StarCraft
Prima Fast Track Guide
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Terran Strategy
The Terrans are the "middle-of-the-road" that has a balance of numbers (of
units) and technology. Because you cut your teeth on them, they're your first
ambassadors to the world of StarCraft.
There are probably as many Terran attack and defense strategies as there
are players, but these key ideas will help you through the rough stuff.
General Strategies and Tips,
Hotkey the Comsat Station (control key + number) to 9 and 0. This way you
can get a Sensor Sweep quickly without having to click on your Comsat Station.
You can get a sweep on demand by pressing the station key and then S. Getting
a Sensor Sweep can be critical if your troops are under attack from cloaked
units, because the sweep will reveal enemy unit locations.
For defense, build Bunkers (filled with Marines) and Missile Turrets together
and place Siege Tanks beside them. This combination provides an extremely
tenacious defense that's very difficult for the enemy to penetrate.
When both Comsat Stations and Yamato Guns become available, use them together
to take advantage of the Yamato's superior range. For example, when you want
to take out a Missile Turret, sweep the Missile Turret area with a Sensor
Sweep and then target it with a Yamato strike. The Battlecruiser will move
in to take its shot but it will still be outside the Missile Turret's range.
This is a little underhanded, but it can be very effective: Build a Factory
or Barracks behind the enemy's position and start cranking out units for
a backside attack. If you can't afford to build there, or can't get an SCV
to that position, fly an existing structure into position and then begin
building.
Use the Science Vessel's Irradiate ability on biological units. This can
be very effective, even against Templars or Defilers.
Use Bunkers to prevent enemy movement. Place them at any choke point the
enemy must squeeze through to advance. Before it's destroyed, a carefully
placed Bunker can do huge amounts of damage to the advancing enemy.
Use Bunkers in a "leapfrog" tactic (as Frank Gilson puts it), building them
one after another, ever deeper into enemy territory, with the previous Bunker
protecting the Bunker under construction. This method is particularly useful
against the Zerg.
Against the Zerg
Build lots of Firebats. The Zerg are an organic race with mostly ground-based
attacks. Firebats are always a cost-effective unit to use against Zerg ground
minions.
Use Battlecruisers more for defense than offense, especially in multiplayer
games. This is because the Zerg Scourges can take out a Battlecruiser for
half the cost. In a resource battle, you'd lose.
If a unit becomes infected with a Parasite, the enemy can see everything
it sees, so use the infected unit to fight the enemy. Never keep it around
your base.
Take out enemy Guardians at all costs. A group of Guardians can reduce your
base to rubble very quickly. Keep Wraiths or Battlecruisers around for this
purpose.
Whatever you do, don't leave an outpost Command Center for the Zerg to infest.
If this happens, you'll quickly have Infested Terrans blowing up around you,
and that isn't pretty.
When attacking a Zerg base, always take out the underlying tech-tree buildings
first. You may be tempted to go for the Hatcheries, but you can cripple your
opponent more by taking out the structures necessary for building advanced
units. Take Zerg structures out in this (or any) order: Spire, Ultralisk
Cavern, Hydralisk Den, Spawning Pool, and Queen's Nest.
Against the Protoss
Again, Firebats are important, but only against Zealots, so don't go crazy
building them. Make just enough to keep Zealot groups at bay.
Build Ghosts for defense. They're a little too expensive to produce in bulk
for offense. However, when an enemy Carrier or Reaver comes by, you can use
the Lockdown ability to neutralize them.
Use Science Vessels. Their EMP ability is especially effective against the
Protoss (it removes their shields). The EMP is as effective for attack as
it is for defense.
If the Protoss are employing Arbiters, use a Yamato Gun to take them out
quickly and reveal cloaked units.
Watch out for Observers. They cloak and will locate your own cloaked units.
Use a Comsat Sensor Sweep to check for Observers in areas where you plan
to use cloaked units.
Keep Missile Turrets around your entire base as an early warning system.
If this technique prevents just one Shuttle from dropping a pair of Reavers,
it's worth it.
Zerg Strategy
Because the Zerg are entirely biological and don't have all the high-end
units of the Protoss or Terrans, they must employ different tactics to achieve
the same ends.
