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In the high level TvZ games as soon as mutas come out, terran starts building missile turrets all over the map. Approx, 3-4 per expansion and 5-6 in the main, so that is about 75*9 = 675 minerals ( assuming one expansion ), also there will be some PFs etc. Then how come no one gets this research which is just 100/100.

The only reason I can think of is that it will slow down other upgrades. But I still don't know why this has not become part of the strategy, it is just 80 secs, and people have more than one bays anyways.

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  • I don't play StarCraft 2, so I don't know the mechanics of the game, but this question (at least the title) seems to be subjective...
    – Ragnar
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 4:18
  • i am curious about the strategy or the motivation for this, I don't think it is a preference or opinion based thing.
    – Rohan Monga
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 5:04
  • I believe this is a valid strategy question. FYI though, missle turrets cost 100 minerals, not 75. You could argue they effectively cost even more, due to the 25 seconds an SCV spends building each, instead of harvesting minerals.
    – Wikwocket
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 5:11
  • 5
    @Ragnar high-level SC2 play revolves around heavily optimizing every little detail. If something has apparent advantage but still isn't used, I think it's a valid question why.
    – Oak
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 5:13
  • @Wikwocket, so the more expensive the turret, the more important it is to have the upgrade that keeps it alive/ increase usefulness.
    – Rohan Monga
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 6:21

2 Answers 2

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Generally-speaking, neither Hi-Sec Auto Tracking nor turret spam are the best reactions to mutas. Throwing a turret or two on your mineral line works if you expect continued aerial harassment, but the reaction most pro players have to an opponent going mass muta would be to create a unit-based counter.

Turrets and your other defensive structures aren't mobile. Because of that, they cannot win the game for you. They only keep you from losing. By investing in units that can get rid of mutas, you're investing in something that can also be used to win the game. Overall, that tends to be a better use of your resources.

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  • while I agree unit based counters are what will be the basis for direct engagements, most strategies I have seen with mutas focus largely on harassment. I have seen easily 4 turrets per expansion and that is substantial investment, and when you consider the money lost trying to repair ( +mining, +scvs lost due to splash ), I'd say this research should be like fairly important. So I guess what I am asking is if 100/100 worth of AA units is better than this research.
    – Rohan Monga
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 12:16
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    @bronzebeard: If those 4 turrets and the research had been units instead, then yes. You could have done a better job pushing harassment back (since you are mobile) and you can use that new army and your existing one to flank the harassers. With turrets, the mutas could easily just find a place in your base where you don't have turret coverage and snipe a few other buildings. Turrets are good for pushing back early harassment on the mineral line, but if all you do is build turrets then you'll eventually be overwhelmed with either mass mutas or a ground-based counter.
    – Shaun
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 16:47
  • that is an interesting perspective and I guess people are getting turrets so that the mutas have to deal with turrets while the actual counter gets there, instead of going after production or scvs
    – Rohan Monga
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 3:12
  • this answer doesn't address the fact that pro gamers DO build turrets for muta defense. Because they do. And they don't research auto tracking anyway, I've only seen it researched in a handful of pro games and it did greatly enhance their turret effectiveness. I think it is just a matter of trends that it is not popular.
    – jzn
    Commented Sep 15, 2011 at 19:59
  • I do talk about the building of turrets. I mention that "Throwing a turret or two on your mineral line works if you expect continued aerial harassment". :)
    – Shaun
    Commented Sep 15, 2011 at 22:41
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It's not true that no one researches Hi-Sec Auto Tracking; the caster "TotalBiscuit" is an advocate of that upgrade.

(That said, you can find the streams of his games by searching for "I Suck at Starcraft Live", so take that for what it's worth.)

I usually research it too, fairly early; I find it especially useful when you have Planetary Fortresses; just the increase of 1 in range actually increases the total area of effect like about 35% or so.

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    Yup I have seen this at fairly higher levels but I was thinking about the Korean pros and what their strategies might be.
    – Rohan Monga
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 3:14
  • See "high-level"
    – Decency
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 10:26

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