3.1 General Strategy
3.2 Unit Specifics
3.3 Build Plan
Terran is the most frustrating race in the game in my estimation, but this also makes it the most challenging. Terran forces are weak in the early game, grow stronger on land in the middle game (largely courtesy of siege tanks), and become nearly unbeatable in the late game thanks to battle cruisers, nuclear missiles and other advanced units. But surviving to reach the late game can be very tricky. In short, one's early game is spent largely in trying to harvest enough resources to build enough structures and units to survive into the middle game. And the middle game is then spent trying to survive to reach the late game in order to bring advanced units to bear.
void playing an entirely defensive game. The Terran facility with bunkers and missile turrets can lead to a false sense of security, but an adroit opponent can overcome them rather quickly. The early Terran game is almost necessarily defensive because of the relatively weak performance of their units, but as the game progresses, an aggressive player will win the day. It is certainly the case that one can never outlive one's opponents merely by turtleing; speaking generally, he who attacks wins (as noted elsewhere).
Learn to use stimpacks wisely. Although they do an unpleasant amount of damage to marines and firebats, they can make the difference between victory and defeat in tight situations or against certain units. For example, when assaulting a heavily defended spot, a squad of twelve or more marines can cut down a surprising number of Terran, Zerg or Protoss units if they use stimpacks. The following are some general suggestions and observations about stimpacks.
As mentioned previously, stimpacks take their toll, but using a two-rank approach can offset this. For example, when using a squad of twelve marines against a tough defense, consider sending six forward to act as cannon fodder while the remaining six use stimpacks and concentrate their fire. The front line will almost certainly be eradicated, but if one's opponent doesn't recognize the real threat, his units will drop one by one from the stimpack-enhanced rear rank's fire. With the addition of medics, stimpacks become almost mandatory. If one is careful to deploy marines with medics at about a 4:1 or 3:1 ratio, then one can usually just keep stimming marines over and over, which essentially doubles their effectiveness (i.e., 24 stimmed marines are as powerful as 48).
More than Protoss or Zerg, victory as a Terran seems to require diversity of units. For example, while Zerg can utterly rule early/mid game by sticking simply with hordes of hydralisks, and while Protoss can get along well with only zealots and dragoons, Terrans will die quickly without a good mix.
No matter how many marines one produces, for example, a solid cluster of siege tanks with even minimal support can destroy them by the dozen. Alternately, a single defiler accompanied by a few measly zerglings can annihilate them courtesy of the plague or the dark swarm--remember that few units can hurt Zerg forces when under the cover of the swarm. Further, although marines can fire against airborne units, goliaths and wraiths are much better suited to taking them apart. Finally, a pack of vultures can seed a minefield so thickly that even hordes of hydralisks will take losses to cross it.
This need for diversity is particularly keen against the Protoss. If one uses marines or firebats only, far too many units will die stopping a squad of zealots. But a combined force of marines, firebats and especially vultures will tear zealots apart easily--particularly if spider mines have softened them up a bit. See my notes for an example of just such a case.
In summary, if builds only a couple types of Terran units, then defeat is practically inevitable. Effective Terran deployment demands diversity of units. Whereas most Terran units each have at least one glaring weakness, their synergistic design makes them far more powerful when working together.
Playing as a Terran can be suicidal without a science vessel handy. Comsats can supply badly needed detection, but their energy can be depleted quickly by a crafty opponent who brings cloaked units from several directions. Without a science vessel in the field, enemy ghosts can lock down one's most powerful units so fast that what was once a threatening strike force can suddenly seem more like an opportunity for target practice. Against the Zerg, a science vessel may irradiate the enemy or drain the energy from defilers and queens. Against the Protoss, the science vessel shines truly as a way to drop Protoss shields--after an EMP shock wave, for example, a single shot from a battlecruiser's Yamato gun will destroy a carrier.
SCVs are not just for harvesting resources, they are also for repairing damaged mechanical units. No strike force including tanks, vultures, goliaths, wraiths, dropships, science vessels, battle cruisers, etc. should be without one SCV for each pair of mechanical units. It might seem like an unnecessary precaution, but when supported by this kind of backup, individual mechanical units can just keep killing and killing.
Expanding as a Terran is more difficult than with the other races. Compared to the Zerg, for example, expansion is costly, slow, and requires good logistical lines for troop support. Compared to the Protoss, expansion is slow because it requires building bunkers, whereas zealots are deadly without any such structures. One can minimize the risks, however, by expanding early in the game and by knowing the enemy's position. My general suggestions are as follows.
