StarCraft @ Shiar.nl
Game basics
Quick hints to get started with multiplayer Brood War.
- Miners (SCV/Probe/Drone)
- 2-3 per mineral patch, 3-4 for gas.
- Keep building them!
- Whenever they are unprotected, they should be attacked.
Terran
As soon as you've got sufficient spare minerals, build
a Supply Depot, then Barracks and a Refinery
(send 2 more SCVs when it's done).
After that you can build a Factory, which can create the fighting
units you want. Whenever you cannot spend all of your money, build more
factories.
- Vulture
- Strong against small units
(protoss Zealot, zerg Zerglings, terran Marines).
- Very fast, especially with booster upgrade,
so good for exploration.
- Ideal for harassing enemy miners if you get the chance.
- About as powerful as an SCV against larger units, except that
it can lay mines for great justice.
- Tank
- Good against large units and buildings.
- After research at the machine shop, can enter siege mode
in which they cannot move, but deliver much greater damage at huge range.
- Goliath
- Versus any air attack, but also a good general purpose unit at ground.
- Research range to fend off hit-and-run air attacks more easily.
- Science Vessel
- No conventional attacks, but has some of the strongest abilites in the game.
- Irradiate to get rid of Zerg threats.
- Perfect against Lurkers: continuous detection
and can kill them with a single cast.
- EMP to weaken any Protoss (Archons become completely useless),
or prevent abilities (life saver if it can discharge a group of
Battle Cruisers).
- Matrix to defend strategic units (think Dropship, Ghost).
Strong counters
- Zergling
- Stimmed Firebat & Medic
- Marines (M&M) are usually used
as they are good against most zerg units
- Vulture
- Hydralisk
- Goliath, Marines, Tank...
- Lurker
- Science Vessel's irradiate!
- Tank
- Ultralisk
- Tactics (shoot from behind walls, lay mines,
harassing with Science Vessels)
- Tanks
- Guardian
- Goliaths with range upgrade
- SV irradiate
- Specifically Valkyrie if Mutas are massing
- Defiler
- Just kill before it does its thing (i.e. Vulture or Science Vessel)
- Zealot
- Vultures
- Dragoon
- Tank
- High Templar
- Evade
- Vulture hit'n'run
- Dark Templar
- Vulture
- No problem as long as you can see them,
so Comsat and Turrets to spare
- Archon
- Tanks or anything from range
- Vultures do full damage against their pure shields
- Science Vessel's EMP!
- Carrier
- Goliaths with range upgrade
- Surprise by cloaked Wraiths
- Ghost lockdown
- Vulture
- Tank, Goliath, air
- Tank
- Tank (sieged)
- Battle Cruiser
- Goliath
- Tank
- Wraith
- Goliath
- Valkyrie
- Valkyrie
- Goliath
- Battle Cruiser
- Battle Cruiser (Yamato gun)
- Goliath if possible
- Science Vessel support
Protoss
Start with a Pylon (powers buildings in its vicinity).
Then just Gateways for ground units. For anything but Zealots,
get gas (Assimilator) and a Cybernetics Core.
The Robotics Facility provides Observers
for frontline cloak detection, and Shuttles for transport.
Both are the best around (constant and cloaked observation,
strong and fast transportation), but also the most expensive.
Cannons are nice for general defense (unexpected harassing and detection),
but often overrated. Better to have a good offense, so try to spend your money
on mobile units.
- Zealot
- Your meelee unit throughout any game.
- Against masses of Zerglings, try to get 1 weapons upgrade at the Forge.
Then you will only need 2 hits to kill one instead of 3.
- Best against siege tanks (if they can outman them).
Research Leg upgrade at the Citadel to close the distance quickly.
- Dragoon
- General purpose: ranged and anti-air.
- Requires the Cybernetics Core, where you also want to upgrade
its range eventually.
- Very weak against Zerglings.
- High Templar
- Genocide against small or stacked units, or good as support against
large forces.
- Eventually required to keep up with Zerg masses.
Less critical against other races.
- Advanced unit. Needs a lot of research (Psionic Storm),
gas, preparation, and close attention to make their great power count.
- You'll only need a few of them, and well escorted so they're not
destroyed prematurely.
- Fallback to conventional firepower (by merging an Archon)
if all energy stormed away and zerg forces are still incoming.
