Art of Protoss

Contents:
- Intro
- Basic Builds
- Builds Template
- Unit Times
- Builds Explained
- Scouting Summery
- Other Builds Considered

Intro:

I understand all of this may be a bit much to take in if you don''t know much about the more technical aspects of this game. This may even be a bit much if you are a good player but are not used to thinking in such a way. Nevertheless, I will give you lots of good info that you should attempt to put into practice. I'd like to point out something very important now. This analysis is based around Lost Temple, though it is still rather applicable to Luna, and other similar maps. Maps such as Rush Hour, Nostalgia, or Neo Forte may require slight style changes, which I do not cover throughly in this guide.  Admittedly, certain maps such as Requiem require a somewhat significant change in play, which I try to give some brief advice on. Maps without a ramp are only covered briefly. I don't consider the unique possibilities maps like Bifrost bring about, with cannons behind main minerals or the like. I am not considering island maps, nor rather unusual maps such as 815. Seems like a lot I'm leaving out, and it is, but my goal was to cover the most popular map type, which will serve as a foundation you will be able to apply to other maps with your discretion. Watch replays and play on other maps in order to get a better grasp of how they are played.

Now that we have covered maps, I'd like to let you know what your getting into before you get too far in. PvP builds can roughly be divided into three groups, expo/forge first, 1gate, and 2gate. This guide is mainly about one gate tech, but I made an effort to cover two gate as well. For one gate I focus on zeal first builds, but I make an effort to cover core first as well. I largely ignore fast expo and forge builds as they are not as popular. My builds often center around reavers, though I will make an effort to include non-reaver styles, such as dark templar.

Lastly, I'd like to note that the most important thing for beginners to realize about early game is to effectively counter what your opponent does so that you don’t lose units/probes early needlessly, while maintaining as constant probe production as you can, with good unit production and tech progression. This is a very consistent, stable, and overall quite good way to play.
 

Basic Builds:

 
1) Tech: 8pylon, 10gate, 12assim

The basic tech build order. This build warps in an assimilator the fastest, most reasonable way possible. This build is usually followed up by a 13 zeal or 13 core, followed up by a 15-16pylon.

 

2) 8pylon, 10gate, 12pylon

You could look at this build as somewhere between the build above and the build bellow, that is, between 1gate fast gas and 2gate.  I generally don’t favor this build over the one above because I tend to go goon/ob/reaver/range builds which are gas intensive. However, like anything in SC, if there is a diffrence, there is some advantage to be had, as well as some disadvantage.

Note that with this build you can be offensive gassed easier (when your opponent warps in an assim on your gas geyser). That can be a pain to deal with -- note the CKG game between Kingdom and Legendary. However, Kingdom tends to do this build order often. The main positive of this build is that you have more minerals coming in faster. However, you have less gas in the long run. You also have a second pylon quicker, which you can use to block manner pylons (when your opponent places pylon in your mineral line to disrupt your mining).  You can also stick the 12pylon somewhere else on the map to try to keep the other Protoss guessing about proxy, or actually go proxy, or have a scout on another expo or common shuttle flight path. This build is almost always followed up with a 13zeal. Also, 12pylon build gives you more psi to work with quicker, so often if you go two or more zeals before core, you can have them slightly faster than going gas on 12psi. Another potential advantage of this build is that you can add another gate quicker than the above build (usually on 17psi vs. 20psi for above) with consistent probe production, if you spot them going 2. That translates into more zeal’s faster, but at the cost of later gas. So, to sum up the differences between this build and 12assim are rather subtle, but can help slightly depending on the situation.

 

3a) 2 gate: 8pylon, 10gate, 12gate

The basic 2gate economy build order.  If you’re a novice this is the build I recommend you start with on most map/positions because it’s a rather safe and versatile build. This build can be done every game. You can either rush and make 5+zeals, or even gas up quickly after just one zeal. But, much of the time this is not the most efficient way to start economically, even though it may add to safety. For 12/3 positions on LT I recommend going 10/12gate. For certain maps like Requiem or non ramped maps I would recommend 2gate as well. Its rather simple when to decide to go two gate or not. Go two gate if you are likely to have problems vs. someone who goes 2gate (because of zeal pressure).

