• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 22:18
CET 04:18
KST 12:18
  • 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
ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT29Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book19Clem wins HomeStory Cup 289HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview13Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info8
Community News
Team Liquid Map Contest - Preparation Notice6Weekly Cups (Feb 23-Mar 1): herO doubles, 2v2 bonanza1Weekly Cups (Feb 16-22): MaxPax doubles0Weekly Cups (Feb 9-15): herO doubles up2ACS replaced by "ASL Season Open" - Starts 21/0258
StarCraft 2
General
How do you think the 5.0.15 balance patch (Oct 2025) for StarCraft II has affected the game? Team Liquid Map Contest - Preparation Notice ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT Nexon's StarCraft game could be FPS, led by UMS maker Weekly Cups (Feb 23-Mar 1): herO doubles, 2v2 bonanza
Tourneys
Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament $5,000 WardiTV Winter Championship 2026 RSL Season 4 announced for March-April Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) PIG STY FESTIVAL 7.0! (19 Feb - 1 Mar)
Strategy
Custom Maps
Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026] Map Editor closed ?
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 515 Together Forever Mutation # 514 Ulnar New Year Mutation # 513 Attrition Warfare
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Effort misses out on ASL S21 BW General Discussion Gypsy to Korea BSL 22 Map Contest — Submissions OPEN to March 10
Tourneys
[BSL22] Open Qualifier #1 - Sunday 21:00 CET [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 BWCL Season 64 Announcement
Strategy
Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2 Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers Zealot bombing is no longer popular?
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread Diablo 2 thread Path of Exile
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion The Story of Wings Gaming
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
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas Vanilla Mini Mafia TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine YouTube Thread UK Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books [Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion TL MMA Pick'em Pool 2013
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Laptop capable of using Photoshop Lightroom?
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Shocked by a laser…
Spydermine0240
Gaming-Related Deaths
TrAiDoS
ONE GREAT AMERICAN MARINE…
XenOsky
Unintentional protectionism…
Uldridge
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1752 users

Trick to spot obervers without detection

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next All
Rekiv
Profile Joined April 2010
Great Britain27 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-09-03 15:34:10
September 02 2010 16:17 GMT
#1
It's easy to spot a moving observer without detection since it creates "ripples" on the ground, but when they're not moving sometimes it's impossible to spot one until you've built a detector unit/building.

This may be old news but I couldn't find another thread on this topic. If you feel there may be an observer in your base or hovering above your army, and you don't have detection available, all you need to do is zoom in and out using the mousewheel. The motionless observer will appear to move against the terrain and the "ripple" effect will be visible as if it were moving across the terrain.

Hope this helps some of you and, like I said, this may be old news but it still is a useful little trick to keep unwanted observers from hiding in your base or above your army.


**EDIT**

It seems an existing post about this topic was created some time ago and I somehow missed it and I apologise. Even so, since this topic is still under discussion I shall post the youtube video that was posted under Ironclown's original post:

Kow
Profile Joined May 2010
United States32 Posts
September 02 2010 16:18 GMT
#2
Brilliant. Alternatively, you can bring your own units under it to see the warping effect.
WniO
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States2706 Posts
September 02 2010 16:18 GMT
#3
On September 03 2010 01:17 Rekiv wrote:
It's easy to spot a moving observer without detection since it creates "ripples" on the ground, but when they're not moving sometimes it's impossible to spot one until you've built a detector unit/building.

This may be old news but I couldn't find another thread on this topic. If you feel there may be an observer in your base or hovering above your army, and you don't have detection available, all you need to do is zoom in and out using the mousewheel. The motionless observer will appear to move against the terrain and the "ripple" effect will be visible as if it were moving across the terrain.

Hope this helps some of you and, like I said, this may be old news but it still is a useful little trick to keep unwanted observers from hiding in your base or above your army.

fucking glitchers...
jk... sorta
aka_star
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
United Kingdom1546 Posts
September 02 2010 16:18 GMT
#4
nice tip, I might have to try it out.
FlashDave.999 aka Star
ckw
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States1018 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-09-02 16:20:13
September 02 2010 16:19 GMT
#5
It's really the only way I know DT's are coming sometimes and same with observers. It's not a new trick but this post may actually bring some light to some people that may have not known. Sometimes, if you watch pro matches, you'll see people scan observers to kill them because they saw the ripple.

