Zerg Strategy

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1. Among The Ruins
2. Egression
3. The New Dominion
4. Agent of the Swarm
5. The Amerigo
6. The Dark Templar
7. The Culling
8. Among the Ruins
9. The Invasion of Aiur
10. Full Circle

1. Among The Ruins

Starting Structures:
1 Hatchery
1 Creep Colony
The Chrysalis

Starting Units:
12 Zerglings
2 Drones
1 Overlord

Starting Resources:
200 Minerals

Objectives:
Create a Spawning Pool
Create a Hydralisk Den
Protect the Chrysalis

This mission isn't that difficult. It basically lets you get to know the Zerg basic units. Put your starting Drones on mineral because you'll need to make another Overlord right away. Use the first larvae to make an Overlord. Use the next to make another Drone for mineral harvesting. Keep pumping out Drones and harvesting minerals. Use the 5th Drone you make to make a Vespene Gas Extractor over the nearby geyser. Keep in mind that you don't get the Drone that you use to make the Extractor back, it mutates itself into the building. Keep pumping out Drones until you have at least one on every mineral cache. You should always have only three Drones harvesting Gas at a time because more will only create a backup which is very inefficient.

Once you have enough minerals, construct a Spawning Pool. Remember, you can only place buildings on the Zerg Creep (except for the Hatchery and the Extractor). As soon as you have enough minerals and gas, make a Hydralisk Den. You should also mutate your Creep Colony into a Sunken Colony for extra protection.

Build up a force of 12 Zerglings and 12 Hydralisks to attack the enemy base in the upper right corner of the map. Don't forget to leave around 3 Hydralisks behind to protect the Chrysalis. Before you attack the base, you should get the upgrades available in the Hydralisk Den. When you're ready to attack, arrange your attack force with the Zerglings in the front and the Hydralisks in the back.

When you arrive at the Terran base, you'll see some marines guarding 2 Missile Towers. Send in your Zerglings to take care of them. Then follow up with your Hydras to take care of the Golatihs that that will come to help their buddies. After the defenders just about dead, start making some more Zerglings. Make about 12 more to jion your attack party. Send the new group to finish off the rest of the Terran base.

You can let the computer take control of your Zerglings once they come under attack by using the attack command, but don't do this with your Hydras. Make sure they attack the Wraiths because Zerglings can't attack air targets. As soon as all of the opposition has been eliminated, destroy that Starport. You don't some more Wraiths to ruin your party, do you?

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2. Egression

Starting Structures:
2 Hatcheries
1 Spawning Pool
1 Creep Colony

Starting Units:
3 Hydralisks
2 Drones
3 Overlords
2 Mutalisks
6 "Hunter Killers"(special Hydralisks)

Starting Resources:
300 Minerals

Objectives:
Bring the Chrysalis to the Beacon

This mission can be fairly easy, but it can also be a little tricky. You want to start by saturating your mineral fields with Drones. Take your 4th Drone and make an Extractor. You'll want to get a Hydralisk Den up as soon as posible. You'll also want to get both upgrades.

Make about 21 Hydras and join them with your starting three. You might want to put this massive force into two control groups with your "Hunter Killers" in a third. Go through the isle that opens up into your base. You'll see a Photon Cannon, some Zealots, and some Dragoons. Your force should easily overwhelm these Protoss defenders. Once you reach the other side, go west and destroy the defenders that you find. Still going west you'll see a ramp that leads to the beacon. Take it and advance northward where you'll see some more Dragoons. Kill them and your way is clear. You need to carry the Chrysalis with a Drone (right click on the Chrysalis when the Drone is selected). Move the Drone to the beacon and the mission will end.

