Basic Zerg Strategies for StarCraft: Remastered

From the three playable races in StarCraft: Remastered, the Zerg are gross and not like any human-like race at all. Still, these insects can be incredibly fun to play with.

Introduction to Zerg

In StarCraft, Zerg are a species as far removed to the Human race as possible. They go by the 'strenght in numbers' theory. They are a fast and aggressive race known for their swarm tactics.

Zerg playstyle focuses on expansion and overwhelming numbers and their speed. This is empowered by their unique ability to spawn multiple units from their Hatcheries.

Zerg Creep enhances unit movement speed and vision. Playing the Zerg race effectively in StarCraft: Remastered requires dealing with Creep to gain map control.

Early-Game Zerg strategies

To play the Zerg race successfully in StarCraft: Remastered, a few key strategies are important to keep in mind. 

Larvae management

Zerg units aren't trained, they are morphed. All Zerg units start as Larvae. Larvae generate at Hatcheries, the main Zerg building.

As Hatcheries only keep a limited number of Larvae at any point in time, it is important to allocate Larvae between drones (the units that collect resources) and military units. If Larvae are left unused for too long, you’re basically losing production capacity. 

The problem with Drones is that in order to 'construct' a new building, you need to morph a Drone into that building, effectively sacrificing one of your drones for the building. This is unlike the Terran SCV, which is just temporarily working on constructing the building.

Managing Larvae effectively makes sure that they are converted into something useful, either drone or soldier, keeping your economy and army growing at a steady pace.

If you feel the production of Larvae is too slow, feel free to build another Hatchery. Each Hatchery will have its own stockpile and breeding ground of Larvae.

Build order

When starting a new game of StarCraft as Zerg, there are two main strategies that are often applied. The first one is called 9 Pool, the other 12 Hatch.

9 Pool is an aggressive strategy. You start off morphing 9 Drones, after which you sacrifice 1 Drone for a Spawning pool. Once that is ready, next Larvae are used to produce Zerglings.

The purpose of the 9 Pool strategy is to be able to harass enemies with Zergling rushings as well as to defend yourself fast against early attacks. It provides great early scouting opportunities and map control and might throw your enemy off their game. 

The 9 Pool strategy can also be risky. Because you are spending valuable early game resources on Zerglings, you are sacrificing your economic growth. If the Zerglings aren't fullfilling their purpose, you leave yourself open to counter attacks which you can hardly defend against.

If you are more of a passive gamer, you can try the 12 Hatch strategy. This focuses on expanding quickly to establish a strong economy. 

To do so, you start by morphing 12 Drones. Then, morph a Drone into a second Hatchery, followed by a Spawning pool. 

The purpose of this strategy is to use the extra Larvae produced at the second Hatchery to morph more Drones and expand faster. With this boost, you can get an economic head start over your enemies.

Even though this build order leaves you vulnerable to early rushes, it will pay off if you survive.

Scout early

Knowing what the enemy is up to (or even, what race the enemy is playing) is essential to have a shot at victory in StarCraft. You can adapt your strategy accordingly. 

When playing against Protoss, be sure to train Zerglings and Hydralisks to protect against Cannon Rushes. Keep one of your Overlords near your base to uncover hidden units.

A Terran enemy might try to swamp you with early Marine rushes or take it a bit slower in favour of reaching stronger technology (Tanks) early. In any case, be aware of spider mines and firebats!

If the enemy is Zerg, you might expect a quick Zergling rush. If you see a second Hatchery, they'll probably follow the 12 Hatch strategy, giving you slightly more time to set up your defence. 

Zerg have 3 main ways to scout early game:

• Using Overlords: Your starting Overlord can be sent toward enemy bases right at the start of the game. Place it near their base, but out of range of early anti-air units like Marines, to be able to track their progress.
• Drones: You can send a Drone out to the enemy after morphing your first building (Hatchery or Spawning pool, depending on your strategy). It will hit you slightly with the mineral income, but getting 
• Zerglings: These little critters are both cheap and fast. After producing Zerglings, send a pair of them towards the enemy base. They'll most likely die, but might take out some enemy soldiers while they're at it. 

