• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 02:49
CEST 08:49
KST 15:49
  • 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: Voting8[ASL20] Ro4 Preview: Descent11Team TLMC #5: Winners Announced!3[ASL20] Ro8 Preview Pt2: Holding On9Maestros of the Game: Live Finals Preview (RO4)5
Community News
BSL Team A vs Koreans - Sat-Sun 16:00 CET1Weekly Cups (Oct 6-12): Four star herO85.0.15 Patch Balance Hotfix (2025-10-8)80Weekly Cups (Sept 29-Oct 5): MaxPax triples up3PartinG joins SteamerZone, returns to SC2 competition32
StarCraft 2
General
Stellar Fest: StarCraft II returns to Canada What is core ball? herO Talks: Poor Performance at EWC and more... Revisiting the game after10 years and wow it's bad TL.net Map Contest #21: Voting
Tourneys
WardiTV Mondays RSL Offline Finals Dates + Ticket Sales! SC4ALL $6,000 Open LAN in Philadelphia Crank Gathers Season 2: SC II Pro Teams LiuLi Cup - September 2025 Tournaments
Strategy
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 495 Rest In Peace Mutation # 494 Unstable Environment Mutation # 493 Quick Killers Mutation # 492 Get Out More
Brood War
General
BSL Team A vs Koreans - Sat-Sun 16:00 CET BW General Discussion Question regarding recent ASL Bisu vs Larva game [Interview] Grrrr... 2024 Pros React To: BarrackS + FlaSh Coaching vs SnOw
Tourneys
[ASL20] Semifinal B SC4ALL $1,500 Open Bracket LAN [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL20] Semifinal A
Strategy
BW - ajfirecracker Strategy & Training Current Meta Relatively freeroll strategies Siegecraft - a new perspective
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Dawn of War IV Nintendo Switch Thread ZeroSpace Megathread Path of Exile
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion LiquidDota to reintegrate into TL.net
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
SPIRED by.ASL Mafia {211640} TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Men's Fashion Thread Sex and weight loss
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club! The Happy Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece Series you have seen recently... Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion MLB/Baseball 2023 NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
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
Rocket League: Traits, Abili…
TrAiDoS
Inbreeding: Why Do We Do It…
Peanutsc
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1401 users

Why do people talk about unit "tiers"? - Page 2

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 4 Next All
Overpowered
Profile Joined January 2011
Czech Republic764 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-31 17:28:41
March 31 2011 17:26 GMT
#21
Its from another RTSs. For ex. in Company of Heroes it was very popular. There were no builds like

9pylo
12gate
14gas
16pylon

etc. but

T1(v,b,mg,v) -> T2(p,g,p) -> T4.
This exactly was T2 centered Wehrmacht build, but whatever.
V stands for Volksgrenadiers, B for bike, MG for MG, P for PaK and G for grenadiers.

Tiers were even used in BW...Its just how it is. It is used everywhere. But in SC2 it is little bit irrelevant.
Just another gold Protoss...
Warillions
Profile Joined November 2010
United States215 Posts
March 31 2011 17:28 GMT
#22
On April 01 2011 02:17 bokeevboke wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 01 2011 02:01 Silmakuoppaanikinko wrote:
On April 01 2011 01:54 lcl wrote:
its pretty easy to tell with Protoss and terran too

tier 1 is buildings that require only minerals
tier 2 requires gas (starport robo council, factory starport)
Tier 3 requires an additional building (fleet beacon, support bay, armory, fusion core)

its very clearly divided ^^
So hellions are the same tier as RAVENS?

And thors are higher tier than ravens? Makes no sense, ravens need as much tech as thors

Tiers make no sense, especially not when comparing different races. One base thor and one base colossus are quite viable, one base ultra is impossible,even two base ultra is. Ultras have a lot longer a tech route same with brood lords.

BC's, carriers, brood lords, ultras, are true late game units, thors and colossi can be fielded from one base.

To say that thors are the same tier as BC's is also nonsense, BC's are obviously higher.

And that doesn't even account for the fact that a chargelot is a completely different unit than a zealot, same with burrowed roaches..


Ravens require tech lab, hence its tier 3. Medivac/Viking - tier 2.



Dude stop saying units have tiers, do u see anywhere that blizz has put units into tiers? Get off the noob bandwagon and makin stuff up cause u think it may be right. This game has nothing to do with tiers, its just different units with diff roles. I wish the word "tier" didn't exist
Silmakuoppaanikinko
Profile Joined November 2010
799 Posts
March 31 2011 17:28 GMT
#23
On April 01 2011 02:17 bokeevboke wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 01 2011 02:01 Silmakuoppaanikinko wrote:
On April 01 2011 01:54 lcl wrote:
its pretty easy to tell with Protoss and terran too

tier 1 is buildings that require only minerals
tier 2 requires gas (starport robo council, factory starport)
Tier 3 requires an additional building (fleet beacon, support bay, armory, fusion core)

its very clearly divided ^^
So hellions are the same tier as RAVENS?

