Starcraft 2 - Heart of the Swarm
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|----- STARCRAFT 2: HEART OF THE SWARM FAQ/WALKTHROUGH -----------------------|
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Platform: PC and Mac
Version: 1.00
Last Update: March 23, 2013
Email: perfdark@gmail.com
Author: Jared Cano (aka James00715, Thander)
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|----- TABLE OF CONTENTS -----------------------------------------------------|
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I. Legal Stuff...........................................................[LGLS]
II. Revision History.....................................................[RVSN]
III. Introduction........................................................[NTRD]
IV. Summary of Changes in Heart of the Swarm.............................[NWCN]
V. New Units.............................................................[NNTS]
A. New Zerg Units...................................................[ZNTS]
B. New Terran Units.................................................[TNTS]
C. New Protoss Units................................................[PNTS]
VI. Heart of the Swarm Campaign..........................................[SNGL]
A. Campaign Features................................................[CFTR]
B. Campaign Walkthrough.............................................[CWLK]
i. Umoja Missions..............................................[MJMS]
a. Lab Rat................................................[LBRT]
b. Back in the Saddle.....................................[BCKN]
c. Rendezvous.............................................[RNDZ]
ii. Char Missions..............................................[CHRM]
a. Domination.............................................[DMNT]
b. Fire in the Sky........................................[FRNT]
c. Old Soldiers...........................................[LDSL]
iii. Kaldir Missions...........................................[KLDR]
a. Harvest of Screams.....................................[HRVS]
b. Shoot the Messenger....................................[SHTT]
c. Enemy Within...........................................[NMWT]
iv. Zerus Missions.............................................[ZRSM]
a. Waking the Ancient.....................................[WKNG]
b. The Crucible...........................................[THCR]
c. Supreme................................................[SPRM]
v. Skygeirr Missions...........................................[SKGR]
a. Infested...............................................[NFST]
b. Hand of Darkness.......................................[HNDF]
c. Phantoms of the Void...................................[PHNT]
vi. Space Missions.............................................[SPCM]
a. With Friends Like These................................[WTHF]
b. Conviction.............................................[CNVC]
vii. Final Missions............................................[FNLM]
a. Planetfall.............................................[PLNT]
b. Death From Above.......................................[DTHF]
c. The Reckoning..........................................[THRC]
C. Campaign Lists...................................................[CLST]
i. Evolution Pit...............................................[VLTN]
a. Mutations and Evolutions List..........................[MTVL]
b. Evolution Missions.....................................[VLTM]
ii. Kerrigan...................................................[KRRG]
iii. Unlocked Units............................................[NLCK]
iv. Missions Graph.............................................[MSSN]
VII. Multiplayer and Battle.net Changes..................................[MLTP]
A. Revamped Progression.............................................[RVMP]
i. Experience and Levels.......................................[XPRN]
a. Gaining Experience Points..............................[GNNG]
b. Rewards for Leveling Up................................[RWRD]
B. New Social Features..............................................[NWSC]
C. Improved Replay Mode.............................................[MPRV]
VIII. New Achievements...................................................[CHVM]
A. Swarm Campaign...................................................[SWRM]
i. Umoja Missions..............................................[AMJM]
ii. Char Missions..............................................[ACHR]
iii. Kaldir Missions...........................................[AKLD]
iv. Zerus Missions.............................................[AZRS]
v. Skygierr Missions...........................................[ASKG]
vi. Space Missions.............................................[ASPC]
vii. Final Missions............................................[AFNL]
viii. Story Mode...............................................[STRY]
ix. Kerrigan...................................................[AKRR]
x. Mastery.....................................................[MSTR]
G. Feats of Strength................................................[FTFS]
IX. Cheat Codes..........................................................[SCRT]
X. FAQ...................................................................[SFAQ]
XI. Links................................................................[LNKS]
XII. Closing.............................................................[CLSN]
A. Thanks...........................................................[TNKS]
B. Submissions......................................................[SBMS]
C. To-Do List.......................................................[TDLS]
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|---- I. LEGAL STUFF --------------------------------------------------[LGLS]-|
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This document is copyright (C) 2013 Jared Cano (aka James00715, Thander).
This FAQ/Walkthrough is not to be used to make a profit of any kind. Permission
is granted to print this document for personal use only. Any and all other
means of reproduction are not allowed without my express permission.
Websites with permission to host this FAQ:
www.GameFAQs.com
If you see or download this from anywhere else, please email me with the
subject "Heart of the Swarm Walkthrough" or "HotS Walkthrough". You may also
send an email to request permission to host the FAQ on your website.
The latest version of this FAQ/Walkthrough can always be found on GameFAQs. I
generally do not post updates on other websites. It is too tedious to maintain
accounts on every different website and put updates on all of them. Once I give
permission to a website to host my FAQ/Walkthrough, they are free to follow
GameFAQs and update their files when new updates appear.
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|---- II. REVISION HISTORY --------------------------------------------[RVSN]-|
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V1.00 March 23, 2013
- Initial release
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|---- III. INTRODUCTION -----------------------------------------------[NTRD]-|
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Starcraft 2 came out with a bang. For the most part, it lived up to the hype.
All my friends who had previously stopped playing PC games started clamoring to
try it out. Many of them upgraded their computers or bought brand new ones just
to play Starcraft 2. Since Wings of Liberty is only one third of the trilogy,
many of us have been eagerly awaiting the second expansion, Heart of the Swarm,
to continue the story. On the multiplayer side, the community has remained
strong and active and looks for Heart of the Swarm to improve balance while
adding variety with new units and abilities.
There are a few differences between this FAQ/Walkthrough and my Wings of
Liberty FAQ/Walkthrough because Heart of the Swarm is only an expansion. Rather
than go over all of the content from Wings of Liberty again, I only focus on
new content from the expansion and any changes to the existing content as a
result of that. So for instance, the New Units section only provides
information on the new units added in the expansion.
The document would be way too big if I were to put Wings of Liberty + Heart of
the Swarm in the same file, but feel free to download my Wings of Liberty
FAQ/Walkthrough as well if you want more of the old information. I continue to
update it with major patch changes.
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|---- IV. SUMMARY OF CHANGES IN HEART OF THE SWARM --------------------[NWCN]-|
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Like previous Blizzard expansions, Heart of the Swarm requires Wings of Liberty
to play. Heart of the Swarm is the first expansion for Starcraft 2 and adds
quite a bit of new content to the original game.
-----New Campaign-----
Perhaps the biggest addition to the game is an all new campaign featuring the
Zerg race. The main "hero" character this time is newly cured Kerrigan as she
tries to regain control of the Swarm to fight a new mysterious foe. As always,
there are several achievements related to this new campaign. Check out the
Heart of the Swarm Campaign and Achievements sections for more information.
-----New Units-----
In multiplayer, Heart of the Swarm adds 2 units for Zerg, 2 units for Terran,
and 3 units for Protoss. The Zerg race also gets many additional variations of
their core units, all exclusive to the campaign. More information can be found
in the New Units section.
-----Revamped Multiplayer and Battle.net Features-----
With the release of Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard has revamped the Battle.net
multiplayer systems to show a more clear progression for beginner players to
get into multiplayer, get better at the game, and have fun along the way.
Included is a new experience points and leveling system to give players a more
lasting reason to keep playing the game.
Blizzard also added a couple social features to Battle.net: Clans & Groups.
Clans are the beginning of a system much like Clans in Warcraft 3. Groups are a
new system with their own purpose. There is also a new and improved replay mode
that should address all the major requests players had before.
To top it all off, Global Play is finally available. Players can finally play
with their friends in other countries without having to buy a whole new copy of
the game. Added Game Replay features rounds out the Battle.net changes.
Of these features, only the leveling system requires Heart of the Swarm, so
this is a general improvement for Wings of Liberty players too. Find more
information on these in the Multiplayer & Battle.net Changes section.
-----Game Editor Improvements-----
It wouldn't be a Blizzard game without a robust map editor. The new version
comes with 14 new tilesets and all the new unit and buildings corresponding
with the new missions in the campaign. Blizzard has also added a built-in
Cutscene editor and will soon release StarTools, a set of plugins for 3ds Max
users to easily create and import 3D models into the Starcraft 2 Editor.
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|---- V. NEW UNITS ----------------------------------------------------[NNTS]-|
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As is typical in a Blizzard expansion, each race gets new some new units and
upgrades to add more variation and strategy to the game. The main purpose of
the new units, according to Blizzard, is to fill holes in the Wings of Liberty
unit lineups for each race. This should give each race a few more tools to deal
with any army they are faced against.
=====A. New Zerg Units=================================================[ZNTS]==
The Zerg had one main problem in Wings of Liberty, but it was a big one. They
simply lacked options for dealing with the heavy hitters of the other races
like Siege Tanks and Colossi. The 2 units they get in Heart of the Swarm should
help with both problems.
Swarm Host
The Swarm Host is the new version of the Lurker from Starcraft: Brood War, but
focused more on offense than defense. Underground is where they shine. They can
summon little Locusts to attack your enemies. They have an infinite supply of
Locusts. It just takes time for each set to be summoned.
Requires: Infestation Pit
Created at: Hatchery, Lair, Hive
Locust
These are the tiny units created by the Swarm Host. Their damage is pretty good
for a temporary unit, but it's their range that is the big deal. They are one
of the few "free" units in the game that have a ranged attack. They excel as
cannon fodder against Siege Tanks and Colossi. In general they are good against
any enemy fortified position. Have your Swarm Hosts send them in first with
your real army just behind them. When the Locusts die you can retreat your army
until new ones spawn.
Summoned by: Swarm Host
Viper
Vipers are a flying caster unit with offensive abilities. The Viper's signature
Abduct ability allows them to pick up and pull any unit to their location.
Siege Tanks, Colossi, and any other powerful ranged unit are prime targets for
this ability. The Viper can also use Blinding Cloud over ranged units that sets
their range to 1 while standing in it, perfect for Zerglings to surround them.
Finally, they can Consume a friendly building, dealing some damage to it but
gaining energy to use more special abilities.
Requires: Hive
Created at: Hatchery, Lair, Hive
Swarm Queen
In the single player campaign all Hatcheries can generate 6 Larva on their own
without a Queen for support. Therefore, the normal Queen has evolved into the
Swarm Queen with more battlefield utility. Swarm Queens can heal Zerg units
over time using their energy, so they are similar to a Terran Medivac. They can
still spread the Zerg creep though. This unit replaces the normal Queen in the
campaign.
Requires: Spawning Pool
Created at: Hatchery, Lair, Hive
Aberration
This unit appeared in the Wings of Liberty campaign, but they were your enemies
then. Now in the Zerg campaign you get them on your side. Aberrations are
basically lighter versions of Ultralisks. Aberrations are still tanks, but not
as strong as Ultralisks. They are not as costly either. Combine them with lots
of Hydralisks for best results.
Requires: Evolution Chamber, Lair / Hive
Created at: Hatchery, Lair, Hive
Note: Zerg units have several "evolutions" in the campaign, but they are just
variations on the core unit, not all new units.
-----Other Changes-----
Pneumatized Carapace from Hatchery
The Overlord speed upgrade is now available with just a basic Hatchery. It used
to require a Lair. This makes them much better scouts in the early game.
Burrow from Hatchery
Burrow is also available from the Hatchery. This probably gives the most
benefit to Roaches with their fast life regeneration when burrowed, but
Banelings can also really take advantage of it (hidden Baneling mines).
Spine and Spore Crawler Availability
These two defensive buildings no longer require an Evolution Chamber be built
first. They now only require a Spawning Pool. The Evolution Chamber is normally
built later in the build order, so Zerg players can now defend against rushes a
little easier.
Muscular Augments
The speed upgrade for Hydralisks is back! Players have been wanting this since
the Wings of Liberty beta. It's nice to see it back finally, but it only works
off creep. Now they can keep up with Roaches, at least when off of creep.
Mutalisk Improvements
Their base speed has been increased. They were already pretty fast. Now they've
been made even faster. That makes them better at harassment, though this change
may be a way to balance them with the Terran's new speedy Medivacs. Another
change is that they have a much higher regeneration rate. It's about 4 times as
much.
=====B. New Terran Units===============================================[TNTS]==
The main hole in the Terran lineup was in the Factory units. All of the Factory
units were situational except for the Siege Tank, but the Siege Tank required
support units from the Barracks. End result: everyone always built Barracks
first with Factories as a supplement. Heart of the Swarm adds 2 new Factory
units, which will hopefully make "Factory First" a more viable strategy.
Widow Mine
Finally, a new incarnation of the Spider Mine appears in Heart of the Swarm.
Widow Mines are much more expensive than Spider Mines. However, Widow Mines
have some very nice improvements. First, they have a ranged splash damage
attack, so they are able to fire at air units. Second, they are not sacrificial
units. They can keep firing missiles. The only downside with Widow Mines is
they have to be burrowed to fire. Their burrow has a long cast time, but it can
be reduced with an upgrade. Because of that burrow time, they are mainly used
defensively, but occasionally you might be able to sneak a few them to the
frontlines and burrow them in the middle of a large skirmish.
Built at: Factory
Hellbat (Hellion Battle Mode)
The Hellbat is a transformation for the Hellion, much like how the Viking and
Siege Tank have different modes that serve different purposes. Hellbats are
heavy, frontline fighters made to counter mass melee units like Zerglings and
Zealots. They have a shorter range than the Hellion but have more health and
damage. Hellions start to lose their usefulness in the midgame. That's when you
can research the Transformation Servos upgrade, letting you to transform all
your Hellions into Hellbats. A common tactic is to keep them in Hellion Form
for movement, and then transform to the slower Hellbat Mode for combat.
Requires: Armory (to build directly) or Transformation Servos (to transform
from Hellion)
Built at: Factory
-----Other Changes-----
Reaper Changes
Reapers have been massively changed. They no longer require a Tech Lab to
build, so with a Reactor you can build 2 at once from the same Barracks. Their
damage was reduced but they automatically start with their movement speed
upgrade. Also, their life regenerates quickly when they are out of combat. You
can move in for some quick attacks and get out. When you are ready to move in
again, they are at full health.
Siege Mode For Free (Siege Tank)
Unlike Wings of Liberty, Siege Tanks do not have a Siege Mode upgrade. All
Siege Tanks automatically have Siege Mode to begin with. This makes them a much
stronger unit early in the game.
Ignite Afterburners
This is a free ability that Medivacs start with, no purchasing of an upgrade
required. Medivacs used to have a higher base speed in Wings of Liberty, but it
was reduced in one of the patches for balance. Now they get some form of that
speed back. Afterburners increases their speed by an incredible 70%, but it's
only for a short duration. The ability has a 10 second cooldown too.
Thor Changes
Thor's used to have a powerful siege ability, 250mm Cannons, against ground
units and structures. That ability has been removed, but they have a new
transformation to better counter certain air units. Their normal Javelin
Missiles are still best against Mutalisks and Phoenixes, but the new Punisher
Cannons transformation does best against the larger air targets like Brood
Lords and Tempests.
Air and Vehicle Armor Upgrades Combined
Pretty self explanatory but in Wings of Liberty you had an armor upgrade for
air units and an armor upgrade for vehicles. Now they both share the same
upgrade. The weapon upgrades are still separate for each.
=====C. New Protoss Units==============================================[PNTS]==
Protoss' main weakness in Wings of Liberty was the lack of air power. Carriers
were really hard to get out in a competitive game. The cost and tech tree
requirements were too much. Protoss get 3 new units as opposed to the 2 new
units the other races get. The other air units were good, but very specialized.
The new units will hopefully alleviate Protoss' lack of air power.
Mothership Core
Instead of building a Mothership directly, in Heart of the Swarm you start with
a Mothership Core. It is a defensive caster unit, with special abilities to
Mass Recall units to a friendly Nexus, detect cloaked and burrowed units, and
to temporarily add a powerful stationary cannon to a Nexus. Once in the late
game with a big ground army, you can upgrade it to a full Mothership, which is
more powerful. The Mothership Core is available very early in the tech tree,
compared to the Mothership alone.
Requires: Cybernetics Core
Built at: Nexus
Oracle
The Protoss really lacked caster air units, so they get another one with the
Oracle. Unlike the Mothership Core, the Oracle is an offensive caster
specialized to harass the enemy. Move in quickly use a spell or two and go back
to base will be the standard use for this unit. Interestingly, it does not have
a normal attack. However, one of its abilities allows it to attack enemy units
for a short duration. Its other abilities include granting vision of enemy
units and slowing down enemy unit movement speed.
Built at: Stargate
Tempest
The Tempest is effectively a replacement unit for the Carrier. Blizzard felt
bad about possibly removing the Carrier, an iconic Protoss unit. They kept it
in the game but expect players to use the Tempest now. Tempests move slowly and
attack slowly but have extremely long range. This allows you to position them
behind your main army line or even over open space without worrying about
retaliation. They can attack both air and ground but do bonus damage to massive
air targets. They are best used as a support unit to bait enemy armies into
range of your main army with your Colossi, Stalkers, and Zealots, or as
counters to the "massive" air units like Battlecruisers and Brood Lords.
Requires: Fleet Beacon
Built at: Stargate
-----Other Changes-----
Hallucination
This Sentry ability no longer requires research. Just building a Sentry gives
you access to it. It's a fairly expensive ability at 100 energy, but now you
can use it for early air unit scouting (using a fake Phoenix).
Prismatic Alignment
Warp Prisms used to have a three stage weapon. It would start with lower
damage. A few seconds later the damage would increase. Even more seconds later
the weapon would get to full power. Warp Prisms now have a free ability,
Prismatic Alignment, that boosts their weapon damage. It has a long 60 second
cooldown, but the boosted damage lasts for 20 seconds. The downside is the
bonus damage is only to Armored targets. This makes them extremely potent
against the heavy hitting armored targets like Thors, Colossi, and Brood Lords.
Pylon Psionic Matrix on High Ground
The blue field surround Pylons is called the Psionic Matrix. It's required to
power Protoss buildings and allow warp-ins from Warp Gates. In Heart of the
Swarm, you can no longer warp-in units or construct new buildings on higher
ground than the Pylon is even if that higher ground has power from the Pylon. A
common rush strategy was to warp-in a Pylon on the low ground, and then warp-in
units to that higher ground. This made it really hard for the other races to
stop because the Pylon itself, powering all the warp-ins, was very hard to get
to by ground.
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|---- VI. HEART OF THE SWARM CAMPAIGN ---------------------------------[SNGL]-|
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=====A. Campaign Features==============================================[CFTR]==
The Heart of the Swarm expansion continues the story first told in Wings of
Liberty. The Wings of Liberty campaign did a lot of new things for a real-time
strategy game campaign, and Heart of the Swarm is no different. In fact, you
will find the Zerg do things very differently than the Terran did.
The main campaign is fittingly called Heart of the Swarm, as you play as Sarah
Kerrigan, Queen of Blades. All of the dialog and decisions are given by you
through Sarah. For the most part you just watch the story, but there are a few
times where you can choose the next set of missions to do.
-----Background-----
Despite the events of Wings of Liberty, Sarah Kerrigan still harbors hatred for
Arcturus Mengsk, Emperor of the Terran Dominion. Her goal is revenge against
Mengsk at all costs, and anyone that stands in her way is dead. She doesn't
care about Terran, Protoss, or even Zerg. They are just tools to be used to
kill Mengsk.
-----Missions-----
Heart of the Swarm continues the general structure that Wings of Liberty
introduced for the campaign. The missions almost always have something new that
add a twist to the gameplay. Anything from new units or new buildings to even
entire new game mechanics can be unique to a mission.
The hub area before each mission is very similar to those old adventure style
games of the 90s. The camera is fixed, but you can use the mouse to interact
with things like getting an close-up view of an object. Kerrigan can talk to
her advisors to get information on the available missions and learn how to
improve the Swarm. After you are done looking at everything, you can choose
which planet to go to next. Sometimes you will have a few to choose from, but
sometimes there is only one path. After each mission Kerrigan returns to the
hub. It sometimes changes after missions with new things to interact with or
old things removed.
