"These new siege tanks work just like the old ones. When you put 'em in siege mode they get increased range and firepower. They can't move in siege mode, so if you need to reposition 'em, just switch 'em back into tank mode."
The siege tank provides the terrans with a marriage between armored infantry support and mobile, long range firepower. It is voiced by Matthew Samia, reprising his role from StarCraft.[2]
The siege tank continues to function as it did in previous games with the dual tank and artillery modes, except it doesn't require as much support as is needed in the original StarCraft. While in "siege mode," the tank cannot fire at "point-blank" range. This "dead zone" leaves the tank vulnerable to attacks by melee units. It is also highly vulnerable to air units. The siege tank bobs slightly when it stops moving.[3]
Strategy
Siege tanks are strong against marines and hydralisks, and weak against thors, immortals, zealots and zerglings. Given its firepower, siege tanks are also popular with marines and marauders, providing artillery support for both defensive and offensive roles. When combined with the MMM combo, it is especially effective against roaches, ultralisks, stalkers and even deterring colossi to an extent.
Groups of siege tanks do not "overfire." If one zergling attacks twelve tanks, only one tank fires because only one shell is needed for the kill. This means enemies can no longer take advantage of the tank's slow shot cooldown, further increasing its power and versatility.
Combined arms
Splitting tanks in multiple groups prevents a tank column from entering siege mode all at once and out of position. Other units should screen tanks in siege mode; this prevents tanks from being hit from friendly shock cannon fire when enemy units close the minimum range. The tank's siege mode range is greater than its sight range; supporting a tank with spotters is useful.
Building an army of both siege tanks and thors is possible, but expensive. The combination is difficult to stop.[4]
Siege tanks do not operate well in conjunction with widow mines, as the damage they can do to enemy units (killing them) prevents widow mines from detonating.[5]
Siege tank shock cannons deal 75% less splash damage to friendly units.
LarsCorp has developed a "smart shell" for the siege tank that scans for allies on impact and adjusts its detonation to minimize damage to friendly units. Field tests have shown that this shell reduces friendly fire fatalities by 75%, though due caution is still recommended when walking into a fire zone.
Attack upgrades improve attack cooldown of affected units by 5% per level.
These self-replicating ultra capacitors reduce the reload time of weapons and systems. Now each of the weapon upgrades at the armory and engineering bay increases attack speed by 5% in addition to increasing damage.
Armor upgrades increase health of affected units by 5% per level.[8]
We have created a new lightweight alloy called vanadium. Vanadium diffuses weapon impacts much more efficiently than traditional armor plating, and it better preserves the life of our units. Now each of the armor upgrades in the armory and engineering bay increases unit life by 5% in addition to increasing armor.
Damaged mechanical units recover hit points when out of combat, at a rate of 0.6015 each second.[9]
Our ship and vehicle hulls are now made from a material called Regenerative Bio-Steel. This material uses internal nanobots to slowly repair any damage the hull sustains. While this regeneration process is much slower than conventional SCV repairs, it can be the difference between life and death if no SCVs are available.
In Co-op Missions, Jim Raynor and Rory Swann can build siege tanks, but have different upgrades for them. Siege tech is automatically researched in this gameplay mode. They do not deal splash damage to allied units. Rory Swann can transported siege tanks in siege mode with hercules dropship.[10][11]
Siege Mode: Transforms the Siege Tank into siege mode where it gains splash damage, greatly increased range and damage at the cost of losing all mobility and a slower firing rate.
Tank Mode: Transforms the Siege Tank back into tank mode, where it gains the ability to move and fire at faster rate.
