version and the downside is if you don’t have enough lings/banes you won’t hold it off and roaches take a lot longer to die.

The upgrades for +1 ranged/melee I find useful as lings/banes do more damage and hydra/lurkers do more damage as well. You can go for carapace/ranged if you prefer.



The composition Hydra/lurker is very strong versus any ground style of Protoss, most Protosses tend to do phoenix into chargelot/archon/immortal. This is a defensive style, you do not want to be super aggressive as it’s very easy to get overwhelmed by flanks and the heavy hitters of immortals and archons. The style is designed to hold you off until you can get to hive and add in Broodlords into the mix. You do not want to go Ultras, Ultras will get slaughtered against immortal/archon compositions, if the Protoss is doing a stalker/disruptor, Ultras are very good versus that style.



The above is what happens in a perfect, normal macro game. Timings will change depending on the situation. The Drone scout as I say is optional, I like to Drone scout so I know what I am up again. To know if I am playing against a Proxy, 2 gate opening, nexus first or just gateway expand. All these feature different timings and kind of harass they can do, this is why I drone scout. You can easily not drone scout, which is fine as most Zergs don’t.Something I did not mention above was the baneling nest. I will make a baneling nest if I think he’s doing a heavy adept push or some sort of 2 base all in (very easy to scout when no third at 4-4:30 and overlord sacrifice). Alternatively I will use just roaches and make a few ravagers, this is up to you on how you want to defend, I have messed with the baneling version and the downside is if you don’t have enough lings/banes you won’t hold it off and roaches take a lot longer to die.The upgrades for +1 ranged/melee I find useful as lings/banes do more damage and hydra/lurkers do more damage as well. You can go for carapace/ranged if you prefer.The composition Hydra/lurker is very strong versus any ground style of Protoss, most Protosses tend to do phoenix into chargelot/archon/immortal. This is a defensive style, you do not want to be super aggressive as it’s very easy to get overwhelmed by flanks and the heavy hitters of immortals and archons. The style is designed to hold you off until you can get to hive and add in Broodlords into the mix. You do not want to go Ultras, Ultras will get slaughtered against immortal/archon compositions, if the Protoss is doing a stalker/disruptor, Ultras are very good versus that style. Dealing with 2 base mass Adepts



A common build by Protoss is to build a ton of Adepts and destroy your economy. The ways to scout this are with an overlord, and whether you scout a lot of adepts or not (can sacrifice a ling, overlord can see this) and the lack of 3rd. The two ways I have found to deal with this, mass ling/bane or roaches. This depends on your style of play and which you prefer.



The downside to ling/bane is if you don’t have enough, you will just die as adepts are very good versus lings. However the downside to roaches is how slow they are (you shouldn’t have roach speed when this hits). Adding in a spine to each base makes it easier to keep drones alive as it’s hard to focus down drones when adepts are hitting you in 2-3 areas at once.



A common build by Protoss is to build a ton of Adepts and destroy your economy. The ways to scout this are with an overlord, and whether you scout a lot of adepts or not (can sacrifice a ling, overlord can see this) and the lack of 3rd. The two ways I have found to deal with this, mass ling/bane or roaches. This depends on your style of play and which you prefer.The downside to ling/bane is if you don’t have enough, you will just die as adepts are very good versus lings. However the downside to roaches is how slow they are (you shouldn’t have roach speed when this hits). Adding in a spine to each base makes it easier to keep drones alive as it’s hard to focus down drones when adepts are hitting you in 2-3 areas at once. Dealing with Stalker/Disruptor



This is a style I don’t really see, but I do see it every once in awhile. This is a much weaker style then phoenix into chargelot/archon/immortal as spread out Lurkers are very powerful. The main damage to Lurkers against this comp is only the disruptors, stalkers don’t do very well versus them. A good style to do versus this is a heavy ling/ravager style or lurker/ling. Infestors are very good against this as well with heavy ling/ravager support. This style isn’t too strong if you have the right units out and late game Ultras will shred this army up, same with Lurker/broodlord/hydra.



