StarCraft II - Wings of Liberty Official Strategy Guide (Brady Games)

435 Pages·2010·124.44 MB·English

by  BradyGames

BRADYGAMES
E-GUIDE
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WWW.BRADYGAMES.COM
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©2010 DK/BradyGAMES®, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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©2010 DK/BradyGAMES®, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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©2010 DK/BradyGAMES®, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All Rights Reserved.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SINGLE PLAYER
BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 004 THE ZERATUL MISSIONS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .012 Whispers of Doom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
THE JIM RAYNOR MISSIONS A Sinister Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Liberation Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 016 Echoes of the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
The Outlaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 In Utter Darkness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Zero Hour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 024 THE VALERIAN MISSIONS
THE DR. ARIEL HANSON MISSIONS Maw of the Void . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
The Evacuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 030 The Gates of Hell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Outbreak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 034 Belly of the Beast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Safe Haven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 040 Shatter the Sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Haven’s Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 046 All In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
THE GABRIEL TOSH MISSIONS CHALLENGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
The Devil’s Playground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 052
Welcome to the Jungle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 058
Breakout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 062
Ghost of a Chance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 066
THE MATT HORNER MISSIONS
The Great Train Robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 074
Cutthroat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 080
Engine of Destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 086
Media Blitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 092
Piercing the Shroud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 098
THE TYCHUS FINDLAY MISSIONS
Smash and Grab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
The Dig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
The Moebius Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Supernova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
MULTIPLAYER
MP INTRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
BATTLE.NET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
MP-BEGINNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
MULTIPLAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
UNITS AND BUILDINGS
Terran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
Protoss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
Zerg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .352
MAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
LAST WORDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
ACHIEVEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
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©2010 DK/BradyGAMES®, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All Rights Reserved.
BASICS
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THE STORY SO FAR
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©2010 DK/BradyGAMES®, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SINGLE PLAYER
The original StarCraft story covered events among the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg
races.
As the story begins, a Terran Confederate marshal, Jim Raynor, responds to the
threat of strange Zerg forces arriving on Terran colonies. Later, word of Protoss
forces eradicating colonies infected with Zerg spreads throughout Terran space.
During his attempts to battle the Zerg infestation and reason with the Protoss, he is
initially allied with, and then later betrayed by the eventual ruler of the new Terran
Dominion, Arcturus Mengsk.
The betrayal nearly causes the death of Raynor, and results in the destruction of the
former Confederate capital of Tarsonis, as well as the sacrifi ce of Mengsk’s second
in command, the Ghost Sarah Kerrigan to the Zerg.
The Protoss, attempting to battle the threat of the Zerg, are eventually grudgingly
reunifi ed with their outcast Dark Templar brethren, and with their aid, they defeat
the Zerg Overmind, which had invaded their homeworld, Aiur.
As a direct result of these events, and the death of the Zerg Overmind, the human
Ghost Sarah Kerrigan is eventually transformed by the Zerg, becoming a dangerous
fusion of human Psionic and Zerg.
As StarCraft: Brood War opens, the shattered remnants of the Protoss race fl ee Aiur ptg
to the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras. The Zerg have pursued them, and
through a cautious alliance with the transformed Kerrigan, the Protoss succeed in
using ancient Xel’Naga technology to wipe out the Zerg forces on Shakuras—but as
a direct result, Kerrigan is able to then gain control of the leaderless Zerg Swarm.
The events in the Terran portion of Brood War were complex, but the heart of the
situation was the return of human forces from the United Earth Directorate—forces
not allied with the Terran Dominion led by Arcturus Mengsk.
Through a series of betrayals and battles, eventually Jim Raynor, Arcturus Mengsk,
and the Protoss in the region become allied against the UED incursion, as the UED
assault the Zerg world of Char and gain control of a gestating Zerg Overmind on the
planet.
The fi nal events play out as Kerrigan leads Zerg and a very reluctant alliance of Pro-
toss and Terran forces to annihilate the United Earth Directorate who are in control
of the new Zerg Overmind.