 

3b) 8p, 9Gate, 10Gate (and similar fast or proxy rushes)

Doing this build is much more a roll of the dice than the above builds. 9/10 gate will typically get you your first 5-7 zealots faster then a hard 10/12 gate and 6-7 zealots around the same time. This is a gutsy build, but it is not done much because if the other guy does 10/12gate you are instantly at a significant disadvantage. It is rather easy to stop rushes on smaller ramped maps as one can use probes to help defend as well. I don't recommend this build often, but I suggest you do it several times to get a feel for how it typically plays out vs. the other builds. Also, core first builds work fine against this if the walk time is sufficiently far and one's goon micro is good. Remember that this builds strength is in close positions (but then it’s likely your opponent will 10/12) and when your opponent goes for a gas first to zeal build.

 

3c) 8 pylon, 12 two gateways. 

This is an interesting build that I've been seeing more often.  I don’t have much experience with this so I won’t comment extensively.  I suppose the basic idea is that by delaying gateways one brings in minerals faster. This is true. This build is safe vs. 10/12 (don’t know about 9/10 or proxy) and can easily adapt to a tech build. I don’t favor this build simply because it forces you into later gas always, and while it may be a good basic build that adapts well its not the best build for certain situations.

 

4) Others:

- Gas before gate builds for island maps/gas intensive builds.

- Fast Nexus builds. Only viable on certain maps/positions. But usually very effective on those maps. Usually,  you'll go nexus at around 13 and then make as many probes as you can while holding your opponent off. This is often done by building two gates right after the Nexus. Eventually, you may be able to easily overpower them off of just two bases. I don't have much experience with this build, so I will not comment extensively.

- Fast forge builds. Mostly used for cheese/high risk builds.

- Faster then normal gateway(s) builds, proxy or not. Only viable on certain maps/positions or mostly used for cheese/high risk builds. These kind of builds are done primarily for the quick zeal harass. The idea is to run around picking off probes, which will put you ahead despite your disadvantage of not as consistent probe production early on. Example replay: Nal_Ra vs. Fisheye on Intothedarkness. Nal_ra went 1gate constant zeal harass to dt. Fisheye (a well known German Protoss player) lost, and Rekrul (a well known American Protoss player) reported saying that he lost vs. Nal_Ra playing this style as well. However, if one can deal with the first couple threats well, one is in a good position to go on to win.

 

 

 
Template of PvP Builds (Early Game):

This section shows you more in depth very efficient ways to go about various builds. All start from 8 pylon. Also, note that I usually favor as consistent probe production as possible early on. I usually prefer to gain an economic advantage, rather than take risks on micro based gameplay decisions.

- 2gate builds (fastest/most zeal’s to slowest):

-- 9gate-scout => 10gate  => 11z => 13p => 13zz (hard 9gate)

-- 9gate-scout => 11gate =>12z => 15p => 16zz (soft 9gate)

-- 10gate => 12gate => 13z =>15p => 16zz (harder 10/12 gate)

-- 10gate => 12gate => 13z =>16p =>18zeals (softer 10/12 gate)

-- 12 2xgate => pylon => gas or zeals

Faster two gate builds are certainly possible such as 7/8Gate, but I don't generally recommend them. Most people consider such things cheese, that is, high risk, lame playing, that depends on luck more than skill.

 

- 1gate core builds:

-- 10gate => 13core => 15p => 15zeal => 17goon

-- 10gate => 13core => 15p => 17goon

One issue someone raised is why not 14core? Well, you could go 14 core, but it doesn't matter much and perhaps 13 is better overall because of faster goon(s)/tech. If you scout late, say 12assim, you should be able to go 13core with consistent production anyway. Also, note that vs. fast 2gate builds a gate before goon is often preferred. Check the builds section for more info. Lastly, you could go zeal before pylon, but thats only perhaps worthwhile vs. very fast zeal harass builds such as 7gateway. Another variation is to go gateway on 15instead of pylon, that that is unusual.

