Starcraft 2: Adding Harassment to a Build

One of your goals in every Starcraft 2 match should be to keep your opponent on the defensive, even when, and ESPECIALLY when you don't have many units on the field.  Unless you are going for an all-in push, you will be vulnerable to timing attacks while you get your economy going.

What you want to do is harass, so plan for it!  Here are some examples:

Terran:

• Mech?  Hellion drop or driveby.
• Bio?  Early 2-rax pressure, or marine drops
• Heavy air?  Banshee harass.
• Lategame?  Nukes or Ghost drop with snipes.

Protoss:

• Twilight Council tech path?  Dark Templar.
• Robo first?  Try some warp prism drops or warp-ins.

Zerg:

• Muta harass (typical)
• Baneling drops on mineral lines (my new favourite)
• Zergling run-bys or counterattacks whenever he moves out
• Infestor drops
• Burrowed Roaches or Infestors

The most common mistake to make when figuring out how to add harassment to a build is thinking that you have to add a lot to your build.  Try adding as little as possible.  If going heavy Roach, add Tunneling Claws and no more.  If you're going Mech, don't try to marine-drop - just use Hellions as obnoxiously as possible.  If you're doing a 3-gate robo, don't feel that you have to add DTs - just drop or warp some Zealots.