At the very end of Brood War, Kerrigan eventually betrays her temporary allies,
slaying the Overmind and gaining full control of the Zerg Swarm, and assuming the
mantle of the Queen of Blades. With the power of the UED fl eet broken, and Terran
Dominion and Protoss forces in the sector damaged, it remains to be seen what the
future holds in the battle against the Zerg…
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©2010 DK/BradyGAMES®, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All Rights Reserved.
BASICS
SINGLE PLAYER
The StarCraft II Campaign was designed to introduce the game to players new to the StarCraft universe then gradually ramp up the diffi culty level. The
early missions are tutorial-like and forgiving; the endgame missions are sprawling, and quite challenging. Many missions set tasks that prepare you for
the multiplayer experience you may crave after completing the Campaign.
Thus our Single Player Basics section focuses on giving guidance to a wide range of players, from novice to expert. Truly hardcore StarCraft players, espe-
cially veterans of the Battle.net wars, may want to jump ahead to “Part Two: Multiplayer” to explore the more esoteric fi ne points of mastering StarCraft II.
DEVELOP A
HOTKEY SYSTEM!
The most important gameplay skill you can learn for StarCraft II is this: create your
own hotkey system, and then master it. And by “mastering” a hotkey system
we mean burn it into your unconscious mind so it haunts your dreams.
Always assign hotkeys to critical units and groups and structures. But
just as important, always be consistent about these hotkey assignments TERRAN TACTICS
from mission to mission, game to game, scenario to scenario. Set it up Yo
u control Terran forces in the “Wings of Victory” Campaign,
any way you want, but do it consisently. so
Part One focuses primarily on the Terran race.
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Some examples are listed below:
• Always hotkey your Orbital Command so you can instantly
access the structure for a quick scanner sweep when cloaked BASIC TERRAN
units attack your forces out in the fi eld.
STRATEGY
• Always set the same hotkeys for specifi c training facilities,
Overall, Terran strategy tends to be more defense-oriented, especially in
such as Barracks or Factory or Starport.
the early going, with an emphasis on solid base development and orderly
• It is particularly important to hotkey any units you send out as expansion. But the race is balanced enough that you can adapt Terran
scouts. Scouts are usually weak, expendable units who die fast forces to almost any style of play, conservative or aggressive.
when they stumble into the lethal trouble they are looking for.
You want to get a glimpse of what the scout has discovered GAME PHASES
before the poor guy gets obliterated.
Most single-player missions unfold in recognizable phases. Generally, the
• Always assign the same hotkey to your special ability units early phase is about base development and reconnaissance; the middle
such as Wraiths or Siege Tanks so you can quickly select and phase is about expansion; and the endgame is about crushing your foe in
activate their special ability (e.g., cloak Wraiths or toggle tanks a fi nal showdown.
between siege and mobile modes).
However, not all missions conclude with the destruction of your enemy’s
• Always assign the same hotkey to specifi c unit groupings. For
base or force. Some feature less conventional objectives: mining a certain
example, always hotkey your primary ground assault force
amount of minerals, or escorting civilians safely down a Zerg-infested road,
(usually a balanced mix of units) to the same key every game
or simply holding out against an endless stream of enemy forces until a
or mission.
friendly ship can extract your team. Sometimes you’ll have to adapt to
• Do the same with any other sort of group you like to form changing objectives on the fl y.
regularly: your primary fl ying squadron, your mobile base
defense force, your reconnaissance team, and so forth. Note also that aspects of each game phase apply to other phases, and
that phases overlap. All that said, let’s take a look at how a typical mis-
sion unfolds.
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©2010 DK/BradyGAMES®, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SINGLE PLAYER
At this point you’ve got a solid defense in place for fending off enemy raiders
in the early stages of a standard mission. But your base isn’t fully secure or
developed yet, and you need infrastructure in place for the expansion that lies
ahead in the mid-game phase. Plus you should start getting a sense of what’s
lurking out there in the fog of war.
