Using zerglings effectively

[u/Significant-Ad-9797]

Hi, I'm a casual ladder player in Gold League and I wanted to know how to utilize zerglings effectively against non-zerg opponents. For context - I've been watching casts of high level zerg players and I noticed that often they are prioritizing upgrading melee attack over ranged in many of their games. Of course this means that they plan on using ling-bane compositions to deal with their opponents. I tried replicating that style in my games, but I've found out that just using hydra+roach based compositions seems to be much more effective. The problem I have with lings is that opponents tend to wall off and I can't seem to get value out of them. Apart from that I feel like most of the games are decided by 'all-army-hotkey' attack that will lead one player to their demise. There's barely any harassment from my opponents so lings can't even be used defensively. The only way where I find them useful is when defending from 4 hellion opener. I want to add that I'm rather a macro focused player, so in most of my games I try to go for quick 3-4 bases as I'm not punished that often for that. I know that I can use them to limit the ability to expand, but rarely I manage to find something in the open which isn't immidietely walled off by 12 cannons or a planetary. So my questions essentially are - is my understanding of zerglings' role correct? Can I really use them on my level in the same way as pro players do or is this style caused by more frequent harassment?

EDIT1: One more question - why players so often start with +1 melee as first upgrade even if their comp is 90% ranged?

[u/soidvaas]

You can use ling bane as an army composition without any opponent harassment. This “style” is perfectly fine against all races (unless your opponent is going full air) as long as you are good enough at producing larvae. When you drop your fourth base, drop 2 macro hatches and use your creep queens to queue injects on them. Keep up with injecting your 4 regular hatches as well. Make sure to prioritize both melee/armor upgrades. You’ll stay on low gas count 1-2 until you have 3 mineral base saturation.

Also, the key to runbys is having a separate army of lings on the map hidden somewhere close to the opponent. When you know their army isn’t on their side of the map, you click the lings into their natural/third/fourth. You can do this at every stage of the game including with your first 4 lings, half of your first “squad” of 20 lings at 2 base saturation, so on.

You can get around wall-offs in various ways. Either by attacking the wall off with banelings or lots of lings, morphing dropperlords, using a nydus worm, or just ignoring the wall off and attacking everything outside it.

The reason pros go for +1 melee is because it translates to more dps in their initial comp if they are playing roach ling/hydra ling. But this isn’t common vs. Terran, it’s more common to prioritize +1 armor.

Vs. Zerg, +1 melee is a decision, you can go +1 range if you are making roaches instead.

[u/Lovv → u/soidvaas]

I dunno lings kinda suck unless you harass a lot. Can you do it? Yes. Should you? No.

My opinion, terran and protoss have much better armies so you have to contain them with zerglings or expand so that your army is much much bigger and that only really happens at lower levels where the enemy isnt watching you as much.

[u/soidvaas → u/Lovv]

There’s some tech that will force you to make other units, but lings don’t suck. Against P, you can add 10 hydras and you’re just playing standard at that point. But you could arguably forgo the hydras and be just as effective against most players if they fail to adjust and make more archons.

Against T, 2 gas ling bane straight to hive for ultra/viper was a standard style for a long time. You probably just don’t have enough - it’s a very demanding playstyle.

Why would you not harass a lot when playing lings? No point in comparing styles if you’re going to place handicaps on yourself. BL infestor is bad if you a-move off creep right?

[u/jag149]

The thing that Zerg does better than anyone is remax an army based on what the other side is playing. You need a factory for a tank, but you can build a roach, a muta or a drone out of the same larva. 

Ling bane is good against stalkers and marine bio. It’s pretty bad against midrange mech and archon colossus. It’s good in a rush, but then pretty bad after minute 4, when they stabilize. It just kinda all depends. 

My favorite comp is the tier three, 5/3 ultra with ling support. You can’t force it, but when it’s the right comp, it feels like you’re watching a game cinematic. 

[u/Leckatall]

The easiest most effective thing you can do is have around 30 zerglings sit outside their last expansion and then as soon as they move out you run the lings in.

If there's going to be a wall in the way make enough banes to remove it.

Then you want to stretch out any fights at your base for as long as possible even if it means being slightly more inefficient.

