Meet The Ling (for lack of a better title)

[Trumpet fanfare plays]

I haven’t posted in a long time, so this is really awkward.

In any case, I have randomly decided to write a quick (which is pretty much going to doom me to take at least 2 hours to write this post !!@#$) post on something random!

When I say “something random”, that means I don’t know what the topic is. Yet.

[Brief intermission.  Hourai gets something for brainstorming (coffee milk).]

Because Mushz is doing anime/manga posts mainly, it looks like I will have to do gaming.

NO-IT’S-NOT-BLACK-OPS-GET-OFF-ME-YOU-TROLLS-AND-KEEP-THOSE-FLAMETHROWERS-AWAY-FROM-ME

So, I’ve not been posting here for like, what, a century, so for no good reason, I present a random post on Starcraft 2.

Of course, this is about the ladder and multiplayer. In single player, Terran is overpowered. They have cheats, for example. Also, they have Odin.

Alright: We present: Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty: Unit Overview: Zerg: The Zergling. If you have any ideas on how to stuff some more colons into the previous sentence, keep them to yourself. I don’t need them.

I drew this with GIMP. Time taken: ~1 hour. I KNOW IT’S CRAPPY SHUT UP ABOUT THAT I’M NOT A PROFESSIONAL BLARGH.

The zergling is a little speedy cockroach-like thing the approximately length of a car. Since, however, Starcraft 2 is somewhat out of scale (I mean come on a cattlebruiser is only about the size of 16 marines), they’re really small little buggers that are the Tier 1 unit for good ‘ol Zerg.

Appearance

A bug. Cockroach-like. Four-legged, like every other ground unit of the Zerg. Usually brown.

Tactical Applications

Zerglings/lings are pretty fast, cheap, and easy to mass produce. Investing in the upgrade “Metabolic Boost” gives them wings (similar effect as Red Bull; give you wings, but you still can’t fly) and ridonculous speed, making it easier to form surrounds, etc. “Adrenal Glands” grants 20% faster attack speed (only accessable at Hive tech), making Zerglings less like cannon fodder.

Speedlings (lings with Metabolic) make excellent scouts (base scouting), harassment units (pretty good against harvesters), and provide a quickly-reinforcing unit that can quickly take the opportunity to harass a mineral line when the opposing army is out of position and just as quickly retreat with minimal losses.

They are an excellent choice to hold the Xel’naga watch towers with.

With the Burrow upgrade, you can place one at potential expansion site to deny enemies the opportunity to expand. They can aslo be used when burrowed as minor scouts.

Weaknesses

Zerglings only have 35 hp and no base armour, making them incredibly squishy bastards. As such, many units counter them well. With the Roach and the Hydra, the main three Zerg ground units are all somewhat countered by splash damage.

Zerglings are weak against Hellions, which have that extra damage to Light units in addition to the Infernal Pre-Igniter upgrade (+10 damage to Light units) and splash damage in a line. Note that Zerglings can easily overwhelm any lone “counter” unit if said unit is not properly supported.

Zerglings are also quickly roasted to death by Colossi, which are somewhat vulnerable like the Hellions as well.

Roaches fare fairly well against them, having that base armour of 1.

Infestors can use the spell “Fungal Growth” to reduce Zerglings to 1-2 health while immobilizing them for four seconds, allowing ranged units to wreck havok on the lings.

Since lings are melee units, Sentry Forcefields can trap lings while letting Stalkers and Colossi have fun picking away at the trapped units.

A Zealot can fight off around four lings (depends on upgrades and use of proper micro). While lings can decimate lone Marines, grouped-up gunmen can mow down lings with ease, denying them surrounds and also gaining the use of Stimpacks (temporary bonus attack speed and movement speed with the use of drugs, costing health) and Combat Shield (+10 health).

Strengths

Lings can easily kill off any isolated units, especially if they are able to surround said unit. A fair amount of lings tend to die while doing this, but the cost is usually worth it.

Lings are the most common Zerg counter to Immortals, other than Mutalisks and Brood Lords. They are not considered Armoured, reducing damage taken from the Immortals, their attacks are don’t do enough damage to be affected by Hardened Shields, and they murder them with ease upon achieving that all-important surround.

Lings can also easily wreck Thors, Siege Tanks, and Colossi. Note that the Ultralisk is not easily killed by Zerglings, having the ability to obtain ridiculous amounts of armour (up to 6 armour, almost completely nullifying unupgraded ling attacks), a melee attack, 400 health, and splash damage.

Two lings are produced by one larva for 50 minerals. The fact that it is extremely easy to mass produce these buggers is offset by the fact that they are, again, squishy little bastards, with 35 health (this is the least amount of health held by any unit in the game, except for the Changeling).

Notes

Zerglings may morph into Banelings after the Baneling Nest has morphed in. This will cost 25 minerals and 25 vespene gas per Zergling morphed and takes about 17 seconds.

Zerglings are commonly used in the omnipresent Zerg Rush, a process wherein the Zerg player goes “all-in”, screwing his mining over to try to end the game as early as possible. The Zerg player builds a Spawning Pool (the pre-requisite building required to mutate Zerglings) as early as possible, hoping to overwhelm the opponent with 6 or more lings before the opponent has a sizable defense force/any defense at all. The Zerg Rush is also referred to as the 6 Pool, 6 supply being the earliest possible time that Zerg may build anything (the Pool).

People will often be pissed as !#$% after being beaten by the 6 Pool.

6 Pool-ers may sometimes be bad sports and swear at people who manage to defeat them (especially through an unothodox method), despite the 6 Pooler opening up with the Zerg Rush.

Successful Zerg rushers have been known to follow up their victory with “KEKEKE” (more KE’s can be added).

2011/05/07 | Categories: Gaming | Tags: Drawings, Gaming, houraiguy, Links, Starcraft 2, Videos | 1 Comment