Long Ranged Attack Units example essay topic

The Terran have a nice combination of inexpensive, cannon-fodder-type units (infantry) and powerful vehicle units (Siege Tanks, Wraiths). They also have a couple of strong special support units with high-tech abilities to use against the other two races. Terrans also have the special options of moving their buildings by lifting them and flying them elsewhere, as well as using their SCVs to repair vehicles and buildings directly (which can be advantageous over the automatic regeneration of Protoss shields and Zerg hit points). The first Terran building to make is the Barracks. A successful build order might have the third SCV you construct (seventh overall) make a Barracks.

While the Barracks is in development, have one more SCV build a Supply Depot. Both structures should finish at about the same time. This order ensures a Terran player of having a few Marines with which to defend an early attack and possibly scout the map a bit. Don't be afraid to use your Marines to attack the enemy. Marines are best used in a hit-and-run manner, and can destroy worker units rapidly if you can approach from an unexpected angle.

At some point after making the first Supply Depot, build another Barracks. This will allow for faster production of Marines which is critical in the early game. One may consider making a third Barracks early, but it may be wiser to build a Refinery so Factories can be built more quickly. In a way this is skipping parts of the tech tree, but the benefits of having vehicles early on are too tempting to ignore. This is not to say one should never build an Academy or Engineering Bay, because these structures allow for the construction of ComSat Station and Missile Towers, respectively; both are extremely important. The Vultures produced at the Factory can be much more effective at defeating Zealot and Hydralisk attacks because of their more powerful attack and superior speed.

Also, the Spider Mine upgrade will allow you to plant mines at any of your town's entrances; thus any onrushing attack will be discouraged at the first sign of mines. One might try using mines and building bunkers near the entrance of the enemy base. Such a tactic can keep the opposing player on the defensive and prevent expansions. Depending on the quantity of resources you have at your start base, you should start expanding by the mid-game stage.

Thus, send out an SCV or two (with escort) and start another base. In an island game, Terrans have a huge advantage because they can simply build a second command center and fly it to another island base very early, while the other races must get their transports working first. Similarly, Terrans have the unique ability to quickly expand on top of a plateau that has no ramps. Ideally, you should have two Factories fortified with Machine Shop, and two Barracks to pump out infantry and vehicles.

Some players prefer to have up to three or four Factories and fewer Barracks. Use your infantry and Goliaths as anti-air support for your Siege Tanks in attacks on the enemy. Research the Stim Pak upgrade so you have the option of making your infantry shoot faster in tight situations. With your Siege Tanks acting as artillery behind your forces, enemy bases should fall quickly if you protect the tanks properly.

If this is not enough to bring down your enemies perhaps an air force is needed, so it's time to make a Starport. Build the Control Tower add-on to the Starport quickly so you can research Wraith cloaking. Next, start building Wraiths to send against enemy air units, or use them simply to spot ahead of Siege Tanks for long-range cannon shots. Take full advantage of Wraith cloaking. Also, you should have built an Academy by now so Firebats can escort tanks and the Command Center can accommodate ComSat stations. ComSat stations are useful for reconnaissance and spotting cloaked units in battle.

If the opponent has lots of air units, be sure to have an Engineering Bay so that you can construct Missile Towers. Concentrate on getting special-abilities support units out. Build a Science Facility and research the ability to make Science Vessels at the Starport. These Science Vessels serve as the only mobile Terran detector, so be careful with them. Against Protoss, you should research EMP to bring down shields and mana points. Similarly, use Irradiate against Zerg hordes or Terran troop masses.

Keep in mind that EMP will bring mana points to zero so it's not completely useless against Zerg or enemy Terran. In fact, EMP will make visible any group of cloaked Wraiths because it drains their mana to zero. Building a Covert Ops add-on to the Science Facility will gain you the ability to make Ghosts at the Barracks. Research all the Ghost upgrades (except Lockdown if all opponents are Zerg). Lots of Carriers can be a problem for Terrans, whose Wraiths don't pack as much anti-air punch as some of the other races' units. Goliaths can have a hard time against Carriers as well.

