Subject: an addition
From: Eraslin
Date: Wed Jan 6 18:53:40

Good idea. Just thought I'd point out an obvious option in team games. Have your terran partner build a dropship and fill it with as many medics as he/she can afford to. Mind control the dropship, and voila a very nice addition to that attack force of yours that doesn't take up your partners supply (saving you some cash, if you don't need many). Granted this puts your team mate out a little, but it's a team game you're supposed to help each other out (just like building your zerg partner a command center :).
Hmm... just got another thought, have your partners put any force that they're going to be using to attack into dropships, for you to take. This way, you can do the attack, and before the attack even starts your partner can start filling all that supply that just got freed... Eraslin

Subject: i'm no expert but my .02 cents
From: JackTheRAbbit
Date: Thu Jan 7 04:30:23

2. Terran Expansion > > With Terrans I find it very easy to develop a good economy and get a > decent unit production, yet I always have problems expanding with > them. Any good enemy with decent recon finds and crushes my > expansions easily, or moves in to attack my main base if I put too > many troops to guard the expansion. What would you people say is the > best method for expanding with terrans? > how bout bunkers ???? make bunkers first before CC > 4. Terran vs. Guardians> > When playing against professionals, guardians often arrive at my base > way too early for my liking. Going for early irradiate counters is > very gas intensive and detracts from unit production. Wraiths die to > mutas/hydras that accompany them and ground units are all basically a > joke against guardians. Goliaths seem feasible, but hydras slaughter > them with guardian support. This is often mostly a problem with > expansions. If I turtle then I find it easy to stop them, but > turtling is a pathetic tactic and nothing good ever comes of it in > the long run. Any ideas?> no idea, wraiths(cloaked) maybe and recon blah blah blah since he is goin guardiansrush him w/ marines and tanks 7. The Million Marine March and Tank Push versus Zerg> > As Zerg I always have to go defensive and make lots of sunkens to > protect myself from the million marine march. That, in turn, > decreases my unit production, and when tanks arrive on the scene > protected by a million marines, I am as good as dead. Broodling is > very hard to get by this time aswell. Any suggestions are welcome.> make sure to ambush them on their waythat is the only counter i know don't let them get to siege on ur base 8. Irradiate vs. Zerg in the late game> > As Zerg (especially on island maps in the late game) irradiate always > seems to be my downfall. If the game lasts long enough to get to the > stage where my opponent has multiple science vessels with irradiate, > I am finished. Mutas versus Irradiate is a joke and the same goes > for guardians. If my airforce is helpless, dropping a group of > troops becomes exceedingly difficult. Once again, I am truly baffled.> no idea

Subject: One build order (among many)
From: eeprom
Date: Thu Jan 7 00:22:22

On Wed Jan 6 23:39:05, Raijin wrote: > Hmmm... Does anyone have any very good build orders for the terrans? > Actually any build order that works fine is considered VERY GOOD. =)> > Thanks in Advance. 1st 7 scv's mine. (Make scv's just as soon as you have 50 minerals to do so!). 8th scv makes barrack. Usually, I find that he has or is very close to having the 150 min necassary for the rax when #8 pops out of command center. 9th scv makes supply depot. Start #9 as soon as you get 50 more min after #8 starts rax. By the way, #'s 8 and 9 will finish construction at almost the same time with the rax a little ahead. You will have enough supply left for another scv and a marine. Before they finish, your 2nd depot will be done. 10th scv builds refinery. This is a personal preference which some will differ with. I know that I will be climbing to academy and factory and like to get an early start on vespene. Usually I build academy 1st because I can get stim and (maybe!) U238 shells by the time I get rushed. Also I like to have firebats early against zerg or zealot rushes. Of course you will want to pump out marines and scv's while this is all happening. Keep an eye on your supply so that you can start a depot before you run out (frustrating!). Also keep an eye on minerals. When a building where you will do upgrades finishes building, it is nice to have the money to start upgrade right away. (Sometime during this build you will accumulate 100min and I advise making a bunker which is sited to cover your supply line. A bunker is essential to defend against rush. Have your scv's repair it during attack and you will foil your opponent and cost him dearly.) So, get your factory started ASAP (you will be a little short of cash by now). Then get Machine Shop; as soon as it is done, research siege. Then as soon as you can, start a tank building. I start research 1st because it takes a little longer than it does to actually build a tank.After this buddy, go any direction you want to. Good luck and you are welcome. I hope this helps.eeprom P.S. I know I didn't mention recon but the post was getting too long!