This is a style I don’t really see, but I do see it every once in awhile. This is a much weaker style then phoenix into chargelot/archon/immortal as spread out Lurkers are very powerful. The main damage to Lurkers against this comp is only the disruptors, stalkers don’t do very well versus them. A good style to do versus this is a heavy ling/ravager style or lurker/ling. Infestors are very good against this as well with heavy ling/ravager support. This style isn’t too strong if you have the right units out and late game Ultras will shred this army up, same with Lurker/broodlord/hydra. Defending against Phoenix Harass into Chargelot/archon/immortal



The most common style I see and face is this. It is by far the strongest as opening phoenix denies fast Mutalisks and they are very good versus Lurkers. In an engagement the Protoss will lift up the Lurkers with the phoenix while the chargelot/archon/immortal clean everything else up. This can be hard to deal with if you aren’t sure how.



When the Phoenix are out on the map, make sure to pull back all overlords so they don’t kill any. This is essential as this will save you from Supply blocks, let alone having to remake them instead of droning or making more units. Place 2 spores at each base, try to keep queens back by the spores so that they don’t get lifted and destroyed.

The next steps are to get Hydras out as soon as you can. The best way to do this is to bank resources, almost like going Mutalisks. This way when making Hydras, a lot come out instead of one by one in which Phoenix can lift and kill them. This way 12 hydras can come out at once and Phoenix won’t go near that. From this point adding in Lurkers and placing some Spores in front of your Lurkers is the best way to go while teching to hive.



Try not to engage in a wide open area when moving Lurkers, flanks and an open area are dream scenarios for this style as Archons/Immortals shred through Lurkers. Also always have an overseer with your Hydra/Lurker composition. Sniping Observers can delay the Protosses push longer, let alone save Lurkers from being lifted. The spores in front are designed to help with this as well. When the Protoss engages the army, have Hydralisks in the back so that chargelots go through the Lurkers first and the Hydras can take out the phoenix, while dishing out damage towards the ground army. Lurkers alone will get smashed, with Hydra support it is much easier to hold this push.



Once you get broodlords, Lurkers under the broodlords are very strong along with hydra support to deal with air compositions, Stalker blink ins and do very good versus Tempests. Vipers/infestors are good additions as you can abduct Tempests or blinding cloud the archon/immortals. Infestors can be good to root in the Protoss army so they can’t run.



The most common style I see and face is this. It is by far the strongest as opening phoenix denies fast Mutalisks and they are very good versus Lurkers. In an engagement the Protoss will lift up the Lurkers with the phoenix while the chargelot/archon/immortal clean everything else up. This can be hard to deal with if you aren’t sure how.When the Phoenix are out on the map, make sure to pull back all overlords so they don’t kill any. This is essential as this will save you from Supply blocks, let alone having to remake them instead of droning or making more units. Place 2 spores at each base, try to keep queens back by the spores so that they don’t get lifted and destroyed.The next steps are to get Hydras out as soon as you can. The best way to do this is to bank resources, almost like going Mutalisks. This way when making Hydras, a lot come out instead of one by one in which Phoenix can lift and kill them. This way 12 hydras can come out at once and Phoenix won’t go near that. From this point adding in Lurkers and placing some Spores in front of your Lurkers is the best way to go while teching to hive.Try not to engage in a wide open area when moving Lurkers, flanks and an open area are dream scenarios for this style as Archons/Immortals shred through Lurkers. Also always have an overseer with your Hydra/Lurker composition. Sniping Observers can delay the Protosses push longer, let alone save Lurkers from being lifted. The spores in front are designed to help with this as well. When the Protoss engages the army, have Hydralisks in the back so that chargelots go through the Lurkers first and the Hydras can take out the phoenix, while dishing out damage towards the ground army. Lurkers alone will get smashed, with Hydra support it is much easier to hold this push.Once you get broodlords, Lurkers under the broodlords are very strong along with hydra support to deal with air compositions, Stalker blink ins and do very good versus Tempests. Vipers/infestors are good additions as you can abduct Tempests or blinding cloud the archon/immortals. Infestors can be good to root in the Protoss army so they can’t run. Combatting Skytoss



If the Protoss ever gets to the late game composition of Carriers + templar or disruptors, with the main focus being air. The best way to counter it is hydra/ultra/corruptor. In my games versus this style of play, have the Corruptors focus the carriers, just A move the Hydras as they destroy interceptors so fast and Ultras will deal with the templar/disruptor if they are using those as their splash versus hydras. I have found this the most effective way to fight a protoss air army in a head on engagement without spore/queen support.



