StarCraft II unit review: Zerg Roach

Starcraft II has a strange effect on people. It is one of those somewhat masochistic games, where its enormous skill ceiling and complexities punish you over and over again, and inexplicably, keep you coming back for more. In fact, Blizzard has nefariously designed the Multiplayer ladder system to try its best to keep your win/loss ratio at 50%. That means if the system is doing its job, you’re losing half of your games. And if you’re anything like me, you’re loving every minute of it.

So you pick a race to focus your play on, and the lines are rapidly drawn in the sand. Inevitably, the first thing you learn is how to bemoan your race’s obvious inadequacies, while shaking the “overpowered” finger at the others. But if you’re going to succeed at this game, you’re going to need to learn a little more than that.

Above all, Starcraft II is a game which rewards knowledge. It is a game of counters and good decisions, and if you want to get better, you’re going to have to spend a bit of time in the Starcraft II classroom. So, if you’re a child of the Overmind, gather around. This week is the week of the Swarm, so find a comfortable spot on the creep and listen in,

I’m going to show you how to wield the weapon you need to crush those pathetic humans and their egotistical Protoss counterparts.

The Roach

The Zerg are not known for their high-tech forces or big, lumbering powerhouses. Known as the Swarm, they rely on weaker, amassable units which overrun the opponent with sheer numbers. Zerg is an extremely reactionary race, relying on tech switches to quickly counter what their opponents are doing. Many of their units are not extremely versatile, but fill very specific roles.

The Roach, receiving a very recent range buff from 3 to 4, has become an essential unit in any Zerg army. Its high hitpoints and damage make it a devastating unit for early rushes, as well as a strong line of defense.

Vital statistics

Cost: 75 minerals, 25 vespene gas, 2 supplies

Requires: Roach Warren (no Lair required)

Abilities: Ground to ground attack, Moving burrow (upgrade required)

Build time: 27 seconds

Speed: 2.25 (3 with upgrade) x 1.3 on creep

Hit points: 145

Armour type: Armoured, Biological, 1 (+1 per upgrade level)

Damage: 16 (+2 per upgrade level)

Attack cooldown: 2

Range: 4

How to use it

The Roach does not deal in subtleties. It is an aggressive, in-your-face assault unit, and is a great front-line for any Zerg army. Their low cost and high HP makes them great at soaking up enemy fire, while your other more fragile units dish out the punishment.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of the roach is how early you can produce them. This allows you to make some pretty devastating Roach rushes. If your opponent is unprepared, a quick 7-roach attack can win you the game right then and there. Due to their high damage, you can quickly focus-fire a supply depot or pylon to open a hole in the opponent’s wall and stream in, wreaking havoc in the base.

As a Zerg player you have to remember that you have a “third resource” – larva. Without larva, you can’t produce anything. So in the early stages of the game, where larva is a somewhat scarce resource, getting one Roach per larva is a lot more effective than 2 Zerglings, if you need to quickly produce an army. Remember in the mid-late stages, you’re going to want the speed upgrade; Glial Reconstitution.

Let’s briefly go over some specific matchups.

vs Protoss

The Roach, complemented by some fast Zerglings and a couple of spine crawlers, is your best defense against early aggressive Warp Gate pushes. While Hydralisks are the most effective option to deal with Gateway units, you won’t be able to get them out fast enough to deal with any early pressure or big rushes.

Moving into the later stages, a Roach-Hydra unit mix is very effective for a big, game-ending push.

vs Terran

Fighting a Terran can be a bit like waving a sword around in the dark, hoping you’ll hit something; they are very difficult to scout or predict. The Roach has stepped forward as a versatile unit against anything Terran can throw at you in the early stages, specifically early marine pushes or Reaper/Hellion harassment. However, if you see a Marauder-heavy build, you want to switch to a Zergling heavy force.

vs Zerg

The Roach opening has become extremely popular in this mirror matchup. They absolutely destroy Zerglings, and soak up a ton of Baneling damage with minimal losses. A Roach-heavy ground force is very strong, and you can roll over an opponent who skimps on defenses to try and get higher in the tech tree faster.

Roaches take on Zerglings

Roaches set to hold position on your ramp completely shut down any kind of Zergling aggression in the mirror matchup.

What to do against roaches

Zerg’s tech path is very easy to spot. They can’t wall off their base, so look out for a Roach Warren.

Roaches are very ineffective if you build the right counters. Despite the obvious counter of any air-to-ground unit (Roaches can’t attack air); there are “hard-counters” for each ground army. For Terran the hard-counter to Roaches is the Marauder. Marauders with stim-pack will annihilate a Roach army quite handily.

For Protoss, while the Stalker does alright against Roaches, the real counter is the Immortal. 2-3 Immortals firing from the rear of a Protoss army will turn the tides heavily against any Roach-heavy composition.

For Zergs looking to betray their own kind, the best counter can often be to beat your opponents in upgrades and laugh maniacally as you crush them with a superior army.

Conclusion

A devastating rush unit and the backbone of any Zerg army, they make for a versatile opening. However, they are susceptible to counters so be certain to not fall into the trap of making “Roach-only” armies.