Race:
Terran
Role:
Heavy Tank, Artillery Built From:
Factory with Tech Lab Addon Supply:
Cost:
Build Time:
Health:
Attack:
Description
Regarded by many as the flagship unit of the Terran side, the Siege Tank is the iconic representation of Terran firepower. Like its Starcraft: Broodwar counterpart, the Siege Tank can either travel and fight in tank mode, or it can deploy into siege mode and unlimber a devastating artillery cannon with tremendous range and horrific firepower, at the cost of being rendered immobile. The inexorable 'tank push of Starcraft: Broodwar, where a huge army of Siege Tanks would leapfrog each other exchanging modes and ever pushing forward while the opposition can do little but watch is well on its way of returning in Starcraft 2.
From in-game footages available to us, we know that the Siege Tank of Starcraft 2 is likely to be very similar, if not identical
to its Starcraft: Broodwar counterpart. Its usage is thus likely going to be similar as well, as illustrated by the trailer - fortify a position, and dispense some indiscriminate justice! Siege Tanks in siege mode are likely the strongest source of ground firepower in the game, and Terran Commanders will be looking to make every single devastating shot count in any ground engagement.
Strategy
Being such a pivotal unit of any ground engagement, the strategic aspects of the Siege Tank are indeed numerous. Being the key unit of a Terran ground army whether in offense or defense, the Siege Tank needs to be handled carefully as Terran ground battles are often over within the first few volleys, making each shot count.
In defense, the Siege Tank shines in its natural role, simply needing to be pre-deployed in critical areas such as above cliffs, behind a wall of submersible Supply Depots, or even in a lose formation looking out from behind a choke point. All the Terran player needs is some sight range to maximize his Siege Tank's effective range (usually by the floating building, putting tanks above cliffs, or even well-timed Surveillance Scans) for the Tank formation to deliver their payload to any unfortunate attackers. Attacking a set-up Terran formation is notoriously difficult due to the firepower that a group of Siege Tanks can deliver, often dwindling the attack force by over half before they even engage.
Offense with the Siege Tank on the other hand, is among the hardest crafts to master as a Terran Commander. In Tank mode, the Siege Tank cannot match most units of its own standing and cost, and thus in any usual engagement it is important for the Terran Commander to have the firepower and range of Sieged tanks. However, the Siege Tank does require a set-up time to deploy into Siege mode, during which the vehicle is rendered unable to fire or move. The worst situation a Terran Commander can find himself in is for his army to be engaged just as the Tanks deploy, missing out key volleys and letting the enemy close the range, rendering his range advantage worthless. By the time Tanks are deployed, enemy units are in close or melee-range, causing Siege fire to instead hit friendly units as well with splash, and generally resulting in a battle lost for the off-position Terran army. It is thus paramount that the Terran controls his groups of units with precision, keeping the Tanks in a formation ready to deploy while the escorting support army of either Marine/Medic infantry or metal units like Cobras and Vikings ready to shield the tanks.
Awareness of the enemy army's position is key, and scanning plays an important role here. When engaging, the Siege Tanks must Siege up as close to their maximum range as possible, emphasizing their range advantage, while the supporting army simultaneously does whatever they can to slow down the advance of the enemy, to allow the Siege Tanks to deliver a few more volleys before the enemy can engage the Tank formation. The extra volley or two will be the difference between winning the engagement and losing it, and upon victory the Terran army will unsiege and begin pressing its advantage, sieging up ever closer to the enemy's key points in a push of death.
Siege Tanks are of course defenseless against aerial units, making it important for the supporting army to have ways of dealing with air assaults. Otherwise, a surprise fleet of Phoenixes could easily reverse a push into a messy retreat while Zealots and blinking Stalkers dismantle fleeing Siege Tanks in their weaker Tank mode.
