Best Zerg Units In StarCraft 2

Games in StarCraft 2 can range greatly depending on how you match up against your opponent, with some games only taking a few minutes and others taking up to an hour. The Zerg have a lot of range in their play style, though you’ll usually want to aim towards a swarm army to overwhelm the smaller armies of your enemy.

Each unit in the Zerg Swarm accomplishes individual tasks, but not all of them are necessary for winning a game. Here are the best Zerg units that you should build in just about any game of StarCraft 2. Overlords and Drones have also been left off this list as they are a necessity and don’t serve combat roles.

9 Brood Lord

A Flying Siege Unit

• 150 Minerals and 150 Vespasian Gas
• Morphed from Corruptors
• 225 Hit Points

The Brood Lord can take a while to get and is one of the super units of the Zerg Swarm. While they may take a while to get, they are incredible siege units that can quickly wear down any enemy encampment from a distance, or destroy other defenses with minimal effort.

Brood Lords sit back and launch small but timed units to attack whatever they hit, keeping the actual Brood Lord safe. They also launch their units from a distance well outside any other unit’s range, so it will require micromanaging from your opponent to even think about countering them.

8 Ravager

A Simple Yet Effective Artillery

• 25 Minerals and 75 Vespasian Gas
• Morphed from Roaches
• 120 Hit Points

Ravagers are much like Roaches but a bit more offensively focused. While they do have fewer hit points, their active ability can greatly increase the amount of damage they do while in combat.

This active ability is great for taking out buildings blocking your path, as the trigger will land and deal damage even if the Ravager walks away after launching the blast. This ability can also be used to take out invisible enemies you’ve noticed, along with force fields created by a Protoss Sentry.

7 Ultralisk

A Massive, Highly Armored Damage Dealer

• 275 Minerals and 200 Vespasian Gas
• 500 Hit Points

Ultralisks are the go-to super unit of the Zerg for a reason. They deal high damage, attack multiple enemies at once, and have very high health and armor. Ultralisks are the ultimate tank of the army and should be sent out first in any fight to draw the majority of your opponents’ fire.

Despite being so big and armored, Ultralisks move very fast and will outrun just about all other super units in the other factions. On top of the damage and armor upgrades you should already have by the time you build this unit, it will be by far the strongest thing on the map, and dominate with a few other smaller units to swarm around it.

6 Roach

A Decent Early-Game Tank

• 75 Minerals and 25 Vespasian Gas
• 145 Hit Points

The Roach ranks well because it’s cheap, you can build it early, and it is fairly tanky. Roachs will be the first units you build in the game that are meant to draw your enemy’s fire and can help level the playing field in early-game fights against vehicles that other factions get.

Roachs can also be upgraded to move while burrowed, which can lead to incredible early-game surprise attacks that will devastate a worker line if your opponent doesn’t have Recon. They also regenerate health very fast while burrowing and moving, making them seem tanky than they already are.

5 Mutalisk

Hit Multiple Enemies At Once Without Stopping

• 100 Minerals and 100 Vespasian Gas
• 120 Hit Points

Mutalisks may not be the strongest thing in the air, but they are fast, regenerate quickly, and hit multiple enemies at once. Mutalisks excel in attacking worker lines thanks to their fast speed to get in and out, and their attacks will bounce off nearby enemies to hit others, making short bursts deal much more damage than other units.

Mutalisks also excel in killing swarms of weaker enemies, and will often be able to take three times their numbers of marines at once. Mutalisks may not be head-on fighters, but excel when micromanaged to perform hit-and-run strategies against your enemy, before quickly moving across the map to hit them as they are repositioning.

4 Baneling

Massive Area Of Effect Damage

• 25 Minerals and 25 Vespasian Gas
• Morphed from Zerglings
• 30 Hit Points

Banelings charge into an enemy before blowing themselves up and dealing a large amount of splash damage. It’s very important you micromanage your Banelings so that they hit the right target, and when used right they will quickly set things up in your favor.

With a speed boost, Banelings can charge toward a bunker to blow a hole in a line of defenses or take out very large swarms of infantry from any faction. Banelings can also burrow in the ground to act as pseudo-landmines as long as you’re watching to unburrow them at the right moment to catch your opponent off guard.

3 Hydralisk

High Ranged Damage To Any Enemy

• 100 Minerals and 50 Vespasian Gas
• 90 Hit Points

Hydralisks have decent health and are able to attack both ground and air units from a safe distance. Hydralisks deal great damage overall, and their versatility makes them ideal for fighting against just about any enemy composition.

With a range upgrade, Hydralisks can attack from even further away and will out-range most enemies, making them perfect for kiting your enemies down before fully engaging them. Not many Zerg units can attack both ground and air units, so their versatility is necessary for any swarm of other units.

2 Queen

Build More Units & Have Strong Defense

• 150 Minerals
• 175 Hit Points

While Queens are more defensive units, every Hatchery needs one otherwise your Swarm will never reach its full potential. The Spawn Larvae ability will need to be constantly used to either have more Larvae right away or stock up a large amount to build entire armies in just seconds.

Queens are also crucial in spreading Creep, which is a great way to give yourself an upper hand on any game. Having a Queen near a Hatchery also gives you a decently powerful unit to attack any simple attempts on your drone line.

1 Zergling

Overwhelm With Numbers & Speed

• 50 Minerals
• 35 Hit Points

While Zerglings are the first unit you can build, they are also the best. They are fairly useless without their speed boost, though that can also be purchased early into the game and give them a base movement speed that’s the fastest in the game.

While an individual Zergling is weak, create a swarm of them to overpower even the strongest super units. Zerglings also excel at hit-and-run tactics on your enemy, quickly taking out workers or important buildings before running off. Unless your opponent properly boxed themself into their base, Zerglings can easily run past most units to run to a worker line and deal some lasting damage in just seconds.