It may sound strangely obvious after one thinks about it, but terran defense structures are built cheaply and quickly enough to be useful on the move. For example, when mounting a base assault, consider building a turret or two around the siege tanks. This is particularly effective if one parks the tanks just out of visual range, builds the towers, then sends troops forward to act as spotters. The tanks will fire, and the enemy is sure to attempt an air attack (because tanks usually decimate ground units). When the air units near the tanks, however, they will have Terran missile turrets to deal with--not a pleasant prospect. These same turrets also provide very useful detection of cloaked ghosts, which otherwise requires a science vessel or comsat scanning.
Bunkers are harder to use in this fashion, but they too can be similarly useful if placed in front of long-ranged forces. If you can fill bunkers near a choke point exit from an enemy base, then you can utterly control his ability to expand in the early game. It isn't easy, and the enemy will put up a terrible fight, but it can buy a lot of time in which to comfortably expand one's own economy.
The notion of attacking patiently goes against every German fiber in my body (i.e., an all-out blitzkrieg is far more personally satisfying), but it can be essential to Terran success. The greatest Terran ground assault unit is the siege tank, which requires constant protection from aerial assaults and, to a lesser degree, protection from overwhelming ground assaults. If possible, the anti-air support one supplies should also be capable of attacking ground forces; e.g., a squadron of wraiths is quite effective. If one can adequately protect the tanks in such a manner, almost nothing (save perhaps for a cloaked ghost) can stop them.
It takes some practice, however, to attack effectively in this manner. It doesn't help that the computer AI is dumber than a rock. At the first sign of fire, the computer will boldly march one's units off to a speedy death without any consideration for tactics or odds. Thus, one must take great pains to use the 'hold' command. Force troops to stand their ground protecting the siege tanks. Once the tanks have destroyed all of the nearby ground structures, let them play leapfrog as described elsewhere.
In short, surrounding the tanks with marines forces the enemy to choose: abandon the fight, use special attacks (e.g., spawn broodlings) or try to cross the killing fields to get to the siege tanks. With appropriate numbers (e.g., four marines per tank seems to work well), nothing lives very long if it gets past the siege tank fire. This sort of grouping essentially forces the enemy to fight on one's own terms.
Nuclear missiles, despite their relative expense and difficulty of use, are utterly devastating when used effectively. I have found them most effective when two or more armed silos are available. After having "tapped out" a given expansion, I will often fly the command center back to my main base and build a silo. Alternately, if I have plenty of minerals, I will build multiple command centers in my main base. If one is going to use nukes, then the following suggestions may be helpful.
Marines are, of course, the backbone of the Terran military, and while they are individually weak, they are deadly en masse--particularly when upgraded suitably and/or enhanced via stimpacks. Marines are cheap (50/0), effective and flexible against targets both in the air and on the ground. Their primary weakness is their vulnerability; e.g., against zealots a marine's only hope is his stimpack. On defense, they are best used from within bunkers. On offense, they need support against medium to large enemy forces.
Do not stop producing marines once barracks are available, and be sure to have at least three (preferably more) barracks for fast production in troubled times. If available marines are crowding one's base, then send a squad or two to harass the enemy, secure an expansion site, patrol some portion of the map, etc. A squad of twelve costs only 600/0, and unless they march into a trap (e.g., siege tanks on a ridge), they are likely to pay for themselves before dying in sheer psychological annoyance value for the enemy if nothing else. If they run into superior forces, stim them; they might actually survive or at least the damage they inflict before dying will be greatly increased.
Firebats do greater damage than marines, but they have far shorter range and their attack is concussive, which is most effective only against small units. They also cost more to build (50/25). On the other hand, against zerglings, zealots and any other small units they are very effective. Dropping firebats in an enemy's harvesting line is far deadlier than dropping marines. They are also one of the only Terran units effective against the Zerg dark swarm. When playing against Zerg, bring firebats if zerglings or defilers are present. When playing against Protoss, always bring firebats for field operations and put at least one or two firebats in your bunkers; they fend off zealot attacks far better than marines.
Medics are by far the better of the two Terran units new to Brood War. Their ability to heal marines in the field renders marines useful in all phases of the game. Their ability to disinfect Zerg parasites, remove lockdown, etc. is utterly indispensable. And their optic flare can be very useful against enemy detectors. In short, be sure to build medics as soon as possible; they are worth it.
