[D] Some Helion Harass Tips

Logick

Singapore46 Posts

June 13 2011 20:32 GMT

Hey TL, I was a high lvl diamond back in season 1 (around 3.5k) before i had to take a break from SC2 for school. So I just go back into season 2 and through watching the current GSL Super Tournament and some other replays online, I've noticed, I wouldn't say a flaw, but a general improvement that can be made when using helion harassment.

Let's go through the basics first:

1. it takes 3 hits from a normal helion to kill a drone/probe, and 4 hits an SCV
2. and 2 hits from a blue flame helion

so generally what people do with helion harass is one of two things:
1. they get 4 normal helions to try and kill some workers
2. or they get 4 blue flame helions to try and kill some workers

Now here's the question:
If you have 4 blue flame helions, why would you send all of them to the same side to kill workers if they get 2 shotted anyway.

Assuming you approach the enemy Hatch from the right with your helions, the most common response is to grab all the drones, head out from the left and try to split after that to reduce the Helion Roasting Potential (HRP)

But what if you split your helions into 2 grps of 2, and intercept the drones that are trying to escape, because essentially, they are lining up right in front of you to increase your HRP.

heres a few screenshots:

Scenario 1:

i send my 4 blue flame helions to the right

my opponent follows the typical response and sends his drones out the other way

i split my helions as i see the line up approach

14 drones go down instantly in 1 volley, maximum HRP has been achieved

Scenario 2:

Once again i approach from the right, he tries to use some drones as a distraction so that the others can escape

he lines up the drones perfectly for me

due to viewer discretion, i could not reveal outcome of the poor drones, needless to say, Maximum HRP has been achieved

So basically my point is, if you're going in with 4 blue flame helions, don't send them all to the same side, I'm sure many of you have done this and many a time the opponent has played ring around the rosey with you allowing them ample time for reinforcements to arrive. I've seen these countless times in high level master's replays and even in the GSL Super Tournament.

Split them up and achieve your max HRP

Now I know some of you guys out there might be thinking, "who the hell is this diamond nub pssh everyone can use helions. its a no brainer!

or even

"I'm sure i can achieve the same results without splitting I don't need some scrub telling me these things"

let me point out that the point of harassing with helions is to achieve as much economical dmg as you possibly can in the most cost-effective way possible.

if the your opponents decide to run around the hatch over and over again, here are a few things that could be happening:
1. the defending spine crawler is slowly whittling down your helions while u try to play tag
2. the queen is slowly doing the same as the above
3. reinforcements have arrived

and no doubt yes you killed maybe 5 out of 20 drones. But is that really a great trade?
as seen in scenario one, the opponent has 1 of 2 choices,

1. attempt to make a break past the intercepting helions (who are we kidding, they aint gonna survive
2. or go back to the 2 helions that were already roasting their drone brethren.

edit:
by actually splitting up and killing the already lined up drones here's what actually happens:
1. reinforcements are still making their way over but for a lost cause
2. your helions take less hits from the spinecrawler or queen defending

and here's what you can do to maximize the cost-effectiveness of your helions:
1. with your helions not having to take any more unecessary dmg in an attempt to kill workers (because they were all roasted already), you can actually scout the base more to check for any hidden buildings (those sneaky protoss)
2. you can actually line them up at the ramp and let the oncoming speedlings get roasted in nice even rows making your helions totally more worth it than they already were
3. or you can just send your helions home making them SUPER(cost) EFFECTIVE

all in all I just wanted to write this short thread to put it out there to either the up and coming Terran players or even those in the higher leagues looking to improve their play in any little way.

Let me know what you think, and.. discuss!

Remember,
Split them up and achieve your maximum HRP

Note: this only applies to blue flame helion harass and by no means should you even bother splitting your helions up if they aren't upgraded.

STS17

United States1817 Posts

June 13 2011 20:37 GMT

You raise a very valid point here, great post

Atila

Cuba122 Posts

June 13 2011 20:38 GMT

tag should be [g], and this is kind of known already
However, i'm sure not everyone did, so kudos for making this thread :D

poorbeggarman

139 Posts

June 13 2011 20:39 GMT

"Normal",un-upgraded hellions deal 14 damage per shot, therefore, it takes 3 to 1-shot un-upgraded drones and probes. You only need 4 when confronting scvs.

Logick

Singapore46 Posts

June 13 2011 20:43 GMT

@Atila
ah my bad first time posting here, and I wouldn't really call it a guide so much as just a small tip
also as mentioned before I've seen way too many times workers running around hatch til reinforcements arrive.. i know there was one particular ZvT where this happened in the GSL Super but I forget who..

@poorbeggarman
ah totally forgot about that thx for pointing it out
fixt

QQmonster

Canada240 Posts

June 13 2011 21:47 GMT

another tip is to line up your hellions to roast all their larvae, if you kill a bunch of drones then the larvae they wont be able to remake the drones and it hurts them a lot more

Dymond

Canada138 Posts

June 13 2011 21:58 GMT

Nice write up, thanks.

XDJuicebox

United States593 Posts

June 14 2011 01:17 GMT

I'm so in love with you...definitely going to try this

KawaiiRice

United States2914 Posts

June 14 2011 01:38 GMT

except zergs have lings and overlords so splitting hellions into 2 on creep is just asking to get surrounded. With 4 hellions together you can kill lings with a good funnel (although you're supposed to just pick up cuz 9 games out of 10 you won't get a funnel).
After the early game hellion harass doesn't do anything unless your opponent just fails and that's another story altogether

Logick

Singapore46 Posts

June 14 2011 04:53 GMT

#10

@KawaiiRice

you make a good point good sir

this is more of a, if you manage to sneak your helions in some how kinda thing. But also most of the time i manage to either snipe of the 6 lings he made or sneak into his base while he's somewhere else which is why in the pictures there arent any lings attacking my helions which allows me to split them up without any trouble :D

@ QQmonster

i was actually debating whether to put that in or not, unless the opponent has stacked up about 4-5 larvae (which they probably didnt unless they're in the much lower leagues) it would probably be much safer to get out since they are never really totally unguarded at all. the queen or spinecrawler might still be around to bash on you and whilst you harass with the helions i doubt any zerg would just not make anything... think, "OMG HELIONS GOTTA MAKE MORE LINGS!"

remember the point is to make them as cost effective as possible, do what you came to do (kill workers) and get out

applies to all races

if you sneaked in for any race, there are either little to no guarding units at all which u can destroy (except protoss those damn stalkers).
you then have this small window of opportunity to do as much dmg as possible before whatever units they have come back and either destroy you or TRY to destroy as you escape.

I'll try to put up some replays when I can

XDJuicebox

United States593 Posts

June 14 2011 05:01 GMT

#11

I feel as though this would work very well against Protoss and Terran, which is where most of my Hellion usage is...