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Goliath Carrier/interceptor break points

Forum Index > Brood War Strategy
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nyoken
Profile Blog Joined February 2003
United States102 Posts
March 27 2018 04:47 GMT
#1
I just created a video on important goliath/carrier/interceptor breakpoints. I posted it on my youtube channel here:



If you are a protoss player i'd appreciate hearing your thoughts!
noname_
Profile Blog Joined April 2007
469 Posts
March 27 2018 08:08 GMT
#2
Great video!

I really hope not that many protoss players will see this.
Actually goliaths don`t have 20 attack they have 10*2 and upgrades are applied to each single shot, this has some practical implications because shield and armor points will be substracted from your damage each time you attack.
[(base attack + upgrade) - (armor + armor upgrade)] * damage type modifier
So if you attack a carrier which doesn`t have shields with +1 weapons: instead of 20+4-4=20 damage done, you get (10+2-4)*2=16 damage done. Same damage rules apply to zealots, scouts (air) and firebats.
[Fin]Vittu
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Canada507 Posts
March 27 2018 11:37 GMT
#3
this is simply amazing, thank you Nyoken.

next question that I have:

when does one decide to target interceptors instead of carriers and vice versa?
The "Finnish Metal Terran"
nyoken
Profile Blog Joined February 2003
United States102 Posts
March 27 2018 15:42 GMT
#4
thx for the calculations noname.

as for when to attack carriers or interceptors u should attack the interceptors unless you see an opening to attack the carriers. for example, if the carriers are out on the map alone with no ground support you should try to pick them off. if you have alot of goliaths to control you can take 4-8 goliaths and try to kill the carrier and leave the rest to just fire on interceptors. even attacking with just 4-8 goliaths can kill a carrier pretty fast
funnybananaman
Profile Joined April 2009
United States830 Posts
March 27 2018 17:48 GMT
#5
Yeah as a toss, which im not toss main, but your carriers and interceptors get really vulnerable when terran gets to 2/2 and 3/3. the only way to fight back is to get 2/2 3/3 yourself, not skip the armor, and get mass of 14-18 carriers. Plus arbiters for stasis and abuse cliffs where the goliaths cant walk. thats the only way to win in lategame.
FyRe_DragOn
Profile Blog Joined November 2006
Canada2056 Posts
March 27 2018 19:47 GMT
#6
Interesting video, I never knew interceptors got health regen. About the upgrades, I think it would be better to keep going with 3+ air and also get a 2nd core for the armor upgrades by that point in the game. Having an upgrade advantage with the interceptor damage over goliath armor is still super important too, since it would amount to 6x8 = 48more damage each time.
aka DragOn[NaS]
TelecoM
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
United States10847 Posts
March 27 2018 19:57 GMT
#7
Wow, I did not know this even as a Protoss player, I thought it just regenerated Shields, not also Health, thanks for this video, also the information about going +Shields instead of +attack upgrades is interesting, I will be trying this out in my games, thanks Nyoken!
AKA: TelecoM[WHITE] Protoss fighting
noname_
Profile Blog Joined April 2007
469 Posts
March 27 2018 20:21 GMT
#8
On March 27 2018 20:37 [Fin]Vittu wrote:
this is simply amazing, thank you Nyoken.

next question that I have:

when does one decide to target interceptors instead of carriers and vice versa?


My rule of thumb is pretty simple for this: if you feel you can get into range to hit the carriers, do that, even if you can`t take `em down in the first instance. If you can`t shoot the carriers shoot the interceptors.
TelecoM
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
United States10847 Posts
March 27 2018 21:40 GMT
#9
How do 3/3/3 Carriers fair vs 3/3 Goliaths in large numbers? I'd like to do the math on this, then on 0-2-0 vs 2-0-0 vs +2 Goliaths and so on just to see.
AKA: TelecoM[WHITE] Protoss fighting
nyoken
Profile Blog Joined February 2003
United States102 Posts
Last Edited: 2018-03-27 22:55:07
March 27 2018 22:54 GMT
#10
once terran reaches +3 weapon the best protoss can do is return to 5 hits to kill an interceptor. it will never be 6 shots like when terran is +0 or +1. as far as critical mass carriers vs critical mass goliaths, i have a hard time killing carriers if protoss incorporates a ground army (even like 10-15 zealots or so).

if we are talking pure carrier vs pure goliath i think goliath wins because there will just be so many goliath shots. when i play as protoss i like to screw around and only make dt/carriers and in my expereience once it goes 200/200 goliaths vs 200/200 carriers your interceptors just get obliterated instantly.

