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Ultralisk (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This article covers the now superseded Heart of the Swarm multiplayer version of this unit.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 Ultralisk (Legacy of the Void), Ultralisk (Wings of Liberty) and Ultralisk (Heart of the Swarm Campaign).
[e][h]Zerg Ultralisk
Unit Information
Type:
Ground Unit
Description:
Heavy assault beast with an area damage attack.
Cost:
 300  200  55  6
Attack 1: Kaiser Blades
Targets:
Ground
Damage:
35 (+3) (Splash 33%)
40.65 (+3.5)
0.861
Unit stats
Defense:
500 1 (+1) (+2 Chitinous Plating)
Sight:
9
Speed:
2.9531
Speed Multiplier on Creep:
1.3
Cargo size:
8
Strong against:
Note: All time-related values are expressed assuming Normal speed, as they were before LotV. See Game Speed.

Description[edit]

The Ultralisk is the Zerg's toughest late-game unit in StarCraft II. It can only be made once the Hive is researched and an Ultralisk Cavern is made. The Ultralisk has been upgraded since its role in Brood War: when attacking units (within a range of 1) its attack deals splash damage within a range of 2.5 in a 180° arc towards the target, albeit at a flat 33% of normal damage. However, this improvement is compensated for by the increase in overall cost, which places it around the same level as the Thor and Colossus.

Upgrades[edit]

150
150
79
Researched from: Ultralisk Cavern
This upgrade increases the armor of all Ultralisks by 2.

Abilities[edit]

Duration: Permanent
Zerg unit is immune to snare, stun, mind control, and movement altering effects.

Competitive Usage[edit]

General[edit]

Ultralisks, because of their 1 range, fare very well when paired with Zerglings or, in some cases, Broodlings. The Ultralisk's 1 range allows them to attack even when Zerglings or Broodlings are in front of the Ultralisk.

With Attack-Move taking priority over the regular Move command, it is therefore recommended to control Ultralisks in a separate group than Zerglings and steer the latter "manually" for a brief period - preferably surrounding the opponent's army - until (most of) the Ultralisks have "plowed" through them and are in range of their targets.

Vs. Protoss[edit]

Ultralisks can be extremely powerful against Protoss, but with a good composition of Archons, Immortals and Stalker/Zealot, a Protoss ground army can deal with Ultralisks. As Ultralisks are "massive" units, they can be used to crush force fields, weakening Protoss positioning in the late game.

If the Protoss has access to Stargate tech, Void Rays or Tempests are also recommended.

Vs. Terran[edit]

Ultralisks are useful against both Terran bio balls of Marine/Marauder, as well as mech armies of Tanks and Thors. Since it is so easy for Terran to produce Vikings quickly, they are usually preferred over Broodlords as the go-to unit. When used in conjunction with the Infestor, Ultralisks and their cleave ability can decimate Bio Balls under the effect of Fungal Growth. Ultras will often serve as the vanguard for a Zerg push, breaking siege lines and bio balls with their high armor and large health pool.

It must be noted, however, that well-controlled bio armies are hugely cost effective against Ultras, so rooting the bio force in clumps with Fungal Growth is essentially necessary at the highest levels.

Ultralisk use vs. Terran has changed since the Ultralisk damage buff and the introduction of Widow mines. Battles can quickly turn to either player's favor as a large number of units will die at once.

Vs. Zerg[edit]

Ultralisks are good in late game, as the only true counter to them is Mutalisks or Broodlords. Though Roaches can kite Ultralisks, Fungal Growth allows Ultras to annihilate them and they themselves cannot be rooted by Fungal Growth. Hydralisks are effective versus Ultralisks without Chitinous Plating assuming no upgrades (or upgrades that cancel each other out). However, with Chitinous Plating, Ultralisks can beat Hydralisks. Yet again though, as numbers get larger, Hydralisks' effectiveness increases; this is because several layers of ranged units can attack, compared to one layer for melee units. Ultralisks' splash effect helps somewhat to counteract this disadvantage, but often times it is not enough.

Gallery[edit]

Quotes[edit]

Patch Changes[edit]

References[edit]