Due to the Zerg's unique use of overwhelming numbers, the word "Zerg" (verb) or "Zerging" is the act of using mass numbers to achieve an objective, and it has become widely accepted in a variety of other games, including '' Warcraft III '', '' World Of Warcraft '', '' Dark Age Of Camelot '', and other Multiplayer games. This references the ability of the Zerg race to generate combat units, particularly Zerglings, much more quickly and earlier than other races; a common tactic among Zerg players is to devote their efforts to generating as many Zerglings as possible, as soon as possible, to attack an opponent who has likely just started producing his units.
The original Zerg species was discovered on the ash world Zerus, in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, by the mysterious and ancient Xel'Naga after the Xel'Naga abandoned the Protoss on Aiur , giving up on them as a failure. The Zerg organism was a small and weak larva-like organism, but it contained the ''purity of essence'' sought by the Xel'Naga.
Through Xel'Naga proto-genetic manipulations, the Zerg survived the torrential firestorms of their world and thrived. The Zerg developed the ability to burrow into the spinal fluids of less vulnerable creatures on Char, parasitically merging with them. These new bodies would then be used to manipulate their surroundings. The Zerg began to assimilate the genetic strains and processes of these host animals. However, the Zerg had an undeviating drive to consume only the most advanced species they encountered. Lesser species were eradicated. The Xel'Naga were surprised to find how quickly the Zerg could steer the evolution of their host creatures. They developed armor piercing spines, razor-sharp limbs, and ultra dense carapaces.
Fearful of the chaotic in-fighting that had enveloped the Protoss, the Xel'Naga created the Overmind , an enormous brain-like entity, to bring order to the Zerg. At first it was only a semi-sentient entity created from the instincts and collective sentience of the Zerg, but it quickly evolved.
The Overmind did not directly relay orders to its minions. As new species were added to the Swarm, it began to relay orders through Cerebrates , giant versions of the Zerg larvae. Direct orders were relayed through Queens and Overlords.
The Overmind began to think of its future. In order to continue finding new species, it needed to leave Char . Extending its senses into space, it became aware of enormous space-faring organisms. It lured them to Char with its psychic abilities, and assimilated them into the Swarm. Soon all the Zerg had the ability to survive in space. The Xel'Naga considered this a triumph. The Zerg had not only survived their weaknesses, but had also retained the purity of their terrible overriding essence.
The Overmind extended itself further into space, becoming aware of the Xel'Naga Worldships in orbit above Zerus. The Xel'Naga realized their psionic link with the Overmind had been severed - the Overmind effectively hid itself from their view.
The Overmind sent its minions into space, attacking the unsuspecting Xel'Naga. Despite the ancient race's best efforts, it was overwhelmed as the Zerg crashed into the hulls of its ships. Within a few hours the Zerg laid waste to the Xel'Naga fleet. The greater whole of the Xel'Naga was consumed by the raging, genetic whirlwind of the Zerg, and the Overmind gained their knowledge and insights. Processing thousands of sentient beings into itself caused the Overmind to grow much more powerful. It learned the secrets of the sacred Khaydarin Crystal s, and began to incorporate the energies of these Crystals into its own. Through the knowledge gained from the Xel'Naga, the Overmind was able to increase the level of sentience in many of the higher Zerg strains, while still keeping them fully under its control.
The Overmind dissected the memories of the Xel'Naga experiments with the Protoss . The Zerg then devoted their energies to seeking out the powerful Protoss in the hope of absorbing them into the Swarm, uniting purity of form and of essence, to create a totally "perfect" being.
The Zerg did not know the exact location of Aiur , homeworld of the Protoss , but they were able to travel towards it, adding new species (such as the Mutalisk and Zergling ) to the Swarm along the way. However, the Zerg Overmind despaired; how could it defeat the Protoss with their powerful psionic abilities, when its own were so limited?
In the shadow of the Protoss lay the Koprulu Sector , a patch of space inhabited by the Terrans . This species had been discovered by Zerg deep space probes. Normally the Zerg would not be interested in such a weak species, but they exhibited a powerful psionic potential. Their probes discovered humans living on over a dozen worlds.
