• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 15:11
CET 21:11
KST 05:11
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
TL.net Map Contest #21: Winners2Intel X Team Liquid Seoul event: Showmatches and Meet the Pros10[ASL20] Finals Preview: Arrival13TL.net Map Contest #21: Voting12[ASL20] Ro4 Preview: Descent11
Community News
Starcraft, SC2, HoTS, WC3, returning to Blizzcon!20$5,000+ WardiTV 2025 Championship5[BSL21] RO32 Group Stage3Weekly Cups (Oct 26-Nov 2): Liquid, Clem, Solar win; LAN in Philly2Weekly Cups (Oct 20-26): MaxPax, Clem, Creator win9
StarCraft 2
General
TL.net Map Contest #21: Winners Starcraft, SC2, HoTS, WC3, returning to Blizzcon! RotterdaM "Serral is the GOAT, and it's not close" Weekly Cups (Oct 20-26): MaxPax, Clem, Creator win 5.0.15 Patch Balance Hotfix (2025-10-8)
Tourneys
$5,000+ WardiTV 2025 Championship Constellation Cup - Main Event - Stellar Fest Merivale 8 Open - LAN - Stellar Fest Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) $3,500 WardiTV Korean Royale S4
Strategy
Custom Maps
Map Editor closed ?
External Content
Mutation # 498 Wheel of Misfortune|Cradle of Death Mutation # 497 Battle Haredened Mutation # 496 Endless Infection Mutation # 495 Rest In Peace
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ SnOw's ASL S20 Finals Review [BSL21] RO32 Group Stage Practice Partners (Official) [ASL20] Ask the mapmakers — Drop your questions
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [BSL21] RO32 Group B - Sunday 21:00 CET [BSL21] RO32 Group A - Saturday 21:00 CET BSL21 Open Qualifiers Week & CONFIRM PARTICIPATION
Strategy
Current Meta How to stay on top of macro? PvZ map balance Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Dawn of War IV ZeroSpace Megathread General RTS Discussion Thread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread SPIRED by.ASL Mafia {211640}
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine YouTube Thread Dating: How's your luck?
Fan Clubs
White-Ra Fan Club The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread Korean Music Discussion Series you have seen recently...
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread NBA General Discussion MLB/Baseball 2023 TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
SC2 Client Relocalization [Change SC2 Language] Linksys AE2500 USB WIFI keeps disconnecting Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List Recent Gifted Posts
Blogs
Saturation point
Uldridge
DnB/metal remix FFO Mick Go…
ImbaTosS
Why we need SC3
Hildegard
Career Paths and Skills for …
TrAiDoS
Reality "theory" prov…
perfectspheres
Our Last Hope in th…
KrillinFromwales
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1357 users

[Q] Stim or Concussive Shells first?

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
Post a Reply
Normal
StarcraftMan
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
Canada507 Posts
April 10 2010 09:44 GMT
#1
I've asked several top Platinum players about this question and there doesn't seem to be a consistent answer. When I asked Attero about this, Attero thought that Concussive Shells were more useful for Marauders and should be researched before stim. When I asked Gretorp about this, seeing that Gretorp is a top Terran player, he didn't have an opinion on which to research first either.

I've heard various opinions on this issue, including the following:

1) If you are building a marine/marauder group, researching Stim first makes more sense because marines benefit from it

2) Reseraching Concussive Shells first is better for attacking because you can kite (although IMO, you can also kite in your base on defense)

3) Research Stim against Zerg but research Concussive Shells against Protoss (somebody needs to explain this in detail)

