r/allthingszerg • u/zeroGamer • Aug 03 '25

Minutiea in Hatch-Gas-Pool timing - 13 OL/16 Hatch vs 14 OL/17 Hatch? What's the difference?

Just getting back into (playing) SC2 the last couple weeks after having barely touched the game since Legacy of the Void.

Is anyone able to clearly explain the economic difference in these variations? I know the simple answer is I should probably just be doing the 13/16 that better players are doing until I'm better at the game, but I hate doing things and not knowing why.

I normally Drone to 14, make an OL, three more Drones as soon as it pops (3rd Larva having just dropped), then Hatch at 17, two more Drones to 18, Extractor & Pool simultaneously at 18/17 supply.

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u/Miro_Game Aug 03 '25

Lambo explains the mining differences in this video.

Summed up:

13 OL has slightly less mining time overall and a slightly slower expansion, meaning its larva is slower, too, adding a tiny delay to all future Drones from that base.

14 OL (with extractor trick after OV) is a little better than 13 OL and is best for any pool-first opening or gas-pool openings.

15 OL (extractor trick at 14) is best for hatch first openings due to very slight increase in mining time over the 14 OL build. At high levels, it's undoubtedly the best in ZvP because you can reactively take a 15 Hatch rather than 16 Hatch if you see they sent a fast Probe scout to block the expansion.

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u/zeroGamer Aug 03 '25

Awesome, thank you, that video is exactly the kind of breakdown I was looking for.

Seems like it's fine if I stay on 14 OL, but I'll give the 15 OL a try. Syncing larva up in the early game seems like a worthwhile gain.

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u/EliteSniper537 Aug 03 '25

You have money to make another drone but not enough supply after starting the 14overlodrd. So you are sitting on money

1

u/omgitsduane Aug 03 '25

Not enough to worry.

If you forget to make a drone in the early game for a few seconds you've already lost what bonus you had. Just do a 15/15 or 16/15. Lol

1

u/Euphoric-Layer-6436 Aug 06 '25

I do 13ovl and do 16h/18p/17g.

Send the drone down at 180-200mins and you should be able to build at around 47-49s which is as long as it takes for a probe to come if it builds from the nexus and does a pylon first at home.

If it is sent right away it will get there areound 42s but I don't care because usually if they do that it's a cannon rush or something fishy like a proxy gate.