recently i played a game as terran where the protoss went straight to +2 armor, and i had +2 weapon and the goliaths destroyed the carriers simply because he just didnt have the dps to kill my goliaths. he only had 4-6 carriers though, but it wasnt like i had 40 goliaths or something. i had maybe 16-20

also, i agree about getting a 2nd cybernetics core and upgrading simultaneously. but every protoss i talk to says they can't afford a 2nd core so that's why i suggested getting armor instead of weapon.
PaiNt)
Profile Joined June 2009
United States38 Posts
March 28 2018 16:58 GMT
#11
Whoa, I can't believe I'm still learning things like this in 2018. As a T player, I had no clue that interceptors regenerated shields and health (and that quickly!). I'm actually curious if the +1 shields is advisable in this case. It seems like there might be some benefit in having your interceptors return to the carrier sooner so that they have less of a chance of dying from subsequent volleys. Does anyone have any experience with this?
TelecoM
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
United States10847 Posts
March 28 2018 19:56 GMT
#12
On March 28 2018 07:54 nyoken wrote:
once terran reaches +3 weapon the best protoss can do is return to 5 hits to kill an interceptor. it will never be 6 shots like when terran is +0 or +1. as far as critical mass carriers vs critical mass goliaths, i have a hard time killing carriers if protoss incorporates a ground army (even like 10-15 zealots or so).

if we are talking pure carrier vs pure goliath i think goliath wins because there will just be so many goliath shots. when i play as protoss i like to screw around and only make dt/carriers and in my expereience once it goes 200/200 goliaths vs 200/200 carriers your interceptors just get obliterated instantly.

recently i played a game as terran where the protoss went straight to +2 armor, and i had +2 weapon and the goliaths destroyed the carriers simply because he just didnt have the dps to kill my goliaths. he only had 4-6 carriers though, but it wasnt like i had 40 goliaths or something. i had maybe 16-20

also, i agree about getting a 2nd cybernetics core and upgrading simultaneously. but every protoss i talk to says they can't afford a 2nd core so that's why i suggested getting armor instead of weapon.

Yea, I always get the 2nd core when going Carriers but it has to be timed perfectly, once that 2nd core upgrades kick in, you can notice a significant change in the strength of the Carriers as the game goes on, awesome to know why now, it makes more sense.
AKA: TelecoM[WHITE] Protoss fighting
Cele
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
Germany4016 Posts
March 29 2018 16:50 GMT
#13
thx for posting the video Nyoken, it was pretty interesting! Will try to keep it in mind when i go carriers :D
Broodwar for life!
radley
Profile Joined August 2008
Poland582 Posts
March 29 2018 17:37 GMT
#14
This video is in no use for me. Against these pitty protoss units I just make for fun medics with blind + wraiths or mass marines and ghosts.
TL+ Member
nyoken
Profile Blog Joined February 2003
United States102 Posts
April 03 2018 15:44 GMT
#15
On March 29 2018 01:58 PaiNt) wrote:
Whoa, I can't believe I'm still learning things like this in 2018. As a T player, I had no clue that interceptors regenerated shields and health (and that quickly!). I'm actually curious if the +1 shields is advisable in this case. It seems like there might be some benefit in having your interceptors return to the carrier sooner so that they have less of a chance of dying from subsequent volleys. Does anyone have any experience with this?


after i posted the video i thought about this. it's so hard to test all this out so it's possible that not getting +1 plasma shields would be beneficial since it would be less likely for the interceptor to get killed.
LuckyFool
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States9015 Posts
April 05 2018 03:05 GMT
#16
Really informative thanks, never knew interceptors restored HP too, 20 years later and still learning things...would have been nice to know 10 years ago lol
K]o[L-Stalker
Profile Joined April 2018
1 Post
April 05 2018 06:26 GMT
#17
So would it be efficient to target individual interceptors with goliaths?
jello_biafra
Profile Blog Joined September 2004
United Kingdom6642 Posts
April 05 2018 12:57 GMT
#18
On April 05 2018 15:26 K]o[L-Stalker wrote:
So would it be efficient to target individual interceptors with goliaths?

Not really practical since they're so difficult to hit, especially when you want to target a bunch of them in a short space of time.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions | aka Probert[PaiN] @ iccup / godlikeparagon @ twitch | my BW stream: http://www.teamliquid.net/video/streams/jello_biafra
funnybananaman
Profile Joined April 2009
United States830 Posts
April 05 2018 17:53 GMT
#19
If terran has enough money in TvP to counter carriers late game it can be good to switch to 3/3 m&m and mobile asssault protoss bases. Carriers can't keep up speed wise and the interceptors get melted similarly to how they would against 3/3 goliath. Got to watch out for storm and dodge like a mf, and emp and lockdown help obviously. Little used but good counter to late game carriers.
Cryoc
Profile Joined July 2011
Germany914 Posts
April 05 2018 20:04 GMT
#20
On April 06 2018 02:53 funnybananaman wrote:
If terran has enough money in TvP to counter carriers late game it can be good to switch to 3/3 m&m and mobile asssault protoss bases. Carriers can't keep up speed wise and the interceptors get melted similarly to how they would against 3/3 goliath. Got to watch out for storm and dodge like a mf, and emp and lockdown help obviously. Little used but good counter to late game carriers.

Did you ever try that? Aside from the fact that you don't have +3 upgrades for m&m for like 10min after you scouted the carrier switch and it costs a lot of gas which you need for goliaths to not die, lategame protoss usually has cannons at every base and templars at most bases, so marines won't do shit.
http://www.twitch.tv/cryoc
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