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3. The New Dominion

Starting Structures:
1 Hatchery
1 Spawning Pool
1 Hydralisk Den
3 Spore Colonies

Starting Units:
4 Hydralisks
2 Drones
3 Overlords
4 Mutalisks

Starting Resources:
150 Minerals
50 Gas

Objectives:
Protect the Chrysalis
Eliminate Terrans

This mission is one of the harder Zerg missions but if you keep 6 Hydras close to the Chrysalis at all times, you should be fine. Send your first 2 Drones to gather minerals and use your 150 minerals to build 3 more Drones. Once you have around 7 Drones gathering minerals, make an Extractor and begin harvesting gas. You don't have to start making battle units to defend your base until you're a couple minutes into the mission, leaving lots of time to build up your economy. Once you have around 13 Drones working, start upgrading your Hatchery to a Lair. While it's upgrading, make some more Hydras.

Make sure you have at least 8 Hydras and all of your starting Mutalisks and asvance to the central plateaujust north of your main base. Take out the opposition you find there and make a Hatchery and make around 10 Drones to harvesting minerals there. Use around 5 Hydras and all of your surviving Mutalisks for defence.

As soon as your Lair is done, build a Spire, and start making Mutalisks. You'll need Hydralisks too, but only about 6 for each of your bases for defense. Spend all your resources making and upgrading Mutalisks. Once you have about 12 Mutalisks, attack the western plateau of the Terran base, focusing on killing only the Missile Towers and the Siege Tanks on the ridge. Once Marines start charging you, retreat back to the plateau.

Keep building up your air force and try to get as many as 24 Mutalisks which should be enough to win the mission. Go back to that western plateau and use the attack command to click on an open space of land and sit back and watch the show. The only thing you should look out for would be that your Mutalisks stay in a nice, tight group for maximum efficiency.

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4: Agent of the Swarm

Starting Structures:
1 Hatchery
4 Spore Colonies
2 Sunken Colonies
1 Creep Colony
1 Extractor

Starting Units:
4 Hydralisks
3 Drones
2 Overlords
6 Zerglings
2 Queens

Starting Resources:
250 Minerals
250 Gas

Objectives:
Protect Chrysalis
Eliminate Terrans

There will be a counter for the first ten minutes of the mission. When the counter gets to zero, the Chrysalis will hatch, revealing a surprise Zerg hero, Kerrigan! Once the hatching is complete, your new orders are to protect Kerrigan and destroy or infest Raynor's green Command Center in the east.

The first thing you need to do, like always, is build up your economy. Make 3 Drones and an Overlord with your starting minerals. Keep making Drones until you have around 12 on minerals, then make a Spawning Pool and start harvesting some Vespene Gas. Once that is done, make a Hydralisk Den and start upgrading to Lair.

You will be attacked almost incessantly by Terran Dropships that drop off batches of Marines, Firebats, Tanks, and Vultures in varying combinations. These attacks are more annoying than anything. Just be sure to keep about 10 Hydralisks as defense in your base and you should be fine. Make some extra Sunken Colonys in the areas where the computer likes to drop off its troops.

Make sure that you use your Queens to Parasite the enemies Dropships as soon as you get a chance. The Dropship will now provide free reconnaissance information for you so long as it stays alive. The most important part of the map to focus on is the northeast where Raynor's Command Center is. Parasite any Tanks or Goliaths that are parked on the edge of the cliffs there to reveal more of that area.

Don't forget to keep an eye on your economy. As soon as you can spare the minerals make a second Hatchery just north of your position where there are more mineral deposits. Make a spire as soon as your Spire is done and upgrade your Overlord's speed and transport ability in the lair. When the Spire is done, make a ton of Mutalisks. After the transport ability for Overlords is researched, expand to the center island and start harvesting Gas ASAP. Use your Mutalisks to protect this expansion.

Keep cranking out Mutalisks and also produce 12 Hydralisks for an attack. When you have about 24 Mutalisks, gather them in the northeast, just far enough away from the Terran base so they can't see you. Load up 3 Overlords with your Hydralisks and park them near the north east part of the map as well to prepare for an invasion. Attack the Missile Towers and Goliaths in the northeast with your mass of Mutalisks. Don't forget to keep those Muties in a tight group!

