Pressure Types¶
Pressure is not only kill damage.
A zerg can pressure through damage, terrain, cooldowns, threat, healing strain, anti-heal, pierce, and positioning.
Main pressure types¶
| Pressure type | What it does |
|---|---|
| Burst damage | tries to kill inside a short window |
| Sustained damage | slowly breaks recovery and positioning |
| Q/W pressure | keeps enemies low and uncomfortable between E windows |
| Anti-heal | makes enemy healing fail |
| Pierce / armor reduction | makes allied damage matter more |
| Positional pressure | makes enemies leave good terrain |
| Threat pressure | forces defensives before full engage |
| Defensive pressure | lets your zerg stay forward longer than enemy expects |
Why pressure matters¶
A zerg that only presses E every major cooldown gives the enemy too much freedom.
Good pressure:
- forces enemy healers to work
- makes enemy callers hesitate
- punishes overextended players
- prevents free resets
- creates kill windows before the big call
- lets the zerg take space without overcommitting
Common failure¶
Players think "nothing is happening" between engages, so they walk, wait, or drift backward. Meanwhile, the enemy recovers, repositions, and prepares the next engage.
Practice drill¶
Pick a 15-second period between major engages and ask:
- Who dealt useful Q/W pressure?
- Who created positional pressure?
- Who forced defensives?
- Who was safe but inactive?
- Did pressure help create the next kill window?
Related pages¶
Melee pressure over time¶
Melee DoT and pressure tools can create accumulated healer strain and mana pressure. They are not only about direct kills; they can force enemy healers to move, spend, panic, or abandon the right position.
Utility pressure¶
Pressure can come from utility, not only raw damage. Pierce, stun, anti-heal, purge, interruption, and timing can be the reason allied damage finally converts.