To counter this, use the Ghosts' Lockdown to freeze these Carriers. It works well against Terran Siege Tanks that are in Siege mode also. Of course, the Covert Ops allows for the building of a Nuclear Silo on to your Command Center. Do this and have your Ghosts target a crew of enemy workers.

The nuke will instantly halt your opponent's production. The question arises as to whether or not Battle cruisers are worth building. They are when used in combination with other forces. Their Yamato Cannon can be devastating against larger enemy units. Their high damage rate make them formidable even against Scouts and Scourges. One laser shot from a Battle cruiser will vaporize a Scourge.

If you have the resources to spare, by all means, build a fleet of these ships. Because of the Bunkers and Siege Tanks in Siege Mode, Terran defenses are arguably the most fearsome in the game. An effective early defense is to build a Bunker near the spot where SCVs are harvesting resources. This will give a protective firing area from where your Marines can guard your SCVs in the early game.

Terrans can also wall in their town, using Supply Depots to form much of the wall. Create your own choke point to the inside of your town and block it up with Bunkers and Tanks. Once you reach mid-game, Siege Tanks and Firebats should become part of the defensive strategy. Place three Marines and a single Firebats in each Bunker for the best combo of anti-air and anti-ground defensive power.

Build several Missile Towers around the base, particularly near to the worker lines. Have Bunkers within range to provide firing support and scatter several Siege Tanks (in Siege Mode) along the "front lines" of your town. Be sure they " re within range of Bunkers and / or Missile Towers that can provide air cover. A few Goliaths are good to have around to act as mobile anti-air. Have a few Siege Tanks in back of those on the front lines to provide a second battery of anti ground. Often times just the sight of a few Siege Tanks in Siege Mode will deter any enemy frontal assaults.

It's important to bolster the anti-air defenses to prevent any tricks like sneaking transports to the back or Arbiters using Recall. Use SCVs to repair Tanks and Bunkers during an attack to keep them alive longer. Later in the game, Ghosts, Science Vessels, and Wraiths can become part of the defensive strategy. Use Ghosts to Lockdown any heavy enemy machines (Siege Tanks, Carriers, Arbiters), Science Vessels to EMP Protoss masses and any units that use mana. Wraiths can cloak and serve as a means of "free shooting"- often times opponents will neglect to bring detector units on an attack, so your Wraiths can attack freely. STARTING OUT It's not really recommended that Terrans rush with Marines.

Against Zerg, hordes of Zerglings can overwhelm Marines at close range, while Zealots can of course, tear through infantry with ease if the infantry force doesn't have a large advantage in numbers. Marines fare much better in Bunkers, so playing a defensive style at the outset would probably be the wisest course of action. There are a couple exceptions, however. If the other player is a somewhat slow builder and within close proximity, it may be possible to get your first two or three Marines to his town to kill worker units. Once that happens, constantly streaming in troops will probably wear down and defeat your crippled opponent. Another possibility to consider is building Bunkers / Barracks right outside your opponent's base and staging attacks from there.

It is somewhat risky, but if you use 2-3 SCVs to build several Bunkers simultaneously (and later use them to repair the Bunkers as they come under attack), it can work against unwary opponents. Of course, such a tactic would work best against a player who is not rushing himself. Early recon of your opponent's structures can help you determine what strategy he / she is using. The important thing to remember is to not become lax in the event that you do get some "offensive" Bunkers established. You " ve just put the other player under siege, so naturally, he's going to try to make air units and / or transports to strike directly at your undefended town.

Don't get lulled into complacency! Another tactic your enemy might try is making long range units like Tanks or Reavers to break the siege. Using a ComSat sweep to check the enemy town can alert you to what your enemy is trying, so you can plan a pre-emptive strike. Be sure to take the opportunity to make an expansion towns while your opponent is pinned down. The most conservative early game strategy would be to build up your town defensively and prepare for a rush, which is to be expected of Zerg and Protoss players. Don't build your town haphazardly.

Use Supply Depots and your Barrack (s) as walls to seal off a whole side of your town. You " ll definitely want to build two Bunkers at the outset. Be sure the Bunkers fulfill the following criteria, listed in order of importance: 1. At least one is within firing range of your harvesting line 2.