First off, some things these forumers ask you to do are ludicrous, no matter what I don't think any of us could get 12 ghosts to lockdown 24 scouts. Here are a few things to help, howerever. 1 - Play 2 - handed. You probably already do, but one hand on the mouse, one hand on the keyboard. 2 - Have a good mouse. If it takes you 15 minutes to get your cursor to work, then micromanagement isn't easy to start with. 3 - Know your keys. You should NEVER have to use the mouse for an action. All spells, patrols, attacks, etc. should use the keyboard and the keyboard only. The mouse is just the "where" device. 4 - Have hotkeys. Organize your units in groups of 6 or twelve to make them easy to use. Have spellcasters set in groups of 1 or 2 so you don't waste mana. That way you don't spend time selecting units with your mouse, you simply click "1" then "a" and the destination, repeat "2" - "a". 5 - Shift-Queing is a must. It doesn't work on everything, but on many things it does. For instance, you could hit "b" with a queen for broodling, target the tank you want, the hit shift+rightclick to move her away from all the other nearby supporting units, you have the queen perform a hit and run without spending all your time watching it. 6 - Use the minimap. That thing in the bottom - left hand corner. Great way to keep an eye on things, check expansions, and the BEST way to move units. Don't bother scrolling all the way up to a base or attack zone. Just click the minimap. In fact, unless precision is a must, use the minimap for almost all troop movements. 7 - Try to keep your base open. Serious. Nothing makes micromanagement harder than a tightly packed base with no exits. If your spellcasters can't get out to cast a spell, then things obviously won't work so well. 8 - Stay calm. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Everyone has a threshold, just avoid it. Don't get too nervous or you'll miss keystrokes and send units the wrong way. 9 - Plan ahead, if possible. It is much easier to take your time, hotkey scourge 6 a group, then entangle a carrier fleet and plague it if you know it is coming and prepare than trying to use all your units when a fleet comes knocking on your doorstep and you're off setting up an expansion. There, those are some general micro hints, the fact is it is not something you can really improve by reading, playing the game is the best way to improve.- Evilboy

Subject: EB to the rescue! = ) (long,read at own risk)
From: Evilboy
Date: Fri Jan 8 00:05:55

