Terran Attack Hints and Tips
The Terrans are the strongest defensive race in SC2. The single player campaign in Starcraft 2 is mostly focused on the Terran race. The strongest units in this campaign do not exist (yet) in multiplayer in order to keep the gameplay balanced. As the expected expansion packs for the Zerg (Heart of the Swarm) and Protoss (Legacy of the Void) come out, there is an expectation that the strongest units will be available in multiplayer mode. Terran’s are usually a very tough opponent on battle.net. Terran’s have a number of options for countering enemy attacks as well as winning battles – they are the most adjustable species in Starcraft 2.
The Terran ability to move their Command Center while the battle is a useful defensive power when used correctly. This skill is most useful on larger maps but under the correct circumstances is still extremely effective on smaller ones as well.
Overview of Terran Strategies Most novice Terrans have a habit of walling in, thinking that if they have siege tanks, bunkers, and supply depots surrounding their command center and protecting the entrance it makes them invincible to attack. Make sure to use quick units like Reapers and Hellions to extend your reach as much as you can, or soon your command center will be overrun no matter how capable your defense is.
It’s crucial to constantly developing your economy, base, and research as you wall in. Be sure to use your SCV units to attack as well as to defend. A lot of gamers underestimate them. SCV units can build turrets, bunkers, and can also fix other machines while in a battle. So long as they are defended well, they can make the difference between winning and a loss.
Marines and Hellions Constructing Marines and Hellions at the beginning of the battle is a strong starting game rush technique. If sent out early, Marines and Hellions can beat most units that your foe can create early in the game. However, if you are not fast enough and permit the opposing player to extend their tech then this is not an effective strategy.
MMM Starting with Marines and Marauders is one more excellent strategy with 2 complementary units. Spawning Marines and Marauders at the beginning of the game is another strong cheese offensive tactic. It’s important to build the Marines as early as possible in the battle’s early stages. Because they are costly units, make sure to heal them and not allow them to die. Be certain to pull out units that are almost dead so you can give them a chance to be healed, so you won’t have to spawn new ones. Quickly building Marines is especially effectual when fighting a Zerg opponent. Marauders are slow, tough units that are hard to kill|, and can get in the way of attacking troops. Marines can attack both aireal and ground soldiers and are very tough when there are a lot of them, but can be really easy to kill (particularly from behind). The mixture of Marines and Mauraders is very tough to beat, especially when adding some Medivac soldiers as the battle continues.
Banshee Rush The third Terran cheese attack technique is to quickly tech up and then spawn Banshees. Have them take out as many early game enemy units as possible. Make certain to develop a refinery and research all the technology necessary to construct Banshees. Then begin spawning them and attacking the weaker opposing troops immediately. This tactic will be a failure if the enemy discovers it, so make certain not to get spied on. If you use a decoy technique at the start and remain a secret, then you will have a virtually guaranteed win.
Eric has been mastering his Starcraft 2 strategies since the beta launch in February 2010 and is currently a Diamond league player. He writes about detailed Terran Build Orders, micro and macro play, scouting strategies, and much more in his free guide – the Terran Guide for Starcraft 2.
