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Terran Tips & Tricks

Marine

Small Unit

Firebat

Small Unit

Ghost

Small Unit

Vulture

Medium Unit

Siege Tank

Large Unit

Goliaths

Medium Unit

Wraith

Large Unit

Dropship

Battlecruiser

Large Unit

Science Vessel

Medic (BroodWar Only)

Small Unit

Valkyrie (BroodWar Only)

Large Unit

Nuking Tips

Use of these Terran squadrons on ridges will often send your opponent to a fiery death below. These squads are especially useful on maps such as "The Lost Temple."

Nuking Squad

These squads are used to quickly deploy a nuclear missile to the area down below while protecting the Ghost.

You will also need to research the Optical Flare for the Medics. Cloak the Ghosts, then set the target for your nuke with one of them. Keep your Science Vessel ready. Right when a detector approaches (Observer, Overlord, Science Vessel), use one of the Medics to blind it. If your nuking Ghost begins to take damage, activate a Defensive Matrix on it using your Science Vessel. If you see spell casters (High Templar, Science Vessels, Queens), blast them with an EMP shockwave. Of course, if targeting a Protoss base, EMP the buildings first.

This squad is better equipped to handle the increased amounts of detectors and units of your enemies later in the game. If possible, bring along air support (Wraiths or Valkyries) to hold off the enemy until their base feels a nuclear explosion ripping it apart.

Expansion Killers

These squads are used to quickly eliminate enemy expansions located below cliffs and ridges.

At the minimum, this small squad should allow you to annoy your enemy and keep them guessing. Depending on the status of their technology, they may be able to easily eliminate the group, or it could be a painful thorn in their side. Place your Tank in Siege Mode close enough to the edge so that it can attack the main building (Nexus, Command Center, Hatchery), but place it far enough from the edge so that it can avoid the fire of Hydralisks, Marines, and Dragoons. Use the SCV to quickly build a Missile Turret, then repair the Siege Tank. Keep the Marines and Medic close to the Tank to fend off enemies.

The top group is to be used if your enemy has few air units. It will provide a lot of heavy firepower while allowing you to fend off small groups of air units. The bottom group should be used if you expect heavy air resistance.

Cliff Dwellers

Place this squad at critical spots of high ground on your map to bombard your enemy as they pass below.

Set the Tank in Siege Mode on the cliff and quickly build 2 Missile Turrets. You may want to leave a single SCV behind for repairs.

Again, Siege the Tanks and build 4 Turrets, leaving behind a few SCVs for repairs.

Throughout the game, you should use these squads to constantly pester and destroy your enemy's forces as they pass below. As long as you keep the pressure on them and deny any chances to expand, you will become victorious.

The Terran Science Vessel

The Basics:

Anyway, we're going to start with some basic stats for the TSV. First off, the TSV is created at a Starport, but before you can create one there, you must have a Science Facility in operation. Think of the Starport as the mommy and the Science Facility as the daddy. And we all know whenever a mommy and daddy get together and make some sweet lovin, something wonderful is created. And from that blessed union comes the Terran Science Vessel, popping out of it's mother's womb all healthy and happy, bellowing out a loud "Explorer Reporting!" as it appears on your screen.

The TSV is relatively cheap in minerals to build, requiring only 100, but it's the gas that makes it expensive, costing a womping 225, which makes it the second most expensive unit the Terrans can build, next to the Battlecruiser. It has Heavy armor, with a goodly amount of hit points (200, equal to a Valkyrie and a Missile Turrent). Just be sure to always remember that a TSV can be repaired by an SCV if needed. It also starts off with a total allowance of energy up to 200.

Starting Abilities:

It's primary ability is that of a detection unit. It can reveal cloaked and buried opponents simply by moving near them. It has a decent range of sight, as well. Use caution, and always be sure to keep a reserve nearby. If your opponent is worth his grain of salt, and wants those cloaked or buried units to stay unseen, its a safe bet he or she will target your TSV first. Personally, in large arial battles, I prefer keeping a trio of TSVs onhand, with a couple of backups nearby to bring in if need be.

