StarCraft
Prima Fast Track Guide
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Zerg Mission 1: Among the Ruins
This mission is a giant leap down in difficulty from the last scenario (Terran
Mission 10), but you're learning to use a new race, so the reprieve will
be welcome. The solution here can be summed up in one word: Hydralisk. Follow
the natural progression of technological advancement and then build 20 Hydralisks
to crush the inferior Terran race.
The key to this mission that is worthy of special attention is the Chrysalis.
Keep a group of at least six Zerglings nearby at all times to protect this
special unit from Terran attacks. It's also a good idea to build at least
a pair of Sunken Colonies near the Chrysalis. The enemy will attack along
the ground and the Sunken Colonies will provide an extra measure of support
in case you get overwhelmed.
After building up two groups of 12 Zerglings and Hydralisks each, move up
the right side of the map and take out the installations you come across.
After you reach the main base, the attack force probably will be down 50
percent-a good indication that you should bring up another group of units.
If you haven't produced them yet, Zerglings are quick and come two to an
egg.
The only other area you must clear is in the upper-middle portion of the
map, but you can approach it only from the left. A Starport and some light
resistance await you there. Once you've swept the Terrans away, you win.
Resource Management
Although much Zerg resource management resembles that of the Terrans, you
need to know a few key things before you venture forth. First, whenever you
create a new structure, you lose the Drone that created it. That's because
the Drone mutates into the structure-becomes it rather than builds it. Drones
that have built a structure aren't free to do something else. They're gone
forever.
In this scenario (as in most) you should create as many Drones as possible
early on and build a Spawning Pool and a Hydralisk Den. An Evolution Chamber
will help strengthen your weapons, but it's not necessary. However, you should
explore new technologies to their fullest in every mission. Being comfortable
with the methods and powers of each unit and structure will benefit you later
in the game and in multiplayer battles.
Zerg Mission 2: Egression
Your fellow Cerebrate has given you the use of six Hunter Killers. These
units are essentially double-power Hydralisks and will aid you greatly in
taking out the Protoss lying between you and the Beacon. Send a unit to the
Hunter Killers to activate them. Immediately you have a force of six Hunter
Killers and three Hydralisks. These nine units are strong enough to take
out the entire initial string of Protoss structures and units. Move forward
and attack, but as soon as you start losing units, fall back and nurse your
wounds.
Don't move off the Creep until you are ready to keep your attention on your
attacks. It's probably a good idea to build five or six extra Hydralisks
before you attack the Protoss if you're unsure of your tactics.
As your resources grow, you'll gain the ability to mutate Hydralisks. Make
as many of these units as you can so you can have two large groups of Hydralisks
(some will be Hunter Killers) that you can move through the map. After setting
up this force, move them down toward the Beacon (in the lower-right corner
of the map) destroying enemy units you meet along the way.
Rather than have a Drone bring the Chrysalis down unprotected, send a group
of Hydralisks to escort the Drone to the Beacon.
Zerg Mission 3: The New Dominion
Quickly building up a strong attack force will let you take the high ground
to your north, speeding this mission along. You'll also want to set up a
Sunken Colony on the upper-left edge of the Creep to defend against Terran
attack (and they will attack).
After setting up a defensive perimeter, start producing Mutalisks and Hydralisks
in bulk (the Mutalisks are more important). The sooner you can amass at least
10 Mutalisks, the better. Use your large group of Mutalisks to clear the
high ground to your north (in the center of the map) so you can build a Hatchery
and harvest the minerals and Vespene resources there.
Expect at least a couple of waves of Terran attacks, all from the left side
of your base. Generally, your large group(s) of Mutalisks can stop any of
these attacks, but you also should keep three or four Hydralisks and a Sunken
Colony or two active around your base just to be safe.
Once you have two groups of 20 Mutalisks (ten in each group), keep building
more to replace those you'll lose; then head up the map, aggressively confronting
enemy Missile Turrets and Marines. As your Mutalisks fall, fly replacements
up to keep the strike force at around ten units or so.
If you're having trouble cracking the Terran defensive perimeter, attack
with your Mutalisks in the upper right corner of the map. This is where the
Terrans are the weakest, and it'll be all you can do to gain a foothold on
their territory. Be wary of marching ground troops north because the Terran
Siege Tanks will obliterate anything in seconds. Use your Mutalisks to take
the Siege Tanks out first.
Zerg Mission 4: Agent of the Swarm
Build up a solid defense matrix of Sunken Colonies and Spore Colonies around
your base as soon as possible. The Terrans will regularly drop in small groups
of Marines and Firebats, and although the Hydralisks and Zerglings you start
with will provide some defense, you'll need backup.