General Strategies and Tips
When enemy air units enter your base, have a Defiler use a Dark Swarm over
your Hydralisks. This renders them impervious to enemy air attacks and frees
them to shoot the bad guys out of the sky.
Build Zerglings and Hydralisks, initially, but remember that Zealots and
Firebats can go through Zerglings like a hot knife through butter. Use your
Zerglings and Hydralisks to attack Marines and Dragoons.
Guardians are your heavy attack force. A group of 12 will destroy nearly
any land-based group as long as they stay at a safe distance and are willing
to retreat.
On larger maps, use Nydus Canals to connect your bases. This allows you to
build a much smaller defense force at each base, because you can teleport
units from one base to another very quickly.
The Scourge are most effective against enemy capital ships such as Carriers
and Battlecruisers, so keep a bunch around for this. Note also that the Scourge
are significantly less effective against Scouts or Wraiths, so don't waste
them against these units.
Try to keep a large perimeter of Sunken Colonies and Spore Colonies around
important structures in your base. This way, even if you leave your base
lightly defended, the colonies can work to eliminate the enemy threat.
When attacking an enemy base with a strictly Zergling force, don't waste
time attacking enemy units. Instead, send your Zerglings to attack enemy
structures; a group of Zerglings can bring down a structure quickly.
The Zerg ability to create masses of a certain type of unit by morphing multiple
Larvae can quickly shift the tide of battle in your favor, if you choose
the units well. Keeping extra Hatcheries around is an excellent way to increase
your ability to manufacture plenty of new units quickly.
Against the Terrans
Use Queens to defend against Wraiths. Have your Queen use its Ensnare ability
on a group of cloaked Wraiths, and then put Parasites on as many of them
as you can (this removes their ability to cloak).
To take out a Terran player quickly, build lots of Zerglings. Upgrade their
speed and attack abilities, and then launch them at the enemy in groups of
12. Speed is important; you don't want the Terrans to build up a large force
of Firebats.
Always use Hydralisks, the Zergs' bread-and-butter unit. It can be effective
in both ground and air attack and defense. A Zerg player without Hydralisks
is a Zerg player who's probably losing.
Use your Queen's Spawn Broodling ability on Tanks and Goliaths, and use Ensnare
on cloaked Wraiths and Ghosts. If a cloaked unit is escaping, infest it with
a Parasite so it can't cloak ever again.
Use the Plague where Supply Depots are grouped closely together. After a
few Plagues the affected depots will proceed into the red and eventually
will blow up (unless repaired).
Take advantage of your ability to infest a Terran Command Center. Try to
attack one early on to open the door for Infestation. Remember, though, that
you'll need a Queen for this, so don't risk any units until you're ready.
Keep your Hydralisks and Zerglings burrowed until heavy enemy units come
close; then spring the surprise. Keeping several groups of units burrowed
in defensive positions is always a good idea.
Against the Protoss
In the early going, build Hydralisks and more Hydralisks. They're very effective
against Zealots, Dragoons, and Scouts.
Watch out for Observers. Fortunately for the Zerg, the Overlord is a detector
unit, and you usually have plenty of Overlords to patrol key areas around
your base and resource centers.
When attacking a Protoss base, always attack the Pylons near Gateways and
Stargates first. Once you take the Pylons out, the buildings lose their power
and become useless to Protoss forces. Beware, however, of Probes that probably
will scoot out to warp in new Pylons.
Build up plenty of defensive structures around your base(s). Zealots can
make dog meat out of a lone Sunken Colony quickly, so always cross-protect
your Colonies with at least two other units.
Against Carriers, nothing can beat the Scourge's attack. A group of 12 Scourge
can take out a Carrier in a few seconds, so always keep a group of inexpensive
Scourge lying in wait.
If any Arbiters come your way, have your Queens use Ensnare on units that
might be hiding underneath the Arbiter's cloak.
Protoss Strategy
The Protoss are the most highly evolved race technologically. As such, they
require special consideration when facing off against the other races. Because
of the high cost of all Protoss units, you can't expect to win a war of
attrition. Instead, you must use the powerful Protoss units you have to do
the maximum damage possible.
