Follow us on Twitter @LiquipediaSC2 if you'd like to be kept up to date on all things StarCraft II!
Download the Liquipedia app here!Download the Liquipedia app to follow StarCraft II!Want personalized updates on StarCraft II esports? Download the Liquipedia app on iOS or Android to never miss your favorite tournaments and matches!

Marauder (Legacy of the Void)

From Liquipedia StarCraft 2 Wiki
This article covers the current multiplayer version of this unit. For other versions see Marauder (Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm) and Marauder (Wings of Liberty Campaign).
[e][h]Terran Marauder
Unit Information
Type:
Ground Unit
Description:
Heavy assault infantry.
Built From:
Cost:
 100  25  21  2
Attack 1: Punisher Grenades
Targets:
Ground
Damage:
10 (+1)
9.3 (+0.93)
14.1 (+1.4) (Stimpack)
1.07 (-0.36)
Bonus:
+10 (+1) vs Armored
Bonus DPS:
+9.3 (+0.93) vs Armored
+14.1 (+1.4) (Stimpack)
Unit stats
Defense:
125 1 (+1)
Attributes:
Sight:
10
Speed:
3.15 (+1.57)
Cargo size:
2
Strong against:
Weak against:

Description[edit]

Produced from a Barracks with a Tech Lab, most of this unit's attention will be against other armored units such as the Roach or the Stalker. Being almost the opposite of a Marine this unit is meaty and slow firing, and will take some attention during battles to make this unit target Armored units to do full damage. Supplementing this is the Marauder's long range and heavy damage every individual shot. Their health and armor make them somewhat better of a meatshield than Marines as well.

Marauder's Concussive Shells ability trap enemy units and stop priority targets from retreating without taking more damage, which works well with Stimpack's effect.

Marauders are effective at the front of an engagement to take damage for Marines and then be healed by Medivacs; known collectively as MMM or Terran Bio (Barracks). It is not a massing unit like the Marine and Siege Tank, because it has a slight delay on its projectile attack (like the Stalker and Roach it counters) that takes a while to hit the opposing unit and can miss: usually from the opponent unit dying, Blink/Burrowing, etc. can dodge hits or overkill targets.

Notes[edit]

  • Marauders have a range of 6 and stand behind Marines when issued attack-move command.
  • Control+Click a Marauder and all nearby will be selected.
    • Use this to micro Marauders forward when needed to tank against, for example, Banelings.
  • Marauder projectiles have a blue trail after Concussive Shells upgrade is applied.
  • The Raven's Point Defense Drone ability, removed in the 4.0.0 patch, was able to shut down Marauder projectiles.

Abilities[edit]

Marauders can be upgraded with Stimpacks and Concussive Shells from a Tech Lab connected to a Barracks.

Increases the movement speed and firing rate by 50% at the cost of 10 HP for a Marine or 20 HP for a Marauder.
Duration: 1.07 s
Slows an enemy's movement speed by 50% when hit by the Marauder's attack. The slowing effect does not stack, but the timer is refreshed by subsequent hits. Massive units are immune to the slow.

Upgrades[edit]

These upgrades are researched at the Barracks' Tech Lab.

100
100
100
Researched from: Tech Lab
Every Marine and Marauder gain the Stimpack ability.
50
50
43
Researched from: Tech Lab
Marauders gain the Concussive Shells ability.

Competitive Usage[edit]

General[edit]

With the Concussive Shells upgrade, Marauders can kite many non-massive units with ease. This makes them highly effective against early- and mid-game compositions from any of the three races, and allows them to retreat fairly easily, as no concussed unit is faster than a Marauder with Stimpack. Combined with their bonus against Armored units and considerable health, they are generally the heavy lifters of a Terran biological army.

With their high health and better armor they can be sent to the front of a Bio army to tank melee units, although they are not effective damage-wise against what are light and mobile assailants.

Vs. Protoss[edit]

The Marauder is one of the key components of a Bio-heavy unit composition. The Marauder's extra damage against Armored units is particularly effective against Stalkers and Colossi. Additionally, Marauder Concussive Shells will prevent a retreating Protoss army from getting too far, then allowing the Terran player to hunt them down if they have enough forces to do so. Approaching Zealots without Charge can be kited with the additional help of Stimpack.

Without the armor damage bonus, they deal rather less damage to Zealots however, and pure Marauder blobs can be defeated by Zealots with Charge, necessitating the more versatile Marine. Powerful support options in the later game such as the High Templars' Psionic Storms or Colossi with Extended Thermal Lances that complement Zealots rip through them as well, although they tend to fare somewhat better than Marines. Marauders tend to still be useful in the late-game however when the focus of Terran production is to deal with a Colossi and Stalker ball, where Marauders can be clean-up duty with Vikings hunting Colossi.

Marauders can be even more effective when their attack bonus is combined with the benefits of a Ghost's EMP to take down heavy units like the Immortal, demanding less additional Marines. However, despite the Marauders being able to kite and deal great damage against Disruptors, once they begin to clump up, it's getting more and more difficult to dodge Purification Novas.

Vs. Terran[edit]

Commonly seen in Bio vs. Mech or Bio-Mech vs. Mech games, Marauders are typically mixed in with Marines for the following reasons:

  • Marauders do +10 damage against Armored units, which is helpful against Mech compositions whose primary damage dealer is the Siege Tank.
  • Since Marauders do more damage per attack than Marines but fire at a slower rate, they can be stutter stepped more efficiently than Marines as they can cover more distance between each attack while still maintaining full DPS. Coupled with their slightly longer range, this allows Marauders to be more mobile than Marines when micromanaged against Siege Tanks in a direct engagement.
  • Although Siege Tanks deal bonus damage to Armored units like the Marauder, Marauders have larger unit models than Marines, reducing the effectiveness of Siege Tanks' splash damage as they will hit less units with each attack.
  • Marauder's slowing effect from Concussive Shells is effective against Hellions and prevents Siege Tanks from retreating.
  • Since they have the Armored instead of Light Attribute, they do not take bonus damage from Hellions or Hellbats, unlike Marines.

In Bio-Mech vs. Bio-Mech games, Marauders are often times forgone entirely, as they are both resource inefficient and supply inefficient against Marines in large battles.

Vs. Zerg[edit]

Due to its bonus damage against Armored enemies, the Marauder is very effective against Roach based armies, especially when paired with Medivacs. Against the common Zergling-Baneling-Mutalisk composition, adding Marauders into the Terran army forces the Zerg player to target-fire the Marines with the Banelings rather than simply attack-moving them (else they will inefficiently detonate on Marauders). This also allows the Terran player to more easily split Marines against the Banelings, as the Zerg player will have to manually target different groups of Marines with the Banelings rather than allowing the A.I. to do it automatically via an attack-move command.

Marauders are weak against Zerglings, so it is important to keep them supported by Marines and/or Hellbats to prevent them from being quickly surrounded and killed.

Gallery[edit]

Quotes[edit]

Marauder's quotes (video and sound) - YouTube video.

Patch Changes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Blizzard Entertainment (14 November 2017). "STARCRAFT II 4.0 PATCH NOTES". Battle.net.
  2. Blizzard Entertainment (15 May 2018). "STARCRAFT II BALANCE UPDATE – MAY 15, 2018". Battle.net.