Difficulty Levels
The missions have four difficulty levels: Casual, Normal, Hard, and Brutal. The
biggest difference between difficulties is the unit numbers and upgrades. On
Brutal the enemy will send more units, in shorter intervals, and with better
upgrades than on Casual. For timed mission objectives, you usually have less
time on higher difficulties as well. Overall, Casual is the mode for someone
who just wants to see the story and doesn't care about gameplay while Brutal is
for someone that likes to restart each mission a few times to achieve victory.
None of the missions require a certain difficulty to unlock, but many
achievements can only be earned on a particular difficulty level. The
achievement description will always say when this is.
Choosing Missions
Most of the campaign requires you to do missions in a certain order. Sometimes
you get the choice of which planet to visit next but then must complete all
missions on that planet before travelling elsewhere. No missions have time
limits or can be lost, so don't worry about which planet to do first. The game
shows you what the big rewards are before deciding. Pick whichever one
interests you the most.
-----Leviathan-----
A Leviathan is Kerrigan's capital ship. It is a massive, living Zerg organism.
If you played the Wings of Liberty campaign, you may be familiar with
Leviathans. There were a couple missions late in the campaign that pitted your
Terran army against one. Kerrigan has one as a central hub for the campaign. It
has three areas: the Viewing Room, Evolution Pit, and Kerrigan's personal
chambers.
Viewing Room
This is where you speak with your top Zerg advisors about the current state of
the Swarm. Sometimes you can choose which planet to go to. Once chosen, you
must complete all missions on that planet before travelling to another planet.
For each mission it shows who is giving the mission, what you have to do to
complete the mission, and what the rewards are for completing it.
Another feature of this area is the Archives. With it, you can replay
cinematics and missions you have previously seen or beaten. If you missed any
bonus objectives, you can do the mission again here to get any rewards from
those. You can also complete achievements you missed. Once you beat the
campaign, the Master Archives becomes available where you can replay the
missions while mixing and matching your upgraded units.
Evolution Pit
The Evolution Pit is where you can upgrade your Zerg units. There are two types
of upgrades: Mutations and Evolutions. Mutations are smaller upgrades that are
mostly passive, always on all the time. In between missions they can be
switched around at will, but only one can be active in a single mission.
Evolutions are one time choices that radically change the base unit. The
Evolution Pit also functions like a trophy case for your progress through the
campaign. Many of the units you obtain can be examined here up close.
Kerrigan
Unlike Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan is a hero with a level and special abilities.
The higher level Sarah becomes, the more powerful she becomes on the
battlefield. Every few levels, new special abilities will unlock for you to
choose between. Some of them are passive upgrades while others are new powers
she can use in combat.
Note: In the interest of not spoiling all the fun stuff you can get, full lists
for Kerrigan's abilities and Evolution Pit upgrades are after the walkthrough.
----- Campaign Zerg vs. Multiplayer Zerg -----
There are a few small changes to the campaign version of Zerg compared to the
multiplayer version. I noticed some players asking if there some changes
because the Zerg in the campaign seem to play a little bit differently.
Queens are replaced by Swarm Queens - You can read more about Swarm Queens in
the New Units section above. In multiplayer, Queens are not really a combat
unit; they simply tend to the Swarm like a mother. In the campaign though, they
are more of an offensive caster meant to be included in your army.
Hatcheries spawn 6 Larva - In multiplayer, Hatcheries will only spawn 3 Larva
at a time. You have to use the Queen's Spawn Larva ability to give them 7 Larva
at a time. In the campaign, Queen's don't even have that ability, but
Hatcheries spawn more Larva. I believe this was done so players could focus
more on fighting with their army in the field instead of managing their base.
=====B. Campaign Walkthrough===========================================[CWLK]==
This is a spoiler-free walkthrough from mission to mission, but not entirely
spoiler-free. What I mean is that within each mission, I will reveal spoilers
necessary to finishing the mission. However, I will not reveal anything about
how the mission ends or about any later missions.
I played the campaign with the Hard difficulty. If you play on Casual or
Normal, the missions will be a little easier. If you play on Brutal, the
missions will be a lot tougher. The walkthrough should still give you the
general idea for the mission regardless of what difficulty you play on.
Sometimes in the walkthrough I will note the timing of when some event happens
in the campaign. These timings are all based on the in-game clock. This is off
by default but can be turned on by opening the Options -> Gameplay Menu and
ticking the "Show Game Timer" checkbox.
These timings are based on the default game speed of Fast on Hard difficulty. I
am pretty sure the timer scales up and down with the game speed slider, meaning
it will match the timings in the walkthrough no matter what speed you have the
game set to. If it doesn't for some reason, please set the game speed to Fast.
I try to avoid giving timings as much as possible because most events in the
game are depending on how you play the mission, not set in stone for all
players.
These are what the fields mean for each mission:
Background: A short description of what you are doing in this mission.
New Units: Any units you see for the first time in a mission.
New Structures: Any structures you see for the first time in a mission. This
depends many times on what order you do the missions.
Heroes: Any hero units you get in this mission, not counting Kerrigan.
Unlocks Evolution: Evolutions are awarded much later than when you first get
access to a unit. They are noted in this field when a mission unlocks one.
Recommendations: My favorite Mutations and Evolutions for the units I use in
that mission's walkthrough. Also, my favorite Kerrigan powers for each tier
that I think will help the most. I always assume Kerrigan is at a low level, so
you may have more powers available
Kerrigan Levels: This will show you how many Kerrigan Levels you can get on the
mission, including which ones come from bonus objectives.
Difficulty: A rating from 1 to 10 of how difficult I think the mission is to
complete on Hard difficulty.
Objectives: The list of objectives you must complete to finish the mission.
Some objectives are optional, which will also be listed here.
Walkthrough: This is the biggest section, with detailed instructions on how to
beat the mission the easiest way I have found. Reader submitted strategies are
shown with a little border.
-----i. Umoja Missions-------------------------------------------------[MJMS]--
-----a. Lab Rat----- --[LBRT]--
Background: Kerrigan must complete one final test before she can leave the
facility and get to fighting Mengsk.
New Units: Drone, Overlord, Zergling
New Structures: Hatchery, Spawning Pool
Difficulty: 1/10
Objectives:
- Select Drone
- Mutate Hatchery
- Harvest 300 Minerals
- Morph Overlord
- Mutate Spawning Pool
- Morph 6 Zerglings
- Destroy Eradicator
- Destroy 3 Gas Turrets
- Bonus: Release Zerglings from 3 Pens
Walkthrough:
This mission is pretty much a tutorial. You can just follow the directions the
game gives you, but I will write a few things for each objective anyways.
- Select Drone
- Mutate Hatchery
- Harvest 300 Minerals
- Morph Overlord
- Mutate Spawning Pool
- Morph 6 Zerglings
For all of these you have no control but to follow Valerian's orders.
- Destroy Eradicator
Immediately after destroying the first three Sentries, you will get this
objective. The Eradicator is at the top right, but you have to fight your way
there. Throughout the mission you should be making more Zerglings with your
Hatchery. Rally them near your army of Zerglings in the field, so you always
have fresh reinforcements.
Just south of your initial Zergling position is Zergling Pen #1. Six Sentries
are in your way, but they should go down easily. Then you will have to go north
through a series of switchbacks to a room that fills with gas.
- Destroy 3 Gas Turrets
The doors you need to get through are locked. They only open after you destroy
the 3 Gas Turrets. If you have at least 8 Zerglings with full life, send them
in focusing on one Gas Turret at a time. The Gas Turrets don't do as much
damage as you would think. After destroying all three your Zerglings' health
will still be around orange.
- Destroy Eradicator
The northwest path out of the gas room is the way forward to the Eradicator,
but Zergling Pen #2 is through the southeast door, so go that way first. About
6 Sentries guard this pen, but you should have enough Zerglings by now to take
them out easily.
Now go through the northwest path to Zergling Pen #3. This one has even more
Sentries than the last one, but they are in three separate groups. You can take
on one group at a time (3-4 Sentries each).
All that's left is the Eradicator through the northeast path out of this
reddish room. You will have to fight 4 Sentries on the way and then the
Eradicator with 2 Sentries for support. While the fight is going on, they have
Factories creating 2 Sentries at a time, but they should only have time to get
4 more Sentries this way. The Eradicator should go down quick. Mission
Complete!
-----b. Back in the Saddle----- --[BCKN]--
Background: The Dominion have attacked the secret facility. Kerrigan and Raynor
must find a way to escape.
Heroes: Kerrigan (and Raynor)
Difficulty: 3/10
Objectives:
- Get to the Sublevel Door
- Defend Sublevel Door
- Escape the Sublevel
- Defend Tram Engines
- Destroy the Archangel
- Kerrigan Must Survive
Walkthrough:
It's just Raynor and Kerrigan in this mission. You get some special abilities
on Kerrigan, but you have no control over Raynor. He just automatically follows
Kerrigan and attacks whatever is attacking her.
- Kerrigan Must Survive
This is an ongoing objective for the whole mission. When you have a Hatchery,
Kerrigan will be revived at the Hatchery if she dies. Since you don't have a
Hatchery in this mission, Kerrigan can't revive if killed. When fighting
Dominion forces, try to let the friendly Umojan Forces take the hits.
Throughout the level there are Recovery Terminals that spawn Restoration
Charges. These heal Kerrigan's life and energy to full, but they are not in
every room. To be safe, move Kerrigan back if her health gets below 50%.
- Get to the Sublevel Door
This is an easy one. Just follow the path. It is basically a tutorial on using
a couple of Kerrigan's special abilities. You will be able to unlock more
special abilities for her later in the game.
- Defend Sublevel Door
This objective involves a medium-sized battle against both Zerg and Dominion
Marines. Use Crushing Grip on as many Zerglings as you can. Save Kinetic Blast
for Banelings and Roaches. One Baneling can wipe out all of your friendly
Marines, so it is the highest priority unit to destroy at range. Halfway
through the battle, 4 Dominion Marines will show up in a side door. Your
Crushing Grip should be off cooldown by then to make short work of them.
- Escape the Sublevel
When you get off the elevator, Nova will try to lockdown that portion of the
station. You will only have 2 minutes on Hard difficulty to get out. You should
be able to destroy most things you come across. However, when you see Zerg and
enemy Terrans fighting, wait for them to weaken each other. Then pick off the
survivors.
Once you get to a Recovery Terminal, you are safe for a few moments. Pick off a
few Zerg though and another countdown starts. When you come across an
Ultralisk, focus fire on him with Kinetic Blast instead of the debris blocking
the way. As long as he doesn't destroy the debris, he can't attack Kerrigan and
Raynor. Shortly after another Recovery Terminal, you will find another
Ultralisk with a couple Zerglings. Crushing Grip the whole group, then Kinetic
Blast the Ultralisk.
For the last part on this level of the station, you will face a decision to
release Zerglings or Gas a room. Zerglings will destroy all the enemy Terrans,
but they will also be hostile to Kerrigan. If you deploy the gas turrets, the
Marines will all die but you will have to kill the Siege Tanks and Vikings. I
personally think the Zerglings are a little easier to fight but both options
work.
- Defend Tram Engines
Now you are stuck on a tram for a few minutes, but you can't relax yet.
Dominion forces will fly in and try to destroy the tram engines. If all 6
engines are destroyed, the mission is failed. Watch the minimap often for red
dots. These will let you know when enemies are coming before they are on top of
the tram. In particular, try to Kinetic Blast the Medivacs before they get over
solid ground. If you destroy them over the air, their entire payload of units
will also be killed. Note that Crushing Grip does not affect air targets, so
only use it on Vikings that drop to the ground and units dropped by Medivacs.
- Destroy the Archangel
Once the tram section is done you have just a short way to go to fight a boss:
Archangel. It is basically an oversized Terran Viking, but he has special boss
attacks. Most of his attacks will show red targeting reticles on the ground to
let you know what parts of the ground will be hit. Try your hardest to keep
Kerrigan out of those areas. If you have to, just use Kinetic Blast and focus
on dodging the rest of the time. The battle will take longer, but Kerrigan will
be safe. If Kerrigan's life gets low, try to stay near the Recovery Terminal to
quickly pick up the Restoration Charge when it respawns.
The Archangel boss battle has a few different phases:
Gatling Gun Strafe - He will attack slowly in an arc all targets in front of
him. Stay to his right to avoid the damage. He will mostly focus on the
Marines.
Single Rockets - With this attack he will fire a single rocket every second for
about 10 seconds under Kerrigan or a friendly Umojan Marine. Just constantly
move Kerrigan whenever the red target is under her until Archangel stops
attacking.
Air Strikes - Archangel will fly in the air and then proceed to launch air
strikes on the platform. The game shows you a line where he is going to attack,
so it's pretty easy to avoid. You can't attack Archangel during this phase.
Mass Rockets - In this phase he attacks one half of the platform all at once.
Then he switches to the other half. Stay towards the middle of the platform to
have enough time to move out of range.
Air Strikes - Just after the Mass Rockets, he will do Air Strikes again. The
friendly units will probably be dead by now, so you'll have continue solo.
Rockets in a Circle - Archangel will land in the center and do some area damage
to Kerrigan if she is nearby. He then shoots rockets in a small arc directly at
Kerrigan. Just run around in a circle to avoid this attack. This is the last
phase. Archangel stays in this phase for the remainder of the battle.
After Archangel kicks the bucket, Mission Complete!
-----c. Rendezvous----- --[RNDZ]--
Background: Raynor was left behind by Valerian and Horner. It's up to Kerrigan
to return to the planet's surface and rescue him.
New Unit: Swarm Queen
New Structures: Extractor, Evolution Chamber, Creep Tumor
Difficulty: 3/10
Objectives:
- Hold Out for Reinforcements
- Destroy the Drakken Pulse Cannon
- Bonus: Rescue 3 Trapped Swarm Queens
Walkthrough:
This is a traditional Starcraft mission. You start with a small base and must
hold out for 15 minutes. At that time, you will get a bunch of reinforcements
and can pretty much roll over all Terran forces.
- Hold Out for Reinforcements
Start by building a Spawning Pool. This will allow you to build Zerglings for
defense. Constantly build Drones until the Spawning Pool is complete. Then,
build a force of 30 Zerglings and 4 Swarm Queens. Once your defensive force is
complete constantly build Drones until you have 20-24 on minerals and 3 on the
Extractor.
Once you have the minerals, build an extra Spine Crawler at each entrance to
your base. Also build one Spore Crawler near the other Spore Crawler you start
with that is next to the cliff. Kerrigan's Crushing Grip on groups in range of
Spine Crawlers is devastating. Kinetic Blast can be used on Marauders and
Vikings.
That should be enough to defend your base, but make more Zerglings and Queens
whenever you have extra minerals and vespene gas. You can build more Hatcheries
in your base too if you want to increase your Larva production. Also don't
forget about the Evolution Chamber your base starts with. You can get level 1
upgrades for all your units. If you are doing really well with minerals, build
extra Evolution Chambers to research multiple upgrades at the same time.
- Destroy the Drakken Pulse Cannon
After you get your reinforcements, it's a simple matter to complete the
mission. The bonus objectives are marked on your map. With the reinforcements
and your own Zergling and Queen army, you can tackle them in any order. Each
one awards you with more Zerglings and Queens. You might get to the max 200
supply.
Whenever you are ready, you can go after the Pulse Cannon. The only dangers to
watch for are Siege Tanks and Thors. Use Kinetic Blast as many times as you can
on the Siege Tanks. Thors aren't all that dangerous against swarms of
Zerglings, but they have a lot of health that Kinetic Blast can remove. Once
the cannon is destroyed, Mission Complete!
-----ii. Char Missions-------------------------------------------------[CHRM]--
-----a. Domination----- --[DMNT]--
Background: A rogue Queen, Zagara, refuses to submit to Kerrigan's rule.
Kerrigan must force her into submission to reclaim the brood for herself.
New Unit: Baneling
New Structure: Baneling Nest
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Hardened Carapace - keep your Zerglings alive in the field
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - almost one-shots Zagara
- Kerrigan Level 1: Chain Reaction - faster killing of Infested Terrans and
Kerrigan Levels: 7 (5 + 2 bonus)
Difficulty: 4/10
Objectives:
- Collect 100 Eggs
- Zagara Can't Collect 100 Eggs
- Destroy Zagara's Base
- Bonus: Destroy 2 Infested Command Centers (+2 Kerrigan Levels)
Walkthrough:
This mission is very similar to Human Mission 6: The Culling in Warcraft 3. It
is a tug of war style level, where both sides are after the same limited
resources on the map. Wait too long and it becomes impossible to catch up. You
have Kerrigan on your side, but they have Zagara, a hero Queen unit. Only
heroes can collect the eggs. Both sides can kill the other side's hero to slow
them down.
- Collect 100 Eggs
- Zagara Can't Collect 100 Eggs
There are deposits of eggs all over the map (white dots on the minimap). Move
Kerrigan over the eggs to collect them for your side. There are also 6 Baneling
Egg Nests, each with 6 free Banelings inside them when Kerrigan walks near
them. Zagara cannot get these, so they are one advantage over her.
You will need to make a bigger army. Your starting base has all the necessary
buildings for army production, but make about 10 Drones first. Eventually, you
want to have both gas geysers (Extractors) filled with 3 Drones each and about
20 Drones on the minerals. Zagara will be attacking around 1:00 before your
army is strong, but you will get free units to deal with this first attack.
Around 5:50 in the mission, Izsha will tell you about the bonus objective. You
will probably still be busy collecting eggs, so you can ignore the bonus until
you get the objective to destroy Zagara's base.
With a few Drones built, it is time to build a force of about 30 Zerglings, 8
Banelings, and 4 Swarm Queens. Don't worry too much what Zagara is doing early
on. You will have a slower start than her, but once you get going, you will be
collecting eggs much faster than her. You will also be able to attack Zagara
directly, killing her and giving you 1-2 minutes of free egg collecting.
Just northwest of your base is a Baneling Egg Nest. South of that point is an
expansion area with more minerals and a vespene geyser. Both of these can be
secured early on with a very small army.
If you find yourself with extra minerals, build more Drones until you get the
maximum needed or build Evolution Chambers to get upgrades for your units. Try
to have upgrades researching constantly. They take a while, but it makes a big
difference if you get them earlier in the mission. Also, try to build an extra
Hatchery, so you have the Larva to spend all the minerals you are getting.
Zagara will move out again around 3-4 minutes into the mission. It's okay to
sit back if your army isn't ready. She can get up to 50 out of 100 eggs and you
will do fine. However, once your army is complete, make a beeline to her
location and kill her. Around 6:30 she was very close to my base and my army
was ready. That's when I moved out to attack.
Use Kinetic Blast on Zagara to take out most of her life. Then finish off with
Zerglings and Banelings. Whenever you use Banelings, try to morph new ones from
your Zerglings immediately. So even after getting your full army, keep
producing more Zerglings and Queens.
- Destroy Zagara's Base
After collecting 100 eggs first, you will get a massive group of free Zerglings
and Banelings. Combined with your existing army it's enough to obliterate
Zagara's base. Complete the bonus objective if you haven't already. Otherwise,
you can go straight for her base. Use Kinetic Blast on Ultralisks, also
Mutalisks since you don't have many anti-air units. After her Hive goes down,
Mission Complete!
-----b. Fire in the Sky----- --[FRNT]--
Background: The only way to the Terran fortress is through the Bone Trench.
Reawakening the Scourge Nests from previous wars is the only way for Kerrigan
and her Swarm to fight their way through.
Unlocks Evolution: Zergling (if you haven't gotten it already)
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Hardened Carapace - reinforcements are hard to come by
- Zergling Evolution: Raptor - lots of ledges on this mission
- Baneling Mutation: Regenerative Acid - keep your Zerglings alive
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - dealing with Siege Tanks and Thors
- Kerrigan Level 1: Crushing Grip - shutdown deadly Terran unit groups
Kerrigan Levels: 3 (bonus)
Difficulty: 5/10
Objectives:
- Destroy 7 Gorgon Battlecruisers
- Awaken 7 Scourge Nests
- Bonus: Find 3 Zerg Biomasses (+3 Kerrigan Levels)
Walkthrough:
- Destroy 7 Gorgon Battlecruisers
- Awaken 7 Scourge Nests
It's all about spreading creep on this mission. The Gorgon Battlecruisers
cannot be attacked by your units at all. Even your Queens and Kerrigan with
their air attacks can't attack these special units. The only way to destroy
them is by awakening the Scourge Nests, and the only way to awaken Scourge
Nests is by spreading creep within two tiles of the nest.