The TSV comes already equipped with one very versatile ability. The Defensive Matrix. The D-Matrix, when cast on another friendly unit, increases the armor of that unit substantially. A wise player can stick one of these on a Dropship, go across enemy lines, and infiltrate their stronghold easily with a bunch of stim-packed Firebats, causing some major havoc to that player's base, and the TSV never even has to enter any danger in doing so. Yup, with the D-Matrix, the TSV can sit safely back in home base as you take unit after unit bearing a D-Matrix out on the attack. All things must come to an end, however, so be sure to use the D-Matrix to some degree before it wears off. Nothing sucks more that wasting the TSVs energy. Blech. The D-Matrix has a cost of 100 energy, so that means each TSV can use this ability twice before having to recharge. Three TSVs backing up six Battlecruisers quickly become even more frightening when suddenly those 'Cruisers start sporting a brand new D-Matrix on them.

While you're having fun with the D-Matrix, sticking it on a few Valkyries and sending them out hunting Overlords, you should be aware that over at the Science Facility, they've got some great bargains for the smart shopper. Yup, you sure can upgrade that TSV with souped-up abilities for even more fist-flying action. It's better than the Blue-Light Special at K-Mart.

Upgrades:

The Science Facility offers three upgrades for you to purchase: the EMP Shockwave, Irradiate, and a Titan Reactor. (Ooooh, a Titan Reactor! Hey, is that a Titan Reactor in your pants, or you just happy to see me? Heh.) Anyway, so there you are, looking at these three wonderful upgrades like three super models, drooling at the possibilities present. But alas, as macho as you think you are, if you've only got one Science Facility, you can only upgrade one at a time. So what's a poor Terran to do? What to upgrade first? Hmm. The peons out there would argue that first you build an add-on, like the Physics Lab or the Covert Ops Center, but that's irrelevant. You construct the add-on while you're waiting for your first TSV to be built, silly. We're talking upgrades here, so listen up and get your mind off those super models I mentioned earlier!

Now, the first upgrade you purchase depends on the kind of battle being waged, and your main opponent, since each upgrade offers different possibilities. Personally, against Zerg I start off with Irradiate followed by Titan, then EMP; against Terran: EMP, then Irradiate, then Titan; and finally, EMP, Titan, then Irradiate against Protoss. In games against multiple types of races, I usually like to start out with the EMP Shockwave, then go to Irradiate, and finally the Titan, but it may depend on which race is closer to your base. In most instances, your TSV won't even be to full power until after you've finished researching your first upgrade, so be sure to take this into account. But enough about that. Let's get to talking about these wonderful upgrades, and how to best utilize them.

Titan Reactor

The Titan Reactor is described in the instruction manual as: "When installed onboard Explorer Science Vessels, these giant fusion-pod reactors provide increased energy output." Whatever. In layman's terms, it adds a +50 to the TSVs total energy allowance, increasing this from 200 to 250, which is helpful with that D-Matrix, since after you cast it twice, you've got half the wait time before you can use it again. I don't know about any "fusion-pod reactors" or anything, but more energy is always useful. So, in retrospect, you can think of the other two upgrades as super models, and this upgrade as a viagra pill.

Irradiate

Nothin says lovin like Irradiatin' the bastard, I always say. And if your opponent happens to be Zerg, then he's one sorry bastard. Since all Zerg units are biological, they are all fair game for this upgrade, since it only works on biological units. And to make this upgrade even more fun, it is also an area-effect, damaging nearby biological units as well. So when a Terran opponent comes at you with a grouping of Marines and Medics, shoot the Medic, and laugh as she goes to "help" a nearby injured Marine with some "healing". Heh, heh, heh. And if there's another Medic nearby, she'll run to help the Irradiated Medic, killing herself as well. Oh, what fun! One of my particular favorite things to do is cast a D-Matrix on a Battlecruiser, followed by Irradiate. The Irradiate does not harm the Battlecruiser, but it harms nearby units, so all you have to do is move it in the area of enemy biological units. While they blast away at you with their Hyralisks or Marines, their futile attacks like scratches on the D-Matrix, the Battlecruiser is shooting them as quick as it can, but it really just has to move near those units to take them out. And again, the TSV never even has to enter hostile environment. It can sit back at base and watch Three's Company reruns while the Battlecruiser's doing all the work.