This will trigger the computer to send Wraiths, more Goliaths, and more Marines at your Mutalisks. Again, just keep your Mutalisks together and you'll probably lose only around half of them while dealing critical damage to the Terran defenses. Don't let them stray too far past the Armory. The whole point is to draw Terran forces to you and create a path for you to drop your Hydralisks off. While all this is happening, fly your loaded Overlords over to the top of the battle and right next to the mineral deposits in the north east. It should start to get easy as soon as your Hydras are in.

With your Hydras, kill off all opposition that approaches, and then start destroying the Missile Towers surrounding Raynor's Command Center. You can then choose to raze(destroy) the Command Center or bring in a Queen to infest it.

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5: The Amerigo

Starting Structures:
None

Starting Units:
2 Hunter Killers
Infested Kerrigan
6 Zerglings

Starting Resources:
None

Objectives:
Bring Kerrigan to the SuperComputer

This installation mission is pretty hard, but if your forces start to get low on hit points, you can just sit and rest since all Zerg units as well as buildings can regenerate over time. Use Kerrigan's cloaking ability as often as possible. Just don't send her cloaked into a place full of detectors! Just follow the set path and don't forget to rest, free that group of trapped Zerglings, and step on all of the beacons. It's as easy as that!

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6: The Dark Templar

Starting Structures:
1 Hatchery
1 Creep Colony
1 Spore Colony
1 Sunken Colony
1 Spawning Pool
1 Hydralisk Den

Starting Units:
Kerrigan
4 Drones
2 Overlords
2 Guardians
2 Mutalisks
4 Hydralisks

Starting Resources:
250 Minerals
250 Gas

Objectives:
Kill all Protoss
Kerrigan must live

Spend all your beginning resources building Drones to beef up your economy. Upgrade to Lair as soon as possible and make a lot of Drones. There should be as many as 20 Drones mining minerals in your first base.

Build a second Hatchery closer to the Vespene Geyser when you have spare minerals. For preliminary defense, move all your fighting units next to your Sunken Colony. This should provide more than adequate defense while you build up. When the Lair is done, upgrade your Overlord to get transport ability, start building a Spire and a Queen's Nest as well. Once your transport upgrade is finished, ferry some Drones to the plateau just east of you and establish a base there. You'll need the gas especially to start making Mutalisks and Guardians. Also begin upgrading to Hive as soon as possible.

While you're upgrading to Hive, start making as many Mutalisks as you can afford them. When the Hive is done, mutate the Spire to Greater Spire and try to put together at least 10 Guardians. Advance south and to the left where you'll find another expansion point. However, this one is guarded, so use your Guardians to eliminate the defenders and drop some Drones off here also. Keep making Guardians and also make 12 or so Hydralisks. Once you have around 15 Guardians and 12 Hydras, begin advancing south from your newest expansion. When you reach the bottom left area, you'll start to encounter lots of Dragoons.

Use only the Guardians to attack the Dragoons, keeping the Hydras back a little behind the Guardians. If you have your Hydras too far up, the computer will send out some Reavers and flatten them. The purpose of these Hydralisks is to take out those pesky Scouts and to scout around for potential targets. The Guardians can handle just about everything else that the computer will throw at you.

Keep moving your forces eastward until you reach a ramp up to a plateau. The main Protoss base is here. If your Guardians are dying, keep making more at your base and bring in reinforcements. Pay attention to the battles and remember to keep your Hydralisks back unless Scouts attack your Guardians. Again, don't forget to keep your forces together in a tight group.

Using these forces, it should be simple to destroy the Protoss base from the bottom right and then along the right side. After everything is pretty much destroyed, Tassadar will call Kerrigan out to a duel on the center plateau. Have an Overlord drop off Kerrigan and the mission will end.

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7: The Culling

Starting Structures:
None

Starting Units:
4 Overlords
4 Drones
8 Hydralisks
4 Mutalisks

Starting Resources:
800 Minerals
200 Gas

Objectives:
Kill all renegade Zerg

You'll need to kill off a base first before you get access to any resources. After that its, just like the last mission, a race to Guardians. Once you have Guardians, everything should be easy. Select all your Hydras and Mutalisks and head north to attack the orange base. You should overwhelm their defenses easily while suffering minimal if any, losses. Once the base is destroyed, build a Hatchery, and an Extractor. When the Hatchery is done, start making Drones like before, but be sure to use one Drone to make a Spawning Pool quickly. Build up the economy just as you did in the earlier missions.

