• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 04:00
CEST 10:00
KST 17:00
  • 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
[ASL22] Ro4 Preview: Mirror Mirror6[ASL22] Ro8 Preview: Within Reach5[ASL22] Ro8 Preview: In A Tizzy11[ASL22] Ro16 Preview: Holy Diver5[ASL22] Ro16 Preview: Rough Waters10
Community News
Weekly Cups (October 5-11): Farewell to 5.0.162Rollback Netcode in Brood War1005.0.17 Patch Notes - October 7, 202624Weekly Cups Results (Sep 28-Oct 4)0SC4ALL: II SC2 Complete Invited Player Lineup10
StarCraft 2
General
Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners SCII needs to put more weight on strategy and tact How do you feel about the mass reverts in the 5.0.17 PTR? Server Blocker Stellar Fest 2 Replay Pack
Tourneys
Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) $3,500 WardiTV Not-Summer Championship Stellar Fest TWO the Moon (Dec 16-20) ISSL (IntoTheTV x SOOP SC2 League): Premier RSL 2026 Offline Finals LCQ Sign-Ups
Strategy
[H] ZvP Mid-Late Game: Stalkers Collossi HT
Custom Maps
[G] How to playtest arcade maps [A] Nemrods 1/4 players [M] (2) Sweltering Sands [M] (2) Frigid Storage
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 547 Temple Of Terror Mutation # 546 Catch the Train Mutation # 545 And Drops and Rifts
Brood War
General
BW General Discussion Bot on ladder Rollback Netcode in Brood War Sagi.gg Launcher Released BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/
Tourneys
2v2v2v2 Tournament Small VOD Thread 2.0 ASL 22 Finals [Women's StarCraft] MonstarZ vs Dreams 2026-10-15
Strategy
Cliff Jump Revisited (1 in a 1000 strategy) Simple Questions, Simple Answers Replay Review Process - What do you do?
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Dawn of War IV General RTS Discussion Thread Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
Dota 2
Dota 2 Champions League Season 3 Begins April 25!
League of Legends
[TL LoL EUW IHs] Teemo shall perish
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Artificial Intelligence Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
Serral Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Movie Discussion! Diablo Animated Series on Netflix
Sports
MLB/Baseball 2023 Football (Soccer) Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
Recent Gifted Posts
Blogs
The Link Between Gaming and …
TrAiDoS
[ASL22] Ro4 Day1 Ticket Giv…
bITt.mAN
38 yo Retired SWE loo…
PurE)Rabbit-SF
Can Bots Beat Pros?? Starcr…
namkraft
[meme] I finally understa…
LUCKY_NOOB
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 8986 users

Starcraft 2 units: a cost-effectiveness analysis. - Page 3

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next All
Mykill
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Canada3402 Posts
July 24 2010 05:57 GMT
#41
this really isn't all that useful
spells are very important. ghost EMP craps on any toss army. especially if it has immortals
[~~The Impossible Leads To Invention~~] CJ Entusman #52 The problem with internet quotations is that they are hard to verify -Abraham Lincoln c.1863
goswser
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
United States3548 Posts
July 24 2010 06:01 GMT
#42
Hellions might not be cost effective by themselves, but they force an opponent to respond in a particular way (ie zerg getting speedlings and lots of lings instead of drones), are very fast and strong at harassing, and can cut apart light units, allowing your heavier units to be more cost effective.
say you were born into a jungle indian tribe where food was scarce...would you run around from teepee to teepee stealing meat scraps after a day lazying around doing nothing except warming urself by a fire that you didn't even make yourself? -rekrul
mizU
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States12125 Posts
July 24 2010 06:03 GMT
#43
Gas weighing could be done through a map availability analysis, or mine rate.
(for example, in BW, there are nine mineral patches and one/two gas patches per main base. A weighted ratio could be 1 gas = 9 minerals?)
if happy ever afters did exist <3 @watamizu_
carwashguy
Profile Joined June 2009
United States175 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-07-24 06:07:58
July 24 2010 06:06 GMT
#44
On July 24 2010 14:37 Gnarwhal wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 24 2010 13:50 youngminii wrote:
Yes, 1 gas is much more valuable than 1 mineral. Gas is limited to around 224~ mined per minute per base whereas minerals are mined at up to 800~ per minute per base not including mules which add a LOT of mineral mining. Lots of high tech units require a lot of gas and you can see that now 1 gas is a lot more useful than 1 mineral.