Did you know that the doctors have found that the rate of the inflation of my ego directly correlates to how many posts I make about terran strategies?= )Enough of that, on to the STRATS First off, I'm going to assume you are a generally competent player. That assumes these things: - You make a good deal of SCVs at mineral patches. 2 per patch with 4 on gas is usually optimal. - You try to expand when possible to increase your income. - You know how to micromanage. That doesn't mean you have to be a Zileas style "Shuttles that shoot scarabs" player, but that means you can actually use spells, hit and run, etc. etc. - You know what recon is and try to use it. I too am a terran-based player, which has heavily influenced my entire SC playing style. The thing to note with Brood War is that every player on b.net and their mother has a fever with this game that ensures that they will not only build, but will FOCUS on the new units. Protoss like dark templar, zerg like lurkers, and terrans like medics. Unfortunately, dark templar and lurkers are both excellent ways to kill marine / medic combinations. Some of the oldest and best strats are now more effective than ever. Since I am assuming you've got basic skill, I won't go into build orders. Heck, I don't even use them. I build a supply depot on the 8th SCV and wing it from there.Infantry: Marines: Good anti-dragoon units and great general support, the marine loses effectiveness quickly thanks to reavers, dark templar, psi-storm, maelstrom, and carriers. However, keep a few around, since they are great units when you can't really tell what is coming and are cheap enough so that a squadron of 12 won't hurt your economy. Against zerg, marines are a must. Every unit except defilers, adrenalings, and lurkers fear massed marines, and if you bring medics things only get messier. Don't forget the upgrades, either. If you have level 2 or 3 upgrades and your opponent is stuck at level 1 or 0, marines will kill just about ANYTHING they come out with, = ). Firebats: Now with Dark Templar killing marines in 1 hit, zealots being favored since protoss need gas like mad, and area-effect spells stlil hurting terrans, firebats are great. Don't rely on them, but even a few of these guys in a marine / medic group can turn zealots into that blue-flame stuff like nobody's business. Firebats can help against psi-storm in select occasions, since a psi-storm will generally hit the firebats and whatever they are trying to kill, but don't take that as TOO much of an advantage. Against zerg, firebats are useful. With medics they slaughter zerglings and adrenalings, making them important late-game, and aren't shabby against hydralisks either, at least when marines and medics are at their backs. Darkswarm is another reason, unless the zerg has ultralisks, darkswarm is a TERRAN's friend, since firebats will kill anything in it. Medics: Ahh, every terran's favorite unit nowadays. Medics don't make marines do what they didn't do. Marines never did kill templar, reavers, or carriers that well (ok, they did kill carriers until 1.04, so what?). Medics just take what marines are good at and make them that much BETTER. Since infantry isn't the safest build against the high-damage and splash-happy protoss units, medics are of limited use. Restore is damn near useless against a protoss, but optic flare can help against certain attacks. Don't rely on them, but keep a few around. Against zerg, medics are a MUST. Restore takes down almost every zerg spell there is, even devourer acid spores. Heal makes hydralisks, mutalisks, and zerglings much less useful, and optic flare makes having 1-2 overlords for detection pointless. Ghosts: THIS is what I call some anti-protoss INFANTRY! Lockdown is a protoss player's WORST nightmare. Lockdown takes a 1 food unit and allows it to disable not one but TWO units, which almost ALWAYS cost more. Reavers, dragoons, scouts, corsairs, carriers, shuttles, arbiters, even observers can be locked down. Lockdown is a great way to snipe units before a fight. If your 12 marines don't really want to fight that 4 dragoon 2 reaver combo, 1 ghost can make that an easy battle to win. Don't build in mass because of the micromanagement required, but ALWAYS have a few ghosts against a protoss. Nukes + EMP are great attacks, I posted above about nuking strategies, I don't have the link but just look, those and Raid's should be enough to help you nuke protoss for a long time. Ghosts aren't great against zerg, and should only be built for nukes and perhaps anti-mutalisk support if marines aren't cutting it.Mech (Stuff from Factory): Vultures: Know why the vulture biker has just a bad attitude? BECAUSE EVERYBODY HATES HIM! Vultures are underused and damn powerful in the hands of a pro. I'll go on to spider mines below, here is the vulture's moment to shine. Vultures, when using hit-and-run strats, decimate zealots and dark templar like nobody's business. They also kill templar real good. Ever tried to psi-storm a speed-upgraded vulture? Might as well try to shoot an arrow through a fly! A few vultures are a great way to pick off templar just waiting for marines to psi-storm. In fact, if you spot a templar, it might not be a bad idea to run vultures in during combat just for the sake of templar-killing. They do it real well. Vultures are amazing expansion-killers, running past all but the best laid defenses and decimating peons. Speaking of which, against lightly guarded protoss bases, running in 6 vultures just to kill peons is a damn good idea. Against zerg, vultures are excellent ways to kill poorly defended zerg expansions, but aren't too effective after that. Spider Mines: Ho ho! Perhaps the most cost-effective defense on the ground. Build vultures for all their uses above and get spider mines to boot! What a deal! Spider mines, in clumps of 4-6 can severely damage an incoming attack force, imagine if your front line of marines suddenly died and a good deal of your tanks took 125 damage. Ouch. Mines are also great scouts (nothing leaves their base without you knowing about it), and are the most cost-effective way to watch expansions, not even taking the food of a burrowed zergling. Place these boys in front of bunkers or even BEHIND chokes (in between a choke and a base) for an extra suprise attack. In fact, having a dummy turret + bunker at a choke just to distract enemies from mines isn't a shabby idea. Against zerg, mines slaughter lurkers (they can't even shoot back, poor babies = )), decimate zerglings, hurt hydralisks if layed in clumps, and make ultralisks think twice about coming into darkswarm. If you meet a zerg player that leaves lings of hydras burrowed in clumps without lurkers, lay a few spider mines in that area and watch the fun = ). Goliaths: OH YEAH! The best anti-air unit of the game takes charge! With an impressive +4 per upgrade, natural armor, low cost, reasonable build and a cheap range upgrade that leaves air forces crying, the goliath is your answer to any and every air fleet there is. With a few lockdowns these things are even SCARIER! Great support for siege tanks. Against zerg, these are beasts. Mutalisks and Guardians can't touch them, and they make queen's think twice before using broodlings on tanks. The queen may broodling the goliath instead, but at least your precious tank is safe = ). Siege tanks: Heh, my favorite terran unit. The longest range in the game and massive damage makes this mac-daddy a unit to be feared. On defense they keep forces back, and make reavers explode in a nice array of sparks. On the offense they kill templar before they storm (2 tanks kill a templar in one volley), decimate cannons, and provide excellent anti dragoon / reaver support. Just make sure to support these guys. Marines, Goliaths, Vultures, Wraiths, BattleCruisers, Ghosts, Firebats, ALL are great combinations with a siege tank. Think zealots will do much to a tank / firebat / medic combo? I didn't think so either. The range of a siege tank is so massive that you can usually build a bunker outside your enemies line of sight BEFORE you begin sieging their base. Marines or firebats die to psi-storm, but bunkers don't. In fact, the siege tank is even one of the best island units, able to take down anti-air defense from nearby islands safely! This is a unit that MUST be used, unless your opponent is going pure air with no defense at all, siege tanks are a must. No terran should fear even the largest protoss defense, one siege tank is all it takes. Guess I like em, huh? = ). Against zerg, siege tanks are a MUST. Lurkers, Hydralisks, Zerglings, Ultralisks, all fall before the might of the siege tank. Darkswarm offers little protection, and tanks outrange a defiler's plague. Airborne units: Yeah, after all that I have even MORE to write! Wraiths: An important terran unit overlooked. Sure, every base and its mother now has cloak detection, but where? Spoiled protoss players who only build cannons at their choke are in for an unpleasent suprise when a few wraiths decimate their peon line. The rule of wraiths is that they are good not for what they do, but for what they FORCE your opponent to do. 3 cannons at each peon line in each base with additional anti-air available should things get messy JUST to counter WRAITHS. Observers are powerful, but vulnerable to comsat (have it hotkeyed, use it on fleets, if they have observers kill them and then attack, otherwise enjoy the feast). In fact, it has been a LONG time since I've seen a protoss player include observers with their attack force before it was too late = ). Psi-storm is a pain, but can be dodged if you are quick at the keyboard. Wraiths decimate scouts and carriers for the cost, and do great upraded. Against zerg, they are useful simply because of the vulnerable overlord. The zerg's main detector is so damn vulnerable to attack that wraiths can bring it down in just a few volleys. If your opponent only brings 1-2 overlords on an attack, well, = ). Dropship: Moves units, 'nuff said. Great way to set up bunkers and siege points. Try dropping a ways behind an enemy's peon line, building a bunker just outside siege mode, then putting a tank in siege so it shoots the peons. Build a turret for cloak detection and watch those peons run! Valkyrie: Well.... I don't like it, others disagree, but generally you're safer off going with Wraiths or Goliaths for your anti-air. It does look damn cool, however. Against masses of pure mutalisks, the valkyrie shines, but throw in a few scourge or a good amount of devourers and the valkyrie is scrap metal again. Better off using irradiate agaisnt zerg. Science Vessel: Did someone say "irradiate"? Perhaps the best spellcaster in the game. Why? Does it have psi-storm? No. Does it have recall? No. Does it have Plague? No again, but it is cheap for a spellcaster, detects, is fast, long sight range, and is probably the best hit-and-run unit out there. Irradiate zerg. Irradiate three units then run for the hills, repeat as desired. Irradiate templar to weaken protoss defenses and ensure protection from psi-storm beyond mere EMP. Irradiate medics and laugh as the marines she tries to heal she hurts with irradiate! Irradiate dark templar to piss off a protoss player, = ). EMP everything the protoss have, period. Defense matrix is awesome, a great way to keep your vessels safe while making them useful. Science Vessels are amazing units, really, use them in every game you can. Remember, science vessels fly, and as long as they have irradiate, no peon line is safe = ).BattleCruiser: Hated, loved, this unit is almost as big a controversy as the vulture. Don't rely on them, but don't shun them either. Against the protoss, yamato is a great way to slowly decimate cannons, reavers, scouts, wound carriers, kill corsairs, or pick off dragoons. It isn't fast, but it is hard to counter. Against zerg, don't rely on them because of their vulnerability to scourge, hydralisks, plague, darkswarm and devourers, but keep them around. They make excellent all-around support, and almost always pay for themselves in damage absorbed and damaged dished out. Upgrades are a must. Well, now that I've made you read all this, You MIGHT have a slightly better terran playing skill. Just to finish it off, I'll include a few "strats" to use.- Vulture rush. Spider mines ensure that ground-based counterattacks will be mostly inneffective while vultures prevent expansions and decimate peon lines. Great for anybody who relies on infantry a little too much. Easy to alter to siege tank / goliath combo as well. - Tank push. Everyone's favorite. Just use tanks + any anti-air unit + anti-infantry (for protoss mainly). If you have comsat, detection isn't even a problem. Very powerful. Very underused, as well. Actually, a Goliath + Tank combo is one of the most versatile and powerful combinations out there, and belongs to the terran = ). - Wraith rush. Wraiths probably won't kill your opponent, but they will weaken them severely. If peon lines are well-protected, use cloak and slaughter those poor probes / drones / SCVs. Destroy buildings that aren't protected, contain your enemy by forcing them to build massive amounts of detection and defense at any base just to use 1 siege tank with those wraiths to bring it all down. Wraiths probably won't destroy every building your opponent has, but they will make them spend 10x as much on defense. - Infantry push. Heck, nothing wrong with a little marine / medic combo. You don't even have to make it large enough to destroy a base, just something to remind your opponent "hey, I'm watching". Use this to make them defend heavier then they usually would and avoid expanding for a while. Sometimes called a "piss-rush", even a small attack force can make an opponent think that "The Big-One" is just around the corner. Well, hope all that helps, if it doesn't.... well, tough, you read it anyways. BTW, The Antar has Protoss Fever, the only known cure is to observe 3 successful vulture rushes in a row. We are currently working on treatment, but as of now our "Look at how cool ghosts are" treatment has not been as successful as we had hoped. = )- Evilboy

