Starcraft 2: Terran Units – Impressions & Strategy

One week in and we’ve been playing the Starcraft 2 Beta every chance we get!  Read on for our full recap of what is new with the Terran race.

Also read: Protoss Units – Impressions & Strategy

Zerg Units – Impressions & Strategy

The best way to demonstrate how much the Terran race has changed is to list the units returning from Starcaft 1:

• SCV
• Marine
• Seige Tank
• Ghost
• Battlecruiser

That’s it.  Just five units are returning, and everything else is brand new.  Most of these five units work exactly the same as in the past, but the Ghost has seen some significant changes.  While Ghosts can still cloak and launch nukes, they no longer possess the lockdown ability.  This has been replaced with a new ability, the sniper shot, which allows each Ghost to immediately deal 45 damage in a single bullet to any organic unit.  A ghost with maximum energy can perform 8 of these shots without recharging.  The Ghost can also shoot an EMP round which works just like the EMP attack previously assigned to Starcraft 1′s Science Vessel.

Before we get into detail on each new unit, let’s take a look at the Terran technology tree:

Click to View Full Size

New Units:

• Marauders
  
  • The first new unit to come out of the Barracks is a heavy Marine, which deals extra damage to armored unit.  These units are incredibly effective at taking out defensive structures.  They are also larger than the  Marine, and therefore take up two slots in ships or bunkers.  Combine the two, however, and you have yourself a very versatile attack force.
• Reapers
  • The alternative to Marauders, Reapers deal bonus damage to light units.  Versus armored units, they are actually worse than a basic Marine, but they make up for this with their Jet Packs, which allows them to ignore the height of terrain.  Reapers can use the Jet Pack ability to jump over cliffs, and can be produced fairly early in a match, making them very effective at circumventing defenses and going right for an opponent’s workers.
• Hellions
  • This unit seems to be a combination of Starcraft 1′s Firebat and Vulture, providing a fast scout vehicle with a large flamethrower.  This unit is produced from the Factory, and is the perfect counter for an opponent who is taking a quantity over quality approach to building their army, as the flamethrower’s range allows it to burn several smaller units at once.
• Thor
  • When picturing a Thor, just think of a Goliath on steroid.  They are massive and simply tower over everything around them.  They slow but strong, and pack a serious punch with their Thor’s Hammer ability.  Each Thor can deploy a 6 second volley from it’s 250mm Strike Cannons, dealing a total of 500 damage.  Two to three Thors can take down any structure in the game.
• Vikings
  • The Terran’s base aircraft, the Viking, is a very unique unit.  In it’s natural state, it can only attack air-to-air.  However, it can land and transform into a ground unit at any time.  This transformation costs no energy or resources, but takes a full three second, which can be a lifetime in the crucial moments of a firefight.  The Viking is extremely effective in both of it’s forms, but the player runs the risk of being caught with their pants down.  You had better do consistent scouting, because once the enemy shows up and you are in the wrong mode, it’s already over.
• Medivac
  • There are not longer Medics or Dropships in Starcraft II.  Instead, they are combined into the Medivac.  This unit can be set to auto-heal any units in it’s immediate area, and will do so with a healing beam from above.
• Banshee
  • A strict air-to-ground unit, the Banshee overcomes this limited capability through the use of Cloak.  This makes them an excellent tier 2 option for enemy harassment.  Retreat for repair once your Cloak is exposed and you can keep poking at the enemy all day.
• Raven
  • While the Raven has no base attack capability, it is an excellent support ship with a lot more punch than the old Science Vessel.  The Raven detects cloaked units, and has the ability to deploy two different types of temporary defenses, both which time out after 3 minutes.  They are the Point Defense Drone, which stays in the sky to shoot down enemy missiles, and the Automated Turret, which is an auto-gun structure.  The Raven can also launch a Seeker Missile for 125 energy, which deals 100 splash damage upon detonation.  These are all dominating abilities in the hands of an expert player, as they are only as effective as how well they are used by the player.

New Structures:

• Command Center Add-Ons
  • Additions to your Command Center are now built directly on top of the structure, in stead of on the side.  This means that if you have to fly your Command Center to a new expansion, it can bring it’s addition along for the ride.  You can also load up your SCVs and take them with you.
  • Orbital Command: The ComSat Station addition has been renamed, and given two new awesome abilities.  The first allows you to spent 50 energy to double a Supply Depot from 8 units to 16.  This is a lifesaver if you have mis-managed your supply count.  The other ability is to spend 50 energy to call down a MULE, which is basically a super-SCV that harvests minerals at a rapid pace, until it shuts down after 90 seconds.
  • Planetary Fortress: The easiest way to start defending your expansions is to throw a giant cannon on top of your Command Center.  This addition deals 40 damage with every shot, and opens up some upgrades to increase the range and capacity of all your defense structures.
• Supply Depot
  • These basic structures do their job just like they used to, except now they have the ability to flatten into the ground and pop back up on command.  Terrans are very vulnerable to the rush, as Zerglings and Zealots can chew up Maines.  The quick fix is to throw your supply depots up at your base’s chokepoint, allowing them to act as a drawbridge.  Put some Bunkers and Siege Tanks behind and the enemy force will be decimated before they get through the Supply Depot meat shield, then drop the Depots down and roll out a force of your own!
• Sensor Towers
  • An inexpensive unit that reveals any enemy movement within a large area of map.  The Sensor Tower does not have any offensive capability, nor can it detect cloaked units.  Also, it’s detection range is outlined on the map for every player to see.  While this is of detriment to the Terran player in most situations, crafty players can use this as a decoy.
• Ghost Academy and Fusion Core
  • Since there is no longer a Science Facility, the former functions of its Physics Lab and Covert Ops additions (enabling Ghosts units and Cloaking & Yamato Cannon upgrades) are replaced respectively by the Ghost Academy and Fusion Core.  The Ghost Academy also acts as a nuclear missile silo, so a nuke can be built as soon as the Academy is ready.
• Reactors
  • These serve as additions to either Barracks, Factories, or Starports, and allow you to produce the most basic units of each structure two-at-a-time.  These are perfect if you intend to simply overwhelm your opponent with a never-ending wave of grunts.

It’s a lot to take in but after about 20 matches playing as the Terran race, I can confidently say that this list is full of improvements.  In the games I’ve played so far, Terrans have had the best defensive capabilities.  If you can put your defensive advantage to work and repel an enemy force, you can likely counter-attack to victory using Medivacs (loaded with whatever you’ve got) and Jet-Pack laden Reapers to skirt past your opponents defenses.

Here’s a screen shot from our last match, showing a strong early Terran defense, with two Bunkers beginning to pump out an army of Marines and Marauders.

Click to View Full Size

So what units are you mos excited to use once Starcraft 2 is released?  Leave a comment below, and be sure to check back next week for our impressions on the Zerg race!