As probably the weirdest and off-beat race in Starcraft 2, the Zerg plays very differently from the other two races and requires much practice. This race has been known for strength in numbers and its unique way of building structures. To play Zerg effectively, you must make your units multiply like germs, which is the key concept behind this race. Therefore, good macro is paramount to success and several principles must be kept in mind.

Building Mechanics

Drones mutate into buildings, so they are taken out of the supply count once they do. This requires more attention given to making more Drones than how other races make their own workers. A cool trick to do during the early game is to make an early Extractor as you approach 10 supply, then make another drone. Once that new drone comes out, cancel the extractor to get the drone back and have them both harvest minerals as you make an Overlord. This lets you mine more minerals than if you didn’t do this trick.

Zerg units are almost all made in the Hatchery, with the other buildings merely providing tech. This means that Zergs can’t do proxy cheese stuff like the other two races can since you’re restricted by your creep. However, this does mean that you only have to worry about one building in your macro. Hotkey that particular building and you can bring out units all day long without confusion. However, you’re limited by how much larvae are out at that particular moment. Luckily, Queens can be made to inject larvae and speed up the process. This is the only tedious thing you have to do in terms of basic unit production.

Creep is a crucial element when you play Zerg. Not only can you not make structures upon creep-less ground, but your units will move slower there as well. To bring out the effectiveness of your units, you must spread your creep through various means. Aside from making buildings, you can plant Creep Tumors with a Queen and have Overlords discharge creep. A good thing to do is to right click the Overlord’s creep discharge ability to put it in auto-cast, wherein it pukes creep whenever it’s not moving. Another benefit from this is that Terrans and Protoss can’t build structures on creep, so you can deny expansions and harrass with it.

Hatcheries cost 300 minerals to make, 100 less than the Terran Command Center and the Protoss Nexus. This lets Zerg players expand more quickly and potentially occupy more space in the map. It also gives the Zerg a tremendous macro advantage, as long as the player makes enough harvesters. The only problem is that the Hatchery is the unit production building as well, which is both a strength and weakness at the same time. Once enemy forces come and bust through your defenses, all they have to go for is the Hatchery. Once it’s destroyed, that base is essentially useless.

Economy and Production

Drone production is the central pillar of Zerg macro. Your main priority is to have better economy than your opponent, so you have to hoard minerals and gas as quickly as possible so that you can mass up a standing army before he does. With the Zerg’s production speed, you’re sure to reach 200 supply way before anyone else. What is left in the equation is timing and a good level of aggression.

A good way of looking at your macro is to think that for every two expansions you have, that’s equivalent to a single Terran or Protoss expansion. The reasons behind that estimation is due to how drones are used to build structures. For example, while a Hatchery is supposed to cost 300 minerals, it’s really worth 350 since you use up a Drone to make one. For every structure, you have to add 50 minerals to its cost. Then, you have to consider how many more drones you have to spawn in order to keep your harvester count up.

Since this is the case, you have to go with only a couple of unit types for your army and just make lots of them while still being able to transition to the later parts of the game. For example, you might want to just make Zerglings and Roaches early on and get the speed upgrade. Then, you can add in some Mutalisks in the mid-game. Build a Baneling Nest just in case, but only make some when you’re sure to encounter mobs of infantry. The point is to not go overboard since it might be too much for you to handle all at once since you’ll be making Drones and injecting larvae with your Queens the entire time. Zerg macro requires a lot of practice and brainpower, so you better not be prone to short-term memory lapses.

But the best thing about the Zerg is that there is not much of a production queue. For example, you’re making three Roaches. Instead of them coming one at a time, like with the Terran and Protoss, three larvae turn into eggs to produce your intended units all at the same time, so you’ll get three Roaches right off the bat once they finish. This is what made Zerg so rush-friendly in Starcraft: Brood War. Blizzard has since nerfed certain features of the Zerg to make the game more balanced, but that doesn’t make them any less powerful. Essentially, what a Terran player does with three Barracks, a Zerg player can do with one Hatchery. Of course, you have to wait for the larvae to regenerate, but that doesn’t take too long.

General Strategy

It’s generally a good idea to expand early while spawning Zerglings. Doing the Extractor trick should maximize your mineral harvest. Standard play sees a Spawning Pool made after spawning an Overlord. Zerglings are usually the standard, but the decision between going all out with Roaches or mixing Mutalisks in depends on the information you get from your scouts. The only upgrade you should worry about at this point is the Speed upgrades since making an Evolution Chamber at this point would only sap your resources away from building your army. The priority right from the start is to outforce your opponent, so go nuts with production. Of course, produce the counters against your opponent’s units so they’d be wise investments.

The Spinecrawler should do well to defend your base as it is pretty robust while it picks off infantry like how a toothpick takes that bit of spinach out from in between your teeth. Combining this static defense with a bunch of Zerglings and perhaps some Roaches should help you survive cheeses. At this point, you have no anti-air, which is one of the main weaknesses of the Zerg.

Something worth mentioning is the Speedling, which is basically a name for a Zergling with the Speed upgrade. These things are incredibly quick and can close in on opponents in almost an instant. Have a big bunch of these surround an army of Marines and they go to work, taking them all to hell. If you wish to rush with them, timing is crucial since you have go get the Zerglings ready as the upgrade is about to finish. By the time it does, you better have a big enough force and ready to attack the enemy base.

Once you’ve made what you need to make, mutate your Hatchery into a Lair to tech up. This is your transition from the early game to the mid game. By this time, you should have a formidable standing army pushing through enemy lines.

Here’s an easy and flexible opener that is good for most situations.

• 10 Scout (Drone)
• 14 Spawning Pool
• 13 Extractor
• 12 2 Drones & 1 Overlord

When your Spawning Pool is done, you should have around 300 minerals, and 3 larvae. Getting a queen and either 3 Zerglings or Drones should do the trick, depending on your scouting information.

From here, you can go for a Roach bust, Mutalisk rush, or perhaps even a Baneling bust if there’s a lot of enemy infantry or if the enemy base is walled in. The Hydralisk is very powerful in a lot of cases and it is your basic ground-to-air unit. Take note that they are wicked slow, so you won’t be retreating without suffering losses. Your base is still Zergling/Roach, so make sure that you keep the pressure with them.

Make sure that you can transition from offense to defense quickly because your opponent would be gunning for your expansions once he has thwarted your offense. This may be a bit of a problem if he counterattacks with air units. At this point, you need Mutalisks to stop them. The Queen has surprisingly good anti-air, so that helps in protecting your harvesters from harassment.

In the mid to late game, you should be able to transition to Corruptors when needed and get to 200 supply, perhaps mix in some Infestors if you have the micro for it. By the time you can upgrade your Corruptors to Brood Lords, you’ll have enough force to give your opponent a run for their money, as long as you don’t neglect your ground forces. If your macro is “Idra-esque”, start making Ultralisks to make the other guy cry.

Conclusion

There is a lot of things to remember when playing Zerg, and rightfully so. This unique and complicated race is favored by a lot of the best Starcraft players in the world due to its aggression and relentlessness. If you’re the type of player who goes for quantity, then the Zerg is right for you.

Supplementary Video