StarCraft
Prima Fast Track Guide
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Protoss Mission 1: First Strike
This mission starts in the lower-right corner of the map. Move your units
up and around the body of water and through a couple of Zerg patrols to get
to the base at Antioch. Liberate all the units simultaneously by capturing
the Nexus. As you set up your base to produce more units for your attack,
take all your offensive units (except two Zealots) and group them into an
attack squad.
Take the attack squad up into the main Zerg base and wreak some havoc. Beware:
Many Zerg units on this map are buried, so keep an eye on your attack squad
as they move across the map. When you run into Sunken Colonies and Hydralisks,
move your Zealots in aggressively and take out as much as you initially can.
This quick attack sets the Zerg back on their heels and gives you time to
build structures to create the group of Dragoons you'll use to clear the
skies of the Mutalisk menace.
When you have a solid finishing force-six Zealots and six Dragoons will do
nicely-you can sweep the rest of the map and take out the remaining Zerg
infestation.
Resource Management
This is the first Protoss mission, so take your time and get used to Protoss
conventions. Specifically, Pylons equate to Supply Depots (Terran) and Overlords
(Zerg), and you can build new structures only within a specified radius of
one of these structures. Once a Probe opens a warp rift, the rift will continue
to open by itself, leaving the probe free to perform other tasks.
Protoss Mission 2: Into the Flames
First, you'll need to place your existing offensive units near the ramp leading
up to the platform where your base sits. The Zerg will launch attack after
attack on this position, as well as an attack or two from the plains north
of your base. As with the last mission, plenty of Zerg units lie in wait
underground.
As soon as your resource pool is rising, build a pair of Photon Cannons at
the top of the ramp. This will save you huge amounts of trouble later. Build
up an army of Zealots and Dragoons and just sit tight until the requisite
15 minutes have passed.
After 15 minutes, Fenix and his group of units will appear in the upper-right
map corner. Distract the Zerg forces with attacks against their base, just
below Fenix's troops. At the same time, move your attack force out of your
base and head toward the lower-right map corner, where the Cerebrate awaits
his death. There are plenty of Sunken Colonies and buried Hydralisks and
Zerglings en route to the Cerebrate, so pay close attention; above all, keep
moving forward. After you reach the Cerebrate, five or six Zealots can kill
it in fairly short order. Consider using a pincer attack, with your two forces
meeting up just before the final push toward the Cerebrate, but take care
to keep Fenix alive or the mission will fail.
Protoss Mission 3: Higher Ground
You begin with your forces nicely established in the map's lower-right corner
with only one entrance/exit to this area. The goal is to build up an attack
force sufficient to take out both major Zerg populations.
First, group your available ground forces (Dragoons and Zealots) into one
squad that can react to Zerg attacks. The Zerg consistently will mount attacks
against your base, so you must be ready from the start. Build Pylons so you
can build eight or nine Photon Cannons around the perimeter of your base.
After building up a force of eight or so Zealots and a couple of Scouts,
move them toward the map's lower-left corner, where you'll find a large resource
area. Beware of burrowed Zerg units when you explore this area. Once you've
secured the area, have a Nexus in place, and are harvesting resources, build
Pylons and Photon Cannons to defend against an attack from down on the left
side of the map.
After setting up your second base, build up at least 12 Zealots (preferably
20), eight Scouts, and ten Dragoons; then move up the middle of the map to
take out the base on the left. With the Scouts providing air cover, move
your attack force into the left-hand Zerg base and attack aggressively. It
won't be pretty, and you can expect to lose about half your units. As this
battle rages, the other Zerg base ferries units over to help out, but your
Scouts should be able to catch them before they disrupt your attacking forces.
After you destroy the left-hand Zerg base, build a Nexus and harvest any
remaining minerals and gases. Having destroyed half the Zerg, you can sit
back and rebuild your attack force, this time making it a little larger.
When everything is in place, mount an attack on the right-hand Zerg base.
If it falters, it should be very easy (in terms of resources) to get a mop-up
force in place quickly.