Vultures are highly underutilized in my estimation. They are certainly rather fragile, their attacks do negligible damage against all but small opponents (e.g., zealots, marines, zerglings, etc.), and they are utterly helpless against airborne attackers. But they are cheap (75/0) and important in the early/mid game--particularly against the Protoss--for fire support and scouting. And during the late game, they retain two strengths in their favor, namely, speed and spider mines.
Once the speed upgrade is obtained at a machine shop, vultures have got to be one of the fastest, if not the fastest, ground-based unit in the game. A vulture can scout out an entire small map in a very short time. And although he is likely to be destroyed quickly by more than a trivial enemy force, there are few enemy forces that can catch a vulture long enough to kill it.
As soon as the spider mines upgrade is obtained at a machine shop, each vulture's mines should be used as effectively as possible. If one's base is accessible only through certain choke points, then mine those choke points and mine the routes to them. An attacking force can be quickly reduced in size by just a few mines. If the situation permits, mine the choke point routes from an enemy base; keeping one's opponent bottled up not only keeps him out of one's own base, it prevents him from leaving his own. Note also that when mining bridges or other narrow passages, it is very effective to place a couple of mines around the periphery. When too many units try to cross at once, the stupid computer AI will walk them around the periphery, activating your mines. At the very least, it will keep your opponent busy, and if he has issued move orders rather than attack orders, mines may very well kill his entire force.
Mines placed a distance apart on the map can also be useful for two other reasons. First, they provide reconnaissance data during their useful life. Terrans have no better way to continuously monitor a faraway portion of the map. And second, the psychological advantage alone is worth it. When crossing the map, enemies must keep careful track of units and possibly send along detectors with some of the units that do not set off mines (e.g., SCVs, Probes, Drones, etc.); otherwise, his expensive warriors risk dying in a minefield. Of course, this can backfire; i.e., it can force an opponent to bring mobile detectors into the field--not a desirable situation if wraiths and ghosts are a significant fraction of one's arsenal.
Siege tanks can be the most powerful asset in the Terran arsenal, or they can be merely the biggest nuisances. If a squad of six or more tanks can be deployed in siege mode with appropriate spacing and support, they can utterly demolish almost any ground forces the enemy cares to throw at them. On the other hand, they absolutely require ground troops or other air support for protection, ghosts can lock them down in an instant, and they don't last very long under fire without SCVs standing by to repair them.
If one can meet these conditions, however, siege tanks may be utilized for a strategy I call "siege tank leapfrog". It gets its name from the fact that the tanks are divided into rows. When using six tanks, for example, one should divide them into two rows of three. When the front row of three has annihilated almost everything within range, the rear row should stand down from siege mode and advance. Frequently, their advance will expand the visible portion of the battlefield and reveal new targets for the front row. Once they have advanced, lock them down into siege mode again and resume bombardment.
This sort of leapfrog tactic is very difficult to counter. Stopping it requires attacks from the air, far too many ground troops, using opposing siege tanks, or when playing the Zerg, repeated use of queens' spawn broodlings attack. On the other hand, it can be very difficult to pull off as well. One must be careful to ensure that SCVs are ready to repair damage to the tanks, and one must keep a close reign on the ground troops so that they hold position near the tanks rather than rushing forward, etc.
NB: When playing against another Terran, be sure to bring at least one medic for the tanks and research the restore ability. Otherwise, one's tanks will likely be locked down and destroyed.
Ghosts are rather deadly insofar as their canister rifles can make short work of small enemy units. But when used for such simplistic purposes, one is wasting resources. More to the point, a ghost costs 25/75 to build, whereas a marine costs 50/0. Here, it is significant that vespene gas is rarely as plentiful or as easily harvested as minerals; thus, a ghost represents more harvesting time as well as materials. To be honest, I have not made very good use of them to date. But during a game earlier today (read my notes for further detail), I had a bit of a revelation in terms of how to use ghosts.
First, ghosts are deployed best around one's base or in field assaults--not assaults upon an enemy base. The reason is that enemy bases generally have detectors in place. It is a rare thing indeed that a Zerg base isn't utterly surrounded by overlords or spore colonies, and even the most meager Protoss base is bound to have photon cannons or observers. Thus, a ghost's primary means of staying alive (i.e., his cloaking ability) is utterly nullified during most base assaults. He can still use his lockdown ability or seek to call in a nuclear strike, but he had better be well protected; otherwise, he is likely to die rather quickly. On base defense, however, the ghost can usually stay just behind the front lines, use his lockdown until out of energy, then retreat to relative safety. Of course, if one's opponent does not have any sort of detection available, the ghost need not retreat at all; he may simply keep killing until his cloak fails.