Gorgon Battlecruisers will spawn on the far right of the map as soon as the
last one is destroyed. The key thing to know for this map is that only one
Gorgon will spawn at a time and the next one only spawns after the current
Gorgon is dealt with. This means awakening the Scourge Nests at the last
possible moment gives you a lot more time then awakening them as soon as you
can. You will be able to build up your base and army more this way. It makes
the mission a lot easier.
The first Scourge Nest is within the distance of your Creep Tumor, but don't
use it yet. Wait until the Gorgon is very close to your base. In the meantime
build up your base and army. Make 10 Drones initially for minerals. Then get
around 20 more Zerglings and 2 Queens for defense. After that, just focus on
economy. Get 20 Drones on minerals, build Extractors and fill them with 3
Drones each. Make another Hatchery for increased Larva production. Lastly, make
a couple Evolution Chambers to upgrade your melee ground attacks and ground
armor.
When you absolutely have to, spread the Creep Tumor to Scourge Nest #1.
Ultimately, you want to have 30 Zerglings, 8 Banelings, 4 Queens, and Kerrigan
for your army. Scourge Nest #2 is just east of your base. There is a small
group of enemy units down the ramp. Kill them and spread the creep to that
area. Zerg Biomass #1 is here too just a few feet east. Then, move up the ramp
to kill a few Marines next to the dead Scourge Nest. Again, wait until the
Gorgon is close to spread the last bit of creep to the nest.
If you lost any units in the last few skirmishes, refill your army to 30
Zerglings, 8 Banelings, and 4 Queens. On the way to the next Scourge Nest is a
Bunker, then a group of enemies. The scariest unit here is the Siege Tank. Use
Kerrigan's Kinetic Blast on it to destroy it ASAP. Then try to focus your
ranged attacks on the Ghost and Medics. Marines and Marauders are the lowest
priority. You will have a minute or two until you have to spread the last bit
of creep to Scourge Nest #3.
As you go further from your base, it becomes harder to move your army back and
defend. Build 3 Spine Crawlers and 2 Spore Crawlers near your Hatcheries for
initial defense. That should give you enough time to move your army back to
base. An alternative is to build a defending army of 20 Zerglings. With Spine
Crawler support, it should be enough to take out most enemy forces.
Refill your army and move towards the next Scourge Nest, #4. Along the way you
will have to fight your way through 6 Vikings and a Bunker. Further, you will
face a Thor (Kinetic Blast) with Science Vessel and Marines. Remember to spread
creep behind your army to keep up with the Gorgon.
Immediately after that, two Scourge Nests will appear. This far to the east,
the Gorgon is very close to your army, but you can keep them north or south of
its path to avoid any damage. The easiest Scourge Nest is just south of your
location, which I call Scourge Next #5.
Siege Tanks, Ghosts, and Marines in Bunkers guard it. Use Kinetic Blast on the
tanks and Crushing Grip on the Ghosts. If you move carefully, you can engage
each group by itself. Finally, right next to the Scourge Nest are a bunch of
Marines, Banshees, and Vikings. They should go down easily though with how big
your army is now.
Around this time, a Raven with some air support will try to destroy your Creep
Tumors. Just watch and take it out as soon as you can. Have your Queens
immediately rebuild any tumors that are lost. Once it is dead, continue south
to Scourge Next #6.
There is still a Scourge Nest up north, but the one to the south is closer. As
you move watch out for a Terran base near here. You will lose a lot of units if
you attack it, so try to avoid letting your Zerglings run in to kill Marines.
Near Scourge Nest #6 is a Thor, Ghost, and multiple Vikings, but they should go
down easily. Keep your army near this area but move Kerrigan individually to
the east near a bunch of dead Zerg bones to pick up Zerg Biomass #2.
It's time to get to the last Scourge Nest, #7, and Zerg Biomass, #3. Go as far
northeast as you can without going down a ramp. A force consisting of two Siege
Tanks and two Bunkers is guarding Zerg Biomass #3. Earlier in this mission that
would be tough to get through, not now. Rebuild some units if you have to. Then
go down the ramp taking out a Thor and a few Firebats. Just finish spreading
your creep and you are done with another mission!
-----c. Old Soldiers----- --[LDSL]--
Background: The Terrans have made their last stand in General Warfield's
fortress. It is time for Kerrigan to wipe them out.
New Unit: Aberration
Unlocks Evolution: Baneling
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Adrenal Overload - for the first strike objective
- Zergling: Raptor - for the first strike objective
- Baneling Mutation: Rupture - for the first strike objective
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - Snipe Siege Tanks, Thors, Science Vessels,
and Ghosts
- Kerrigan Level 1: Crushing Grip - Disable Firebats and Hellbats to protect
Zerglings
- Kerrigan Level 10: Zergling Reconstitution - Most of your army is Zerglings
Kerrigan Levels: 2 (bonus)
Difficulty: 3/10
Objectives:
- Destroy Forces Before the Nuclear Strike
- Breach the Tactical Operations Center
- Bonus: Destroy 2 Science Facilities (+2 Kerrigan Levels)
Walkthrough:
You get some breathing room in this mission. There are no time limits really,
so you can build up as much as you want before attacking. The only thing to
worry about are nuclear strikes on your army. Warfield always targets your army
except occasionally he will target the front of your base. Try to build
everything near the minerals, so they won't be destroyed by nuclear missiles.
- Destroy Forces Before the Nuclear Strike
You start out with a massive force of Zerglings and Banelings. Put the
Banelings at the front of the army and have them destroy the entrance doors to
Warfield's base. Then send in all units (hotkey F2) inside his base. Zagara
will be sending you constant reinforcements, so keep hitting F2 to get them all
in the fight. Once the first area is cleared, go southeast to take out a small
force. Then go northwest past the doors you blew open to a fairly large Terran
force. You will lose most of your army here, but the nukes will be going off,
and all those units (except Kerrigan) will be dying anyways.
- Breach the Tactical Operations Center
You get 2 Hatcheries from the beginning here to build up your army fast. As
always, start with 10 Drones before building Zerglings. The ideal army will
have 30 Zerglings, 10 Aberrations, 10 Banelings, 6 Queens, and Kerrigan. It may
take a while for you to get to this point, but that's fine because you have as
much time as you want.
To fully complete your base, you will want to build two more Extractors over
the gas geysers, three Evolution Chambers to get fast upgrades, a Baneling
Nest, three Spore Crawlers near the northeast lava in your base, and three
Spine Crawlers really close to the Hatcheries. Do not build any Spine Crawlers
at the entrance of your base as they will just be destroyed by nukes.
Eventually, you will want 30 Drones on minerals and 9 Drones on the three
Extractors. This powerful economy will greatly speed up your production rate.
Once your army is ready, go to the enemy base in the northeast where your army
was killed before. Your new army is much stronger and will have no trouble with
it. Zagara will give you 3 Drones to expand to this base. Continue with your
army to the northeast to find Science Facility #1.
Now move your army back to base. Refill your army, then move down the southeast
path to Science Facility #2. There are some Bunkers and Siege Tanks to fight
through, but they shouldn't be too tough for your army.
It's time to take out the big base far to the northeast guarding Warfield
himself, but your army is too small. You will need 60 Zerglings, 20 Banelings,
20 Aberrations, 10 Queens, and Kerrigan to survive this battle. Remember it's
okay if you lose your army and even Kerrigan. Kerrigan can respawn at your main
Hatchery, and your army can quickly be rebuilt with your good economy and 3-4
Hatcheries. You only need to destroy the Tactical Operations Center. Once it's
gone, Mission Complete!
-----iii. Kaldir Missions----------------------------------------------[KLDR]--
-----a. Harvest of Screams----- --[HRVS]--
Background: Kerrigan needs to grow her army if she is to fight Mengsk. A frozen
Zerg brood has a few useful Zerg strains she needs.
New Unit: Roach
New Structure: Roach Warren
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Adrenal Overload - when the enemies are frozen, faster
attack speed goes a long ways.
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - knocking down Colossi and air units.
- Kerrigan Level 1: Crushing Grip - shutting down Stalkers
Difficulty: 3/10
Objectives:
- Collect Ursadon Matriarch Essence
- Destroy Psi-link Spires
- Bonus: Kill the 2 Ursadon Matriarchs (+2 Kerrigan Levels)
Kerrigan Levels: 7 (5 + 2 bonus)
Walkthrough:
- Collect Ursadon Matriarch Essence
For the first part of this mission, you just have one path to follow. You start
with 4 Zerglings and Kerrigan. The Zerglings will die fast, but you will get 4
Roaches along the way. This part is a cakewalk. Just follow the path and kill
everything that gets in the way.
- Destroy Psi-link Spires
Your base already has the buildings necessary to make an army, but build 10
Drones first. The Protoss will attack early but will become frozen. You can
take them out easily with your starting army. Once the attack is over focus on
building your base and army. For base defense, build one more Spine Crawler.
Then, build 3 Evolution Chambers for upgrades and an extra Hatchery for Larva
production. Initially, only use your army for defense. Good numbers for this
are 20 Zerglings, 10 Roaches, and 4 Queens.
You have all the time in the world for this mission, so don't worry about
attacking when Flash Freezes are not happening. Your small defensive army can
do a lot of damage when the Protoss are frozen. Just make sure to move the army
back to base around 20 seconds before the freeze is over. To actually go toe to
toe with the Protoss without Flash Freezes, you need a bigger army.
Aim for 60 Zerglings, 30 Roaches, and 8 Queens. Along with Kerrigan you will be
able to fight all Protoss forces. There are three Protoss bases on the map
corresponding with the three Psi-links. One small one northeast you might be
able to take out early during a Flash Freeze. It has extra minerals and gas.
Another Protoss base is to the far northwest with Archons and Scouts. Finally,
the biggest Protoss base has Colossi and Archons. For this base, I would
suggest waiting for a Flash Freeze, but the other bases you can do without one
with the above army size.
During Flash Freezes your base will sometimes be attacked by the native
animals, but a couple Spine Crawlers is enough to deal with them. These animals
will also attack the Protoss during this time. The animals are neutral enemies
and can sometimes kill a few of the Protoss too.
You can do the bonus objective, Ursadon Matriarchs, whenever you want. A few of
the native animals will guard each one, but they are nothing compared to the
Protoss. A good time is during Flash Freezes when the Protoss can't attack your
base. Just don't forget to get them both before destroying the last Psi-link.
That happened to me the first time I did the mission. Mission Complete!
-----b. Shoot the Messenger----- --[SHTT]--
Background: Kerrigan must stop the Protoss from warning their allies on
Shakuras of the new Zerg threat.
New Unit: Hydralisk
New Structure: Hydralisk Den
Unlocks Evolution: Zergling (if you haven't gotten it already)
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Hardened Carapace - keep your Zerglings alive so more
minerals can go to Hydralisks and Roaches.
- Roach Mutation: Hydriodic Bile - Zealots are a common foe on this mission.
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - does a lot of damage to each shuttle.
- Kerrigan Level 1: Chain Shot - Crushing Grip doesn't work on air units.
- Kerrigan Level 10: Zergling Reconstitution - most of your army is Zerglings
Difficulty: 6/10
Objectives:
- Destroy All 8 Protoss Shuttle Waves
- No Shuttles Can Escape
- Bonus: Destroy the 3 Stasis Chambers (+3 Kerrigan Levels)
Kerrigan Levels: 3 (bonus)
Walkthrough:
In this mission you are pressed hard to destroy all shuttles. That is, the
first time you play and don't know where all the shuttles go and how many units
you need, it can be a very tough mission. Once you know what's going to happen,
it's quite a bit easier.
Wave #1: Shuttle with no supporting units
This wave is just the shuttle by itself. Build 4 more Hydralisks to go with
your starting 3 for a total of 7 Hydralisks. Position them near the conduit.
Also there is a Spore Crawler uprooted that you should move and root near the
conduit.
Once that is over with, take some time to build up your base. Try to get 24
Drones on minerals and 3 Drones each on gas. Build a Roach Warren so you can
get some good ground attackers. Build more Evolution Chambers to get upgrades
faster. An extra Hatchery is also nice once your Drones are maxed out.
In between the shuttle waves try to move around the map a little bit to explore
and clear out small Protoss guards hanging about. Eventually the bonus
objective will appear. The later shuttle waves have less time in between them,
so it becomes harder to complete the bonus the later in the mission you do it.
Wave #2: 1 Shuttle with 3 Scouts
The waves are still fairly easy. About 10 Hydralisks plus Kerrigan will do fine
here. Try to build Queens too. They can spread creep which will speed up your
units' movement around the map. This aids in both defense and offense.
To the east of your base are just a few small Protoss groups. Pick up Stasis
Chamber #1 on a small, raised ledge over here. It's very close and only has an
Archon and 2 Stalkers guarding it. A small expansion area is protected by
another small group of Protoss. You should expand there for the gas geysers.
Your production of Hydralisks and Roaches is limited by vespene gas more than
minerals.
At this point, you have a bit of freedom to build up. Try for 30 Hydralisks, 15
Roaches, 20 Zerglings, and 6 Queens. The Zerglings will mostly be cannon
fodder, but they are pretty cheap. Roaches will be needed later on mostly, and
of course you need a bunch of Hydralisks to destroy shuttles.
Wave #3: 1 Shuttle with 1 Scouts, 2 Void Rays
Just position your army in front of the conduit to easily destroy the shuttle.
Once it is down you can finish off any Protoss to the east because the next
wave will be going to the far southeast conduit.
Wave #4: 1 Shuttle with 1 Carrier, 2 Void Rays
About 15 Hydralisks will be enough for this. Once destroyed, this is a good
time to go for Stasis Chamber #2 far to the northeast. Just watch out for the
High Templar guarding it. Also, the Protoss will start attacking your base
directly, so try to build some Spine Crawlers at the entrances for defense. You
can also build some Roaches for defense only.
Wave #5: 2 Shuttles each with 1 Carrier, 2 Void Rays
The hard part about this one is that each Shuttle is going to a different
conduit. You don't have time to move your main army to both locations. Try to
root all your Spore Crawlers at one location with about 5 Hydralisks. Focus
fire the Shuttle. With the rest of your Hydralisks, take out the other Shuttle.
Once you finish this wave, build up your army just a little bit and move out to
get Stasis Chamber #3 to the northwest of your base. There is a medium-sized
Protoss base guarding it, but you don't want to fight that whole base. You just
want the bonus objective. You will lose too many units taking on the base. Just
focus on destroying the Stasis Chamber. Then evacuate and forget about lost
units.
While you are doing this, you should be building up more units. I was around
150 supply at this point with the units I listed above (Hydralisks, Roaches,
Zerglings, Queens). You will need increasingly bigger armies to deal with the
last 3 waves.
Wave #6: 2 Shuttles
Western Shuttle with 1 Carrier, 3 Void Rays
Eastern Shuttle with 1 Carrier, 3 Scouts
There is a point where the Shuttles cross paths. This is the best spot to
position your army. You can pick off the Shuttles one by one. You should try to
build some Hydralisks while out in the field and rally them to the conduits in
case your army is destroyed.
If you haven't already, finish destroying the Stasis Chambers. There isn't much
time left in the mission. The waves are getting closer together at this point,
so you don't have large windows to move around the map.
Wave #7: 2 Shuttles each with 2 Void rays, 2 Scouts, 1 Colossus
These Shuttles again are going to different locations, but the Colossus
prevents you from just sending a few Hydralisks. The best option is to split
your army in two. The army with Kerrigan should pursue the Shuttle going to the
far southeast. With 10 Hydralisks and 10 Roaches, Kerrigan's army will do fine.
The other army should consist of the rest of your forces, which means it is the
bigger of the two. This is because Kerrigan's Kinetic Blast is so good, the
Shuttle will only be at half health.
Wave #8: 3 Shuttles
Western Shuttle with 1 Void Ray, 2 Colossus
Middle Shuttle with 1 Mothership, 2 Scouts
Eastern Shuttle with 1 Carrier, 2 Scouts
The next wave is big and they are all going to the same conduit. Move all your
Spore Crawlers near the middle conduit. Spore Crawlers numbering 6-8 should be
enough. Then move your army there too. Have Kerrigan and all the Hydralisks
slaughter the Mothership ASAP. Then once everything is uncloaked, focus fire on
the Shuttles. With Spore Crawler support the Shuttles should go down.
An alternative strategy for this last wave is to take out the Shuttle groups
individually. This is only possible if you have cleared the southern half of
the map of Protoss forces and have a large enough army (180/200 supply is
good).
Tackle the western Shuttle first. It will get to the middle earlier than the
Mothership, giving you a chance to pick it off before being cloaked. Then head
east and snipe the eastern Shuttle. Finally, you have to deal with the
Mothership and middle Shuttle. It may get past your forces, so be prepared with
Spore Crawlers at the conduit. An injured Shuttle with no reinforcements will
go down fast to them. It was a long mission, but finally Mission Complete!
-----c. Enemy Within----- --[NMWT]--
Background: One ship secretly escaped Kerrigan's grasp. Starting with a lowly
Larva, you must destroy all Protoss life forms aboard the Protoss ship.
Heroes: Larva, Niadra
Unlocks Evolution: Roach
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Hardened Carapace - so they survive longer with your
limited numbers
- Zergling Evolution: Swarmling - more bang for your supply buck
- Roach Mutation: Hydriodic Bile - take out Zealots much faster
- Hydralisk Mutation: Frenzy - the burst damage is great with all the small
battles on this map
Difficulty: 4/10
Objectives:
- Gain 100 Biomass
- Find a Safe Place
- Grow into a Broodmother
- Destroy the Warp Drive
- Escape the Stasis Quadrant
- Destroy the 5 Escape Pods
- Kill the 128 Protoss
- Niadra Must Survive
- Bonus: Infest the Giant Ursadon (+1 Kerrigan Level)
Kerrigan Levels: 1 (bonus)
Walkthrough:
This mission features a new hero unit, Niadra. Well she starts as a lowly
Larva, but soon she becomes a powerful Queen. There is no base to manage here,
so it ends up being an easier mission.
- Gain 100 Biomass
- Find a Safe Place
- Grow into a Broodmother
Just follow the directions they give for these objectives. The beginning is
just a tutorial.
- Kill 128 Protoss
- Niadra Must Survive
These are the ongoing objectives for the rest of the mission. In order to do
that you need an army. Niadra is a special hero unit that can hatch her own
army like a Hatchery would. She starts out only being able to spawn Zerglings,
but she has two level-ups. Whenever she gets 150 Biomass, she can level-up. The
first level-up lets her spawn Roaches. The second level-up adds Hydralisks.
Each level-up also increases your Supply, so you can summon more units.
Here are my recommended units for each of Niadra's levels:
Niadra Level 1 - Well, your only choice is Zerglings. Make 6 Zerglings, which
becomes 12 after they hatch (or 18 if you have Swarmlings). (10 supply)
Niadra Level 2 - 8 Zerglings, 5 Roaches (18 supply)
Niadra Level 3 - 10 Zerglings, 6 Roaches, 6 Hydralisks (35 supply)
This mission is linear; there is only one way to go. The next room has a lot of
creatures for Biomass. As soon as you start consuming them, a Zealot and Sentry
will attack. Your Zerglings will make short work of them. Further in the room
you will face 2 more Zealots.
The next room has 2 Stalkers, 1 Sentry, and a Probe. Be careful about the
Probe. It will start warping in Photon Cannons. They can really decimate your
force if you don't attack fast enough. After this battle, you should have 85
Biomass saved up. You will only have one path that Niadra can't fit through, so
just send the Zerglings. The next room has 1 Zealot, 1 Sentry and a Psi
Broadcaster. Destroy it to open the way for Niadra.
- Destroy the Warp Drive
Regroup your army and continue northeast to find some more Protoss units and
creatures with Biomass. That's 120 Biomass, almost ready for Niadra to grow
stronger. Only the Zerglings can fit through the small path to destroy the Warp
Drive, but they should do fine. The room with the Warp Gate has a Photon Cannon
with 2 Sentries supporting it. Destroy the Psi Broadcaster to allow Niadra to
enter the room. Only she can destroy the Warp Drive because of her ranged
attack.
