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Most guides I've seen to builds in SCII I see a list of items next to non-sequential numbers. Example. What do the numbers represent?

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C. Ross
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  • See also http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/4127/how-does-build-order-naming-work-for-zerg – McKay Aug 03 '10 at 20:14
  • @CRoss if you look at the example you chose it does specifically state when it is the number of probes and when it is the number of gateways. – tzenes Aug 03 '10 at 20:56

2 Answers2

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It tells what your supply count is at when the command to create the item is at.

for example:

13 gate

this means, if you have used 13 supply (which means 13 probes), build your gate(way) then.

Elsewhere in the linked answer there are messages like:

2 Gate Rush

Which means, rush with units after you have two gate(way)s

McKay
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    Actually the 2 Gate rush specifically states rush after 5-7 Zealots. However, the 2 Gate does mean build two Gateways. This is all outlined in the example he linked. – tzenes Aug 03 '10 at 20:57
  • yeah, but you build two gates, then not really other buildings until you rush. – McKay Aug 03 '10 at 21:02
  • agreed, you are 100% correct, I was just hoping to avoid confusion by adding that part. – tzenes Aug 03 '10 at 21:50
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The reason that the numbers in the answer that you linked to are not sequential, is because the list is not a build order. It is a list of the names of several opening strategies (or "openings"). McKay's explanation about supply count is correct when talking about build orders, but these are not build orders. "2 Gate" in this case simply means to open with 2 Warp Gates--it doesn't specific the exact build order. "3 Gate into Robo" means to open with 3 Warp Gates, then build a Robotics Facility.

Matthew
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  • So in short, it's not uniform, could be probes, gates, supply? – C. Ross Aug 04 '10 at 11:09
  • @C. Ross: Sorry, I don't understand the question. What do you mean by 'uniform'? – Matthew Aug 04 '10 at 20:35
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    The '3' in '3 Gate' means 3 gateways, always. A '3 rax' always means 3 barracks. Terran/Protoss builds are uniform in this way. The name of the build always specifies how many of what building it is centered around (early game). A '9 pool' means 9 supply and then 1 pool. Zerg builds are usually always titled like this. I believe that's what C.Ross meant by 'uniform'. Hope this helps – MrPants888 Aug 17 '10 at 16:45