Subject: Terran strategies
From: Baron Karza
Date: Thu Jan 7 15:47:13

Ok, this is a strategy I've used a few times with terrans and I've won every game, but it was against a couple of friends who aren't too experienced with the game yet. Let me know what you think. The last game went like this: The first step was to push for early siege tanks. At the same time, an SCV was sent to the middle of the map. Once an expansion site was found in the middle, I built a bunker. I then sent the SCV on to find my opponent while sending a marine up to the bunker. My goal was to divide the map in half right off the bat with a defensive line of sorts, and from there try and box my opponent in. When my first tank was ready, it went up to the centre and was put in siege mode. After locating my opponent, I then took 2 SCVs and built 2 more bunkers, at expansions as close to the edge of the map as possible, and in such a way that if I connected a line between the three bunkers I'd have more than half the map. I then began pumping out marines and tanks, and began a second command centre. My opponent discovered the central bunker and decided to take it out. He was quite surprised when my siege tank wiped his 8 zerglings out before he could do anything. I then filled all 3 bunkers with marines, and 1 tank in siege mode by each, with more to follow shortly. I then had 2 groups of 6 marines patrol the gaps between the bunkers. This was a risky move, because it left me no defenses at my base except what was in the queues. The second attack on the bunker was with over a dozen zerglings (maybe 15). Fortunately, one of the patrolling groups of marines was in the area and both the bunker and siege tank survived. I sent the second group of 6 at his base, and they managed to take out a few 'lings, a couple hydras, a sunken, and a couple drones before dying. I then replaced both patrols with 4 new groups of 6, got another tank up by each bunker, and began producing vultures, working towards spider mines. My second expansion was also well under way, and the resources began pouring in. I built 2 more bunkers along the line, and began building missile towers flanking the bunkers. I then began laying spider mines all about the line as well, and these paid off well, providing spotters for the siege tanks which were slowly building up along the line, as well as decimating his ground troops a few times. Although he did manage to break through my line a few times, it cost him so much I was able to quickly send in reinforcements and rebuild the defences without any problems. In the end, I had 7 bases built to his 3 (plus 2 failed attempts). The only attacks on my main base were short lived air raids attempting hit and run tactics on my peons, but my air force and air defences made short work of those. Anyway, the point of this strategy was to use the terrans strong defensive capability as an offensive, forcing my opponent to attack in order to expand. PS I wish people would stop whining about imbalances already! Every time Blizzard changes something, people start ranting and raving and suggesting all kinds of stupid changes. Let it be, enjoy the game as it is. It's never going to be perfectly balanced unless you make all the units the same for all the races, and nobody wants that. As it is, I doubt there are any serious imbalances, maybe just a few minor ones which don't matter one way or the other. Every race is capable of winning, it just depends on the players. Subject: Re: Terran strategies
From: Rurouni_Kenshin
Date: Thu Jan 7 16:01:00