You changed your point by saying in the end that one vespene is more useful than one mineral. This may be true, but does not determine value. One resource is one resource, equally valueable.

Perhaps a resource's value manifests from the time one invests into accumulating it: the time it takes a worker to go back and forth; that time reinvested into a new worker; and so on. If the inherent nature of the game forces players to wait more time to collect gas than minerals, then each unit of gas takes more time, respectively. In this case, gas holds more value since it represents more time.

On July 24 2010 14:45 Sadistx wrote:
Your inferences were made ignoring factors that are crucial to the cost effectiveness of units in any particular game. I listed those factors in my previous post.

If this is true, then you should take no difficulty in refuting my inferences, as I've asked. I know I have been unable to implement such things as range and splash damage. You keep throwing this red herring at me--saying nothing of my actual inferences (the thing I'm asking you to refute).

On July 24 2010 14:57 Calamity wrote:
These values, they can help a lot but some of your conclusions about each units based on this data is just not accurate. For example, Battlecruisers are amazing but you need a fusion core, time to build the battlecruiser, and the upgrades you would have for air units at the time. If you transition from bio or mech to battlecruisers, you wouldn't have 3 / 3 upgrades for air while your enemy most likely would.

Thors are strong units that do tons of damage to air and ground units, yet again time and the slow movement of Thors make them weak in some situations compared to a Bio army.

Hellions are great for killing workers. You're values don't factor in speed, and ability to micro them via kiting. Hellions under micro can kill an entire expo full of drones with the pre-igniter upgrade.

As for spine crawlers, they might be cost effective, IF they moved and attacked. They can only attack while static which would explain why they're so strong. They are also limited by creep I think?

Phoenixes might be slightly better against air units than the stalker, but stalkers are from warpgates which can be easily produce since you don't need make stargate. It's also easier to transition from stalker to phoenix.

Some do make sense though, like how facing a bunch of armored units immortals and void rays will crush all. Massed voids will probably crushed every Terran armored unit except for a bunch of Yamato Cannon Battlecruisers (even then you'll need a crapload of BCs). But if Terran had a Marauder + Ghost army. Sure there's a bunch of armored units so i must use Immortals. You will get killed since Ghosts will just emp you're immortals and they're basically dead meat (dead metal) to the marauders.

This reminds me, spells of several casters in this game would make me to believe that they are more effective than this data would suggest. AoE, how many units are caught in the spell, the cooldown, the energy per damage ratio, number of times attack can be used, if it does any damage at all (sentries) etc.
[/url]
This makes sense. I'm learning so much about Starcraft 2 tonight! Updating...
imyzhang
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
Canada809 Posts
July 24 2010 06:07 GMT
#45
"I don't play Terran, but what's up with the Hellion? Seems pretty lame."

if you're gonna try to write something analytical, why say shit that isn't true/ambiguous. lame can mean that you hate them because they're too great or that they're shitty.
bleh
psion
Profile Joined May 2010
106 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-07-24 06:16:21
July 24 2010 06:07 GMT
#46
On July 24 2010 14:37 Gnarwhal wrote:
You changed your point by saying in the end that one vespene is more useful than one mineral. This may be true, but does not determine value. One resource is one resource, equally valueable.

He didn't say useful, he said valuable. Besides, that's like saying one supply equals one gas. One resource is one resource, equally valuable, right?

On that note, I'd suggest adding supply costs to the total resources: (supplycost / 8) * 100 = mineral costs for supply.

On July 24 2010 15:06 carwashguy wrote:
This makes sense. I'm learning so much about Starcraft 2 tonight! Updating...

I wouldn't listen to him. You can't infer any of what he suggests without creating a SC2 model identical to the game and players involved, which would be a ridiculous undertaking, not to mention completely pointless. Just stick to the units-in-a-vacuum if you want to extract useful data.
alphafuzard
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States1610 Posts
July 24 2010 06:10 GMT
#47
on the topic of the hellion:
1. it is very fast, which is one of its main strengths
2. it has line splash, effective both when harassing and in battle, especially now that they auto target at 6 range
3. it relies heavily on the pre-ignite upgrade, whereas you stated data comes pre-upgrade
more weight
Alou
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States3748 Posts
July 24 2010 06:12 GMT
#48
How do you factor in superior micro mechanics into cost effectiveness? A unit is as effective as the player makes it. It's nice to see all the numbers, but this isn't really useful as there is a large concept in Starcraft 2 called micro.
Life is Good.
Skillet-Master
Profile Joined January 2008
United States34 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-07-24 06:15:02
July 24 2010 06:14 GMT
#49
The chart has some nice info, I think a nice addition would be info on marauder+marines while stimmed.

