Race:
Terran Role:
Bomber (Aircraft) Built From:
Starport with Tech Lab Supply:
2 Cost:
150, 100 Build Time:
Health:
Attack:
Description
A radical new design in the Terran armada, the AH/G-24 Banshee is
humanity's answer to the need for heavy-duty, air-to-ground support fire on the battlefield. As the dated Wraiths were unable to provide sufficient firepower while Battlecruisers were far too cumbersome for surprise raids, the stealth-oriented heavy bomber known as the Banshee was born.
Designed for the sole purpose of air-to-ground support, the Banshee was designed with no air-to-air weaponry, instead relying purely on air escorts in the form of Flier-Mode Vikings for defense. Once the Banshee is able to acquire its target, its fearsome armament of ATG Backlash Cluster-Rockets are able to indiscriminately comb an area-of-effect with heavy firepower, making the Banshee an ideal choice against masses of fragile units such as a swarm of Zerglings.
To compensate for the Banshee's weakness to air units as well as to further capitalize on its ability to quickly dish out heavy damage anywhere in a battlefield, the designers of the Banshee have improvised the cloaking technologies of the now decommissioned Wraith unit for use on the Banshee, enabling it to carry and deliver its payload deep into enemy-infested skies . Enemy ground forces would never know what's just hit them as a fleet of ghostly terrors materialize out of seemingly thin air, unleash a hellish barrage of righteous fury and then disappear again into the horizon.
Strategy
The air-to-ground specialist is a very new concept for Terran commanders, and in fact only Zerg players would have had exposure to this kind of unit with the Guardians of classic Starcraft. And as any Zerg player would readily tell you, Guardians were not an easy unit to employ. Being an air unit that could not retaliate to other air units was an obvious and easily exploited weakness, and one false move would easily lead to the destruction of your fleet (or swarm, as it were) with no redeeming damage dealt. The Banshee fits nicely into the role of the Guardian: as a fragile but hard-hitting unit of terror. Such a unit could readily turn the tide of battle in your favor, but it also needed lots of attention and adequate protection.
Protecting your fleet: The first and foremost on the list of things to remember when using Banshees is the escorting fleet. For the Zergs of old, Guardians were almost invariably escorted by either Mutalisks, or their air-to-air counterpart the Devourer. While the Banshee would not be extremely vulnerable to ground-based anti-air fire due to its flight, an enemy air-to-air hunter would have no such problem and would be happy to tear the defenseless Banshee apart. It it thus very prudent to protect your 150/100 investment with a Viking fleet. The Viking is a strong air superiority fighter in its flier-mode, and a combination of Viking fliers and Banshee bombers would mean a versatile fleet that can dish out superior damage against both air and ground threats. This combination was what Terran players could not achieve with the jack-of-all-trades design of the Wraith, as a Wraith/Valkyrie combination was seriously underpowered against ground units. The new anti air/anti ground specialist concept mimics the tried-and-true Guardian/Devourer combination of the swarm, and would allow humanity to match the swarm's capability and versatility in the air.
Cloaking Field: However, the Banshee is different from the utterly defenseless Guardian in that it can be upgraded with cloaking field technology, similar to the Wraith of classic Starcraft. Cloaked units are nearly hidden from sight and cannot be fired upon without a detector in the area, which means that the Banshee can be used for deep-striking the heart of enemy operations without meeting resistance along the way. The cloaking field can also be used defensively, being activated when the enemy engages to force him to lose his target until he can bring a detector into the battle. If planning to use the Banshee as a sneak-attack tool, it would be advisable to use a purely cloaked Banshee fleet with no escort in order to achieve the element of surprise and give your opponent less time to react to the inevitable onslaught. Cloaking can also be used as a deceptive tool, bluffing your opponent into moving out into the open or engaging thinking he has the advantage in numbers, and then showing him the error of his ways with a healthy dose of cluster-rockets.
It is important to remember however that detectors will definitely be prepared when the enemy scouts Banshee use, and the cloaking field must not be relied on completely to keep your Banshees alive and killing. Always be ready to fall back to the Viking/Banshee combination and rely on good old firepower to tide you through a hard fight.
Banshee harassment: It is easy to imagine the Banshee as a Wraith with a vastly superior air-to-ground capability but no air-to-air defense. The Wraith was often used as a strong harassment tool due to its speed and stealth, and the Banshee can only be deadlier in this role with an armament of cluster rockets as compared to the Wraith's piddling lasers. Like how the Protoss would employ a loaded Shuttle and how the Zerg would use a fleet of Mutalisks, a good Terran player should always consider having a Banshee fleet flying around the map ready to harass at every opportunity. Whether is it striking an exposed mineral line to pick off harvesting workers, or ending an expansion attempt before it even starts, a handy fleet of harassing Banshees would force your opponent to be far more conservative in terms of expansion and troop deployment, while allowing you free control of the map. To use a Banshee fleet as a harassing tool, simply keep them flying around the map (giving particular attention to unexplored expansions) and occasionally probing enemy territory, cloaking when threatened and picking off any undefended target of opportunity. The key is to keep the fleet always moving and always ready to kill, making them a constant threat to any move the opponent makes. Micromanagement of a harass unit is no easy task, but good use of harassment is rewarding indeed.
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