After you secure your main base, you should create a modest group of Mutalisks
to fly over and secure the air space over the central island. You should
take enough Mutalisks to defend the island until you can build up some Spore
Colonies and Sunken Colonies for defense. An Overlord must drop in at least
one Drone in order to start a new Hatchery, so be sure to protect the Overlord
as it lumbers over to the island.
Use Kerrigan
Have Kerrigan help secure the central island if you're having trouble with
the Terran troops dropping in. She's very powerful and can do substantial
damage to the enemy.
Vast Terran forces lie in all corners of the map except the upper left (where
you started. Don't pick fights; just stay cool and establish your base on
the Central Island. Once this base is up and running, continue to build a
force of Mutalisks to act as your primary strike force against the Terran
Command Center. Two full groups of Mutalisks should be more than enough.
Because the Command Center can't be reached by land, the air attack is a
prudent strategy.
When you first begin your aerial assault, bring your ships in two waves,
with the first wave taking the Missile Turrets quickly, and then the second
wave to attack miscellaneous ground units, such as Marines and Goliaths.
Mutalisks are good for these kinds of targets because their attacks bounce
from one enemy unit to another, inflicting collateral damage on adjacent
units. After the Missile Turrets have been destroyed, you can bring in your
Queen and infest the Command Center to win the mission.
If you don't like the idea of an all-out air attack, you'll need to research
Overlord Transport and pack up some Zerglings and Hydralisks to bring along.
If you choose to go this route, be sure that the first row of Missile Turrets
has been destroyed before you try to drop your troops on enemy ground. This
takes careful timing because of the slow movement of the Overlords, but if
you want a ground war, you'll have to transport your troops over.
Zerg Mission 5: The Amerigo
This mission offers you only the units on the map. Although you can get
reinforcements later on, you can't manufacture new units The Amerigo is a
technological maze, so it would be pointless to describe how to wind through
to the Supercomputer. The only proviso is that there's a teleport pad that
takes you directly to the Supercomputer area once you've wound through much
of the base. You also must walk onto all Beacons to unlock all the doors.
As you negotiate the corridors you'll encounter Marines, Firebats, Ghosts,
and Vultures, but usually not more than four at a time. Your ace in the hole
is Kerrigan, whose 400 hit points, Cloak, and powerful attack give you the
edge you need. Whenever things get hot, have Kerrigan move in to kick some
butt.
Kerrigan's cloaking also can help you scout areas where you suspect there
may be wall-mounted guns or enemy units. In fact, using Kerrigan as a scout
who can walk past and flank enemy troops while your Hydralisks mount a frontal
attack can work very well.
Zerg Mission 6: The Dark Templar
The Protoss attack regularly with Zealots, Dragoons, and, later on, Scouts.
Don't go looking for trouble by wandering toward the lower-right corner of
the map or you'll have reams of Dragoons flowing up to your main base. Branch
out to the resource areas in the upper-middle and left-middle map areas,
and try to set up defenses for these areas, as well.
It won't be easy to handle the Protoss onslaught up the left side of the
map, but if you can build up a solid base of Hydralisks you can defend yourself
adequately until you can do the research you need to get Guardians. Hydralisks
are relatively cheap, and they're excellent against both ground and air units.
They're not completely effective against the powerful Protoss units, however,
so always attack and defend in numbers.
Your strike force in this mission should be three groups of ground and air
units. You'll need to have eight to ten Mutalisks, and convert eight to ten
additional Mutalisks to Guardians. For the ground units, the Hydralisk is
unsurpassed. This combination gives the Guardians the raw bombing power they
need to take out a Photon Cannon in two vollies, while the Mutalisks can
deal with Scouts that may come to take out the Guardians. The Hydralisks
serve three purposes: They can attack stray ground units, back up your Guardians
by attacking air units, and effectively level buildings on their own.
Move down the left side of the map, across the bottom, and up the right side.
This combined air/ground force should be able to take out the entire Protoss
installation, but it's not easy, and you may end up losing your attack force.
Therefore, you should have a smaller backup force under construction as you
make your initial attack run.
After you've taken out enough structures, Tassadar challenges Kerrigan to
a duel in the central map area. Have an Overlord transport Kerrigan over
(it's only accessible from the air), and make sure that she isn't near death.
When Kerrigan arrives, Tassadar appears and exchanges a few words with Kerrigan,
then disappears and the level is over. You win.