Would like to hear the reasoning for both sides on this if you're rushing as Terran. Please explain your rationale, including types of unit composition that favor researching Stim over Concussive Shells, or Concussive Shells over Stim.
StarcraftMan
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
Canada507 Posts
April 10 2010 09:45 GMT
#2
If a mod could add a [Q] to the title as I can't edit the title anymore, that would be appreciated!
Tropics
Profile Joined August 2007
United Kingdom1132 Posts
April 10 2010 09:48 GMT
#3
It depends what you're preparing for. Concussive shells are cheaper and the research is much, much faster so if your focus is on something early game get concussive.
blagoonga123
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
United States2068 Posts
April 10 2010 09:49 GMT
#4
i almost always get concussive shells first.
FOOL! Pain is my friend! Now let me introduce you to it!
StarBrift
Profile Joined January 2008
Sweden1761 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-04-10 09:57:44
April 10 2010 09:53 GMT
#5
Dunno if I agree with going concussive shells first vs toss. He will have an immortal out before it's done and you would rather use that to get faster stim or ghost. Unless you have both stim and EMP vs his first attack you need to pull 15ish scvs to survive assuming you FE and he 4gate robo immortal pushes you.

Then again. Don't FE, it's a freewin scenario for toss. There is no way on any map to defend an FE vs the 3 immortal push unless you have PF and if the toss scouts that he just expands to the gold mins. Been trying like 10 different scv cut builds to try and maintain the FE in this patch. Only the PF one worked. But obv not on Blistering Sands, Desert Oasis or Kulas Ravine as they can just enter your base where your PF isn't defending.
Talic_Zealot
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
688 Posts
April 10 2010 11:43 GMT
#6
I am not terran but it seems dependant on whatever you scout and/or which race you are playing against. Both are huge upgrades in any case. Although imo rushing for stim before you have medivacs never seems reasonable.
There are three types of people in the universe: those who can count, and those who cant.
lim1017
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada1278 Posts
April 10 2010 12:08 GMT
#7
stim first. its only 50/50 less and so much more useful.

cant really kite in large battles w/o stim anyways
kme
Profile Joined March 2010
Serbia176 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-04-10 12:29:55
April 10 2010 12:29 GMT
#8
The impact of concussive shells was biggest in the super early game, and now unless you rush it you won't have it in that stage. Stim gives much better DPS and movement speed, it is better then CS in every respect. I'm willing to bet that A moving with stim is more effective than heavy microing with concussive shells. IMO CS seems like a situational upgrade now.
Knutzi
Profile Joined July 2009
Norway664 Posts
April 10 2010 13:05 GMT
#9
if your going to do a fast expand i would get slow first, if not id say stim is better
duckhunt
Profile Joined June 2009
Canada311 Posts
April 10 2010 13:19 GMT
#10
get 2 tech labs lol
TurboMaN
Profile Joined October 2005
Germany925 Posts
April 10 2010 13:24 GMT
#11
On April 10 2010 22:19 duckhunt wrote:
get 2 tech labs lol


That answer won't help any1
Ranix
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
United States666 Posts
April 10 2010 13:50 GMT
#12
I always research stim first because sometimes I may have to transition out of marauders into marines (for example, if they tech switch to mutalisks). I like to have both building at the same time so stim and slow finish at about the same time.
Legends never gg
Craz
Profile Joined June 2004
United States69 Posts
April 10 2010 14:11 GMT
#13
I get stim first almost always. One of the few times I'll get Concussive Shells first is vs a reaper rush as it keeps him away from my scv, he can't escape unless right next to a cliff and it doesn't cost me 20 hp to kill the reaper before it gets to scv line when I don't have medivacs yet. Stim helps kill faster, move faster (micro). In a straight up even marauder vs marauder matchup stim will beat the guy who gets Concussive Shells.
Darox
Profile Joined October 2009
New Zealand3 Posts
April 10 2010 14:31 GMT
#14
On April 10 2010 18:44 StarcraftMan wrote:3) Research Stim against Zerg but research Concussive Shells against Protoss (somebody needs to explain this in detail)


The reasoning for this is probably because of zerglings.

Against roaches and zealots, attack/move/attack with conc works well because it keeps them out of range and they have enough hp for the slow to have any effect.

