Some players I am sure never even bother to get a Raven or two in a game.
But just like all special units they certainly have their advantages.
One of their special abilities is building Auto Turrets.
These can attack both ground and air units when within reach.
They can be used to help your army of combat units in a battle.
But mainly you can use these to harass your opponents workers whether at an expansion or at their main.
Every worker counts towards their economy.
If it is early in the game and they do not have air units to chase your Raven down then this can be quite useful since they will be able to retreat.
Another natural ability they have that does not have to be researched is setting a Point Defense Drone.
These can do very well in battle when up against ranged units such as Stalkers, Banshees, and Hydralisks.
Each one you set in front of your army against theirs will intercept 40 shots and last for a minute and a half.
When up against units like blink stalkers this ability is very good.
In fact it is probably Ravens most useful ability.
They also have a move which is firing a Hunter Seeker Missile.
This can be useful in some situations like when against a ton of weak units like Mutalisks or Marines.
Even though these are very slow they do 100 damage and have great splash damage.
But the bad part is that they can also do damage to your units if they are near it when it explodes.
This is a rare ability to see not only because it is researched at a Tech Lab attached to a Starport but because units can easily out run it.
Getting the upgrade which makes the Ravens equipment last longer can be useful if it is late in the game you have like 3 Ravens and got the resources to spare.
Their missile do well against Marines and Marauder balls.
Also very good against Zerg Hydralisks and even Banelings.
Against a Zerg player that bunches up their Overlords at their base you can also use a couple Ravens to take out some of them to supply block them.
I find it best to use the Point Defense Drones at their base since they can easily retreat so the battle takes place away from the Drone.
But just like all special units they certainly have their advantages.
One of their special abilities is building Auto Turrets.
These can attack both ground and air units when within reach.
They can be used to help your army of combat units in a battle.
But mainly you can use these to harass your opponents workers whether at an expansion or at their main.
Every worker counts towards their economy.
If it is early in the game and they do not have air units to chase your Raven down then this can be quite useful since they will be able to retreat.
Another natural ability they have that does not have to be researched is setting a Point Defense Drone.
These can do very well in battle when up against ranged units such as Stalkers, Banshees, and Hydralisks.
Each one you set in front of your army against theirs will intercept 40 shots and last for a minute and a half.
When up against units like blink stalkers this ability is very good.
In fact it is probably Ravens most useful ability.
They also have a move which is firing a Hunter Seeker Missile.
This can be useful in some situations like when against a ton of weak units like Mutalisks or Marines.
Even though these are very slow they do 100 damage and have great splash damage.
But the bad part is that they can also do damage to your units if they are near it when it explodes.
This is a rare ability to see not only because it is researched at a Tech Lab attached to a Starport but because units can easily out run it.
Getting the upgrade which makes the Ravens equipment last longer can be useful if it is late in the game you have like 3 Ravens and got the resources to spare.
Their missile do well against Marines and Marauder balls.
Also very good against Zerg Hydralisks and even Banelings.
Against a Zerg player that bunches up their Overlords at their base you can also use a couple Ravens to take out some of them to supply block them.
I find it best to use the Point Defense Drones at their base since they can easily retreat so the battle takes place away from the Drone.
Source...