Starcraft 2 Ultralisk

The Ultralisk in StarCraft 2 is the big daddy of the Zerg Army.  It’s 450 hitpoints of raw melee destruction.  With its two cleaving blades the Ultralisk does amazing damage and in a splash array.  The Ultralisk is relatively quick moving unit with a speed greater than that of Hydralisks, Marines, Marauders, Colossus and other units.  Also, the Ultralisk has the toughest armor of any unit in the game.  An Ultralisk can be upgraded to have 6 total armor which greatly improves its ability to fight light units like Zerglings, Zealots and Hydralisks which Ultralisks, in reasonable numbers, can completely dominate.  In addition to being able to dominate light units Ultralisks also do bonus damage vs. armored units allowing them to quickly tear through any amount of enemy armor.

[Strengths]

The strengths of the Ultralisk are numerous.  The biggest benefit of an Ultralisk is it’s amazing ability to absorb damage.  With some of the toughest armor in the game (potential 6 armor) an Ultralisk can aborb a lot of damage.  Add to that armor the 450HP that the Ultralisk has an you practically have a mobile Planetary Fortress.  This heavy armor and hitpoint unit enables other units including Zerglings, Hydralisks and Roaches to punish the enemy more than they usually are able to because of their now walking meat shield in front of them.  For this reason Ultralisks enable Zerg players to attack armies they otherwise shouldn’t including large mech or bio balls, Stalker/Colossus and Large Zerg armies with Infestors (which Ultralisks are essentially immune too).

Another benefit of the Ultralisk is its huge cleaving blades.  Using these Blades a group of Ultras can cut down a similarly sized army that is attacking as they will absorb the damage form the units while slicing through the ranks like a warm knife through butter.  This cleaving action promotes fighting balls of units with Ultralisks which you otherwise wouldn’t want to fight and cans also force your opponent out of position.  When you see a group of Ultralisks coming typically your reaction is to run which helps the Zerg player get in a better position and chase a fleeing army.  You can then use lings to wrap his troops and force the ones you want to stay and fight or use an Infestor and Fungal growth some units making sure they will stick in place for your Ultralisks.

[Weaknesses]

The Ultralisk has a few weaknesses.  The first weakness is air as Ultras cannot attack air.  To counteract this it is advised to bring along Infestors, Hydralisks and potentially Mutalisks to help your Ultralisks.  The additional benefit of Ultralisks is by being so big, armored and powerful they force your opponent to go with units that can deal with them quickly and most air units will still need support to destroy Ultras in a timely manner.

The second weakness of Ultralisks is terrain and positioning.  Optimally, Ultralisks will fight in an open area, but sometimes they are forced into tight quarters or are otherwise blocked by their own units.  Be careful not to block your Ultralisks with your own units and also do not walk into certain doom positions.  However, you should stay aware that due to their robust hp and armor, Ultralisks are often exactly what you need to break down an opponents wall in or push a medium sized ramp… pick your battles wisely.

The last weakness of the Ultralisk is that it is a tier 3 unit and requires a great amount of time and resources to get to, as well as build.  At 300 mineral 200 gas cost they are pricey per unit and with a build time of over a minute they will take a while to get into battle.  Know that when you build your Ultralisks you will need to buy time for them to come out which isn’t a problem if you aren’t being attacked but if it’s a close game and you need some units asap, Zerglings, Hydralisks or Roaches may be a better bet in the short term.

[Strategies]

For Ultralisks you will want to stay in open and controlled terrain as much as possible.  You will also want to use creep as much as possible as the speed upgrade helps Ultralisks to close the gap on their enemies and inflict massive punishment.  And you must remember to always keep your Ultralisks in the front of your army.  They can do the most damage and absorb the most damage in that method and give you the best chance to dominate your opponent.  Always remember to have enough army while upgrading too.  Some players like to fast tech to Ultralisks but if your opponent scouts this, you could be in trouble.  Now go and use this massive in battle leader of the Zerg swarm in Starcraft 2 to your advantage for it will strike down your opponent en masse!