However, looking at units from a pure DPS standpoint leaves out some very important factors.

Seems pretty lame.Except against light units, Phoenixes are only very slightly a better answer to air than Stalkers.

Of course, phoenixes are very fast and maneuverable and also have the levitation spell.

I don't play Terran, but what's up with the Hellion?

The hellion is a mineral only unit, and terran players often have a surplus. Additionally they have line of fire and are fast. Despite their deceptive placement in your table for DPS, top players like qxc and TLO use these units very often in both TvZ and TvP.

So again, the data is useful. But what is great about sc2 is that DPS isn't everything, there are many variables.
signature
Sadistx
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Zimbabwe5568 Posts
July 24 2010 06:14 GMT
#50
On July 24 2010 15:06 carwashguy wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 24 2010 14:45 Sadistx wrote:
Your inferences were made ignoring factors that are crucial to the cost effectiveness of units in any particular game. I listed those factors in my previous post.

If this is true, then you should take no difficulty in refuting my inferences, as I've asked. I know I have been unable to implement such things as range and splash damage. You keep throwing this red herring at me--saying nothing of my actual inferences (the thing I'm asking you to refute).


Actually no, you're the one under burden of proof here. The very fact that you're making blanket statements from simple dps/R values shows that you don't understand the dynamics of the game, which include other factors that I've listed. Your conclusions do not take them into account.

You also did not implement things like unit abilities such as cliffwalking, flying, burrowing or just speed, all of which are crucial to giving recommendation regarding counters.

Your inferences are wrong because they were made using incomplete information, and if you still don't understand that refutes several of them, you're either trolling me or haven't played a game of SC2 in your life.
ZomgTossRush
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States1041 Posts
July 24 2010 06:28 GMT
#51
I like how 60% of the the posts so far are people pointing out the 100's of varibles, even though the OP already stated this is a strictly number based chart and he/she understands that the varibles are impossible to account for.

Take it easy on the guy.
Coaching for 1v1 and Team games at Gosucoaching.com
carwashguy
Profile Joined June 2009
United States175 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-07-24 06:35:24
July 24 2010 06:33 GMT
#52
On July 24 2010 15:14 Sadistx wrote:
[...]Which include other factors that I've listed. Your conclusions do not take them into account.

Thank you again for reiterating this helpful point. I've recruited the help of other forum members and have revised my inferences to take these other factors into account. Hopefully, with time, I can strengthen them further.
On July 24 2010 15:14 Sadistx wrote:
You also did not implement things like unit abilities such as cliffwalking, flying, burrowing or just speed, all of which are crucial to giving recommendation regarding counters.

You seem like a very intelligent and reasonable person. Please do me the honor of reading my original post. Perhaps you can contribute even more, when not using points that I have already conceded in my original post.
Sadistx
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Zimbabwe5568 Posts
July 24 2010 06:34 GMT
#53
On July 24 2010 15:33 carwashguy wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 24 2010 15:14 Sadistx wrote:
[...]Which include other factors that I've listed. Your conclusions do not take them into account.

Thank you again for reiterating this helpful point. I've recruited the help of other forum members and have revised my inferences to take these other factors into account. Hopefully, with time, I can strengthen them further.
Show nested quote +
On July 24 2010 15:14 Sadistx wrote:
You also did not implement things like unit abilities such as cliffwalking, flying, burrowing or just speed, all of which are crucial to giving recommendation regarding counters.

You seem like a very intelligent and reasonable person. Please do me the honor of reading my original post. Perhaps you can contribute even more, when not using points that I have already conceded in my original post.


Thanks, I'm glad we got on the same page
Jermstuddog
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
United States2231 Posts
July 24 2010 06:34 GMT
#54
Perhaps the biggest number I would like to see in a chart like this is HP/resources.

Also, dps should be two collumns: vs 0 armor and vs 1 armor, that way you can see the effect of 1 armor difference.
As it turns out, marines don't actually cost any money -Jinro
Piski
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Finland3461 Posts
July 24 2010 06:35 GMT
#55
Very interesting read. Even though like you said this should not be considered as "do only this unit" as it doesn't take into account some battle limitations like ultralisk having huge problems actually inflicting that damage and mutalisk's harass ability due their speed.
But still fun to read, thanks

Are some of the units missing btw?
carwashguy
Profile Joined June 2009
United States175 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-07-24 06:38:00
July 24 2010 06:36 GMT
#56
On July 24 2010 15:34 Jermstuddog wrote:
Perhaps the biggest number I would like to see in a chart like this is HP/resources.

