Looking into GM winrate on sc2pulse, you can see winrate for zerg is way below 50% for both matchups, TvZ being 58% in favor of terran and PvZ being 54% in favor of protoss. Across game duration zerg winrate doesn’t ever go above 50% in ZvP, while for most time severely favoring protoss. In ZvT the winrate goes OUTSIDE WINDOW LIMITS in T favor between 6 and 9 minute mark almost reaching 70%. and being overwhelmingly in T favor for less than 13min games shifting only slightly for zerg in the very late game.
There’s an obvious difficulty balancing a race in one matchup while preserving the state in other, but currently you can clearly see that zerg suffers big time in all matchups, specifically in early to mid game, and requires a significant buff not toward some weird underused late game spell, but to core units.
Playing zerg has been a suffering for a long time on all skill levels. Certain easy playstyles consistently defeat zerg with inconsistent difficult to execute responses and a constant need to adapt with at best equal outcome as also seen from the winrate data. You can see Serral die to simplest execution of a cannon rush, and you can see masters zerg players being a-moved by mech players of platinum or diamond level of play and being unable to handle that.
It is ok for a race to be underpowered, but to be pissed on by things requiring 1/4 of APM to do is what made a lot of zerg quit the game, and what needs to be under consideration when introducing balance patches. There needs to be a single strong buff to zerg core units to make the game more fair to play
simple things that make huge diffence.
- allow zerg over lords push creep from hatch requirement
- give zerg 4 larva back
- decrease impact time from ravagers marks a small child can dodge that.
- buff healing from building around 25hps
- make spines and spores 50 cost and make them decrease build time.
- lower roaches delay 1.5 to 0.75 of regen and increase to 15 hps
- all burrowed units get 2 armor and 5hps increase
ok so, most of these Don’t make sense like #5 for Example, “Make spines and spore cost 50 minerals and have decreased Build time” that’ll just have Players who are playing ZvZ and ZvP just Spine Rush with or without a Proxie hatch
burrowed units definitely need a massive buff to armor. it makes no sense a unit that’s underground works as simply cloaked and can be killed as easily
Spines is weakest of any form of defensive 50 mins is also counting the cost of drone.
Spine takes 36 seconds they drop done 21 secs as spores. By time over lord gets there to other side protoss and terran has AA so it less likely to even work.
I always said that the queen should not be relied upon for larva injects.
Improve larva generation and how many they can hold for hatcheries, define the queen as an actual fully defensive unit that may not always be needed (creep/transfuse is fine), readjust stats/cost for them since their role utility is nerfed.
Maybe allow early queens to turn into sc1 swarm queens when in hive tier?
Yeah and they take up army supply for an army that is already high in drone count. Meanwhile, other races have energy with their buildings for free or cheap. Since defense is expensive, it forces Zergs to build queens for defense and macro, rather than build macro hatches, spines, and spores. The entire system is extremely complicated for the Zerg compared to mechanics that are easier and free for the Terran and Protoss.
Thematically good idea, but what about burrowed roaches that can move burrowed
What are you talking about, roach is a special units that already can move while borrowing, but cannot attack.
I think just giving the zerg a hatch tech unit that can shoot up and move would solve tons of issues. I would propose the following:
Swap Hydralisk den and Roach Warren - Hydralisks are now available on hatch tech, Roach/Ravager now require a lair.
Just this alone would make Zerg fun again: However, I would propose slightly more radical changes below:
Remove roaches from the game. Remove Swarmhosts from the game. Ravagers can now be built on lair tech with the construction of the roach warren. Double the range in which Bile can be cast.
Roaches are a lazy design because they’re identical to the hydralisk but they can’t shoot up. Their larger life pool and higher armor doesn’t make them significantly different from the hydralisk and their armored tag works to their detriment due to them taking extra damage from their counterpart units (Marauder/Stalker). They’re a supply inefficient unit that only exist as an intermediate until hydralisks become available. Let’s just cut this unnecessary unit out entirely.
While the swarmhost is unique, it’s too different and leave massive vulnerabilities without solving any problem that any other zerg unit already solves. It’s a unit swimming against the current of zerg gameplay with having a 46 second cooldown after being used. The swarmhost is supposed to act as a long range artillery unit that allows harassing an enemy base or fortified position, but it comes with opportunity costs, and built in vulnerabilities as well as being expensive, and supply inefficient. These are the reasons that it’s rarely seen in professional tournaments, and why average players rarely use them. Zerg already have vipers, biles, banelings, lurkers, broodlords, etc… to harass and destroy fortified positions. The swarmhost is just the worst choice to do this
With changing the range of bile and with the ravager now able to be made directly from hatcheries (on lair tech), it now functions as the long range artillery unit fulfilling the functionality of the swarmhost and thus giving the ravager a legitimate role within the zerg swarm.
I think moving hydra den to hatch and moving roach den to lair is best tbing for couple reasons.
- For z vs z since there is no counter to roach other then roach wars. If was hydras instead roach banelings still usefull.
- This allows zerg stay hatch tech and can fight air rushes vs gg.
- Roaches weak remove speed upgrade give it as all ready as research. Buff burrow by removing the healing delay.
- Ravagers has 9 range doubling would be broken but i feel indicator should be delayed. Right now time dot shows up is 1.3 secs before impact most pros watch for actual animation witch adds additional .4 secs. Now say delay dot till .8 secs of delay. So if watch ravagers you still know there firing 1.7 secs you cant pin point impact till .8 secs.
- now i feel u should be able build all units from larva like banes, ravagers, lurkers, brood lords. Only difference extra cost and time is built in unit so not much faster or cheaper but would skip extra step.
I for got i think main problem with swarm host is how target.
I feel they need fly like muta speed and programed to land 3 range off target they going to impact.
for example if drop on helbats they destroy the locust but if drop at 3 range they destroy helbats. So microing them is abit of chalange but if they can fly faster and be abled to drop 3 range instead point blank it be much better unit
I couldn’t agree more. Early play is not that bad but once you start getting 4-5 hatcheries you spend more time managing larva and drones than you do on your army. Zerg weren’t this brutally hard to play back in SC1 or the early days of SC2. Some of the units they have seem completely useless to me or are too weak for the cost.
You know take queen’s attack air and ground attack remove it. Buff transfuse like medicvac instead 50 energy it just use 4 hp per tick of energy.
Remove the pool requirement so zerg can build queen before the pool. This allow faster lair is what problem of zerg without sacrificing economy.
use faster cheap spines and spors 50 With faster burrow instead 12 ssecs be 3 secs.