General Strategies and Tips
For the Protoss, base layout is key. Place your Pylons so they power your
buildings but don't clutter your base, and put important tech-tree structures
close together in a very protected area.
Protoss Probes don't have to wait around to "build" a structure. They can
simply open the Warp Rift and move on. This allows you to use all but one
of your Probes for harvesting resources.
Gas it up! More than any other race, the Protoss rely on Vespene Gas to build
their high-priced units. Move to secure multiple Vespene Geysers whenever
possible or you may end up sucking fumes.
Although Photon Cannons are an excellent defensive unit, they're fairly
expensive. Build them in groups so they can support one another; then make
sure to build more than one Pylon to service them. As a rule of thumb, build
two Pylons for every three Photon Cannons and you'll be OK.
Have an Arbiter follow a unit in the group it's covering with its cloak.
This way the Arbiter, although never actively engaged in battle, will follow
just behind the attack force.
Use the Templars' Hallucination ability. When attacking any large force,
keep a good mix of hallucinated units in your front line. Done properly this
can give you a huge advantage, because the enemy will waste many of their
defensive attacks on units that don't exist.
Throw a Templar or two in a Shuttle and move them to an area just behind
an enemy mineral field. Then have your Templars use the Psionic Storm on
the streams of enemy workers that approach to collect resources. It's
underhanded, but it works.
Put an Observer over each unowned mineral field. When the enemy comes to
set up a base you'll know, and you can take it out before it can get established.
Fly an Arbiter behind enemy lines and have it use its Recall ability to bring
a group of Archons in. Sit back and survey the carnage.
If you use Carriers, make sure you upgrade their capacity before you take
them into battle. The difference between a non-upgraded Carrier and an upgraded
one is considerable, so it's worth waiting until you've completed that
technological advance.
Against the Terrans
Large groups of Carriers are very powerful, but it's important to keep an
Observer with your Carrier groups so you can spot cloaked Wraiths.
In multiplayer games, be ready for the Firebat rush. A combination of Zealots,
Dragoons, and Photon Cannons are your best defense early. Zealots alone generally
are insufficient.
Against Goliaths, Zealots are your best unit, but make sure they have their
Speed upgrade before you try to chase one down. As with nearly all units,
it's important to attack in force if you're pitting Zealots against Goliaths.
Beware of pesky Science Vessels. An EMP used properly against your forces
can rob you of your shields (until they regenerate). For this reason it's
a good idea to keep your units a little spread out.
Against Battlecruisers, use a combination of Carriers and Scouts. Try to
outnumber the Battlecruisers. Ideally, you'll get a couple Arbiters to cloak
your units while you attack.
Keep a couple of Observers patrolling the base perimeter to check for cloaked
Wraiths or Ghosts preparing to use Nukes.
Against the Zerg
Don't allow Zerg Overlords to hang over your base. Build Dragoons to chase
them away. Photon Cannons aren't always effective for this, because the Overlords
will simply fly out of range. Never let the enemy know anything he or she
doesn't have to know.
Zerglings can destroy Photon Cannons very quickly, so make sure you have
other troops handy to support your cannons in the face of an all-out rush.
Try to keep an eye on all the units in your base. If a unit has caught a
Parasite, use it against the enemy. For example, if a Zealot has been infested
with a parasite, send it (along with a few other units) on an attack run
against an auxiliary Zerg target (such as a small outpost) while you send
a "real" attack force to the main Hive. Often the Zerg will pull their defenses
toward the outpost, leaving the real target poorly defended.
Mutalisks can be very effective against the Protoss, so build plenty of Dragoons
and Scouts to defend against them. If a large group of Mutalisks attacks,
counterattack in greater force, or you may lose your troops.
Reavers are fantastic for attacking Zerg bases. Their Scarabs can decimate
Zerg structures quickly, because Zerg bases usually are smaller and more
efficient.
If the enemy is using a lot of Zerglings against you, counter with Zealots.
The Zerglings' small size makes them difficult to target, so use "Attack-Move"
commands to get the Zealots into mop-up mode.
The Scourge make Carriers a bad investment against the Zerg. A Carrier can
cost up to 950 in resources and be destroyed by as few as five or six Scourge.
That's a tough trade to swallow.
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