- 1gate zeal builds (fastest/most zeal’s to least):

Note that often the point at which you build the assim is interchangeable. It is either 12assim,16pylon or 12pylon,16assim.

ZZgateZZZ: 12pylon => 13zeal => 16assim => 17zeal or gate (could potentially not build the assim in favor of a faster 2nd gateway)
ZZgateZZZ: 12assim => 13z => 16p => 17z => 20gate => 21zeal => 23/24p => 25/26zz => 30pylon

ZZZcore: 12p/a => 13z  => 16p/a => 17z => 20p => 21z => 25core => 26z (or gate, or wait for range/robo/citadel perhaps quicker)

ZZcoreZGoon: 12p/a => 13z => 16p/a => 17z => 21core => 22z => 24p => 26goon

ZZcoreGoon: 12p/a => 13z => 16p/a => 17z => 21core => 22p => (usually either wait for goon, or make a faster 2nd gateway)

ZcoreZGoon: 12p/a => 13z => 16p/a => 18core => 19z => 22p => 23goon

ZcoreGoon: 13z  => 16p/a => 18core => 20Gate (or you can go earlier robo/range/citadel)

I suppose slight differences may be had so others can be used, but, again I don’t see any particularly good reasons why anyone would want to. Note that core and/or goon may be delayed in favor of getting a faster 2nd gate (usually done vs. a 2gate build). Note that sometimes people go robo/citadel/range/gateway before goon for faster tech, but I don’t recommend that usually, because this means poorer unit production overall and possibly pausing probe production.

- Other:

-- Early gas builds
-- Early expo ( Usually as 8p => 13nexus => 13gategate => p => zeals )
-- Early forge builds
-- Early gate/proxy builds

Don’t mind the BIG 4 options list with these

 

After those openings there are 4 options to pick first from (I'm trying to simplify and break down your options so they are easier to understand):

- Gate (but, not if you went for 2gate before core, obviously) – for better unit production

- Range – for more powerful goons.

- Robo – for tech, meaning, ob, shuttle, and reaver.

- Citadel – your other option for tech, dt with later ht most likely, but could go for speedzeals.

 

Unit Times:

Some rough unit times for players who might want to know exact timings, which might be helpful for planning or seeing what kind of build would work in what situation. Note that travel distance from your base base to your opponents base is usually around 30seconds. For example, say you do a zcorez build and your opponent does a zzcore build. Your opponent will have 2zeals at the bottom of your ramp around the same time (usually after) you block it with your 2nd zealot.

first zeal pops out at ~ 2:30
zzcore, 2nd zeal pops out at ~ 3:00
zzzcore, 3rd zeal pops out at ~3:30
zzzcorez, 4th zeal pops out at ~4:00, at 5:00 4z/2goon or 3z/3goon if skipped 4th zeal for faster gate.
zcorez, 2nd zeal pops out at ~3:15, 2z/1g at ~3:50, at 5:00 2z/3-4goon depending on faster 2nd gate or not.
zcoregategoon, 1zeal/1goon by ~3:50, 1zeal/3goon ~4:25, 1zeal/5goon ~5:00

13core, 17goon, first goon pops out at ~ 3:20

9/10 hard rush, 1st zeal done ~ 2:20, 3zeals ~ 2:45, 5zeals ~ 3:15, 7zeals ~3:40, 9zeals ~ 4:05
9/11, 1st zeal done ~ 2:25, 3zeals ~2:50,
hard 10/12, 1st zeal ~2:30 , 3zeals ~3:00, 5zeals ~3:20, 7zeals ~3:50, 9zeals ~ 4:05 (see 9/10 is considerably faster)
soft 10/12, 1st zeal ~ , 3zeals ~

*for hard rushes did not add gas until ~4:00.
*all tests done on a 8minerals in main map
*your times may vary slightly depending on probe production, number of mins in main etc. This should give a good notion of timings, but if you want to be sure, I would recheck my times as I did this quickly.

