Hit Points: 40 Size: Small Supply: 1 Cost: 50 Build Time: 24 Trained at: Barracks Requires: Barracks

Ground Attack: 6 (Upgrade to +3) Air Attack: 6 (Upgrade to +3) Range: 4 (Upgrade to +1) Sight: 7 Armor: 0 (Upgrade to +3) Dropship Carries: 8 Marines Production Hot key: M

At first glance, one might wonder about the usefulness of such a little soldier, but when properly used, Marines are a very important part of the Terran arsenal.

Marines do Normal damage against all types of units. This makes them good against almost every unit in numbers.

One advantage of the Marine is his ranged weapon. Marines can fire with impunity against melee units (Zerglings,Zealots) until those units make actual contact with your Marines, if they make it that far. Marines in sufficient numbers are effective against almost every type of unit.

A Zerg player training Zerglings or a Protoss player training Zealots will have trouble against an air assault, but a Terran player, with the Marine's ability to fire at both air and ground targets, is able to avoid such surprises.

Marines are very effective against Zerglings, and even Zealots when using Stim Pack and U-238 Shells (Increased Range) if they are in sufficient numbers. They also work well vs Mutalisks (especially when Stim packed).

Marines are very helpful to Siege Tanks. They can be used to spot for Siege Tanks allowing them to fire at targets further away than their normal viewing range. They are also very important to keep units from getting too close to Siege Tanks (where Siege Tanks in siege mode cannot fire) as well as finish off any enemies that make it past the Siege Tank barrage. They can also attack any air targets that attempt to attack the Siege Tanks.

Drop groups of Marines into the enemy mining operations. Stim Pack to quickly destroy all the enemy's workers.

Drop groups of Marines on top of Siege Tanks in Siege Mode using Dropships. They can land very close to the Siege Tanks (where they can't fire on them in Siege Mode) and can quickly destroy them, especially when using Stim Pack.

Use Scanner Sweeps to reveal cloaked units and quickly destroy the cloaked units with Stim Packed Marines. Remember to hot key your ComSat station.

Did I say build a lot of them? Marines are best used in LARGE numbers. Think D-Day.

Well...Maybe not this many...





You may find you need to build three or more Barracks to build a decent group of Marines to defend yourself against such targets as large numbers of Zealots, Hydralisk, Zerglings or other enemies. Damage in numbers.

Marines can be placed in Bunkers allowing them to be more defended. The Marines take no damage until the Bunker is destroyed.

Marines cannot Stim pack while inside a bunker. But you can and should Stim Pack them then place them in a Bunker, or unload them, Stim Pack them, then put them back into the Bunker. The most effective upgrades for Marines to be used in bunkers are the U-238 Shells for increased range (Allowing your Marines to hit targets earlier and at further distances), Infantry Weapons, and Stim Pack. You will receive no benefit from researching Infantry Armor for those Marines until the bunker is destroyed.

Use obstacles to increase the effectiveness
While Bunkers are one of the best defenses for Marines, you can also put them behind obstacles such as buildings, trees, or put them above the enemy on higher ground to make it difficult for the enemy to reach your Marines.

Terran Counters

• Use Bunkers filled with Marines. Make sure you have the U-238 upgrade for added range. A very important part of defending against large groups of Marines is to repair Bunkers while they are being attacked. Have multiple bunkers close to each other so that they can all fire on the enemy and protect each other.

• Use Stim Packed Marines. If the enemy doesn't have Stim Pack yet, this can allow you to overpower them. (Think Bloodlust from Warcraft 2).

• Vultures are one of the best Terran defenses against large groups of Marines. They are only 25 more Minerals than a Marine. Once Mines are researched, you can lay mines and fire at the enemy collections of Marines at the same time. Vultures also work well against Zerglings and Zealots using the same method. Hit and run with them. Send them back to be repaired.

• Later on Siege Tanks in Siege Mode (with proper spotting) can fire on Marines from a distance away.

• Cast Irradiate on tight groups of Marines.

• A group (6+ or more) of Battlecruisers can kill Marines very easily.

• Do not use Firebats against large groups of Marines. Unless they significantly outnumber the enemy, they will not be able to fire on the Marines before they are destroyed.

• Use larger numbers of Zealots. Make use of Shield Batteries and try to do your fighting by the Shield Batteries.

• Later on use Reavers to destroy large groups of Marines with a single Scarab.

• Cast Psionic Storm over groups of Marines.

• One of the best defenses is Archons. They obliterate Marines unless greatly outnumbered.

• Hydralisks are the preferred defense.

• Zerglings can work if they severely outnumber the Marines, the Marines don't have added range, Bunkers, and Stim Pack. If they catch the Marines as they are walking in single file lines, they can over power them. This is usually only the case early in the game.

• Use Plague from Defilers.

• Cast Dark Swarm, and hide Hydralisks under it. The Marines will not be able to fire at the Hydralisks. At that point the Marines should run under the cloud too or run in the other direction.

• Cast Ensnare on the Marines to slow them down and counter the effects of Stim Pack.

• One of the best defenses later in the game is Guardians. Guardians in numbers can destroy Marines before they get close because of their range and great damage.

	Infantry Weapons Level 1: 100 100 Level 2: 175 175 Level 3: 250 250	Researching these three upgrades at the Engineering Bay will increase the weapons of your Marines by +3 (+1 a Level)
	Infantry Armor   Level 1: 100 100 Level 2: 175 175 Level 3: 250 250	Researching these three upgrades at the Engineering Bay will increase the armor and weapons of your Marines by +3 (+1 a Level)
	Research U-238 Shells 150 150 Increased Marine attack range	The second most useful upgrade for your Marines, U-238 shells allow Marines to hit targets at further distances. This increases their effectiveness by a large amount, especially for Marines used in Bunkers.

Research Stim Pack Tech - 100 100 Cost: 10 Health

By far the most useful upgrade for your Marines (and Firebats), Stim Packs when used, allow Marines to both fire at a faster rate and their ground speed also increases significantly. Stim Packs allow squads of Marines to win battles you never thought possible. There is a cost however, 10 hit points are lost for every use of Stim pack. If your Marines are at 10 hit points or less you cannot use them because doing so would kill them. You can cast Stim Packs several times but layered Stim Packs are not cumulative meaning that casting more than one Stim Pack at the same time will not give any added benefit (only one Stim Pack is active at a time). Any additional Stim Packs used on top of the current active one will be wasted. Some players select a Marine, then hit Stim Pack repeatedly until they can't cast it anymore. This is wrong, only cast it once. Wait until the first one wears off before casting another. Stim Packs are not a permanent effect. They last for a few seconds then the Marine or Firebat reverts back to it's normal state. Don't waste hit points with needless Stim Packs. Only use Stim Pack when you are already fighting the enemy, or are about to be attacked. Casting multiple Stim Packs at the same time does not give any added benefit. Therefore, only use one at a time. Wait until the Stim Packs have worn off before using them again.

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