Cybran Tech 1 AA vs Jesters

[thetrav]

So I just got pretty hammered.

Not sure if it was a tactical error or a strategic one.

The map is labeled Scmp Haz04 (very small, two choke points, lots of rocks), we were both cybran.

My build was pure mantis spam, his build was Air, and early jesters.
Reacting to the jesters I built some AA, however they seemed to be fairly ineffective.

It may be that I just built too few of them, however I'm wondering what the general feeling is... Should I generally move to air factory + interceptors to counter early gunships? On a larger map it seems like the obvious play, I'd hoped on the small map I could get away with sticking to just land

If AA can work, is there a ratio I should be aiming for?

[Hellcat]

Hello,

The most effective way to counter Jester is AIR !! You should absolutely immediatly go air after spoting he is going Jester.

For example if you have one factory producing T1 AA, he can kill every single AA unit one by one that you are producing with one jester, and get veterancy..even worse!

[Ceneraii]

If you go full land, it is very advisable to get an early scout into his base and see if he is making 2nd or 3rd air. Remember that moles can cloak so it's fairly easy to sneak in. If your build is ok it's usually not hard to react with 3rd air vs 2nd air, kill the jester with an interceptor and reclaim it to recoup any damage done. (which should be minimal)

Edit: Actually, it's always a good idea to do this, not just when going full land :p Early intel gives you a chance to react to your opponents' strategy.

[ZLO_RD]

Yea be carefully and keep in mind that cybran t1 mobile aa has only 130 HP or so

[sisso]

If you really don't want to go air. I think that I saw in a lesson replay. You should have 4 AA per jesters?

[Vee]

Keep in mind that t1 aa is very cheap, so it makes sense that you need many of them to stop a jester. T1 aa: 28 mass 140 energy, jester: 200 mass 5000 energy. As you can see a jester is 7x more expensive in mass and 36x more expensive in energy.

On a small map you can defend vs a jester with mobile aa, on a large map you definitely need air, because he can just run away and attack somewhere where your aa is not. To defend vs jester it's key to react fast, so if you suspect that your enemy may make a jester make sure you scout with landscouts, and when you see it, immediately make t1 aa in your factories. Those few seconds can make a big difference: if you are slow he kills all your engies in base, and then kills your expanding engies, if you are fast his jester may even die very fast when he arrives at your base.