• Send out a few cheap scouts (Marines or even SCVs) to get a peek up the
road. Try to locate new resources (mineral fi elds and gas geysers) as well
as enemy bases and deployments.
EARLY GAME: DEVELOP & EXPLORE
• Tip: Assign a hotkey to each scout so you can switch your view to him
Command decisions made in a mission’s fi rst fi ve minutes can mark
quickly, especially if he’s getting attacked. A lone scout will die fast if he
the difference between a clean, effi cient victory and a long, painful slog
wanders into an enemy assault team or a bustling base. Double-tap the
marked by setbacks, or even failure. Good early choices certainly make
hotkey to get a good glimpse of the area before he goes down!
things much easier in later phases.
• Build Refi neries atop nearby Vespene Gas geysers and assign SCVs to
For Terrans, the typical early focus is to establish a productive, well- work each Refi nery. (Any SCV that fi nishes construction of a Refi nery
defended base buoyed by a robust resource-gathering operation. We also automatically begins gas delivery from that structure.)
recommend some early recon work.
• Keep training new SCVs for mining and gas delivery. You want at least 2-3
SCVs for every mineral patch and 3 for every Refi nery.
Our tips for the early going:
• Add a Tech Lab to your Barracks so you can start producing Medics,
• Immediately order any pre-existing SCVs to mine nearby mineral
Marauders, Reapers, and Firebats. (Note: In the Campaign, you gain the
deposits.
ability to train Reapers and Firebats in optional missions. Firebats fi rst
• Place your Command Center’s rally point in the midst of those appear in “The Evacuation” and Reapers in “The Devil’s Playground.”)
deposits so that newly trained SCVs automatically start mining when
• Build an Engineering Bay so you can construct Missile Turrets. This
they emerge. Then train as many new SCVs as your initial funds will
structure detects the enemy’s cloaked units. Tip: Build new production
allow. You can never have too many SCVs! ptg
buildings behind your Command Center.
• Most Campaign missions start with a pre-existing Barracks in place.
• When the Engineering Bay is done, build a Missile Turret just behind each
If not, order an SCV to build a Barracks as soon as you mine your
Bunker cluster around the base perimeter. (Make sure it’s behind the
fi rst 150 minerals.
Bunkers!) Put at least one turret near your Command Center too, just in
• Important: Add another Supply Depot to raise your unit cap. Keep case enemy air units slip past your perimeter defenses.
one SCV dedicated to the task of building additional Supply Depots
• Get a Factory in place so you can start producing your vehicles (Hellions
over the course of the mission.
and Siege Tanks).
• Start training Marines at the Barracks. In groups, Marines are tough
MID-GAME: EXPANSION
all-purpose troops who can target both enemy ground and air units
Once you’ve got a well-established, well-garrisoned base and a good idea of
with good punch. But you need a fair-sized squad (minimum 8-10)
what’s happening out on the map, it’s time to start expanding your operations.
for Marines to be effective; they must have enough concentrated
fi repower to take out more powerful enemies quickly. In smaller • Locate any expansion sites that you can secure and send a military force to
groups Marines are easily overwhelmed because their fi repower protect it while a Command Center is established. Remember you can create a
doesn’t compensate for each individual Marine’s relative weakness. Command Center in a fortifi ed area and then fl y it to an expansion site.
• Start building Bunkers on your base perimeter. Your goal is to put at • Track down any bonus resources or hidden goodies on the map. Make
least one Bunker in each obvious approach route to the base. use of your fast moving or fl ying units for this purpose.
• As your fi rst Marines emerge from the Barracks, send them to • Scout out enemy positions and fi gure out an avenue of attack, or, if you
garrison your Bunkers. Keep this up until every one of your Bunkers can’t attack, set up a solid defense.
has a full complement of Marines.
• Continue to build your military and research new upgrades. Unless you
• Put an SCV in auto-repair mode behind each Bunker cluster for are limited by the mission, you should always continue to build up your
quick repair work when Bunkers are damaged. military forces!