Usage
Hotkey
Siege Mode: E Tank Mode: D
Cost
Transform into Siege Mode: 4.0417~4.5417 (Basic) 2.0417~2.5417 (With Advanced Siege Tech) Transform into Tank Mode: 3.5417~4.0417 (Basic) 1.5417~2.0417 (With Advanced Siege Tech)
150 Mastery: -3 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 60 150 Mastery: -3 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 60 90
100 Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40 100 Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40 60
Effect
Basic
Movement Speed: 4.5 With Rough Rider Movement Speed: 3.38 Attack Speed: Tank Mode: 0.52
0.45 (with Mercenary Munitions) Mastery: +1% per Mech Attack Speed mastery point. Up to a maximum 0.35 Siege Mode: 1.5
1.31 (with Mercenary Munitions)
Mastery: +1% per Mech Attack Speed mastery point. Up to a maximum 1.01
200 Mastery: -4 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 80 200 Mastery: -4 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 80 120
100 Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40 100 Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40 160
Effect
Damage in Tank mode: 17 (+11 vs Armored) Damage in Siege mode: 38 (+16 vs Armored)
Level 2
Cost
175 Mastery: -3.5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 70 175 Mastery: -3.5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 70 190
Effect
Damage in Tank mode: 19 (+12 vs Armored) Damage in Siege mode: 41 (+17 vs Armored)
Level 3
Cost
250 Mastery: -5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 100 250 Mastery: -5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 100 220
Effect
Damage in Tank mode: 21 (+13 vs Armored) Damage in Siege mode: 44 (+18 vs Armored)
100 Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40 100 Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40 160
Effect
Hit points: 176
Armor: 2
5 (Siege Mode with Advanced Siege Tech)
Level 2
Cost
175 Mastery: -3.5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 70 175 Mastery: -3.5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 70 190
Effect
Hit points: 192
Armor: 3
6 (Siege Mode with Advanced Siege Tech)
Level 3
Cost
250 Mastery: -5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 100 250 Mastery: -5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 100 220
Siege Mode: Transforms the Siege Tank into siege mode where it gains splash damage, greatly increased range and damage at the cost of losing all mobility and a slower firing rate.
Tank Mode: Transforms the Siege Tank back into tank mode, where it gains the ability to move and fire at faster rate.
Usage
Hotkey
Siege Mode: E Tank Mode: D
Cost
Transform into Siege Mode: 4.0417~4.5417 Transform into Tank Mode: 3.5417~4.0417
Allows destroyed siege tanks to be rebuilt in the field when destroyed. The wreckage of the units can be attacked and destroyed.
Usage
Hotkey
R
Cost
125 Mastery: -2.5 per Immortality Protocol Cost and Cooldown Duration mastery point. Down to a minimum 50 9 Mastery: -0.18 per Immortality Protocol Cost and Cooldown Duration mastery point. Down to a minimum 4
The siege tank was premiered in the 2007 World Wide Invitation, at which much criticism was levied at the tank for its "cartoonish" appearance. One of the earliest revisions once the game went public was making the siege tank grittier and more detailed to appease the fans. Once this was accomplished, there was a stigma on the development team that the siege tank should be left alone as to avoid another backlash. However, this had to be confronted with the development of the Siege Breakers.[14] The siege tank was officially redesigned by August.[15] By October, the siege tank's attack range was increased.[16] In October 2008, the Siege Mode upgrade had been moved to the armory as an experiment.[17]
Beta Patch 8 decreased the tank's build time from 50 seconds to 45. Patch 11 increased its HP from 150 to 160 and modified its splash damage in siege mode to originate from the center of its target, rather than the impact location near the unit. Patch 15 decreased its damage in siege mode from 60 to 50. Patch 1.1 again modified its damage to 35 (+15 vs. Armored). Upgrade damage was also changed from +5 to +3 (+2 vs. Armored).
Balance Update #11 in the Heart of the Swarm beta removed the Siege Mode upgrade requirement. Patch 2.0.12 changed its attack speed in siege mode from 3.00 to 2.80.
In the Legacy of the Void beta, siege tanks could be transported by a medivac while in Siege Mode. They were carried underneath the medivac, visible.[18] A 0.53 second delay between dropping and the tank firing was added in Patch 2.5.5 Balance Update #1,[19] increased to 1.43 seconds in Balance Update #6.[20] This feature was removed in Patch 3.8.[21] To compensate, their HP was increased from 160 to 175, and their damage in siege mode increased to 40 (+30 vs. Armored), though their attack speed was changed from 2 to 2.14.
āGetting an army of both is quite expensive - though if you can build the momentum, it is quite difficult to stop this ranged combination. Karune. 2008-05-22. Is terran turtling going to be as powerful. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-05-22.
