Protoss Vs. Protoss

The Story:

Landyl loves protoss vs. protoss games. If the sight of dozens of his zealots charging into battle isn't enough for players to stand, it's even better to see an equal number of zealots meeting that army. With this, as with all same-race games, it can be difficult to defeat your opponett. They will know your strategy, and will counter it. They go on the offensive- you counter. A good way to determine your skill with the Protoss is to play a same-race game.

Two common ways to beat Protoss with Protoss:

More Gateways:
How:
Simple enough. Build more of 'em. Two is a start... three is better... 4 is a good number. Sometimes if the game actually lasts to the point where I expand, I'll build a 5th. Scout your opponett. You always want to have one more than they do. The key is probes, probes and more probes.
When to use:
Any land map. Especially those with "open terrain"- where your opponett has more than 1 way into his town.
How it works:
More gateways= more zealots. Even one more zealot make a huge difference in an offensive operation. Thus, your extra zealots will propell you to victory against other protoss players. In some ladder games, I've surprised many players with the number of zealots I can crank out- and they ask me how they do it. It's all gateways and probes...
Problems with this strat:
  • You never seem to have enough pylons. Simple enough- keep building them. With enough probes (2 per mineral square), you'll be able to support 4 gateways and a pylon for every 4 zealots you build.
  • You're vulnerable to players going up the tech tree. Some photon cannons can stop you... as will reavers (though uncommon at this stage). If they've gotten to the air- you're in trouble. Back off and build cannons around your base... and- ug. That's for another page.
    • Observers:
    How:
    This simple strat is overlooked by many players. Find your opponett, and never attack. Expand yourself, put up cannons all over the place (you'll have tons of spare minerals with a few expansions). Get an observatory fast, and build tons of observers. You'll want to see as much of the map as possible. Sit back, defend- relax. Still build up an army. Put a dozen zealots and a dozen dragoons on hot key positions (they're on "stand-by"). Watch for your opponett to expand... and strike. In the end, you'll have a much larger army to defeat him with, and he'll be saving his troops to fight another battle later. Simply put- you're starving your enemy of resources until he's forced to surrender.  I've won several games where neither of our towns were ever attacked. They simply quit once they discovered that they couldn't expand.
    ***Landyl used a similar strat in Warcraft2- it propelled him to the top of his league winning 29 straight games. It seemed no one could counter it. Although it can be done, it's difficult.
    When to use:
    Land maps where you have a chokepoint to your base (to defend easily early).
    How it works:
    Starve your enemy of resources in the end. You're expansions will keep you going. You can see wherever your opponett is going, and know his every move. If he doesn't have cannons up in his town, you can even put observers there.
    Problems with this strat:
  • You don't defend enough. Especially your expansions. Although you can see their every move- what if you're seeing an army that you have no chance of stopping?
  • They go observers as well. They take yours down one-by-one... until eventually you're left in the dark.
  • They kill an observer without your knowing. Often, you don't even hear an attack message when you lose one. Wherever one dies, be sure to see what you enemy is up to.

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