Once you begin harvesting gas and a lot of minerals, make a Hydralisk Den and start making Zerglings. Make about 24 Zerglings and separate them into two control groups. If you check west, you'll notice a ramp that leads upward to another Zerg base, which is guarded by 4 Sunken Colonies and a handful of Hydralisks that are burrowed. Take your Zerglings, split them into two groups and have each group target a nearby Sunken Colony. Immediately follow up this group of Zerglings with your surviving Hydras and Mutalisks from the beginning (assuming most of them survived; if not, make more Hydras). You should easily overwhelm this base also.

After you do that, the computer will begin to send regular air drops of troops. Just be sure to have about 8 Hydras and 8 Zerglings guarding your original base and then your new expansion. Begin harvesting gas and minerals at the new expansion. You should have upgraded to Lair by now and built a Spire and Queen's Nest. Begin producing Mutalisks and upgrade to Hive.

Make about 8 Guardians and 8 Mutalisks. Advance these troops north from your western expansion. Have your Guardians attack the Hydralisks and Colonies guarding the plateau just north of your western base.

When the opposition's all cleared out, drop off some Drones and start harvesting gas from that plateau. Keep on making Mutalisks and Guardians. When you have 12 of each, keep on moving north along the left edge of the map. You should come across some scattered Sunken and Spore Colonies and some Hydralisks. Use your Guardians for those, while your Mutalisks should only be used to protect your Guardians from enemy Mutalisks and Scourges. Keep advancing north until you reach the enemy's base.

Start by killing off all of the defenders and then destroying structures with your Guardians. Make reinforcements if you need them and bring them to the front. Advance eastward, but leave a Guardian or 2 at each area near minerals or gas. The reason for this is because if you just destroy everything and leave, the computer will bring a Drone to the area you just cleared and begin rebuilding. Leaving a couple of troops there will prevent this from happening. Advance eastward, then south after you reach the top right corner. Winning this mission once you have groups of Mutalisks and Guardians is easy.

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8: Among The Ruins

Starting Structures:
3 Hatcheries
1 Creep Colony
2 Nydus Canals

Starting Units:
Kerrigan
5 Overlords
2 Drones
6 Hydralisks
2 Ultralisks
9 Zerglings

Starting Resources:
350 Minerals
350 Gas

Objectives:
Destroy Protoss Bases
Don't Let Dark Templars Escape
Kerrigan Must Survive

This mission is a bit tricky because you cannot allow any of the Dark Templars to escape. There are three beacon points where Overlords are stationed. You cannot move the Overlord stationed at these points too far away or else a Templar might escape. Keep each of these checkpoints well defended, particularly the one on the bottom. Once you have them all covered, get to Guardians and kill off everything just like you did in Mission 6.

First off, take your two Ultralisks and the two Hydralisks in your main base and station them at the bottom checkpoint. Use the Nydus Canal to transport them there. Dark Templars will most commonly try to escape through the bottom checkpoint. Then, using each of your three Hatcheries, make seven Drones and put all your Drones on minerals. Eventually build an Extractor and a Spawning Pool. Beef up the defenses on the left checkpoint with some Zerglings.

Make a Hydralisk Den and about eight Hydras. Take these 8 Hydras and move to your western base. From there, advance east on top of the plateau where you'll run into a couple of Scouts, a Photon Tower, and a Dragoon guarding a small expansion. Kill off everything and begin a base and start harvesting the resources there.

Upgrade one of your Hatcheries to a Lair and build a Spire and Queen's Nest. Upgrade to Hive and pump out Mutalisks. Turn your Spire into a Greater Spire and start turning those Mutalisks into Guardians. When you have about nine, you're ready to advance south from your main base and attack. Just like in mission six, bring a group of Hydralisks, but keep them back to protect them from Reavers. Once you've destroyed that town, you should probably have enough resources to make more Guardians. Make some, then head west from your southern check point with your Guardians and a group of Hydralisks. Advance west, destroy the blue town, and the mission is complete.

