Daily Hitlist: Rebelling Against the Zealot

How to Counter Zealots

Image from: http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Zealot_(StarCraft_II)

Countering zealots can be a harder task than one might first think. They are a melee unit and deal quite a dicey amount of damage if you let them stay in melee range.



First off, anything with range can micro away from zealots. You can run and shoot until the zealots chasing you are dead. Terran have a very good unit at doing this, the Hellion. The Hellion is very fast and does extra damage to light armoured units. This is perfect for dealing with zealots as they are quite slow; they will take full damage form the Hellions too. Terran can also go reaper. Reapers are very fast ranged units (just like the Hellion) that are very effective at killing zealots. Not only this, but if you get cornered you can jump up/down a cliff to avoid taking damage from the zealots.

But what can a Protoss do? Stalkers can run and shoot away from zealots but if you let them get hit they will take a lot of damage. Your best bet is to either, get sentries and force field the zealots away from your army, or get your own zealots. Getting your own zealots is probably the best option. This will allow your stalkers time to deal their damage without having to run away. Ultimately colossus will save your day, but having enough time to grab this may not be an option.

But what of the Zerg? Zerg may have a harder time countering zealots as they are very effective against zerglings. You can choose to go zerglings but you will have to make sure you have enough of them to hold off. It takes around 3 zerglings per zealot to kill them off. Roaches are a more sturdy choice. Not only are they ranged (so running and shooting is viable) they are also armoured. This means the zealots wont be able to deal as much damage to them. If you can get the chance to grab some infestors then do so. Fungal growth will prove very handy in this situation.