Zerglings are a lot faster (especially on creep) and have very little hp each, which means one attack volley will usually kill them outright rather than hurting and slowing them, making the conc worthless.
ImBa_JaCkAsS
Profile Joined September 2009
Canada200 Posts
April 10 2010 14:35 GMT
#15
I go Stim first. seems more efficient if I am trying to timing push or w.e
If I am dodging then maybe the shell thing
5 Pool for late games
StarcraftMan
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
Canada507 Posts
April 10 2010 17:54 GMT
#16
On April 10 2010 23:31 Darox wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 10 2010 18:44 StarcraftMan wrote:3) Research Stim against Zerg but research Concussive Shells against Protoss (somebody needs to explain this in detail)


The reasoning for this is probably because of zerglings.

Against roaches and zealots, attack/move/attack with conc works well because it keeps them out of range and they have enough hp for the slow to have any effect.

Zerglings are a lot faster (especially on creep) and have very little hp each, which means one attack volley will usually kill them outright rather than hurting and slowing them, making the conc worthless.



I find that kiting is easier to execute against Zealots without charge because they don't have range, whereas against Roaches, although marauders have longer range than Roaches, it's harder to kite and stay outside the Roaches' range.
DrainX
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
Sweden3187 Posts
April 10 2010 18:02 GMT
#17
I almost always get stim first or both simultaneously. With stim you can still kite since you get a higher movement speed and your damage output is higher. I usually mix in more marines since the last patch too.
Kakisho
Profile Joined January 2010
United States240 Posts
April 10 2010 18:22 GMT
#18
Then because of possible builds your opponent can be going, I'm pretty sure there shouldn't be a single better one to choose first. Mass lings? Stim, mass Zealots? Concussive. When players start getting more diverse compositions (i.e. 2 zealots, 2 sentries, 1 stalker early push) then it becomes more complicated than that.

I would say that one of the reasons why Blizzard made Concussive missiles besides ability to early kite a lot, it would make the decision of which tech first something that Terran had to consider rather than "Ok, get stim, and then get concussive."

IMHO, it depends on how early a confrontation it is. Earlier it is, then that means less units, meaning that concussive shells help slow easily a large portion of the army (because there are so few units total....).

Stimming 7 units will barely help it compared to the hp loss. When you have enough units, the overlapping fire makes stim much, much better.
Cold wind, chilling.
ahcho00
Profile Joined March 2010
United States220 Posts
April 11 2010 07:33 GMT
#19
i would say that if u see the toss pump zealots, concussive shells would be more useful as stim would just kill ur units faster. if u see stalkers/immortals go with the stim first and get EMP asap as u'll need it against the immortal.

it would depend on the scout but like some people i'm almost always getting concussive shells first because i like to slow the units down.
Chairman Ray
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
United States11903 Posts
April 11 2010 07:48 GMT
#20
concussive shells if you are defending since kiting stalls the enemy very well. Stim when attacking since it increases your DPS. When the enemy is retreating, even though it would be nice if they were slowed down, but you can just attack their buildings.
link0
Profile Joined March 2010
United States1071 Posts
April 11 2010 09:47 GMT
#21
I get shields first.
http://www.justin.tv/link0 - Gosu.Linko - http://www.facebook.com/link0
TheHof
Profile Joined March 2010
United States92 Posts
April 12 2010 19:01 GMT
#22
Start stim first. It'd rather kite with stim and no concussive shells than concussive shells alone.

In reality, I'm almost always getting stim and shells at the same time due to the shells researching faster.
"It's so nerve wracking, I'm just crossing my fingers and sayin' c'mooon esports"-Day[9]
earky
Profile Joined March 2010
United States87 Posts
April 12 2010 19:12 GMT
#23
Concussive shells first. Stim is best assisted with medivacs, and if you don't have the research timed with them, it makes more sense to go this route.
I'm a graphic designer, PM me and I'll gladly help you out!
Fallen
Profile Joined October 2005
Canada192 Posts
April 12 2010 19:15 GMT
#24
Stim is easily the best choice, you get 50% more dps out of your units when it counts. I'd rather get nitro boost than concussive shells.