Both are within firing range of each other 3. At least one is protecting your Barrack (s) 4. Bunkers have one side or more sides flush against others building, to prevent large numbers of enemies from surrounding it. 5.

Bunkers are protecting as many Supply Depots as possible. Of course, it will be quite difficult, depending on how the map is laid out, to fulfill each of the five suggestions. Sometimes you may not even want to fulfill criteria 1, if there is a natural chokepoint to your base. You " ll want to seal off that chokepoint with your Barracks, Supply Depot and Bunkers in the hopes that you can prevent your opponent from coming near your workers in the first place. The art of building a good town comes with practice. The main thing is that your Bunkers need to protect your SCVs and be within firing range of one another.

When the attack comes, pull off 2 or 3 SCVs from the mineral line and repair the Bunkers as they " re being attacked. This will prolong the life of your Bunkers and frustrate the enemy. They may try to attack the SCVs that are repairing, so have those SCVs run off and draw the enemy troops off your Bunkers. If any of your SCVs happen to be outside the firing range of your Bunkers, have them come closer in for protection during the duration of the attack.

BUILD ORDER 1.4 SCVs, first 3 on minerals 2. Use the fourth to make a Barracks 3. Another SCV 4. When that SCV pops out, make a Supply Depot 5. Another SCV, put it on minerals 6. The two building SCVs should finish around the same time.

Immediately start on a Marine and another SCV. Have one of your building SCVs move to minerals and the other make a Bunker. 7. Keep alternating SCV, Marine until your meter reads "14/18", or "15/18" then make another Supply Depot. Have your first 2 Marines go scouting around for the enemy base. From here on your choices will vary depending on what your scout Marines see at the enemy base.

If your opponent is making less defenses and concentrating on developing technology (Mutalisk rush, etc. ), then making a second Barracks and going for a quick strike of Marines may be wise. If you see that your opponent is building for a rush, go ahead and make another Bunker or two and fill them with Marines and hunker down for the rush. You might make a second Bunker, although going for a Refinery and a Factory instead is also a viable plan. While the Zerg have lots of weaker, inexpensive units, the Protoss, on the other hand, have a few expensive but incredibly powerful units. This makes the Protoss a more manageable race to play. Protoss also have arguably the best air force in the game.

Their Scouts can quickly wipe out any enemy air opposition, and with the skies clear Protoss Carriers will dominate the battleground. For a good portion of the game, you " ll want to concentrate on simply churning out Zealots. Optimally, have three or more Gateways constantly pumping out Zealots, if you can afford it. These units are the least expensive in the Protoss arsenal, but that doesn't mean you should ignore them.

Once you get your Zealots close enough to the enemy, they will maul his units. Since Zealots cost only minerals (and no gas), you won't have to worry about building an Assimilator quickly like the Zerg. In the beginning, concentrate on gathering minerals to buy Zealots. Once you saturate your mineral fields with Probes, sending more to gather minerals probably won't improve the situation-now it's time to build your Assimilator. Don't bother building a Forge or Cybernetics Core until you have an Assimilator and are already rapidly gathering Vespene Gas. The Forge allows you to upgrade your units and allows you to build Photon Cannons.

However, you can't upgrade your units unless you have the Vespene Gas, and in the beginning it's more worthwhile to build two Zealots than one Photon Cannon. The Cybernetics Core is a requirement for the more advanced buildings, but the more advanced buildings require a lot of Vespene Gas for construction. Use your first two Zealots for scouting. When you have about eight Zealots, send them out to attack and have your scouting Zealots join the main attack group. Split your attack group into two smaller groups, so that your Zealots don't end up trying to chase a single retreating enemy unit while other ranged enemies are hitting you.

After the game has progressed a bit, you " ll want to take advantage of the Protoss aircraft to establish complete air dominance. Use Scouts to attack enemy air units, but don't use them to attack ground units if they can fire back. If you see Zerg Scourges or Queens, be sure to take them out of the game quickly. Scouts are much more effective with the speed upgrade, which allows them to fly in, fire off a volley of missiles, and retreat. Against many types of enemy aircraft this tactic will allow the Scouts to retreat unscathed, leaving behind a crashing enemy aircraft. Recharge your Scouts's hields at a Shield Battery after such an attack.

