Burrow
Cost: None
While burrowed a Zerg unit can
not do anything except unburrow. While burrowed, the
unit's owner sees nothing but a pockmark on the ground.
He can select the pockmark to get the unit's status
info. Enemy players see nothing unless they have a
detection unit nearby. Even with a nearby detection
unit, the enemy will only see the pockmark. Depending on
the terrain and cover, the pockmark can still be hard to
see.
Consume
Cost: None
This ability, once researched,
will allow you to regain energy points by sacrificing
the life of one of your own Zerg units. You can use the
ability an unlimited amount of times, but the Defiler
still may not hold more than the energy maximum (200/250
with upgrade). The range for consume is very short.
Consume will not work on Terran or Protoss units even if
they are on your team. Since using Consume means the
death of a Zerg unit, you normally want to use the
cheapest units possible: Zerglings. Put a group of
Zerglings next to your Defiler like a box of ammo.
Burrow them to keep them safe while they are waiting.
You can't consume Larva but you
CAN consume Eggs, and Mutalisk Eggs.
You can use consume on burrowed
units.
Dark Swarm
Cost: 100 
Range: 9
Dark Swarm appears on the
battlefield as an orange smoke cloud. The cloud
encompasses a 6x6 matrix area. Units within the cloud
take no damage from ranged attacks. Only units with
melee, splash, or special weaponry are able to affect a
unit underneath a Dark Swarm. Note that the Swarm will
only protect units, and any buildings in the cloud are
still vulnerable to attack by ranged weapons.
Since all airborne units
possess ranged attacks, Dark Swarm is a particularly
effective tool against an attack from the air when you
place Hydralisks under the cloud. When used as part of
an attack or defense on the ground, care must be taken
to prevent enemy units from also using the Dark Swarm as
protection. The Dark Swarm can also protect enemy units
from the ranged attacks of your own Hydralisks,
Mutalisks, and Guardians. Position your own ground
forces to block the path of the enemy troops into your
protective cloud.
The following units are able to
damage units underneath a Dark Swarm with their normal
attacks:
Protoss: Probes, Reavers,
Dark Templar, Zealots, Archons
Terrans: SCVs, Firebats, Siege Tanks in Siege
Mode
Zerg: Drones, Zerglings, Lurkers, Ultralisk,
Broodlings, Infested Terrans
Many special abilities are also
completely unaffected by the presence of a Dark Swarm
including: Yamato Cannons, Spider Mines, Irradiate, EMP
Shockwave, Psionic Storm, Maelstrom, Feedback, Plague,
Ensnare, and Spawn Broodling.
Plague
Cost: 150
Range: 9
Plague is an area effect
ability that affects any unit or building with a 3x3
matrix of the target. A unit affected by a Plague slowly
begins to lose hit points until either the maximum of
300 points of damage is done or the unit reaches one
health. Plague alone cannot kill anything, but the
effects can still be rather crippling. Plague is
particularly devastating to Terran Buildings, as will
continue to take further damage from burning if the
building has less than 1/3 of its original hit points.
The Protoss are able to better withstand Plague, as
their Psi-based Shields are unaffected by the biotoxins
of the Plague. Plague does not affect burrowed units,
but if a unit is infected, then burrows, the unit will
still continue to take damage. The viscous biotoxins of
a Plague will also stick to Cloaked units, revealing
them as long as the Plague lasts.
Infest Command Center
Cost: None
By infesting a Terran Command Center with her
parasitic bio-toxin, the Queen brings volatile new
creations into the Swarm.
Once a Command Center has been
infested it can produce Infested Terrans. It also will
further regenerate its hit points when damaged.
Parasite
Cost: 75
Range: 12
Parasites are used by a Zerg
brood to provide battlefield reconnaissance information.
Queens can launch the parasitic creatures onto the
unsuspecting host from up to 12 matrices away. Once the
Parasite is attached, the controller of the Parasite can
now see what the affected unit sees. If a unit with
cloak detection has an attached parasite, then cloaked
units will also be seen by the Parasite. The owner of
the affected unit can detect the parasite in two ways.
When the unit is selected as part of a group, the border
of the unit's wireframe diagram will turn green. If just
the single affected unit is selected, a "Parasite
Detected" warning in green text will appear along
with the rest of the unit's statistics.
The only way to remove a
Parasite to have a Medic use her Restoration ability on
the affected unit. If Medics or restoration are not
available, destroying the host will also destroy the
Parasite. A Zerg drone with an attached Parasite could
also be turned into a Zerg building to remove the
annoyance.
Ensnare
Cost: 75
Range: 9
The viscous green goo expelled
when a Queen uses her Ensnare ability will cover any
unburrowed unit in a 4x4 matrix area. Units covered with
the goo have their movement rate cut by half. This can
cause a host of problems for the enemy. Ensnared melee
units will face additional rounds of ranged fire before
reaching their targets, units will not be able to spread
out as effectively to fire on their targets, and
retreating can become difficult. Ensnare will also
reveal the presence of units hiding under the protection
of a cloaking field until the goo wears off.
Spawn Broodling
Cost: 150
Range: 9
The Spawn Broodling ability is
one of the most feared weapons in the Zerg arsenal. A
Queen with this ability can instantaneously destroy any
non-robotic ground unit in the game, including units
such as Templar, Ultralisks, and Siege Tanks. While the
energy cost for this ability is high, the ability to
rapidly turn the tide of battle with the destruction of
a key unit is not to be underestimated. The Broodlings
resulting from the destruction of the targetted unit are
also not to be completely ignored. Broodlings receive
the same Melee and Carapace upgrades as a Zergling or
Ultralisk, and their attacks are quite swift. If a pair
of Broodlings are left unattended by the enemy, the
Broodlings can cause decent damage to defenseless
buildings or troops. Broodlings will also quickly fall
to any kind of organized defense, having only 30 hit
points. Broodlings also die on their own approximately
120 seconds after their creation.