And thors are higher tier than ravens? Makes no sense, ravens need as much tech as thors

Tiers make no sense, especially not when comparing different races. One base thor and one base colossus are quite viable, one base ultra is impossible,even two base ultra is. Ultras have a lot longer a tech route same with brood lords.

BC's, carriers, brood lords, ultras, are true late game units, thors and colossi can be fielded from one base.

To say that thors are the same tier as BC's is also nonsense, BC's are obviously higher.

And that doesn't even account for the fact that a chargelot is a completely different unit than a zealot, same with burrowed roaches..


Ravens require tech lab, hence its tier 3. Medivac/Viking - tier 2.
Okay, so ravens and bc's are bot tier 3? Makes no sense, BC's require an extra building.

Also, marauders require a tech lab, so they are tier 2 now. Marauders same tier as medivacs and vikings?

Makes no sense, no matter how you bend, twist, or turn it, tiers don't exist.
Workers and town centres are the ultimate counter to turtles.
Offhand
Profile Joined June 2010
United States1869 Posts
March 31 2011 17:33 GMT
#24
^^ So stalkers and sentries would be tier two by your same logic semantics?

abominable
Profile Joined March 2011
101 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-31 17:40:29
March 31 2011 17:34 GMT
#25
how can you say it applies to zerg and nothing else? the units can be compared race to race almost exactly.

tier 1 = spawning pool = barracks = gateway

tier 1 = roach warren = tech lab = cyber core

***need gas income 1-2 base***

tier 2 = hydra den = factory = robo/twilight council

tier 2 = spire = starport = stargate

tier 2 = infestation pit = armory = robo bay

***need a lot of gas income usually 3 or more base***

tier 3 = hive/ultra cavern/greater spire = fusion core = fleet beacon/templar/shrine



this is not an exact science, but if you say 'tier 2 terran unit' it's pretty feckin obvious that he's referring to units that are the same tech level as hydra/muta... in other words factory/starport units.

saying it doesn't work is just being stubborn and argumentative.

tier = tech level. yes the races do have tiers, end of story.
TangYiChen
Profile Joined March 2011
Korea (South)195 Posts
March 31 2011 17:34 GMT
#26
Just a way for some people to make it look like they sound smart. Nothing more really, except in zerg's case where you can actually see different "tiers" (hatch, lair, hive tech).
Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
Overpowered
Profile Joined January 2011
Czech Republic764 Posts
March 31 2011 17:35 GMT
#27
On April 01 2011 02:28 Silmakuoppaanikinko wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 01 2011 02:17 bokeevboke wrote:
On April 01 2011 02:01 Silmakuoppaanikinko wrote:
On April 01 2011 01:54 lcl wrote:
its pretty easy to tell with Protoss and terran too

tier 1 is buildings that require only minerals
tier 2 requires gas (starport robo council, factory starport)
Tier 3 requires an additional building (fleet beacon, support bay, armory, fusion core)

its very clearly divided ^^
So hellions are the same tier as RAVENS?

And thors are higher tier than ravens? Makes no sense, ravens need as much tech as thors

Tiers make no sense, especially not when comparing different races. One base thor and one base colossus are quite viable, one base ultra is impossible,even two base ultra is. Ultras have a lot longer a tech route same with brood lords.

BC's, carriers, brood lords, ultras, are true late game units, thors and colossi can be fielded from one base.

To say that thors are the same tier as BC's is also nonsense, BC's are obviously higher.

And that doesn't even account for the fact that a chargelot is a completely different unit than a zealot, same with burrowed roaches..


Ravens require tech lab, hence its tier 3. Medivac/Viking - tier 2.
Okay, so ravens and bc's are bot tier 3? Makes no sense, BC's require an extra building.

Also, marauders require a tech lab, so they are tier 2 now. Marauders same tier as medivacs and vikings?

Makes no sense, no matter how you bend, twist, or turn it, tiers don't exist.