Make sure to keep Hydras away from the splash, let the Ultras take care of the ground and you should be able to trade very efficiently, even if you lose your army, the Protoss should lose a majority of their air army and the remax should finish them off.





If the Protoss ever gets to the late game composition of Carriers + templar or disruptors, with the main focus being air. The best way to counter it is hydra/ultra/corruptor. In my games versus this style of play, have the Corruptors focus the carriers, just A move the Hydras as they destroy interceptors so fast and Ultras will deal with the templar/disruptor if they are using those as their splash versus hydras. I have found this the most effective way to fight a protoss air army in a head on engagement without spore/queen support.Make sure to keep Hydras away from the splash, let the Ultras take care of the ground and you should be able to trade very efficiently, even if you lose your army, the Protoss should lose a majority of their air army and the remax should finish them off. Utilizing Drops



Lurker drops are extremely fun to do versus Protoss as they require detection and if they aren't paying enough attention, the Lurkers can kill a ton of Probes very fast, let alone denying mining. Dropping cracklings into the main or Lurkers in the main as well makes it much harder to deal with. Make sure to try and stay out of range of Cannons so Lurkers can focus them if given the chance.



It can be a bit hard to do this when a ton of Phoenix are on the field as they can fly the phoenix over with an observer and lift the lurkers or kill overlords so you can't just drop, pickup and leave.



Lurker drops are extremely fun to do versus Protoss as they require detection and if they aren't paying enough attention, the Lurkers can kill a ton of Probes very fast, let alone denying mining. Dropping cracklings into the main or Lurkers in the main as well makes it much harder to deal with. Make sure to try and stay out of range of Cannons so Lurkers can focus them if given the chance.It can be a bit hard to do this when a ton of Phoenix are on the field as they can fly the phoenix over with an observer and lift the lurkers or kill overlords so you can't just drop, pickup and leave. Using Lurkers at external Bases



A very useful technique in later stages of this match up is to have a couple lurkers at hard to defend bases. This makes Chargelot/DT warp prisms less likely to take out a base, let alone do damage to the droneline as Observers aren’t normally with warp prism drops or chargelot runbys. This is much easier to defend with and with a couple spines makes it much easier to defend then just relying on Spines or leaving roaches behind. 2 Lurkers are a better defense than 6-8 roaches.



Video of this build:

A very useful technique in later stages of this match up is to have a couple lurkers at hard to defend bases. This makes Chargelot/DT warp prisms less likely to take out a base, let alone do damage to the droneline as Observers aren’t normally with warp prism drops or chargelot runbys. This is much easier to defend with and with a couple spines makes it much easier to defend then just relying on Spines or leaving roaches behind. 2 Lurkers are a better defense than 6-8 roaches.Video of this build:



That brings an end to this guide, if you have any questions feel free to post here or send me a message. If you want to see me come up with builds, feel free to follow my stream at twitch.tv/blade55555 as every build I come up with I test while streaming.

Any suggestions or match ups you’d like me to go over with, feel free to suggest that in the comments below. Thanks for reading and hope this helps out any Zergs that are struggling in this match up!



Replays:



http://www.mediafire.com/download/racqqrr6lxlhlkv/zvp hydralurker into hive.rar That brings an end to this guide, if you have any questions feel free to post here or send me a message. If you want to see me come up with builds, feel free to follow my stream at twitch.tv/blade55555 as every build I come up with I test while streaming.Any suggestions or match ups you’d like me to go over with, feel free to suggest that in the comments below. Thanks for reading and hope this helps out any Zergs that are struggling in this match up!Replays: When I think of something else, something will go here