The Zerg slowly made their way towards the Terran worlds. The journey lasted for sixty years, but eventually the massive, extended Zerg Swarm reached the outskirts of the , the Zerg infested a number of Fringe Worlds at this time.
The Overmind subtly infested the surface of the Terran Confederacy colony of Chau Sara with Hive Spores, then sent its minions down to the surface to infest the Terrans. The Terrans were defeated and largely enslaved or killed.
The Zerg were surprised at the Terran Response , and were defeated by a sudden attack by the Protoss , led by Executor Tassadar . The Overmind told its minions not to fight back, in order to observe Protoss attacking for the first time. The attack sterilized all life on the surface of Chau Sara , effectively ending the Zerg infestation.
The Terrans did not warn their compatriots on other worlds, enabling the Zerg to infest Mar Sara virtually unopposed. It is at this point that the StarCraft game Begins .
The Zerg were originally controlled by the Zerg Overmind , who was destroyed by the Protoss Tassadar (at the cost of his own life) at the end of StarCraft Episode III .
By Episode IV , it was revealed that the Zerg had formed a new, young Overmind on Char , the adopted Zerg homeworld, but it was captured by the United Earth Directorate in Episode V . In Episode VI , the final act to date, Infested Kerrigan , the self-claimed ''Queen of Blades'', a former human Ghost telepath soldier who had been infested (transformed) into a Zerg/Human Hybrid , had the second Overmind killed and claimed leadership over the entire Zerg Swarm .
With the Terran Dominion decimated, the expeditionary fleet of the United Earth Directorate destroyed, and the Protoss homeworld Aiur conquered by the Zerg with the survivors fleeing to Shakuras , the Zerg currently stand as masters of the StarCraft Universe .
All Zerg are directly subject to the will of The Overmind ; it is a biological impossibility for them to oppose its directives. Only Cerebrates (smaller brains), and possibly Overlords and Queens, have sentience, and control a different army (called a Brood ), using Overlords as lieutenants to directly control the warriors and workers. The lesser Zerg minions are wholly dependent upon the Cerebrates and the Overlords for order. Should a Cerebrate die, its brood may run amok; the animalistic nature of individual Zerg emerges. In the context of a multiplayer match, when an Overlord dies, a Zerg player loses control points, and must grow more overlords to replace the loss. Without these control points, additional Zerg units cannot be built. Even Zerg buildings are living organisms, and aren't built but grown. They act as organs in the body of the Zerg Hive Cluster.
Zerg's broods are mostly named after Norse Mythological Monsters ( Jormungand , Garm , Surtur , etc.).''
- Average cost per unit is lower than other races
- Supply consumption per unit is lower than other races
- Unmatched ability to swarm ('zerg') an opponent
- All units and buildings recover from damage (heal) over time, at no cost of resources
- Most ground units are able to burrow (except for the Ultralisk, Broodlings and Larvae).
- All Zerg units (except Broodlings, Infested Terran s, Guardians, Devourers, and Lurkers) are made from larvae at the Hatchery. This allows Zerg to quickly switch unit combinations, counteracting the high building cost. It also allows for more parallel production than the other races, allowing large numbers of units to be produced in short order if necessary/possible, without as much required infrastructure.
- Low unit power
- Least efficient building method, extreme building restrictions. Zerg structures can only be built on the Creep. The Creep is formed by a hatchery (Zerg's main structure) and can be extended by a Creep Colony. Only the Hatchery and the Extractor have no building restrictions, as Creep Colonies must be built upon existing Creep themselves. Certain buildings must be 'upgraded' to attain higher Technology level.
- The toughest aspect of Zerg is generally thought to be knowing when to use larvae to build more drones (in order to strengthen the economy for the long term) vs. when to use them to make more units (for defense and offense in the short term).