Pretty good, but this is EXTREMELY risky against more experienced players, and it won't even work at all against others. The disadvantage of this is the lack of attacking. If your opponent scouts early, this strat can be screwed right off. And even IF an experienced player doesn't scout around (which I seriously doubt), many are gonna go in the offensive with extreme force because your beginning base has some decent amount of supplies. For Zergs, they can get a couple of guardians and jack you up bad. Or, if they're protoss, they can use decoys to draw siege tank fire, then storm your tanks, and reavering you to death. If Terran, then it is the easiest to counter. Lockdown tanks and use your own tanks. Basically, it's a strat to use against beginners or those that don't scout early.

Subject: Untested tactic
From: JkShadow
Date: Thu Jan 7 16:16:58

One idea to beat corsairs might me to DMatrix 1 or 2 wraiths and send them flying right past the corsairs but stop in firing range. Then come in from the other side with like 10 wraiths and whoop on those corsairs while they are wasting time trying to kill the DMatrix. And since DMatrix = 10 armor and 250 hitpoint (I think) that should hold up a long time against the corsairs weak 6 attack. Just a thought, I'll have to try it sometime :).

Terran counter for turtled zerg A terran counter:I killed lots of zerg player with this one 1) build about 12 marines and some medics2) get tanks. 3) send a single marine to ur base folllowed by groups of marines(12+-), some medics and 2-3 tanks. (not a large force, isnt it?) this attack will commerce even before u had that kind of defence. 4) the scout marine runs into ur burrowed units and get killed, but i know where they are now. 5) open my tanks near ur burrowed units and use marines to defend them. 6) scan the area and tanks begin to fire on ur burrows units. 7) u pop ur units and rush em at my position and get killed by marines + tanks. 8) send a single marine to ur base again.9) repeat. 10) my tank's fire will reach ur base fairly soon this way. My view: being offensive is better for any race hope this helps Korasoff[265]

