Missions Guide

9. New Gettysburg
It's time to show the Protoss who's in charge. The objective here is to crush the entire Protoss presence in the area. Unfortunately, you must keep the Zerg at bay to do so. To this end, this mission is more about knowing how to properly defend yourself and spend cautiously than anything else. Your base isn't in the most comfortable position; all around you to the north and west is Zerg territory, and you are not permitted to attack their structures. If any Zerg structures are destroyed, you will fail the mission. The Zerg will assault you from their territory intermittently using everything they've got - including the massive Ultralisks - and to deal with this, you must establish groups of Bunkers, Siege Tanks, and Missile Turrets at every choke point. Don't forget to protect your east side, either - the Protoss will send assaults at you from there. Though you will literally face enemy first from every angle in this mission, if you properly seal off each point from the enemy and keep SCVs nearby to repair when necessary, you can hold your position without much trouble.

A fortified defense is crucial to your success at New Gettysburg

As you fortify your position, make sure you have plenty of SCVs mining resources. Quickly establish every structure available to you and begin researching Siege Tech, weapons upgrades, and other special abilities. Build a Science Vessel and research EMP Shockwave, a power that strips Protoss units and structures of their precious shields. For the first time, you have the entire technology tree at your fingertips. Use Scanner Sweeps to scout out the northeast and southeast corners of the map; you will find a large Protoss base at each location. Those are your targets as well. Scout south with your Vultures and identify the mineral patches on low ground and the Vespene Gas geyser on high ground to its east. Once you are confident in your base defense, send a caravan of SCVs, Vultures, Siege Tanks, and Marines to this position to establish another foothold.

Once more, you must work quickly and create defensive emplacements at the choke points to defend against Zerg and Protoss raids. Build a Nuclear Silo at this particular Command Center and begin building fleets of Wraiths as well as a handful of Battlecruisers. Make sure to research Cloaking Field and the Yamato Gun. The Protoss are not equipped to deal with cloaked units in this scenario. Only their Photon Cannons may detect them. Identify them with Scanner Sweeps and send your Battlecruisers to pick them off with Yamato Gun shots. Once their Photon Cannons are gone, the Protoss are at the mercy of your Wraiths. Send Ghosts to deliver nuclear strikes to speed things up if you like and assist the carnage with Siege Tanks.

Sadly, you cannot stop the Zerg invasion at the conclusion of this mission. What will become of Kerrigan?

No unit is expendable in this mission - you simply do not have many resources to spend. Send damaged Wraiths and Battlecruisers back for repairs and mount small surgical strikes against the Protoss rather than just rushing them head on. Above all else, be patient and plan your attack carefully and always remember that the Zerg are breathing down your neck all the while. Once every last Protoss structure is eliminated, prepare for a grim surprise - your base will be overrun by an incredible Zerg force. In spite of this, because you eliminated the Protoss base in the area, your mission is accomplished.

Next: 10. The Hammer Falls