Starcraft Terran Strategy - Beating Banshees  | read this item

These units are a quick air-to-ground attack vehicle.  The Banshee are the Starcraft 2 Terran answer to all things that can’t fly.  In addition to being able to deal a lot of damage to anything on the ground, they are also capable of cloaking.  The researched Cloaking Field enables the Banshee to provide unbeatable harass against opponents that haven’t prepared for them.

The first time you’ll see a Banshee in a game is when they go after your mineral line for some early harass.  This may signal a shift to an Air build or may just be a means of providing harass to limit your army size against a ground force.  This is dependant on how many Starports the player produces.  In cases where the game continues for quite a while after Banshee harass, it is likely that the player will produce Battlecruisers from those same Starports.

Key Counter Units:

First you need to make sure you can negate the Cloaking Field.  You can do this with Missle Turrets in your base, which will also attack the Banshees.   You can also mix a Raven into your mobile force since it has a detector built in.

The Terran Vikings are the best choice for taking out uncloaked or detected Banshees.  They’re anti-air aerial units, making them able to attack Banshees while not take fire in reture.  They’re easy to produce being among the first tier air units and they can keep up with Banshees.  You should take note that they won’t be able to take out a whole group while still giving chase.  They can match speeds, but they still need to stop to fire.

The Thor is a heavy ground unit that specializes in taking out light air units such as the Banshee.  It anti-air guns cause heavy damage against flying units, cause splash damage, and also add in bonus damage against light units.  The Thor can quickly take out Banshees especially when they’re massed.

Key Strategic Points:

Use Missle Turrets – A single turret located in your mineral line will make your opponent think twice about sending in their Banshees.  A sizeable group will be able to knock out your turret, but by that time you should have enough resources to build more, be done with that mineral line, or have counter units readily available.

Scanner Sweep – If you’ve got forces in place to deal with a cloaked Banshee and just lack a detector, then use the Scanner Sweep ability from one of your orbital commands.  The Banshee will become visible to your forces and will likely die or retreat, giving you ample time to setup some anti-Banshee defense.

Use Ravens – If you’re moving a mobile force that has a sizable ground composition, consider including a Raven in the mix.  The unit’s built-in detector will make sure that Banshees will not go unseen, allowing your units to dispatch it without you having to tell them.

What other ways would you use to deal with Banshees?