Hello everyone, here I will present my very short guide to my favorite arcarde map Desert Strike 1338 also known as Desert Strike Euro
I play this map since early 10s, I like it because I don’t have to click every action, the units are spawning at the Fortress and do everything themselves. I like 1338 because it’s balanced, competitive, you know, like chess. I mentioned chess because there are certain basic strategies which you have to utilize to not get owned very quickly. Therefore in that guide I won’t talk about how to use hotkeys or other basic stuff, I’ll focus on how to win.
Universal rules
I urge you never to preset your race in the lobby. Why? Because your opponent will know what to strategy to utilize. Think of it as a game of poker: your race, your units, are your cards. If you show them open while not knowing what your op has, you’re sure to loose. Knowing what race/units your opponent has saves you hundreds of minerals!
Economy - building a gas at start might be a bad thing especially if your op wouldn’t, then they’ll have more units which might be crucial for your team. Holding the middle (a big line at the centre of the battlefield) gives your side the effect of +1 gas each therefore loosing it just so you could get gas2-3 earlier than your teammates is a bad idea.
Amount of units > grades. Three Immortals with t3 grades will pose lesser risk than 6 zero’ed Immortals.
Terran
If you’re a terran, and your op’s taken random option in lobby, then you should 100% scan your op’s base. Preferably to do that on 15th second so you will know not only the race, but also their units. It might be prudent to do the same for your protoss. Sometimes you’d better press stimpack so your stash stacks with surviving units of the previous wave.
vs Terran
Terran has only bio in Tier1. In DS1338 reapers have passive ability from WoL that makes them your ultimate solution against bio. Therefore in TvT you open with reapers: reapers can be matched only with other reapers. Even 2 additional reapers might play the trick: your op wasted minerals on maradeurs? Reapers will pwn them. There is no amount of critical mass of marines that could counter reapers. So you do, like, 10-15 reapers (see that you’ve got a grasp on clearing the wave), then you go t2 for t2 grades for them.
What units have a potential to counter reapers:
- Banshee
But keep in mind that a small amount of marines counter banshees. Some players will add banshees to their reapers if they’re loosing badly, but eventually they’ll get pwned by the marines+reapers. - Flamethrowers
They could stack at midgame but eventually battlecruisers will cancel them, it’ll ruin your late game - Siege tanks
Keep in mind that Siege you get only in T3. By that time your opponent will likely reach BCS rendering your tanks obsolete. Criticall mass of siege tanks can cancel any amount of bio.
What doesn’t work vs reapers:
Maradeurs, Ghosts, Medivacs, Marines, Tanks, Flamethrowers, Ravens, Thors, etc. If your op added something like this, they’ve lost vs your reapers. Just keep adding reapers, you’ll pwn all of this.
What works vs reapers:
Reapers. Reapers do reapers. You might want to skip gas1 to amass units at first. Keep close watch at your op’s grades because same amount but with t1 atk/armor could get them hand over. But amounts always prevail. When you think it works for you, get gas1, keep adding units, research T2 and get t2 atk/armor. If you’re loosing to reapers, add more reapers. Then research T3 and add Battlecruisers - don’t sell your reapers. Added BCS will guarantee your win but they tend to ignore ground units. Meanwhile big stash of reapers could pwn your Fortress.
vs Protoss
Reapers cancel zealots but they’re very weak against stalkers. Critical mass of stalkers, especially with a sentry, will devastate your reapers. A good way to open vs protoss - marines. Get them shields and stimpack ASAP. After 2nd wave you’d better start to add maradeurs.
Stalker’s types are armored light therefore maradeur’s attack bonus vs armored works wonders vs them. But they need a cover of marines so they won’t be focused first. Marauders are better be complimented with 4-5 medievacs but keep adding to your stash of units.
A good protoss will try to counter your marauders with immortals which are armored too so just keep adding marauders.
Keep in mind that in T3 Protoss has ultimate solution to your bio - the colossus. It will easily burn through your marines. When there’s just one colo, you might stimpack your maradeurs so they will cover your marines.
To counter colossus you need a lot of vikings. It might be prudent to scan the battlefield so vikings won’t sit down, they’ll never rise for a colo but they will for any air units, for ex, the observer. Battlecruiser’s Yamato will take out half the HP of collosus.
Thors are a bad solution because their target system priotitize any air unit over ground ones, also as armored they are countered by the immortals.
If Protoss was foolish enough to go full Archon vs Terran, it’d be reasonable to invest into ghosts and EMPs. You might want to control where EMP lands, though, to cancel Archon’s shields.