Also, dps should be two collumns: vs 0 armor and vs 1 armor, that way you can see the effect of 1 armor difference.

Funny, I originally had HP/resources, but removed it for simplicity. I'll add it tomorrow as well as look at armor (I still don't fully understand armor). Thanks.

On July 24 2010 15:35 Piski wrote:
Are some of the units missing btw?

Yes, if I have time, or if someone else comes up with reliable ways to compute tricky units like Carriers, I'd love to add them.
Jermstuddog
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
United States2231 Posts
July 24 2010 06:38 GMT
#57
On resource comparison, I don't think saying 2.5min=1gas is wrong for such a generalized table, just make sure you state somewhere that is the conversion being used.

This chart doesn't need to cover every little possibility in the game, but there should be a small, but notable difference between roach dps and queen dps vs ground. Queens hitting 4x as fast as roaches to do the same damage makes armor 4x as effective. That is a big thing to miss IMO.
As it turns out, marines don't actually cost any money -Jinro
Jermstuddog
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
United States2231 Posts
July 24 2010 06:40 GMT
#58
In game armor calcs are easy.

1 armor = -1 damage.

So a roach hits a zealot for 15, not 16, while a queen hits for 2x3, not 2x4.
As it turns out, marines don't actually cost any money -Jinro
TriniMasta
Profile Joined December 2009
United States1323 Posts
July 24 2010 06:41 GMT
#59
On July 24 2010 13:40 carwashguy wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 24 2010 13:39 Backpack wrote:1 gas is much more valuable than 1 mineral.

Do tell. Why?

u ever have a situation where you would trade 500 gas for 500 minerals? I never o.0
I did have situations where I would trade 1k min for 1k gas... (fucking high templars...)
정명훈 FIGHTING!!! Play both T and P.
KevinIX
Profile Joined October 2009
United States2472 Posts
July 24 2010 06:52 GMT
#60
I came across this nice google spreadsheet a month or so ago. It's slightly outdated, but most of it is still relevant. I think it's worth a look. This guy uses 1.25*gas cost to determine it's equivalence in minerals. It also has calculated the dps/cost, splash, upgades, armor types.
Liquid FIGHTING!!!
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
OSC
08:00
OSC Elite Rising Star #21
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 2724
Zeus 728
Killer 427
Larva 215
Dewaltoss 154
soO 116
HiyA 97
Pusan 27
Shinee 22
Bale 21
[ Show more ]
ZergMaN 16
ajuk12(nOOB) 15
Noble 9
Counter-Strike
shoxiejesuss218
Other Games
gofns32513
summit1g6172
Coldzera 763
olofmeister572
WinterStarcraft496
Happy301
Organizations
StarCraft: Brood War
UltimateBattle 25
[ Show 11 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota2202
League of Legends
• Stunt555
Other Games
• Shiphtur709
Upcoming Events
Online Event
3h
Korean StarCraft League
19h
Afreeca Starleague
22h
Rush vs Soulkey
CranKy Ducklings
1d 2h
AI Arena Tournament
1d 8h
BSL Open Qualifier
1d 11h
Sparkling Tuna Cup
2 days
OSC
2 days
IPSL
2 days
BSL Open Qualifier
2 days
[ Show More ]
WardiTV Weekly
3 days
IntoTheTV X SOOP
4 days
PiGosaur Cup
4 days
The PondCast
5 days
Kung Fu Cup
5 days
IntoTheTV X SOOP
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Super Anchor Qualifying S3
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Copium Cup

Ongoing

ASL Season 22
Acropolis #5
HCC Season 3
Thunderpick World Champ. '26
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
1win Private Club #1
Logitech G Play Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
FISSURE Playground #3
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026

Upcoming

Acropolis #5 - GSC
BSL Season 23
SC4ALL II: Brood War
BSL 23: Non-Korean Championship
HSC XXX
Stellar Fest 2: Lunar Cup
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Offline Finals
eXTREMESLAND 2026
PGL Major Singapore 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 6
BLAST Rivals Fall 2026
IEM Beijing 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 5
PGL Masters Bucharest 2026
1win Private Club #2
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 © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.