EDIT Never mind, I didn't read the OP correctly, I am talking about something different
Being weak is a choice.
ViRtU4l
Profile Joined April 2010
France114 Posts
September 02 2010 16:19 GMT
#6
Old news for me, I always rage when terrans destroy my obs when it's not moving...They should fix that or maybe make the effect less visible, especially when obs cost 100 gas each now TT
Snowfield
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
1289 Posts
September 02 2010 16:19 GMT
#7
Yeah, i use this alot, it's a good tip for people who don't know about it.

You get a very keen eye for observers after a while
Zozo
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Brazil2579 Posts
September 02 2010 16:20 GMT
#8
THANK YOU
EGM guides me
cocosoft
Profile Joined May 2010
Sweden1068 Posts
September 02 2010 16:21 GMT
#9
On September 03 2010 01:17 Rekiv wrote:
It's easy to spot a moving observer without detection since it creates "ripples" on the ground, but when they're not moving sometimes it's impossible to spot one until you've built a detector unit/building.

This may be old news but I couldn't find another thread on this topic. If you feel there may be an observer in your base or hovering above your army, and you don't have detection available, all you need to do is zoom in and out using the mousewheel. The motionless observer will appear to move against the terrain and the "ripple" effect will be visible as if it were moving across the terrain.

Hope this helps some of you and, like I said, this may be old news but it still is a useful little trick to keep unwanted observers from hiding in your base or above your army.
Yes I was aware of this :>, kind of nifty.


On September 03 2010 01:18 OneFierceZealot wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 03 2010 01:17 Rekiv wrote:
It's easy to spot a moving observer without detection since it creates "ripples" on the ground, but when they're not moving sometimes it's impossible to spot one until you've built a detector unit/building.

This may be old news but I couldn't find another thread on this topic. If you feel there may be an observer in your base or hovering above your army, and you don't have detection available, all you need to do is zoom in and out using the mousewheel. The motionless observer will appear to move against the terrain and the "ripple" effect will be visible as if it were moving across the terrain.

Hope this helps some of you and, like I said, this may be old news but it still is a useful little trick to keep unwanted observers from hiding in your base or above your army.

fucking glitchers...
Show nested quote +
jk... sorta
This is not cheat -__- Why would they have it semi invincible then and not completely a la wc3.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ckw
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States1018 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-09-02 16:22:06
September 02 2010 16:21 GMT
#10
On September 03 2010 01:19 ViRtU4l wrote:
Old news for me, I always rage when terrans destroy my obs when it's not moving...They should fix that or maybe make the effect less visible, especially when obs cost 100 gas each now TT

No way dude it's like that for a reason and it's worked for BW since implementation. Atleast you'r scouts don't cost 100 + speed upgrade + Lair + not invisible + supply loss when it's killed
Being weak is a choice.
Najda
Profile Joined June 2010
United States3765 Posts
September 02 2010 16:21 GMT
#11
Spotting the ripples isn't that hard, but to be constantly zooming in and out to check for ripples because an observer MIGHT be there seems pretty extreme and like it would do more damage to you than if you found the observer after the 5th try or whatever.
Schtrudel
Profile Joined August 2010
Romania56 Posts
September 02 2010 16:21 GMT
#12
I think the scroll thing is brilliant , the oher is old news and obvious
Schtrudel 678 add me for practice/friend to play with http://eu.battle.net/sc2/en/profile/502495/1/Schtrudel/
RyuChus
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Canada442 Posts
September 02 2010 16:21 GMT
#13
Great I already can see your obs by doing the same thing it's not a new thing.
I have an announcement to make, "Moo!" That is all.
jaack
Profile Joined June 2009
United States30 Posts
September 02 2010 16:27 GMT
#14
Nice i'll have to give this a shot.
No Xbox and no starcraft make Jaack go..something something....
junemermaid
Profile Joined September 2006
United States981 Posts
September 02 2010 16:29 GMT
#15
On September 03 2010 01:21 Najda wrote:
Spotting the ripples isn't that hard, but to be constantly zooming in and out to check for ripples because an observer MIGHT be there seems pretty extreme and like it would do more damage to you than if you found the observer after the 5th try or whatever.