Air force management is the key to the game. Your Scouts should huddle near your Carriers, and leave the pack only to attack enemies that are attacking your Carriers. Otherwise, let your Carriers do their work from as long range as possible, where they are less susceptible to enemy fire. Use Carriers to attack any enemy units or structures that can fire back as its first priority.

Once there is no longer any resistance, then and only then should you try to attack enemy ground units. TIP: Always bring an Observer or two with your aircraft when playing against Terran opponents, whose cloaked Wraiths could prove to be an annoyance. If you are playing an island map, build a Robotics Facility early on to allow for expansion. Each shuttle can fit four Zealots, which together pack a considerable amount of power. Always bring along Zealots to protect your Carriers. Whenever your opponent has ground units that can attack your aircraft, send in the Zealots to snuff them out.

If you can give your Carriers free reign of the skies, you probably have the game sealed. WARNING: You can stack Carriers on top of one another, thus making them appear fewer in number to the enemy. Yet, this ability is extremely dangerous. One or two Psionic Storms or other special abilities can wipe out your entire fleet in one go. Spread your carriers out!

Against Protoss players, build Scouts before building Carriers, otherwise your Carrier will just get bulldozed by enemy Scouts. After building your first Carrier, you should probably consider expanding to a new mineral field. The Carrier, coupled with your Zealots, can usually adequately protect your new base. You usually only need one Probe to establish a new base, since a single Probe can begin the construction of multiple buildings simultaneously. After you establish your second base and the resources begin to flow, immediately build a Citadel of A dun and research the Zealot speed upgrade. With the speed upgrade, the Zealot overcomes its disadvantage of having no range attack.

Next build the Templar Archives. The Templar is a relatively inexpensive unit that proves to be a worthy investment-its Psionic Storm spell kills enemy units with aplomb. Psionic Storm works best when your opponent fighting other members of your forces. If you have large numbers of Templars but no regular troops or aircraft, your enemy will be able to quickly kill off all your Templars because they have such low hit points. Instead, Templars should lurk around in the rear of your army away from the heavy fighting, ready for use once the enemy approaches. Use the Templar's Psionic Storm ability in the path of incoming enemy attackers, and when they arrive to attack they will all be greatly damaged and easy pickings.

Use it when attacking an enemy base, and it will force him to come out to meet you away from the safety of his base defenses. The strengths of the Protoss really shine late in the game, after you " ve deployed its full arsenal. Scouts, with the assistance of Carriers, dominate the skies. Swarms of Zealots, the Templars' Psionic Storm, and Carriers providing long-range support control the ground. Special abilities like Hallucination and the Arbiter's Cloaking allow Protoss players to maximize the effectiveness of their forces. The Templar's Hallucination ability will begin to play a significant role late in the game.

Not only do Hallucinated units cause your opponent to vastly overestimate the strength of your military, but they have immense offensive potential as well. Put the weaponless Hallucinations in the front of your attack force and they will draw most of the fire, allowing your real units to attack freely. Arbiters also begin to play a role late in the game, and can make the difference between victory and defeat. The Arbiter cloaks all nearby units, and if your opponent isn't expecting it you could easily wipe out his entire force in an ambush by cloaking your air fleet. Arbiters will also allow you to win battles in which you find yourself greatly outnumbered and outmatched. Use the Stasis ability to paralyze clumps of enemy units, so that you deal with the enemy in small groups instead of the entire enemy military in full force.

The Photon Cannon is a respectable defensive structure that has both an anti-aircraft and ground-attack weapon. However, the Cannon is only effective in large numbers and with unit support. Left alone, the numerous long range weapons like Zerg Guardians, Protoss Reavers, and Terran Siege Tanks will rip the Protoss defensive structures to pieces. The Photon Cannon's best feature is its cloak-detecting capability. If you want a powerful defense, the Shield Battery is the better replacement.