- "consume", is an ability only used by Defilers or Kerrigan (post Zerg mutation). It destroys a targeted unit of your own Army and partly restores the energy (50 energy points regardless of the consumed unit) of the caster. Because of the very low unit cost (particularly for Zergling s), the Defilers can utilize this technique to regain energy almost instantly (as opposed to other races who must wait for the energy to replenish over time).
- "spawn broodling", can only be used by a Queen. When used against an enemy it destroys the targeted organic unit instantly and creates small, very low-health units called Broodlings. Broodlings have a constantly diminishing energy meter that, when depleted, kills the broodling. The range of Spawn Broodling is fairly high.
- "plague", is a powerful special ability of the Defiler. If a unit is in the area on which plague is cast, it reduces the affected unit's HP by 300 hit points or down to 1 hit point (whichever occurs first). This ability can never kill a unit, nor can it destroy Protoss shield. Also, Plague affects friendly units, but not the Defiler currently casting it.
- "burrow" All ground units can develop the unique "burrow" ability (except Ultralisks, Broodlings, and larvae). Burrowed units are invisible to normal enemy units, and can only be dectected and therefore harmed through the abilities of detectors. To the friendly player a burrowed unit looks like a black hole in the ground, and against a human player, the units are difficult to spot even after detection. On the other hand, burrowed units cannot attack, move or use special abilities. The only exception is the Lurker ( Brood War only), which can only attack when burrowed.
- "dark swarm" When cast by the Defiler, a large cloud covers an area with a swarm of insects. The ''dark swarm'' ranged units (friend or foe) outside the dark swarm to attack the units within.
- ''(Core Genus: Original Zerg Strain)''— The larvae are tiny units spawned from a Hatchery, Lair, or Hive which carry the genetic makeup required for every Zerg unit (except for Broodlings and Infested Terran ; see below) One larva is created every 20 seconds, and each Hatchery can only have three at the same time. Although the larvae have relatively low hit points and their movement cannot be controlled, they have an extremely thick carapace which absorbs most damage, making them difficult to kill. When ordered to morph into a unit, they transform into an '''egg''' until the units hatch. Eggs are nearly impervious to attack as they have high hit points (200) and an extremely thick carapace (reduces damage by 10. This makes eggs next to invincible to units like Zergling, Hydralisk, and Marines). Usually, only one unit is hatched from a single egg, but in the case of Zerglings and scourge, their genetic simplicity allows two to hatch from each egg. Larvae die if they are cut off from the creep.
- ''(Core Genus: Gashyrr Wasp)'' — The drone is a worker, equivalent to the Terran SCV and the Protoss Probe . It is used to gather resources, and morph into (not build) other buildings. This means that once a drone has been mutated into a building, it is lost permanently. The only exception is when the player cancels a metamorphosis in progress, in which case the drone is recovered. It has a weak attack which cannot be upgraded.
- ''(Core Genus: ZZ'gashi Dune-runners)'' — The Zergling is the bread and butter of any Zerg ground attack force. Weaker than the marine, they are melee attackers using hand to hand combat. While the Zergling first appears as a relatively weak and ineffective unit, it can be upgraded with attack power, carapace endurance, moving speed and the "Adrenal Glands" (which give Zerglings a 33% increase in attack speed). Because of the genetic simplicity of a Zergling, two hatch from each egg. Zerglings require the spawning pool to be hatched.
- ''(Core Genus: Slothien)'' — distance attack.Hydralisks are the only Zerg ground units that can attack air units. Movement and attack range upgrade available at the Hydralisk Den, the structure that enables the production of Hydralisks.
- ''(Core Genus: Hydralisk)'' — morphs from Hydralisk. Must burrow to attack, but is invisible to opponents when burrowed, except for detectors. Splash damage is linear and does not decrease with distance or position. Consumes twice as many supply points as a Hydralisk. Requires "Lurker Aspect" evolution at the hydralisk den. ( only)
- — caster, no non-special ability attack. Have 3 types of special abilities: ''consume'', ''dark swarm'' and ''plague''. ''Consume'' sacrifices a player controlled Zerg land unit for 50 energy points for the defiler regardless of the unit sacrificed. ''Dark swarm'' is a temporary area effect special ability that negates all ranged attack against units within the dark swarm — only melee and splash damage can penetrate the Dark Swarm. ''Plague'' is slowly reduces the affected units' or structures' hit points by 300 or down to 1 hit point, whichever comes first. Special ability must be researched before use (dark swarm is the only inherent special ability). An upgrade for more energy points is also available. Requires Defiler Mound.