Protoss Mission 4: The Hunt for Tassadar
You begin this mission in the lower-right corner of the map with a small
but potent force of Protoss units. The goal is to find Tassadar, who's at
a Protoss base in the upper-left map corner (diagonal to your position).
As you work your way toward Tassadar (and the base), try to use your Templar's
powers to ease your task. The Psionic Storm (the same as Kerrigan's) can
take out entire groups of Hydralisks or Zerglings at once, saving the lives
of the units you start with. Once you hack your way up to the base, a dialogue
will ensue between the Judicator, Tassadar, and Raynor. You'll learn you
must return both Raynor and Tassadar to the Beacon. Large numbers of Zerg
have appeared-and, in fact, block the path to the Beacon.
Build up a new army and when you're ready to make your move toward the Beacon,
try to ensure that the units you take can fight units in the air. Several
large (and nasty) groups of Hydralisks also wait along the route, so include
a pack of Zealots.
Protoss Mission 5: Choosing Sides
You must take Tassadar and Raynor to the Beacon which lies in the lower-right
corner of the map. Your starting point is in the upper-left map corner. The
terrain around the six main islands is impassable by land, so mounting an
air attack is top priority.
Take time to build up a substantial base (complete with plenty of Photon
Cannons for defense) before venturing into the unknown. Once you have a fleet
of six Scouts, take the time to move around the map and define the perimeters
of the Zerg bases. The base of greatest interest to you is the island roughly
in the center of the map. You need it as a staging area for your assault
on the southeast bases.
When you have six to ten Scouts and three or four loaded Shuttles, move in
and attack the central island. Have your Scouts take out air units while
your ground troops concentrate on the ground units and Spore Colonies. Be
sure to follow up your initial attack with supplementary Shuttles with Dragoons,
Zealots, and a couple of Probes. Next, set up a Nexus and begin to build
a solid base to launch from.
Continue producing ground units and Scouts as you gather the central island's
resources. Balance your strike force carefully with Scouts, Zealots, and
Dragoons. After assembling the strike force, move in your Scouts first to
occupy the Spore Colonies; then quickly move in your Shuttles and drop your
Zealots so they can begin the ground war.Once the area is secure you can
bring in Tassadar and a couple of Zealots in order to satisfy the victory
conditions.
Protoss Mission 6: Into the Darkness
As you move your Protoss units into the installation, you'll come to a room
where Terran Marines have been slaughtered. However, five Marines still stand
around waiting for something to happen. Walk up to them to get control of
them; you'll need them.
Follow the path through the installation. Along the way there are plenty
of wall-mounted guns, buried Zerglings and Hydralisks, and Infested Terrans.
The Infested Terrans pose the biggest threat in this mission, and can take
out Tassadar single-handedly, so take care as you walk the halls. Infested
Terrans also pop out of secret hiding areas in the floor here, so lead with
an expendable Marine or Terran Civilian rather than risk losing Tassadar-and,
thus, the scenario.
As with the other installation missions, you must get to a Beacon to unlock
a door that will admit you. As you make your way toward the cell block area
you'll face many Zerglings and Infested Terrans, so be sure to liberate teams
of Terran Civilians and Marines, Ghosts, and Firebats along the way. These
extra units will help get Tassadar to the Beacon.
At the Beacon, four guns pop up out of the floor, taking your forces by surprise.
Take them out with whatever you have; if you're low on units the Psionic
Storm can do the job. Once you step on the Beacon, the Dark Templar's cell
door will open. Take Tassadar into the cell to meet them. It's not easy to
see the Templar initially, so don't worry. They'll appear when you walk into
the room far enough.
Protoss Mission 7: Homeland
Tassadar and the Dark Templar are under attack from Protoss forces. Fall
back to your base (in the map's upper-left corner) right away. Don't stay
to fight. Enemy forces will follow you back to your base, and your Photon
Cannons will take them out before they can break through your line. Then
start harvesting minerals and gas and use the cash you have in reserve to
build up a defensive force of Zealots, Dragoons, and at least three Scouts.