- Escape the Stasis Quadrant
Now the Protoss will try to seal you in the Warp Drive area. You only have 1:10
to escape. Go towards the marker on your minimap. You will face one group with
an Archon and Stalker. Another group has 3 Zealots and 2 Sentries. Have Niadra
constantly rebuild Zerglings as soon as she can. Unlike Kerrigan, Niadra is
fairly weak when solo.
After escaping, the next room has 4 Zealots and more creatures with Biomass.
This will bring up Niadra's Biomass to 155, enough to level-up. Your supply
goes up to 18, which is enough for 8 Zerglings and 6 Roaches.
The next room has quite a few Protoss units but they are in stasis. You will
only have to face 3 units at a time. The first two groups have 2 Zealots and 1
Sentry. The third group has 3 Zealots, but the last group has 2 Zealots and a
High Templar. Watch out for the High Templar's Psionic Storm. It can devastate
your Zerglings. Remember to have Niadra remaking units as soon as they die.
The Protoss now understand how Niadra is getting stronger. Any Protoss left
alone will start attacking the creatures to prevent Niadra from getting the
Biomass. Have your army attack the Protoss units, but have Niadra on her own
consuming the creatures. The Protoss come out of stasis slow enough you have
enough time to consume everything.
The next room is much the same as the last but has stronger Protoss units. The
first group out of stasis has an Archon and 2 Stalkers. Archons can do a lot of
damage to Zerglings. Focus fire it with your Roaches while your Zerglings
attack the Stalkers. The second group has an Immortal with two Stalkers. The
Zerglings are best against the Immortal while Roaches should fight the
Stalkers. The third group has a Stalker, Sentry, and Zealot. It should be very
easy by now. The last group is a bigger one with 4 Zealots and 2 Sentries, but
it should still be easy with your 6 Roaches and Zerglings as cannon fodder.
After that room you are at 150 Biomass if you didn't skip any creatures, enough
for another level-up for Niadra. This time you get access to Hydralisks and 35
supply. That's enough supply for 10 Zerglings, 6 Roaches, and 6 Hydralisks. The
bigger army will be needed very soon.
The next room has 4 Zealots and a Stalker that ignore your army and go straight
for the creatures. If you missed some Biomass early (or the Protoss destroyed
it), you only have this last room to gain Biomass. Killing all the regular
creatures will give you 55 Biomass. Niadra's Parasitic Invasion is instant and
has no cooldown, so be quick.
The biggest creature in this room is the Giant Ursadon, the bonus objective. It
should be your first target. Once you get it, you can consume it for 75 Biomass
if you really need it, or just use it as a powerful tank. Hopefully, you got
enough Biomass to fully grow Niadra already. Destroy another Psi-Broadcaster to
enter the last room.
- Destroy the 5 Escape Pods
You enter fairly large room with 5 Escape Pods. The Protoss ship is crippled,
but they still might get the word out if allowed to escape. You have about 2
minutes to destroy all the Escape Pods. It is critical that you rebuild units
as soon as they die. You really don't have time to sit around between battles.
The enemy army guarding the first Escape Pod is pretty massive compared to what
you've been facing before. An Immortal, Archon, 3 Stalkers, 8 Zealots, and 3
Sentries with a Photon Cannon are guarding the way. Most of your Zerglings will
die, so be watchful to remake them.
The second Escape Pod only has 2 Zealots and 2 Sentries. The Sentries will
spawn Hallucinations, which are fake units that look like real ones. Try to
have your army ignore those units and go after the real ones. The third escape
pod has an Immortal and 3 Zealots. They may attack you while you are still at
the second Escape Pod. Sentries will block a ramp, so go northeast to the
fourth escape pod. It just has 5 Stalkers.
Another large army guards the fifth escape pod consisting of numerous Archons,
Sentries, and Zealots. After that escape pod is down, there are just a few
Protoss stragglers to mop up. You have as much time as you want to rebuild your
units, but there should only be an Immortal, Sentry, High Templar, and Photon
Cannon left. Once they are gone, Mission Complete!
-----iv. Zerus Missions------------------------------------------------[ZRSM]--
-----a. Waking the Ancient----- --[WKNG]--
Background: An ancient primal Zerg resides on Zerus' surface, old enough to
have memories of the Overmind's original birth. Kerrigan must awaken it to find
out how to tap the primal Zerg power.
New Unit: Mutalisk
New Structure: Spire
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Hardened Carapace - cannon fodder that lasts longer
- Zergling Evolution: Swarmling - lots of cannon fodder while your Mutalisks do
killing
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - deal with high health primal Zerg
- Kerrigan Level 1: Chain Reaction - primal Zerg forces lots of weak units
- Kerrigan Level 10: Improved Overlords - Mutalisks need a lot of supply
- Kerrigan Level 20: Wild Mutation - burst damage for the small battles on this
map.
Difficulty: 5/10
Objectives:
- Feed 7 Quillgor Biomass to the Ancient One
- Brakk Can't Destroy 7 Quillgor Biomass
- Kill Brakk
- Bonus: Absorb 3 Primal Essences (+3 Kerrigan Levels)
Kerrigan Levels: 3 (bonus)
Walkthrough:
This is another tug of war mission. There are limited resources on the map that
you need, but the enemies are destroying them. You have to be fast to both
secure your own while slowing down them down.
- Feed 7 Quillgor Biomass to the Ancient One
- Brakk Can't Destroy 7 Quillgor Biomass
These are the ongoing objectives. To get your 7 Biomass you will need an army.
Since Mutalisks use so much vespene gas, it's best to pair them with mineral-
only costing Zerglings. Your Mutalisks will be your real army with Zerglings
just for cannon fodder. Get the air unit upgrades from the Spire as soon as
possible, but you can ignore the ground unit upgrades.
Your base already starts with the necessary buildings to build Mutalisks and
Zerglings. Try to fill up the vespene geysers as soon as you can, so you can
get Mutalisks producing fast. An initial army of 10 Mutalisks and 20 Zerglings
is good. Note that there is an expansion area just south of your main base.
It's guarded by Quillgor, so it's a good target for your second Biomass. When
you have the minerals, build a Hatchery here for the vespene geysers. You will
be getting enough minerals just from your main base.
For base defense build a couple Spine Crawlers at each entrance. About 6 Queens
will also do well. The Queens can heal your army when they are back in base,
but you don't need the Queens in the field. They are pretty slow moving
compared to Mutalisks and Zerglings.
About 1 minute in, Kerrigan will show you the closest Biomass. Your Drone won't
be attacked this time because it's still early. Around 5:30, Brakk will appear
with his primal Zerg and start slaughtering Quillgor to the south. There aren't
many enemy units in the way, so you should be able to defend it. Brakk's next
attack will be in the northeast, but your army may not be strong enough yet. If
you have 20 Mutalisks and 30 Zerglings, you should be fine.
I'm not sure but Brakk's attacks may be randomized, so I won't give specifics
on where and when he attacks after this point. Early on it will feel as if you
can't defend everything while still collecting Biomass. Just focus on defending
the Quillgor carcasses until you are handily defeating every force Brakk sends
your way. That will probably be when you have level 2 weapon and armor upgrades
for your Mutalisks and two bases harvesting vespene.
- Bonus: Absorb 3 Primal Essences
You can do this at any time before getting the 7 Quillgor Biomasses, but some
of them are guarded by quite a few primal Zerg forces. As long as you kill all
Brakk's armies that try to slaughter Quillgor, you have as much time as you
want to complete this objective. About halfway through the mission, your army
should be large enough to tackle anything Brakk throws at you. Just have your
army on stand by to kill whatever enemies appear.
Primal Essence #1 is just southeast of the big creature you are feeding Biomass
to. It is guarding by a small group of primal Zerglings. Your starting army can
get this one easily. Primal Essence #2 is at the far southwest corner of the
map. It's guarded by more powerful primal Zerg like Roaches, Hydralisks,
Ultralisks, and Mutalisks.
Primal Essence #3 is the hardest one. It's in the far northeast corner of the
map, but there are three groups of primal Zerg in between you and the essence.
You will want a near max army to take this one. A good time is just after your
have your sixth Quillgor carcass. You will only need one Quillgor, so you can
ignore Brakk's attacks until there is just one Quillgor left.
- Kill Brakk
Finally, in anger at Kerrigan's successful feeding of the Ancient One, Brakk
charges your base. He will attack your southern expansion base. By now this
shouldn't be an issue. You should have 30 Mutalisks and 40 Zerglings at this
point. You can even position all your Spine Crawlers near this base with your
Queens joining in for healing. Either way the mission is complete!
-----b. The Crucible----- --[THCR]--
Background: Kerrigan travels to the birthplace of the Overmind to fuse her Zerg
DNA with the pure DNA of the first Zerg, the primals. Until the transformation
is complete, she must rely on her Swarm and Zagara's leadership to protect her.
New Unit: Swarm Host
New Structure: Infestation Pit
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Hardened Carapace - helps a lot with the bonus objective
- Zergling Evolution: Raptor - able to jump over spine crawlers
- Baneling Mutation: Rupture - wreak havoc on enemy units in choke points
- Baneling Evolution: Hunter - able to jump over spine crawlers
- Hydralisk Mutation: Grooved Spines - makes killing air units much easier
- Kerrigan Level 10: Zergling Reconstitution - more cannon fodder is always
nice
- Kerrigan Level 20: Improved Overlords - save minerals and time on Larva
Difficulty: 8/10
Objectives:
- Proceed to the Mysterious Pool
- Kerrigan Must Survive
- Kerrigan's Chrysalis Must Survive
- Bonus: Slay Tyrannozor (+1 Kerrigan Level)
Kerrigan Levels: 11 (10 + 1 bonus)
Walkthrough:
I found this to be the toughest mission in the game. Most missions start out
somewhat difficult in the beginning but get easier over time once your army
hits critical mass. However, you can never really get critical mass in this
mission and are forced to split your army into three groups.
- Proceed to the Mysterious Pool
- Kerrigan Must Survive
This objective is easy enough. Just follow the directions killing a few primal
Zerg on the way. It's very hard for Kerrigan die here. The real fun starts with
the next objective.
- Kerrigan's Chrysalis Must Survive
Just one essential objective for this mission, but it's a hard one. You must
defend the Chrysalis for 25:00 minutes. I noticed that even though Kerrigan is
occupied by the transformation, passive powers like Improved Overloads still
give your base a bonus. I picked Zergling Reconstitution and Improved
Overlords.
Your base gets attacked from two sides to start with and then later, three
sides. Each entrance to your base needs to have formidable defenses to hold off
the primal Zerg. Initially, only one entrance will be attacked at a time, but
pretty soon you will have attacks coming from two entrances and then three
entrances.
The best army composition I found is 4 Spine Crawlers and 2 Spore Crawlers
backed up with 6 Swarm Hosts, 6 Hydralisks, and 2 Queens at each entrance. The
Spine Crawlers should be at the front blocking off most of the path. They will
be killed but are cheap to rebuild. Swarm Hosts do a great job providing cannon
fodder while the Spine Crawlers do the real damage. Hydralisks with the longer
range mutation (Grooved Spines) can pick off enemies from the back. They also
are needed to defend against Mutalisks and Guardians that the enemies send your
way.
Additionally about 48 Zerglings and a few Banelings are good as a mobile
defensive force. Their main purpose is to simply block enemies from getting to
the Spine Crawlers or Swarm Hosts. This army is also great for getting the
bonus objective. It's just barely enough to destroy the Tyrannozor. Most of
those Zerglings won't be coming back, so make new ones as soon as you send
those Zerglings down. Be careful that the Zerglings don't get caught up
fighting other enemies. The long line of enemy units fighting each other down
south has holes in it from time to time that you can send your Zerglings
through.
Now, some enemy air units will go straight for the Chrysalis and bypass your
choke points. Make sure to build some Spore Crawlers on the creep around the
Chrysalis. They will give you enough time to move the nearest untasked
Hydralisks for support. Also, don't forget about the Spawn Locusts ability.
Abathur will tell you about it with around 15 minutes left on the clock. Use it
whenever your base is being attacked. It has a short cooldown, so there's no
reason to hold off (unless there are no attacks at the time).
All this is obviously the ideal situation, but in the middle of the game it can
be hard to keep track of what units you need to build to replenish each choke
point as well as work on the bonus objective. In the final minutes just send
all new units to the Chrysalis as your entrances are likely to be overrun.
Note that there is an expansion area to the east of your main base, but I found
it pretty hard to defend. It's a wider open area without any choke points to
force enemies through. That side of your base constantly needs reinforcements
after each attack. It ends up being another thing to worry about, but the main
base has enough resources for the whole mission.
Don't worry if you have to retry this mission a few times. I think it's the
hardest in the game. It took me one retry and it was still a sloppy win. Only
after several times did I master it and not have much trouble.
-----c. Supreme----- --[SPRM]--
Background: With Kerrigan's new power, she can now absorb essences of primal
Zerg. Only by killing the pack leaders will the primal Zerg accept her as their
new pack leader and be fully incorporated into the Swarm.
Unlocks Evolution: Hydralisk
Difficulty: 4/10
Objectives:
- Slay the 3 Primal Pack Leaders
- Kill Zurvan
- Kerrigan Must Survive
- Bonus: Find 4 Zel'Naga Relics (+4 Kerrigan Levels)
Kerrigan Levels: 9 (5 + 4 bonus)
Walkthrough:
Compared to the last mission, this one is a cinch. Whereas the last mission
stressed your ability to macro well, this mission is focused on micro. The
first bit of the mission is a tutorial on Kerrigan's new abilities. You will
also find Xel'Naga Relic #1 on the way. You will come across some rival primal
Zerg fighting each other. Help out Dehaka's minions to gain them as free units.
One major change with this new Kerrigan is her energy pool. Instead of 200, it
is only 100. However, she now has a much higher energy regeneration rate. From
what I can tell, it is about double the original rate. This means Kerrigan
takes a little more micro now. You can't save up energy for a while, then spend
a bunch at once. You need to be constantly spending it every 5-10 seconds to
get the most out of it.
- Kerrigan Must Survive
Without having a base to revive at, the mission is over if Kerrigan dies. That
shouldn't be a problem though. You get free units to help Kerrigan. They should
be taking most of the hits.
Before getting into the primary objectives, it's a good idea to know when to
use each of Kerrigan's abilities and how to fight each enemy unit.
Kerrigan's New Powers
Leaping Strike - This is best used on the high health targets like primal
Ultralisks and bosses. It is also a great escape tool; you can target the power
on the ground.
Psionic Shift - This dash will one-shot primal Zerglings and do good damage to
Hydralisks. Try to position Kerrigan so she will hit all the enemies in a line.
It can also be used as an escape tool if lots of enemies are in the way.
Mend - Kerrigan is pretty much invincible with this power. It refills about 25%
of her life and even more for her primal Zerg. Use it when 3 or more Zerg are
at yellow or orange health, or 1 Zerg is at red health.
- Pack Leader #1: Yagra
After getting the 4 primal Roaches, continue on the path to face a primal
Ultralisk. It should be easy; your small force outnumbers it by a lot. The next
area has some shallow water with an Ultralisk and 3 Hydralisks. If you want to
preserve your units, send Kerrigan in first. As long as you use Mend on
cooldown, her health will stay high enough. In the northwest of this shallow
water area is Xel'Naga Relic #2. Use Leaping Strike to get up the ledge. Then
dash through the enemies with Psionic Shift.
The way to the pack leader is southeast. You will face a mass group of
Zerglings. A couple Psionic Shifts will deal with them. Then another group with
4 Hydralisks and an Ultralisk has to be dealt with. Leaping Strike the
Ultralisk and Psionic Shift the Hydralisks for easy kills. After getting your
Roach reinforcements, it is time for the first boss fight.
Yagra is a fire breathing worm-like primal Zerg. He will come out of the ground
and spit fire randomly in an arc. You will need to move your units around a lot
to avoid this. Once he tucks back under ground a bunch of eggs will be left
behind. The big ones always contain Ultralisks so target them first. The little
ones will die in one shot to Psionic Shift. Yagra's only other attack is a long
line of lava. He shoots it straight out then moves slowly in an arc.
The hardest part of this fight is killing the eggs. If you don't do it fast
enough, they can start to overwhelm your little army. However, Kerrigan can
solo the boss if she has to. Just pay attention and Mend when you can.
- Pack Leader #2: Kraith
After your successful battle, you can move on to the next pack leader.
Immediately, you will gain 4 primal Hydralisks. You will need them in the next
area because it is a full of hundreds of eggs. Like the Yagra boss fight, focus
fire the big ones while Kerrigan uses Psionic Shift on as many little ones as
she can. There are four groups of these eggs. As long as no Ultralisks are able
to spawn, you should do fine.
The next area has a narrow area with lava on the northern part and a Xel'Naga
Relic in the middle. Before you can get it, you must fight two groups of primal
Zerg. Click on Psionic Shift and wait for all the primal Zerglings to be in a
line. Then you can start each little battle with just a few injured Hydralisks
and Roaches remaining.
Xel'Naga Relic #3 is for the taking. It is protected by four large eggs. Use
Leaping Strike on one of them. Focus fire the other two. With luck you will
only have to fight one Ultralisk. Burrow any units that become injured to keep
them alive.
Lastly, you will have to fight two fairly large waves near a ramp. After a
Psionic Shift only a few Hydralisks, Roaches, and Ultralisks will be left. As
long as you burrow injured units and Mend Kerrigan, the enemies will be down
before your units.
Up the ramp you will face another ambush. It looks like just Zerglings and
Hydralisks, but two Ultralisks are hiding in the foliage. It's okay if you lose
a few units here. You will get reinforcements in the next area. Time for the
second boss.
Kraith is a big bull creature. His first attack is launching an arc of razor
spines. He will rotate in a circle to try to hit your army. Just move in a
circle as he moves to avoid it. His second attack has two parts. He will try to
charge one of your units. It does fairly high damage. Even if you dodge it
though, he still hits the wall and a bunch of Zerglings will fall on top of
your units. Kerrigan can easily escape this but not her units. Psionic Shift
will clear a lot of Zergling, but sometimes a few Zerglings will trip up your
army setting them up to be hit by a charge.
- Pack Leader #3: Slivan
Continue on the path towards the next pack leader. More free units, an Ultalisk
and Hydralisk. Cross a bridge to be introduced to primal Banelings. They are
like normal Banelings but take a second to explode. Kill them all and look
northeast. Across several ledges is Xel'Naga Relic #4. It is guarded by lots of
Ravasaurs. They shoot these acid spores that explode on impact, but the key is
that they can be dodged. The acid spores move slowly and don't move with
Kerrigan. Keep her mobile and the Ravasaurs will die easily.
After finishing the bonus objective, continue northwest on the one path
available. You will have to fight 3 Ultralisks and a Ravasaur. The Ravasaur can
do the most damage, so have Kerrigan use Leaping Strike on it. Then she can use
Psionic Shift on all 3 Ultralisks. Mend and burrow units as needed. A tiny bit
further is a group of Zerglings and a Ravasaur. You should know how to deal
with these units now.
Now, there's a marshy area with lots of Banelings and other enemies. The key is
that Ravasaurs line the southern side. They are blocked by thick foliage, but
Kerrigan can use Leaping Strike to get over it. Once all the Ravasaurs are
dead, you can send in the army. Another group of Banelings awaits. Then an
Ultralisk that appears alone, but soon more enemies appear. You might lose a
few units here. Continue on to receive a couple Roaches and a Hydralisk, and
then you're onto the last boss fight.
This is a much harder boss fight compared to the last one. Slivan constantly
spawns more Banelings to deal with. It is almost impossible to kill them all.
Use Psionic Shift as much as possible to open up paths for your army to get in
range of Slivan. Slivan will also poor acid pools onto the ground. These seem
to last for the duration of the entire battle. The battlefield effectively
becomes smaller as time goes on. Ravasaurs will spawn too, but Kerrigan can
kill them quickly. It's okay if you lose a lot of units as long as Kerrigan
survives.
- Kill Zurvan
Just when Kerrigan gained all this power and got the packs under her control,
Zurvan turns on her. The good news is you get a nice-sized army to start with.