It will recharge your units's hields on a moment's notice. Surround a shield battery with Dragoons, and whenever the Dragoons get damaged simply recharge their shields-you can beat back large-scale air raids with such a strategy. The same strategy works just as well for any other ranged unit, such as Carriers. Unless you are massively outnumbered, Carriers positioned near a Shield Battery (and recharged constantly whenever hurt) should hold up against almost any attack. Starting out with Protoss Protoss are probably the most difficult race to master in terms of getting past the early game. On certain maps they can be quite vulnerable to Zergling rushes.

Also, the fact that their buildings take so long to warp in, and their units are more expensive, make playing as Protoss an "unforgiving" experience if you make a mistake with them. Efficiency is crucial. Here's one good general build order 1) Build 4 probes 2) While the fourth Probe is warping in, use one of the existing Probes to make a Pylon 3) Make a 5th Probe, and when it appears, your Pylon should be just about done, so warp in a Gateway. 4) Another Probe, then use it to make another Gateway 5) Another Probe, then make a Pylon 6) Your first Gateway should be through warping in, so make a Zealot. 7) Make another Probe, then a Pylon 8) As soon as that second Gateway finishes warping in, construct a Zealot there.

What about the Zergling rush? If you think a Zergling rush is coming you should change up and build a Pylon right after building your second Probe. Try to stack your Zealots side by side at a choke point, so the Zerglings cannot break through or surround your Zealots for an optimal attack. For instance, on Lost Temple, have your Zealots stand right a top the ramp to your base. This will force any Zerglings to take on your Zealots on a one for one basis, which is a losing proposition for the Zerg player, even if you " re badly outnumbered. After beating back that first wave, if you have a reasonable number of Zealots left over, start an immediate counter attack.

Your objective is to try to push your Zerg opponent into a defensive mode. If you " re not rushed first, at some point you need to use at least one of your Probes and your first Zealot to scout around and find your opponent (if you don't already know where the enemy base is). After locating the base, just send in your first 5 Zealots and try to wreak some havoc. Hopefully this attack will accomplish several things. One, you want intelligence information on what he or she is building. This will give you a rough idea of what strategy your opponent is employing, and allow you a chance to counter that strategy accordingly.

For instance, if you see a Zerg player upgrading to Lair quickly, you can bet he's going for Mutalisks. Go all out on Zealots and rush, while building up to Templars back at your own base. Two, you want to try and break through the first line defenses and do damage to the harvesting line. Three, initiating a successful first attack gives you a psychological edge and puts your opponent on the defensive, which is the first step toward success.

A lot of hard core Protoss players swear by the strategy of getting up three Gateways as quickly as possible. Personally, I think it's wiser to stick with 2 Gateways that are CONSTANTLY churning out Zealots until your economy is up to the point where you can have 3 Gateways CONSTANTLY churning out Zealots. If you think about it, it's pointless to have so many Gateways and yet, any one of them may be sitting idle because your economy cannot handle the production load. Another key is to not be tempted into queuing your production too early. Don't use one of your Gateways to queue up 3 Zealots while another is sitting idle. Early on, queuing is bad because the development of your town and economy requires having all your resources accessible, not tied up inside the Zealot production queue.

Until you reach the mid game stage, it's better to build only one or two Zealots at a time, per Gateway. Defensively, it's prudent to use more Shield Batteries and Dragoons than Photon Towers. Naturally, you " ll need some kind of detector ability if you see a Terran opponent making Wraiths. A couple of Photons scattered about will provide detection until Observers can be made.

As important as reconnaissance is, Protoss probably have the worst recon capability of any race. Terrans can use Comsat to safely take a peek at any part of the map. Zerg can use Parasites to peer into enemy territory safely as well. Protoss don't have any capability of the sort, except for Observers, and once towers are constructed in the enemy town, you can pretty much forget about keeping Observers over the enemy base. For this reason, it's probably a good idea to have a Zealot or two run a suicide mission through enemy bases to try and gain intelligence.

If the entrance is plugged up, air drop one or two in the rear to run around and see what's going on. Later on, Scouts with speed and sight upgrade can speed over top of enemy bases to see what's going on. Take advantage of special abilities like Burrowing. Burrow most of the defending units in your town until your enemy decides to attack. This might give your enemy false recon information and fool him into thinking you have fewer troops there than you really do, causing him to underestimate the needed size of his attacking force.