Builds Explained

The counters in this section depend quite a bit on travel distance, as well as micro. This section's purpose is to give you a general idea of what you can get away doing vs. what, but its not foolproof as I'm not taking into account different map positions and the travel distance between them. That would take more time then I'm willing to commit, and it would complicate matters.

1 gate zeal first:

- Zcore(usually gate)Goon
This build is fine vs. zcorezg and core first builds. It should be OK vs. zcorez, though you may end up fighting 2z with 1g/1z. I don't usually recommend doing this build vs. a multiple zeal before core or 2gate zeal build.

- ZcoreZ
This is fine vs. core first, zcoreg, and zcorez. Doing this vs. a several zeals before core build is the wild card here, as it that depends on travel distance and micro. I generally favor going multiple zeals before core vs. multiple zeals before core so I simply don't have to worry about this. Of course, you should not usually attempt to do zcorez vs. 2gate.

-ZZ(-/+Z)Core
Rather safe and standard PvP opening. I don't particularly recommend this vs. 2gate rush, but it sure is safer then zcorez or zcoreg, and core first in many instances. Depending on your opponents build, distance, and if you go for a battery & back zeals up with a probe or two, you might be able to get away with it vs. 2 gate rush. Note that going vs. core first with fast goons with range may cause more problems then usual as you don't have range or nearly as many goons as you would if you went for core faster. But, your opponent going core first opens up harass possibilities with your early zealots, depending on distance, map, and micro.

-ZZgateZZZ
Standard response to a 2gate build when you start with a gate gas build. Check my builds section for more info.

 

10/12 Gate:

There are basically two ways I'd consider playing 10/12Gate. One is that you build just enough zeals to hold your opponent off so you have the earlier goon/tech advantage (assuming they go two gate). The other is to tech more slowly while going for a steady stream of units (it is more common to play this style vs someone that goes 1gate). You could go for faster gates than 10/12, but I personally don't like that as its more based on micro and more of a gamble. One interesting thing about 2gate is that if you cut out for tech sooner then another guy going 10/12gate, you'll have faster tech/more goons, but you'll have less units overall. Why this is is simple, zeals cost less then goons, and the other player kept up almost constant production while you sacrificed production for tech. So, only go for the faster tech if it will help more then better unit production. Often you don't really know and its a difficult call to make...well, thats SC. Typically I would suggest warping assim after 3 or 5 zealots, for a moderate build.

It is essential that you keep your scouting probe alive so you can see what your opponent is doing, because only then can you can figure out what’s actually best for you to do.  Then it’s not necessary to guess.  If your probe dies I suggest you play it safe and/or consider sending another one out. For instance, if your opponent goes 10/12 gate, goes1z then gas, but continues hard zeal’s and does not put any probes on gas while you go 1zgas2zcore2z you are going to face a somewhat though situation of 3z vs. 5-7zeal’s or 5z vs. 7-9zeal’s. Also, by keeping the probe alive you keep open the opportunity to offensive gas your opponent.

 

1 gate core first:

My guide is mainly about zeal first builds. Obviously, core first is a slightly different matter. Generally, core first is seen as better then zeal first if you don't take any significant damage early with zeal harass. I admit that core first is often what I dislike going against the most if I'm not able to do any significant damage early with a zeal first build harassing with my zeal(s). This is because they have two rather different, yet strong options. They can go for a powerful army with ranged goons, or for faster then normal tech, usually ground dt or reaver drop. Though, if they are going fast range, you should usually be able to spot this with your scouting probe. But, of course, they could cancel it, just like if they go fast robo or gate and cancel that. There is a useful technique that you can use to scout core first that I cover in the scouting section of the notes section.