Zerg Mission 7: The Culling
This mission can be tough. Get too aggressive right off the bat, and you're
guaranteed to get smoked by enemy Zerg.
You begin with a sizable force sitting in an area the enemy surrounds. There
are two paths out of the canyon where you start out, but again, you shouldn't
move any units out until after you establish a Hatchery and a Sunken Colony
for defense. Set up your new Hatchery at the mouth of the pathway to the
right; then build a Creep Colony (followed by a Sunken Colony) as soon as
the Creep is established.
Group your Hydralisks and Mutalisks separately. After the Hatchery and Sunken
Colony are in place, move your attack force up to the enemy Hatchery just
to the north of your starting position. The enemy Creep is lightly defended
and you shouldn't have too much trouble clearing out the Garm Brood Hydralisks,
Zerglings and buildings. As you clear away the enemy base, move your Drones
up to build another Hatchery closer to the Vespene and mineral sources.
You begin with only a finite number of resources and no initial base, so
be careful that you don't get into a situation where you lose your Drones.
If you lose your Drones before you have established a Hatchery, the game
is over.
As you build up your base, be sure to build Spore Colonies and Sunken Colonies
to defend against stray attackers. After you establish your base and take
the mineral fields in the lower-left map area, build up two groups of 12
Zerglings each. Take these Zergling groups and follow the path to the enemy
installations. Don't let anything panic you! Send your Zergling groups in
to attack anything and everything. You'll overwhelm the enemy with these
vicious little creatures and sweep through a large portion of the enemy
infrastructure before they're wiped out.
Now that the enemy's back on its heels, you can take time to build up a solid
strike force of Guardians and Hydralisks to finish the job. Keep going until
you've wiped out every last structure, but be wary of Ultralisks awaiting
you at the top of the map. These are very powerful and will cut through Zerglings
quickly, so keep Hydralisks and/or Guardians nearby when moving into enemy
territory.
[Title] Zerg Mission 8: Eye for an Eye
Once you've got a solid force of Drones collecting resources, build up a
defensive force of Hydralisks to keep an eye on your bases and Beacons. If
even one Dark Templar slips by the Beacon areas, you'll lose, so it pays
to keep a few extra units handy. You can divide the units among the three
locations or use the Nydus Canal to send them to attack the sources. The
enemy will constantly test the Beacon sites, and even attack your bases on
occasion, so your Hydralisk support forces will serve you well.
The Nydus Canals are handy little structures that enable your forces essentially
to teleport from one area to another almost instantly. The Nydus Canals can
get units to hot spots in a few seconds, and since Zerg Mission #8 has a
Nydus Canal network already in place, you can use it as a defense transport
between your bases.
Build up a force of 10 to 12 Hydralisks by your base in the upper left corner
of the map; then move toward the resource area in the upper-middle area of
the map. You'll encounter some Protoss resistance, but nothing that a group
of Hydralisks can't manage. During the fighting consider building a secondary
Hydralisk force that can continue to protect the area for a while. (If you've
earned the ability to make Mutalisks, you might want to use them for defense
instead of the Hydralisks.)
After you've got another base raking in resources in the upper-middle area
of the map, sit back (defend) and concentrate on researching missing structures
or abilities. Once you feel you're ready, make an air group of eight Guardians
and four Mutalisks, a ground group of eight Hydralisks and four Ultralisks,
and two single-unit groups with a Queen in one and a Defiler in the other.
This will give you the power you need to take out the entire right side of
the map so you can secure the resources fields there.
Move your air units up to the edge of the right-hand Protoss base; just close
enough to provoke an attack. Once the Protoss come after you, use your ground
group to tackle the Dragoons and Zealots while your air group moves in and
destroys any Photon Cannons. After the Photon Cannons are gone, the air group
can either help with ground units, or pummel the structures into the ground.
If a group of Scouts starts to give you trouble, use your Queen to Ensnare
them. Likewise, to whittle down an enemy structure or group of units, use
the Defiler's Plague ability to leech the life force out of the targeted
units. Plagued units usually require only a few hits to destroy.
Once the Protoss force is gone, build another Hatchery near the mineral fields
and start harvesting the vast resources that line the map's right side. Use
these resources to build up another attack force, roughly double in size
(to do this right) with a few Zerglings thrown in just for good measure.
The Protoss base in the bottom left corner of the map has plenty of Templars
standing by, and they won't hesitate to use Psionic Storms to kick your butt.
When you mount the attack on the main Protoss base, take four or five Queens
with you to Spawn Broodlings on any Templar they come across. This will help
to take care of most of the Templar threat, but you must use Mutalisks to
ensure that the body of your attack force doesn't get Psionic deep-fried.