Irradiate has a low cost of 75 energy to cast, so without the Titan Reactor installed, it can cast it just twice before waiting for a few seconds for the TSV to recharge 25 energy points before it can use it again. With the Titan Reactor, it can cast Irradiate three times, then wait for the TSV to recharge 50 energy points before being able to cast it again. It is for that reason that the Titan Reactor should be researched after Irradiate when fighting Zerg, so you can use it more often.

Prime targets for using Irradiate are those Guardians who keep harassing you. And those Overlords that hover nearby, making it hard to use your Wraiths effectively by detecting them when cloaked. Try putting it on an SCV gathering minerals, so whenever he gets near another SCV, they get damaged as well. Irradiate, however, is almost useless against the heavily mechanical Protoss. Except for zapping a pack of Zealots, or picking off a lone Templar or Archon, it isn't quite as useful as the EMP Shockwave against the Protoss.

EMP Shockwave

EMP Shockwave? That a plug-in for your web browser? Nooooo, silly. The EMP Shockwave is the last weapon in the TSVs arsenal which I will speak of now. EMP is short for Electromagnetic Pulse, and when it goes off, all electronics in a given area are disabled. This includes equipment such as cloaking fields for Wraiths, as well as the plasma shields that surround every Protoss unit and building. And that's the Protoss's downfall right there. In one simple EMP shot by a single TSV, many Protoss units and buildings can be reduced to half or more hit points. The EMP Shockwave is especially useful against heavily shielded units, such as Archons (who, without shields, have only 10 hit points) and Dark Archons (who only have 25 without shields). It's also good to shoot one into a cluster of Photon Cannons, reducing their hit points in half without shields. Always be sure to remember that the EMP Shockwave is an area-effect shot. Got a bunch of Wraiths targeting your few TSVs so they can become cloaked? Simply deny th

em the usage of their cloaking by using the TSV's last act of defiance and sticking an EMP bomb up their tailpipes, bringing their cloak energy down to zero instantly. Same goes for a big group of Terran Battlecruisers. An EMP shot will take away all their energy for their Yamato Cannons. Also, be sure to target enemy TSVs.

Be careful, because due to the fact that the EMP Shockwave is an area-effect ability, it does not differentiate between friend and foe. ALL electronics in the area of its effect are fried, including your own. Be especially careful not to target an EMP shot where your own units will be affected. Nothing bites worse than shooting off an EMP, only to find out that your TSV that just shot it was within the target radius, and is now out of energy!

The EMP Shockwave can be cast at a cost of 100 energy, equal to the Defensive Matrix, allowing each TSV to cast it twice before having to recharge. If the Titan Reactor is researched, the wait time is cut in half to cast it again, if the TSV started at full energy.

Conclusion

All in all, with the upgrades and everything to consider, the Terran Science Vessel is one of the most versatile, most important, and most powerful units a Terran player can obtain. If you're the enemy, I would personally recommend that you target these little buggers as soon as possible, especially if you're playing with the Zerg or Protoss. They certainly deserve every uttered curse and obscenity hurled at them. During the oftentimes quick-paced Starcraft battles being waged online, the TSVs can sometimes be overlooked, and if your TSVs are the ones being overlooked, you're not using them to their fullest potential. Get 'em dirty. Make them hate your TSVs. Make them yell aloud "I'm gonna rip your [censored] head off if you don't [censored] stop using those [censored] Science [censored] Vessels on me, [censored]!! We're supposed to be [censored] allies!!"

