Hit Points: 80 Size: Medium Supply: 2 Cost: 75 Build Time: 30 Trained at: Factory Requires: Barracks, Factory

Ground Attack: 20c (Upgrade to +6) Air Attack: None Range: 5 Sight: 8 Armor: 0 (Upgrade to +3) Dropship Carries: 4 Vultures Production Hot key: V

The reliable Vulture-Class Hover Bike, used primarily for scouting and patrol, can reach speeds of up to two hundred and thirty miles per hour. Standard armament is an anti-personnel grenade launcher, but newer Vulture models also carry a Spider Mine deployment system for perimeter defense.

Vultures do 20 Concussive Attack (50% damage to Medium Units 25% damage to Large Units, 100% against small units). This means they are most effective vs small units especially resource gatherers, Marines, Zealots (in sufficient number) and Zerglings.

Vultures speed allows them to run rings around the enemy.

Lay Mines in front of approaching groups of Marines, Firebats, Zealots, Zerglings, Hydralisks, then run. Use hit and run tactics against Zealots. Have your Vultures run away from Zealots when they attack while other Vultures take hits on the Zealots from afar. Hit the enemy, then retreat. Using this method, you can win battles against Zealots spending the same amount of money on your Vultures as the enemy is spending on Zealots. This is very effective when you have the Ion Thrusters upgrade, and less effective once the Zealots have Leg Enhancements (Faster Zealot movement). Combine with the placement of Spider mines to work wonders against Zealots. Repair your Vultures for even more effectiveness.

With the Ion Thrusters upgrade for faster Vulture movement, Vultures make incredible scouts. You can command a Vulture using way points to quickly scout the resources on the map to make sure the enemy is not building at them. Vultures quick speed allows them to quickly reinforce an area that needs more firepower in record time.

Vultures are very inexpensive, 75 minerals. In situations where gas is scarce, investing in some Vultures can pay off. But by far, Vulture's largest advantage is with their spider mines.

Vultures cannot attack air targets. This is a key weakness that should be both guarded against and taken advantage of when going against enemy Vultures.

Vehicle Weapons Level 1: 100 100 Level 2: 175 175 Level 3: 250 250

Researching these three upgrades at the Armory will increase the weapons of your Vultures by +6 (+2 per Weapons Upgrade).

Vehicle Plating Level 1: 100 100 Level 2: 175 175 Level 3: 250 250

Researching these three upgrades at the Armory will increase the armor of your Vultures by +3 (+1 per upgrade)

Research Ion Thrusters 100 100 Faster Vulture movement

Ion Thrusters allow your Vultures to reach their destinations at a much quicker rate. This is helpful when scouting the map, running from enemies, or reinforcing positions that are under attack.

Research Spider Mines - 100 100 Cost: None, but only 3 Mines/Vulture Sight: 3 HP: 20 Damage: 125

Spider mines do 125 Splash Damage. Once researched, all Vultures receive only three Spider mines. Once used, they cannot be replaced. To make more mines you must make new Vultures. The Vulture slowly plants the Spider mine. During the planting process, the mine is visible and vulnerable to attack. The mine first embeds itself into the ground and then cloaks. To see the mine you must use cloak detection. Once a target is acquired, the Spider mine raises up out of the ground and attacks the enemy. Hover units do not set off Spider mines. Such units are all resource gatherers (SCVs, Probes, Drones), as well as Vultures, and Archons. Mines cannot attack air targets. You can use these units to clear out the mines once they are spotted. Use Spider mines to spy on the map. Each mine has a sight radius. This sight radius is small but still large enough to spot enemy units traveling around (the ones that don't get attacked by the Mines). You can plant them around at the various resource spots to watch for enemy workers trying to build alerting you to their desire to build there. You can either hide the mine in the resources, or place it where the enemy will place their building. Buildings cannot be built over Spider Mines. A red building area where green is expected might alert you to the presence of some mines. Lay mines in key traffic areas where they will be sure to hit enemy units walking by or at least alert you to the enemy's movement. In this picture Mines are placed in a narrow corridor leading into the Terran town. For Spider mines to be effective they should be places in groups. A single mine is usually seen and destroyed by the enemy before it can attack, but in numbers, the enemy cannot react fast enough to destroy them all before they attack. You have some overkills, where more mines detonate than necessary on the enemy thereby wasting mines, but that is much better than having your mines killed before they hit anything. This is especially the case when using them against ranged weaponed units such as Marines and Hydralisks, and less so against Melee units such as Zerglings and Zealots.

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