Mid and late-game Zerg strategies

Once you've got your initial economy set up, maybe you founded a second base and defence is taken care of, it's time to start the attack. 

Creep up!

Managing Creep is going to be essential. It enhances both unit speed and vision. Spreading more Creep helps counter attacks by giving your units, like Zerglings and Hydralisks, more agility. 

To increase Creep, place additional Hatcheries or use Creep Colonies. Use your Overlords to oversee the Creep-covered areas and to detect hidden enemies, so that your units can fight back. 

Morph Creep Colonies into Sunken or Spore Colonies at important points on the map or close to important buildings to defend against attacks. Sunken colonies defend against land based units, while Spore colonies attack airborne enemies. Added bonus: Spore Colonies are detectors! 

Common Zerg unit mixes

Zerg attacks can consist of a multitude of unit mixes. 

A very popular harassment mix is using Zerglings and Banelings. The latter are immensely effective against groups of enemy units with their splash damage, while the fast moving Zerglings can break through light units and worker lines without any issues. 

Zerglings combined with Hydralisks add ranged firepower to the fast Zergling rushes. They can also hit airborne units like Terran Wraiths and Protoss Scouts. Accompany them with an Overlord to detect cloaked units. 

If you're looking for map control, try combining Mutalisks with Zerglings. Mutalisks are really good at attacking groups of enemies and are great at disrupting an enemy outpost and its workers.

In the later stages of a game, use Ultralisks with Zerglings to overrun enemy bases. Ultralisks are heavily armoured tanks that can take a lot of damage. Send in Hydralisks to protect them against flying enemies. 

Switch to more expensive Zerg units

In StarCraft Remastered, the more expensive units like Mutalisks, Lurkers, or Defilers can be worth the investment. But they need to serve a purpose. 

Mutalisks are great if your opponents are lacking in anti-air defences. After you've secured your second base, use Mutalisks to hit opponent outposts to disrupt their economy. 

Don't use them against opponents with many anti-air defences, like Marines, Missile Turrets, Valkyries or Corsairs. 

Lurkers are fantastic holders of chokepoints. The burrowed state allows them to control narrow pathways and defend against large groups of ground units, like Terran Marines and Firebats or Protoss Zealots. 

But, if the enemy has detection and long range or flying units, don't rely on Lurkers. Siege tanks with Comsat scans are lethal against your Lurker, as well as a Protoss Observer with Scouts.

Zerg Defilers

The late-game Zerg spellcaster Defiler can be a massive pain in the backside to your enemies. 

Their Dark Swarm ability makes Zerg ground units, like the Zergling + Ultralisk combination, well defended against ranged attacks. It allows such a rush to completely annihilate an opponents base without giving them any chance to properly defend. 

Plague is a great way to reduce the health of enemy units. It leaves enemies vulnerable to attack.

Defilers can be very strong but they also require micro management and can only work well when they have enough energy. This means you should not rely on your Defilers if a Terran enemy has Science Vessels with EMP shockwaves or Protoss High Templars can kill them swiftly. 

What not to do

Playing the Zerg race is probably the most difficult way to get into StarCraft: Remastered (or StarCraft II for that matter). Still, there are a few ways to make sure you lose every game. 

Keep Larvae unused

As with all of the races, having a stable economy with enough Drones is paramount for any game. But not just Drones are important, you need to have an army to defend yourself too. 

Not using your Larvae is going to really hurt you. You need to constantly use available Larvae to either train Drones or military units. Even if they're just Zerglings or an extra Overlord, not using the Larvae when they appear will slow down your progress. 

Poor Overlord placement

Overlords are great scouts. They can detect hidden enemies and fly over zones which are devoid of any anti-air units. At the same time, Overlords are the Zerg Supply units. This means that losing an Overlord might cost you the ability to morph new units. 

You should always avoid placing Overlords in danger. If you do use them to scout the map, make sure to pull them back if they are in danger or only use an Overlord you can miss. 

Conclusion