A total of 6 Roaches, 4 Hydralisks, and 1 Ultralisk are given to you for the
boss fight. This is an easier fight than Slivan too.
Zurvan's first attack will be to slap tendrils down onto the battlefield. These
are randomly positioned. It can be impossible to dodge them all. Do your best
and Mend as much as possible. Only attack when there is an open window. His
second attack is to spew a bunch of primal Zerg on top of your units. This is
the hardest one to deal with. Sometimes you can't kill them quickly and lose
units. His last attack is a lightning breath attack in an arc. It's easy to
dodge the initial attack, but then lightning pools are left over. By now you
may have lost all your supporting units, but Kerrigan can finish his last
sliver of health. Mission Complete!
-----v. Skygeirr Missions----------------------------------------------[SKGR]--
-----a. Infested----- --[NFST]--
Background: The Skygeirr platform is the Dominion's Hybrid research center.
Before Kerrigan can destroy it, she must disable the platform defenses.
New Unit: Infestor
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Metabolic Boost - speedlings make defending virophages
much easier
- Zergling Evolution: Raptor - further improves speed across the map
- Baneling Mutation: Regenerative Acid - keep your speedlings alive in the
field
- Baneling Evolution: Hunter - they jump just like Raptors and can keep up
- Mutalisk Mutation: Vicious Glave - greatly increases their damage to large
groups
- Kerrigan Level 1: Leaping Strike - so Kerrigan can keep up with speedlings
and Mutalisks
- Kerrigan Level 1: Psionic Shift - a nice passive 30% movement speed boost
- Kerrigan Level 10: Automated Extractors - get to producing Mutalisks faster
Kerrigan Level 20: Mend - Mutalisks are pretty expensive and need to stay alive
Kerrigan Level 35: Malignant Creep - Virophages need creep spread, so let's
speed it up!
Difficulty: 4/10
Objectives:
- Infest 3 Garrisons
- At Least 1 Infestor Must Survive
- Destroy the Dominion Outpost
- Destroy the Lab Entrance
- Bonus: Spread Creep to 3 Science Facilities (+3 Kerrigan Levels)
Kerrigan Levels: 3 (bonus)
Walkthrough:
- Infest 3 Garrisons
- At Least 1 Infestor Must Survive
- Destroy the Dominion Outpost
Use Fungal Growth on the initial Marines. Then move an Infestor to the Zerg
circle to capture the Virophage. After the Virophage has finished, go down the
ramp and use Parasitic Domination on the Banshee to mind control it. The Bunker
only has Firebats in it, which can't attack air.
While the Bunker is being destroyed, send your Infestors to the next Garrison
to get another Virophage producing free units. Northeast is the Dominion
Outpost. You can mind control the 2 Diamondbacks to speed up the killing. A
group of Marines to the northwest near the third garrison is just waiting to be
"Fungaled".
- Destroy the Lab Entrance
Now the goal is to defend the Virophages while slowly crossing the map and
eliminating any Dominion forces in the way. Eventually, you will make it to the
Lab Entrance and destroy it. As always, you need an army to do that. While you
can go with Zerglings, Roaches, and Hydralisks, I like Mutalisks and Zerglings
for this mission. With the speed Mutation for Zerglings, they are even faster
than Mutalisks. It makes defending Virophages that much easier.
It's also possible to do this mission with mostly Infestors. The Infested
Terrans can be consumed by Infestors for near limitless energy. That means they
can mind control all the powerful units they come across. Over time you can
build a fairly large Terran army. Siege Tanks are probably the best since they
can attack from afar while protected by the Infested Terrans. I still find
Zerglings and Mutalisks to be the easiest.
Your base already has a Spawning Pool, but you will need a Spire. Build 2
Spires to get air upgrades faster. Also, build 2 Evolution Chambers to speed up
your Zergling upgrades. There is a vespene geyser that needs an Extractor too.
Remember to constantly build Drones until you are at the maximum for that base.
For defense 20 Mutalisks and 40 Zerglings are enough. The Terrans never send
anything super strong. You should still keep a few Infestors around to plant
more Virophages. Also, Swarm Queens are good for spreading creep. The bonus
objective requires you to spread creep to 3 Science Facilities on the map.
There are basically two phases to the mission after you get your base. In the
gas phase lasting 3:27, the Terrans gas the whole platform. The Virophages
can't spawn Infested Terrans, and the Dominion will send raiding parties out to
destroy Virophages. In the infested phase, you get to go on the offensive.
Infested Terrans are great cannon fodder. You can assist them in taking more
territory for yourself, spreading creep behind you, capturing more Garrisons
for more Virophages, and infesting the Science Facilities.
Once you have the army size noted above, you are ready to take the expansion
base. It's pretty lightly defended, so it will go down easily. Then build a
Hatchery and 2 Extractors. The minerals won't be needed, but the gas will
greatly speed up Mutalisk production. With two bases, just keep massing more
units.
Down a ramp from the expansion base is the middle section of the platform. An
army of 30 Mutalisks and 60 Zerglings is more than enough to take it out. After
the third gas phase, the Dominion will open a bridge connecting the middle area
close to your Hatchery. They will use this as an attack route, but your
infested Terran will be able to use it too.
You can tackle the Science Facilities bonus however you want. The game marks
out where they all are on the map, so it's just a matter of clearing the
Terrans from the area and then spreading creep to it. You have as much time as
you want. Just wait to destroy the Lab Entrance until you're done.
After the middle part of the platform is cleared of all Dominions, build up a
max supply army and get all weapon and armor upgrades. I had around 50
Mutalisks and 70 Zerglings when I attacked the final Dominion base. Destroy the
Lab Entrance and the mission is complete!
-----b. Hand of Darkness----- --[HNDF]--
Background: Kerrigan and the Swarm enter the Hybrid Lab to continue the pursuit
of Dr. Narud and destroy the lab's dangerous residents.
Unlocks Evolution: Mutalisk
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Adrenal Overload - more damage to Hybrids
- Zergling Evolution: Raptor - more damage to Hybrids
- Baneling Mutation: Corrosive Acid - more damage to Hybrids
- Baneling Evolution: Hunter - Banelings find their target faster
- Roach Mutation: Adaptive Plating - they need to tank Hybrids
- Roach Evolution: Vile - slow down Hybrids
- Hydralisk Mutation: Frenzy - burst damage to Hybrids
- Hydralisk Evolution: Impaler - defend base against Siege Tanks
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - focus fire the Hybrids
- Kerrigan Level 1: Crushing Grip - assist with base defense
- Kerrigan Level 10: Automated Extractors - save time and minerals on Drones
- Kerrigan Level 20: Mend - area healing to counter Hybrids' area damage
- Kerrigan Level 35: Twin Drones - greatly speed up economy
Difficulty: 5/10
Objectives:
- Destroy All 8 Hybrid
- Kerrigan's Life Cannot Be Drained
- Bonus: Destroy 2 Brutalisks (+2 Kerrigan Levels)
Kerrigan Levels: 2 (bonus)
Walkthrough:
This is one of those missions where you have limited time to build up your base
and army before being forced to move out and attack or complete an objective.
You will constantly need to juggle going out in the field and defending your
base, all while keeping within the time limits.
- Destroy All 8 Hybrid
- Kerrigan's Life Cannot Be Drained
Hybrid #1 is an immediate threat from the beginning of the mission, and you
only have 5:00 to kill it. Your starting army is not ideal, but you just have
to deal with it. He's just outside your base. The good news is there are no
Dominion forces guarding him.
While you are pursuing this Hybrid, you should be making Drones back at base.
With Kerrigan's Twin Drones it will be much faster than normal. When you get
near the 21 Drones on minerals, build a Roach Warren, Hydralisk Den, and 2
Evolution Chambers. Remember to make more Drones as you use them up.
For base defense, a couple Spine Crawlers and a Spore Crawler at each entrance
is good. If you have the time and resources, you can make Impalers for defense
against Siege Tanks. Impalers are a Hydralisk evolution with long range attacks
that do bonus damage to Armored targets like Siege Tanks.
Now it's time to build an army. Zerglings die so quickly, they are not very
useful on this mission. The Hybrids do a lot of area damage before the
Zerglings can be healed by Mend. However, Banelings with the Corrosive Acid
upgrade can do a lot of direct damage to Hybrids. About 5 Banelings per Hybrid
is good.
The bread and butter of your army will be Roaches and Hydralisks. Overall, they
are very strong against Marines, Medics, Firebats, Marauders, and Hellbats.
Only Siege Tanks pose any threat, but Kerrigan can use Kinetic Blast on those.
Make sure to get the ranged attack and ground armor upgrades with your
Evolution Chambers.
Hybrid #2 will be next in line just southwest of your base with another 5
minute timer. There are a couple Bunkers with Marines, Marauders, Medics, and a
few Hellbats guarding it. However, your army of Roaches and Hydralisks will
have no trouble with it. Hopefully, you have the first level of weapon upgrades
at this point.
Hybrid #3 in the northwest will only give you 4:30 to kill it. Go north past
where the first Hybrid was to get to it. Watch out for a Bunker. You don't want
to get into combat there yet. Hug the western wall to avoid taking any damage
from it. You will come upon a group of Marines and Marauders. They should be
easy for your group. With Kerrigan's Mend, you shouldn't lose more than one
unit. Your Banelings should be for the Hybrid though. Make sure they don't
self-destruct on the Marines.
Now just northeast is the next Hybrid. He starts out similar to the last one,
but this time he splits into three once you get through his shields. As long as
you Frenzy your Hydralisks and Kinetic Blast with Kerrigan, he should be no
problem. Mend will keep most of your units alive.
Just after killing him, move straight southwest to find Brutalisk #1. Only a
few Firebats guard it. You will get a powerful Ultralisk-type creature to add
to your army. There's some free minerals and vespene laying on the ground too.
As you go back to base, you can engage that Bunker you skipped before. Behind
the Bunker is a small Terran base. Once destroyed, you can plant a Hatchery
there for more resources. Your main base will have enough resources for the
whole mission, but an extra base will speed up army production and make the
later parts of the mission easier.
Hybrid #4 will start draining Kerrigan from the southeast. You will only get
4:30 to kill it just like the last Hybrid. You will have to fight through a
small Terran base with a couple Bunkers. With your Brutalisk in front, it
should not be too hard. You can use your Banelings on them if you want instead
of the Hybrid.
This Hybrid will not split in three, but has devastating Psionic Storms. He
will throw down 2-3 of these on your units during the fight. Your units may
take a lot of damage. Try to be making replacements from your Hatchery while
the battle is going on. As soon as the battle is over, head west for Brutalisk
#2. There are more free resources here too.
Hybrid #5 east of your base. Another 4:30 will be given for you to destroy him,
but another Terran base guards the way. This one also has a couple Bunkers,
this time with Banshees. It still shouldn't be too big of an issue for your
army. After this one if your army is still strong, continue northwest towards
the next Hybrid. This way you will have already destroyed the enemy units in
the way when the Hybrid starts draining Kerrigan.
For Hybrid #6 you get another 4:30. Again, there are enemy units in the way. A
couple Siege Tanks are there as well, so try to destroy them quickly with
Kerrigan. This Hybrid has Psionic Storms but also splits into three when its
shields go down. Most of my army was in the red after this battle but barely
survived because of Kerrigan's Mend. My base was also attacked during this. I
ended up losing a Hatchery and having to rebuild.
Finally, Dr. Narud's last try pits you against two Hybrids (#7 & #8) at once,
both of which having the same powers as Hybrid #6. They both launch Psi Storms
and both split when their shields are taken out. Send everything you have
including reinforcements from your base. There's also a large group of Terrans
in the way including 2 Siege Tanks, 2 Thors, and lots of Marines. Go after
these Hybrids early. This will give you a few minutes to replenish your forces
if you lose too much fighting the Terrans. After the last Hybrid dies, Mission
Complete!
-----c. Phantoms of the Void----- --[PHNT]--
Background: It is time to finish Dr. Narud and his Hybrid army before he can
revive his master.
New Unit: Ultralisk
New Structure: Ultralisk Cavern
Heroes: Stukov
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Adrenal Overload - more damage to everything
- Zergling Evolution: Raptor - good damage upgrade
- Baneling Mutation: Corrosive Acid - more damage to Hybrids
- Baneling Evolution: Splitter - more damage to Zealots
- Roach Mutation: Hydriodic Bile - more damage to Zealots and Sentries
- Roach Evolution: Vile - slow down Protoss
- Kerrigan Level 10: Automated Extractors - reduce the amount of Drones needed
- Kerrigan Level 35: Twin Drones - further speeds up economy
Difficulty: 6/10
Objectives:
- Destroy the Protoss Base
- Deactivate the 5 Temples
- Kerrigan Must Survive
- Bonus: Destroy 3 Xel'Naga Crystals (+3 Kerrigan Levels)
Kerrigan Levels: 7 (4 + 3 bonus)
Walkthrough:
Like Hand of Darkness, this mission also has short time limits to complete
objectives. I sometimes wish they had more missions that give the player more
freedom on when to attack. This is another mission that doesn't let you control
Kerrigan. However, some of her passive powers that improve base building still
provide bonuses on this mission.
- Destroy the Protoss Base
Kerrigan needs a base if she is to stop Dr. Narud from resurrecting his master.
This first part of the mission is pretty easy. Just follow the directions, and
you will have your base.
- Deactivate the 5 Temples
Kerrigan and Dr. Narud are both attempting to destroy the other with psionic
powers. Unfortunately, Dr. Narud is being strengthened by the Xel'Naga Temples
across the map. Using Stukov, you have to build an army and destroy all of the
temples. Only Stukov can destroy the temples, and he has to be defended while
doing it. Wait too long and Dr. Narud will kill Kerrigan resulting in mission
failure. Go too fast and you won't have enough forces to defend Stukov while he
destroys the base. You have to get the right balance.
Ultralisks are the highlight of this mission. They will be a pretty good ground
force. You just need some Hydralisks to back them up so your army can attack
air units. That will use up most of the vespene gas you collect. The only Zerg
unit that doesn't use gas is Zerglings, but a few Roaches can be good too.
Stukov will soon tell you to go after the first temple. Temple #1 is just
northeast of your base. You can go with just your starting force. Use Stukov's
abilities liberally. Having no energy he is only limited by the cooldowns on
the abilities.
While defending Stukov, max out your Drones at your base and start building the
necessary structures. You already have an Ultralisk Cavern and Spawning Pool.
Build a Hydralisk Den and 3 Evolution Chambers. Once Stukov is finished, travel
to the minerals just east of your base and kill the Zealots there. Then you can
send a Drone there to make a Hatchery. You really need the vespene though, so
send a couple Drones to make Extractors. Also, build a couple Spine Crawlers at
each entrance to your base.
For the next temple, 6 Ultralisks, 10 Hydralisks, 20 Zerglings, and 2 Queens
should be good enough. Now head east to Temple #2. It's the closest one to your
base. On the way there is a small ledge slightly southeast that has Xel'Naga
Crystal #1. As soon as you start attacking, the Protoss will warp in more units
to help defend. They will be no trouble for your army though. As for the
temple, it will be fairly easy just like the last one.
Increase your army to 9 Ultralisks, 16 Hydralisks, 30 Zerglings, and 4 Queens
for the next temple. The closest temple is almost straight north of your base.
This temple will have slightly more Protoss forces, but it should still be
fairly easy. While defending, you will face Protoss from the northwest and
southeast ramps. Also, 2 Hybrids will attack instead of just one, coming from
opposite sides.
Your army should be pretty strong now. Take a moment to rebuild some units if
you need. Then go straight northwest down the ramp and up another ramp to the
next temple. It is lightly defended except for a couple Archons. Xel'Naga
Crystal #2 is just a few steps southwest of this temple. You can destroy it
first if you want.
You will have a bit of breathing room after disabling two temples this quickly,
a perfect time to get Xel'Naga Crystal #3. East near Temple #3 you already
cleared is a small path to the northeast. Keep northeast until you run into a
Colossus. It guards the last Xel'Naga Crystal.
There's only one temple left, but a full Protoss base guards it. Build up your
army until you are at max supply. I had 16 Ultralisks, 24 Hydralisks, 20
Zerglings, and 6 Queens plus Stukov. Start fighting your way to the temple as
soon as you get that max supply. It will take some time to get through it.
While Stukov is destroying the temple, ignore any attacks on your base. The
mission is about to be over, so it won't matter. Mission Complete!
-----vi. Space Missions------------------------------------------------[SPCM]--
-----a. With Friends Like These...----- --[WTHF]--
Background: Mira Han refuses to give up Colonel Orlan without Jim Raynor's
approval. Matt and Valerian must shut down her operations to force her hand.
Heroes: Hyperion
Difficulty: 2/10
Objectives:
- Clear Out Mira's Fleet
- The Hyperion Must Survive
- Destroy the Mercenary Space Station
- Bonus: Harvest 3 Mineral Clusters
- Bonus: Destroy the Pirate Capital Ship
Walkthrough:
This mission is totally different from all the others in the campaign. You just
have your one unit, the Hyperion. You will get a few different abilities for
it, but it's still just one unit. Compared to some of the other missions, this
one is very easy.
- Clear Out Mira's Fleet
This is just the tutorial portion of the mission to teach you how the
Hyperion's abilities work.
- Destroy the Mercenary Space Station
- The Hyperion Must Survive
The path to Mira's space station is a long zigzag with several smaller enemy
bases in between. There are multiple space stations and lots of enemies. As
long as you work your way slowly, you shouldn't have any trouble with it.
The Space Stations
Ordnance Towers - They periodically shoot missiles at your units or friendly
Valerian units.
Merc Starport - These are bigger stations that fire missiles and spawn either
Griffon fighters, Valkyries, or Battlecruisers. They also have more life than
Ordnance Towers.
Mercenary Space Station - There is only one and it's the primary objective. It
launches the same ships as the Merc Starport but also Mag Mines. It has a ton
of life, so it takes a while to bring it down.
The Hyperion
This is your one hero unit for the whole mission. It starts at level 0, but can
be upgraded three times by picking up minerals on the map.
Level 0 - It has 1550 life, can launch 6 fighters, does 300 damage with its
Yamato Cannon, and can stun enemies for 3 seconds (Pirate Ship bonus)
Level 1 - 1650 life, level 1 armor and weapons upgrades, 8 fighters, 400
Yamato, 4 second stun
Level 2 - 1800 life, level 2 armor and weapons, 10 fighters, 500 Yamato, 5
second stun
Level 3 - 2000 life, level 3 upgrades, 12 fighters, 600 Yamato, 6 second stun
When you're ready, follow the path to the first engagement, just a few enemy
fighters with an Ordnance Tower here. Yamato the tower, and focus it down with
the Hyperion. Your TAC fighters can deal with the enemy fighters. Northwest is
Mineral Clusters #1. Mag Mines are best fought by simply moving out of their
rocket path. The Jump ability helps a lot with this. You can send in your
fighters to take the hits, but be ready to dodge them if the missile misses the
fighter and goes in the Hyperion's direction.
Pretty soon you will get the bonus objective to destroy the Pirate Capital Ship
in the southeast. There is an Ordnance Tower and some Mag Mines guarding the
area. Just take your time to avoid the mines. Once you have all your fighters
ready to go, you can attack the pirate ship. It can launch 6 fighters of its
own, cloak, and stun all your units.
If you are far enough away the stun will not hit the Hyperion, but it's hard to
do that. He generally does the stun just after uncloaking. A good strategy is
to avoid his location when he cloaks. You can just faintly see the outline of
the enemy ship when cloaked. Once it's down you get that stun ability for the
Hyperion.
Now back to the main path, there is an Ordnance Tower guarded by a
Battlecruiser and some more fighters, nothing too difficult. Further along is
an Ordnance Tower and a Merc Starport. Try to wait for some of Valerian's
fighters before engaging it. Once both are destroyed, Valerian will send in
another space station for more supporting fighters. Just northeast of this is
Mineral Clusters #2. This is basically the same as the last one except there
are a few fighters defending it in addition to the Mag Mines.
The next big force of Mira's has 2 Ordnance Towers and 2 Merc Starports. Again,
wait for Valerian's fighters to come help. Then try to pick off Ordnance
Towers. When your units start disappearing retreat until more of Valerian's
fighters come. After that area is cleared, head west Jumping over some debris
for Mineral Clusters #3.
