Creep Tumor!

[TheJet]

You gotta be kidding me...you mean I've wasted all that Queen energy making new tumors when the tumors themselves could have made new ones?!?!


....well no wonder I always lose as Zerg

Well, I generally avoid making tumors until my macro begins to fail.

The timing that the queen receives 25 energy is exactly the same as the time it takes for the larva to hatch. Therefore, one queen is capable of saturating a single hatchery nonstop.

However, if you fail to notice your larva have already hatched, then you begin to have some extra energy that could have been used to spawn larva earlier.

When it accumulates to 25, i build a tumor.

[Gifted]

Some interesting points regarding the tumor itself.

1. When you create a tumor, it takes a small time to build/complete. This build time (I think it's about 5 seconds in fast) it is "visible" as a thing that is building. When it completes it "burrows" and requires detection to remove.
2. It takes time to expand creep, this is relatable to the time a creep colony in SC1 took to expand, not too long at all.
3. The ability on the creep tumor to spawn another creep tumor has a range that is roughly the same size as the creep it creates. This is a point important to those who would comment how "unlimited range would be OP".
4. The creep tumor ALSO PROVIDES VISION that is roughly the same size as the creep it creates. THIS IS A VITAL POINT as you expand your creep away from your base you get free knowledge/reaction time to those who are invading your base. You can actually see them coming.
5. Multiple creep tumors in an area will fill out the creep in a faster fashion as can be assumed.

Interesting tactic to think about.... I've had games I played zerg, created a nydus worm (which creates a small patch of creep), poped a queen out with the army, dropped three creep tumors in the enemy base and ran the queen back. Without detection you can spread it like wildfire, preventing easy rebuilding and cause a relaunch of an attack to be significantly more efficient with the creep already there as your units move faster. You just have to be careful not to build the subsequent creep tumors in vision or range of their defenders, they have a small period they can end it while it builds.

[ROFLbanshee]

Creep Tumors are burrowed? Never knew that.

However, creeping up to your enemies isn't a viable strategy -Tumors can are weaklings, and if your opponent kills your most recent tumor you can't create anymore without using the Queen.

[Nicol Bolas]

However, creeping up to your enemies isn't a viable strategy -Tumors can are weaklings, and if your opponent kills your most recent tumor you can't create anymore without using the Queen.

Also, while the turmor is growing, it is not burrowed/cloaked. So it can be shot and killed, thus screwing up your ability to make more without a Queen.

[MattII]

Well according to the wikia, each CT can only create one more CT, which makes it difficult to use them in this way.

One way I do see them getting used is like proxy-Piloning, put a Queen in an Overlord, then when you get to where you're going, drop the Queen, drop a patch of creep, and plant the CT (or several, if you have the energy and are prepared to spend it) somewhere in the patch. I can see this being used to seal off an expo from the other two races, and also to provide early defence in the form of a quick setup ground for Spore/Spine Crawlers.

[flak4321]

Interesting new Zerg strat that occurred to me while I read this thread: spawn creep tumors just outside the rocks at the one end of each start location, then destroy the rocks and let the tumors spread the creep from a distance. Just leaves 2 questions: in BW, creep never appeared on ramps. Does it in SC2? I have not seen any thus far, but I have also not seen an opportunity for it to do so. The second question is can the creep spread through the grass that often accompanies the rocks at these areas?

[PsiWarp]

@Flak: Yup, Creep can spread up or down ramps in Starcraft 2, as well as directly under & through destructible rocks and line-of-sight blockers (grass in your case). So, as long as the range of the next Creep Tumor placement reaches the ground or upper level of terrain, you can continue your tumor chain.


-Psi

[SpiderBrigade]

Can someone confirm that each creep tumor can only place one additional tumor? I saw elsewhere a mention of a cooldown, instead.

[Triceron]

Creep tumors can be built anywhere there is creep.

There is potential sneaky strategy to denying your opponent from expanding if you tech up lair and use overlords placed at potential expansions to use creep drop, and use a free-roaming queen to make creep tumors.

The enemy can always kill the tumors, but consider that they will have to wait until the creep recedes before they can expand!

Of course this is more work than it's worth in most cases, but it's still fun to pull off if you're feeling spiteful

Also I can confirm it's not a timer, but 1 'charge' that gets used up per tumor. If the growing tumor or tumor w/charge gets destroyed, you need a fresh creep tumor to continue expanding.

[handclaw]

Can someone confirm that each creep tumor can only place one additional tumor? I saw elsewhere a mention of a cooldown, instead.

I confirm that it can place only one additional tumor. But there is still a cooldown before the next tumor can be placed. After it places a new tumor, the creep tumor actually changes its apperance. (It's less bloated...)