IMHO, to play Zerg is to mean you need to gain advantage during early game, advantage here could mean cripple your enemy, or you have much more resources and/or units that your opponent.

Zerg - strong in early game, moderate in mid game, and weak in late game.

Terran - weak in early game, strong in mid game, and moderate in late game

Protoss - weak in early game, moderate in mid game, strong in late game

So you see, if you don't gain advantage in early game ... you're pretty much screwed later, because Zerg units are just slightly cheaper than other race, overall the price is the same. To outnumber your opponent also actually mean you are out-resource of them.

In my opinion, Zerg have 2 units that conquer in the early game -> zergling and queen.

Queen not only a good early defense for Zerg, but her spell - spawn larvae is almost a must for all Zerg, with 1 hatchery and 1 queen, you basically doesn't need to build extra units producing building.

Zergling in terms of resources, is the best tier 1 units, in equal resources ... it can basically wipe out other races tier 1 units ... provided if it's in open spaces. Furthermore other races unable to produce as much tier 1 units of Zerg in short time, thanks to the Zerg's Queen's spell.

So whenever I play Zerg, I will try to be aggressive in early game, because I always think if I don't gain advantage in early game, most probably I will be a dead meat entering mid game onwards.

I was doing a comparison of units who are in the same tier and same amount of resources. without taking consider of player skill and tactics.

In equal tier and resources, zerglings with speed upgrade are actually very scary.

20 zerglings + 1 roach, which cost 575min 25gas

8 marines + 1 marauder, which cost 600min 25gas

4 zealots + 1 stalker, which cost 525min 50gas

if you just put them together and fight (assume in an open space), who will win? from my experience, Zerg most of the time will win. terran 2nd because of the range advantage.

speedling is just too scary and dominating in early game.

but real life players aren't stupid either, they will wall in and be defensive to avoid early game with Zerg.

So a smart Zerg player actually have to think of ways to utilize the early advantage of Zerg to cripple the opponent. They try to break the opponent defense (probably that's why baneling was there?), or try to expand fast when opponent become turtled ...

But I have to admit that baneling is hard to use for me ... every time I saw they only did a pity 20 damage and there's goes my 50min 25gas ... I felt like waste a lot ...

In my earlier post I already mention it is QUEEN + ZERGLING that dominate the early game. Queen can cast spawn larvae to the hatchery which add up another 4 larvaes to the hatchery.

From my experience, Zerg can come out large forces in early game faster than other 2 races in early game.

But that's only apply for early games ... in late games ... terran and toss already have tons of stargate or starpot or what so ever unit producing building, which they don't have difficulty to come out mass units in a short period.

reapers are only useful if you plan to sneak and utilize the cliff to gain advantage and use hit n run tactic.

10 reapers vs 20 speedlings in an open space is sure bye bye to the reapers because of their low hp.

I think it's dangerous if terran only plan to produce reapers to counter zerglings ... hellion probably is a better options.

but still i did wipe out my enemy who use hellion + marine combo with swarm of speedlings before. because hellion need to get from factory, by the time he produce 5 hellions, I already have 50 speedlings waiting outside of his base.

btw, I am indeed a Zerg player, and I often lose as well. I'm not saying Zerg are strong, it just to me that Zerg always have the advantage on early game, and pretty much bye bye if the Zerg player can't utilize that.

Normally Zerg player who can win in late game is because he/she out-resource of his/her opponent or probably out-skill as well. If equal resources wise, I don't think Zerg late units are that good ...

That's because he's a good skill player and reaper is imba. Reaper are scary once they sneak into your mineral line ... coz they can tore down crawler very fast, if they target your drone and hatchery ... then you are gone as well.
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However, I'm talking about generally Zerg in early game. If my opponent go reaper, means he have to sacrifice his marine and marauder, which make me have certain advantage as well.

my point is reapers are conditional and need good skill player. if it is that good, all Terran players sure produce reapers most the game already.

as a Zerg player, I'm not scare of other races during early game, except another Zerg player.

Want to swarm me with tier 1 units? Let's see my zerglings better or your marines/zealots better.

Want to go for reapers? then your base is quite open and I might tech to hydra waiting for you, or I even do a 10 pool rush. My opponent need to gather quite some gas b4 reapers can come out ... unless he's a very good defense player, else my speedlings already swarm to his base and surround his barrack.

I'm not saying reapers are not annoying ... but still nothing compare to late game units of toss and terran.

once my hydra army was wipe out by the collosus + void ray + a few stalker or something.

resource wise, I think we are equal, and suppose hydra should kick air units ass right? well ... it's wrong ... the void ray fry my hydra like some pan cakes.

so after that, I find reapers aren't that scary after all.

that's what I thought also ... but the truth is void ray quite powerful vs land unit lar ... the void ray charge when my hydra busy targeting the collosus.

you might say why don't you go for muta? but from my experience, if they scout it, they will switch to stalker + some phoenix ... which also fry muta very good. muta cost quite many gas, it's hard to rebuild if they wipe out my muta ...

just because some pro players lose using Zerg, then suddenly everyone conclude Zerg is the weakest race in the universe.

I'm still quite enjoy using Zerg no matter it wins or lose in any competition, since myself is just a casual player. I'm not saying the game is perfectly balance, but Zerg wasn't that weak as most other ppl see it.

If you think reapers are flawless, then why don't you start to use Terran and kick Zerg player's ass (such as me) using reapers? Then you will enjoy the fruit of victory.

How often we gonna vs those gosu Terran player? Not much right?

I'm pretty sure there will a patch to fix this.

But overall it still doesn't change my perception on Zerg that it is strong in early game and weak in late game.

I wish Blizzard can make muta and hydra stronger in next patch tho

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Added on August 25, 2010, 7:29 pmHow come nobody discuss about Terran's ghost?

I seldom see ghost when playing vs Terran tho ...

But in 'theory', I always thought ghost's snipe ability can wipe out entire zerg forces easily since zerg units are all biological.

This post has been edited by ReWeR: Aug 25 2010, 07:29 PM

anyone ever bother to research carrier ability for overlord?

200m 200g not cheap wei ... i was thinking to drop speelings on opponent expansion ... but scare off by the research price ...

I do notice zerg not much things to upgrade ... most ppl juz pump units none stop ... but i see computer, they always make evolution chamber one ...

probably it's good ... but 1 baneling cost 50m 25g ... expensive T_T

plus side is also the down side of zerg ... in the heat of combat ... u have to constantly remind yourself go back to hatchery and cast spawn larvae spell... else you not enough larvae for your next army.

if you play all races, you will notice zerg in sc2 is the least upgrade one.

you are a dead meat if you don't use queen

against any decent zerg player and you are bye bye.

queen + zergling dominate early game mang ...

he mean in the SC1 multiplayer screen you can create something like IRC channel. They have a chat room system which similar with IRC.

he mean when vs zerg, not terran.

but if opponent saw ur baneling n mass roach or muta, also die.

For me Banelings are difficult to use ... and roach are slow and bulky ...

so end up I always use zergling + hydra ... it makes myself pretty much predictable ...