Planetary Fortress Rush - what ladder maps?

Hey,

So I've finally started learning my second race (terran) and I was experimenting with the good ol' planetary fortress rushes on LT just for a little fun (needed a break from the drop ship based tactics I've been playing with). Nothing like really pissing off a 'toss player with your own set of cheese (eat that cliff cannoneers and proxy pyloners).

Even though it is easily countered I'm still thinking of tossing it into the occassional ladder game. I'm wondering though, since LT is out of ladder rotation, are there any ladder maps IN rotation that this would also work well on?

 

Umm, I assume it would need to be close. I have never tried it but don't exactly know the build order either. Could, Steppes of War work? I'm under the impression that they need to be close?

 

Yeah, they can't be too far in start positions, or by the time your command center arrives it is over. Also, your workers need to get there at about the same time.

BO is basically 10/supply/2x gas/engineering bay when you have the $$ and run everyone over (and float the CC over) when you hit 150 gas (and at least 150 minerals).

 

the opponent has to be protoss... this is probably the cheesiest of cheese. they have to be REALLY close... even most 1v1 maps are too far apart, to be honest. scrap station seems to be a good one, though. desert oasis might not be too bad, either. short air distance is really all that's important.

 

What about Incineration zone? i think it will be the most fit for planetary fortress rush.
But really, all it takes is the opponent to expand and move the probes over, and you have lost.

 

Testing the ability to attach a replay with a post I have attached an example using this strat on LT. The opponents are horrible but to be fair I'm both very tired and there is probably room for improvement in the BO or tactics too. Besides, I'm mostly interested in looking at the initial strat, not the total inepitude that follows.

I know it is a huge gambit, but I don't think it is as simple for a Protoss player as you make it out to be.

Unlike Terran the Protoss can't simply float to a new base. They need the 400 minerals to make a new Nexus. And my SCVs aren't simply going to let them run unharrassed.

Of course, the simplest defense to this IMO is to micro a probe under the command center so it can't land. If that is too micro intensive, then just pull a few more workers out to block the landing areas. It will slow you down some but the gambit on the Terran's part is basically unrecoverable.

However, I'm fairly certain if I reach the point where I've landed my command center and gotten my SCVs in and you have no cannon support at your Nexus, then that is gg. Even if you delay it I think it is my game to lose at that point.

 

I cannot watch the replay now, but as far as I know the CC with planetary fortress upgrade cannot be moved afterwards. So basically you need to drop it down next to the nexus and manage to build the upgrade before he kicks your ***?

I cannot believe this would work. By the time you get to me I will have plenty of units to stop this.
This can only work against a total noob.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5NgS7UPsjc#t=4m00s

yeah, it only works on the noobs and unsuspecting. but it's hilarious.

 

haha brilliant. Have to try this some time

 

If by units you mean combat units then no, you won't. That is basically the whole idea behind this type of rush: it is far stronger than anything you have at that point and the CC is beefy enough to stand up to targeted fire while the extremely short upgrade completes, especially with SCVs to repair/run interference/mine off your opponents minerals. Pretty much the worst approach you can take to defending against this is to think your initial couple of zealots can take it out.

 

yeah, a planetary fortress can easily take out early tier units, no problem. of course, if you can kill a few of his SCVs, and keep mining until you have 400 minerals, just set up a new base somewhere else, and he loses. at best he'll probably only have 2-3 SCVs still alive, and they have to long-distance mine, when at the time you'll probably be sitting at 15 probes at a new base.

or set up a photon cannon near the mineral line, just outside the fortress's range. even if he kills your nexus, he won't be able to mine at all.

 

OK, you are right. This can work if you manage to land the building

This reminds me of Sc1 terran worker rushes that would take out a toss or zerg if they were not really great players do to terran workers being of more HP and being able to repair each other

 

shame they lowered the SCV HP so much because of it, though. they need more HP than the probe and drone, they're sitting ducks while they're building and they have no auto-regeneration ability.

 

Those were great. Especially with a proxy rax so you'd have 1-2 marines arrive that couldn't be reached due to the scv "wall".

On a side note, manner pylons aren't very effective in SC2. Played around a little with Protoss in 2v2 games last night and was very disappointed to find that out.

Ironically I still won the game with Carriers of all things. If you manage to get a handful they seem far stronger in SC2 than in SC1. I think it might be a combination of bad AI going for interceptors and how much easier forcefield makes defending your base. Or maybe it is just because the opponents just continued to mass stalkers. No templars. No phoenixes. No void rays. Just lots and lots of stalkers. Heck, I was the only one with a mothership too (both opponents were protoss).

 

that was pretty fun to watch, the fortress doesnt seem to do enough to damage to totally win it for you though...

 

that was pretty fun to watch, the fortress doesnt seem to do enough to damage to totally win it for you though...

 

wow impressive cheese, i imagine the best counter would be to have all you probes randomly run around while your few zealots find the bay, and if you havent seen it before, youll be think wtf is this noob doing, least i would. a good team mate would help rebuild though. may try this on 2v2 maps and just build it at expansion or right on the front door (depending on what map) o help with map control (though it would be second cc)

 

yeah that would probably be the best course of action id say.

 

Finding the bay after the fact isn't going to help you. The terran player could probably ping exactly where it was (if you could ping for opponents) and trying to chase down the bay wouldn't make a bit of difference.

 

Only way to counter it is to kite it with a worker (stay underneath it and it can't land) and build pylons out so that he can't land in range of your Nexus. Seems hard to do and tedious but if you do it you win!