They clearly do exist in Zerg race (Hatch, Lair, Hive), but they cant be applied on Terran and Protoss. They are as I said very good label in different games, but SC2 is not one of them. But I guess you guys know what people mean by "Terran beats Protoss T3 with mass T1". It is not accurate, but I htink you understand. So, whats the problem?
Just another gold Protoss...
Shaman.us
Profile Joined May 2010
United States319 Posts
March 31 2011 17:35 GMT
#28
I'd say its just a simple way of referring to simple tech choices, and provide a distinction between basic units and the expensive tech units that take a little time to get out.
Shaman.233
blabber
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States4448 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-31 17:43:29
March 31 2011 17:35 GMT
#29
On April 01 2011 02:28 Silmakuoppaanikinko wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 01 2011 02:17 bokeevboke wrote:
On April 01 2011 02:01 Silmakuoppaanikinko wrote:
On April 01 2011 01:54 lcl wrote:
its pretty easy to tell with Protoss and terran too

tier 1 is buildings that require only minerals
tier 2 requires gas (starport robo council, factory starport)
Tier 3 requires an additional building (fleet beacon, support bay, armory, fusion core)

its very clearly divided ^^
So hellions are the same tier as RAVENS?

And thors are higher tier than ravens? Makes no sense, ravens need as much tech as thors

Tiers make no sense, especially not when comparing different races. One base thor and one base colossus are quite viable, one base ultra is impossible,even two base ultra is. Ultras have a lot longer a tech route same with brood lords.

BC's, carriers, brood lords, ultras, are true late game units, thors and colossi can be fielded from one base.

To say that thors are the same tier as BC's is also nonsense, BC's are obviously higher.

And that doesn't even account for the fact that a chargelot is a completely different unit than a zealot, same with burrowed roaches..


Ravens require tech lab, hence its tier 3. Medivac/Viking - tier 2.
Okay, so ravens and bc's are bot tier 3? Makes no sense, BC's require an extra building.

Also, marauders require a tech lab, so they are tier 2 now. Marauders same tier as medivacs and vikings?

Makes no sense, no matter how you bend, twist, or turn it, tiers don't exist.

terran:
tier 1: barracks units
tier 2: factory/starport units that require no extra building
tier 3: factory/starport units that require extra building
or could be straight up barracks -> factory -> starport. Hard to say. Also not sure what ghosts would fall under. I think most would consider them tier 2?

protoss:
tier 1: gateway units units that require no extra building (outside cybernetics core)
tier 2: robo/stargate units that require no extra building
tier 3: gateway/robo/stargate units that require extra building

zerg:
tier 1: hatchery units
tier 2: lair units
tier 3: hive units

sound good?
blabberrrrr
Deleted User 47542
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
1484 Posts
March 31 2011 17:36 GMT
#30
Why are people over complicating such a simple thing.. Tiers are just basically based on tech.
Lennon
Profile Joined February 2010
United Kingdom2275 Posts
March 31 2011 17:36 GMT
#31
On April 01 2011 01:54 lcl wrote:
its pretty easy to tell with Protoss and terran too

tier 1 is buildings that require only minerals
tier 2 requires gas (starport robo council, factory starport)
Tier 3 requires an additional building (fleet beacon, support bay, armory, fusion core)

its very clearly divided ^^


I disagree. Protoss tier 1 is warpgate units regardless of how much gas they cost.
riff
Profile Joined December 2010
United States113 Posts
March 31 2011 17:39 GMT
#32
Unit tiers simply refer to the tech and resource requirements (minerals, gas, time) necessary to produce certain kinds of units. That's it. The way some people talk about unit tiers, you would think that Starcraft 2 was Age of Empires (or insert other RTS here).
There is no teacher but the enemy. No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you how to destroy and conquer. Only the enemy shows you where you are weak. -Mazer Rackham
Klive5ive
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
United Kingdom6056 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-31 17:44:41
March 31 2011 17:39 GMT
#33
It's really not that hard. This is how I would describe it.

For Terran:
Factory = tier2
Starport = tier3
Addons don't count but buildings add .5
So ghost is 1.5, Thor is 2.5, BC is 3.5

For Brotoss:
Gateway = tier1
Robo = tier2
Stargate = tier3
Same as Terran so Stalkers are 1.5, Colo is 2.5, HT is 2.5, Carrier 3.5

But it's only really a guide that you can use to compare some things. Not set in stone but makes it easier to explain some points you are trying to make.

Don't hate the player - Hate the game
randplaty
Profile Joined September 2010
205 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-31 17:43:07
March 31 2011 17:41 GMT
#34
Tiers were used in both BW and WC2. They're just generalizations for tech. They don't fit every unit and they don't work all the time, but they are useful as generalizations. People shouldn't take them so seriously AND people shouldn't just throw them away.

Tier 1 = units that come from building only one structure (rax, gateway, hatch tech)
Tier 2 = units that come from building the second structure (robo, factory, lair tech)
Tier 3 = anything above that

Again, they don't work exactly in every situation, and it's debatable whether one unit belongs one one tier or another, but they are useful for generalizations and overall strategic thinking. Just like categories for other things (cars: trucks, SUVs, crossovers, sedans, sports cars) (races: black, white, asian) there are going to be things that fit and things that don't fit, but it doesn't mean you throw out the generalization completely.
Insanious
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Canada1251 Posts
March 31 2011 17:43 GMT
#35
Its different for each race...

