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| How To Get Around Offensive Cannons | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 08/06/99 12:08 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | Starcraft(1), Problem: Broken Images(1) | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 2, Max: 8, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for Korasoff[265]: 7.1538 |   | Is That A Cannon, Or Are You Happy To See Me?
Someone asked for a battle report versus a non-newbie. It's not as good as the previous one, but there's some valuable lessons about Cannons. It's versus a fairly good guy! This one is also set in vanilla Starcraft.
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Map: Challenger
Korasoff[265] (me again), Zerg, top
Ludger, Protoss, bottom
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I'm hanging out in NoWhere To Run, and as usual, no one is there... except for the bot, which is not very talkative. So I decide on joining a public game (again), hoping to find a worthy opponent. I end up facing a guy named Ludger, with a 21-13 record. Not bad. Maybe it will be fun.
Da Start
Since the map is fairly big, I decide to go with a Spawning Pool on 9, then an Overlord. I use the fake Extractor trick to get an extra Drone mining, and as my Overlord pops out I morph 6 Zerglings. My first Overlord, though, has been sent south on scouting duty, and it passed a Probe heading north... in my direction. Protoss + Early Probe out = Offensive Cannoning. Immediately the Zerglings start patrolling my base's perimeter... and find a warping Pylon a bit north of my second gas geyser! No candy for you!
I raze down this futile attempt, and feeling pretty good about myself, I send my warriors south... where they meet another Cannon blockade, this time at my choke!
Uh oh. No more Zerglings, and a Protoss blocking my choke. I throw down 2 Sunkens to delay his Cannons from getting further north, then start an Extractor. I also make another Hatchery for a double Lair strategy. Like Grandpa used to say: "If ya can't bust it, go around it."
Drop, Baby, Drop...
Toss doesn't try his luck moving closer... I think my Sunkens are actually doing their job. I now have 2 Lairs, and am upgrading both Transport and Speed. I have also morphed an Hydralisk Den and production of those blood-thirsty hunter killers begins. I have bolstered my ranks with 12 new Zerglings to help my Sunken Colonies deal with any Zealot or Dragoon attack (an attack that finally came very late and as a desperate measure).
When my upgrades finished, I fill 4 Overlords with the 12 Zerglings and 10 Hydralisks. I go west, then head full south in an attempt to catch an eventual undefended expansion at the south-west island. But no, this location is vacant. If he's not powering, it means he's teching. And if he's teching, then his defenses are probably crappy at home. Let's head east to find out...
My Overlords see 2 Cannons protecting a Robotics Facility, a Stargate, a Gateway and a Cybernetics Core. That's all. Total of his warriors: 2 Zealots, 1 Dragoon, and the 2 Cannons. I turn back and drop my payload... which quickly eradicates his 3 units. This is when I spot a weakness: his whole stuff is powered by only 2 Pylons.
*Insert evil laughter here*
The Zerglings and Hydralisks focus wholly on these 2 structures, ignoring Cannon fire. As the second Pylon blows up, all his structures shut down, including the Stargate which was flashing, a sure sign Scouts were on the way. This leaves his base defenseless.
As a last-ditch effort, he sends his blockade's garrison (3 Dragoons) to my main base... But I have not stoppped Hydralisk production, and 15 of these guys just stomp over his weak attack. Shortly after, he surrenders. Here's what his whole blockade looked like:
Notice the Shield Battery, which is a good way to increase the blockade's units' toughness. But like at home, all of his structures are powered by an inadequate number of Pylons.
Quote Of The Match
Hehehe. The above comment is real, but I didn't get a screenshot of the "As my wife used to say" part, so I added it after.
A Bit About Blockades
When you are effectively Cannoning someone, do not slack off. Be sure to scout the guy: does it looks like he's going to try to bust through or go around it? Adjust accordingly. Also, reinforcing the blockade with basic production buildings (Gateway, Barracks) will lessen the travel time for new forces.
When you have someone contained, I strongly suggest you power instead of teching. The reasonning is this: he's stuck with a definite amount of ressources. Try to get more than him. If you tech to Scouts, I can always counter it with Hydralisks and Spore Colonies, which aren't very costly. But I'll have a hard time stopping wave after wave of Dragoons and Zealots. Of course Templars are a must ;)
Hope you enjoyed this report, and have fun! |
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