Continue building an attack force comprised of at least eight Scouts, 10
Zealots, and 10 Dragoons. You may also want to use some Archons as well.
When this attack force is ready, move down the ramp at the front of your
base and secure the open area beyond. This area will have enemy units constantly
flowing into it, so you must be vigilant in eliminating enemy activity. The
enemy probably will throw a couple of larger attacks at you as punishment
for expanding.
Group your Scouts into one large group or two smaller groups. If they are
in two smaller groups the two can support each other and it gives you greater
protection from Arbiters. Also, enemy Scouts and Arbiters will fall quickly
to two large groups of Scouts pounding from two sides. Once you've secured
the central area, move a Probe up to the mineral deposits in the map's
upper-middle portion and build a Nexus. Start harvesting resources from this
area as fast as possible, and continue building units to replace those you'll
lose during the skirmishes that follow.
When your second base is up and running, move your troops down to the bridges
in the map's center. Zerg bases lie on either side, but the one you want
is in the lower-right corner. Airlift three or four Reavers (with upgraded
Scarabs) in to round out your attack force; then move in for the kill. Have
your Reavers target the Photon Cannons (their Scarabs will destroy the Cannons
in one shot) while your air group of Scouts moves deep into the base to take
out ground units. Your Zealots and Dragoons can follow up and destroy any
structures that remain.
As you push on toward the Nexus, you'll probably come up against a pair of
enemy Carriers. Attack these one at a time with the full force of your air
group and Dragoons and they should give you no trouble-but don't ignore them!
If you don't take a pair of enemy Carriers seriously, they can ruin your
day. Once you've destroyed the enemy (yellow) Nexus, you've won the scenario.
Protoss Mission 8: The Trial of Tassadar
Your base lies in the upper left corner of the map and is mercifully contained
by a large wall that has only two entrances/exits. Place Photon Cannons in
bunches (at least six) at the entrance/exits of your base. This may sound
excessive, but a group of six Photon Cannons probably can't hold off the
attacks so put a fully loaded Carrier at each entrance as well.
Obviously, this mission will involve some hunkering down to defend the base
while you build up your forces to the point that you can make an effective
strike at the Stasis Cell. The Stasis Cell lies roughly in the central-lower
portion of the map, and is on a somewhat isolated island that's defended
by the Ara Tribe. The best way to reach the Stasis Cell is to move two groups
of Carriers and Scouts in from the air, with Raynor in his Battlecruiser
as backup.
The enemy will continually launch attacks at the two openings in your bases'
walls, but don't waste too many resources on these defenses or you won't
be able to assemble an attack fleet. Keep building Photon Cannons to replace
any that are destroyed, and build Zealots as backup.
Once you have four fully loaded Carriers and six to eight Scouts, group them
into two equal units and fly toward the Stasis Cell. Take care not to get
too close to the Ara Tribe bases along the way. When you get to the island
that houses the Stasis Cell, be prepared for some hot-and-heavy action, including
getting put into Stasis by an enemy Arbiter. If this happens, the "stasised"
units cannot be harmed, but they also cannot move or attack effectively,
and so become temporarily useless. Keeping your attacking units physically
distant from each other is your best defense against a Stasis attack, so
we recommend using two smaller groups of ships in this scenario.
When you hit the island, all of the Photon Cannons, Scouts, Dragoons, Carriers,
and Arbiters giving you their undivided attention may prove distracting.
But, any attempt to clear out all the enemy units will only result in failure,
so you should move straight for the Stasis Cell and attack hard. If you're
having trouble punching through to the Cell, divert the enemy units with
one group of Scouts while your Carriers make their move on the Cell. The
Stasis Cell falls quickly under heavy fire, so being aggressive can bring
you victory.
Protoss Mission 9: Shadow Hunters
You begin with a small contingent of units that includes Fenix and Zeratul.
You also have some Probes you need to put to use building several Nexii in
the mineral fields near your starting point. You must build up a grid of
Photon Cannons in the central area of the map to take care of the Zerg that
will flow frequently down from the north.
