[LennX]

LennX Laboratory Learnings - Banshee in a Terran vs Terran engagement

Lab report 01-2559/991-001-BFG

Brief overview

Terran can easily advance through its tech tree. As compared to the other races, Terran is able to rush out a Tier 3 tech – a Starport - by the 6minute mark. For our report today, we have managed to get some veteran Banshee pilots who are willing to talk to us. Below is an interview except between LennX and the pilots. Names and photos of interviewees have been withheld due to security reasons. We are still at war people!

What is a Banshee?

It is a flying helicopter that is so advanced that it can turn invisible at will but not being able to shoot anything that is not on the ground. Moreover, Banshees are mostly piloted by women. Sightings of a male or a night elf pilot are greatly exaggerated. Rumours are abound that due to the more kamikaze like nature of testosterone driven men, they are only allowed to pilot more “sturdy” aircrafts like Vikings.

I can only shoot units that are of roughly the same height as me!

What do you pilots think of Banshees in a Terran engagement?

It really has to depend on the sector that we are at. Fighting at Steppes of War is totally different as compared to the Tal Da’rim Altar. Banshees are used nominally when the Terran rebels are spotted from our personal experience. Most commanders are happier commanding a marines and siege tanks army to defeat the,. We are only called upon normally in the early stages of engagement to do some harassment.We normally appear around the 6 to 7minute mark to an enemy contact in the same Koprulu Sector space after the base is set up.

Are Banshees really that important?

We can get a nice scout on the Terran base and see what the enemy is planning for the mid term skirmishes. For example, most Terran will not wall off when we are fighting each other due to easy siege tanks bombardment if buildings are placed at the edge. This is also why we should defeat Raynor and his rebels as soon as possible. By flying through the middle of the enemy base, we will see all the buildings that he have; barring, of course, proxy production facilities and random missile turrets.

If we are given a chance to pilot the Banshee, information on the enemy’s army composition can be gotten easily and our commander can infer what the enemy is attempting to do for his transition past the initial skirmishes. It is also another way to scout other than scanning the enemy base or sending in a SCV to its death. Saving a fellow Terran pilot, albeit a SCV one, gives us a nice warm and fuzzy feeling. We can get in, get out and live to tell the tale. How many of you people can boast of that?

So what do you do with the scouting information?

We relay it back to base to our commander. This should pose some questions to our commander to ponder on. The buildings that we managed to spot with the initial SCV charging up the ramp of the enemy base help too. A key building to note is the Engineering bay as it is a requirement before turrets can be built. Banshee pilots have nightmares of turrets.

With the scouting information that have being relayed on his tech tree and army composition, building the proper army to engage will be easier.

We are fighting invisible marines with gun-blades,really. Note our excellent turret placement too.

Why is proper banshee usage a factor?

We pilot a very gas intensive unit. You don’t want to waste precious resources dying to mere marines, Vikings or missile turrets. Good pilots are able to bring in a world of hurt to the enemy. Thank god our missiles have a longer effective range than those marines bullets.

You are at the enemy base and have finished your scouting, now what?

Don’t die. What we pilots normally like are to do some damage by killing those SCVs busy mining or building buildings. Hopefully, we force turrets to be erected if his OC has not enough energy for a scan. As most of the early energy is spent on mules to get an economical boost, this can result in a cloaked banshee paying huge dividends.

Are there any other possible uses for banshee in the lull between battles besides harassment?

One possible use is spotting of the enemy tank line in a tank stalemate, allowing our tanks to shoot from its maximum range. Vikings may be a better choice since they guarantee you air superiority but can they shoot land units while flying? A cloaked banshee poking at the enemy tank line forces him to un-siege and retreat, allowing you to inch your way across the battleground. Either that or he suffers huge tank losses.

It may force scans to be used in order to kill banshees or ravens to be built. Each scan that he uses means that he is losing a slight economical loss as compared to you. Raven being so gas intensive means a few lesser tanks from his side. They also require a Starport with a tech-lab add-on. This will eat into his Vikings production rate.

Another way is to get map control via sniping of scout units like SCVs and Hellions. This also prevents him from moving out especially if the Banshee is cloaked. He will suffer losses if he moves out without any detection or Anti air capabilities.

Now let’s talk about transition to late game. Banshees are said to be the flying glass cannons of the Terran army. Is the risk worth flying Banshees during the final moment of a fight?

There are some points to consider. We are the fastest Terran air units along with the Vikings. The only threat that can be faster than us are stimmed Marines. Thors are a worry to us Banshee pilots. Their air attacks are splash which packs quite a punch to us especially when we are stacked together. Being in light armoured units also doesn’t help as the javelin missiles are designed against light armoured units. That being said, thors are slow. And as long as we maintain our formation discipline to keep a certain distance from each other, those missiles can only target one of us at a time. Some people on the ground called it "the magic box".

Likewise, Battle Cruisers are also slow. However, care should be taken when being in close air combat manoeuvring with them. Yamato Cannon shots will finish off a perfectly good Banshee in one hit. Their laser guns pack a punch against air units. It is not good being near an enemy capital ship when you are in a Banshee. Trust us, we are veterans in these wars.

Thus, it boils down to our commander being confident enough to send us to the battlefield or not during the last stages of the fight. Goliaths are Persona non Gratia for the moment. Rumours are flying that they are grounded due to some hardware issues currently.

Thank you for the interview. Any parting words?

Banshees come from the advanced side of the Terran Army unlike some energy less Vikings. The men pilot the only flight unit that doesn’t have an energy bar. Medicvac have them, battle cruisers have them , Ravens have them and even the point defence drone have them!

Join us, apply to the flying banshee squadron. Women generally preferred.

*****

Looking for a TL;DR?

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Terrific lesson, do it right. If you have read the full article and have questions, feel free to ask. Please read the full article, there is no actual TL;DR

Written by LennX
Edited by Polalion and Faylar. Thanks for being a great help.
For Faylar take on Banshee, click HERE. For his other musings, here

Appendix
Banshee stats @ liquipedia

How many shots a Banshee needs to kill stuff.

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A SCV has 45hp.
With a +1 armour upgrade, an un-upgraded Banshee requires 3 shots to kill off a SCV.
A banshee kills a marine in 2 shots.
A banshee kills a marine with combat shields in 3 shots
A banshee kills a marine with +1 armor in 3 shots
A banshee kills a marine with combat shields AND +1 armor in 3 shots
A banshee with +1 weapons will still kill a marine with combat shields in 3 shots
A banshee kills a siege tank in 8 shots
A banshee with +1 weapons takes out a siege tank in 7 shots
More information @ click me!

BB code guide @ DOH!

Quick Comments

nirvAnA:

lots of great information here :)

[EveParachute]

Interesting read

[LennX]

Thanks Banshee usage for TvZ and TvP will be out soon.