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There are three methods to using the Shield Battery. 1) You can use the Shield Battery on an empty area near your own units to recharge multiple units at a time. 2) You can use the Shield Battery on individual units. 3) Finally, You can select the desired units and then click on the Shield Battery.
If you use the Shield Battery on any units out of range, however little the amount, they will have to stop attacking and walk back to the Shield Battery. Whenever you use the Shield Battery to recharge units, all units targeted will have to stop attacking while being recharged. This may have a bad outcome for you when you are being attacked on your ramp. An alternative is only targeting the weakest units. Perhaps the most effective method is pulling the wounded units out of the line to the rear to recharge and regroup later. One should note using the Shield Battery on a unit results in it losing its hold position. Zealots can be lured away by Zerglings.
On maps where starting locations are close to each other, like on hunters, you can build a Shield Battery to help you contain an enemy.
Shield Battery useages are situational, meaning that you can't often predict using them beyond the spur of the moment, an example being when you expect a tough fight. It is not viable to put Shield Batteries well in advance and to plan on using it. Because going both Photon Cannon and Shield Battery is overkill, you have to opt for one or the other. Opting for a Photon Cannon with range will also enable you to use the required Forge for a +1 upgrade to two hit kill Zerglings. Photon Cannons may be better defense overall than Shield Batteries, however you may not have adequate time to make them. You should opt for the Shield Battery when you don't have time to make the Pylon, Forge, and Cannons. A Forge takes 50 seconds to morph in, and then you have to build Photon Cannons that take another 50 seconds. A Shield Battery only takes 30 seconds to morph in, which is about a minute faster than making a single Photon Cannon.
As defense, Shield Batteries aren't effective to use on units being attacked by heavy damage dealer. In the amount of time the unit spends not attacking and charging, he may lose more than the regained Shields. This is a reason why they aren't extremely effective in the late game. In the late game it may not be worth it to use on units when you have too many and cannot take them out of combat for enough time to recharge.
Paired with Archons or any other unit, you have the disadvantage of having to bring the unit away from the fight to the Archon. You will have to wait for a stop in the fighting to take your units back to the Shield Battery.
On certain maps, Shield Batteries become even more viable. On maps without a geyser at the first expansion, like Nostalgia, having a lot of gas-intensive units becomes harder to achieve. You may want to preserve Archons, Reavers, High Templars, and Dragoons; And in doing so, it may be as effective as having another of those units. In island games, where gas is also limited due to dificult to obtain expansions, Shield Batteries become more viable as well.
A Dragoon or two with a Shield Battery can be used in combination with Micro to great effect against many Marines. You may need several Shield Batteries to recharge a large amount of your own Carriers. You may benefit from using a Shield Battery in defensive PvZ situations where you use it with a Reaver to hold off an all-in enemy. Corsairs, as well, can benefit from the Shield Battery recharge. In PvT and PvZ and PvP, a Protoss can benefit from having a Shield Battery in aiding his Shuttle/Reaver harass. Low shields on Shuttles or Reavers can be recharged. After a fast expansion, you may benefit from a Shield Battery while being behind on numbers of units.
You may opt for A Shield Battery in 2v2 when you have a Zerg ally because you won't need the detection Photon Cannons offer. In fact, Shield Batteries are more viable in 2v2 games. You may need to hold your ramp as long as possible while your ally's painfully slow Marines or Zealots come to your aid. In conclusion in 2v2 Shield Batteries are more viable than in 1v1 because there are more "spur of the moments" when you may need them, and you may need to hold off the enemy while your ally arrives to help you. |
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