Build up a group of at least six Carriers and four Scouts, then add your
Arbiter (which you start out with) and an Observer (which will let you see
buried Zerg). After you build up all the structures you need and research
the tech tree, building a fleet of Carriers complete with eight Interceptors
in each won't be easy. You'll have to scrape together the resources if you
want to do it in a timely manner. Send this attack north to clear out the
lower-middle area of the map. Once this area is secured (and it'll take a
while), park your Carriers at the mouth of the three pathways and use them
to take out any Zerg units that come south.
You can now prepare for the final push. Start building Templars by the handful
so that you can create a large group of Archons to compliment your air force.
Once you have seven or eight Archons in place, move them up the central pathway
along with eight or so Zealots and Zeratul. When you come to the first Cerebrate,
clear out all the enemy units that threaten Zeratul. Then use Zeratul to
kill the Cerebrate. If you need any extra support at this time, move your
Carrier force up to clear out or distract any enemy units that are getting
in your way. Move to the right along the top of the map to the last Cerebrate
and repeat the death scene with Zeratul.
Protoss Mission 10: Eye of the Storm
This mission is the game's greatest challenge, as it should be. It may take
a few tries to get established enough for victory. You start with two bases
under your control-one Protoss (in the lower-right corner) and one Terran
(in the upper-left corner)-and you must cultivate and protect both against
massive and unpredictable Zerg attacks.
First, hotkey the Terran Command Center and the Protoss Nexus to keys 0 and
9. This way you can jump quickly from base to base without having to scroll
across the map. Managing two bases is very important in this mission, and
you'll probably end up with four or five before it's over.
The Zerg will attack both your initial bases with Zerglings, Hydralisks,
and Mutalisks (usually in separate large groups), so build up solid defenses.
You may have to restart this level more than once if you underestimate the
Zerg.
In the beginning, both of your bases are vulnerable to Zerg attack, so build
up defenses in both locations if you want to survive the first half-hour
of play. In the Terran base it's hard to beat a line of Bunkers filled with
upgraded Marines, but you can be sure that the Zerg will throw a group of
12 Mutalisks at you, so build Missile Turrets or more Marine-filled Bunkers
behind your front lines.
The Protoss have the Dark Templars and Tassadar as backup, but take care
not to lose either Zeratul or Tassadar or the mission will end. However,
these special units afford you an extra measure of protection while you set
up a grid of Photon Cannons and build Zealots and Dragoons for defense.
After moving out to harvest some of the extra resource pools scattered across
the map, concentrate on upgrading all your units' abilities and technologies.
As this is going on, build up a massive, balanced attack force comprising
at least eight groups of 12 units each: Zealots (two groups), Dragoons (one
group), Scouts (one group), Carriers (one group), Firebats (one group), Marines
(one group), Wraiths (one group), and Battlecruisers (one group). If you
like, assign your last hotkey to Dragoons. Hotkey all your groups to keys
1 through 9 and your Comsat Station to 0.
When all your groups are ready to rumble (this will take a long time), you
can defeat the Overmind using a simultaneous Terran-Protoss double-pronged
attack. Using your Comsat Station, expose the Overmind. Then quickly move
through your groups, telling each to attack the Overmind. All 100-plus units
will make a run for the Overmind and attack in a flurry of Interceptors,
acid sprays and bloodshed. If you've constructed your groups properly, the
Overmind will die before the last of your units bites it.
Keep a close eye on your special units (Tassadar, Zeratul, and Raynor) because
if you lose one, the mission ends. It's all too easy to group Tassadar or
Raynor with bunches of units being sent to their deaths near the Overmind,
and if they die, you lose.
If you don't want to endure the final battle as all units converge on the
Overmind, move against the Overmind's position slowly by inching Siege Tanks
toward the objective. Zerg defenses are thick, however, and a long, slow
battle may drain your resources before you get there. The large strike provides
the spectacular conclusion a great game like StarCraft deserves.
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