After the lower Protoss base falls, the mission is academic. You need only
sweep the remaining Protoss off the map to win.
Zerg Mission 9: The Invasion of Aiur
There are enough high-end Protoss units in this scenario to pound you into
the stone age, so don't attempt a war of attrition. However, that doesn't
mean you won't get your hands dirty. Indeed, there's plenty of fighting ahead.
The Khaydarin Crystal sits just below the center of the map; many Protoss
units literally surround it. Setting up some defenses (Sunken Colonies and
Spore Colonies) is critically important to protecting your base, although
you shouldn't pour tons of resources into a massive defense matrix. Stay
in defense mode until you can create Hydralisks, Zerglings, Queens, Scourges,
and Overlord Transports.
Try to be quick about this mission. The longer you wait to build up your
forces, the greater the chance the enemy will show up with a bunch of Dragoons
and a Carrier or two to ruin your day. Build up a force of full groups of
Zerglings (2 full groups), Hydralisks, and Scourge. The Zerglings and Hydralisks
are cheap, but in force they can ensure success in your push through the
canyons to the Crystal.
Follow the path shown in figure 5-28 and use your Zerglings as the first-wave
attackers, with the Hydralisks close behind. The Zerglings are so plentiful
(24, at least) that the Protoss units and Photon Cannons will have difficulty
zeroing in on any one target, leaving the door open for your more powerful
Hydralisks to do the real damage. The Scourge are basically Carrier killers,
in case one comes after your units. If you do see a Carrier on the horizon,
send all the Scourge at it at once. Don't hesitate for a second, because
a Carrier can decimate your force very quickly.
Counterpoint
If you take too long to mount your offense and you find yourself falling
into defensive mode just to keep the Protoss out of your base, you'll end
up in a resource drain. This isn't the end of the world; you just have to
move on to Plan B. There are three resource areas in the north portion of
the map. All are lightly defended by the Protoss, but not colonized. The
problem is you must find a way to get a Drone to one of these areas alive.
The upper-right map corner has two of the best areas (two mineral fields
and one Vespene Geyser), and they aren't directly defended. If you can get
a unit to this area, build a Hatchery, and then a Nydus Canal, you can double
your resources quickly. From this resource base you'll have a fighting chance
to hit back at the Protoss forces.
Once the pathway to the Crystal is clear, you can either move a Drone down
(via the ground) or you can transport it with an Overlord. Both routes can
be risky, but if you use an Overlord you must be careful to follow the path
you cleared. If you go as the crow flies, your Overlord will get toasted
by the array of Photon Cannons lining the ridge between you and the Crystal.
When the Drone enters the Crystal, it triggers a 10 minute countdown as well
as a Protoss attack. You'll need to continue to move units down to the Crystal
in order to hold the location while the Crystal is being harvested. Enemy
units that are particularly devastating at this point include Templars, Carriers,
and especially Reavers. The Reavers can take out a row of Hydralisks with
just one or two Scarabs, so stay cool and use Guardian Air support if you
can. If you successfully hold the Crystal for 10 minutes, you will win the
mission. Don't go picking any fights either, the Protoss forces in the lower
left and right corners of the map don't need to be awakened.
Zerg Mission 10: Full Circle
Build and conquer-that's the name of the game in this scenario. Once you've
produced a pile of Drones and two new Hatcheries to maximize harvesting and
unit production, build Sunken Colonies and Spore Colonies galore around the
perimeter of your base. It's also a good idea to have a team of 12 Hydralisks
ready in case of Protoss attack.
After fending off Protoss attacks and climbing the tech tree until you have
Guardians and upgraded Hydralisks, build a force of eight Guardians and four
Mutalisks (one group), 12 Hydralisks (one group), 12 Hydralisks (one group),
and mixed units (one group). Hotkey these units to keys 1-4, and move them
up the map toward the temple, Destroy any Photon Cannons or offensive Protoss
units you come across. The Guardians can take out Protoss structures quickly,
so sweep a clean path for your Drone to follow with the Crystal.
En route to the Temple you'll face some stiff opposition from Photon Cannons
and ground forces (Zealots and Dragoons), and a Carrier awaits you at the
temple. Target it first to eliminate that threat. When the enemy presence
at the temple is almost gone, hit it with your Guardians while your Hydralisks
mop up Zealots and nearby structures. When the Crystal Drone appears, grab
an Overlord and transport the Drone to the Beacon near the temple rubble.
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