Now go northeast along the main path towards the Mercenary Space Station. Along
the way are 2 Ordnance Towers with Battlecruisers and other fighters. Watch out
for Mag Mines but otherwise destroy these as you have before. Then you will get
to a string of Ordnance Towers and Merc Starports all guarding the Mercenary
Space Station. Kill one at a time, then move back to replenish health and
fighters.
Eventually, only the big space station will be left. As soon as you start
attacking, it will shoot out lots of Mag Mines. If you have all your fighters,
you can go in solo. Just be ready to Jump back. Once you destroy it, Mission
Complete!
-----b. Conviction----- --[CNVC]--
Background: With the Terran help Kerrigan can finally return the favor and
rescue Jim Raynor, just like he rescued her on Char.
Unlocks Evolution: Swarm Host
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Hardened Carapace - help them survive longer
- Zergling Evolution: Raptor - you can't spawn Zerglings so Swarmlings give no
bonus
- Baneling Mutation: Regenerative Acid - keep your troops alive longer
- Baneling Evolution: Hunter - great in tight spaces so they find targets
faster
- Roach Mutation: Hydriodic Bile - boost damage to Marines and Ghosts
- Roach Evolution: Corpser - cannon fodder to protect your valuable units
- Hydralisk Mutation: Frenzy - burst damage for critical battles
- Kerrigan Level 1: Heroic Fortitude - she can tank enemies better
- Kerrigan Level 1: Crushing Grip - to shutdown dangerous units
- Kerrigan Level 20: Mend - keep your units alive
Difficulty: 5/10
Objectives:
- Kerrigan Must Survive
- Rescue Jim
- Protect Kerrigan
- Bonus: Find 2 Secret Documents (+2 Kerrigan Levels)
Kerrigan Levels: 11 (9 + 2 bonus)
Walkthrough:
Being a classic Terran installation mission, Conviction reminds me a lot of
Starcraft 1.
- Rescue Jim
- Kerrigan Must Survive
You just have to get to Jim's jail cell. Problem is a bunch of Dominion forces
are in your way. You start out with just Kerrigan, but the Leviathan will be
sending more units to you throughout the mission. Be careful not to lose
Kerrigan. You don't have a base for her to revive at. That's why Heroic
Fortitude is nice. She can take a beating, especially at her higher level now.
Move northeast into the next room. It contains quite a few enemy units
(Firebats, Medics, and Marines), but the Leviathan will send a bunch of
Zerglings and Hydralisks to your aid. Use Crushing Grip initially to disable a
couple Firebats. The Firebats are the priority here. They are direct counters
to Zerglings and Hydralisks. Just a short ways northeast is another group, but
no Firebats in this one. It's a much easier group. The Leviathan will even send
you more units.
The only way is through a small doorway to the northwest. More Marines and
Marauders guard the passage, but no Medics this time. The next room contains
Ghosts, Marines and Medics. Focus on the Ghosts and Medics with Kerrigan and
the Hydralisks. Just down a ramp you will encounter Hellions and Hellbats. Both
of these are fairly dangerous to Hydralisks and Zerglings, so use Crushing Grip
and try your best to focus fire one at a time with your ranged units.
The only threat in the next hallway is a Siege Tank. You know what to do. The
Leviathan will give you more units as well. Northeast you will have to fight a
Thor and a few Bunkers. Try to use Parasitic Domination on the Thor to mind
control him. He can soak up a lot of damage. In general, Infestor energy should
be saved for mind controlling key targets like Thors and Siege Tanks.
- Protect Kerrigan
A locked door bars your way. Kerrigan must use her psychic powers to
breakthrough. Meanwhile you have to protect her. This encounter consists of
four rooms with different units in each. One room will open at a time and go
towards Kerrigan unless you kill them with your units. Kerrigan will only
finish breaking the door down when all four rooms are cleared.
The rooms have progressively stronger enemy units as you go, but you get
reinforcements during the encounter to compensate. The first room just has
Marines and Medics. The second room has Hellions which will transform into
Hellbats. The next room has a couple Siege Tanks. The last room has a Thor and
more Hellbats. Try to mind control a Thor or Siege Tank with your Infestor.
Once the door is opened, look to a small passage in the northwest for Secret
Documents #1. About 5 Ghosts guard it. A Crushing Grip will do wonders. This is
the only one on this floor, so don't worry about finding any more until you get
to the bottom floor of the prison.
The next room has a sizable force starting with a Bunker and some Marines. Deal
with them and you will get the option to spawn Virophages. These will create
constant Infested Terran cannon fodder. Wait for a large group of them to
attack and move in behind them. A Thor is here that can be mind controlled.
Wait for the Infested Terrans again. The next room has some more Bunkers and a
Thor. Some Reapers ambush you during the battle, but Crushing Grip is great
again.
There is some urgency in the next room. A Thor will try to destroy the
generator needed to run the elevator to the bottom floor where Jim Raynor is
being held. The mission is failed if he succeeds. Nevertheless, you should have
enough time to mop everything up before taking him out. The big threats are 2
Siege Tanks that can decimate your army. Worry about them before the Thor.
After the short cutscene, a 5 minute counter starts going down. After the
Dominion's failure to defend the prison they have activated the self destruct
mechanism. Despite this, most of the little battles should go by quickly as
long as you don't lose too many units. You may want to make a few saves along
the way in case you mess up.
A couple Thors can be trouble in the first room on this floor. Try to mind
control one. Following the passage you will get to a Siege Tank. Have Kerrigan
single it out to limit damage to your army. Destroy the doorway to continue.
You come to another room with 2 Siege Tanks. Do your best.
As you continue look for a small passage going to the southeast. Guarded by a
Perdition Turret, some Ghosts, and Marines is Secret Document #2. The clock
will probably be around 2:00 by now, but that's more than enough for the rest
of the mission. Continue on the main path to face another Terran group with
Marauders. Watch out because they can slaughter Aberrations and Roaches.
The timer will be getting low now, but there's just one big battle to go.
Bunkers, Marines, Firebats, Marauders, and a Siege Tank block the way. Have
Kerrigan Crushing Grip the Firebats, and then have her destroy the Siege Tank
like before. The Leviathan will send you reinforcements in the middle of battle
including a couple Ultralisks. They will be enough to finish off the Bunkers
and Marines. After the last Terran goes down, Mission Complete!
-----vii. Final Missions-----------------------------------------------[FNLM]--
-----a. Planetfall----- --[PLNT]--
Background: Only Zerg Bile Launchers can destroy Korhal's defense cannons.
Kerrigan must protect them while they mature.
Unlocks Evolution: Ultralisk
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Adrenal Overload - lots of Zerglings get lots of damage
- Zergling Evolution: Swarmling - more cannon fodder
- Baneling Mutation: Rupture - more damage to mass Marines
- Baneling Evolution: Splitter - more damage to mass Marines
- Roach Mutation: Hydriodic Bile - kill Marines, Medics, and Ghosts faster
- Roach Evolution: Corpser - cannon fodder when your Zerglings die
- Hydralisk Mutation: Grooved Spines - more deadly focus fire with more range
- Hydralisk Evolution: Impaler - good Bile Launcher defense
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - for Siege Tanks and Thors
- Kerrigan Level 1: Chain Reaction - good damage to mass Marines
- Kerrigan Level 10: Automated Extractors - speed up gas production
- Kerrigan Level 20: Wild Mutation - greatly power up your army
- Kerrigan Level 35: Twin Drones - speed up early economy
- Kerrigan Level 50: Fury - good complement to Chain Reaction
- Kerrigan Level 60: Apocalypse - great for taking out any Dominion bases in
the way
Difficulty: 5/10
Objectives:
- Defend 5 Bile Launchers
- Don't Lose 3 Bile Launchers
- Destroy the 2 Dominion Bases
- Bonus: Destroy 3 Augustgrad Gates
Walkthrough:
- Defend 5 Bile Launchers
- Don't Lose 3 Bile Launchers
Throughout the mission these Bile Launchers will be dropping to the ground. You
will be told the location of each one, but are given only 3-4 minutes to get
there for defense. You have to protect them both as they are being built and
for the remainder of the mission. Only 3 can be destroyed or else the mission
is failed. Luckily, the Dominion mostly focuses on the new ones coming down and
rarely attacks the ones you already defended initially.
The map is pretty thick with Dominion bases and units. I would normally take
the time to build up with lots of Mutalisks and Brood Lords. Because you only
get one base for a while and those flying units take a while to build up, they
don't work as well on this mission. The most viable units are a ground force of
Zerglings, Roaches, and Hydralisks. They cost far less resources and build
faster, especially useful when you don't have much time to build up.
Your base starts out pretty empty of tech structures. You will need a Roach
Warren, Hydralisk Den, Baneling Nest, 3 Evolution Chambers for ground upgrades,
and another Extractor. You don't need any defensive structures beyond what you
start with. The enemy units will always go after Bile Launchers instead.
Immediately after you get control of your base, Izsha will notify you about
Bile Launcher #1. It's just west of your base down the ramp. Your starting army
is good enough to defend it. Once the Bile Launcher appears, you will get some
free units to help out as well as a couple Spine Crawlers.
While defending the Bile Launcher, you should be building up your base with
more Drones. You don't really need any fighting units until the location of
Bile Launcher #2 appears. For that one, try for a small force of 7 Roaches, 7
Hydralisks, and 10 Zerglings. Then move out just east of your base. It's
another undefended location. You will get a couple free Hydralisks.
Meanwhile, be making more army units and researching upgrades with your
Evolution Chamber. The location of Bile Launcher #3 will be defended by a few
Bunkers and other Dominion units. It is just northwest of #2. You want 10
Roaches, 10 Hydralisks, 16 Zerglings, and 4 Queens for this one. You will get a
couple Ultralisks. Watch out for Siege Tanks while defending this one.
Right in the middle of defending this one, you will be shown the location of
the Bile Launcher #4, which is in the middle of a Dominion base. Try for 12
Roaches, 12 Hydralisks, 20 Zerglings, and 6 Queens before taking this one. They
have a few Siege Tanks you need to push through. Once you kill the Terrans
here, it's a good spot to build an expansion.
Bile Launcher #5 is also in a Terran base. This one is a bit tougher, so try
for 20 Roaches, 20 Hydralisks, 30 Zerglings, and 8 Queens. There are 3 Siege
Tanks in the base, but they are special mercenary versions that are stronger
than normal. They even have a Science Vessel to repair them.
- Destroy the 2 Dominion Bases
Once the Bile Launchers are safely on the ground, you just have to mop up the
remaining Dominion forces. This objective only appears if you have not
destroyed them already while the Bile Launchers were still coming down. The 2
Dominion Bases are right next to each other without many units.
Before you do that though, you should finish the bonus objective if you haven't
already. It may have been hard to fight your way to the Augustgrad gates while
defending Bile Launchers, but now you have time. I don't know what the bonus
objective actually does. Kerrigan's already max level, so you don't get any
Kerrigan Levels. It also doesn't give you any free units or extra resources. It
might just be needed for the achievement.
In any case, crack open those 2 Dominion bases to complete the mission. Only
two more missions to go!
-----b. Death From Above----- --[DTHF]--
Background: The Dominion has deployed a devastating weapon against the Zerg,
the Psi Destroyer. Dehaka and his pack of primal Zerg do not have the psionic
connection that modified Zerg do, making them immune to the weapon's effects.
Only they can take care of this situation.
Heroes: Dehaka
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Adrenal Overload - kill Terrans faster
- Zergling Evolution: Swarmling - makes them cheaper and okay emergency base
defense
- Baneling Mutation: Regenerative Acid - nice healing for Zerglings
- Baneling Evolution: Splitter - improved damage to mass Marines
- Roach Mutation: Adaptive Plating - keep your tank units alive longer
- Roach Evolution: Corpser - Roachlings are nice cannon fodder
- Hydralisk Mutation: Grooved Spines - more damage when you have a large group
- Hydralisk Evolution: Impaler - good counter to Siege Tanks attacking your
base
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - fast, efficient killing of dangerous
targets
- Kerrigan Level 1: Crushing Grip - stun dangerous groups
- Kerrigan Level 10: Automated Extractors - speed up base building
- Kerrigan Level 20: Mend - keep your units alive
- Kerrigan Level 35: Twin Drones - speed up base building
- Kerrigan Level 50: Ability Efficiency - great synergy with Mend
- Kerrigan Level 60: Apocalypse - decimate the Terran bases
Difficulty: 6/10
Objectives:
- Destroy the 3 Power Links
- Disable the Psi Destroyer
Walkthrough:
This is a mission where you have periods of being on defense and periods of
being on offense. It is also the only mission that combines the normal base
building mission with the installation-type mission that gives you limited
units. That means your multitasking ability will be stretched to the limit.
Before Kerrigan can start a base, Dehaka needs to destroy a Power Link.
Destroying one temporarily disables the Psi Destroyer, allowing Kerrigan to
attack the Dominions. Eventually, the weapon recovers though. Kerrigan and her
army must stay very close to base until Dehaka destroys another Power Link.
The Psi Destroyer's field slowly gets bigger, so there is some urgency to
destroying each Power Link after the first. Wait too long and Kerrigan's base
will be destroyed. Each Power Link is progressively harder to destroy than the
last with more units to face and more ways to be ambushed, making it take
longer to destroy the later Power Links. Fortunately, Dehaka gets more
supporting units with each one.
Time is not really an issue in this mission. It seems that you can only attack
in the small windows between Dehaka destroying Power Links, but after 3 Power
Links are destroyed, the Psi Destroyer is permanently disabled. You're then
free to build and attack when you want. Only worry about running out of time
when you have Dehaka and are working on destroying a Power Link.
- Destroy Power Link #1
For this Power Link, you only get Dehaka. Destroy the 3 Marines in front of him
and head northeast. A Siege Tank will attack, but Dehaka can scale short
cliffs. Continue northeast to fight around 7 Marines, 2 Maruaders, and a Medic.
The Medic is the highest priority. Dehaka has a Mend ability to heal him. It is
his only ability right now, so use it as soon as the cooldown is up. The first
Power Link is gone.
- Destroy the Psi Destroyer
You've got a Spawning Pool and Evolution Chamber, but that's it. The tried and
true Zergling, Roach, and Hydralisk army is easiest. You could replace the
Zerglings with Ultralisks. You have more than enough gas for it. Another option
is to go with a heavy air force including Mutalisks and Brood Lords. I will
assume Zergling, Roach, and Hydralisk when I list army size, but I will include
the army supply to make it easier if you go with different units.
Get about 30 Drones and then start building. You will need a Roach Warren,
Hydralisk Den, Baneling Nest, 2 Extractors, and 2 Evolution Chambers. Try for
about 8 Roaches, 8 Hydralisks, and 20 Zerglings (52 supply army, not counting
Drones). Then move southeast to destroy a small Dominion base guarding extra
minerals and gas. As soon as it is destroyed, send over 3 Drones to build a
Hatchery and 2 Extractors.
Don't worry about destroying any more Dominion bases. Just get more Roaches,
Hydralisks, and Zerglings. You won't have enough time to take a full base and
will have to run back to base while under fire.
- Destroy Power Link #2
This time you get Dehaka and 6 primal Roaches. You will immediately see several
Siege Tanks. They are on the low ground and can't see you. Dehaka can use his
Grab ability to pull them up top for your Roaches to destroy. The first few
Siege Tanks can't see you, but soon you will meet a Ghost and Marines on the
high ground, giving vision to the Siege Tanks.
Continue further to face some Marines, Marauders, and Medics. Send in Dehaka
first with the Roaches behind for support. A little further will be a couple
Siege Tanks spread apart, then some more Marines and Medics with a Siege Tank
on the high ground. Don't worry too much if you lose the Roaches, Dehaka can
still solo it with liberal use of Mend.
- Destroy the Psi Destroyer
The field is down again. An army of 15 Roaches, 15 Hydralisks, 30 Zerglings,
and 10 Banelings (100 supply army, not counting Drones) is enough to take out
the closest Dominion base. It is just northeast of your main base.
- Destroy Power Link #3
The last one is quite a bit harder than the last two. There are more units, but
the Dominion will have gotten better upgrades to their weapons and armor by
now. Dehaka gets a new ability called Generate Spawns that creates two
duplicates of himself. It is critical that you have those spawns in the front
to take the damage.
Early on you will get some primal Zerglings, Roaches, Hydralisks, and even an
Ultralisk, but they just won't last that long without Dehaka's spawns taking
the hits. Not only are there more units, but the Terrans have production
buildings like Starports and Barracks to make reinforcements. Use Mend on
cooldown to limit the damage along with Grab on any Siege Tank. Even if the
unit is in close range you can still Grab it to stun it for 1 second.
One particular danger is a high ground ledge near most of the path to the Power
Link. There are a lot of units there. Only Dehaka can get up there, but he
doesn't have the strength to fight them alone. He must have his two spawns
helping. While he is doing this, have your primal Zerg burrowed to prevent them
from wandering into danger. After the high ground is cleared, fight your way
along the path. About halfway through you will get more reinforcements to seal
the deal.
- Destroy the Psi Destroyer
The Psi Destroyer is now disabled for the rest of the mission. Dehaka and a
bunch of primal Zerg now join your forces. Build up a max supply army and
annihilate the Dominion whenever you are ready. The only thing to worry about
is the Ghosts. They will launch nuclear missiles on your army. However, Dehaka
can use his Grab ability to cancel their nuclear laser targeting.
-----c. The Reckoning----- --[THRC]--
Background: The final battle is at hand. Most of Arcturus Mengsk's army has
been destroy or subdued. Only his imperial guard is left to fight through.
Kerrigan will have her revenge at last.
Recommendations:
- Zergling Mutation: Adrenal Overload - improved damage to Marines
- Zergling Evolution: Swarmling - to slaughter enemy infantry
- Baneling Mutation: Rupture - boost damage to mass Marines
- Baneling Evolution: Splitter - even more damage to infantry
- Roach Mutation: Hydriodic Bile - more damage to Marines, Medics, and Reapers
- Roach Evolution: Vile - slow down enemy units to protect your army
- Hydralisk Mutation: Grooved Spines - big damage bonus in large numbers
- Mutalisk Evolution: Brood Lord - the Zerg version of Siege Tanks
- Kerrigan Level 1: Kinetic Blast - pick off dangerous targets
- Kerrigan Level 1: Psionic Shift - great against all the mass Marines,
Reapers, and Ghosts you will face
- Kerrigan Level 10: Automated Extractors - speed up economy
- Kerrigan Level 20: Wild Mutation - greatly boost your armies health and
damage during critical moments
- Kerrigan Level 35: Twin Drones - speed up economy
- Kerrigan Level 50: Ability Efficiency - lots of active abilities can now be
used more
- Kerrigan Level 60: Drop-Pods - very nice boost to your army numbers before a
big attack
Difficulty: 7/10
Objectives:
- Destroy the Palace Gate
- The Hyperion Must Survive
- Bonus: Clear 3 Entrenched Positions
Walkthrough:
Here it is: the final mission of the campaign. It's been a long journey, but
you're finally here. In a few short hours you will have beaten the campaign.
- Destroy the Palace Gate
- The Hyperion Must Survive
Just destroy the Palace Gate. That's all you have to do to beat the mission. Of
course there's always a catch. Arcturus' personal guard has some of the
strongest units in the game. Almost every unit they make is a special powered
up version with more health and damage. In addition, they are heavily
entrenched with Bunkers, Thors, Siege Tanks, and Battlecruisers all over the
map, just waiting to slaughter your Zerg army.
The safe way to do this mission is slow and steady. You can really go with any
army composition you want but some will be faster than others. You start with
lots of minerals and vespene gas, and there are more just to the east lightly
guarded by Dominions. I went with a mass Mutalisk and Brood Lord force the
first time I beat it, but the Dominion has a ton of anti-air units and
structures. It will work, but it will take longer.
I found the fastest was the same old Zergling, Roach, and Hydralisk army. Now,
you can add some other units to complement it. Brood Lords are great siege
weapons so long as they have units in front to protect them. Also, Infestors
with their Parasitic Domination are great on this mission. Many of those
powerful Battlecruisers, Thors, and Siege Tanks can be yours. A few Ultralisks
can help as well.