Vs Zerg
You’d want to scan before your op’s second wave to make sure they’re not going full blings.
Blings is a strategy of going all-in banelings with a couple of lings. This stash will annihilate anything bio (read - terran’s t1). Reapers, marines, mara - doesn’t matter.
There is a move - stimpack 1-2 maraduers so they meet the bling stash first, then a lot of banes will blow up against a single unit so your remaining marines could deal with the rest.
Why does it rarely work? Because the waves switch, you have to deal with others so your units stand in one line, then the zerg stash comes and your standoff is over.
So, how to counter it?
Option 1. You scan your op, you see blings, you go t2 for the Banshees. If the enemy team has a terran, it won’t work because marines will easily pwn your air. But, say, you’ve got PZZ or ZPP as opponents - your invisible Banshees will force your ops to go early t2 to get an observer, that will disrupt their economy and sabotage amount of units. Keep in mind that Banshees won’t do much damage to the blings but they might be more useful than your quickly canceled ground.
Note: you might keep your ground units until you amass minerals for 2-3 banshees, or don’t place units until you’re ready, to win in the poker games vs your op. When your op cracks your plan, they’d start researching t2; when your op get observer, your banshees will need a cover of vikings, or ravens, or more preferable - battlecruisers.
Option 2: flamethrowers. I’ve seen couple of times how flamethrowers cancelled blings but usually it happens when one of your teammates leaking waves. Banes are like reapers - if your op added enough, nothing will save you.
vs Roaches
Perhaps your zerg decided against blings. They will do 3pool and 10-16 roaches. Roaches are armored therefore you’d want the same stash that works vs stalkers: marines with maradeurs. Then medevacs when your op gets to hydra. A good zerg will do the Broodlords, they will cancel your siege tanks. A stash of vikings works against them.
Protoss
It is crucial to know what’s you up against but unlike Terran, you can’t just scan for yourself. If you’re on the first spot, you might want to build a single zealot and hold them at the centre. But the lack of units of your op doesn’t neccessary mean they’re going t2: they might play advanced poker game with you. If your side got a terran, and they’ve got free minerals, you’d better ask them to scan your op.
vs Protoss
Very easy: you just build a lot of Zealots: Zealots counter everything Protoss has in tier1 - Stalkers, Sentries, other Zealots. When you’ve got, like, 10-16 and you’re holding against your op, go to t2 to get Archons. Archons have bonus dmg vs bio and AoE. Zealots with Archons will pwn close to any amount of Zealots without Archons. When you’re solid vs Zealots, add Immortals - their shields work best against big attacks of the Archons. But if you add Immortals before Archons or Zealots, then enemy Zealots will devastate your Immortals.
Some would add Dark Templars but their impact vs Zealots is worse than of Archons. If you’ve got t2 but haven’t been able to place Archon for the wave, you might want to consider t2 atk grade. Nevertheless, units > grades.
vs Terran
Why don’t you go Zealots vs Terran ever: because a small amount of Reapers cancel any amount of Zealots. At any point Terran just adds Reapers and your units disappear. So vs Terran you always start with Stalkers. If you’ve got any Zealot, sell them to build more Stalkers. They might leak a couple of first waves before you get on critical mass. Get them Blink upgrade and add a single sentry for the shield. Vs Marauders you add Immortals BUT if your Stalkers are too scarce they won’t be able to cancel Marines first rendering your Immortals useless.
Why do we not build Archons vs Terran? Because Ghosts with EMP cancel them. If you can’t hold your ground with the Stalkers, rush to T3 for the Colossus ASAP. 2-3 Colo with Long Range and t2 atk grades cancel any ground bio, for anything else you’ve got Immortals. You might need Scouts to protect your colo against Vikings. Keep in mind that Scouts have wrecked targeting system so they’ll prioritize ground units over air. But they will give time for your Colo.
vs Zerg
Open with a few Zealots to counter Lings. Then rush t2 to get:
vs Blings - Archons.
vs Roach - Immortals.
You’d need 4-6 of them to feel solid.
vs Hydra - Colossus.
vs Broodlords - Mainly Carriers. But sometimes Scouts work too.
Zerg
Zerg rules in amounts. If you don’t want to focus on your op’s race, just open with three pools (you can place them on your gas to save space) then 16 roaches, then t2 and either t2 atk or 5 hydras. You can do it before placing gas1. That universal stash works against almost anything in the game, it certanly works against enemy zerg.
What we do not do in this game:
Rush gas3 - you’ll loose the mid.
Rush Big Space Battleships - unlike in real life, tech doesn’t work over amounts. Hobos with a rifle will annihilate your Big Space Battleship.