Terran Tips

Introduction:

Build Orders:

General Build for Land Map: 0) Before the game even starts, put a finger on the 'S' key and your hand on your mouse 1) As SOON as the game comes up, select the Command Center and push S (If you're still using the icons, you WILL lose to rushers.) 2) Start the SCV's mining on separate deposits 3) (here is where I set the allies/latency options, remember, if the game is smooth, low latency is your friend) Your new SCV is done, make him mine. 5) When the money's there, make two more SCV's 6) Now that you have 7 SCV's, start a barracks 7) Train the 8th SCV 8) Send that 8th SCV to make a supply depot 9) Train 2 more SCV's 10) Your Barracks and Supply Depot will finish almost at the exact same time 11) Make a marine and if you think you're opponent is going to rush a bunker is a good idea too.

Marine Rush: 0) Start a SCV and put you're scv's on seperate mineral patches 1) When you can que up another scv and send the one that you were building also on minerals, in total you will need to get 7 SCV's 2) With the 7th SCV build a barracks 3) Build an 8th SCV 4) Use the 8th SCV to build a supply depot 5) Use the SCV that get's done first to build another Barracks and send the other one to mine minerals 6) Build 9th SCV and using it build a Bunker 7) Build 4 Marines and fill the Bunker with them 8) Build a 3rd Barracks and build 3 more SCV's and put them on minerals 9) Build Marines and use the first two to find you're opponent 10) Crank out Marines like mad 11) Now is a good time to build an Academy and a Gas Extractor. 12) After that is done you can either go attack or expand the choice is yours NOTE: I didn't tell you when to build Supply Depots because it's always diffrent depending on the map, but if you are 3 supply points away from you're max start a supply depot

Credit: Spork

Early Tanks:

0) Start and SCV and set the ones you have on seperate mineral patches 1) Get 7 SCV's total sending all, but the 7th one to mine minerals 2) With the 7th SCV build a Supply Depot 3) Build 8th SCV 4) With the 8th SCV build a Barracks 5) Build about 3 more SCV's and put them on minerals 6) As soon as the Barracks is done make 5 Marines and a Bunker, use the 4 Marines to fill the Bunker up and the 5th one to scout 7) Build 12th SCV 8) With the 12th SCV build an Extractor and make 3 more SCV's 9) Put the 3 SCV's on Gas 10) Make another Bunker and fill it up with Marines 11) Now when you have enough money build a Factory and as soon as it is done make a machine shop 12) Research Siege Mode and build 2 Siege Tanks 13) Build 8 more Marines and go attack Note: This works the best against Zerg and Terran, it works good against Protoss as long as they don't get some Zealots to you're marines because then you are in serious trouble.

Mass Wraiths

0) Start and SCV and set the ones you have on seperate mineral patches 1) Get 7 SCV's total sending all, but the 7th one to mine minerals 2) With the 7th SCV build a Supply Depot 3) Build 8th SCV 4) With the 8th SCV build a Barracks 5) Build about 3 more SCV's and put them on minerals 6) As soon as the Barracks is done make 5 Marines and a Bunker, use the 4 Marines to fill the Bunker up and the 5th one to scout 7) Build 12th SCV 8) With the 12th SCV build an Extractor and make 3 more SCV's 9) Put the 3 SCV's on Gas 10) Build a Factory 11) As soon as the Factory is done put on the Machine Shop add-on and build 1 tank and research Siege Mode 12) Start a Starport also as soon as the Factory is done and another one as soon as you have enough cash 13) When 1st Starport is done make the Control Tower add-on 14) Research Cloak Field 15) Build 3rd Starport 16) Start building Wraiths 17) Attack as soon as you have 4 Wraiths and try to avoid all the detectors and get his worker line 18) When you reach 12 Wraiths mak e a full scale assault

Terran Forces: Ground Units

Marine-Marines are pretty good starting units and can hold their own against almost any foe if they are in large numbers. In the beginning if you think you're opponent is going to rush it is best to get a Bunker for you're Marines because that makes them a lot more effective. In mid and late game scenarios Marines work great with Medic and Firebat support. Probably the most important upgrade is the Stimpack wich can be researched at the Academy. Use you're Marines and Medics against almost anything, but avoid Zerg Lurkers, Guardians, Ultralisks and watch that Zerglings with Adrenal Gland upgrades don't get close as for Protoss stay away from High Templars with Psi Storm, mass Zealots with Leg Enchancements, keep some sort of detector reasy in case Dark Templar show up also avoid Reavers at all cost because they will cut you down in a matter of seconds. When taking on Terrans avoid massed Siege Tanks, Bunkers being backed up by SCV's, Battle Cruisers and always have a ComSat ready for cloaked Wraiths.