When the attack arrives, un burrow all your troops for a surprise attack. The Zerg are a race of biological weapons. Their units are relatively inexpensive for the most part. They can also produce combat units at a much higher rate than the Protoss or Terrans because each Hatchery can spawn three units at once. Every Zerg unit can also regenerate lost hit points.

Use all of these aspects to your advantage and try to attack your enemies with a numerical advantage. You may also consider pulling back damaged units or burrowing them to allow for hit point regeneration. If you should choose to "rush" with Zerglings, try to get around enemy defenses to attack the worker units of the enemy. Zerglings are also effective against enemy structures. Use Overlords and Zerglings to scout the map quickly. Once the enemy has anti-air units, however, you " ll want to pull out your Overlord so that it doesn't get killed.

Zerg have the advantage of being able to morph three Larvae simultaneously, instead of needing to build multiple Barracks / Gateways. A common opening strategy for Zerg is to attack early by swarming the enemy with Zerglings. Upgrade the movement speed of the Zerglings early. If troops are guarding the enemy workers closely, split your force in half and use one half to distract your opponent first, then attack the workers. You " ll usually want to build another Hatchery inside your first town to produce Zerglings more quickly.

At any stage of the game, Hydralisks form the backbone of a well-rounded Zerg army. A combination of Hydralisks and Zerglings is your best bet for early game attacks. Send a group or two of Zerglings in first to attack enemy troops, then immediately follow up with Hydralisks to shoot from a distance. The Zerglings should buy more time for the Hydralisks to fire without being attacked themselves. Hit-and-run tactics work particularly well with Hydralisks against Protoss Zealots or other melee units.

Research the speed and range upgrades for the Hydralisks. Approach idle enemies with your own group of Hydralisks and target the nearest enemy unit, attacking from the maximum possible range. Usually your enemy will charge at you by targeting the nearest Hydralisk. Try to guess which of your units he's running for and draw them away from the rest of your Hydralisks, which should still be firing. The idea is to keep the enemy moving instead of attacking your Hydralisks. It's important for the Zerg to advance up the tech tree to take advantage of the more advanced units.

Preliminary Zerg units simply can't compete against some of the more powerful enemy units, such as Carriers and Siege Tanks, and even hordes of Zealots with their speed upgrade will pose problems for Hydralisks and Zerglings. Upgrade your Hatchery to a Lair so that spawning Queens, Mutalisks, and Scourges is possible. Build the Queen's Nest before the Spire to gain early access to useful Queen special abilities. Mutalisks are useful in air combat situations, and can provide good support to ground units. Scourges combined with Mutalisks and Hydralisks are the primary Zerg anti-aircraft forces.

The Queen has many abilities that are useful for any Zerg military effort. Ensnare is the most useful and practical ability of the Queen, which will slow down a group of enemy units' movement and firing speed. Always use it on enemy units first, then follow it up with your own attack group. Another important spell for the Queen is Broodling.

Locate the most dangerous enemy units before sending in your attack force. Good targets include units like Terran Siege Tanks, Zerg Ultralisks, and Protoss Templars. The Lair also contains many useful upgrades for the Zerg Overlord. The first one that you should research is the speed upgrade. This will finally give the Overlord a decent movement rate so that it can escape would-be attackers, and make it more efficient in a scouting role.

Be sure to also research the Ventral Sac, the transport ability upgrade of the Overlord. Obviously, the transport upgrade is a must in island games where it is not possible to walk on land between bases. By this time, Terran opponents may have cloaked their Wraiths. Be sure to have an Overlord tag along with your troops, since the Overlord is the detector unit that can spot cloaked Wraith fighters.

Another way to reveal cloaked Wraiths is to use the Queen's Ensnare ability on the location where you suspect Wraiths are. The green goo of Ensnare will de cloak all cloaked units so that your units can target them. The Ensnare ability will also reveal Protoss Arbiter-cloaked units as well as remove any Protoss Hallucinations. Your enemy may have added an expansion town or two at this point, and you should have as well. If this is the case, make these expansions your top target priority. Chances are they are not defended as well as the opponent's main town, even though they are more important than their main town in terms of the resources they bring in.

