I’ve tried Google and can’t find an answer. If you use something like a Stetzone to increase to movement speed of workers, will they mine faster since they get to and from the mineral field quicker?
Only when not fully saturated. Basically it doesn’t affect gathering speed, only moving back and forth. That means that 14/2 is fully saturated when in speed field.
Check out CtG on Youtube for helpful guides. Also starcraft2coop.com. GL!
It does NOT affect your gathering rate but it DOES affect your income rate by affecting saturation.
For example, a 7 patch main normally gives you highest rate gain per worker at roughly 14-16 workers. This is because of the 2 per patch no-delay rule (accounting for far VS near patch). Then the 3rd worker provide the full saturation, which is reached generally 19-21 workers.
The main issue is exactly that travelling time of each worker to be available on patch when the previous has finished. So Stetmann’s FAST configuration can thusly reduce this relay time by allowing a closing of this time gap to “an almost full saturation with 14 workers that 21 normally is required”. Or 2 workers for geyser where normally 3 (or 4, far VS near geyser issue also exist).
Nothing gathers faster except MULE, which is 25min per trip per 10sec in coop brutal for approximately 9 trips per mule’s lifetime. And if you account for vespene drone’s approximately 33% gain rate per geyser, which is really entirely independent of any workers.
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I did not ask if they gathered more per cycle. That line of thought didn’t even occur to me. I was simply asking if faster drones would gather more over time due to a reduction in travel time. IE would 21 workers gather more under a FAST Stetzone than the same workers without the buff. If I read the responses correctly, the maximum harvest isn’t changed, only the amount of workers needed to get there, right?
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Right…stetzone helps when not at 21.
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Right… sure… if you were talking mining in a vacuum.
The time it takes to get there is still there. So in the same time frame, and any given time frame, you are gathering more total bank than otherwise without the zones. Each drop off is the same but the rate of drop off is faster. Having 300 bank at 1min versus 200min at 1min makes a big difference, so to speak for example.
If you’re just comparing 21 workers VS 21 workers with zone, then of course not? That’s like comparing DPS of 150marines vs 150marines with the same zone. Sure, their DPS didn’t technically change but their movement to where needed to be will changes. So the total dealt DPS is therefore better. Similarly, the total spend-able bank is different with zone at any time frame than without.
Sc2 is fun for that exact reason, right? It’s not 1 dimensional.
Zone is just better than without in a 
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The point is more that speed zone helps Stettman’s minerals for the first couple minutes, (and his ally’s minerals if he gets it there), but after that there is no mineral reason to run speed boost (same as no reason for Mensk blimps to be over ally mineral line, after the first 2-3 minutes)
Haha, the “point”, the point is context is very important. And I tried my best to explain to OP on that context and the reasons behind it.
Just as your example of ‘blimps’, the Imperial Witness provide similar 20% movement speed to workers. By the time you, yourself, as a Mengsk player can get even 2 Imperial Witnesses out for your own saturation and mandate benefit. Those 2 additional IW’s will at best arrive at 4-5min mark. Which particular commander-partner will ever benefit from this?
So the context here is that any adequate (not even pro) players will have saturated their mineral lines already to ever benefit from IW’s. Furthermore, any pair of players who are good enough to take advantage of it by making total less workers of 14-17 under stettelite/IW’s will not even have any issue by “contrarily not getting it at all”.
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The gathering speed is not increased, but the workers return faster with their cargo.
It can also help workers to go back quicker to work (harvesting) after doing something else (making a building, getting a xenon crystal, repairing stuff…), thus still being useful past saturation on that regard.
actually there is since every unit under the inductrination generates mandate for megsk top bar abilties so he can spam those bunkers or zerg of war, not to mention firing mah lazor … erm all da rokkets =P
I never build more than 18 workers on the main base and 15 (or 13) on the expo. The blimp can be useful.
Only for his own units right? IIRC, ally’s units do NOT generate Mandate.
That’s right, no mandate from ally units. Simple answer is blimps over ally mineral line is a waste.
Only Mensk units give mandate under blimps
Had an ally start killing my blimps because I didn’t set them up over his fully saturated bases at the 12 minute mark. Good times.
I never build more than 18 workers on the main base and 15 (or 13) on the expo. The blimp can be useful.
If you go 14 mineral 4 gas with blimp is that fully saturated? Always wondered this but never could tell, so I always end up keeping 21/6 or whatever it may be. Thanks!
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Just a reminder that Imperial Witness, while does increase movement speed, has other benefits with a FULL set of workers for higher mandate generation.
So I wouldn’t take the above as some “miracle” smart play. If you choose to do the above in order to save minerals for maximum efficiency then you’ve saved very little (as Mengsk is not mineral gated ever, but always in excess).
There is no benefit doing the block quote. Mengsk fully saturate main long before the first Imperial Witness can be produced. This prevent the “less workers on main benefit”. By the time the 2nd can be produced on expansion, you’ll have enough (and likely extra) workers that need to be later converted into troopers. Again, this prevent the benefit.
So the only way to ACTUALLY benefit is to purposefully reduce workers made. The problem is then two-fold. (1) Multi-worker construction hindered, thus slower tech timing and Imperial Witness and mandate. (2) Less resources gained if you choose to pull off multiple workers to build quickly, in the context of less workers made.
Doing the block quote will in fact give you less mandate generation, less overall workers from lack of conscription via mandate, slower tech, with no economic benefit (and probably less overall income).
The gas is always saturated so i always have 6 workers for each base harvesting gas.
However, i only have 18/21 workers for mineral in the main base and 13/15 or 15/18 for the expo base.
The difference in mineral is negligible and it saved me some supply to use for other thing as well as saving some hundreds of mineral in early game.
Man, why do people keep giving out bad advice on the forum? Especially when it’s explained and keeps pretending as if it’s a smart play?
By 2min mark, any and all Mengsk players (noob and pro alike, M90) would have well over 40+ workers without any hindrance to tech. To “only saturate 18/21 on main” is essentially leaving 1 patch of mineral unmined from 1.5min until you can get Imperial Witness out to compensate for the equivalent saturation of 21/21.
That time for first Imperial Witness, depending on your build order, is at least as early as 4min. So for 2.5min for a single unmined patch, that is 104mineral/min x 2.5 = 260min LOST, in exchange for no cost. Why? Because as mentioned above, by 2min even with 40 workers, the total workers for 2 bases is 40/48. So you’ve not invested into anything that you wouldn’t have invest anyway.
I could go on with even more details but it’s the same things said really. You lose so much more than the ridiculous ~5 workers (200min) saved by Cerebrate’s suggestion. 260min > 200min last I checked. Lest we forget that doesn’t account for minutes beyond 4min, or anything lost by the expansion missing workers.
I’ve read some bad advice on here before but this one is just terrible to the core. If the plan is to then pull the ~5workers post IWx2 is up, then you’re still losing mandate for a long time before RG’s and other troopers can compensate. All for what? 200minerals for a CO that is raining minerals, with an extremely fast macro, cheaper workers cost to begin with??? Please logic me an explanation here.