Firebat-Firebats are very task specific units, but if used right can turn the outcome of the battle from defeat to victory or at least hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Firebats are best used as support for Marine groups. They slaughter Zerglings and Zealots and can do a lot of damage fast in worker lines. However never send them anywhere alone because if air units show up you're obviously messed. Another small note is if you have allies watch what the Firebats are doing because of their splash damage they can and will kill you're allies units if not controled properly.

Ghost-This is probably one of those very underused units in the game. As with the Firebats the Ghost is a very task specific unit and it has mainly two purposes. One being obvious is to launch Nuclear Missiles and the other one being is to stop people who use massed Battle Cruiser or Carrier armies and this can be accomplished using Lockdown. Lockdown can be researched at the Covert Ops add-on on the Science Facility and costs 100 mana to cast. It will stop any mechanical units from moving or shooting while it is in effect making that units an easy target. Each Ghost can cast Lockdown twice if it has full mana and if you get the mana upgrade you can also cloak for 25 seconds while still casting 2 Lockdown spells. One other small use for Ghosts is to act as scouts or spotter units for you're Siege Tanks because of the fact that they can cloak and that they have a very large view radius with the Ocular Implants upgrade which can be researched at the Covert Ops add-on on the Science Facility.

Medic-Brood War-These made Terran infantry at least 3 times more powerfull then it was before. Thanks to Medics marines can now use StimPack almost as many times as they wan't making them even more deadly and since the Medics heal extremely fast unless there are about 3 units firing on the Marine/Firebat/Ghost or any other units being healed it will probably survive the fight. In other words Medics prolong infantry life about 4 times. However they are almsot useless against attacks by Lurkers, Dark Templar, Siege Tanks and Psi Storm for the simple reason that those units either kill most of Terran infantry in one shot or they inflict the damage faster then the Medics can heal. The Medic has 2 other special abilities which can be researched at the Academy one of them is restoration and it costs 50 mana to cast, it will remove such infestations as Parasites, Ensnare and Plague. The other special ability is Optic Flare and for 75 mana it will reduce any one units sight range to one matrix. This is not effective whatsoever if the units is part of a group because other units can spot for it however it is affective on single units or if you are making an attack with cloaked units the best target would be the detectors in that area

Vulture-I don't think this units is usefull against anything at all, but it does have the ability to plant Spider Mines which can be researched at the Machine Shop add-on on the Factory. These work great against grouped attackers and cause 125 damage and splash damage when they expload and another bonus is that they detect cloaked ground units. If you have a chokepoint to you're base lay them right in front of it for maximum damage and also put them anywhere you think you're opponent will move his forces. These are also great for keeping tabs on expansions and enemy activity. Each Vulture has 3 Spider Mines and they cannot be reloaded.

Goliath-Goliaths weren't so great in original Starcraft they could do good damage to air units, but their range was limited. However in Brood War they now have a new upgrade, Charon Boosters, this can be researched at the Machine Shop add-on on the Factory. They give the Goliath's anti-air rockets a range of 9 making them the dread of any attacking air force because they outrange anything flying and in groups of twelve will make quick work of almost anything. If the attack is ground based they always have the twin autocannons, but they are not at all suited to take on ground attacks and need to be backed up by units like Marines and Siege Tanks. Also these units have horrible pathing AI and will sometimes start dancing and going in circles and it is a pain to get them to get up the stairs in Instalation terrain, so if you ever send Goliaths somewhere you must alyways check up on them.

