EPT![[image loading]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3297/3276248338_651b9124ff_o.jpg)
Terran: Hellion
Mineral Cost: 100
Vespian Cost: 0
Supply Used: 2
Type: Light-Mechanical
Attack: 8 (+6 vs Light Armor), Normal Speed, Ground only
Movement Speed: Fast
Upgrades: Infernal Pre-Igniter
Gives Hellions +10 Bonus Damage vs. Light Armor (to +16 total)
Cost: 150M / 150V
Unit Description:
Fast scout. Has flame attack that damages enemy units in its line of fire.
Obviously, the Hellion unit is the modern counterpart to the Vulture in Starcraft: Broodwar. They are both constructed from the "Factory" building, and both have and upgrade available in the add-on to this facility.
The cost of the unit is similar in the respect that they both only require minerals to produce. Though, the Hellion does require 25 more minerals, it would be easy to argue that this cost is offset by the addition of the Mule (additional mineral income unit) to Terran in Starcraft 2. Both are speedy mechanical units that are designed to allow a player with good Micro to repel early attacks from melee units, allow speedy scouting, harass, and support in the later game.
The most notable difference between this unit and its predecessor is the lack of Spider Mines. The Terran Vulture can spawn 3 Spider mines (with upgrade). Spider Mines are cloaked (burrowed) units that deal splash damage to any ground unit within a short range:
![[image loading]](http://www.clintblizzard.com/tpg/stuff/images/Vulture.gif)
Terran: Vulture and its Spider Mines:
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/images/4/47/Spider_Mine_Unit.png)
+ Show Spoiler +
"Think of spider mines as overlords/comsats that get up and rape the shit out of anything they see." -iNcontroL
So what's so bad about the Hellion?
In responses and OP's in this SC2 section of Team Liquid, I have noted that there are a good many who just flat out hate this unit... not only as a replacement to the Vulture, but to even be in the sequel to our beloved BroodWar. Many complaints revolve around the model (either its too plain, or looks too much like a motorbike) or that its some sort of "downgrade" to the technology in Broodwar. The argument usually goes something like this:
"Vultures were a type of speed bike that hovered slightly above the ground (I'm trying not to picture Star Wars)... so WHY would there be wheels on the unit in a later version? Why would they downgrade the technology and add wheels... which were literally one of the first inventions in history?!?!?!"
While this argument is indeed hard to refute... I don't intend to speculate about the motives for Terran opting for a cheaper and more dependable form of transportation in their newer unit. I do believe it still boils down to a matter of taste as to whether or not you like the look of the Hellion. I believe there are people, like myself, out there who like the Hellion... but are afraid to speak up for the unit for fear of being flamed (no pun intended) from the hordes who despise the units lack of creativity.
To me, the unit is exciting. Its fast, it allows for a player with good micro to defeat an early rush from some noob with 10 Zealots or 20 Zerglings... and allows for epic late game harass and support that may surpass its predecessor. (Ya... I said it.)
So what's Good about the Hellion?
The hellion serves its purpose. It's out early to help a fast teching player deal with early cheese/ harass. It's CHEAP and allows you to save gas for other units. This is the essence of functionality in this game. If you're good with Hellions and have faith in your micro, you needn't worry about early Zergling pushes (once you're walled in), Zealot pushes or Reaper Harass. Hellions deal excellently with all these instances, and even doubly so with the upgrade (see below).
So what the hell ever happened to Firebats in SC2? I'll tell you what happened. They got on some sweet ass bikes, got an extension to their flame thrower, and learned some sick ass Kung-Fu.
![[image loading]](http://www.sc2blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/hellions.jpg)
Slammin' !
Have you seen a mass of hellions (with upgrade) rape a group of Zealots? Or Zerglings perhaps? Even in TvT, Hellions allow a Mech leaning player to deal with the hordes of Bio-units supported by Medivacs that seems to be all the rage these days. Their damage is just that sick. With 5 of them, in a row, shooting through lines of melee units, marines, or SCV's... you're going to cause a LOT of damage.
Micro. While no one wants SC2 to be a tedious Micro war (see WCIII), units that benefit from a few seconds of gosu micro here and there are certainly desirable. The Hellion can shoot backwards. That's right bitches, backwards. Your "stop and go" attacks while kiting invaders around your base have never looked so smooth. How about while lurching after enemy Drones? Or Defending Siege tanks from a Zergling surround? The rotating action on the cannon atop the Hellion makes the units movement appear much more natural than that of the Vulture.
The Upgrade:
If you're teching to mass Tanks, Banshee, Vikings or even Battlecruisers, and you want to save that precious gas for these units... I recommend getting the upgrade to deal with the early harass. The Hellion will make short work of everything from Reapers, to Zealots and Zerglings, even Hydralisks. Rather than the Gas-Per-Unit cost of Reapers, Marauders or Siege Tanks (which will need their own upgrade) for early defense, make a few Hellions. The ONLY early rush scenario that I don't recommend these units for is the Roach. It's armored exterior is going to nullify all of the bonuses the Hellion offers.
A Hellion positioned at either end of your wall in, as to sandwich attackers between two flame lances, will be enough to turn away any early Zergling or Zealot push. Many times, an opponent with low APM may even lose a handful of units to this defense. In a TvT, any reapers that jump your wall will be easily destroyed by a few Hellion, which are faster and deal line damage similar to the "Lurker" unit in Broodwar.
And harass? Forget about it. 5 Hellions will kill ALL the SCV's at an undefended base faster or as fast as any upgraded unit in the game. If you catch a miner transfer, or an undefended Expansion... your opponent best not even waste the micro to try to get away:
![[image loading]](http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e267/8orion8/hellions.jpg)
Ya, you're pretty much fucked...
