Hello everyone, I never really was all that good with suggesting Top level pro strats...but there's a first time for everything eh? although, just in case,
These Strategies are intended for Mid Level Play, wether they actually have potential to be Top lvl stuff is entirely up to you, Feedback, tips, and improvements are all welcomed!
Alrighty then, on with the show. In 1v1, it's extremely crippling to a covenant person if they were to lose their leader early on, not saying it will garentee you a win, I've had instances where people have came back from those losses. Nonetheless, it will help you greatly in your 1v1 match-ups against covies if you can master the art of putting on some serious early pressure :D.
before we begin, all strategies discussed is most effectively with Anders...go figure, but they can work for Cutter and Forge, just not as effectively.
Prophet: 5 gunner hogs. ETTR (Estimated Time To Ready): 2-3 Minutes
Quite possibly your best match-up when going for the early-kill, or it can be absolute hell. Building order is as follows:
Supply Pad, Supply Pad, Reactor, two Hogs.
be greedy with those crates, you actually need to gather a few spawns (shouldn't be terribly hard.) to get those two other Warthogs qued up without delay. (always have at least one warthog qued as you gather crates.) if you've done it properly, your reactor should be finished by the time your final Warthog is 2/3rd's of the way done, your final warthog would of actually been done by now, but TU # 3 has slowed this. (when reactor is finished, immediantly que up gunner, thanks to your gathered supply crates, this is possible.)
once force is ready, immediantly seek out the prophet. On hook maps, always check the Supply elevator hook first most covie leaders will grab that, you might actually catch the prophet in the act of actually capturing it. once found, if prophet has blessed immolation, back off and create two more hogs, seven hogs w/ microing away from the cleansing beam will usually seal the deal with a lone prophet.
tip: Once a chunk of the prophet's health is away, Ram him, 5 rams will usually bring him so close to death that 2 seconds of gunner fire will bring him down nice and easy.
if Prophet doesn't have blessed, still micro away from the cleansing beam, other than that his passive attack is much to weak to actually take on your five gunner hogs, if the prophet recalls never give up, chase him down to his base, and destroy him.
Arbiter: Flashbang Flamethrower PseudoRush. ETTR: 3-4 minutes (depends on the map)
A truly hilarious way of killing an Arbiter, you may be shaking your head at the title, but trust me, as far as mid-level play goes. It can work. (it's even worked on a general once...WOW BIG ACHEIVEMENT!) ........ha....alright Build Order:
Supply Pad, Supply Pad, Barracks, Reactor, Extra Hog
you truly need to gather quite a few crates for this Strategy to effectively take off. I don't know the ideal number of crates but just really put a empathisis on crates in the initial start. Ideally what you want are 500-600 supplies (600 favorable) by the time your barracks is ready. once up, que up 5 flamethrowers and lock down your base. When your reactor gets up, try your best to sneak in the flash-bang upgrade, or maybe even a 3rd supply Pad after the reactor to help keep up the constant production. Also, try to scrape some overlooked crates, by the end of your production you will be hard-pressed for cash.
Once you have 12-13 Flamethrowers (on flash-bang). You can start thinking about going on the offensive, as your training your flamethrowers you should constantly scout out the opposing Arbiter, if he's got an early hall, your only concern is a mass jackal attack (remember your goal is to kill the Arbiter, AND put pressure on the base, having mass jackals to deal with would greatly divide your flamethrowers abilities and render this rush useless.) if the player has a factory up, delay the attack and try to incorporate spartans into your attacking force for jacking. If summit, again, spartans. if he has just warehouses up, you can go ahead and smile because he's going to have a hard time raging through 13 flash-bang flamers
Tip: on pirth outskirts, send your flamethrowers to take out a reactor first and get napalm adherent, now that's a strong arbiter/base killing force.
remember that pelican lift? its actually is very useful on big maps like release or tundra, and you should utilize that to keep your flamethrower count high enough so that the Arbiter can't rage em off. Oh and interesting tip, Flamethrowers actually have decent building damage. (at least against Covie buildings, why would you flamethrower rush UNSC? lol)
The reason why I call this a PseudoRush is that it's in actuality, not a rush, it takes to much time to pull off to truly be called a rush. But then again, people aren't going to be to stingy on the logistics of rushing when they see they're base literally being flamed to death.
Brute Chieftain: Uhhh. ETTR: ????
the Good thing about the BC is that he really isn't to rushable, his vortex really just spells death to any early-game option you can throw at him...on a map like pirth outskirts if you got napalm adherent in the PseudoFlamethrower Rush it might work but I really do not suggest going in for a early kill BC, just use the PseudoFlamethrower Rush to defend against a possible brute rush theres just one slight build change:
Supply Pad, Barracks, Supply Pad, Reactor, Extra Hog.
Brute rushes are fast, ugly, and if not properly prepared for, lethal. Early flamethrowers will help you tons against combatting the early game BC, again, I wouldn't suggest trying for an early kill, just use it to secure the early game hooks and map control so you can go in for a mid-game push or something.
Alright Done. Thank you for Reading, hopefully I didn't waste your time....
STOP....Hammer time! - Brute Chieftain
She blinded me....WITH SCIENCE! - Professor Anders
They see me rollin......they hatin - Prophet of Regret
Trolls are my Slayer Task...BEWARE!