Terran

T1 = Marines
T1.5 = Marauders and Hellions
T2 = Tanks, Vikings, Medivacs, banshees
T3 = Ravens, Thors, BCs, Ghosts

Zerg:

T1 = Zerglings
T1.5 = banes, roaches
T2 = Hydras, Mutalisks, Corrupters, overseers
T3 = Broodlords, Ultralisks, Infestors

Toss:
T1 = Zealot
T1.5 = Stalkers, Sentries
T2 = Observers, Immortals, DTs, Pheonix, Void Rayx, warpprism
T3 = HT, Collosus, Carrier, Mothership

Those are the tiers...

T1 = Needs only 1 building to make (Ex. Rax, Spawning pool, etc..)
T1.5 = Needs a tech building + starting building (Ex. Roach waren, Cyber core, tech lab)
T2 = Needs another tech building/ a new production facility (Ex. Robo bay, Lair, Factory)
T3 = Needs at least 3 building to be made (Ex. Ghosts need Rax, Tech lab, Ghost accademy. Ultras need Spawning pool, Hive, Ultralisk Cavern, Mothership needs Cyber core, Stargate, Fleetbeacon, Nexus)
If you want to help me out... http://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4b82744b816d3
Zurles
Profile Joined February 2009
United Kingdom1659 Posts
March 31 2011 17:43 GMT
#36
does it actually matter, it's just something people say instead of saying "better units" higher tier means more tech can't you just accept it as a general term and stop nerding everything up?
Ownos
Profile Joined July 2010
United States2147 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-31 17:43:41
March 31 2011 17:43 GMT
#37
It's from Warcraft 2. Each tier representing the level of tech that's provided by the level of the town hall which is the same mechanic the zerg hatcheries use. This can't be translated too well for protoss and terran.
...deeper and deeper into the bowels of El Diablo
Kazeyonoma
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States2912 Posts
March 31 2011 17:45 GMT
#38
bad terminology being propogated amongst QQ's is bad.
I now have autographs of both BoxeR and NaDa. I can die happy. Lim Yo Hwan and Lee Yun Yeol FIGHTING forever!
CosmicSpiral
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States15275 Posts
March 31 2011 17:46 GMT
#39
It's a simple, generalized way of noting how much investment one puts within the tech trees of each respective race.
WriterWovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muß man schweigen.
freetgy
Profile Joined November 2010
1720 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-31 17:47:32
March 31 2011 17:46 GMT
#40
well partly

take HT for example, those are >>> Tier 3
logic applys the same for i.e Broodlords or BCs
Are Thors and BCs on the Same tier?...
Prev 1 2 3 4 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 3h 11m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
PartinGtheBigBoy 496
StarCraft: Brood War
Larva 374
Leta 187
JulyZerg 88
Sacsri 51
KwarK 13
Dota 2
XcaliburYe313
League of Legends
JimRising 801
Counter-Strike
Stewie2K610
PGG 181
Super Smash Bros
Westballz34
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor83
Other Games
summit1g14919
C9.Mang0376
Mew2King141
Trikslyr13
KnowMe3
Organizations
Counter-Strike
PGL9201
Other Games
gamesdonequick1555
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH207
• Adnapsc2 5
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Jankos2081
• Rush1779
Other Games
• WagamamaTV484
Upcoming Events
CranKy Ducklings
3h 11m
BSL Team A[vengers]
7h 11m
Bonyth vs Paralyze
StRyKeR vs Ample
Safe House 2
10h 11m
Sparkling Tuna Cup
1d 3h
Safe House 2
1d 10h
Monday Night Weeklies
2 days
Tenacious Turtle Tussle
4 days
The PondCast
5 days
Online Event
6 days
RSL Revival
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Acropolis #4 - TS2
WardiTV TLMC #15
HCC Europe

Ongoing

BSL 21 Points
ASL Season 20
CSL 2025 AUTUMN (S18)
C-Race Season 1
IPSL Winter 2025-26
EC S1
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
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual

Upcoming

SC4ALL: Brood War
BSL Season 21
BSL 21 Team A
BSL 21 Non-Korean Championship
RSL Offline Finals
RSL Revival: Season 3
Stellar Fest
SC4ALL: StarCraft II
CranK Gathers Season 2: SC II Pro Teams
eXTREMESLAND 2025
ESL Impact League Season 8
SL Budapest Major 2025
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
IEM Chengdu 2025
PGL Masters Bucharest 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.