Terran push: Terran games often hinge on the push, holding a choke point with the power of Tanks and bunkers until the timing is right to try to break out, win the key engagement, and then push right up to the opponent's own choke point and then contain him with the Terran army. A successful contain like this usually means game over, as the Terran now has free reign over the map and a Terran with map control is very difficult to match. More often than not, though, the push will be halted halfway through the advance, and then the players will begin to extend their control over their areas of the map while engaging each other at every opportunity to try to break the enemy's hold. Either way, the push is often the Terran key to success, and the key to this push is of course the Siege Tank. The first important thing to consider in a push is timing. Especially in the first push, which can often decide a game by having it succeed or broken completely, the timing of the push is key. You want to time it such that the opponent will not have sufficient units or the right units to break the push, whether it is right before the opponent's second expansion kicks in, before the opponent researches Zealot charge, or before the opponent can build a sizable force of a certain unit. Catching this timing is difficult against seasoned players who will read the signs of a timed push and change his build accordingly, which is why many pushes will end up halted (yet not broken) halfway through. Timing is something that can only be mastered by experience and scouting, reading the signs of what units and what upgrades your opponent is making.
The next step is the push itself, un-deploying the Tanks and moving out with your whole army making a direct move to your opponent, leading with the supporting army and bringing up the rear with the tanks. It is often good to use terrain to your advantage, hugging a cliff to prevent being flanked. When engaging, Siege up the tanks at maximum range and use the supporting units to slow down the enemy advance, allowing the Tanks free shots that will make the enemy retreat if done correctly, setting up the next push, with the destination being the opponent's own choke point. All the while, factories are to be rallying reinforcing units directly to the site of the push. Assuming the push doesn't win you the game and is halted, fortify the position you are holding with the tanks and establish a rough line that the enemy cannot cross without having to engage a Sieged position directly, giving you map control over your side of the line. You will then enter a macro-based game from there.
Holding a push: Especially when containing the opponent in a choke point, or even when you are establishing map control with a tank formation, your opponent will always be looking for ways to break your contain or formation and hence gain an advantage on the map.
Engaging a Terran formation from the front directly is often an unwise decision akin to suicide, and will only work when the Terran is grossly outnumbered. Hence the opponent will either look to flank the formation from the back to engage the Tank line directly, or go via the air where the Tanks cannot lay down covering fire. To counter the flank, ensure that the tank line is not exposed to any possible enemy expansion via proper positioning of tanks against terrain (abuse cliffs whenever you can to minimize flanking). To counter air, build up Missile Turrets at the site of your push so that the enemy can't be sneaky with drops or air units without taking hefty losses. Of course, the real key is to keep up your own unit production, constantly fortifying your push and ensuring that you have enough of the map to keep up and step up production.
When containing an opponent right into his choke, the situation becomes a little different, but in your favor. Your opponent now has to engage Siege Tanks from the front, through a choke point no less. There is now no choice but the frontal assault and the aerial assault, and you should seek to make both as difficult as possible. Position supporting units, and even expendable buildings like Supply Depots and turrets or bunkers to the front of the formation, slowing down any advance and buying any number of extra shots for the tanks. Spread the tank line out and stagger turrets to prevent drop play, and have roaming units in conjunction with the spread-out tank line to handle tricks like blinking Stalkers trying to strike in the heart of your tank formation. Don't forget the reinforcements, exploit your advantage over the map, and victory will be at hand.
Weaknesses: The Siege Tank's siege mode has a minimum range, as well as splash damage. This makes melee units the bane of Siege Tanks (apart from the obvious air units). Once melee units are able to diffuse into a Tank formation, your Tanks will be forced to fire on each other and such a situation is usually the defeat of the Terran player. This splash can be further exploited when the enemy air-drops units directly next to a tank or any Terran unit, making the rest of the Sieged Tanks fire on that one unit but taking out the friendly unit with their splash. Hence it must be further emphasized that in any engagement or push, you must micro-manage your supporting units to hold off advancing melee units as much as they can, and employ static turrets or mobile anti-air units to prevent drop play.
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