I dont think I upgraded shells lately at all.
oh hay
AncienTs
Profile Joined March 2010
Japan227 Posts
April 12 2010 19:27 GMT
#25
Yeah, it seems that stim is the better choice because it allows for more flexibility in defense in TvP or even punishing opponent T for 1rax FE.
Starcraft Disclaimer Language: There is no imbalance, nothing is OP.
Excalibur_Z
Profile Joined October 2002
United States12238 Posts
April 12 2010 19:27 GMT
#26
On April 11 2010 03:02 DrainX wrote:
I almost always get stim first or both simultaneously. With stim you can still kite since you get a higher movement speed and your damage output is higher. I usually mix in more marines since the last patch too.


This is the right answer. Stim allows you to do what you would do already if you had Concussive Shells, but has the added benefit of doubling your rate of fire. Concussive Shells are mostly a bonus for kiting purposes and you're going to find them more useful for tagging retreating enemies.
Moderator
EZjijy
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States1039 Posts
April 12 2010 22:20 GMT
#27
Stim > Conc anytime. You can change/kite units fine without conc if you got stim...
FortuneSyn
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
1826 Posts
April 12 2010 22:34 GMT
#28
stim yo
wintergt
Profile Joined February 2010
Belgium1335 Posts
April 12 2010 22:43 GMT
#29
On April 10 2010 21:29 kme wrote:
The impact of concussive shells was biggest in the super early game, and now unless you rush it you won't have it in that stage. Stim gives much better DPS and movement speed, it is better then CS in every respect. I'm willing to bet that A moving with stim is more effective than heavy microing with concussive shells. IMO CS seems like a situational upgrade now.

I think it pays itself back very quickly so you should always get it when using marauders.
here i am
abominare
Profile Joined March 2010
United States1216 Posts
April 13 2010 01:42 GMT
#30
Short answer I get both vs toss, and typically just stim vs terran zerg. If i had to choose then just one then stim. You can still kite with stim just not as frequently. The massive plus dmg rate is too hard to pass up. If im going to have two raxes pumping out marauders I might as well get both technically I hit stim first but have concussive researched turning my first push outward. A neat trick is just starting the second gas for a few moments to rake in the extra gas before sending them back to minerals or transitioning up the tech tree if needed. If im going three rax pushes then I normally waltz out at about 5 mins real time and by the time i get the base both finishes within 2-3 seconds of eachother. about 30 seconds into the fight i know if its time to expand or grab my factories to siege tank expand.
arnold(soTa)
Profile Joined March 2010
Sweden352 Posts
April 13 2010 01:45 GMT
#31
against zerg I will make stim first every time because it applies to marines aswell, and im much more marineheavy against zerg.
Against protoss I go CG first IF I do not plan on getting early medevacs in which case I will get stimpack first also, I am generally much more marauderheavy against protoss because zlots/stalkers/immortals punish marines so badly... not even funny:D

"I like turtles"
Jonoman92
Profile Blog Joined September 2006
United States9104 Posts
April 13 2010 02:15 GMT
#32
I've been getting concussive shells first in TvZ (only match-up where this question really applies for me.) Getting stim takes a while and I like to push out before that.

Mainly because I usually don't try to kill the z, just apply pressure to force lings/spine/crawlers while I expand.

I never open bio in TvT anymore but in bio vs bio TvT stim is essential.

TvP I just lose, so no clue there.
begin
Profile Joined April 2010
United States21 Posts
April 13 2010 02:19 GMT
#33
On April 11 2010 03:22 Kakisho wrote:
I would say that one of the reasons why Blizzard made Concussive missiles besides ability to early kite a lot, it would make the decision of which tech first something that Terran had to consider rather than "Ok, get stim, and then get concussive."



100% agreed.

