If you're used to Command and Conquer you'll probably like playing with Terrans. They're actually not all that popular now, although it's possible that the Secret Wars add on will alter that; I think they're due some new units. Anyway, if you do feel the urge to get tanked up, read on.

Marines and Firebats

Marines are the basic units for the Terran forces. With a ranged attack against ground and air they can be very effective. If you're up against Zerglings, try and build your base in such a way that the Zerglings can't easily get in close to the Marines. Supply depot barricades are favourite for the purpose. If they can't get their claws on you, they can't kill you. Simple as that. When it comes to Hydralisks, you've got problems. They'll outrange you and a big squad of them will even walk all over bunkers. If you have Firebats, you'll have to have a lot, because while they're very strong attackers, they have to get in closer than Marines to be effective. They also can't attack air targets. Note that the Academy's Marine upgrades happen a damn sight faster than the Engineering Bay's; so get extended range as a priority, and worry about armour and firepower later. If you manage to get Marines wholly upgraded, a moderate sized group, stimmed up, can seriously kick ass.

Ghosts

Fun fun fun. Research the cloak, increase their sight range, and get those nukes dropping. There's also the question of lock down. I don't tend to use it, because you're looking at an energy drain as a result. However, if you could stop a fleet of carriers cold, it could come in very handy. Top tip for nuking is aim at an air unit, because unless it's moved your opponent won't see the laser dot as it's hidden by the air unit. I once had a whole fleet of carriers taken out like that... If you want to save a Ghost from getting nuked, make him leg it as soon as the red dot has disappeared. Note that if a Ghost is killed having targetted, before standing up again, then that nuke's an expensive write-off. Although Ghosts have a slow rate of fire, if you're low on minerals and high on gas consider churning them out instead of Marines. Their rifles are powerful, and of course you can cloak them. Their range is also better than Marines.

Vultures

Often underused. Useful scouts, and you only need minerals to build them. Their Spider Mines are very powerful, but can be destroyed before detonation. Useful as an early warning sytem if nothing else. They're annoying because they're so long. If more could gather together in a crowd they'd be a match for Hydras, but because Hydras group better they generally come out on top. Still, with upgraded armour quite useful. Use them against Zealots when Marines won't stand a cat in hell's chance...

Goliaths

Again, often overlooked as you need an Armoury to get them built. But, they pack air and ground attack and are therefore the equivalent of Dragoons and Hydras. Very useful as mobile missile turrets. Again, more effective if upgraded and grouped. Relatively cheap to build.

Arclite Siege Tanks

Big Guns. Too damn big for their own good a lot of the time. They get in each other's way and are horribly vulnerable as they transform to kick ass mode. A single Zergling can take out a Siege Tank when it's in siege mode because it can't fire on its immediate vicinity in that mode. Even in normal tank mode they're still big targets which are easily overwhelmed by numerically superior forces. That said, if you need to take down bunkers or missile turrets from a distance the tank's often the only way to go. Equally, if your enemy's bunched tanks are devestating. I've played games where it was literally impossible to get into a base on the ground because Siege Tanks were backing up the bunkers. In the end it was down to air power to take them out. That's the reason Siege Tanks should never travel alone; a small group of air units could nail a whole tank column. So, potentially great, but equally very easy to lose...

Wraiths

Singley, only useful as scouts when cloaked. Get about 10 together, and you're looking at a reasonable threat. Beware Scourges with Overlords nearby though. Don't rush in. Watch their energy levels too. Best thing to do is punch through aerial defenses, absorb necessary losses, and then go and harass gatherers. Although the ground attack isn't great without upgrades, the rate of fire's quite high, and a decent crowd of Wraiths can manage to cripple gatherers before the enemy can get his act together. Very useful against other Terrans, as they're very dependent on their turrets for detection of cloaked untis, although there's always the ComSat station add on... Basic message is, safety in numbers, and don't rush in; the Hold command is useful to stop Wraiths running off after their own targets...

Behemoth Battlecruisers

They're tough. They've got lots of hit points. They're also slow and huuuuge targets. The Yamato gun is all well and good but you only get one shot before recharge is needed. A few well placed Scourges and you can kiss a Bcruiser goodbye. Best bet is to shield them with a Science Vessel as they go in, or make sure that your Wraiths stay close. Odds are, if you've been able to get round to building these boys, what you do with them is going to decide the game. Use them wisely. One thing worth noting - the Yamato gun will fry a missile turret in one shot, and can stay out of its range to do it.

Explorer Science Vessels and Dropships

Whilst not really combat vessels as such, both are potentially vital. Defensive matrix use is recommended for capital ships like Battlecruisers. They don't last long, but if the enemy is concentrating fire on a shielded ship the rest of your force isn't getting shot at... Irradiate is good against the Zerg in particular, EMP against the Protoss because it drains their shields. One other thing I realised more recently is that it also sucks energy using units dry. So if you hit a squadron of Wraiths with an EMP burst their energy will get sucked out and they'll be forced into decloaking. A good strategy would be to hit a group of Protoss buidlings with EMPs, THEN nuke them. That will destroy them where the nuke alone wouldn't. Of course, Explorers are also detectors, allbeit very expensive ones.
Dropships can be very handy if you can get them early, or if you've spotted a gap in your foe's air defenses. Drop half a dozen tanks in behind the enemy lines, or just one Ghost with a nuke in the silo, and you might just cause enough disarray to let your main force come in the front door. Not to be overlooked.

Nukes

As discussed above, Nukes are Ghost dependent. So most of the points are covered above. However, in terms of what to choose to target... If an enemy has his front door littered with bunkers or canons, carefully locking on a nuke from a safe distance, or targetting a point nearby, can wreak complete havoc on the front line. A near miss will certainly nudge bunkers into the red, and if you can have a force ready to follow up then you'll probably breach his defences. If a friend can plague the relevant spot, or EMP it, first, so much the better. Also, consider targetting a bunch of air units. Not so much capital damage perhaps, but I've demoralised people into quitting by taking apart their main force with a single nuke, even if their position was still quite strong.

General

Terrans are quite an expensive race when it comes to necessary upgrades and even units to some extent. The biological units can't be fixed. Defensively, Terrans are very strong. Siege Tanks, bunkers and missile turrets all allow for a formidable defence, but that won't win the game. If you let a good Zerg player get Guardians, he'll take your base apart. More so than with any other race you need a mix of units to play Terran effectively, and to some extent you need numbers as well. Bunkers are excellent for defending tight points, especially if you mix Firebats with Marines. Consider the need for mutiple Starports, Factories and Barracks, and remember that if you order buildings to take off Zerglings and Zealots can't touch them.

Brood War

The new Terran units for the Brood War expansion are the Medic and the Valkyrie. The former, as the name suggests, can heal Marines and Firebats, as well as removing parasites and plagues. It can also blind enemy units. Very useful, but can be a bit tricky to keep it with troops if they stop to engage something. Can also heal allied non Terran units. The Valkyrie is an air-to-air unit which fires rockets over a largish area. Useful in numbers against a crowd of enemy air units; they'll eat a Guardian swarm for lunch quite happily. Bit expensive though. Incidentally, the Goliath can also be upgraded to extend its ground-to-air range, which is quite handy. All in all the Terrans remain a tricky race to use effectively, but Marine attacks can cause serious problems for an enemy if accompanied by Medics. If attacked by such a force, kill the Medics first. Not very sporting, but it'll make killing the attackers a damn sight easier.

For Emperor Mengsk!

Last updated 31 January 2002