Siege Tank-This is perhaps one of the most powerful and mostly used units in the entire Terran arsenal. Before you even concider using it you must research Siege Mode upgrade at the Machine Shop add-on on the Factory. This makes the tank turn into an artillery cannon and do 50 explosive damage plus splash damage per shot and have the longest range of any unit in Starcraft or Brood War. The only set back to seige mode is that you will not be able to move you're tank while it is seiged and you must always remember that tanks cannot attack air units, so they must be well supported by Marines or other units, also when in Seige Mode tanks cannot attack units that are very close to them which means that if some melee units get to you're tanks while they are in Seige Mode those tanks will probably die and the very last thing is that tanks in Siege Mode do quiet a bit of splash damage, so watch what they are hitting or they might end up killing your or you're allies units. On another note sometimes on some maps especially island maps tanks in Seige Mode can hit adjacent islands/land, this is very annoying to the other player and will probably clear a small area of his defences out enough for you to make a drop there.

Terran Forces: Air Units

Dropship-Dropships are used to transport units from place to place faster then it would get there on it's own or to drop some units into an enemy base. Dropships hold 8:Marines, Firebats, Medics, SCV's and Ghosts 4: Vultures and Goliaths 2: Siege Tanks. When you have units in a dropship you have to be careful because Dropships aren't very fast and they are even slower to accelerate to top speed and they don't have many hitpoints and if attacked will die pretty fast and when a dropship is destroyed you lose all the units you had inside of it, also against Protoss you have to watch that they don't Mind Control you're Dropship because then they will not only gain control of the Dropship, but also of all the units inside of it.

Wraith-This is you're basic air fighter. It can attack ground units with it's burst laser, but isn't very effective at doing that unless it is in large numbers. Wraiths become much more usefull when you research the Cloaking upgrade at the Control Tower add-on on the Starport, and preferably the mana upgrade which is also researched at the Control Tower. When cloaked Wraiths can cause quiet a bit of damage if you can attack somewhere where there are no detectors or making hit and runs then repairing. Wraiths are quiet fragile and if you attack directly at a well defended position you will most likely lose even if you are cloaked and another thing is not to take on Protoss Scouts/Corsairs if they have detectors because they will make quick work of you're Wraiths unless you outnumber them at least 3:1.

Valkyrie-Brood War-Valkeries are air to air combat units only and their attack is also different because instead of firing at a single target they fire 14 rockets in a small area which is designed to cause maximum damage to grouped units. If you ask me Valkiries were made to solve the problems that Terrans used to have with with Zerg airforce and partially with the Protoss airfleet. Valkiries work best in groups of about 12 units and they are much better if they get attacked and not them assault the target because of the small delay it takes them to stop and fire their rockets, or you can just keep them in the back of you're attacking force to give them the time needed. When playing with allies you have to be careful because they Valkyrie's missiles don't know any friend but from their own detachment and their missiles will hurt you're enemies and you're allies units.

Science Vessel-This is the main spell caster unit of the Terran race. The Science Vessel is pretty expensive and usually doesn't come into the game till mid/late game. It is best used against Zerg forces and almost as equally against Protoss forces, and it does have uses against other Terrans, but it's not nearly as effective. The Science Vessel is also the only mobile detector unit for the Terrans that's why Terrans have bad detection ;P. The spells that the Science Vessel posseses are as follows: Irradiate-this spell can be cast on all organic units and will slowly drain their hitpoints and the hitpoints of units close or in contact with it. Irradiate does not effect shields and has no effect on mechanical units, also it takes quiet a while for the SV to cast Irradiate for some reason. EMP Blast-this is very underused and it is one of the most painfull things that can happen to a Protoss player. What EMP does is it takes away all the mana away from units in the blast area, but on top of that it will nulify any shields a unit has in the blast area. Defensive Matrix-this can be cast on any one unit and it will put up an energy shield around it that will absorb most of the damage from attacks. From full mana you can cast this spell twice and probably the best unit to cast it on would be a nuking Ghost or a Battle Cruiser. On another note in Bunker Command games killing a Science Vessel is worth a lot of points so if you have one keep it well defended and try to get you're opponents Science Vessel's also you can Defensive Matrix an Infested Terran and hit you're opponents bunker which will kill it.