Ever since the patch I've been seeing myself use comsat for the first times in months. It's not a bad way to spend the 230 minerals. If they're getting roaches/zealots: shells. If they're getting lings or I want to be super aggressive I go stim.
begin.testchamber
Wr3k
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
Canada2533 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-04-13 02:20:58
April 13 2010 02:20 GMT
#34
Concussive shells vs roaches or zealots, stim against everything else. If it can be kited, get concussive shells, and even then, only get them if you plan to do some kind of attack or harassment where they will be useful.
Saturn
Profile Joined April 2010
United States17 Posts
May 05 2010 22:27 GMT
#35
I say get concussive shells first, it is only 50/50 and it upgrades significantly faster than stim
Lieutenant Dan, ice creaaaam.
Normal
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
LAN Event
18:00
Day 3: Ursa 2v2, FFA
SteadfastSC372
IndyStarCraft 172
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
mouzHeroMarine 476
SteadfastSC 372
White-Ra 181
IndyStarCraft 172
UpATreeSC 139
ProTech116
Railgan 50
ROOTCatZ 17
StarCraft: Brood War
Shuttle 441
BRAT_OK 64
scan(afreeca) 31
ivOry 9
Dota 2
Dendi1106
Counter-Strike
pashabiceps711
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu307
Other Games
FrodaN1463
fl0m772
Beastyqt610
Mlord527
ceh9448
shahzam239
KnowMe164
ArmadaUGS146
C9.Mang0100
Mew2King78
Trikslyr56
Pyrionflax41
OptimusSC21
Organizations
Counter-Strike
PGL174
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 20 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Reevou 11
• Adnapsc2 8
• Dystopia_ 2
• Kozan
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Migwel
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• intothetv
• IndyKCrew
StarCraft: Brood War
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• C_a_k_e 3027
• Ler95
League of Legends
• Nemesis2095
• TFBlade819
Other Games
• imaqtpie1248
• WagamamaTV329
• Shiphtur213
Upcoming Events
OSC
1h 49m
Replay Cast
2h 49m
OSC
15h 49m
LAN Event
18h 49m
Korean StarCraft League
1d 6h
CranKy Ducklings
1d 13h
LAN Event
1d 18h
IPSL
1d 21h
dxtr13 vs OldBoy
Napoleon vs Doodle
BSL 21
1d 23h
Gosudark vs Kyrie
Gypsy vs Sterling
UltrA vs Radley
Dandy vs Ptak
Replay Cast
2 days
[ Show More ]
Sparkling Tuna Cup
2 days
WardiTV Korean Royale
2 days
LAN Event
2 days
IPSL
2 days
JDConan vs WIZARD
WolFix vs Cross
BSL 21
2 days
spx vs rasowy
HBO vs KameZerg
Cross vs Razz
dxtr13 vs ZZZero
Replay Cast
3 days
Wardi Open
3 days
WardiTV Korean Royale
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Kung Fu Cup
5 days
Classic vs Solar
herO vs Cure
Reynor vs GuMiho
ByuN vs ShoWTimE
Tenacious Turtle Tussle
6 days
The PondCast
6 days
RSL Revival
6 days
Solar vs Zoun
MaxPax vs Bunny
Kung Fu Cup
6 days
WardiTV Korean Royale
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

BSL 21 Points
SC4ALL: StarCraft II
Eternal Conflict S1

Ongoing

C-Race Season 1
IPSL Winter 2025-26
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 4
SOOP Univ League 2025
YSL S2
IEM Chengdu 2025
PGL Masters Bucharest 2025
Thunderpick World Champ.
CS Asia Championships 2025
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025

Upcoming

BSL Season 21
SLON Tour Season 2
BSL 21 Non-Korean Championship
Acropolis #4
HSC XXVIII
RSL Offline Finals
WardiTV 2025
RSL Revival: Season 3
Stellar Fest
META Madness #9
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026: Closed Qualifier
eXTREMESLAND 2025
ESL Impact League Season 8
SL Budapest Major 2025
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.