Broodling Tactics

Starcraft 2 Broodling tactics are rather interesting, mainly because Broodling units are only seen under certain circumstances and are very temporary. Broodlings are temporary units that are essentially spawned by other units, or through the destruction of Zerg tech structures.

These units are typically spawned by a Brood Lord unit that is morphed from the Corruptor. These units will only last for eight seconds after being created. The Broodling benefits from melee and ground carapace upgrades researched at the Evolution Chamber.

As the Broodling attacks very quickly and expires quickly it is usually better to get the melee upgrades for this unit so that it does as much damage as possible before expiring or getting killed off. Once the Broodling has dispatched its target it can automatically attack other nearby targets before expiring.

Under certain circumstances a crafty Zerg player can take advantage of the Broodlings behavior. They could get the Brood Lords to target weakened enemy units near other key enemy units that are further behind the main front line in order to engage such units beyond the normal attack range of Brood Lords.

This unit is particularly effective against Terran armies involving Siege Tanks that are in siege mode. Due to their disposable nature Broodlings can take Siege Tank shots while attacking other units and the splash damage will then be dealt to the Terran’s own units.

The Broodling is also effective at blocking movement of Terran ground units and distracting their targeting, allowing your Broodlords to safely stay in the rear lines. The Broodlord would still be vulnerable to Terran Vikings however.

The Broodling is somewhat less effective against blocking the movement of Protoss ground forces as Stalkers would usually have Blink researched by the time the Broodlords themselves are created. If the Zerg player is not careful enough the enemy’s Stalkers can blink forward and destroy the slow Broodlords from underneath.

The Broodling is seldom seen in a Zerg versus Zerg match up as these match ups tend to favor earlier and mid game units rather than units such as the Brood Lord and Ultralisk. Should the players find themselves in a late game situation the Broodling when spawned from the Brood Lord can help keep Zerg Roaches, Infestors and Hydralisks at bay if properly supported by other ground units.

Care should be taken when using Brood Lords along with their Broodlings against a Zerg opponent as they would commonly have at least a Spire constructed by the late game. The Spire would allow the Zerg opponent to create Corruptors and Mutalisks which can make short work of unsupported Brood Lords.

When Zerg tech structures are destroyed, these units will spawn from that structure’s destruction. These feisty units can help the Zerg as the Broodlings can delay enemy forces for a very limited time.

However, these units are not without their short comings. For instance Broodlings are restricted to attacking only ground units, which makes them particularly vulnerable to air attacks and air units in general. They also only have a melee attack though this is mitigated by their fast speed.