• Add 2-3 more Supply Depots in the very early going • Evaluate any special military needs that are necessary for victory during the
mission, be it a specifi c tech or a large number of a specifi c type of unit.
• After your Bunkers are full, keep training Marines until you have a
squad of 8-10 of them grouped in the center of your base. Assign a
hotkey to tthhiiss ssqquuaadd..
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©2010 DK/BradyGAMES®, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All Rights Reserved.
BASICS
ENDGAME: THE SHOWDOWN RESOURCE GATHERING
Once you have fully established your
• Every mission is a production race at some level: Whoever cranks out more and better units
economy and built up your military as much
usually wins, regardless of combat skill. But your production outfl ow depends on the infl ow
as possible in terms of size and technology,
of raw materials. Creating an effi cient mineral/gas collecting operation is perhaps the most
it is time to fi nish off your opponent.
fundamental skill to master in StarCraft II.
Note that some missions do not follow • Expand your SCV corps until you have at least two and preferably three units mining each
a standard ‘build up base, expand and mineral cluster.
attack’ model at all, and there may be very
• Build a Refi nery on every defendable Vespene Gas geyser near your base. Assign three SCVs per
signifi cant environmental hazards that must
Refi nery to the task of gas delivery.
be dealt with.
• Protect your SCVs. Their labor is the bedrock of your economy. Put garrisoned Bunkers along
Be sure to see the specifi c mission entry for the supply route from resource-rich sites to your base. Keep a mobile force nearby ready to
more information on special missions. fend off raiders.
• Assign a single hotkey to all of the SCVs working a specifi c resource site, and keep it updated to
• Move a massed force of units to
include any new SCVs you deploy to that site. If the enemy launches a major raid on that supply
tackle each objective area. Strike
line, you can select the entire SCV crew with a single button press and quickly pull them back
with maximum force so that you take
behind your base defenses. Once the raid is repelled, you can reassign your SCV squad back to
minimal losses.
collection with a single hotkey press and click. Don’t forget to reassign SCVs to gas!
• Leave enough of a defensive force
• In a pinch, SCVs can fi ght. But remember that they’re very fragile and easy to kill. Use them
at threatened bases or areas to hold
against only small squads of weaker enemies like Zerglings or a handful of Zealots. Otherwise,
the line.
send them fl eeing into your base or toward other units that can defend them.
• Rebuild lost forces and rally them to
• Try to disrupt the enemy’s supply line. Send swift raiders or powerful units with area-of-effect
a position where they can soon rejoin
attacks like the Siege Tank to decimate your foe’s weak resource gatherers. Sacrifi cing a single
your offensive army.
Siege Tank to take out a large batch of enemy gatherers is almost always a very good trade. ptg
• Focus on each objective in order,
• Always be on the lookout for new mineral and gas
unless you have a critically pressing
resources. Send out scouts until you’ve revealed the entire
need to split up your force.
map.
• Tackle any special or bonus objectives
• If you fi nd a rich, defendable
that require specifi c action to complete
source of minerals and/or
before you fi nish a mission.
gas, it’s worth the money
BASE BUILDING to build an expansion base
nearby, starting with a Bunker
In general, good base building techniques
or two for defense and then
are always the same for the Terran—estab-
a new Command Center to
lish a sturdy defense making use of your
reduce travel time for your
defensive structures, get your economy run-
gatherer corps. Be sure to
ning, and build up your military production.
construct a well-defended
base around the Command
On missions where you do not have access
Center, in the same way that
to your defensive tools or a restricted
you built your original base.
economy or military, you must make do
with what you are given, and making use • At each new expansion base,
of your units more carefully becomes more train another full crew of
important. SCVs (3 per mineral patch, 3
per Refi nery).
Remember to make use of SCVs ability
to repair structures and units, it is always
cheaper to repair a unit or building than to
build a new one, and you can also use SCVs
set to Autocast repair to help hold the line
on especially diffi cult defensive missions.
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©2010 DK/BradyGAMES®, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All Rights Reserved.