I was watching some replays recently and had a question about the strategy behind proxy barracks play.
For instance in a TvZ, lets say the terran player goes for a 2 barracks proxy. That requires a certain response from the zerg once they scout it. At the pro level that is a very specific worker pull etc, this response changes if instead they only saw 1 barracks or even 3 barracks.
My question is why do I always see pro terrans build both barracks right next to each other? Doesn’t it make more sense to send the two scv’s to two seperate but equidistant points from the opponents base? That way if the Z player scouts the once proxy they may focus their attention there and not find the second (or third) barracks. They would accidentally respond as if it’s a single barracks proxy and be caught off guard when the other units show up. Even if they scout both locations then it would be no different as it is now when they find both barracks being built next to each other.
Maybe this actually is a common strategy and I just don’t see it in the games I watch.
TL;DR- why don’t terrans build proxy barracks in multiple equidistant locations since they aren’t bound by creep or power fields?
Worker travel time and the increased chance for the opponent to scout the build might have something to do with it.
Players are usually able to shut down a proxy after they scout it. If you build the Barracks in two separate locations, the opponent is twice as likely to scout it.
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you see quite often a 2 rax proxy opening where 1 rax is more forward than the other… maybe half a screen distance between each rax…
some times in tvz, once the ovy scouts the first rax the zerg pulls the ovy back in hope that the terran didn’t notice his proxy build was just scouted…
having 2 rax’s proxied at completely seperate locations not only doubles the chance of the proxy being scouted, but if scouted, the terran will not be able to defend his proxy due to the marine rally time from the other proxy rax location…
there is however, some interesting mind games the terran can play by deliberately loosing afew marines from the scouted proxy rax to drones and lings, showing to the zerg he is flying the rax home… while massing reapers with the other proxy rax… But in terms of the zergs response. his first overload will be scouting the terrans main base so even if there is a second rax the zerg didnt scout, he will notice there is no production in terrans main… and will mass units to defend anyway…
its an interesting concept…
i think at the end of the day, banking on your double proxy rax not getting scouted, it being easier to calculate the win/loss odds, and has the potentially outright killing your opponent. While separate proxy rax locations has so many variables out of the terrans control…
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