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Amongst all the Terran builds in Starcraft II, nothing is more infuriating to other races, especially Protoss, than the 1-1-1 build. The name is due to how all three main unit-producing structures are built in succession to make almost all attacking units available to the Terran player. This build is somewhat like a middle ground build in that it gives the player options during the game. Once those three structures are up, the sky is the limit when it comes to strategy, whether you go for bio, mech, or an expansion before you do anything else.
After the more aggressive styles that was trending during the Beta have given way to more defensive-minded strategies that allows for more reactive play. The 1-1-1 became popular at first due to its versatility, but its potential wasn’t entirely tapped until later when it became the go-to strategy against Protoss. It’s also pretty effective against Zerg, depending on the map and the player’s skill level. The only drawback here is that all research, except Siege Mode, will be delayed until the first expansion, so you’ll be relying more on army size to cruise you through the early game into the mid game.
One of the tricks you can pull off with this build is add-on switching since all unit-producing structures use the same add-ons. For example, you can have your Barracks build a Reactor while your Factory is still being built, then lift both of them up when finished to swap the Factory with the Barracks to churn out mass Hellions for harassment. You will have to think of your approach beforehand to ensure optimal timings with your add-ons.
Your main objective with this build is to build all unit-producing structures in quick succession to come up with a balanced army that can be quickly adjusted to your opponent’s army. Using this all-around gameplan means that you may not have a massive advantage at the get-go, but being able to adapt to quick changes with this build means that you can easily seize that advantage from your opponent by just being able to counter whatever he has at the moment. This versatility gives you the option of going for either aggressive, harassing, or tech-based timing attacks.
Notes:
This build may be safe, but it can still fall to various enemy strategies due to the initial low unit count. Therefore, you will have a very hard time holding back early game rushes and timing attacks that you’re not really prepared for. Scouting often will give you information about your opponent’s unit composition, which is what the 1-1-1 is geared to defeat in the first place. Once you spot a sign of early aggression from your opponent, you can then wall-off and build Bunkers accordingly to hold it off.
Against Terran
2+ Rax and No Gas
Mass Marine-Marauder early pressure. Build Bunkers and/or put down Siege Tanks.
Against Protoss
2 Gates
The 2-gate pressure build is rare in TvP due to Terran wall-off, but is surprisingly effective against 1-1-1 due to Terran’s low unit count in the early game. Build Bunkers and/or mass units first over building structures.
Quick Stargate/Robotics Facility
Make mass Marines to counter air units and Immortals.
Against Zerg
Quick Double Gas
This can only mean a Baneling bust, so put down a wall-off with hardy buildings like Barracks and Factories, as well as Bunkers. Get Siege Mode immediately to take out Zerglings and Banelings from a distance.
Roach Warren before or quickly after first Queen
This is a 7-roach rush that can be very powerful against Marines. Get more Marauders and get Siege Tanks quickly. Put down Bunkers to hold off the Roaches.
With the 1-1-1, you have a choice of three strong timing attacks from one base:
Hellion drop to Banshees
This is entirely for harassment against the opponent’s workers and anti-air to cripple him economically and delay expansion for as long as possible.
Cloak Banshee into Siege Tank timing attack
Fairly strong timing attack utilizing Banshees with cloak upgrade to harass the opponent’s anti-air capabilities, then transition to Marine-Tank with Siege Mode to decimate the rest of the ground forces while he’s massing up anti-air to deal with your Banshees.
SCV and Medivac Damage Tanking
You can pair up SCVs and Medivacs to heal/repair each other to tank your opponent’s damage, then counter with high damage units like Marines and Siege Tanks. If he doesn’t pull his workers, you’re well on your way to victory.
Transitions
The 1-1-1 depends on your ability to transition to various strategies depending on what your opponent is doing, as mentioned in the scouting section of this guide. There are various transitions that you can go for with each matchup and it is imperative that you can do them all smoothly in order to not get caught with your hand in the cookie jar before you do get your stuff out there to crush your opponent. Getting a sense of your opponent’s timing with 1-1-1 is crucial to knowing how to crush him. Fortunately, you should have a scan on hand.
Against Terran
Against Zerg
Against Protoss