- ''(Core Genus: Brontolith)'' — Expensive heavy melee unit. In Brood War an armor upgrade for the Ultralisk is available. Speed upgrade also available. Their physical attack is relatively weak, though, for the cost and size.Requires Ultralisk Cavern.
- — special unit, see "Spawn Broodling" in general attributes above. Spawned by the death of an organic land unit affected by a Zerg Queen's Spawn Broodling special ability. All broodlings will die eventually regardless of health when their energy bar runs out.
, Heavy Kamikaze Unit]]
- — special unit (see "Queen" below). Is manufactured from a previously infested Terran Command Center. It is a Kamikaze unit that has attack power with a damage equivalent to that of a Terran nuke, but with a smaller area of effect.
- ''(Core Genus: Gargantis Proximae)'' — supply, detector, and (when upgraded), transport unit. The Overlord is much like the Terran Supply Depots. Although initially very slow, an upgrade available at the Lair increases its speed. There is also the ability to upgrade its sight range. An evolution available at the lair gives it the ability to transport up to eight unit slots (each unit takes up a different number of slots; zerglings, broodlings, and drones take up one slot, hydralisks and defilers take up two, and ultralisks and lurkers take up four). It is capable of detecting cloaked and burrowed units, but cannot attack.
- ''(Core Genus: Mantis Screamer)'' — short distance attack. Bounces three times for reduced damage in each successive attack. Precursor for Devourer and Guardian. Requires Spire.
- ''(Core Genus: Mutalisk)'' — can only attack ground targets. Morphs from Mutalisk. It has a long-range attack, capable of destroying all stationary defences without fear of retaliation (have similar range to Terran Goliaths with the Charon Boosters upgrade available in Brood War). However, they are very slow and cannot attack air units. Requires Greater Spire.
- ''(Core Genus: Mutalisk)'' — can only attack air units, with a slow rate of fire. However, its attack is incredibly devastating. For each acid spore that a unit is hit with (up to 9), the firing rate is slowed and the unit takes additional damage from all attack until they wear off. Also morphs from Mutalisk, but moves much faster than Guardians. Requires Greater Spire. ( only)
- ''(Core Genus: Unknown)'' — blind kamikaze unit. Capable of kamikaze of air units through a plasma metamorphosis. Like the Zergling, the DNA of the scourge is so simple that two are hatched from every egg. Requires Spire.
- ''(Core Genus: Arachnis Brood-Keeper)'' — caster, no non-special ability attack. Special abilities: "parasite" enables the Zerg player to see what the infected unit sees, including detecting ability — can be negated by a Medic's Restore special ability (Brood War only) — inherent special ability (no special ability upgraded needed); "ensnare" is an area effect special ability that slows enemy unit attack and movement rates; "Spawn Broodling" instantly kills an organic unit to create two low-hitpoint broodling units. Also, the Queen has the ability to infest a heavily damaged (less than 1/2 health or 750 in a normal game) Terran Command Center and transform it to a factory of Infested Terrans. Requires Queen's Nest.
Zerg structures are unique in two major ways. First, Zerg structures are alive and heal over time, just as Zerg units do, and bleed when injured. Also, all Zerg structures except for the Hatchery and Extractor (which is restricted to construction over Vespene geysers) must be built on a thick, organic material known as the "creep." Creep Colonies are needed to extend the creep to allow the manifestation of other Zerg structures. When a Creep Colony, Sunken Colony, Spore Colony, Hatchery, Lair, or Hive is destroyed, all corresponding creep retreats except for a tiny area around the structures. Larvae eventually die when not sustained by the creep. Structures of other races may not be built on the creep, but will not be destroyed when overrun by it. The exception to this are the structures of other Zerg - Zerg can grow new structures on enemy creep.