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9: The Invasion of Aiur

Starting Structures:
1 Hatchery
1 Sunken Colony
1 Evolution Chamber
1 Spawning Pool
1 Beacon

Starting Units:
3 Overlords
4 Drones
2 Hydralisks
6 Zerglings

Starting Resources:
750 Minerals
750 Gas

Objectives:
Harvest the Khaydarin Crystal

You must hold off the Protoss for 10 minutes while you harvest the Crystal. This is quite difficult without first destroying or weakening all the Protoss in the surrounding area. It's probably easier to just destroy all the Protoss in the area first.

Again, build up your economy and try to get to Guardians. Build up a few Zerglings and Hydralisks for defense while you're doing that. Once you have around 5 Guardians and about 8 Hydralisks, you can begin advancing eastward, then south, where you'll come upon a small Protoss encampment. Destroy this and expand there. Take some Drones and head east from that new expansion where you'll find 2 more resource rich expansions. One is in the upper right, near the corner and the other is across the water in the upper right. Don't overlook the expansion over the water because you'll need all the resources and gas you can get. Keep building Mutalisks and Guardians. Build up a huge air force of around 24 of each, and upgrade their weapons and armor as you go along. Once you have that together, you can start attacking the eastern Protoss base and make your way south.

Protoss bases line the east, southern, and western borders of the map. Remember, keep your fliers from spreading out too much but also be wary of Arbiters and Templars. The computer will now use Stasis and Psionic Storm on your flying units. Your 4 bases should be providing plenty of resources to make reinforcements so keep making and sending troops to the front line. Don't forget base defense because the computer will attack any base that's vulnerable. Using the Mutalisk / Guardian combination, you should be able to overwhelm the Protoss bases.

Once you feel like you're getting the upperhand, send some extra troops to the center where the crystal is and secure that area. Bring in a Drone to start the 10 minute countdown. You can keep on destroying Protoss buildings while the counter counts down. Bring the Crystal carrying Drone back to the Beacon in your original base to win the mission.

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10: Full Circle

Starting Structures:
1 Hatchery
2 Creep Colonies

Starting Units:
4 Overlords
3 Drones
3 Hydralisks
6 Zerglings
1 Ultralisk

Starting Resources:
1000 Minerals
1000 Gas

Objectives:
Destroy the Protoss Temple

You start out with a lot of resources in this mission. It's also easiest to get a fleet of Guardians to cause some property damage. You'll need to build quickly, and efficiently in the beginning, but once you get past the first 10 minutes or so it starts to get easy. You'll want to make a lot of Drones, but it's probably a good idea to immediately make 2 more Hatcheries and a Spawning Pool with the first couple of Drones you hatch. Make one of the Hatcheries over to the right, so every part of your mineral line is close to a Hatchery. Make your other Hatchery closer to the Vespene Geyser. This is ecential for maximum efficiency.

Start pumping out the Drones and make a Hydralisk Den as soon as you can. You'll need some Hydras for base defense early because the computer will come at you with multiple Scouts. You can live with around 10 Hydras for base defense. You might also consider making some spore colonies to help. When your defenses are secure, get to Hive and make Guardians. When you have around 6, you can begin assaulting the Protoss base on the left side of your base. After you've cleaned out the left plateau, you can expand on it, but there are only minerals there, which you have in abundance already. Make more Guardians for your fleet and supplement them with some Hydralisks this time to defend against Scouts. Attack the eastern plateau and clear it of all Protoss buildings making sure that you draw the Scouts to your Hydralisks. Just north of the eastern plateau is another Geyser. Unlike the 2 Geysers on the plateaus you just cleared, this Geyser is full. Expand there to get the gas and make even more Hydralisks and Guardians. When you have around 24 Hydras and 15 Guardians, make your way north directly toward the temple.

Once that's done, you'll be given a Drone with a Khaydarin Crystal. Move it to the beacon next to the ruined Temple and the game is won.

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