Starcraft 2 Banshee Guide
Starcraft 2 Banshee - Introduction
Our guide to Terran forces in Starcraft 2 continues with the ground attack Banshee unit.
The Banshee was originally designed to keep unruly crowds of demonstrators under close control in the Dominion, but the Terran armies have repurposed it as a tactical air-strike unit. Ideal for raining missiles down upon poorly protected ground targets, the Banshee is here given the full treatment, with stats, weaponry and Upgrades information, as well as our usual detailed set of strategies for all three Starcraft 2 multiplayer races.
Starcraft 2 Terran Banshee Vital Statistics
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Production and Properties:
- Minerals: 150
- Gas: 100
- Supply: 3
- Build Time: 60 secs
- Produced By: Starport
- Requires: Starport Tech Lab
- Hotkey: E
- Max Energy: 200
Movement and Protection:
- Speed: 2.75
- Acceleration: 3.25
- Hit Points: 140
- Shields: 0
- Armor: 0
- Armor Type: Mechanical, Light
Weaponry:
Backlash Rockets
- Ground Attack
- Attacks: 2
- Range: 6
- Damage: 12
Starcraft 2 Terran Banshee Upgrades and Abilities
Upgrades:
Ship Weapons 1-3 (Upgrade for all of the Terran ship units)
- Level 1: (Minerals: 100, Gas: 100, Time: 160 secs)
- Level 2: (Minerals: 175, Gas: 175, Time: 190 secs)
- Level 3: (Minerals: 250, Gas: 250, Time: 220 secs)
- Required: Starport
Ship Plating 1-3 (Upgrade for all of the Terran ship units)
- Level 1: (Minerals: 150, Gas: 150, Time: 160 secs)
- Level 2: (Minerals: 225, Gas: 225, Time: 190 secs)
- Level 3: (Minerals: 300, Gas: 300, Time: 220 secs)
- Required: Starport
Cloaking Field
- (MInerals: 200, Gas: 200, Time: 110 secs)
- Required: Fusion Core
Abilities:
- Cloak: The Banshee unit becomes invisible to standard units and its existence can only be revealed by the use of Detection Abilities and Effects, at a cost of 0.9 Energy per second.
- Type: Command
- Energy: 25
Starcraft 2 Banshee Strategy, Tips and Tricks
Strong Against:
Vulnerable To:
Terran vs Terran
Like the Reaper and Hellion units, the Banshee makes a great hit-and-run raider against your opponent’s supplies, with the added bonus of their Cloaking field to throw unsuspecting ground units off the scent. However, they are highly vulnerable to other Terran units, especially aerial ones such as the Viking Fighter, having been stripped of any air-to-air defense, while Thors can barrage them with splash damage from long range.
Terran vs Protoss
Employ the Banshee carefully against a Protoss enemy, as this race has quite a few useful counters. Avoid raiding Mineral Fields if Photon Cannons are present, as they will negate your Cloak. Stalkers with Blink can get up close quickly, while the Phoenix is far faster through the air, making the Banshee a sitting duck for them.
Terran vs Zerg
Banshees tend to fair much better against the Zerg, especially if you are clever in your use of the map terrain to hide them away above impassable features such as cliffs to protect them from incoming fire. But watch out for Mutalisks, again fast through the air, or ward them off with Vikings, and pick off defenseless groups of ground units where you find them. Spore Colonies provide fairly adequate protection against Banshee raids.
Conclusion
While not as flexible as some of the other Terran units, the Starcraft 2 Banshee nevertheless does its job well. Provide it with anti-aircraft support when strafing infantry or sidle up to unprotected enemy bases under its invisible cloak and you should see great results from this powerful little unit in SC2 online matches.
