Reaver

[e][h] Reaver

Unit Information

Type:

Large Ground Unit

Built From:

Robotics Facility

Requirements:

• Robotics Support Bay

Cost:

 200  100  44  4

Hotkey:

V

Unit stats

Defense:

100 80 0

Ground Damage:

100 (+25 Scarab Damage)

Range:

8

G. Cooldown:

2.52

G. DPS:

39.68 (+9.92)

Sight:

10

Speed:

1.317

Scarab Splash Radius

Inner:

0.313 (20 px)

Medium:

0.625 (40 px)

Outer:

0.938 (60 px)

Fall-Off is always the same. It is 100% within the Inner radius, 50% within Medium, and 25% within Outer.
Value refers to number of cells in distance. (px / 64)

Description

The Reaver is a Protoss ground siege unit produced from the Robotics Facility. Building it requires a Robotics Support Bay.

The Reaver attacks by building and launching Scarabs that it houses. These have a small cost and build time to create. Scarabs target ground units and explode on contact to produce major damage, similar to a Spider Mine. The Reaver's launch range of 8 is slightly further than most units and defensive buildings.

While the Reaver has very slow movement and a significant cooldown between shots, it becomes a deadly mobile harassment unit when used with a Shuttle. This becomes more effective once the Shuttle has the speed upgrade.

The Reaver is infamous for its "buggy AI" in which Scarabs will often "dud" and not hit the target at all, getting stuck along the way. This happens frequently when workers like Probes are targeted, as the Scarab has trouble finding a path through all the other nearby Probes. It also often happens when a unit runs away from the Scarab, though the Scarab will attempt to chase the unit beyond its typical range.

Upgrades

Researched at the Robotics Support Bay.

Scarab Damage

200      200      105 (fastest) Scarab damage is increased by +25 to 125. Usually neglected or deferred for the Shuttle's Gravitic Drive (speed) upgrade, as that is more important. However, this will allow Reavers to 1HKO Dark Templars with a direct hit, or 1HKO SCVs in a Scarab's 50% splash damage area. This upgrade is more common against Protoss, as the extra damage matters in Dragoon vs. Dragoon fights. It is more of a late-game upgrade against Terran, as there are other upgrades to prioritize.

Increased Reaver Capacity

200      200      105 (fastest) Increases the Reaver's Scarab capacity by +5 to 10. This is never researched, as professional players have the micro skill to queue Scarabs during downtime or combat. It is also unusual for a Reaver to be drained of all of its Scarabs during combat, as it is continually picked up and moved around via the Shuttle. This upgrade also has a catch: the player won't always be able to calculate how many Scarabs are currently on the Reaver if any are being built.

Abilities

Build Scarab

15      0      4 (fastest) Constructs a Scarab. A Reaver can initially house up to 5, but this limit is increased to 10 after the capacity upgrade. Reavers launch Scarabs at a rate of once every 60 frames.

Micromanagement

A Shuttle with a Reaver can be microed in such a way that the Reaver is dropped and then picked up immediately after it shoots a Scarab so that enemy units have a very short time window in which to shoot at the Reaver. The ability to micro a Shuttle with a Reaver is a highly valued skill for Protoss players.

A detailed guide about this can be found here.

Competitive Usage

versus Zerg

Reavers are often used in late-game PvZ armies because of their high damage output (with splash). Paired with Gateway units to absorb damage, Reavers can combat Ultralisks/Zerglings with greater efficiency than Zealots and Archons alone. The Ultralisk's high hit points allow Scarabs to do the full 125 amount of damage to them, which is why Reavers are a good counter to Ultralisks. In the late-game Reavers are also effective at defending expansions, especially in conjunction with Photon Cannons and High Templar.

As in other matchups, Reavers are often used for worker harassment versus Zerg. Corsair/Reaver is uniquely reliant on Reaver-based harassment and Shuttle play throughout the mid-game.

versus Terran

Reavers are primarily used as harassing units in the PvT match up, picking off stray Siege Tanks and assaulting mineral lines when used with effective Shuttle micro. A Protoss user who selects the Reaver as his tech of choice will also use it to stop Terran pushes in the early game, as they can be particularly effective against Vultures.

Reavers are ineffective alone due to their speed and slow cooldowns, thus travel with other Protoss troops. Because Siege Tanks outrange Reavers, Protoss players must be careful in controlling the Reaver/Shuttle combination.

versus Protoss

Reavers are a staple of PvP play, being used not only to defend expansions and allow players to expand safely, but also to harass the enemy mineral line and kill many probes, leaving the Protoss opponent with a significant economic disadvantage.

Reavers are also used in army engagements, being a component of a standard early-midgame PvP army alongside Dragoons. They are often the highest priority target in battles, as their high damage and splash can easily turn the tide of any battle. Shuttle micro is essential for using Reavers in battles, as picking up the Reaver at the correct time will allow it to dodge incoming Dragoon fire. Reavers start to become obsolete once Psionic Storm is researched, since storms negate, to a great extent, Shuttle micro. Note Reavers themselves can sustain up to two Psi Storms.

External Links

• [1] - Daezang's hero reaver gets over 30 kills on Really.
• CJ's Snow holds the record for most Reaver-kills in a televised match. In his game against n.Die_soO on July 17th 2010, one Reaver killed 72 enemy units.