Second, when using a ghost to call down a nuclear strike, he must either be well defended or completely unnoticed. Further, even if he is unnoticed prior to launch, the "nuclear launch detected" warning is certain to bring all sorts of enemy attention. This is doubly difficult against the Zerg as any of their spore colonies or overlords can detect the ghost. It might be the case that the best use of such an ability is to call down a strike on a group of units at a staging area, or perhaps versus a Protoss arbiter one might use it on the assumption that lots of cloaked units are hidden from view. The best defense that I have discovered thus far is obtained by using the defensive matrix ability of a science vessel. As soon as the ghost has initiated the launch, he should be supported from the air or from the ground, and if he is discovered, science vessels should keep him wrapped in a defensive matrix. Otherwise, that expensive missile is liable never to arrive. One final note regarding nuclear strikes: be sure to research the ocular implants upgrade, or the ghost will likely be too close to survive.
Third, ghosts make fair reconnaissance units. I say 'fair' because wraiths cloak just as effectively while moving faster and not being limited to the ground. When things have been too quiet for too long, cloak a couple of ghosts and walk them out from the base. If they find enemy forces gathering, then consider a nuclear strike or just start shooting if they seem safe. A pair of ghosts can take out small ground units in pretty short order; medium and large units will generally require more firepower.
Fourth, Ghosts are particularly useful against the Protoss. Zealots are mowed down quickly by their canister rifles, dragoons and other mechanical units are easily locked down, observers are history once detected by ghosts, etc. In fact, once one progresses beyond the early game, bunkers may be populated completely by ghosts rather than marines/firebats. The ghost's superior range and firepower will do far more damage against zealots; if larger units attack, unload the bunkers and use lockdown.
Most of the strategy guides I have read consider goliaths to be both overpriced and under-powered, but I disagree. It is certainly true that one may produce two marines for the mineral cost of a single goliath. But goliaths individually pack more firepower than marines, they are deadly against airborne units, and the most important thing of all is that they can be repaired. Each point of damage done to a marine moves him irrevocably one step closer to destruction. But as long as a team of goliaths is supported properly with SCVs, they may be repaired again and again.
Goliaths are also underrated as mobile anti-air support. If one places a squad of four or more goliaths around the harvesting routes, almost any enemy air units are going to die pretty quickly when attempting to kill the workers. Their size makes them a bit unwieldy (e.g., only four will fit in a dropship and they require two units of supply depot support), but their strengths generally outweigh their weaknesses. They are not cheap, but they are not too expensive to deploy en masse; they are pretty fast on the ground; they can take quite a bit of damage and remain intact; they are versatile against ground or air targets. In summary, at least one squad of goliaths should be along on just about every mission. Their primary weakness is a problem with the computer path finding AI.
The Brood War expansion modifies this assessment on two counts. First, the addition of the Terran medic allows marines to be "repaired"; thus, the goliath no longer has this as an advantage. Second, the goliath upgrades (most notably the anti-air range upgrade) make the unit even more useful than it was--if not outright indispensable in certain circumstances.
Wraiths are one of the most enjoyable and yet frustrating units in the Terran arsenal in my estimation. Against enemies sans detectors, their cloaking ability is terribly effective; they can kill with impunity for as long as their energy reserves last. Uncloaked, however, they are easily destroyed--too easily it seems for their cost (200/100). Unfortunately, they are an important part of any Terran battle group.
Worse still, against the Zerg wraiths are necessary. Zerg guardians have such a long ranged and powerful weapon that they can kill goliaths, missile turrets, etc. almost free from danger. Terran marines die before they ever get in range. Science vessels can do some damage via the irradiate ability, but a competent Cerebrate will quickly move the glowing guardian away from the pack. Wraiths are the only Terran unit until the late game (battle cruisers can then do the job) that can handle guardians. I learned this lesson well during a game in which my forces were destroyed for lack of wraiths.
Against the Protoss, wraiths are not quite so necessary, but they are still quite effective for dealing with carrier groups or other units when Protoss observers or photon cannons are not present. Against Terrans, wraiths are again not quite so necessary, but they can be very effective against the unprepared opponent.