Two gate vs. core first is very iffy. The outcome of an early game skirmish is dependent on many things, micro, map, builds, etc.

The main consideration for going core first is map, travel distance, and builds. And it varies wildly. You can hold off two gate rather easily with micro or the zeals could overwhelm you. Really depends on map, micro, etc.

A consideration with core first is if your going to go zeal before goon or not. You'll probably want to try to get away with not making zeal before goon if you can as producing a zeal usually means paused probe production. But, a zeal before goon may help defending vs. zeal first builds though. And you may not have scouting your opponent by the time it is to make a zeal. Thus, I generally only may go core first builds when normal timed zeal first builds will not be able to hurt me significantly.

To sum up, core first builds are useful for fast/many goons with range early, or very fast tech early. Other then that there is no real reason to go core first rather then zeal first. So, decide in which situations these factors may be especially useful.

Scouting Summery:

So, I'll review scouting and builds in first person. I generally start a game with the plan of going 8p-scout, 10gate, 12assim, 13z, 16p. If I am not able to scout the other player by the time it is to make a zeal at 17psi. I make the zeal incase they are going 2gate or multiple zeals before core. Remember you can cancel the zeal slightly later and build the more expensive core slightly later if you scout them not going 2gate if you wish.

If I am able to scout them and see one gate I have quite a few options depending on what they are doing and how far along in my build I am. If I spot core first, I can pretty safely do any build. Though, note that range goons are a bit harder to deal with if you don't have as many goons. If I spot a zeal first build I can choose to pretty safely go zcorez, though if they go multiple zeals before core its kind of a toss up. I would only choose to go zcoreg if I spotted a core first or after the first zeal. So to sum up, if I see core first I have a wide variety of options, depending on if I want more goons or less considering zeal harass possibilities and goons with range attack, as well as what time I want tech. If I see a z first build, I prefer multiple zeals to either core or gate.

Also, if it is the case that you can scout them rather early, as in the very first spot, before their gate warps in, note their gateway timing based on your own. This gives you the feeling if they are going for a fast 1gate build for early zeal harass. It also gives you a notion if you zeals will be faster, and thus zeal harass might be easier to pull off. Also note if they put up another gate fast, this generally means you should stick another one down soon as well.

And finally, If your opponent can possibly have a more powerful army then you early (this basically means core first early range+goon micro and/or a skipped probes timing build) don't move out. This is all part of the playing it safe and maximizing your ability later on.

Other Builds Considered:

VS. Early 1 gate zeal pressure. This usually comes in the form of early 1gate in main on standard maps or proxy 1 gate on 2 player maps. This does that popular of a build, but be aware that it is a possibility. These builds are generally a gamble and rely on micro.  Just make sure to scout well, play a safe game, and micro well and you should be fine.  If someone goes 7Gate zzzcore build in their base vs. you, and you do a zcorez build you’ll be hard pressed with zealots. Most likely they will have 2 zeal’s in you mineral line just as your 2nd zeal is coming out. This is why you have to be careful vs early gate builds. Going core first, you'll usually be in an even worse situation.

If you scout your opponent soon enough compare their gateway warping in timing compared to yours (10psi). Later, you can try to compare the time their zeal finishes compared to your zeal or how far along your goon is. Obviously, if you see something out of the ordinary with quicker gate/zeals, play safer. The good thing is that a basic 10Gate, 13z, 17z build is a fine build vs. a 7g, 10z,13z build, its basically like playing a standard zcorez build vs. a standard zzcore build, micro well and you'll be OK. If they proxy outside of their base, things become more tricky. If they stay one gate, I would probably recommend you stay one gate as they tech fast for dt. Depending on the number of zeals harassing your probes either move just the one probe thats being attacked, or stack them and attack your opponents zeal(s)/probe(s). If there is only one zeal, just move that one probe thats being attacked. If your under hard pressure stack them and use them to help kill your opponents zeals.

