Terran gameplay (StarCraft)

Gameplay attributes

 * Average cost
 * Average power
 * Very high adaptability: only race without location restrictions (can "lift off" and redeploy most of their structures without restriction)
 * Moderately efficient building method
 * Forces are comparatively weak unless set up initially before a battle (In order to fight zerg or protoss effectively, it is essential to stim the infantry, put tanks in siege mode, construct missile turrets and bunkers, etc.)
 * The SCV unit (the basic worker) can repair buildings and mechanical units such as the Battlecruiser. The Medic (only in the Brood War expansion) can heal the non-mechanical units and negate a limited number of spells.

Notable abilities

 * EMP Shockwave &mdash; Science Vessel ability; it drains the energy from everything within the shock radius and, on Protoss units and buildings, drains shields. This makes the Science Vessel extremely effective against Protoss units, especially those like the Archons who have a large number of shield points but few hit points. It also has the useful ability to destroy Protoss hallucinations.
 * Nuclear Strike &mdash; Requires a nuclear missile to be built in a nuclear silo (add-on to command center); then a Terran Ghost can "lase" a target for the nuke by pinpointing a red dot on screen. Note that all players will be notified that a nuke is being launched. After a short time the missile lands, doing massive damage to all nearby units and buildings. A nuke will deal either 2/3 or 500 damage to the target, whichever is more. Anything that is not under the laser point will be dealt reduced splash damage. If the Ghost does not flee after launching, it will be killed unless it has the ocular implants upgrade, which increases the sight radius of the Ghost, thus keeping it out of harm's way. While the Ghost is pointing, it can't move, attack or cast other abilites; however, it can remain cloaked if it was cloaked before the nuke was launched. Killing the Ghost during the "lasing" phase of the nuke (after the screen has indicated the nuke launch and before the red dot disappears) cancels the launched nuke, which is then lost.
 * Yamato Cannon &mdash; The Battlecruiser's only ability; it uses 150 energy to charge up and shoot an energy blast that has a range of 10, one of the longest ranges in the game. The blast does 259 damage. However, the range of the blast is longer than the sight range of the battlecruiser, so scout the target before firing for longest range. Also, if the targeted unit is destroyed, the cannon does not fire

Land

 * SCV (Space Construction Vehicle) &mdash; Worker. The SCV is considered to be both biological and mechanical; that is, it can be either repaired by another SCV or healed by a medic. It is also vulnerable to a Ghost's Lockdown and a Queen's Spawn Broodling.
 * Marine &mdash; Basic attack unit, can attack land and air units. They are a very good all-around unit. They are also the only "first-tier" unit that can attack air targets. They also have an attack range upgrade as well. Marines are among the most versatile units in the game; they can be useful even in the late game so long as upgrades are researched. Marines wear the CMC-300 powered armor suit and wield the C-14 "Impaler" Gauss rifle, which fires 8 mm spikes at hypersonic speeds through magnetic acceleration. Once researched, the Marine can also use the stim pack ability, which allows him to sacrifice some of his health (as the stim pack causes a large variety of health problems) for a temporary increase in attack and movement speed.
 * Firebat &mdash; Attacks only ground units, it has a short-ranged attack (a pair of Perdition plasma flamethrowers) that does splash damage. Splash does not hurt your own units, but will damage allied units. It shares the stim pack upgrade of the Marine. Firebats are very specialized units. They annihilate small-sized melee units, but later in the game, once the opponent has more ranged units, Firebats become less useful. The Firebat uses the CMC-660 heavy combat suit. Requires Academy.
 * Goliath &mdash; Mech assault unit, attacks air and land units, using dual autocannons against ground, and missiles against air. Missile range upgrade (Brood War only) rivals Guardian range. Goliaths are exceptional when coupled with siege tanks and marines, and are essential for base defense, especially against Zerg (as they are mobile and, with the range upgrade, can attack Guardians at maximum range, unlike the stationary missile turrets). They are, however, large in size and tend to be clumsy when ordered to walk in large groups. Requires Armory.
 * The Goliath was originally manufactured by LarsCorp Technologies, and was used by the Kel-Morian Combine for urban warfare and infantry support. Corporate saboteurs stole the plans and sold them to Confederate interests, and to this day the Goliath is well-known along the Rim.
 * Siege Tank &mdash; Can change from "Tank" mode to "Siege" mode (once it is researched), making it a stationary long range heavy artillery piece, and back to "Tank" mode again to move. During transformation phase and in siege mode, the siege tank cannot move or attack. A tank in siege mode has the longest attack range of any unit, and can shoot farther than it can actually see. Siege mode has splash damage while tank mode does not. Great siege weapon as well as a defensive weapon. Requires Machine Shop add-on.
 * Vulture &mdash; This Terran hoverbike is best known for its ability to deploy Spider Mines, as well as for its great speed. With speed upgrade it is the fastest unit. Vultures are excellent scouts and skirmishers, and are highly effective against Protoss ground units when backed up by tanks. However, due to their concussive damage, they are ineffective when used alone against large units. It is wise to restrict Vultures to anti-infantry roles.
 * The Spider Mine (when idle) mimics the Zerg burrowing capability. When activated (by proximity to a ground enemy that is not floating: floating units include Archons, High Templar, workers, and Vultures), it tracks its target and detonates, dealing direct and splash damage. Spider Mines can be destroyed either while they are tracking their target, or by other units with the help of a detector. Spider Mines themselves are not detectors, but they will still target cloaked units, making them useful against Ghosts and Dark Templar.
 * Medic &mdash; The Medic's main purpose is to heal biological ground units (Brood War only). Apart from its basic "heal" ability, the Optical Flare and Restoration abilities can also be researched. Optical Flare "blinds" its target, reducing its sight range to one and removing any detection abilities. Optical Flare can only be removed by other Medics using the Restoration ability. Restoration is a handy ability that allows the player to remove the effects of an enemy's special abilities from a single unit (except for the Protoss stasis field). The Medic also heals allied units. Requires Academy.
 * Ghost &mdash; The Ghost has several special abilities. It can engage a cloaking device (draining additional energy as it stays cloaked) and "Lockdown" enemy mechanical units, immobilizing and disabling them for a short period of time. Their most devastating ability is the targeting of a specific point for a nuclear strike. The Ocular Implants upgrade allows the ghost to have a larger range of sight, allowing a Ghost to avoid being killed by its own nuke. Requires Covert Ops add-on.