Battle Cruiser-these are the big guns of the Terrans pretty much like Battleships in WW2. Battle Cruisers are extremely strong and do quiet a bit of damage with their lasers, but they also posses the great Yamato Gun. If you plan to use Battle Cruisers you have to watch out for some things like always have detection along with them to spot those cloaked Wraiths and avoid engaging packs of Scouts and Corsairs. Scourge are also somewhat of a threat untill you get 3rd level weapons because then you can kill Scourge in one shot. Two other threats come from spells one being Psi-Storm because it ignores the Battle Cruisers armour and does damage in a pretty large area and Terran Lockdown which Ghosts posses. Now more on the Yamato Gun: It basicly takes 150 mana to fire it once and it outranges any ground defense except range upgraded Goliaths and it will kill a Missile Turret, Photon Cannon in one shot and it takes 2 shots against a Zerg Spore Colony.

General Overview:

Protoss require a lot of micromanagement and are expensive, but very strong if used right, Zerg are cheap, weak and come in great numbers. Terrans however are in between, they aren't cheap or expensive and their units can hold their own. In some respects they are probably the best race to start with, but as soon as you get used to the game I would recommend switching to Zerg or Protoss because with right skill they are better in my opinion. Terrans are also very easy to defend with and if there are 2 people on a team the best combination is Terrans and Zerg/Protoss.

Basic Strategies: Marine Rush

Marines are the basic Terran unit and can be used for rushes, but unless done exactly right it will fail. It will also fail in most cases against Protoss and Terran opponents who built Bunkers. It is best effective against Zerg opponents who decided to do a Zergling build up, expand early or a Mutalisk rush in which case Marines can probably overpower the opposing forces. One of the build orders for a Marine Rush can be found above in the Build Order's section. There are many different marine Rush build Orders, but they are almost all the same with the difference that in some you get more Marines in a longer time period and in others you get less Marines in a faster time period. Sometimes it is a good idea if you have a ramp to you're base and you know you're opponent is about to rush too is to hold back on top of the ramp kill the assault and then quickly strike back with you're Marine force for maximum efficiency. If you are attacking a Protoss right after killing the zealots the main target should be the worker line or the Pylon that supports the Gateways. If you are attacking a Zerg right after killing the defenders you should attempt to kill the Spawning Pool or if he already has a Hydralisk Den target the Hatcherie to prevent him from building any units. Against other Terrans after eliminating the defenders go for the SCV's then the Barracks if there is a Bunker being built or is done it should be you're prime target, if the built Bunker is full of Marines you might wan't to retreat and Bunker him in instead because the Bunker if repaired while under attack will chew through you're Marines.

Vulture/Spider Mine rushes

Vultures are pretty cheap, very fast and carry the always cool Spider Mines which you need to research first at the Machine Shop add-on on the Factory first. You can use Vultures to lay a line of Spider Mines very close to you're opponents base and then put Marines and some Vultures behind he line. Now use 2 or 3 Vultures to go and attack the enemy and as soon as they start chasing fall back to you're already set Spider Mines and Marines. You might have to do this a few times before the full enemy force comes and when it does it will go straight through the Spider Mines first causing it enough damage so that you're Marines and the remaining Vultures can finish the job. Then if you think you can take the base on do so, if a Vulture is about to die and it has Spider Mines left pull it off and place the remaining mines where they will do the most damage in the future. However you should be able to finish you're opponent off if this is done correctly. The only things that really mess this up is Tanks in Siege Mode and Sunken Colonies, but if they have no support units which will be killed by the mines you should be able to kill them with your own Marines. On the last note if it's a Zerg opponent have the Vultures attack his larvae because they will make quick work of it and that means the Zerg will note be able to get the units he needs.