Subject: DAILY STRAT: Spell queueing
From: SHOCKWAVE
Date: Thu Jan 7 11:06:20

Hey guys, I actually posted this strat a couple of months ago, but I think it's pretty interesting now that there are some newapplications in BW. I call it "Spell Queueing". It works by telling a land spellcaster to target a unit that it cannot currently reach (e.g. if you're on an island and tell a templar to psi a battlecruiser that's out of range). The unit won'be able to cast the spell, but it will "keep trying", keep moving to minimize the distance between itself and the target and cast the spell as soon as the unit's in range. So e.g. in the case of the battlecruiser, the templar will stay at the edge of the island, follow the BC around (even if it can't see the BC; someone noted that once you target a unit, your unit will always know where the other is even if it goes back into fog of war), and psi if the BC ever gets into range, even if it's YEARS later, until you override the command with something else. This can dramatically reduce the micromanagement required for your spellcasters. I'll share some battle reports where this has been successful: 1) Island attack by Terran with wraiths, he was amassing outside my island. I spotted the wraiths with an observor, got a couple of my templars to spell-queue them, then baited them with a scout and ran back toward my island. The templars immediately psi'd once the wraiths followed, meanwhile I was able to micromanaging my scouts during the attack. Needless to say, all the wraiths died :-). 2) Hit-and-runs by mutas. An opponent was doing some micromanage tactics where he'd bring in mutas to an expansion that didn't have photons yet, hit some peons, then run away very very quickly. I had a templar but wasn't quick enough with my templar to get a good psi, so I just spell-queued it to target one of the mutas. The next time the mutas came back, the templar got his psi off (not an ideal psi, but at least it got one off :-b ). 3) Mass BC attack, I saw via comsat that he had a ton of BC's outside my base. I used cloning to target them with lockdown, but the BCs were slightly out of range. The ghosts just waited until the BCs moved forward and all simultaneously locked them down. How's THAT for a surprise for your opponent: He moves 12 BC's forward an inch and they all get locked down AT ONCE. I'd swear someone was cheating if that happened against me :-). 4) Plague. I use this the same way as with psi storm. Spell-queue approaching air units. This worked pretty well against a Terran on an island map because he kept attacking with BCs then withdrawing them to repair after they were damaged. I'd just spell-queue them as they were retreating so that they'd get hit with plague again the next time theygot near my island. 5) Using dark archons. How about when you spot a shuttle at your opponent's base (e.g. via comsat from a partner, or an observor) and suspect it's gonna land at your base sometime? Get a DA to spell-queue mind control, and you'll get the shuttle guaranteed whenever it decides to get near your base. You can of course do this with feedback: just spell queue all sci vessels you see. The main balancing issue with MC-ing shuttles is that you have to be "quick" enough to grab the shuttle before it unloads, says Blizzard :-). But this totally bypasses that. 6) Note that you can also do this with normal attack ground units, and they'll behave the same way. Attack-queue a bunch of dragoons at a BC that's out of range, and they'll always try to minimize the distance between them and the BC and thus will attack it as soon as they are possibly able to. This has very very limited usefulness since the direct drawback is that they won't attack anything ELSE that comes into their range since you told them to all target the BC. I can't think of any great situations where I'd need to usethis? Here are some limitations/drawbacks: 1) Be careful when using this with indisriminant area-effect spells (i.e. psi & plague). You can get into nasty situations where you accidentily hit your own units, b/c you're NOT micromanaging your spell. In fact, you'll have to choose when this is a better method than targetting the spell manually. I only use spell queueing in situations where I know the spell will be cast soon (i.e. when I spell queue, then immediately bait); but otherwise I count on my own micromanagement to get off a better spell since usually things like psi and plague work better if you attack ground instead of attack unit.2) This may expose your spellcasters. Your spellcasters will keep hovering near the edge of the island to try to cast the spell, and this leaves them exposed to spells like EMP, yamato, etc. I generally like to keep my spellcasters in the middle of my island to protect them, then bring them toward the edge to cast spells once the attacking units have engaged. On offense, I'll always try to get rid of spellcasters first...there's no way I'll attack an island when I see a dark archon on the perimeter. Of course, a way to get by this is to spell-queue the unit you think will try to counter/ kill your spellcaster. E.G. if I spell-queue MC or feedback on a sci vessel, then I'll get the sci vessel once it comes it to EMP my dark archon, as long as my spell range islonger than his. 3) This also can cluster your units. In the cast of 12 ghosts locking down the BC's, the ghosts all clump up and get extremely susceptable to area effect spells such as EMP.

Subject: Re: Need genral strategic and tactical help
From: Magister69
Date: Sat Jan 9 14:02:49