Upgrading from Lair to Hive will allow you to make the most powerful Zerg units. Hopefully by now you have a few expansion towns in which you " re harvesting resources to support the powerful units you " re spawning. Harvesting Vespene Geysers is particularly important for Zerg players. Be sure to build several Hatcheries so that you can quickly produce large numbers of troops. The first advanced unit many Zerg players get is the Ultralisks. Be aware of its weaknesses though, the most obvious one being its inability to attack air units.

Because of its high hit points, Ultralisks are a good frontal assault unit leading the charge. They can absorb attacks from the enemy resistance while Hydralisks in the rear deal most of the damage. A common mistake of unseasoned players is to overlook the usefulness of Defilers. Its beginning special ability, Dark Swarm, is an extremely effective defense for your troops. Dark Swarm creates a cloud of insects that protects ground units within the cloud from most enemy ranged attacks. For example, you can use Dark Swarm on a bank of Protoss Cannon towers, so any melee units that attack those towers will be immune to ranged attack.

Think of Dark Swarm as a protective umbrella, protecting your troops from enemy air units like Wraiths or Carriers. Always use Dark Swarm before conducting an attack, just as you would with Ensnare. Be aware that Dark Swarm does not make you invincible; splash damage from Terran Siege Tanks (in Siege Mode) will damage troops inside the cloud as will any melee, non-ranged attackers like Zealots, Firebats, or enemy Ultralisks. Defilers also possess the Plague ability. The Plague ability drains hit points from enemy units and structures, and you can cast it out of firing range of all defensive structures and most units. For example, you can use Plague on Terran infantry and vehicles and then follow it up with a Mutalisk rush.

Since Mutalisks can hit multiple targets with one shot, the Terran troops will die rapidly. Combining Plague with the Queen's Ensnare ability on enemies makes battle much easier for your own troops. Plague also affects buildings in the same way, so cast it on defensive structures to wear them down before an attack. With the two powerful abilities Dark Swarm and Plague, Defilers should be part of all of your attack groups late in the game.

Once you build a Greater Spire, you " ll be able to make Guardians. These long ranged attack units are devastating in large groups. Use the advantage of their extremely long range to soften up any fortified town before sending in ground troops. They " re great for long range shelling on island maps as well, but are vulnerable to anti-air units and area effect "spells". The best way to defend them is to keep some Scourges, Mutalisks, and a Queen nearby to buy time for the Guardians to retreat. You can also try protecting them from anti-air units by positioning Hydralisks nearby.

Use Broodling on any nearby Templars also. Psi Storm can make short work of an expensive fleet of Guardians. The defense of your town, as with any race, should focus around the defense of your worker units. Build a Sunken Colony within range of your harvesting line early on.

As the game progresses, build Creep Colonies not only for expanding your carpet of Creep, but also for their cloak detection ability. Spore Colonies supported by Hydralisks can discourage any type of air attack on your town. As with most defensive structures, however, you should never rely entirely on Spore / Sunken Colonies for the defense of your base. There are numerous units in the game that outrange these structures.

Park Overlords all around your towns so that all the surrounding area of your town is in view in the mini map. This will help alert you to the approach of the enemy. TIP: Burrow your Drones if they are attacked by enemy troops. They will be safe from attack and won't get in the way of your defending troops.

Burrow your Drones if they are attacked by enemy troops. Sunken Colonies in combination with troops can be much help in defense. Consider building them right next to one another in a row. Station Hydralisks behind the Sunkens and put Zerglings out in front of the Sunkens. The idea is to prolong the life of your Hydralisks and Sunken Colonies. Just be careful to spot any long range units or "magic" users; try to kill them before they come in range.

WARNING: Although the Plague ability works well during attacks on other towns, avoid using it as a defensive measure. Careless placement could result in the Plaguing of your own troops and buildings. Although the Plague ability works well during attacks on other towns, avoid using it as a defensive measure. To defending against air units, enlist a combination of Hydralisks, Spore Colonies, and Scourges. Have the Scourges patrol back and forth across your town. If you " re lucky they might auto-acquire enemy transports full of troops and destroy them along with their living cargo.