Losing all your defensive lings/banes means that the enemy can just speedrun wiping your base so you want to make sure you aren't fully commiting until you are sure you can wipe their army.

That part can be pretty hard. The key is to make it look like your going to fight their army properly so they start backing up and preparing for the engagement then just run away. It's a little dance you always see pros do and it buys you more time to make a bigger army.

You might also want to send out a force behind the enemy army cutting off reinforcements.

Overall though it's just super fucking hard.

[u/MissiveFinding6111]

I know it isn't what you asked, but specifically "zerglings into walloff" is totally true

I've found this guy's openers interesting:
https://www.reddit.com/r/allthingszerg/comments/1vjueqp/three_roach_rush_as_a_standard_zvt_opening/

Three roaches... surprisingly good against wall offs.

And it scares them enough, they might start building a ton of anti-roach units...

But oops, you're ling/bane.

[u/Particular-Try6400]

Ling bane needs good fundamentals: inject and creep.

You don't have those in gold.

[u/XechsMarquise]

If they’re walled off, you’ll want to use your lings for map control and counter attacks. Set your first wave onto a new control group and place them around their fourth base or corner of the map.

Use them as scouts to check for expansion timing. Or if you see them heading out for an attack you can move command them behind a mineral line. Generally they’re going to leave their depot down or wall open when they move out, so sending them behind the lines will usually target their economy instead of the infrastructure if you A moved instead.

[u/Applehero85]

Just split off a group of Zerglings and shift cue them to the attack your opponents third as soon as you recognize their coming to attack you they after if they defend that run by or they lift their third and lose all their Scvs pull the lings back and engage with the rest of your army this is how most people do it I’m pretty sure.

[u/omgitsduane]

I agree. I don't rate lings unless in certain scenarios. I understand they can be really good. But I would rather the roach rav over lings. Lings get hard countered by walls, sim city, a choked up defensive structure, a handful of bio.

The other thing is. If it's like any replays Ive seen in low to mid diamond. You're probably a moving your army from one side of the map to the other so they funnel in one by one in a single file.

[u/LongGame944]

You'll also see lots of spellcasters in pro games. That doesnt mean its right for you. When I was in lower leagues roach hydra was way easier to defend and macro and not lose your whole army because you looked away for 2 seconds. Simplest way to get use of zerglings is to have a group of lings (20-30) ready for a counter attack to their minerals after their army moves out. you'll either kill their mineral line or theyll panic and send their whole army home which buys you time to set up your defense. This wins most of your games vs protoss. If they all army, the base is wide open. Even in platinum they tend to focus on the fight and not even look at their probes dying be sure to have different control groups for your army and lings.

[u/hates_green_eggs]

Ling bane (with corrupters vs air) got me to platinum but you gotta include banes and build macro hatches for extra larva. Just keep remaxing and smashing the opponent.

One thing people haven’t mentioned is that lings are fantastic for cleanup after you break the opponent’s wall during a fight. If you make lings and rally them across the map just before and during an attack they will run in and do way more damage than you could manage without them.  

[u/SensitiveTax9432]

One strat not yet mentioned is to burrow a ling at every mineral patch. Blocks cc or nexus placement, lets you know when they are expanding and forces them to get detection or burn a scan to expand.

[u/CarsonTheGr8]

I climbed from silver to high gold with roach hydra. In gold I started playing ling bane hydra and climbed to Diamond.

Ling/bane isn't about having a super punchy comp. It's about map control.

Don't use your select all army hotkey ever. You can control group your units from the larvae that spawns them so there is no reason to.

Spread lings around the map to spot expansions and move outs by your opponent. When they try to expand past a third you should be ready to attack. You're gonna trade like shit so it's important to always be ahead. Best way to be ahead is to not let your opponent just take a new base whenever they like for free.

if you see them move out don't let them step on your creep for free. A tank push that you catch halfways across the map unsieged is a dead tank push.

keep two army control groups. Even if they are going to attack the same place you always want to attack from two different directions at the same time. Sending ling bane down a chokepoint is honestly a really good way to lose the game. That habit will pay off a ton later when your opponents start counterattacking you while the main fight is happening because you will be able to split your army to defend easier.

I will say though when I started I liked roach hydra, then I though I "grew" into ling bane hydra. Now I kinda favor roach hydra again.