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Banshee (Heart of the Swarm)
From Liquipedia StarCraft 2 Wiki
- This article covers the now superseded Heart of the Swarm multiplayer version of this unit. For other versions see Banshee (Legacy of the Void), Banshee (Wings of Liberty) and Banshee (Wings of Liberty Campaign).
Banshee
Unit Information
Type:
Air Unit
Description:
Tactical strike aircraft.
Built From:
E
Attack 1: Backlash Rockets
Targets:
Ground
Damage:
12 (+1) (x2)
DPS:
19.2 (+1.6)
1.25
6
Unit stats
Attributes:
Energy:
50 / 200
Sight:
10
Speed:
2.75
Strong against:
Note: All time-related values are expressed assuming Normal speed, as they were before LotV. See Game Speed.
Description[edit]
The Banshee is a strong Air-to-Ground unit that is built from a Starport with a Tech Lab add-on. The Banshee has a number of common uses. Used early on in any match-up, they can catch an opponent off guard and allow for uninterrupted harassment, especially if Cloak has been researched. For this reason, hiding two Starports can be devastating for an opponent if left unscouted. When supported by Vikings, Banshees can be used to form a very powerful air army that can be very hard for Protoss to deal with.
Spells[edit]
Upgrades[edit]
Competitive Usage[edit]
General[edit]
A Banshee can fire off salvos of rockets rather quickly, and one shot from two of them will kill any worker in one hit. Thus, if built early, upgraded with Cloak, and properly microed to only fire at mineral gatherers, they can destroy an opponent's entire economy within seconds. This strategy is highly unlikely to work more than once, since the enemy will be very careful with his detectors and workers after such a devastating attack.
Vs. Protoss[edit]
Against Protoss, Banshees can be a devastating attack force due to relatively weak anti-air capabilities of the Protoss Army. With Vikings by their sides, Banshees should be covered from any Phoenixes that the Protoss may make, leaving the Banshees open to lay waste to Protoss ground units with not much worry of response besides Stalkers. Additionally, the Cloaking ability of the Banshee can lead to surprise attacks should the Protoss not have Observers accompanying their army, or any detection around their mineral lines.
Vs. Terran[edit]
Banshees are a common opener in TvT, especially with Cloak, due to its ability to outmicro Marines and the potential to inflict significant damage to an opponents economy. However, they are vulnerable to Vikings, Missile Turrets and Marines with Stimpack, especially in smaller numbers. If you can gain air dominance, they can be used to snipe key units from the opponent's ground army, usually Siege Tanks, without much resistance. However, the main usage for Banshees remains harassment.
Banshees do find a "niche" use for resource harassment in the mid-late game, when typical TvT compositions are heavy on Marauders and Siege Tanks. Most of the time both players have transitioned away from anti-air such as Marines due to their high vulnerability against sieged Tanks, and the only other viable anti-air unit, the Thor, is far too immobile to provide an effective counter. If the opponent neglected placing Missile Turrets in his base, a couple of Banshees can devastate vulnerable mineral lines and/or coerce him into sacrificing an Orbital Command's energy for Scanner Sweeps that could otherwise have been invested into MULEs.
Vs. Zerg[edit]
Banshees can be somewhat effective in ZvT, although Spore Crawlers and Hydralisks* can buy enough time for Mutalisks to come out, at which point Banshees shouldn't be used because they lack any anti-air capabilities.
An unsuspecting opponent can be overwhelmed by a well-timed 1-Base Banshee rush, capitalizing on the Zerg's lack of early anti-air and detection. A Banshee can defeat one Queen, and with Cloak this becomes a non-issue.
Zerg players that upgrade to Lair have access to Overseer Detectors as well as the major Zerg anti-air unit, Hydralisk; those that build Evolution Chambers have access to the semi-mobile Spore Crawler turret for both damage and detection.
A successful Banshee rush can transition into an immediate end-game, or set the Terran player far ahead in the macro while his Zerg opponent recovers.
*Note: Hydralisks have 5 range (without the upgrade), while Banshees have 6 range - correct micro can mean that before the Hydralisk upgrade comes out Banshees can out range them.
Gallery[edit]
Quotes[edit]
Quotes | |||||
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Built | Selected | Annoyed | Move | Attack | Under Attack |
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Banshee's quotes (video and sound) - YouTube video.
Patch Changes[edit]
Patch 2 (version 0.4.0.14133) |
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Patch 7 (version 0.9.0.14621B) |
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The health has been increased from 130 to 140. |
Balance Update – July 11, 2013[1] |
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