On Sat Jan 9 13:20:44, Lord189 wrote: > I read Zileas' site, and he desribed a newby as a person who turtles > until he has lots of stuff, and then at some (random) time, goes out > and attacks the world with this mass of units. He must have been > watching the games I play. I need some help developing my playing > style to the next level. Don't worry about it, I think all of us were that way at first. I'm still like that every once in a while if I'm having a rough game. :) And that perhaps is part of the answer to your question, because the times when I start acting like a newbie is when the other person really starts messing with my head. Doing things like attacking the undefended spots right when I'm just starting to think about putting a defense up, getting behind my lines and making drops or irradiating things, stuff like that. When someone does that well, they start to psychologically control their opponent, because their opponent just starts to wonder what's next, rather than deciding for themselves what's next. > To that end, I have a few questions: > 1) When do you start harrassing the others players? Do you wait until > you have a well balanced little force, or do you for instance just > send 8-12 marines, then later some marines, bats and a tank or two? > Or something else? Well, as with all tactical questions, there's no hard and fast answer, but here it's even vaguer. The time to harrass is basically this, when your opponent can't take it. That changes completely from game to game, which is why keeping up with recon is so important. Let me give you some solid examples. It's always a good idea to scout early, and let's say that you happen to find your opponents base, and they're going for a Hydralisk Den, without site of any Zerglings or creep colonies around. I'd try to sneak my scout out, and then immeadiately attack with whatever I've got. If that's 6 marines, then I attack with 6 marines (unless the map is massive and I know that by the time they get there, there will be defenses. If instead there are tons of Zerglings starting to stumble over themselves, I got back to town and throw up an Academy and Refinery ASAP for Firebats. Firebats THRASH Zerlings and Zealots. If, on the other hand, the SCV I sent to scout sees Sunkens everywhere (and probably ends up being killed by one of these), then I got for Refinery, Factory, and Starport. I won't start the harrasment for a while here, because to do so effectivly means that I either am doing so with Seige Tanks, drops, Wraiths, or better yet, all three. Now THAT requires some skill, but if you can coordinate your harrasment, its effect against a human at least goes up exponentially. Launching a nuke is my favorite way of doing this, for if you do that and stage an attack at the same time, your opponent will probably only be able to deal with one of these two. As for forces, it again depends. I usually aim for a Control Group of Wraiths, as they provide a great harrasment squad, but I normally keep them close to my base as they are very expensive and very fragile. The perfect use for them is when your opponent tries to expand without you noticing, at which point you swoop in, kill all the probes and important structures you can, then get out before the cavalry arrives. If I'm doing a ground force through, I always make it pretty substantial, as Terrans just HAVE to do this (well, everyone really should, but its especially important to Terrans). While the force is mixed though, always keep in mind that the only really important unit is the tank. :) The rest is fine and good, but the Seige Tanks are what will do the damage, as they get by everything on the ground (most importantly, towers/cannons/colonies included). All the rest of your forces cannot boast this last fact, and therefore can be countered by your opponent simply building enough defensive structures. I'm sure you've heard of this -- it's called the tank push -- and is pretty popular. Pretty much if you're going against a solid opponent, this is the only real way you're going to get a ground assault to work. Just use 8 or so tanks, marines, firebats, goliaths, keep a few wraiths around, and things tend to work themselves out. Also, a Science Vessel to detect and stave off the templars and mutalisks (irradiate is good against both) is a good idea. Finally, if you have the time, the most enjoyable kind of harrasment is with Science Vessels and irradiate. Against Zerg, you will not have a shortage of targets, but just make sure to try to stay away from spore colonies and irradiate stacks of units if possible (since irradiate hits stuff around it too). It's great on overlords too, especially now that it kills them outright! This is also a good way to scout the map, but just be sure to go slow and keep an eye on that science vessel so that your opponent doesn't see you. Against Terran, your targets are obviously Marines, Firebats, and Ghosts, but it may be tougher to get access to these units. Finally, against Protoss, take out Templars at all costs. The Protoss will have to keep them reasonable close to the front lines since they are slow, but will also probably have them behind cannons or the like. Once you stop one, just try to take the least painful approach route, and get out of there as soon as you irradiate the little monster. I realize the suggestions are sort of random and unorganized, but there just a few good ways to harrass your opponent in my experience. > 2) What is the best way to practice against the computer (I can't > spend too much time on line on battle.net) I would like to practice > off-line... but when I play one computer opponent, I can do whatever > I like and still win; all my strategies seem to work. When I play two > opponents, one jumps on my back while I'm attacking the other. Is > this still a good way to practice? Hmm, I don't have great success with two opponents typically for the same reason, although I've also heard some people can do it, which wouldn't surprise me since I'm not a superb player. If 1v2 is too tough, you can try free for all, but even that isn't great, and once you hit the late game, the computer never seems to do much to stop you from winning. I've found a good way to practice is by controling your bases. Try to take out your opponent without expanding some time, and then try to expand as fast as possible, and try managing resource gathering at three different bases all at once! Also make sure you complete all the campaigns, as those are good practice and helped me a lot even after I thought that I couldn't learn all that much more. > 3) What is the best general map to practice on? I have been playing > on GBH, regular Hunters and Green Valleys. What would be the best 1 > or 2 to practice with at first? Actually, I would suggest, if you're just practicing against the computer, to also switch maps every game. I find that, more than anything else, this will improve your ability to scout the map intelligently, which is very important. It isn't very fun finding out that you seize a tough-to-get expansion right when you notice one waiting for you in an easily-seized spot, but it does teach you to search. Learn Hunters well though, as most everyone online knows it backwards and forwards.> > Thank you in advance for your help> 189 Sorry if any of this is unclear or redundant, but just some suggestions.Mag