Air

 * Valkyrie &mdash; This heavily armored flying attack frigate utilizes an extensive supply of air-to-air missiles that, individually, do light damage, but have a large area of effect (Brood War only). They are extremely effective against massed units, such as Zerg Mutalisks, Scourge, or tightly-grouped Overlords, but are mostly ineffective against other air units. The Valkyrie was added to the expansion mainly to compensate for the Terrans' weakness to the Zerg Mutalisk rush. Requires Armory.
 * The Valkyrie was present in the Alpha version of StarCraft as a ground-attack bomber and gunship. It was named for the XB-70 Valkyrie bomber, a Vietnam War-era bomber that was never put into production. The original Brood War version may have been a ground-attack craft, and featured "afterburners" which required energy but enabled it to fly at great speed. However, it became an anti-spacecraft vehicle and the afterburner ability was removed.
 * Wraith &mdash; Starfighter produced at the Starport, can be upgraded at the Control Tower. One can research the cloaking ability that allows it to turn invisible for a period of time. The Wraith is good for hit-and-run attacks on enemy workers, escorting larger ships, and engaging enemy air units. It is fairly effective in groups against other air units but does little damage against ground units and buildings.
 * During the Guild Wars most space battles took place between battlecruisers and gunships, but the Wraith, agile enough to evade battery laser fire, has since replaced the gunship.
 * Battlecruiser &mdash; Arguably the most powerful Terran unit in the game, it can be outfitted with the Yamato Cannon (a magnetically-focused nuclear blast that must be researched), and can attack air and land units. However, its normal laser attack has an extremely slow firing rate, and battlecruisers with no support are vulnerable to masses of Zerg scourge and devourers (in Brood War). The Yamato Cannon also expends a great deal of energy, but can allow the Battlecruisers to fire a tremendous beam of high-energy that can obliterate any small units or buildings in one hit, such as the Protoss Photon Cannon. An upgrade of the amount of energy points is available. Requires Physics Lab addon.
 * The name Yamato is a reference to the classic anime series Space Battleship Yamato, and the title starship's massive and powerful wave motion gun.
 * Science Vessel &mdash; Spellcaster, no attack. It can detect cloaked enemy units in its vicinity; can place a "defensive grid matrix" around other units, including other Science Vessels, but not itself, which functions as an extra shield for a limited time (absorbs approximately 200-250 normal damage); or can fire an EMP shockwave to drain all buildings and units of shields or energy that are within its blast radius; can "irradiate" an organic unit, causing it to slowly lose hit points until it dies or takes 250 damage (whichever comes first) &mdash; this also damages other nearby organic units. Requires Science Facility.
 * Dropship &mdash; Flying transport, no attack. It is slightly faster than a Protoss Shuttle without Gravitic Drive, but much slower than one with. It is also faster than upgraded Overlords, and its toughness lies between them and the more fragile Shuttles. It can hold up to eight unit slots (each unit takes up a certain number of slots; marines, firebats, medics, ghosts, and SCVs take up one, goliaths and vultures take up two, and siege tanks take up four). A common tactic is to use a dropship as a spotter (especially for the siege tank). Requires Control Tower add-on.
 * The name of the unit, as well as many quotes by the pilot, come from Alien, the movie and its sequels.

