StarCraft Strats

[DukeLeto]

Don't know about you guys, but I loove SC, so I was thinking maybe athread to share strats? I'm a hard-core Terran (a rare breed, to be sure), and I know some pretty good tricks...

(Note: For convienence sake, Terran starts=red, Zerg=orange, and Protoss=yellow. And please underline strat titles.)

120 Marine Rush

Theory: The Terran Marine is one of the most versatile units in the game.

Large numbers of them, fairly early, are devastating. there are two variations of this, the 120 Marine Rush and it's abrieviated version, the 60 'Rine Rush.)

Build Order: I'm not great at writing BO's, so please take some creative libertes. Here goes:

SCV 1-8 to min.

SCV 9 builds barracks.

SCV 10 builds Supply depot.

(They should finish about the same time.)

10 contimues to build supply depots.

Continue building SCVs until all the available minerals are saturated, at LEAST one SCV per patch +1.

2 SCVs should be bulding barracks, until you have five or six, then send both to supply depots and/or min.

All barracks should begin pumping 'rine IMMEDIATELY upon completion.

2 or 3 marine "packs" should scout the map.

2 bunkers, fill with marines (optional, depending on what your enemy is doing.)

An engi bay. (Weapons first, then armor.)

An Academy, upgrading range first, then StimPacks.

A few Medics (optional, depending on your enemy's defense.)

Upgrade your command center with a ComSat station for detection.

What to do now? Just attack! Build more 'rines as you can and send them to reinforce your attack.

Be wary of: Lurkers! They will slaughter your 'rines, and there goes your attack! Use the ComSat to reveal any lurkers ASAP! The same is true of Dark Templars. And if you take too long, Reavers and Guardians will eat you up.

Notes: I don't claim any strategy to be fool-proof, but this one has worked for me nine times out of ten. But if you see large numbers of lurkers/DT's, find a different strat ASAP!

[Anathema]

I remember once trying to do a marine rush...the guy had one reaver and it killed allmost all of them, and the rest was screwed too :(

[Terror]

Yeah, the marine is the Terran version of the alround land unit but does it job worse than the Hydralisk and the Dragoon because it has low health, and like the hydra, takes 1 supply, that's why i think the marine rush is usually hardly effective. Bunkers, lurkers, tanks, reaver, High Templar zealots +dragoons and zerglings +dragoons can all waste that marine rush.

It is generally not a good idea to pick this strat, just go for marines with tanks asap. That will give you a balanced force, able to fight the zerg and toss. Firebats and Medics are not required here, but are very welcome. After that i usually get some cloaked wraiths (about 6) and do some hit and run attacks (preferably workers) and do a tank push.

[Terror]

Zerg strategy

I find it hard to write down buildorders cuz many of the orders happen at about the same time. As you look at the list it looks like it takes quite long, while in reality it is only a matter of 5 min.

Quick Muta rush

1-7 drones to minerals

build 1 drone to change into extractor

2 drone in to extractor

build 1 drone to change into spawning pool

1 overlord

build 1 drone to change into 2nd hatchery

add 1 or 2 drones to vespene gas

add 3 drones to minerals

upgrade hatchery to lair

in the meanwhile you might want to build a sunken colony or 3

1 overlord (you now have 13/25 supplies)

build and use drone to change into spire

build with your 6 larves 6 mutalisks and attack

[DukeLeto]

Yeah, the marine is the Terran version of the alround land unit but does it job worse than the Hydralisk and the Dragoon because it has low health, and like the hydra, takes 1 supply, that's why i think the marine rush is usually hardly effective. Bunkers, lurkers, tanks, reaver, High Templar zealots +dragoons and zerglings +dragoons can all waste that marine rush.

I find the marine to be useful beasue it doesn't take too long to get a LOT of them.

It is generally not a good idea to pick this strat, just go for marines with tanks asap. That will give you a balanced force, able to fight the zerg and toss. Firebats and Medics are not required here, but are very welcome. After that i usually get some cloaked wraiths (about 6) and do some hit and run attacks (preferably workers) and do a tank push.

The point of the 'rine rush is that your enemy won't likely have reavers, tanks, etc. yet. But it can be dangerous if your enemy gets lurkers or DT's.

[Terror]

High Templar can be achieved quite early, and also zealots can get the job done. Firebats also fry marines.

oh and about that faster build thing. I'm sure that most zerg players can build hydralisks faster than terran players can build marines. It is one of the zergs biggest advantages. Being able to build faster than any other race. This especially comes in handy in the case of mutalisks (comparable to wraiths) and ultralisks, as you can build 3 of them at the same time per hatchery, and it doesn't take long before 3 new larves are ready to morph

[DukeLeto]

I'm not really good at Zerg...All their stuff is so easy to kill, except Guardian/Devourer combos, but even then you need a LOT of both.

As for your mutie rush, a single bunker filled with marines could most likely kill six muties.

Here's the math behind that:

Mutalisk=120 HP, 9 damage

Marine=40 HP, 6 damage

Bunker (w/four marines)=350HP, 24 damage

Assuming the bunker has about twice the ROF:

6 muties fire once=54 damage

Bunker fires twice=48 damage

It will take the bunker about 6 shots to kill a mutie, by which time it would take 162 damage. However, muties will now only do 45 dmage per volley, another muties dies, and the bunker would be at 53 HP, muties now doing 36 dmage per volley, not even enough to kill a single marine. Assuming there were one or two SCVs repairing the bunker, (though they would be taking a little damage), the Bunker itself should even survive the attack, especially if you factor in any additional marines sent to assist. Thus is the severe flaw in your strategy, at least vs. Terran. *PHEW!*

Fire bats are pretty much useless against marines if both have numbers, because few of the 'bats will durvive to get close enough to attack the 'rines. And as for High Templar, you still have to sit on your hands while Psi Storm researches.

[Terror]

yes, but you don't get the point of the muta rush do you? It is not supposed to engage anti air targets. Instead, kill targets that are hardly, if at all protected. And believe me, that happens very often. Even if you attack supply depots he will try to find ways to kill your mutalisks, and spend a lot of money and time on that, in the meanwhile you could just have created hydra's, or more mutalisks.

But usually the attack suffices. If the minerals are only protected by one bunker it's not realy a problem cuz the bunker can not cover the entire mineral field, not even speaking about the vespene gas geysers. Missile turrets are not realy a problem since they do explosive damage.

Zerg may indeed be a race that has to overwhelm opponents, unless played very strategically. But that is just what they're good at. Cheap, fast building units. And the Hydralisk is arguably the best all round unit in the game.

Zergs are hard to manage because of their large numbers, but when managed right, they can be devastating.

Well microed hydralisks can beat large forces, even consisting of reavers or tanks. Defilers can reduce all types of air units to rubbish, with the support of only 12 hydralisks. Ultralisks are unquestioned base stormers, and queens are the fear of the skies. Parasite is a very very effective spell, and spawn broodling can turn the best land based army into nothing because they ripp away their back bone (Siege tanks, Lurker/Defiler/Ultralisk, High/Dark Templar.

But like i said, Mutalisks are not realy killers, unless in large numbers. But the 6 muta rush is one of the most effective and most feared rush.