I play as Protoss and do well against Protoss or Terran, but when I play aginast zerg and they do the 6-8 pool rush, I can't seem to stop it. I can MAYBE get one zealot up in time but he gets destroyed and then when I send my workers to help, they get pummeled! This feels impossible to beat! I don't want to wall in cuz than my troops are stuck in my base! Help!
It's really easy. First pylon on one side of the choke, then place the gateway so that only very little space is left. Chrono bost out a zealot and place it in the little space, and press "H" for hold position. When the 6 zerglings come, maybe 2 can attack the zealot at a time, and the zealot 3-hit-kills them. Until he is nearly dead (although he should survive), your 2nd zealot should be out. On maps with a wide choke, build a cybernetics core immediatly after the first gateway and cb out a stalker and place it in your min line. Later, pump stalkers and sentries, they can block off the ramp with their force fields.
pylon or cannon barricade ( 3-4 cannons can make a mass grave of zerlings) then get warpgates up and spawn them outside the base you may have to set a pylon way off to the side someplace haha works like a champ.... if they are wasting all their time on zerglings mass some zealots and dark temps if you have time
against all races what you need to do is maintain a small choke point that doesnt rely to heavily on pylons, and get out a zealots to hold choke and a stalker to shoot from behind (or kill reapers) a sent can also be helpful. once you have these two/three things you should be fine as rushes go, timing pushes you just need more guys so keep building them. cannons can help but vs a 6 pool they come out just after he reaches your base unless your going all in with them which can work well and a begginer strat, though ive found i realy less on defence now than i did
Depends on how you want to go. Cause what you need is to block that choke point and have a ranged unit that can pick them off. I really don't care for wasting minerals on cannons I may build 1 or 2 but that’s it. I prefer to get gas early and create that first sentry as fast as i can. I will build a core before a forge so I can get the stalker out. I think the sentry w\stalker goes much further then a blocked point with a zealot and a cannon. If you find that you still can not do this quick enough. Then completely block the choke with an extra pylon, you can always destroy it when you need to get your troops out but it can buy you some time if need be. The key is getting that gas early so you have it for the sentry. Without that force field you will have some fun with fending off a rush. What you can do to practice this is get a friend and work the custom game. Let them be the zerg and have them rush you til you can stop it.
Thank you all for the great points...however if I narrow the choke to one point so it forces them to a zealot, how do I get my immortals, etc out later in the game? Also, what build order do you all suggest? I can't seem to go fast enough to get my zealot up in time.
Fixing your choke point for mid-game is something you worry about if you make it to the mid game. Sometimes offense is the best defense, why not build to rush the zerg and let them deal with the defense. Try this and see how it works for you: 9/10 Gate Zealot Rush Opponent: Z or P (Short distance) This is the fastest way to rush zerg with zealots, while maintaining a decent economy. The build is all about cutting corners to get those zeals out as fast as possible. Against builds where zerg elected to make a hatchery before a pool, the zealots will arrive at latest by time the hatch finishes. This build is the strongest against the fast-expo, given the travel distance is not too great for the zeals. Scouting and harassing is important here, and probes at the attack site are just as valuable as the zealots. Build: 8/9 - Pylon (Near choke) 9/17 - Gateway (Scout, annoy with your probe at their base, DONT DIE) 10/17 - Gateway 11/17 - Zealot (Send to enemy base) 13/17 - Pylon, Zealot (Send to enemy base) 15/25 - Zealot (Send with a 2nd probe) For pvz, make sure the scout probe stayed alive, it is needed to assist the zealots in killing the lings. Also make sure that if it is a fast expo situation, harass the drone(s) that comes out so it cannot place what will be a sunken. With the probe attacking with the zeals, lings die in 2 hits instead of 3. Setting hotkeys for the gates is important so you can focus on necessary micro at the enemy choke, instead of going back to the gates to queue more units. After the second pair of zealots, you can gas up and tech as normal (stargate or temp archive), or you can continue the pressure with zealots, looking to force more ling production and delaying economy and tech for the zerg.
i dunno if i would suggest that to a player struggling to compensate with a simple ling rush. ur tactic requires alot of micro practice and not to mention luck i personally suggest mass zeal rush to start with before moving on to harder rushes
Makeahole, I appreciate your comments and will give them a go. I sent you a message fyi if you ever get a chance. Pnyoman, its not just a simple rush I have a problem with. Its the 6-8 pool rush where 6 lings come to you as I get 1 zealot up. I don't think its fair to say I'm "struggling against a simple ling rush"
immortal has the same hitbox as a zealot (same is the sentry and a stalker) and can walk through the choke if a zealot can.