Valkyries can be either terribly important or completely useless. Versus an air-happy Cerebrate, they can be a godsend. A squad of twelve valkyries can destroy a ridiculous number of scourge or mutalisks. They are also very powerful against overlords; always be sure to leave a squad on patrol on island maps. Finally, although they are pretty vulnerable to devourers and not very useful against guardians, they nevertheless provide a better complement to battle cruisers than do wraiths.
Dropships are the air-transport for Terran forces. On island maps, they are absolutely essential for ferrying forces around. On other maps, they can be useful for delivering a concentrated group of units to a staging area. Further, they can assist in executing certain tricky tactics; e.g., dropping a couple of siege tanks with a marine escort and SCVs on a plateau just behind an enemy base can be devastating. As soon as is convenient (or sooner for island maps), build at least one or two dropships; they will be needed. If enemy anti-air seems too powerful to complete a drop, wrap the dropships in defensive matrices courtesy of…
Science vessels are one of the most interesting units in the game because their value is almost completely synergistic. That is, they are almost completely useless alone; their value is in their ability to provide detection, defensive matrices and EMP shock waves for other units.
Against the Protoss they are indispensable; their ability to knock down Protoss shields is simply too useful to be without. Archons, for example, are turned from 360 hit point monsters into 10 hit point weaklings after a single EMP missile. Their EMP is similarly useful at discharging energy from Terran ghosts, science vessels and battle cruiser Yamato guns, Zerg queens and defilers, Protoss templar and shield batteries, etc.
Their irradiate ability seems somewhat less useful because competent opponents will simply move the irradiated unit away from other units. But when used against guardians, overlords or other slow moving units, this can still be deadly. For a lark, irradiate siege tanks; it will not hurt the tanks, but it will kill attacking melee units.
Their defensive matrix ability is also quite useful against any opponent. Two science vessels in the field can establish defensive matrices four times; four siege tanks or four battle cruisers can do an amazing amount of damage before the matrices are destroyed. The defensive matrix is also key for dropship unloading in hostile territory; two science vessels can make delivery of four dropship cargo bays almost completely safe--32 marines (with the firepower of 64 when stimmed) can do a lot of damage.
Science vessels, while merely an underused unit in the original Starcraft, are utterly essential in Brood War beyond the early game. Their capacity for detection is particularly crucial in light of lurkers and dark templar.
Battle cruisers are the pinnacle of Terran achievement. Their Yamato guns are very powerful and their lasers, useful against targets in the air or on the ground, are also quite effective--particularly when upgraded. Though take a great deal of damage, battle cruisers are quite vulnerable when deployed in small numbers. For example, a trifling few Zerg scourge can utterly destroy a small number of battle cruisers; when deployed in larger groups (i.e., eight or more), however, scourge cannot get close enough to do any damage. A large group of battle cruisers can wreak an incredible amount of damage--particularly if SCVs are available in the field to make repairs as needed. An opponent who allows a Terran player develop a sizable force of battle cruisers is in serious trouble.
If one builds battle cruisers, there are two things to bear firmly in mind. First, they are weak in small numbers; build many or build none. Second, they are too expensive to use carelessly. Support them with appropriate forces and bring SCVs along for any field operations. When one's battle cruisers have been damaged seriously, withdraw them from battle and repair them. Four SCVs can repair a battle cruiser in a big hurry. Whenever possible, protect them with defensive matrices.
The key to the early game is gaining reconnaissance about the map and the enemy while attempting to build adequate defenses at home. It is also important to harass the enemy; killing his units and damaging his base has psychological as well as strategic value. Pay special attention to destroying his ability to harvest as this is crucial in the early game.
In light of the addition of medics, the above build order should be modified to include an academy as soon as possible--certainly prior to an engineering bay or factory. The production of just a few medics will be of great importance.
The dividing line between the early and middle phases of the game is not very clear. Generally, I consider myself into the middle game once I have assembled about half a base; i.e., once I have built some defenses, an engineering bay, an academy, and at least one factory. The middle phase is more difficult than the early phase because more flexibility exists in terms of where to go and what to build.
The dividing line between the middle and late game is crossed, in my estimation, once one has a "complete base"; i.e., once one has the ability to build any Terran unit capable of being produced. By this time, most (if not all) of the various upgrades will have been researched, and advanced units should be under construction if not already awaiting orders. If one lives long enough to see the late game as a Terran Magistrate, then winning is bound to be painful. Protoss opponents will show up with carriers and archons, and Zerg opponents will undoubtedly send defilers, ultralisks, guardians, queens, etc.