The Essence of this power comes from the long attack that amounts to a ton of damage across multiple units, and an upgrade that allows a whooping 24 damage to each of them. Even a couple pumps of this sickening attack will turn a clump of enemy units to ashes.
The mechanical nature of the Hellion also lends it as a better support unit to players using Mech based builds. Though the marine is often used in combination with these builds, its not benefiting from upgrades that help both Tanks and Thor's (lol). Furthermore, any player proposing to use Marines in a TvT, or a TvP is going to have to get a multitude of upgrades at the Terran Engineering Bay, further dispersing the effectiveness of resources spent on upgrades. The cost of the Hellion upgrade is on the high end, but its small compared with all the upgrades needed to make Marines viable in large splash damage battles involving Tanks, Colossus and even enemy Hellions. While Marauders are certainly necessary in any Mid-Late game PvT, continue to make Hellions... both to combine with the main army for eliminating Zealots (much like Vultures) and to scout and harass Expansions with. Hellion is a far more effective dump of excess minerals than a Marine.
Late Game Support:
Any player with less than perfect macro will admit that with the Mule addition in Starcraft 2, a Terran player can easily end up with a huge amount of extra minerals. The Mineral only cost of the Hellion makes it an attractive place to dump these extra resources.
In my opinion, the speed of the unit to get to the point of attack or defense, its splash damage attack and its ability to decimate enemy mining units, makes it a far superior choice to either the Marine or even the Reaper. It's obvious weakness is its inability to attack air units, which is the same for its SC1 counterpart.
![[image loading]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cTn1qzsgn7g/Szn1lpXG4zI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/yV2mq-mebZA/s320/200px-Hellion_SC2_DevRend1.jpg)
My thesis is that a player would be best served in early (defense), mid (harass) and late (support) roles with the Hellion units as a sizable portion of his ground army. I propose that a diverse army (which seems to be highly effective in SC2) of Terran units would be stronger if many marines are replaced with Hellions. I have played a good few TvT's that seem to support this theory. While Hellions aren't going to take care of a Void Ray for you, they will be 10X more effective against ground units.
Though the vulture will be missed, I welcome its modern counterpart, the Hellion. Tires and all.
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TL comments about the Hellion:
+ Show Spoiler +
On March 03 2010 16:19 wintergt wrote:
The only thing that sucks about Hellions is that they look and sound like racecars. But in the right circumstances (vs workers, lings, zealots,..) they dominate so hard. Good post they need some love
The only thing that sucks about Hellions is that they look and sound like racecars. But in the right circumstances (vs workers, lings, zealots,..) they dominate so hard. Good post they need some love
On March 03 2010 17:24 {88}iNcontroL wrote:
the hellion has a bad rap because it is here to "replace" the vulture and the vulture is one of the most dynamic and amazingly skillful/rewarding units in SCBW.. impossible act to follow.
the hellion has a bad rap because it is here to "replace" the vulture and the vulture is one of the most dynamic and amazingly skillful/rewarding units in SCBW.. impossible act to follow.
On March 03 2010 19:11 stenole wrote:
(Non-beta player)---
I think one of the great things about the vulture in SC1 is how it forces the opponent to be immobile with the threat of sneaking into his base or with the invisible mines. Because the Hellion doesn't have mines, I wouldn't say it takes over the role of the vulture even though it's speedy and good against the early unit types. Why compare it to a SC1 unit though as if the Terran metagame can just be threaded down on SC2?
I think a much more relevant comparison would either be with the reaper that also has a similar role of harassment or with turrets, marines and bunkers which are the other mineral sinks that don't cost gas.
(Non-beta player)---
I think one of the great things about the vulture in SC1 is how it forces the opponent to be immobile with the threat of sneaking into his base or with the invisible mines. Because the Hellion doesn't have mines, I wouldn't say it takes over the role of the vulture even though it's speedy and good against the early unit types. Why compare it to a SC1 unit though as if the Terran metagame can just be threaded down on SC2?
I think a much more relevant comparison would either be with the reaper that also has a similar role of harassment or with turrets, marines and bunkers which are the other mineral sinks that don't cost gas.
On March 03 2010 22:35 Archerofaiur wrote:
I like the Hellion. Though I'd like it eveen more if it had slight sliding animations. Thanks for posting about this.
I like the Hellion. Though I'd like it eveen more if it had slight sliding animations. Thanks for posting about this.
On March 03 2010 20:43 Mikilatov wrote:
You're totally right though, I seem to always be expanding to get that extra gas, not the minerals. My minerals always tend to pile up while my gas is low, and this generally ends up going into raxxes and marines. I'll have to start throwing in a lot more hellions =)
You're totally right though, I seem to always be expanding to get that extra gas, not the minerals. My minerals always tend to pile up while my gas is low, and this generally ends up going into raxxes and marines. I'll have to start throwing in a lot more hellions =)
On March 03 2010 20:59 MorroW wrote:
the thing that i hate about helion is that it takes about 0.4 casting time in the actual unit to do its attack and then it it has like 2.5 second cooldown before it can attack again
the splash damage is really small, the firebat in sc1 had alot bigger splash dmg and since it also had stimpack and 1 armor it was much better counter to zergling and zealot than the helion is :/
it looks ugly and its not as fast as an upgraded vult
the thing that i hate about helion is that it takes about 0.4 casting time in the actual unit to do its attack and then it it has like 2.5 second cooldown before it can attack again
the splash damage is really small, the firebat in sc1 had alot bigger splash dmg and since it also had stimpack and 1 armor it was much better counter to zergling and zealot than the helion is :/
it looks ugly and its not as fast as an upgraded vult
On March 03 2010 23:14 tancor wrote:
crappy design..would not be more disgusting.
fuck buggy ..
crappy design..would not be more disgusting.
fuck buggy ..