- ''(Primary Larva Spawning Grounds/Resource Metabolizer)'' — spawns larvae from which to morph Zerg units (up to three). Also allows the Burrow evolution, which allow all ground units (except for the ultralisk and broodling) to burrow into the ground at will. Only Zerg building without any building constraints, and also expands the creep further. Provides a single point of control.
- ''(Vespene Mining Tendril)'' — built over a Vespene Geyser, this building allows Zerg Drones to harvest Vespene Gas .
- ''(Zerg Genetic Laboratory)'' — provides three levels of upgrades for ground unit melee and missle attack power, as well as armor (attack power of Drone is not upgraded).
- ''(Zergling Breeding Grounds)'' — allows for the construction of Zerglings at the Hatchery. Contains upgrades for the movement speed and (once a Hive is constructed) Zergling attack speed. Requires Hatchery.
- ''(Creep Production Organ)'' — expands the Creep. Can be upgraded to Spore or Sunken Colony.
- ''(Aerial Defence Tower)'' — stationary defensive structure capable of attacking air units with rapid-fire spores. Can detect cloaked and burrowed units. More resilient than other defences. Requires Evolution Chamber.
- ''(Ground Defence Tower)'' — stationary defensive structure capable of attacking ground units by using a subterranean tentacle to attack. Requires Spawning Pool.
- ''(Hydralisk Cocooning Womb)'' — allows for the morphing of Hydralisks. Contains speed and attack range upgrades for the hydralisk, as well as the "Lurker Aspect" (Brood War only; requires Lair), which allows for the morphing of lurkers. Requires Spawning Pool.
- ''(Advanced Hatchery)'' — upgrade of Hatchery. Required for second level of Evolution Chamber upgrades, some advanced structures, and the Lurker Aspect at the Hydralisk Den. Carries over all abilities of a Hatchery, but with increased hit points. Also allows for the sight range and speed upgrades for the Overlord, as well as the transporting evolution. Requires Spawning Pool.
- ''(Zerg Flyer Breeding Grounds)'' — grants ability to morph Mutalisks and Scourge. Also contains upgrades to armor and attack power for air units (attack power of Scourge is not upgraded). Requires Lair.
- ''(Advanced Spire)'' — evolution of the Spire. Required for morphing of guardians and devourers. Requires Hive. Carries all abilities of a Spire.
- ''(Queen's Lair)'' — required for morphing of Queens. Allows evolution of ensnare and spawn broodling ability for Queens, as well as an energy upgrade. Required for Hive.
- ''(Advanced Lair)'' — upgrade of Lair. Retains all the abilities of a Lair, as well as allowing for the third-level armor and weapon upgrades at the Spire, Greater Spire, and Evolution Chamber and the rest of the structures (and the attack speed upgrade for zerglings at the Spawning Pool). Requires Queen's Nest.
- ''(Long Range Colony Artery)'' — ability to instantly transport ground units from one location to another (and back). The "exit" location can only be constructed on creep. Requires Hive.
- ''(Defiler Spawning and Evolution Chamber)'' — allows for morphing of Defilers, as well as the Plague and Consume evolutions and an energy upgrade. Requires Hive.
- ''(Ultralisk Breeding Grounds)'' — allows for morphing of Ultralisks, as well as (in Brood War), speed and armor upgrades for the Ultralisk. Requires Hive.
- — comes from a queen. When a Terran Command Center falls beneath half HP, a queen can infest it. Produces the Infested Terran . (Note: A Queen, if it is near enough to the damaged Command Center, will automatically infest it.)
Zerg Strategy
- Battle.Net: Zerg
- StarCraft homepage at Blizzard Entertainment
- Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. ''StarCraft (Manual)''. Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.
- Neilson, Micky. ''StarCraft: Uprising.'' New York and Toronto, Ontario: Pocket Books, 2000. ISBN B00005AS12 (eBook only)
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