Hydra Timing (3 Base)
Detected when a Hydralisk Den fields a hydra wave off three bases -- the standard ZvP answer to Stargate openers.
54.1% win rate over 133 ladder games since patch 5.0.16
n = 133 games from 5 players · Stats updated Sep 28, 2026
Hydra Timing (3 Base) wins 54.1% of decided games across 133 ZvP ladder games from 5 players since patch 5.0.16. The likely range for its true win rate is 45.7–62.4%, so it is too close to call against a coin flip. It appears in 17.1% of the 780 ZvP games in the guide sample. This is still a small sample (n = 133), so treat it as a directional read.
Key timings
These timings come from 124 recorded build orders by 5 players. Buildings are timed when construction starts, upgrades and morphs when they finish, exactly as the replay records them. The median player starts Hydralisk Den at 5:46, with the middle half between 5:19 and 6:13. Winning games start Evolution Chamber at 5:05 on median, against 4:29 in losses. Timing data is still thin (n = 124 replays), so expect these medians to move.
| Milestone | Early (p25) | Median | Late (p75) | Wins vs losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extractor startedin 124 games | 0:38 | 0:39 | 0:42 | 0:40 vs 0:391s later in wins |
| 2nd Hatchery startedin 124 games | 1:13 | 1:16 | 1:21 | 1:15 vs 1:172s earlier in wins |
| Spawning Pool startedin 124 games | 1:34 | 1:38 | 1:43 | 1:38 vs 1:371s later in wins |
| 3rd Hatchery startedin 124 games | 3:22 | 3:40 | 4:14 | 3:40 vs 3:40same in wins and losses |
| Roach Warren startedin 101 games | 3:24 | 3:56 | 4:49 | — |
| Metabolic Boost donein 117 games | 4:13 | 4:27 | 5:07 | 4:29 vs 4:254s later in wins |
| Evolution Chamber startedin 119 games | 3:52 | 4:40 | 5:49 | 5:05 vs 4:2936s later in wins |
| Lair donein 124 games | 4:37 | 5:08 | 5:47 | 5:19 vs 4:5128s later in wins |
| Hydralisk Den startedin 124 games | 5:19 | 5:46 | 6:13 | 5:54 vs 5:3321s later in wins |
Army at 6, 8 and 10 minutes
At 6:00
Median count when present · 124 replays
Queen×3in 100% of games
Zergling×8in 85% of games
Overseer×2in 63% of games
At 8:00
Median count when present · 124 replays
- Queen×4in 100% of games
Hydralisk×8in 90% of games- Zergling×9in 85% of games
- Overseer×2in 60% of games
At 10:00
Median count when present · 102 replays
- Queen×4in 100% of games
- Hydralisk×14.5in 96% of games
- Zergling×11.5in 82% of games
- Overseer×2in 64% of games
What it beats and loses to
Win rate against each opponent opener, ranked by the low end of its likely range.
| Opponent opener | Win rate | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Stargate Opener | 54.5%likely range 44.8–63.8% | 101 |
When it wins
Win rate by game length: does the build close games early or pay off late?
| Group | Win rate | Likely range (95%) | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10–15 min | 54.7% | 43.5–65.4% | 75 |
Common macro leaks
Average macro score 75.8 over 133 games from 5 players.
- Supply Blockedin 100.0% of games133 of 133
- Mineral Floatin 83.5% of games111 of 133