"Good luck, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Be the Samurai."
-Heartcutter
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| Terran Heavy Metal : vultures before cybercore? | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 09/17/99 09:09 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 6, Min: 6
Lifetime Rating for HardDrive99: 7.3000 |  | Follow up to Heartcutter's Heavy Metal guide:
I was asked how I could get vultures before a cybercore. Well this isn't BS... played two games this morning with the double factory build strategy against toss opponents to prove my point that it is possible to have vultures prior to the cybercore going up. It really depends on what your opponent strategy is and the map that you're on.
Game 1:
Since I left my BW CD at work it was vanillacraft for me. Not that it makes a huge difference but since M&M's don't exist the double factory build is my standard strategy in a terran vs toss game.
Map: Challenger
Me: Terran (bottom plateau)
Him: (*)KricKrak Toss (upper plateau)
Is it just me or when you purposely select terran at the start screen that Toss opponents think easy win? I think it has something to do with the fact that most newbies start playing Terran on Bnet. Oh well... I like my opponents overconfident. Gives me the edge.
Now challenger is not a great map for the double factory build because there is no elevated choke. So I decide to go with the defensive ring around the CC. 8 depot, 9 gas, 10 rax. I go hard economy and gas so that just as my rax finishes I've got the factory being built. As my factory is about 3/4 done I build another one, transfer one of my gas peons back to minerals and dump a couple marines into the peon line in case of an early rush. (Note: My build order is different then Heart's but the idea is the same.)
As soon as my factory is complete I create a vulture and another depot. My vulture goes out and finds my opponent pumping peons with a double gateway start and about 5 zealots. Using the speed of the vulture I zip around the slow footed zeal's and begin raping his peon line. About 4 peons later he kills the 'death on wheels' but I've already slowed down his gas income and made him think defensively right? No cybercore in sight BTW.
Wrong... he immediately counteracts sending 6 zeals at my CC. My second vulture passes by this group on the way to continue my harassment. I'm thinking that my 3 marines are going to need some help so I set up a bunker in the mineral line too. 2 vultures pop out of my two factories and I move them to the side of my base in a flanking action.
My second vulture finds a completed forge, cannon near the nexus and a cybercore warping in (in the picture it's the warp signature just coming into play). (Note that I have 4 vultures in the game at this point. ) My vulture is not very successful in killing peons but it gives me the needed recon .
Back home the zeals hit and start taking down a depot. I bait them with the vultures and bring them within bunker range. The vultures go down but not before leaving him with 3 zeals. (Hit and run, hit and run). As he moves to attack the bunker I split his forces by building the two factory add ons. In the poor AI pathing I kill all 3 zealots with no losses. Some repair work is required... but nothing those SCV's can't fix. Another depot and an academy are put down and I pump out 4 more vultures and start researching mines. I drop down 2 sets of mines at the various choke points. As I start to mine his choke I see a line of probes being maynard transfered to an expansion. Nothing kills probes quicker then vultures... 8^) I quickly scout the expansion and see two zeals (which I kill) and two photon cannons. Knowing I cannot beat the cannons I retreat to my mine field by his choke and start producing a tank and research seige mode. The other factory produces 2 more vultures to assist in the containment plan.
I send one of the four horsemen into the fray to see what my opponent is now up to. And the brave soldier runs into 4 goons. That's enough for me to start moving more towards tanks and retreat my vultures away from his mine field slightly. The tank is sent to his expansion along with 2 of my original vults. The new two new vultures drop some more mines which barely keeps my opponent contained... until his goons start pushing out. I retreat to my tank which is now seiged at his expansion and taking it down.
As the goons move in mines and arclite cannon fire quickly make goon soup for all to share. 2 more tanks seige up and the expasion is deep sixed.
I push to the front of his choke again, bringing in more vultures, some marines and the tanks I've built. He trys some cool micro using shuttles to unload his zeals right ontop of my tanks, killing two. I'm not worried though... another factory just went up at home, I just expanded and I've got two tanks proceeding to my location on rally mode. I produce a few more marines to keep his shuttles back.
At that point he is basically finished though he expands twice more in an effort to get more resources. They don't come online fast enough to prevent the tank push at his main and he surrenders with a good game.
Lessons Learned:
1) Be flexible. Stay one step ahead of your opponent. This is how you win games. Do not fall for the set build order. Change when needed and follow your instincts.
2) Beware the early rush with this strategy. Since you're not scouting an early 1 or 2 zeal rush could spell disaster because of your low unit count in the early game. Use the AI pathing to your advantage where ever possible to allow your minimal marines to hold out.
3) Do not forget your base defense. In the above game I had 2 tanks and a bunker at home. If he had decided on a drop I would have been dead without them.
4) Vultures can come before cybercore. Watch what your opponent is doing and if he's going tech then you have to match his tech. If you go hard vultures and he goes one gateway, cybercore followed by another gateway you could be in huge goon trouble for which you are poorly equipped.
5) Hit and run is your ally. Vultures are one of the few Terran units with enough moblity to really distract your enemy.
Next Report: Game 2 vs Toss on Rivalry (when I get the pictures downloaded)
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