- Carrier
- Good counter against Terran (a wall of Tanks is powerless against air).
- Large costs! Very strong once in full force, but a good player will use
that money to kill you many times over before that.
- Upgrade capacity for twice the damage.
Strong counters
- Tank
- Zealot
- Carrier eventually
- Vulture
- Dragoon (watch out for mines)
- Cannon to defend vulnerable mineral lines
- Goliath
- Ground units, storm preferrably :)
- Wraith
- Corsair
- Templar Storm (even if hidden)
- Dragoon
- Valkyrie
- Ground support
- Battle Cruiser
- Carrier, Scout, Dragoon
- High Templar for support
- Dark Archon ideally (if only they dare)
- Zergling
- Zealot (weapon upgrade is a great asset)
- High Templar storm
- Archon
- Hydralisk
- Surround by Zealots (speed upgrade helps), Dragoon
- High Templar storm
- Lurker
- High Templar and Dragoon (ideally one shot each)
- Ultralisk
- Reaver with melee in front
- Archon
- Dark Templar while undetected
- Mutalisk
- Corsair
- Storm or Archon as they tend to stack
- Cannons or Dragoons to fend off harassing mutas
- Devourer
- Carrier
- Zealot
- Dragoon with good micro
- Zealot for larger battles
- Templar/Archon
- Dragoon
- Zealot if you can get close (surround or distract)
- Dragoon with High Templar support
- High Templar
- Evade!
- Dark Templar
- Dark Templar
- Cannon
- Any unit near an Observer
- Reaver
- Dragoons spread out
- Reaver + Shuttle
- Carrier
- Carrier
- Corsairs
- Dragoons on open terrain
- Dark Archon Mind Control
Zerg
The most flexible (and ‛alternative’) race.
All units are built at a Hatchery, making it easy to switch tactics.
This does not mean your starting Hatchery is enough:
Zerg depends on large numbers, so build several.
Unit supply is provided by flying creatures called Overlords.
These are also used for detection and transport,
so keep them around your units at all times.
Send them out for scouting, but watch out not to lose too many of them.
- Zergling
- Extremely cheap, so have tons of them.
- Either great cannon fodder, or very damaging if left alive.
- Remains essential during the entire game.
With speed upgrades often called Crackling for a reason.
- Hydra
- Usually does most of the killing (while Zerglings get fragged).
- Good for fending off most airborne bullies.
- Can mutate into a Lurker, a more advanced ground unit.
Has to burrow to attack, but can hit multiple enemies.
- Muta
- Basic flying unit.
- Relatively weak (especially against area attacks as they tend to stack).
- Built to harass: can quickly hit weak targets and run before retaliated.
- Mutates into Guardian or Devourer for strong specialization
against only ground or air respectively.
- Scourge
- Kamikaze flyer against air.
- Most vessels require several impacts.
Build lots to counter capital ships.
Strong counters
- Zealot
- Microed Hydralisk with speed upgrade
- Zerglings (claw upgrade ftw)
- Lurker
- Dragoon
- Zergling
- High Templar
- Just evade and overwhelm
- Queen Broodling if they stray
- Archon
- Hydralisks (with range)
- Ultralisk
- Reaver
- Hydras spread out
- Microed Lings
- Guardian
- Corsair
- Devourer
- Cannon
- Sufficient Zerglings or anything really
- Defiler Dark Swarm
- Guardian
- Marine
- Surround by Zerglings (speed and claw upgrades help)
- Sunken Colony to defend
- Lurker
- Defiler's Dark Swarm for great defense
- Ultralisk
- Firebat
- Lurker
- Muta
- Ultra
- Science Vessel
- 2 Scourges
- Tank
- Zerglings
- Vulture
- Hydralisk
- Sunken Colony
- Ultra
- Valkyrie
- Hydra
- Zergling
- Zergling
- Mutalisk
- Ultralisk (thick armor)
- Hydralisk
- Zergling
- Ultralisk
- More/better Ultralisx
- Queen (Spawn Broodling)
- Mutalisk
- Spore Colony for defense
- Mutalisk
- Scourge (2 or 1 plus support)
- Scourge
- Spore Colony or Hydralisks
- Sufficient Mutalisks
- Sunken Colony
- Zerglings