The enemy units they send are too strong for Spine Crawlers and Spore Crawlers.
I ended up just using them to delay the enemy long enough for my army to get
back. Just be careful not to leave your Brood Lords by themselves. They are the
slowest unit in the army and can easily be left behind. They take a while to
rebuild and cost a lot of vespene gas. You don't want to lose them.
In addition to the structures you start with, your base will need a Roach
Warren, Hydralisk Den, Infestation Pit, Spire (mutate into Greater Spire), and
3 Evolution Chambers. Start with the ground unit upgrades first. When you have
the extra resources, get the air damage upgrades from the Spire. Build the
defensive crawler structures early on and be ready to rebuild them as they are
destroyed.
For your early attacks look to build an army consisting of 15 Roaches, 15
Hydralisks, and 30 Zerglings. This army will just need to clear the expansion
area to the east of your base initially. Then get that expansion economy going
while your army defends.
Next, will be the bonus objectives on the eastern side of the map. About 5
Brood Lords, 25 Roaches, 25 Hydralisks, and 50 Zerglings should be enough to
clear the bases guarding those two bonuses. This will give you some breathing
room on this side of the map. Move your army back to base and then head
northwest past Jim Raynor's base to the last bonus objective.
Raynor's base may need support while you do these things. Arcturus sends air
armadas at Raynor's location, and eventually the extremely powerful Odin, a
hero Thor unit. On Normal difficulty he can pretty much defend himself, not on
Hard difficulty. You may want to save the game here and there. If you find
yourself far away in combat and Raynor needs help, you can reload from before
that point and wait for Raynor to be attacked. This will give you a bigger
window to destroy Dominion bases.
After the bonus is complete, Raynor is secure, and your army is maxed out, it's
finally time to wipe the map clean of the remaining Dominion forces. It may
take a few replacement armies, but you will eventually get all the way to the
Palace Gate and destroy it. Mission Complete! You are then treated to an
awesome ending cinematic. Congratulations!
=====C. Campaign Lists=================================================[CLST]==
This section lists all of the Mutations and Evolutions from the Evolution Pit,
powers available to Kerrigan, and units you can unlock in each mission. I also
included a graph of all the missions in the campaign to give you a better idea
on the ordering of the missions.
-----i. Evolution Pit--------------------------------------------------[VLTN]--
The Armory (unit upgrades) and Laboratory (Zerg/Protoss research) systems from
Wings of Liberty have been combined into the Evolution Pit for Heart of the
Swarm. Six of the most common Zerg units can be upgraded and modified here.
Each unit has three Mutations, these are small upgrades to the base unit
roughly equivalent to Armory Upgrades in Wings of Liberty. You then have
Evolutions, which are radical changes to the base unit much like what the
Laboratory did in Wings of Liberty.
There are a few key differences between Mutations and Evolutions:
Mutations
Each unit has three Mutations. As soon as you unlock the unit, you get access
to all three of its Mutations. Only one Mutation can be active at a time in a
mission, but you can switch the active Mutation between missions as much as you
want.
Evolutions
Like Mutations, Evolutions are unlocked after specific missions. Unlike
Mutations, your choice of Evolution is final. When you are ready to pick an
Evolution, you get to do an Evolution Mission that shows off both Evolutions.
At the end of the mission, you have to make a choice on which one to get. Once
you've made your decision, it is final for the remainder of that campaign. You
can read more about the missions in the Evolution Missions section below.
-----a. Mutations and Evolutions List----- --[MTVL]--
For each unit below, the first row has the Mutations while the second row has
the Evolutions.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Zergling Mutation Unlocks After: Rendezvous |
| Evolution Unlocks After: Fire in the Sky or Shoot the Messenger |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Hardened Carapace | Adrenal Overload | Metabolic Boost |
| Gains +10 maximum life, | Attack speed increased | Movement speed |
| an increase of 30%. | by 50%. | increased by 60%. |
+-------------------------+------------+------------+-------------------------+
| Raptor | Swarmling |
| Leaps over obstacles and onto | Spawns in groups of three. Morphs |
| targets from range. Deals +2 damage, | almost instantly. |
| an increase of 40%. Can jump up and | |
| down cliffs. | |
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Baneling Mutation Unlocks After: Domination |
| Evolution Unlocks After: Old Soldiers |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Corrosive Acid | Rupture | Regenerative Acid |
| Increases base attack | Blast radius increased | In addition to dealing |
| damage dealt to primary | by 50%. | damage, Baneling |
| target by 100%. Splash | | explosions heal nearby |
| damage remains the same.| | friendly units and |
| | | structures. |
+-------------------------+------------+------------+-------------------------+
| Splitter | Hunter |
| Splits into two Baneling Spawn on | Leaps over obstacles and onto |
| death. Baneling Spawn deal less | targets at long range. Can jump up |
| damage | and down cliffs. |
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Roach Mutation Unlocks After: Harvest of Screams |
| Evolution Unlocks After: Enemy Within |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Hydriodic Bile | Adaptive Plating | Tunneling Claws |
| Roach gains +8 damage | Gains +3 armor when | Roach can move at full |
| vs. light units, and | Roach's life is under | speed while burrowed. |
| increase of 50%. | 50%. | Life regeneration rate |
| | | increased by 100% while |
| | | burrowed. |
+-------------------------+------------+------------+-------------------------+
| Corpser | Vile |
| Spawns two Roachlings if enemy | Attacks reduce movement and attack |
| killed quickly. | speed by 75%. Heroic units are |
| | reduced by 20%. |
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Hydralisk Mutation Unlocks After: Shoot the Messenger |
| Evolution Unlocks After: Supreme |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Frenzy | Ancillary Carapace | Grooved Spines |
| When Frenzy is activated| Gain +20 maximum life, | Attack range increased |
| the Hydralisk gain +50% | an increase of 25%. | to 6, an increase of |
| attack speed for 15 | | 20%. |
| seconds. Cooldown: 30 | | |
| seconds. | | |
+-------------------------+------------+------------+-------------------------+
| Impaler | Lurker |
| Morphs from Hydralisk. Attacks | Morphs from Hydralisk. Attacks |
| single targets while it is burrowed. | multiple enemies while it is |
| Effective against armored units. | burrowed. Effective against light |
| | ground units. |
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Mutalisk Mutation Unlocks After: Waking the Ancient |
| Evolution Unlocks After: Hand of Darkness |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Vicious Glave | Rapid Regeneration | Sundering Glave |
| Mutalisk attacks bounce | Mutalisks regenerate 10 | Gains +9 damage vs. |
| up to three more times, | life per second while | armored targets, an |
| hitting up to six more | out of combat. Must | increase of 100%. |
| targets. Bounces deal | remain out of combat | Attacks no longer |
| increased damage and | for 5 seconds. | bounce to additional |
| travel further. | | targets. |
+-------------------------+------------+------------+-------------------------+
| Brood Lord | Viper |
| Morphs from Mutalisk. Besieges | Morphs from Mutalisk. Pulls units to |
| ground targets from long range. | new locations. Enemies will be |
| Attacks spawn Broodlings. Cannot | stunned for 1 round. Slows enemy |
| attack air units. | units and prevents them from |
| | attacking. Drains life from allied |
| | units to restore energy. Can attack |
| | air units. |
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Swarm Host Mutation Unlocks After: The Crucible |
| Evolution Unlocks After: Conviction |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Burrow | Rapid Incubation | Pressurized Glands |
| Allows Swarm Hosts to | Locusts spawn 20% | Locusts can attack both |
| burrow. While burrowed, | faster. | ground and air units. |
| Swarm Hosts cannot be | | |
| seen by enemies without | | |
| detection. Able to | | |
| Spawn Locusts while | | |
| burrowed. | | |
+-------------------------+------------+------------+-------------------------+
| Carrion | Creeper |
| Spawns flying Locusts that can | Able to Deep Tunnel to any location |
| attack ground targets. Flying | covered by creep. Constantly emits |
| Locusts are faster and deal 50% more | creep while rooted or burrowed. |
| damage than ground Locusts, but they | |
| have 25% less life. | |
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Ultralisk Mutation Unlocks After: Phantoms of the Void |
| Evolution Unlocks After: Planetfall |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Burrow Charge | Tissue Assimilation | Monarch Blades |
| Ultralisk burrows and | Gain life equal to 40% | Gain +20 splash damage, |
| charges towards a unit. | of all damage dealt | an increase of 400%, |
| When Ultralisk | from normal attacks. | causing attacks to deal |
| unburrows, all enemy | | 25 damage to both |
| units nearby are knocked| | primary and secondary |
| back and stunned for 2 | | targets. |
| seconds. Cooldown: 10 | | |
| seconds. | | |
+-------------------------+------------+------------+-------------------------+
| Noxious | Torrasque |
| Emits Noxious Cloud that deals 5 | Enters a Chrysalis when killed. |
| damage per second to enemy ground | After a short period, is reborn as a |
| units. Toxic Blast deals 20 damage | new Ultralisk. Rebirth cooldown: 60 |
| to enemy ground units and structures.| seconds. |
| Toxic Blast cooldown: 10 seconds. | |
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
-----b. Evolution Missions----- --[VLTM]--
Before you can choose an evolution for one of your units, you must do a short
mission to learn about the two possibilities. These missions are pretty short
without a lot of story. By the end of the mission you have a good idea how to
use the new units best. There are a total of 7 Evolution missions. I will not
provide walkthroughs of these as the missions are basically just tutorials on
the new units. I do, however, list the mission required to unlock the evolution
and the objectives. Refer to the chart above for descriptions of the evolved
units.
-----Zergling Evolution-----
Required Mission: Fire in the Sky or Shoot the Messenger (whichever you
complete first)
New Units: Raptor or Swarmling
Objectives:
Raptor
- Collect 4 Karak Essences
- Destroy the Dominion Outpost
Swarmling
- Protect the Hive Cluster
- Destroy the Dominion Base
-----Baneling Evolution-----
Required Mission: Old Soldiers
New Units: Splitter or Hunter
Objectives:
Splitter
- Collect 6 Mitoscarab Essences
- Destroy 4 Protoss Colossi
Hunter
- Collect 3 Baneling Survivor Groups
- Destroy the Planetary Fortress
-----Roach Evolution-----
Required Mission: Enemy Within
New Units: Corpser or Vile
Objectives:
Corpser
- Kill the Scantipede
- Destroy the Protoss
- Escape the Protoss Lab
Vile
- Eliminate All Protoss
-----Hydralisk Evolution-----
Required Mission: Supreme
New Units: Impaler or Lurker
Objectives:
Impaler
- Collect 3 Impaler Colony Essences
- Morph Impalers
- Eliminate All Terran Forces
Lurker
- Get to the Lurker Den
- Defend the Lurker Den
-----Mutalisk Evolution-----
Required Mission: Hand of Darkness
New Units: Brood Lord or Viper
Objectives:
Brood Lord
- Collect 2 Brood Lord Essences
- Morph Brood Lords
- Destroy the Planetary Fortress
Viper
- Destroy All Terran Forces
-----Swarm Host Evolution-----
Required Mission: Conviction
New Units: Carrion or Creeper
Objectives:
Carrion
- Consume the Carrion Nest
- Destroy 2 Nuke Silos
Creeper
- Kill the Ash Worm
- Defend the Hatcheries
-----Ultralisk Evolution-----
Required Mission: Planetfall
New Units: Noxious or Torrasque
Objectives:
Noxious
- Escape the Lab
Torrasque
- Secure the Bridge
- Destroy the Weapons Facility
-----ii. Kerrigan------------------------------------------------------[KRRG]--
In Heart of the Swarm, Sarah Kerrigan is a special hero unit available in all
missions. While she starts as a fairly powerful Zerg unit, she eventually
becomes the strongest unit you have. Kerrigan can level-up and gain levels,
which unlock special powers.
-----Kerrigan Levels-----
Kerrigan gains levels for completing both essential mission objectives and
bonus objectives. Kerrigan does not gain experience points. She just gets
levels directly from completing objectives. Higher levels increases Kerrigan's
base stats and unlock more powers.
Kerrigan Starting Stats
Life: 300
Energy: 200
Damage: 20
Armor: 0
Kerrigan Final Stats (Level 70)
Life: 800
Energy: 110 (regens at 4x normal rate)
Damage: 50
Armor: 3
I could not figure out a formula for how her stats increase. I think it is
different for each level. For example, sometimes gaining 2 levels gave her 40
life, but later she only got 10 life from 2 levels. Her base stats seem to
increase at a faster rate in the lower levels, her progression slowing down in
the higher levels. These are the numbers I took down just for reference:
8 levels = +100 life, +2 damage
3 levels = +40 life, +1 damage
1 level = +1 armor
7 levels = +40 life, +5 damage
3 levels = +40 life, +1 damage
2 levels = +20 life, +1 damage
3 levels = +20 life, +2 damage
20 levels = +100 life, +10 damage, +2 armor
3 levels = +30 life, +1 damage
2 levels = +10 life, +1 damage
7 levels = +50 life, +2 damage
11 levels = +50 life, +10 energy, +4 damage
-----Kerrigan's Powers-----
A new tier (or row) of powers is unlocked every few levels that Kerrigan gains.
You can only choose one ability from each tier, but you can change them anytime
between missions. The third column (furthest to the right) does not appear
until after you have completed the "Supreme" mission, which is about 12 story
missions into the game.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Level 1 |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Kinetic Blast | Heroic Fortitude | Leaping Strike |
| Kerrigan deals 300 | Kerrigan gains +200 | Kerrigan leaps to her |
| damage to target unit | maximum life. Life | target and deals 150 |
| or structure from long | regen rate increased by | damage to it. Can be |
| range. | by 100%. | used without a target |
| | | to travel quickly. |
| | | Passive: +10 damage |
| | | Passive: -3 attack |
| | | range. |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Level 1 |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Crushing Grip | Chain Reaction | Psionic Shift |
| Enemies in target area | Kerrigan's attacks deal | Kerrigan dashes through |
| are stunned for 3 | normal damage to her | enemies, dealing 50 |
| seconds and take 30 | target then jump to | damage to all enemies |
| damage over time. | additional nearby | in her path. |
| | enemies. Deals 10 | Passive: +50% movement |
| | damage to up to four | speed. |
| | additional targets. | |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Level 10 |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Zergling Reconstitution | Improved Overlords | Automated Extractors |
| Killed Zerglings | Overlords morph | Extractors automatically|
| respawn from your | instantly and provide | extract Vespene Gas |
| primary Hatchery at no | 50% more supply. | without Drones. |
| cost. Respawns up to 10 | | |
| Zerglings every 30 | | |
| seconds until all | | |
| Zerglings have returned | | |
| to life. | | |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Level 20 |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Wild Mutation | Spawn Banelings | Mend |
| Friendly Zerg units in | Kerrigan spawns six | Heals Kerrigan for 150 |
| the target area gain | Banelings with timed | life and friendly |
| +200 maximum life and | life. | biological units nearby |
| 100% increased attack | | for 50 life. An |
| speed for 10 seconds. | | additional 50% of the |
| | | amount healed regens |
| | | over 15 seconds. |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Level 35 |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Twin Drones | Malignant Creep | Vespene Efficiency |
| Drones morph in groups | Your units and | Vespene gas harvesting |
| of two at no additional | structures gain | efficiency increased by |
| cost and require less | increased life regen | 25%. |
| supply. | and 30% increased attack| |
| | speed on creep. Creep | |
| | Tumors also spread creep| |
| | faster and farther. | |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Level 50 |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Infest Broodlings | Fury | Ability Efficiency |
| Enemies damaged by | Each attack temporarily | Kerrigan's abilities |
| Kerrigan become | increases Kerrigan's | have their cooldown and |
| infested and will spawn | attack speed by 15%. | energy cost reduced by |
| 2 Broodlings with timed | Can stack up to 75% | 20%. |
| life if killed quickly. | increased attack speed. | |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Level 60 |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Apocalypse | Spawn Leviathan | Drop-Pods |
| Deals 300 damage to | Spawns a mighty flying | Delivers Primal Zerg |
| enemy units and 700 | Leviathan with timed | with timed life to the |
| damage to enemy | life. Deals massive | battlefield. Drop-Pods |
| structures in a large | damage and has energy- | contain 40 Zerglings, 5 |
| area. | based abilities. Can | Roaches, and 5 |
| | attack ground and air | Hydralisks. |
| | units. | |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
-----iii. Unlocked Units-----------------------------------------------[NLCK]--
Use these lists if you want to make sure you have a particular unit before
doing a mission. Basic units are unlocked in regular campaign missions, or
story missions. Evolution units, on the other hand, are unlocked from Evolution
missions. However, Evolution missions are unlocked from story missions, so I
list the story mission that unlocks the Evolution mission.
+-------------+----------------------+
| Basic Units | Mission Unlocked In |
+-------------+----------------------+
| Zergling | Rat Race |
| Swarm Queen | Rendezvous |
| Baneling | Domination |
| Roach | Harvest of Screams |
| Hydralisk | Shoot the Messenger |
| Aberration | Old Soldiers |
| Mutalisk | Waking the Ancient |
| Swarm Host | The Crucible |
| Ultralisk | Phantoms of the Void |
+-------------+----------------------+
+---------------------------------+-----------------------+
| Evolution Missions | Unlocked After |
+---------------------------------+-----------------------+
| Raptor or Swarmling (Zergling) | *Fire in the Sky -OR- |
| | Shoot the Messenger |
| Splitter or Hunter (Baneling) | Old Soldiers |
| Corpser or Vile (Roach) | Enemy Within |
| Impaler or Lurker (Hydralisk) | Supreme |
| Brood Lord or Viper (Mutalisk) | Hand of Darkness |
| Carrion or Creeper (Swarm Host) | Conviction |
| Noxious or Torrasque (Ultralisk)| Planetfall |
+---------------------------------+-----------------------+
*Whichever one you complete first, i.e. your 5th mission.
-----iv. Missions Graph------------------------------------------------[MSSN]--
Here is a basic "mapping" of all the missions available in the campaign. It
helps when planning out which units you want to use in each mission as well as
the Mutations and Evolutions you want for them. You can't plan if you don't
know what you will have access to at any single point.
-START-
|
UMOJA Lab Rat
|
Back in the Saddle
|
Rendezvous
|
+----------+----------+
| |
CHAR Domination Harvest of Screams KALDIR
| |
Fire in the Sky Shoot the Messenger
| |
Zergling Evolution Zergling Evolution
| |
Old Soldiers Enemy Within
| |
Baneling Evolution Roach Evolution
| |
+----------+----------+
|
ZERUS Waking the Ancient
|
The Crucible
|
Supreme
|
Hydralisk Evolution
|
+----------+----------+
| |
SKYGEIRR Infested With Friends Like These... SPACE
| |
Hand of Darkness Conviction
| |
Mutalisk Evolution Swarm Host Evolution
| |
Phantoms of the Void |
| |
+----------+----------+
|
KORHAL Planetfall
|
Ultralisk Evolution
|
Death From Above
|
The Reckoning
|
-END-
For the most part you must complete all branches before continuing. There is an
exception for Char and Kaldir. Completing one of those branches will unlock
Zerus immediately, so you can choose to do Zerus or the planet you skipped
before. Char, Kaldir, and Zerus must all be completed before Skygeirr or Space
missions become available.
Zergling Evolution can only be completed once, after your 5th mission.
Evolution missions are optional. You can put them off as long as you want. You
could even choose not evolve at all for the entire game for a nice challenge.
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- VII. MULTIPLAYER AND BATTLE.NET CHANGES -------------------------[MLTP]-|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Blizzard added a bunch of new features to Battle.net for the Heart of the Swarm
expansion. Most of these features are available to players without the
expansion -- those who just own Wings of Liberty -- but a few are Heart of the
Swarm-only.
=====A. Revamped Progression===========================================[RVMP]==
First up, is a revamped progression for multiplayer. In the previous interface,
the focus was clearly on playing ranked games. Unfortunately, most players were
more casual and not looking for ultra competitive games. Others just did not
know where to start. They knew they weren't good enough to play ranked games
yet, but didn't know how to get better. Well, Blizzard has redone the core
interface to show a more clear progression that goes from just starting
multiplayer all the way to veteran. These four game modes are also available to
Wings of Liberty players.