Right you are, you don't wanna be zooming in and out every 5 seconds looking for a potential obs.. However, it is useful in a few situations. I use this trick on my army when I'm about to do some kind of maneuver / attack. Just zoom in and out a few times near your army. It's a quick check to see if hes watching you.
the UMP says YER OUT
Thoreezhea1
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
United States532 Posts
September 02 2010 16:30 GMT
#16
GJ, and TY
What the Fu- REAPERS?!
Rekiv
Profile Joined April 2010
Great Britain27 Posts
September 02 2010 16:30 GMT
#17
On September 03 2010 01:19 ckw wrote:
It's really the only way I know DT's are coming sometimes and same with observers. It's not a new trick but this post may actually bring some light to some people that may have not known. Sometimes, if you watch pro matches, you'll see people scan observers to kill them because they saw the ripple.

EDIT Never mind, I didn't read the OP correctly, I am talking about something different



I guess it could work against DTs too, but then again they're usually on the move which defeats the purpose if the trick. Although it's a common tactic to create 2 or more DTs and only send one of them into a base at a time whilst leaving the others out of detector range on hold position. The idea of this is to waste a scan and then just send the rest in.
MoreFaSho
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States1427 Posts
September 02 2010 16:31 GMT
#18
Yea, if you're getting ready to push out, you definitely want to do this trick, I'm going to try to incorporate this, should be pretty helpful.
I always try to shield slam face, just to make sure it doesnt work
Pking
Profile Joined May 2010
Sweden142 Posts
September 02 2010 16:31 GMT
#19
Thanks for the tip, I guess it should also work by rotating the camera.
Plexa
Profile Blog Joined October 2005
Aotearoa39261 Posts
September 02 2010 16:32 GMT
#20
Clever nice find
Administrator~ Spirit will set you free ~
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Replay Cast
00:00
LiuLi Cup Grand Finals Playoff
CranKy Ducklings147
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RuFF_SC2 239
ProTech129
SpeCial 76
StarCraft: Brood War
Sea 5024
GuemChi 1037
Shuttle 523
ggaemo 185
Snow 59
NaDa 44
Bale 28
-ZergGirl 26
Noble 7
Dota 2
monkeys_forever546
NeuroSwarm47
League of Legends
JimRising 556
Cuddl3bear4
Counter-Strike
Fnx 2899
fl0m1970
taco 601
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor96
Other Games
summit1g6608
Artosis491
C9.Mang0309
capcasts260
Mew2King31
ViBE28
Organizations
Other Games
BasetradeTV384
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 18 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 449
• practicex 1
• Migwel
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
StarCraft: Brood War
• RayReign 18
• Azhi_Dahaki8
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota21173
League of Legends
• Lourlo534
• Stunt134
Other Games
• Scarra1445
Upcoming Events
Ultimate Battle
8h 43m
Light vs ZerO
WardiTV Winter Champion…
8h 43m
MaxPax vs Spirit
Rogue vs Bunny
Cure vs SHIN
Solar vs Zoun
OSC
14h 43m
Replay Cast
20h 43m
CranKy Ducklings
1d 6h
WardiTV Winter Champion…
1d 8h
Replay Cast
1d 20h
Sparkling Tuna Cup
2 days
WardiTV Winter Champion…
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
[ Show More ]
Replay Cast
3 days
Monday Night Weeklies
3 days
OSC
3 days
Replay Cast
5 days
The PondCast
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-03-04
PiG Sty Festival 7.0
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Jeongseon Sooper Cup
Spring Cup 2026
WardiTV Winter 2026
Nations Cup 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual

Upcoming

ASL Season 21: Qualifier #1
ASL Season 21: Qualifier #2
ASL Season 21
Acropolis #4 - TS6
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
CSLAN 4
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2026
RSL Revival: Season 4
NationLESS Cup
CS Asia Championships 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
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.