Starcraft 2 Sentry Unit Counter

Home --> Unit Counters --> Protoss Counters --> Sentry Counter (you are here)

The Sentry is a Protoss casting unit commonly used by players for its Force Field, Guardian Shield, and Hallucination abilities.

The Sentry has modest DPS and very low health totals, so the real Sentry counters are units that can get around its special abilities.

In this guide, you will discover not only how to counter the Sentry, but also how to counter its abilities as well with units from all three races.

Protoss Sentry Counter

With Heart of the Swarm, Protoss players have the luxury of early air units that can be used to counter the Sentry. These units can fly over top of Force Field and focus-fire down the Sentries.

• Mothership Core (early): In the early portions of the game, an early Mothership Core can fly in and focus fire down the Sentry or two that might be trying to hold off your Gateway rush with Force Fields.

• Oracle (early): A quick Oracle is even better at taking down Sentries. Early Gateway attacks followed up by a quick Stargate works well in PvP. Use the Oracle to burst down enemy Sentries and Zealots.

• Void Ray: While not as strong against the Sentry as the Oracle is, Void Rays will take down Sentries with ease. Void Rays are also strong versus Stalkers and buildings, so there is more flexibility than with using an Oracle.

• Colossi: In the late game, mass Colossi will make enemy Sentries obsolete. The Colossus' long range and high damage is very good against the Sentry. It also ignores Force Fields.

• Archon: If you have to stop making Colossi due to enemy Tempest production, Archons can also counter Sentries. Their massive size allows the Archon to crush Force Fields. Archons also come in handy when performing a DT rush if the enemy blocks your entrance to the base with Force Field. You can make an Archon to crush the Force Field and then walk right into the enemy's base.

Since the Sentry has such a low health pool, most units perform well against it. This list just refers to units you might commonly get in response to the enemy having a lot of Sentries.

Terran Sentry Counter

The Sentry is quite annoying for Terran players to deal with in the early game. Early Force Fields make it difficult for Terran players to engage the Protoss early in the game. For this reason, most Terran players opt to take a quick expansion versus Protoss so they can get out higher tier units that can handle the Sentry.

• Siege Tank: The Siege Tank is very strong against the Sentry. In Siege Mode, it does not move anyway, so Force Field is a non-factor. The Siege Tank also greatly outranges the Sentry.

• Thor: Thors crush Sentries from a damage perspective. They also crush Sentry Force Fields! Terran Mech in general is very strong against Sentries.

• Banshee: If the Protoss player tries to skimp on Sentries and only gets out a couple, a cloaked Banshee can sneak in and pick off the Sentries before the Protoss player realizes what has happened. With no Guardian Shield, Protoss Gateway units are very vulnerable to MMM unit combinations.

• Ghost: Using EMP on Sentries is a great way to render them useless. Ghosts actually can take down Sentries too with their auto-attack, though you would not necessarily go out of your way to do this.

• Medivac: Perhaps the best Sentry counter is the Medivac. Any time you get into trouble, just scoop your units up and flee to safety. If the enemy is using Sentries defensively, you can use Medivacs to go around ramps and avoid Force Fields altogether.

Note that bio units do not have a true Sentry counter in the early game. However, bio forces with good upgrades can engage the entry in a straight-up fight and do just fine. If you get trapped by Force Fields, consider using the Medivac to lift up the trapped units and retreating to safety.

Zerg Sentry Counter

Sentries are very effective against all Zerg forces in the early game. As a result, making early to mid-game attacks that feature a lot of Sentries is a popular strategy to use against Zerg. Here are some good Sentry counters you can try:

• Swarm Host: The first unit you get access to that does really well against the Sentry is the Swarm Host. The Sentry is so slow that it has a hard time chasing down Swarm Hosts, especially when there are Locusts coming out. The Sentry cannot engage Locusts at all, and the Sentry barely has any more range than the Locust does.

• Mutalisk: Mutalisks can work against Sentries, but only when the numbers favor the Mutalisk. A pack of 12 Mutalisks can run in and snipe a bunch of Sentries if no other units are available for support. Protoss players who rely too heavily on Zealots and Immortals are often vulnerable to this style of attack.

• Baneling (when lifted): While not as popular as it used to be (in part due to the very high end micro required to pull it off), Zerg players can load a couple Overlords with Banelings and drop those Banelings on top of enemy Sentries.

• Ultralisk: The Ultralisk is a hard counter to the Sentry (and really all Protoss ground forces outside of the Immortal). Its fast movement speed allows the Ultralisk to quickly chase down Sentries and the Ultralisk's massive size allows it to crush Force Fields. 

• Brood Lord: Like with any light ground unit, the Brood Lord dominates it. The long range and high DPS make the Sentry a sitting target against the Brood Lord. 

Sentry Counter Video Guide

The video below demonstrates these Sentry unit counters in action, including how to use Medivacs to escape Force Fields and the relevance of the Mothership Core to countering the Sentry.

Conclusion

Sentries by themselves are not very powerful units. Learn how to get around or counter Force Field and Guardian Shield and you will find that stopping the Sentry is very easy.