Tank Push

Tank pushes are pretty easy to do it requires you getting Siege Tanks rather fast with Marine and Medic support, bring about 2 SCV's to repair the Tanks (if going against Protoss Firebats are highly recommended). What you had to do was put the Siege Tanks in Siege Mode so that they just reach something of his to hit and position the Marines and Medics right around the Tanks. What this does is almost force you're opponent to come and get those Siege Tanks or suffer the defeat when he does come his forces should take at least one Siege Tank hit before being engaged by you're Marines, with the medic support you should have no problem beating that attack. When the Siege Tanks no longer reach anything that they can hit Unsiege 1 Tank and move it up closer with some Marines then repeat this for all you're Siege Tanks untill they are all in range of something to hit again. As you keep doing this make sure you have a ComSat ready against Protoss Dark Templar and Zerg Lurkers. While moving on you should keep building Siege Tanks and Marines and adding them to you're attack force this is also a good time to take some expansions to have a bigger cash income. If you wish when you move on you can build Bunkers for you're Marines, but this is optional and usually is just a waist of money. While doing this also don't neglect to make sure the opponent doesn't expand anywhere and if there is more then one opponent have you're allie if you have one keep him away from you're base because you will be using almost all of you're available forces to kill the person you are performing the tank push on.

Advanced Techniques: Marine Drops

Marine Drops are usually done with 2 Dropships filled with 10 Marines, 3 Medics and 3 Firebats only if you are dropping a Zerg or a Protoss if not take Marines Instead. The best spot to drop is in the worker line, but if that's well defended use you're best judgement. You should always try to drop somewhere where you will be able to unload most of you're forces before you are attacked. You will also need to scan that spot to make sure there are no Lurkers and Dark Templar nearby and keep the Scanner Sweep handy at all times. If you are being overpowered don't hesitate to reatreat it's not cowardness it's smart thinking and you can always come back later with a bigger force to finish the job. If you desire in the next drop you can include 2 Siege Tanks or 1 Tank and more Marines/Medics. The only things to really watch out for are Lurkers, Dark Templar and Psi Storm or Disruption Web.

Proper Nuking Techniques:

When you are making Nuclear Launches you can use some techniques to higher the chances of the missile hitting the target. If you can always put you're Ghost on a ledge above the target and try to pick the most weirdest spot from where you nuke to confuse the enemy and hopefully make them scan the wrong spot, hiding behind trees to conseal the tale-tale claoked distortion is also a good idea. If you can target stationary air units close to where you wan't the missile to hit because then the small red dot will not be seen unless the unit is moved, sometimes you get lucky and the enemy has some buildings floating around than target those because they will also conseal the red dot that way you're opponent won't know at all or for a longer time where the missile is going to hit perhaps even enough time for it to already land. Another thing you can do is have multiple Ghosts in the area to try and confuse the enemy as to witch one is actually launching the Nuclear Strike. The very last option is to Defensive Matrix you're Ghost and go in where there are the least forces and hope that the Defensive Matrix will hold up for enough time to allow the missile to strike it's target.

Race Specifics: Vs Protoss

Protoss have a big advantage against Terrans in early game and if the player is good in late game. In early game try to get Bunkers and Firebats to hold off any Zealot attacks, then you have to go offensive or the Protoss will get many bases and then you are just dead. Also watch out for High Templar's Psi-Storm and Reaver drops which if done right and not looked after can quickly turn certain victory into a horrible defeat. If the Protoss makes a large Carrier fleet use cloaked Wraiths and Lockdown

Vs Zerg

Bunkers work great at stopping Zerglings watch out for Lurkers and don't get caught without detection. Battle Cruisers work great, but watch out for Plague and Dark Swarm with Hydralisks. Tank pushes are also a good option if you can try not to let the Zerg get more then 2 bases and try not to let him get Guardians and Mutalisks in large number, if he does get Goliaths with range upgrades and Marines with Medics.

Vs Terran

Don't stay defensive or you'll lose counter Battle Cruisers with Ghost's Lockdown. When you perform drops scan for Spider Mines first and try to contain the person in his base. Usually in race on race games whoether can get the most expansions and be as unpredictable as possible and desisive on his attacks will win the game. Try to put Spider Mines at expansions to keep tabs on them and if you see he is expanding as soon as the Command Center is comlete attack, if he starts with a defence attack right away.

Last but not least, have fun!

©Tranman2001