Starcraft 2 Ultralisk Unit Counter

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The Ultralisk is a massive Zerg ground unit with only a few (but very effective) unit counters. This guide covers the best units and unit compositions to counter the Ultralisk with all 3 races.

Since the Ultralisk is a melee unit, good micro is required to fully counter it with some of the units below. This micro is demonstrated in the video guide at the end of the page, so be sure to watch the video to see how to control your units to counter the Ultralisk.

While the Ultralisk is a ground unit with no ability to hit air units, most air units actually do not counter the Ultralisk. The Ultralisk's high HP, fast movement speed, immunity to movement speed reduction abilities, and strong base armor allow it to shrug off most flyer-based attacks, ignoring these units and causing massive damage to structures and light ground units before finally being taken out by these flyers.

Protoss Ultralisk Counters

Protoss players have an easy time countering Ultralisks as the Immortal and Void Ray are such strong counters to this unit. Neither require tier 3 structures so it is easy to get them out in response to Ultralisks.

• Immortals: The Immortal is a hard counter to the Ultralisk. Its hardened shields prevent it from taking much damage from the Ultralisk while it deals a huge amount of bonus damage to the Ultralisk. Just make sure you focus-fire down the Ultralisk - do not waste your hits on Zerglings!

• Void Rays: Ultralisks are armored so they take bonus damage from the Void Ray. While Ultralisks can run away from the Void Ray and try to ignore it, Ultralisks cannot tank Void Rays for very long. Try to move the Void Rays over top of the Ultralisks before activating Prismatic Alignment.

As a result of the effectiveness and variety of these unit counters, Ultralisks are not commonly used in ZvP by Zerg players. A few Ultralisks may be added just to crush Force Fields, but it is not common.

Terran Ultralisk Counters

Since Ultralisks can counter most Terran ground forces, Terran players need to be prepared to quickly switch over to these Ultralisk unit counters should the Zerg add on an Ultralisk Cavern:

• Marauders: Marauders will counter the Ultralisk, but stutter-step micro is required. Try to avoid Infestors altogether as Fungal Growth can shift the battle in favor of the Ultralisk. If things look bad, do not be afraid to pick up your Marauders with your Medivacs to save them.

• Thors: Thors are the only Terran ground unit which can stand toe-to-toe with the Ultralisk. It is not a landslide victory however. It favors the Ultralisk slightly when upgrades are at 0/0 but favors the Thor slightly when the upgrades at 3/3 or (or the Thor has an upgrades advantage). Thors also shine when engaging in a choke point, as many Thors may be in range but only a few Ultralisks.

• Siege Tank: Siege Tanks are not a true counter to the Ultralisk, but having some positioned safely on the high ground or behind a line of beefier ground units like Thors or structures like the Supply Depot can help counter Ultralisks.

• Banshee: While I would not necessarily go out of my way to produce Banshees to stop Ultralisks, Banshees have enough movement speed and ground DPS to take down Ultralisks before the Ultralisks can cause too many problems.

• Battlecruiser: With Yamato Cannon, Battlecruisers can do significant damage to Ultralisks before the Ultralisks can cause much damage. However, Ultralisks can avoid BCs since BCs are so slow.

Help corral the Ultralisk by making Supply Depot walls to minimize its damage.

Zerg Ultralisk Counters

The Zerg has the hardest time countering the Ultralisk. None of its ground units are particularly strong against the Ultralisk. Ultralisks even have enough health, speed, and DPS to mow down Swarm Hosts and the Locusts they spawn.

• Roach: With Roach Speed and stutter-step micro, Roaches will counter the Ultralisk on a cost basis, but only trade with Ultralisks on a supply basis. In other words, Roaches trade with Ultralisks, and since Roaches are cheaper, this trade favors the Zerg using the Roaches.

• Brood Lord: Brood Lords are the only Zerg flyer with enough DPS to meaningfully stop Ultralisks before the Ultralisks wreck your base. Zerg opponents may try to avoid your Brood Lords due to their low movement speed. Fortunately, Broodlings can keep Ultralisks locked into place if you have 3 or more Brood Lords focus-firing the Ultralisk.

• Ultralisk: Since the Ultralisk has so few counters, Zerg players can consider fighting fire with fire and making Ultralisks of their own to combat their opponent's Ultralisks.

The Mutalisk is not a valid Ultralisk counter is the numbers are even. Mutalisks take far too long to take down Ultralisks if supply counts are equal. A base race scenario where the Ultralisks rush down the Zerg base while the Mutalisks try to take them down will greatly favor the Ultralisk.

Video Guide: How to Counter the Ultralisk

The video guide below demonstrates the appropriate micro needed to counter the Ultralisk. Even Ultralisk counters cannot stand there and attack the Ultralisk head-on. They need to use stutter-step micro to actually counter the Ultralisk.

Practice your micro regularly for best results.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Ultralisk has very few unit counters. Zerg players would likely use them more if they were not so expensive and did not require such a high tech level. Ultralisks can only be produced in the late stages of the game; getting them out earlier is not an option due to the cost and tech requirements.