Basic buildings
Unlike the buildings of other races, the major Terran buildings are mobile; they can lift off, fly slowly, and land elsewhere. Only air-to-air or ground-to-air attacks can damage these buildings when in the air. Buildings that have been lifted off can be repaired in mid-air by SCVs. If the building has an add-on, the add-on is left behind. Add-ons can only function when the main building is attached, and any one building may only have one add-on attached. If an add-on is left behind, any Terran player may take possession of it later by landing next to it. Unlike other races, a Terran building will burn down (take damage automatically) if its hit points are in the red zone (less than 1/3 of total hit points). Hit points slowly decrease until they reach 0, when the building is destroyed and must be rebuilt. Only SCVs can prevent the building from burning down by repairing the building into the yellow or green state (greater than 1/3 or 2/3 of total hit points, respectively).

Terran buildings are also bulky and have a tendency to take up a lot of space. Terran bases can fill up quickly. This is mostly due to supply depots, which, unlike Protoss Pylons, are used for only one purpose and serve no tactical purpose within the game.


 * Command Center &mdash; Constructs SCVs and serves as a drop-off point for resources (minerals and vespene gas). Also contributes 10 to the supply limit.
 * ComSat Station add-on &mdash; Scans a spot on the map for several seconds, using energy. Reveals all enemy units (even cloaked or burrowed) and buildings. It is an efficient and risk-free way of scouting out an enemy base (requires Academy).
 * Nuclear Missile Silo add-on &mdash; Produces and launches nuclear missiles (requires a covert ops add-on for the science facility).
 * Supply Depot &mdash; Contributes 8 to the supply limit, with a maximum of 200 (each unit takes up a certain amount of supply points). Supply Depots are the main reason that Terran bases are mostly cluttered. As they are needed for supply, they are constructed in great numbers. However, unlike Zerg overlords (which are units and take up no space) and Protoss Pylons (which are also needed for powering structures), Supply Depots serve no other inherent purpose, and take up by far the most space of any main supply-providing units or structures.
 * Engineering Bay &mdash; Provides three levels of armor and weapons upgrades for Barracks units and SCVs (SCV weapon is not upgraded).
 * Barracks &mdash; Trains Marines, Firebats, Ghosts, and (in Brood War) Medics (requires Command Center).
 * Refinery &mdash; Allows the harvesting of vespene gas by SCVs. The SCV which builds the refinery will automatically start harvesting from it.
 * Missile Turret &mdash; Provides automated surface-to-air attack - includes detector. It is often necessary, in Brood War, to back them up with upgraded Goliaths, as their range is not sufficient to attack Guardians.
 * Academy &mdash; Provides upgrades for infantry and the ability to train Firebats and Medics (upgrades include stim packs for Marines and Firebats, range upgrade for Marine, Restoration, Optical Flare, and energy upgrade for Medic) (requires Barracks).
 * Bunker &mdash; Has no attack of its own, but can house up to four infantry units (Marine, Firebat, Ghost, Medic, or SCV). Units inside sustain no damage, and are free to return fire. Marines also receive a slight range increase, that, combined with U-238 Shells, puts them on equal range footing with upgraded Protoss Dragoons (requires Barracks).

Advanced buildings

 * Factory &mdash; Constructs Vultures, Siege Tanks, and Goliaths (requires Barracks).
 * Machine Shop add-on &mdash; Provides upgrades for mechanized ground units (Spider Mines and speed upgrade for Vulture, siege mode for Siege Tanks, and the Goliath air range upgrade (Brood War only)).
 * Armory &mdash; Allows for three levels of weapon and armor upgrades for Factory and Starport units and is also required for Goliaths and Valkyries (requires Factory).
 * Starport &mdash; Constructs Wraiths, Dropships, Battlecruisers, Science Vessels, and Valkyries (requires Factory).
 * Control Tower add-on &mdash; Allows for upgrades to the Wraith (cloaking ability and energy upgrade).
 * Science Facility &mdash; Allows for the construction of and upgrades to Terran Science Vessels (EMP shockwave, irradiate, and energy upgrade) (also required for second and third level armor and weapons upgrades at Engineering Bay and Armory) (requires Starport).
 * Physics Lab add-on &mdash; Allows production of Battlecruisers and provides upgrades for them (Yamato Cannon and energy upgrade)
 * Covert Ops add-on &mdash; Allows production of and provides upgrades for Ghosts (sight upgrade, lockdown, cloaking, and energy upgrade)

