Blogs
StarCraft 2 Terran Play: Constant Aggression TvP
saltymango
Sat 26th May 2012 - 5:07pm
Introduction
Terrans low and high have been struggling to survive against Protoss players’ newfound PvT power, except for a rare few. In some cases, particularly those of MarineKing_Prime and TSL_Polt, a heavy aggression based macro style allows Terrans to constantly pressure their opponents to the point of defeat while maintaining strong macro and wildly taking the map.
Keeping unrelenting pressure on Protoss not only opens up a variety of windows with which you can win the game, but keeps them on the back foot, allowing you to expand with minimal fear of being attacked or harassed. Here we will go over the key points to making this style work, as well as its strongpoints against the difficult to deal with Protoss style of late.
This style of aggression allows you to maintain a constant army and economy lead when executed properly, as the aggressive attacking allows you to punish greedy play as well as maintain map control, while the rapid expansion obviously widens the gap between you and your opponent. The army supply advantage makes up for the slight upgrade lead you will be forced to concede to the double Forge style of play. The sheer production should be enough to overwhelm standard safe Protoss play, which is the only kind of play your opponent can safely do against your harass heavy style.
Opening
This style is not dependent on one certain opening build order, but you will want some form of early expand to propel yourself into an economically even or advantageous position in the midgame. To get you started, here is a simple beginning build order for the standard Gasless 1 Rax Expand.
10 - Supply Depot
13 - Barracks
16 - Marine
17 - Orbital Command
17 - Command center
17 - Supply Depot
21 - Bunker
22 - Two more Barracks
From here on out you’ll want to tech to either Medivacs or Ghosts according to the tech of your opponent, fast Ghosts vs. Templar and Medivacs vs. anything else. You could also choose to delay your tech entirely in favor of heavy pressure with four or five Barracks and stim/combat shields. However, with the low tech opening you have to inflict some sort or damage, whether it be worker damage or killing off sentries.
Without some form of damage done, you will be slightly behind, since the lack of Medivacs or Ghosts allows your opponent to take advantage of their tech path to bully your weak pure Marine/Marauder force. The most common path to take, and the most solid, is to tech to Medivacs, as it will allow you to execute the standard timing when the first two Medivacs are out, giving you the ability to split your Protoss enemy with a multi-pronged attack when his army is weakest.
Your final two-base infrastructure should include two Barracks with tech labs, one with a reactor, two naked Barracks, and a Starport. Your Factory can be used to scout and distract opponents. You should also be starting Bio upgrades to keep up with the Protoss Chrono Boosted Forges. After you’ve reached this point, it is time to take a third.
Late Game
The key to taking the third base is to do it behind constant aggression. By containing your opponent with the superior mobility given by your Medivacs, you can deter him from threatening your somewhat exposed third, and gain an economic and army lead. You should with proper unit and worker production be ahead in supply at this point in the game, allowing you to maintain the constant threat of drops (and drop when there is an opening) as well as use your army and Medivacs to gain whatever information you can from the edges of your enemy’s base.
You can infer a lot from small hints in the Protoss army and base. For example, if you see multiple Observers, you can guess that you won’t be facing early Colossus, since the Observers take up production time in the Robo. If you see a weak army and no signs or tech, there could be a hidden base somewhere on the map, and you should stim a Marine to scout for it. Respond accordingly to what you see, adding an extra Starport with reactor for Colossi and a Ghost academy for High Templar.
You should also add tech labs or reactors to your naked Barracks according to enemy compositions, tech labs for a Stalker Colossus ball and reactors for Marines if you see a heavy Charge Zealot composition, as Marines are more useful for killing off light Zealots that Marauders.
Once you’ve got your third base established and you’re nearing the 150 supply mark, you’ll want to begin expanding your economy and unit production like mad to keep up with the Protoss warp in mechanic. At around 12:30 Blizzard time, begin to construct three or four additional Barracks and get an Armory to continue your infantry upgrades. While you still have that crucial army lead, take your fourth base and even an in base fifth, if you feel far enough ahead.
Keeping an economy advantage over the Protoss is crucial, since their army tends to always be in the advantage in the late game. Add more and more Barracks according to your economy, while continuing to drop in the Protoss base and run small groups of Marine/Marauder anywhere the Protoss leaves empty. With your huge economy, you can afford to trade units in order to contain the Protoss’ economic expansion as much as possible.
Remember that if at any point the Protoss overreacts to a drop and sends their whole army out of position, you can run your main army in and snipe an abandoned Nexus, gaining an enormous lead. Don’t hesitate to use the incredible speed at which stimmed marauders destroy bases to kill Nexuses whenever they are open. Killing a Nexus not only makes your opponent fall behind in economy, but has a significant mental effect on a player, often giving you the win on the spot.
Positioning
When engaging a late-game Protoss army it is critical to maintain superior positioning. Attack with as wide a concave as possible, not in a clumped up ball, as this allows one storm or Colossus volley to inflict maximum damage on your units. Try to flank from behind, place your Vikings over a cliff or hole, and bring your Ghosts in from an unexpected angle to catch the generally well hidden or spread High Templar.
Dropping
Remember that it is better to do minor damage and save your drop for continuous threat of dropping than to risk losing it for the promise of slight extra damage. Babysit your drops to guarantee you are focusing your units on the most important structures or units. Prioritize Major tech buildings such as Templar Archives, Forges, or Robotics Facilities/Bays only if you have enough time to finish destroying the structure, if not of course you can never go wrong with killing Probes and Pylons.
Watch your drops as they enter the base and scan before you drop to make sure you don’t get intercepted on the way in by Stalkers, Cannons, or High Templar. Don’t forget under the stress of the late game to maintain constant threat of drop harass. You don’t want your opponent to become too comfortable at any point in the game! Think Mutalisk harass.
Although the Mutalisks would lose in a straight up fight, they don't allow a straight up fight to happen because the opponent would lose too much in their main base. But, if you slip up on your drops you give the Protoss the chance to safely move out whenever they want, which is not what you want.
Macro Better!
Macro is key to making this style work. If you allow your constant drop harass to distract you from macro, you may as well not drop, because dropping is hindering you as much as your opponent in terms of units lost/unmade. Not producing a unit on time is as bad as losing it, as production cycles make it so a unit missed will never be made up for with the same amount of production facilities till max supply. Basically, if you miss production, you max out slower, negating the army advantage you are supposed to gain when executing this style correctly.