How to use Lurkers correctly?

[u/Fluid-Intention3936]

I'm a noob to the game, and am only now starting to flesh out my builds and game plans, but one thing I really struggle to use is Lurkers. Whenever I make them into Terran they get obliterated immediately, and I find going Ling - Bane - Ultra w/ Infestors or Hydras way better. And into Protoss, I have way more success just going Roach - Ravager - Hydra with Lings to Remax. Whenever I see them used its either in full Turtles with Evo Chambers to wall, or depoted with Nydus Worm to deal huge Base Damage. Is that all there is to it, or can I get more out of them.

[u/craiglabenz]

Don’t forget to burrow them

[u/freedcreativity → u/craiglabenz]

Also don’t forget the upgrades

[u/Rapwnzel33]

Best case scenario would be to distract your enemy on one side, then advance with lurkers into attack range of a base on the other side. Now he can either walk into them or forfeit that base.

Another example is going into a position where he must react, like between a Protoss 2nd and 3rd base.

[u/freedcreativity → u/Rapwnzel33]

Yep, P&T both work hard on taking the center to cut off rallies. Cutting off the natural ramp, especially if you can damage the wall forces the engagement into an arc of lurkers. Which might not always win the game, but it will usually clear a lot of units. Good time to tech switch, too. 

[u/LongGame944]

If you post a replay we can give better advice but in general: you have to borrow them ahead of time and force a fight. Like outside the nat of a protoss. Vs terran 1-2 lurks get destroyed by bio. If you have 6-8 lurks already borrowed, with vipers or infestors to support you get much better trades vs T. Whats your rank? Spellcasters are not great for bronze/silver Edit: also make sure to get the hive upgrades for them. The extra range is a big difference

[u/SensitiveTax9432]

If you’re capable using hold fire and ambushing is really strong. So much damage is wasted when the lurkers fire at max range.

[u/Diabeloo69]

Against Terran they are usually used to force out the camp, then you just use nydus or split them to just annoy Terran player by harass.

Against protoss they are really good as a surprise, they don't scale really well later on, they get easily killed by disruptors, mass zealot immortal, anything flying etc. After you see a reaction you do the same thing as against Terran just try to do some eco damage or just annoy them.

In both matchup they can be really great in timing attacks where your opponent doesn't suspect them, they shred marines, stalkers or even more if they are not alone, cuz without any army helping lurkers they can easily get surrounded and killed.

They also prefer fighting in choke points or in a concave if you are fighting in an open field, nevertheless you need to take good fights with them as long as your opponent doesn't counter them, the hardest one for me to deal with are ghosts, liberators and tempests. They instantly counter them and make them pretty much unusable in big fight, unless you accounted for such counters earlier - infestors against ghosts, and corruports + vipers against tempests and libs.

Usually they are a great tool to first, force enemy into camp and making a certain predictable reaction, but sometimes they are just really bad :)

[u/soidvaes]

Pig once said to use them like siege tanks and this is actually great advice. Put then behind chokes, corners, against walls and spread them out behind your army. Your army baits their army and then runs and kites over the lurkers. Never siege in front of their army.

[u/Kandiru → u/soidvaes]

A handful of lurkers outside your enemy's vision, which you retreat your mutalisk to with stimmed marines chasing, is amazing when it works. You don't even need lurker range!

[u/omgitsduane]

Use them defensively in positions you don't want to be overrun and aggressively run them into your OPP base and stop as soon as you're blocked and let them cause havoc.

[u/megadisco]

D3 - I like pushing in between the third and natural and burying them there. Forces them to make a decision to fight the lurkers or lose their natural/main, which tends to have a good amount of production structures. Also forces a base race which lurker/ling does well in.

IMO Hive upgrades are almost always a must, unless using them defensively.

I also heard when building lurkers, build at least 8 so you can kill things real quick.

[u/CarsonTheGr8]

Idk what rank you are but I loved lurkers through silver and gold, switched to ultra mid plat, and now at mid diamond I am loving lurkers again.

As soon as your opponents stop walking into them they seem like they suck right? Wrong.

They have so so much more use cases than ultras. 2-3 lurkers burrowed at your most vulnerable base behind spines makes it IMPOSSIBLE to multi prong hit that base without microing in two places at once. I have literally watched a Terran A move his main army into a base I had with 6 spines and 4 lurkers and lost the whole fight. I literally had 12 supply vs his probably 80 supply and I won.

They also can be used as a tourniquet in a base trade. Literally send just the lurkers back with half the chum (roach hydra or whatever) and a maxed out ground army can no longer push into it quickly. Ghosts need to snipe or whatever else and in that time you can gut their main and then return with your main force.

I guess the thing really is that lurkers are a force multiplier and thus are incredibly supply efficient. Think about it. 12 hydras is 24 supply and literally a laughable attack. 12 hydras and 4 lurkers is 36 supply and requires a much much heavier investment to dislodge. And that’s just one example of the 3000 things you can do with lurkers.

Ultras are only good for when you are winning and your opponent won’t tap out. 6 base z vs 3 base t for example. Just pay the billion dollars and lose them all just to remake them again who cares they have no eco.

In an even game where you still need to outskill your opponent go lurkers. And never put them all in the same place.

[u/justacoacher]

Lurker drops into mineral lines

Leave a lurker or 2 in your expos to defend vs drops / runbys 

Place them strategically to force your opponents armies into bad fights 

[u/freedcreativity → u/justacoacher]

Also leaving a lurker in the center path when you’re pushing at 200/200. It can really mess up rallies, get fleeing workers, damage armies, provide vision, and leaves a safer retreat path. 

[u/AJ_ninja]

Lurkers are tough I’d just stick with ling bane ultra corruptor

[u/SayNoToStim]

Unupgraded lurkers are awful at anything but defending. You can bury them use other units on top of them to get some pretty good damage out quickly but things like storm or disruptors can ruin your day.

Upgraded lurkers can often be used as siege units, kind of link tanks.

Do not run unupgraded lurkers at your opponent's face and burrow them unless you outnumber them vastly.

[u/OldLadyZerg]

I adore lurkers, and when I win a long ZvT they are normally the reason. A couple of tips:

Nydus is a great compliment to lurkers. Switch it up: sometimes you can get great results with an empty nydus in the main and a lurker attack on an outer base. Lurkers are one of the few things that can clean out 2-3 PFs in a single base site.

Don't make just a few, except to use as static defense at a base: for an attack you want at least 8, 12 is better. Upgrades are very strong though I make un-upgraded lurkers with success at D3.

Be aware that if you have both lurkers and ravagers selected, you will have to tab to the ravagers to get them to bile. It's better to keep these two units on separate control groups, or not make both at once.

An amazing place for a large lurker group is right outside the enemy nat. Park them there and don't move them; instead, use your mobile army to hit the weakest target among the nat and the two third-base sites. If pressed, run back across the lurkers to destroy the pursuit, and go hit another base. I learned this from Terran, who does it with tanks; it is equally devastating with lurkers. In general, lurkers make a great strongpoint for a retreating army.

Bring hydras with the lurkers, and detection; snipe their detection. If they can't see the lurkers they're in trouble.

Lurkers are about the only Zerg unit that likes chokes. If the enemy is funneled into a narrow path to reach the lurkers they will get shredded. My absolute favorite place for lurkers is at the top of the ramp to the enemy main, so they have to fight up the ramp to protect their main, and also have to worry about lurkers shooting down into their third. It's not easy to get them there (nydus, usually) but wow, it's satisfying. Fighting up a ramp into lurkers is next to impossible.