I main as Shipmaster, he’s basically the only leader I use (I’m not too great at learning new unit mixes… I “discovered” the Locust rush before it was the meta, just kinda stuck with it). Your purchase order is pretty similar to mine. Here’s what I do, and my opinions on the leader powers:
- Teleport 1 - Teleport upgrade (or Extraction) - Extraction (or Teleport upgrade) - Displacement - Extraction upgrade - Mass Cloaking (or Cleansing beam)Tier 1
Banished Raid: I don’t have much experience with this. I think it could be useful if you’re going the infantry route, but since I rarely do, I hardly touch this ability. I could count on one hand the amount of times I’ve used it, haha
Teleport: This is hugely important to have. It is the main purpose to use Shipmaster. He is NOT a defensive player, in my experience/opinion.
He is all about using guerrilla tactics, hit and run. If you don’t get at least Teleport 1 (no upgrade), you aren’t utilizing your leader properly. I highly suggest getting the upgrade for it within the first three leader points.
Tier 2
Scout Mine: Before this was nerfed, I would use it to help defend against a marine rush. It did massive damage to infantry units. Since it was nerfed, I haven’t used it. But it was helpful against infantry rushes.
Extraction: Keeping your units alive is really important (unless you have the economy to support suicide missions). If your entire army gets wiped out in an attack, the other player can, and will, make an effective counter attack. I use this a lot, especially against Banished players. If they drop an Eradication on your army, or Close Air Support for UNSC, just extract them out. Sure, you’ll have to walk back over, but they just wasted the resources on their best leader power. This gives you a huge leg up. It’s also very useful in the situation where if you’re attacking their base, and somehow your base is getting attacked, you have an instant response ready.
Tier 3
Glassing Beam: This I will buy over Mass Cloaking, but I usually get it if we’re losing. It is a great thing to have when you’re on the back foot in the game. It is relatively useless (in my opinion) when it isn’t upgraded. It is great when fully upgraded. When the enemy attacks you, it adds the extra punch that guarantees you’ll win, and it isn’t very expensive to use. I use it to support my teammate usually. If he is forced to switch his build, I use it to defend him as needed.
Advanced Cloaking: I don’t get this until very late game, when I have all of my other leader powers upgraded all the way. It lowers the cost of your cloaking generator significantly, but other than that (since I always go ground, not air), it is relatively useless to me. If I used the air units more, I would get it sooner. Shrouds are not very important to me, so I don’t bother with it.
Tier 4
Spirit Support: Again, I don’t get this until late game. It doesn’t play to my style. It is good to have in your back pocket though if your entire army gets wiped out. It is also good to help defend a teammate when they’re teching up/rebuilding/pushing the offensive. I don’t have a ton of experience with it since I don’t usually use it. That’s just what my little use of it has shown me.
Displacement: This is my second favorite ability (the first is teleport). You are correct, it is super great, but only when utilized properly. It is especially effective in 2v2 or 3v3. As Shipmaster, you can’t drop a healing onto allied units. There isn’t much you can do to support a teammate without the Cleansing Beam or Spirit Support (I personally don’t think Spirit Support is worth the leader point), and Cleansing Beam is not very useful until it’s been upgraded once. If your teammate is in a losing engagement, or your base is being attacked and you can’t counter for whatever reason, Displacement is your saving grace. Use it strategically though. Sometimes, when coordinated with a teammate, you can displace an enemy army right in front of an allied army (I do this only when my teammate OK’s it, and knows he can handle the fight without losing). Otherwise, if you can, place the enemy in places that make it hard to walk/drive back too quickly. I also try to displace units that are counter to my units or my teammates units. This is a very good ability, but only when utilized properly, especially since they just doubled the cool down time.
Tier 5
Mass Cloaking: I only get this if I am winning the game. In my experience, it is an offensive ability. I usually don’t get it anyways however. At least 50% of players have detection units. It is good for getting units to safety though if needed, similar to Extraction. It isn’t a hugely important ability in my opinion.
Tactical Gateway: I have only used this once. My teammate can usually hold their own, so having a portal to him isn’t a priority to me. However, that being said, it can be effective if utilized properly. We used it to get a scarab and many units of his across the map and into the fight that we were losing. It allowed us to turn the tide of the battle in an instant. I will most likely be using this more often in the future. You just have to be cautious with it, since the enemy can also go through it.
Overall, I’ve had the most success as Shipmaster. He is effective at what he does. I’m currently working on a few different builds to switch to instead of Locusts, but all that in due time. His teleport ability is absolutely phenomenal, and it is very hard to give up! He is a good offensive player, and his unique mix of leader powers can (and has for me, many times) completely change the direction of the game. You can be as far behind as possible, but if you can coordinate strategic attacks with a teammate, a comeback is possible. I once played a game, 3v3, as a solo queue. One of my teammates disconnected at the beginning of the game. Thankfully, my other ally would faithfully follow what I would ping him to on the mini map. While we didn’t “talk” to each other, we ended up winning the game, because he followed my lead, and attacked when the situation demanded it.
Happy teleporting!
Thanks for reading, and have a nice day!