Starcraft 2: Zerg Units – Impressions & Strategy

Two more weeks into the Starcraft II beta, and we have learned the Zerg race in and out.

Also read: Protoss Units – Impressions & Strategy

Terran Units – Impressions & Strategy

What makes this new Zerg race so distinct from it’s Starcraft I counterpart, though, is that unlike the new Terran race, the new Zerg do not have many new stand-alone units.  Most of the changes to the Zerg come in the form of evolutions, upgrades, and new abilities to existing units.

This is in line with how the Zerg have always played.  They are weak yet cheap units that are notoriously easy to mass-produce.  In order to make a truly strong Zerg army, you must evolve these units, and there are no shortage of such choices in Starcraft 2.  Let’s start with a peek at the Zerg tech tree.  Click the image to your right for a full view.

As you can see from the tech tree,  two-thirds of the Zerg units from Starcraft 1 have returned.  They are:

• Drone
• Zergling
• Overlord
• Hydralisk
• Mutalisk
• Queen
• Ultralisk
• Broodling
• Infested Terran

That’s not to say there aren’t big changes in mind for some of these, though, so let’s get to a full breakdown of each unit, both old and new.

New Units:

• Baneling
  • You may remember the Scourge unit from Starcraft 1, with it’s self-destructing air attack.  This type of kamikaze manuever has been moved down to the ground now in the form of the Baneling, a unit evolved from the basic Zergling, and available fairly early in the game.  One thing to note is that an exploding Baneling will not cause its neighboring Banelings to explode as well, so the only way to prevent an army of Banelings marching in and blowing up your base is to take advantage of chokepoints.  These units are built to provide a great defense against early Protoss Zealots, but with good micro-management, a stream of banelings can blow the door off of the most well-defended bases.

• Queen
  • I know this is listed above as a returning unit, but it seems that the Queen is practically returning in name only.  In Starcraft I, the  Queen was a late-in-the-game flying unit that could not attack.  It was simply a support unit with some useful but overprices abilities, and was therefore not used all that often.  In Starcraft 2, EVERY Zerg player needs a Queen.  The new Queens can attack, have a tank-like 175 health, and are the ultimate defensive unit.  Queens are unique in that they are produced straight from the Hatchery building themselves, without the use of Larvae, and are yet another unique designed to provide Zerg with enough early defense to get over the rush hump.  The Queen’s abilities are also extremely useful.  When not owning early rushers, the Queen can cause your Hatchery to produce extra larvae, expand your creep, or restore 125 to any unit or structure in order to get back on your feet before wave #2 hits.

• Roach
  • This is one of the most popular new units in Starcraft 2 and I can understand why.  Roaches can be built early, have good armor, lots of life, and most importantly:  they can be upgraded to move while burrowed.  Even better, with another upgrade, they can regenerate extremely fast while burrowed, making them a fantastic unit to harass your opponent with, only to retreat before death.  Your roach squad will be back up at full health before they get back on their feet!

• Overseer
  • This unit is a new evolution of the Overlord.  Unlike Starcraft 1, Overlords cannot detect cloaked unit, so the Zerg player must now dedicate time and resources into advancing to Overseer upgrades if they feel the threat of cloaked units is high.  Just pray you get them out in time!

• Infestor
  • Another unit capable of moving while burrowed, the Infestor acts in a support role similar to the Defiler of Starcraft 1.  It cannot attack on its own, but the Infestor’s abilities allow it to control individual enemy units, trap and damage large groups of enemy units, or spawn several Infested Terran eggs.  These eggs quickly hatch to produce Zerg-controlled Marines that act just like regular Marines, guns and all, until they self-destruct after 20 seconds.

• Corruptor
  • An air-to-air unit, the Corruptor also has some added abilities.  The corruption ability disables a building for thirty seconds by covering it in slime.  A few Corruptors can can cover up a sparse enemy defense, allowing you a free shot at their base.  The true power of the Corruptor is when it evolves into the final unit we are covering, the Brood Lord.

• Brood Lord
  • An evolution of the Corruptor, the Brood Lord is similar to the Guardian from Starcraft 1 in that is is a strictly an air-to-ground attacker.  The difference, though, is that the Brood Lord shoots Broodlings.  These small Zerg units last 180 seconds and can continue to attack ground units after they are shot.  In the long run, this makes the Brood Lord more versatile than it’s predecessor, the Guardian.

New Structures:

There are not many new structures, but the biggest change is that the Zerg defensive structures, the Spine Crawler and Spore Crawler, can now uproot themselves and replant themselves anywhere along the creep.  They can even be moves across the map, although they will travel significantly slower off of the creep.

This may not seem very important, but it really is.  As a Zerg player, it is crucial to expand, as the number of Hatcheries you have strictly limits the number of units you can produce.  The ability to re-position defensive structures gives Zerg players the ability to quickly defend new expansions.

That’s all we’ve got for now, but be sure to check back next week for our Protoss roundup!