Your Spore Colonies and Hydralisks should be able to handle the rest. Starting out with Zerg Zerg should almost always try to attack quickly with six Zerglings unless there is no chance for a very early attack. These would include maps like Discovery and Dire Straits. Here's a conservative build order: 1.5 Drones 2. fifth Drone makes a Spawning Pool 3. Another Drone, put it on Minerals 4. While that Drone is building, take a Drone off of minerals and make a gas Extractor 5.

Make an Overlord 6. Another Drone: put this Drone on gas 7. The Overlord and Spawning Pool should finish at about the same time, and you " ll have 150+ minerals. Three larvae should also be squirming around so you now have a choice.

You can make six Zerglings for an early attack, 3 Drones for building up your economy further, or some combination of the two. In most cases, particularly against Protoss players, you " ll want to use the six Zerglings and strike at the Probes. Against Terrans, it's also wise to deal some damage before they can set their defenses in place. On an island map or a map where a rush from the enemy player is highly unlikely, you " ll want to make Drones at step 7 to build up the economy and get a Hydralisk Den up sooner. Of course on an island map, you " ll want to start your Lair upgrade before putting up a Hydralisk Den. In the event that you " re going for a Mutalisk rush, skip the Hydralisk Den altogether and rely on masses of Zerglings and a Sunken Colony or two for defense until you can get Mutalisks out.

You " ll soon reach a point in the early minutes where you " re bringing in minerals faster than you can spend it. When you " re finding that larvae aren't popping out of your Hatchery fast enough (minerals are piling up over 300), it's time to build a second Hatchery. I almost always build my second Hatchery in the starting town because it's necessary for Zerg to attack in huge numbers (especially against Protoss). Having a second Hatchery early on will afford you this luxury. You " ll usually do this sometime after your third Overlord is flying about, and after your Hydralisk Den is operational. Against Protoss Zealots, your best bet is a combination of Zerglings and Hydralisks.

Have about 2 x-3 x as many Zerglings as Hydralisks, and use the Zerglings to attack first. The idea is that you want the Zerglings to occupy the Zealots while your Hydralisks attack from a distance, unscathed. Of course, early on, you might have to fight a battle or two against Zealots with Zerglings only. Obviously you " ll need to outnumber the Zealots by a lot, so having that early second Hatchery and an Overlord over their base will help your planning and execution tremendously.

During the battles, be sure you target individual Zealots with 5 or 6 Zerglings at a time for maximum efficiency. Don't let your Zerglings spread their attention too thinly. Against Terrans, attacking early can be risky. Bunkers are very dangerous for Zerglings to go up against. In the case that there are two full Bunkers within firing range of each other, even 24 Zerglings might not be enough to break the defense, especially if your opponent uses SCVs to repair the Bunkers as they " re being attacked. Zerglings supported by Hydralisks might stand a chance, but if there are Bunkers established, the best thing to do is run around the Bunkers and find SCVs and / or buildings that are not within the protective embrace of the Bunkers.

Attack these and try to bait your opponent into leaving his Bunkers to protect his buildings. If there's no way to bypass the Bunkers, you should probably lay back and wait until you get long range units (Guardians) or Defilers, whose Dark Swarm can provide protection. If nothing is covering the SCVs at the back of the town, go for an air drop of Hydras, and / or Mutalisks. Playing Zerg on Zerg opens up some interesting possibilities.

You " ll definitely want to fly your Overlord over your enemy's town to see what he's up to. This should be pretty safe until your adversary gets Hydralisks; once you see a Den being built, scoot out of the area. If your enemy is going for a Zergling rush, you " ll need to do the same thing to defend. In the case you " re both going with Zerglings, don't attack first. You " ll want to wait for him to come to you, so you " ll outnumber him (it will take your opponent extra time to walk over). Chances are, you " ll beat back that early rush easily and beat him to two Hatcheries if you can bait him into attacking first.

In the event he's going for early Mutalisks, go with two Hatcheries and overwhelm your opponent with Zerglings before he can get Mutalisks..