See also: Protoss, Zerg

Techs
Terran players usually follow one of two main general tech trees: 1) Infantry and 2) Metal. It is not good to mix and match (unless engaged in a long match) because many buildings (such as academy/engineering bay and armory) upgrades for only one of the two tech trees.

1) Infantry is often used against Zerg opponents because of just how effective Marine/Medic is against almost all Zerg units (with the exception of lurkers). It is not as effective against Protoss or Terran units because of psi storm from Protoss High Templar and Terran Tanks/Goliaths/Vultures.

Against Zerg opponents, a typical build order would be a couple of Barracks (can also implement building block - see Strategies), Refinery, Academy, ComSat, Factory, Engineering Bays, Starport, Science Facility, and then expand to more buildings as you see fit. Generally (especially in long games), Terrans would just pump out Marine+Medic, some Tanks for siege support, ComSat for detection, and Science Vessels for detection and irradiate.

2) Metal is almost always used against Protoss and other Terrans because infantry is often ineffective. Metal refers to mechanical units (Tanks, Vultures, Goliaths, and maybe Wraiths and Battlecruisers).

Against Protoss and Terran opponents, a typical build order would be a Supply Depot + Barrack building block (see Strategies), Factory (2), Starport. From then on, the Terran will have to choose which specific strategy to implement, depending on various circumstances.

Strategies
Here is a list of some simple common strategies being used for Terrans:

Wall-in &mdash; This strategy is also called "turtling." On certain maps (Lost Temple, for example) there are positions where one can build a Supply Depot and Barracks where the two buildings can block units from entering or leaving. The Barracks can be used as a portcullis, as it can be lifted to allow units to pass underneath. This allows the Terran to defend their block from within the base (although this has rarely also been used offensively) with ranged units such as Tanks and Marines. This is extremely effective because the block are actual buildings and can be quickly repaired by SCVs if under attack, similar to repairing a wall from where one can mow down the enemy forces with barely any casualties. This is often used in the early stages of the game, where Terrans would generally tech up to metal units and would need a reliable wall to stop enemy forces from ravaging the base until reinforcements can come.

Dropping &mdash; One of the most notorious attacks Terrans are known for. After teching to Starport and getting Dropships, Terrans can drop units by loading them into Dropships and dropping them near weaknesses in the enemy base, causing large amounts of damage. For example, Terrans often drop Siege Tanks onto cliffs overlooking the enemy base and immediately siege them, attacking their buildings and units. Because the Tanks are on high ground, the enemy cannot destroy (or at least, have extreme difficulty in destroying) the Tanks. Drops can also be tactically used to destroy the enemy resource gatherers (using fast-attacking concussive/normal damage type units such as Vultures and Marines) and delay their economy for quite a while. And finally, drops can also be used as a large-scale attack force. Sending a group of 6-8 dropships and a Science Vessel or two, Terrans can unload a whole army of Tanks, Goliaths, and Marines+Medics inside an unguarded point in the enemy base.

Wraiths &mdash; Wraiths are often used against enemy Terrans, due to their lack of ready detectors (unlike Photon Cannons for Protoss and Overlords for Zerg). With their Cloaking ability, Wraiths can attack targets unguarded by stationary Turrets or Science Vessels. Even with a ComSat scanner, detection is only temporary; the Wraiths can retreat, and attack again.

Irradiate &mdash; Used primarily against Zerg opponents, or expensive Protoss units such as a High Templar or Dark Templar. A variant strategy involves irradiating one's own mechanical unit (such as another Science Vessel), and moving it into melee range with enemy units, particularly workers, damaging and killing as many as possible before the Irradiate wears off.

Tank Push &mdash; This refers to the practice of "leapfrogging" Siege Tanks into enemy positions. Since the range of sieged Tanks is so large, one can attack the enemy base and destroy its frontline defenses, then inch some Tanks forward and continue destroying the defenses behind those.

Bunker Hopping &mdash; Refers to the similar practice of "leapfrogging" bunkers. One bunker staffed with marines is used to defend the SCV building another bunker which is then staffed to protect the building of another bunker etc., to create defense in depth.