 
VS. 9/10 Gate.  Realize that 9/10gate is just a faster version of 10/12.  If they go 9/10 gate expect them to rush hard with zeal’s.  Though, I've seen Nal_Ra do a rather softer 9/10 with just the first 3zeals then tech hard. Scouting is important in seeing if they went 9/10 in the first place and in seeing when they tech, watch their gas. You will not always be able to spot a 9/10 or a proxy 9/10 which adds to its effectiveness. If you go 10/12 judge their gate progress and when their zeal’s pop out to your own to decide if they went 9/10, make more/faster zeal’s as necessary. Use probes at your ramp to help defend with your zealot’s if you find that helpful. Core first can counter this if positions are sufficiently far.  If you don’t go core first or 2 gate stick another gate up ASAP and make zeals until safe. This is also covered in the Builds section.

 

Vs. 3+gateway, proxy or not. The two main builds you might face off against are, 2gate in main to proxy(or not) 3rd gate, or 1gate in main to multiple proxy gates.

With 2gate in main to proxy (or not) 3rd gate, you have to be able to fend off the 2gate to start. The 3rd gate does not usually kick in until 5min or so. Your best bet is to play safe and micro well. Go 2gate with moderate tech, or at least stick up another gate if you don't know what your opponent is doing.

1 Gateway to multiple proxy gateways is more of a trick play. This kind of play occurs most often when you are not able to scout your opponent, and your opponent realizes this and decided to rush you hard, perhaps without even scouting your build. Again, your best bet is to play safe and micro well. Go 2gate with moderate tech, or at least stick up another gate if you don't know what your opponent is doing.

 

Vs. Fast Nexus. How to counter this certainly depends on the map, Flat or ramped. Another feature is cliff over nat or not. If its flat 3gate range goon is quite good. Usually the fast expo player will have cannons/zeals. Micro and take out the cannons then its easy pickings on the zeals. If its ramped things become more tricky. It may be best to simply expo quickly as well. Harass may work. Dt ground/drop may work, but can also fail miserably (same on flat maps). If they have a cliff putting goons up there/cannons up there is good.

Threads about fast expo in PvP: http://www.blizzforums.com/showthread.php?t=1628
http://teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=46531
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=30971
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=30617

There are the builds and when/how I use them. Perhaps I'll update this section to account for the "other" builds when I feel I have sufficiently grasped them. If anyone thinks they have useful information on these builds, feel free to share.

 
Lastly, some contingencies to take account of.

1. Note that there are variations on tech builds with extra and/or earlier pylons then usual in order to stop manner pyloning. An example of a build like this would be 8p,10g,12a,13p,14core or zeal, and so on. This is not as efficient as the standard but this secures gas fast and prevents manner plyons. Also, if someone tries to manner pylon you stay calm. Just attack the pylon with the probes that are trapped and attack it with zeal(s) when possible. There is a method of stacking and spamming the stop command to get probes out of a trapped manner pylon, but I typically just attack the pylon. Also, with manner pylon, be aware of zealots that they might send to attack, its typically more important to block your choke and not let their zealots roam around in your base than to take care of the manner pylon more quickly.

2. Related to the above is a variation on the standard tech build that I did not cover.
One could go 8pylon, 10gate, 12assim, 13pylon, 14zealot.
See, this delays your zealot, but gets gas fast, and a 2nd pylon fast so that probe production is not potentially delayed.
The difference between this and the standard is really that that important in the whole scheme of things, but I just wanted to point it out.
Feel free to use either version really.

3. Related to both of the above is the difference in timing of when you scout can have upon your build. The later you scout the more minerals you have coming in quicker. Scouting on 8pylon vs. 12gate poses a significant difference. Also note that map, and even diffrent map positions can have an effect on how fast you gather minerals. This is why everything I write about build orders in this guide should be taken as generality's. Good generality's, but generality's none the less.