Ok, this is the second revision of my origonal brood war nuclear tips and tricks guide ;). The strategies have been improved through testing in game situations, and it should add a great form of attack to your terran plans, try em out in a few games, their fun, practical, and really piss enemies off hehe. Nuking in SC has got to be one of the biggest mindgame tatics available. Just think of the panic you usually go into when you hear those dreaded words, NUCLEAR LAUNCH DETECTED You usually stop what your doing, move your current largest attack force a bit, frantically check your towns for that red dot, and in general get spooked for about a minute until you've either stopped it, it hit, or you realize it wasn't fired at you. The effect is even better when multuple nukes are launched (3-4 nukes launching 1 after the other usually encites people to say things like, "oh shit"). In that perspective, here is a great brood war strategy I came up with for using the new fast building nukes, and the best part about it is, it actually works really well. Try it out a few times, when you master it, you'll have people crying for mercy hehe. This is just another fun little lategame tatic. In essence, it lets you nuke in BW, especially vs a zerg, almost 100% of the time if carried out correctly :). It works vs terran and protoss too, but just not as effectively mainly due to comsat, tanks, observers, and psi storm. This strategy can also be improved by making use of cliffs surrounding an enemy base (in a map like green valleys), but situations of that sort are rare, and usually you have to approach from the ground to get the main infrastructure buildings. Also remember you may have to dropship your men in, as usually people keep some kind of chokepoint defence, but this is pretty much common sense, you do what ya have to do. First off, Fun Terran Nuking Strategies to use VS Zerg. To start off with, your going to need at least 2 nuclear missiles. 2 nukes fired together can take out all zerg buildings with the exception of a hive (it brings the hive down to 6 hp, so it's easily killed after dual nuking). Now, once you have the nukes, you will need at least: 2 ghosts.4-6 medics.Cloaking upgrade researched for ghosts. Optic flare upgrade on medics. (Optional units to add if you want, though not necessary) A set of 6 charon booster upgraded goliaths.2 siegetanks.6 wraiths. Ok, once you have the force assembled you want to use some comsat to take a good look at the zerg main city (you can nuke a smaller expansion, but a main city being nuked will do FAR more damage). Find where he has put his buildings, and try to figure out where in the city nukes will do the most damage. Main target areas would have a spire/greater spire, hydra den, spawning pool, and thinks of that sort, hopefully in rather close proximity. You also want to hit the hive with splash of the nukes if possible but this isn't necessary. Now that you've found the area you want to nuke, take your ghosts and medics (and whatever optional units you included) to near the zerg base. Sepperate the 2 ghosts, and assign 2-3 medics to each ghost. Cloak the ghosts and move up, comsat the area for the farthest possible nuke laser sight, and begin the bombardment. Now, the zerg will usually respond by attempting to move an overlord out toward your ghost/ghosts. When you see an overlord move, optic flare it. Also optic flare any overlords near the side of town your nuking. After you have flared his initial few overlords, he will have to decide on either trying to move a chunk of overlords over to spot the ghosts, or to simply cut his losses and run like hell. Some zerg choose number 1, and usually end up with at least 1, if not both of the nukes hitting, which also tends to devistate the clump of overlords he sent into the blast area. With medics healing ghosts if they get injured, you don't really have to fear too much, usually one of your nukes will get off. Once they've hit, it's best to shoot the hive a time or two to kill it, and either finish the base, or hit his next biggest expansion with your main attack force. The main city nuking is a shock tatic, use it to decimate the zerg's ability to produce, then hit hard and fast on as many expansions as you can (as well as finishing off other key structures the nukes may have missed in the main town). By adding the "optional troops" to the mix, you increase the effectiveness even more. The upgraded goliaths will hold overlords and/or a few guardians at bay, while tanks can keep ground units deterred, and be used for quick base demolition after the nukes hit. The only real way a zerg can effectively counter this without risking turning into a pile of smoldering radioactivity is through having several queens with enough energy to ensnare and spawn broodling on both ghosts who are undoubtedly spread out (you want to spread em, at least a bit). While broodling does work, usually what queens an enemy zerg does make are out parisiting and don't have the energy to ensnare and broodling the ghosts. I've used this a "lot" now in BW, and I'm pleased to say so far it hasn't failed me yet. I've only once lost a ghost when trying this tatic, and he died a bit late (he had already gotten the nuke off), leading to a bit bloody mess of overlord and hydra carcasses. Secondly, The art of Nuking Other Terran, and Protoss. Nuking a terran or protoss can be considerably more difficult then nuking a zerg. When nuking a protoss or terran it is necessary to bring backup troops, and not an optional thing as it is for anti-zerg. To start off you will again need at least 2 nuclear missiles. Now, you will also need:2 ghosts.Cloaking upgrade for ghosts. 2-4 medics.6-12 goliaths with charon boosters.2-4 tanks. (Optional units to add if you want, though not necessary)2-4 science vessels. 6-12 wraiths. Ok, nuking a terran or protoss can be tricky, to start off with much like vs zerg, you want to extensively comsat the enemy encampment. Look for a major production area hopefully on the outskirts of the city. Good targets would be,Lots of supply depots clumped. Lots of barracks/factories/starports clumped. A large buildup of units, such as happens when some terran turtle in. Once you have found a proper target, bring in the ghosts, and split the medics, 2 per ghost. Bring the goliaths with the ghosts, and keep the tanks with the as well. It takes 2 nukes to take down infrastructure such as factories, and 1 nuke to deal with supply depots. Locate the target, siege the tanks, and start firing. If the enemy is protoss, he will usually attempt to madly psi storm your ghosts. If you have brought some science vessels you can simply defensive matrix the units to allow psi storm survival, or just hope the tanks can hold the templar at bay. If you are vs a terran, he will usually comsat, and try to take you out either with tanks, or with an air fleet of some kind usually. Tanks would be your biggest threat, just make sure you've scouted your target well and you can destroy it with as little resistance as possible. If you can take out a terran or protoss major buildings you may want to go out and again attack another expansion. This is especially recommended if you destroy a large magnitude of supply depots. This again as I said before can be countered by psi storm, tanks, comsat, and observers, but the strategies risks can be worth it's reward (nothing like gutting a protoss's or terrans backbone. Even if the enemy can stop 1 nuke, the question still remains, can he stop the other in time, the clock is ticking.A few variations of this strategy which can work fairly well. A nuke rush. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but on large maps, a nuke rush is fairly viable and a deadly attack. Just go with an early dual town kind of strategy, expand a time or two more, and get up at least 2 nukes as fast as you can. Since people rarely see nukes anyway, they'll really be suprised when your launching nukes this early. I have actually lost to people doing nuke rushes before, I simply overlooked the thought that nukes could possibly hold a threat. Another fun variation is MASS NUKE. This one is best used in an ffa game, and it is guarenteed to piss people off. Basically you have 4-6 silo's constantly pumping nuclear bombs, while you keep up a near constant barrage of nukes on someone. Try firing 6 nukes on someones main and expansion at the same time, he'll be screaming bloody murder. This has got to be one of the most fun forms of the nuking strategies, but it does take considerable work to keep up the barrage, plus you have to keep up with your cash (expanding is key). Later on you can have a force of something like 6 bc's, 6 nukes, and whatever else you slap in the force, it tends to work remarkably well. Happy Holocaust, |RAID|