Training
Training mode plays much like a regular melee game against AI players, except
it gives players a set of basic objectives on how to play their chosen race. It
tells the player when to build supply buildings or units to prevent supply
block. It also lets them know not to save resources by constantly giving them
units and buildings to spend them on. After playing this mode awhile, players
will have a good idea how each race works and have a basic build order to
follow.
Versus A.I.
The next step in progression is Versus A.I. This is the old Cooperative vs.
A.I. mode, just renamed. You alone or with other human players can play against
computer players. There are several A.I. difficulties, but the game chooses the
appropriate one based on your performance in previous games. For example,
wining a lot against a Hard A.I. will prompt Battle.net to put you against a
Harder A.I. So whenever your skill gets better or worse, it is changing the
A.I. difficulty to ensure you always have a good game.
Unranked
This is a brand new game mode not available before Heart of the Swarm (or patch
2.0.4 with Wings of Liberty). In the past many players explained that playing
games against other real players made them nervous. They feared they would lose
a game, lose ranking, and get bad marks on their profile. They didn't want to
look bad to other players. Some players just wanted to practice an alternate
race without hurting their record with their main race. Blizzard heard these
complaints and created Unranked mode. This is a great sandbox mode just to have
fun in, similar to Versus A.I. but against real players.
Ranked
This mode was called League before. It functions exactly as it did before.
There are the same seven leagues (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond,
Master, Grandmaster) and the same divisions of 100 players (except
Grandmaster).
These new game modes do not have to be done in order. They give new players a
clear path to follow, but veterans can go straight into Ranked games if they
want. You have the freedom and the choice to do what you want. Maybe you are
new and do a few Training games, then go straight into Unranked, or maybe you
go straight to Ranked, find it a little too much and try Versus A.I. It's all
up to you.
-----i. Experience and Levels------------------------------------------[XPRN]--
Along with a more clear progression from beginner to veteran, Blizzard also
added a leveling system to the game. This is only available to those who have
bought Heart of the Swarm. You get experience points from all games played in
the Matchmaking area of Battle.net. You also get experience from Custom Games
on Official Blizzard Maps (except when playing offline).
Experience and levels are designed to be a more long-term progression for
players than the four game modes above. In Wings of Liberty, you didn't have a
lot of reasons to keep playing once you reached the limits of your skills, but
in Heart of the Swarm, you can keep playing, gain more levels, and unlock
little rewards.
-----a. Gaining Experience Points----- --[GNNG]--
At the end of each match, experience points are awarded for the following
actions:
Resources Spent - The resource value (Minerals + Vespene) of all units and
structures created in the match as well as all upgrades fully researched. For
example, a Roach costs 75 Minerals and 25 Vespene, so making one in a game
gives 100 xp.
Units Destroyed - The resource value (Minerals + Vespene) of all enemy units
and structures destroyed in the match.
Game Length Bonus - Blizzard gives a bonus for shorter games. I don't know the
reasoning, but I think it is so players are not discouraged by quick losses. As
an example, a 10 minute game gives you around +50% xp.
In addition, there are some extra bonuses you can get without having to do
anything special:
First Win of the Day - Your first win of the day with each race gives you +
25,000 XP with that race. You can get this bonus once per race, for a total of
three times per day.
Bonus Weekend - Periodically, Blizzard will run a Bonus Weekend. During the
weekend, you get a nice percentage bonus to your experience gains for the day,
such as double (+100%) experience. This stacks additively with the Game Length
Bonus.
The following table lists how many experience points are required per level:
+----+------------+ +----+------------+ +----+------------+
| Lv | Experience | | Lv | Experience | | Lv | Experience |
+----+------------+ +----+------------+ +----+------------+
| 1 | 5000 | | 11 | 155000 | | 21 | 190000 |
| 2 | 45000 | | 12 | 160000 | | 22 | 192500 |
| 3 | 65000 | | 13 | 165000 | | 23 | 195000 |
| 4 | 85000 | | 14 | 170000 | | 24 | 197500 |
| 5 | 105000 | | 15 | 175000 | | 25 | 200000 |
| 6 | 125000 | | 16 | 177500 | | 26 | 202500 |
| 7 | 135000 | | 17 | 180000 | | 27 | 205000 |
| 8 | 140000 | | 18 | 182500 | | 28 | 207500 |
| 9 | 145000 | | 19 | 185000 | | 29 | 210000 |
| 10 | 150000 | | 20 | 187500 | | 30 | 212500 |
+----+------------+ +----+------------+ +----+------------+
Read: At level 0, I need 5000 experience points to get to level 1.
Another example: At level 26, I need 205000 experience points to get to level
27.
Notes:
* Each race has its own experience and levels, so you have to gain levels 1 to
30 three times if you want all races at max level.
* You start at level 0 with each race, not level 1, and each time you gain a
level your experience total goes back to 0.
* The total experience for one race getting to max level 30 is 4,750,000.
Getting all races to the max level would require 14,250,000 experience points.
* Queuing up as Random gives you experience for the race that Battle.net chose
for you that game.
-----b. Rewards for Leveling Up----- --[RWRD]--
In addition to new portraits and decals, two new sets of rewards are given
based on gaining levels: Skins and Animations.
Skins
Skins are similar to decals but more full fledged. On a Marine, a Decal will be
hard to notice, but a different Skin is very noticeable. Both Buildings and
Units can be modified by Skins. There are only a few skins so far, mostly from
gaining levels and a few from buying Collector's Editions. Blizzard will
probably add more over time.
Animations
These are slash commands you can enter to have your units perform little
animations. So far they are all dance animations. The base game, Wings of
Liberty, already came with a number of dance animations. For other units you
can unlock a dance animation by gaining levels.
Here are the awards you get for gaining levels with each race:
+----+-----------+-----------------+-----------------------+------------------+
| Lv | Type | Zerg | Terran | Protoss |
+----+-----------+-----------------+-----------------------+------------------+
| 2 | Decal | Drone | Civilian | Initiate |
| 3 | Portrait | Zergling | Marine | Zealot |
| 4 | Decal | Broodling | Recruit | Neophyte |
| 5 | Portrait | Roach | Marauder | Stalker |
| 7 | Decal | Predator | Marshall | Adept |
| 8 | Portrait | Hydralisk | Hellbat | Sentry |
| 9 | Decal | Alpha | Vigilante | Mentor |
| 10 | Animation | Overlord /dance | MULE /dance | Stalker /dance |
| 11 | Portrait | Locust | Widow Mine | Immortal |
| 13 | Decal | Slayer | Renegade | Instructor |
| 14 | Portrait | Swarm Host | Medivac | Oracle |
| 15 | Animation | Roach /dance | Viking /dance | Oracle /dance |
| 16 | Decal | Ravager | Mercenary | Master |
| 17 | Portrait | Infestor | Banshee | High Templar |
| 19 | Decal | Devouring One | Soldier | Templar |
| 20 | Skin | Mutant Overlord | Mercenary Supply Depot| Judicator Pylon |
| 21 | Portrait | Viper | Ghost | Tempest |
| 22 | Decal | Hunter Killer | Officer | Praetor |
| 23 | Portrait | Brood Lord | Thor | Colossus |
| 25 | Animation | Infestor /dance | Ghost /dance | Colossus /dance |
| 26 | Decal | Torrasque | Commander | Dark Prelate |
| 27 | Portrait | Ultralisk | Battlecruiser | Carrier |
| 28 | Decal | Brood Master | Son of Korhal | Executor |
| 29 | Portrait | Kerrigan | Raynor | Zeratul |
| 30 | Skin | Mutant Zergling | Mercenary Marine | Judicator Zealot |
+----+-----------+-----------------+-----------------------+------------------+
Notes:
* Some of these portraits have similar names to old ones, but they are new
portraits. For example, the old Zergling is an orangey color while the new one
is more purplish.
* Levels 1, 6, 12, 18, and 24 have no rewards associated with them.
=====B. New Social Features============================================[NWSC]==
One the biggest complaints of Battle.net 2.0 over the years was the lack of
social features. At launch it didn't even have chat channels. Blizzard has
slowly been improving it over the years. The latest editions are Groups and
Clans. In many ways these are just more organized and prominent chat channels,
but Blizzard plans to add more features to them over time.
A new "Groups" menu has been added to the bottom bar of Battle.net to manage
your Groups. You can see all the Groups you are a member of, find more Groups,
or create your own.
Groups
Groups are a new concept not in Blizzard's other RTS games. The idea behind a
group is for players to find similar interests and form groups around them.
These interests can be anything. It could be a fansite and its readers, maybe a
popular esports commentator or even a group for all your work employees that
play the game. You can be a member of up to 30 groups.
Clans
Clans are a special type of Group. You can only be in one Clan at a time, but
you get a fancy tag before your name. This is a great way for teams to have a
common name, especially the pro teams. Other people watching the game or
playing against them will have a better idea who they are. Blizzard has said
they want to give Clans the ability create their own tournaments eventually as
well.
=====C. Improved Replay Mode===========================================[MPRV]==
While the existing replay system in Wings of Liberty was good, Blizzard got a
lot of suggestions to improve it. A couple of these will be very nice for the
average player while a couple are mainly for esports. These are what I would
call "quality-of-life" changes. They are little things you don't realize how
nice they are until you have used them for a while and gotten used to them.
Group Viewing
Despite Battle.net 2.0 being newer, there were some features in the old
Battle.net that it still didn't have. One of them was being able to view
replays together with friends. Now it can be done in Starcraft 2 also. When you
go to view a replay, you get taken to a lobby screen where you can invite your
friends. Once everyone you want is in the lobby, you can start the replay.
Everyone can see things happen at the same time and chat together as if they
were playing the game.
Take Command
During any replay, you can now click on a button in the replay interface to
switch the game from being a replay to being a regular game. This allows you to
take over and start the game right from that spot in the same exact state. You
can do this both with solo replay viewing and with group viewing. A solo viewer
might want to take over from a pro player in the replay and see if they could
have done better. A group viewing a replay can assign each viewer to a player
in the game and experience the ensuing chaos. Overall, it lets you try out all
those "what if" scenarios to see what would happen.
Custom Interface
This is mainly for esports broadcasters and YouTube commentators. They can now
modify the replay interface. There is an edit mode within the game using
hotkeys to changes things around, but you can also access the game files
directly to change the interface. This opens up the possibility for the big
broadcasters to add custom graphics and branding to the live picture. It
probably won't be that useful for the average player, but anything to make the
esports look more professional is great.
Recover Game
This is another feature for esports. During any custom game if a player
disconnects or the server crashes, the game can be restarted exactly from the
moment it stopped. One of the problems with Starcraft 2 tournaments is that the
game has no LAN mode. Everything has to go through the internet. It's usually
reliable but not always. The more integrity esports tournaments have, the
higher chance they will become popular or gain viewership.
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- VIII. NEW ACHIEVEMENTS ------------------------------------------[CHVM]-|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Heart of the Swarm adds a whole new category of achievements for its campaign.
I am not going to list those old achievements, but I will note the one major
change: all the achievements that required Solo or Team League play can now be
obtained through Unranked matches. That should help players that were nervous
about losing ranking to finally get some of the Wings of Liberty portraits.
-----Rewards-----
Completing achievements almost always awards points, but sometimes you can also
unlock new portraits and decals to use. In your profile you can see all the
rewards you have unlocked and choose which ones to use to customize the look of
your army.
Points
These just show your overall achievement progress. They can't be traded in for
anything. They are pretty much the same as Xbox Live gamer points.
Portrait
These are avatars people can see when checking your profile. This applies both
in-game and on the forums. Some people like to use a portrait that was hard to
obtain to show how good they are at the game. Others like to use a newbie
portrait to hide their skill at the game.
Decal
This is a little insignia on some of your ingame units and buildings. Your
decals will show up in your game replays as well.
Skin
You can read more about these in the Experience and Levels section above. Only
a few achievements give skins as rewards, Feats of Strength for buying a
Collector's Edition.
Here's how the achievements are listed:
-----Achievement Name--10p (this is the name and how many points you get)
A description of what you have to do to earn the achievement.
Ranks: Some achievements have multiple ranks, and you get rewards for each
rank.
Reward: Special rewards you might get like portraits and decals.
=====A. Swarm Campaign==1520p==========================================[SWRM]==
These are all earned in the Heart of the Swarm campaign. Achievements that
require a certain difficulty can be achieved on a harder difficulty but not an
easier one. For example, if it says to do X on Normal difficulty, it can be
earned on Normal as well as Hard or Brutal difficulty. This means if you play
missions on Brutal, you are eligible for every achievement. Most achievements
will be awarded in the middle of the mission, but some of them require you to
go to the victory screen first.
-----i. Umoja Missions--120p-------------------------------------------[AMJM]--
-----Lab Rat--10p
Complete the "Lab Rat" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Mighty Mouse--10p
Destroy 35 Sentry Bots in the "Lab Rat" mission.
-----Rat Race--10p
Complete the "Lab Rat" mission in less than 10 minutes on Normal difficulty.
-----Back in the Saddle--10p
Complete the "Back in the Saddle" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Full Throttle--10p
Prevent the Dominion from destroying a Tram Engine during the Tram Ride in the
"Back in the Saddle" mission.
-----Back in the Saddle--10p
Don't take damage from Archangel in the "Back in the Saddle" mission on Normal
difficulty.
-----Rendezvous--10p
Complete the "Rendezvous" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----First Strike--10p
Destroy 15 enemy structures before Naktul's forces arrive in the "Rendezvous"
mission.
-----Zerg Save the Queen--10p
Rescue all trapped Swarm Queens before Naktul's forces arrive in the
"Rendezvous" mission on Normal difficulty.
-----Bonus Objectives: Umoja--10p
Complete all Bonus Objectives in each of the Umoja Missions.
-----Umoja Missions--20p
Complete all of the above Umoja mission achievements.
-----ii. Char Missions--120p-------------------------------------------[ACHR]--
-----Domination--10p
Complete the "Domination" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Poached Eggs--10p
Hatch all 6 Baneling Nests in the "Domination" mission before collecting 100
eggs.
-----No Egg for You--10p
Don't let Zagara collect an Egg in the "Domination" mission on Normal
difficulty.
-----Fire in the Sky--10p
Complete the "Fire in the Sky" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Red Alert--10p
Don't let 5 units die to the Gorgon Battlecruiser in the "Fire in the Sky"
mission.
-----Conquer & Command--10p
Destroy 3 Orbital Command structures in the "Fire in the Sky" mission on Normal
difficulty.
-----Old Soldiers--10p
Complete the "Old Soldiers" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Nuclear Launch Rejected--10p
Destroy 20 enemy structures before the 1st Nuclear Strike in the "Old
Soldiers" mission.
-----Recalled Down the Thunder--10p
Complete the "Old Soldiers" mission in less than 20 minutes on Normal
difficulty.
-----Bonus Objectives: Char--10p
Complete all bonus objectives in each of the Char Missions.
-----Char Missions--20p
Complete all of the above Char mission achievements.
-----iii. Kaldir Missions--120p----------------------------------------[AKLD]--
-----Harvest of Screams--10p
Complete the "Harvest of Screams" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Ice Breaker--10p
Destroy 20 unfrozen enemy structures in the "Harvest of Screams" mission.
-----Storm Chaser--10p
Complete the "Harvest of Screams" mission in less than 15 minutes on Normal
difficulty.
-----Shoot the Messenger--10p
Complete the "Shoot the Messenger" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Warp in Peace--10p
Don't let a Protoss Shuttle begin Warping Out in the "Shoot the Messenger"
mission.
-----Extreme Nexism--10p
Destroy 2 Protoss Nexuses in the "Shoot the Messenger" mission on Normal
difficulty.
-----Enemy Within--10p
Complete the "Enemy Within" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Biomass Effect--10p
Collect 450 biomass in the "Enemy Within" mission.
-----Failure to Launch--10p
Don't let an Escape Pod reach less than 20 seconds in the "Enemy Within"
mission on Normal difficulty.
-----Bonus Objectives: Kaldir--10p
Complete all bonus objectives in each of the Kaldir Missions.
-----Kaldir Missions--20p
Complete all of the above Kaldir mission achievements.
-----iv. Zerus Missions--120p------------------------------------------[AZRS]--
-----Waking the Ancient--10p
Complete the "Waking the Ancient" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----A Game of Drones--10p
Don't lose more than 3 Drones in the "Waking the Ancient" mission.
-----Rude Awakening--10p
Kill 4 Primal Hives in the "Waking the Ancient" mission on Normal difficulty.
-----The Crucible--10p
Complete "The Crucible" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Epic Meal Time--10p
Kill 75 enemy units with Primal Spawn Locusts in "The Crucible" mission.
-----Can't Touch This Chrysalis--10p
Complete "The Crucible" mission without Kerrigan's Chrysalis taking damage on
Normal difficulty.
-----Supreme--10p
Complete the "Supreme" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Endangered Species--10p
Kill 500 enemy units with Kerrigan in the "Supreme" mission.
-----Queen of the Jungle--10p
Complete the "Supreme" mission without letting Kerrigan drop below 100 life on
Normal difficulty.
-----Bonus Objectives: Zerus--10p
Complete all bonus objectives in each of the Zerus Missions.
-----Zerus Missions--20p
Complete all of the above Zerus mission achievements.
-----v. Skygeirr Missions--120p----------------------------------------[ASKG]--
-----Just Getting Inside--10p
Complete the "Infested" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Master of Puppets--10p
Kill 60 enemy units with Parasitic Dominated Terran units in the "Infested"
mission.
-----Spreading the Disease--10p
Infest all Garrisons without losing a Virophage in the "Infested" mission on
Normal difficulty.
-----Hand of Darkness--10p
Complete the "Hand of Darkness" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Shattered Command--10p
Destroy 2 Command Centers in the "Hand of Darkness" mission.
-----Power Underwhelming--10p
Destroy 3 Hybrid Holding Cells before the Hybrid are released in "Hand of
Darkness" on Normal difficulty.
-----Phantoms of the Void--10p
Complete the "Phantoms of the Void" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----The Phantoms Menaced--10p
Kill 2 Hybrid within 20 seconds of each other in the "Phantoms of the Void"
mission in Normal difficulty.
-----Stukov Strikes Back--10p
Don't let Stukov die in the "Phantoms of the Void" mission.
-----Bonus Objectives: Skygierr--10p
Complete all bonus objectives in each of the Skygierr Missions.
-----Skygierr Missions--20p
Complete all of the above Skygierr mission achievements.
-----vi. Space Missions--90p-------------------------------------------[ASPC]--
-----With Friends Like These...--10p
Complete the "With Friends Like These..." mission in the Heart of the Swarm
campaign.
-----MinedCraft--10p
Collect every mineral pickup with the Hyperion in the Complete the "With
Friends Like These..." mission.
-----Space Ace--10p
Don't let a Mag Mine hit the Hyperion in the "With Friends Like These..."
mission on Normal difficulty.
-----Conviction--10p
Complete the "Conviction" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Staying Alive--10p
Prevent Kerrigan's life from dropping below 50% in the "Conviction" mission.
-----Saturday Night Fever--10p
Reach the Prison Deck with Kerrigan in less than 8 minutes in the "Conviction"
mission on Normal difficulty.
-----Bonus Objectives: Deep Space--10p
Complete all bonus objectives in each of the Space Missions.
-----Deep Space Missions--20p
Complete all of the above Space mission achievements.
-----vii. Final Missions--120p-----------------------------------------[AFNL]--
-----Planetfall--10p
Complete the "Planetfall" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Fully Operational--10p
Don't lose a Bile Launcher in the "Planetfall" mission.
-----Death Start--10p
Destroy 3 Augustgrad Gates before the 5th Bile Launcher lands in the
"Planetfall" mission on Normal difficulty.
-----Death From Above--10p
Complete the "Death From Above" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Terran Up the Sky--10p
Destroy 20 enemy structures before the 2nd Psi Destroyer field activation in
the "Death From Above" mission.
-----Apex Predator--10p
Don't let Dehaka die while destroying a Power Link in the "Death From Above"
mission on Normal difficulty.
-----The Reckoning--10p
Complete "The Reckoning" mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
-----Swarm Guardian--10p
Prevent the Hyperion from taking damage in "The Reckoning" mission.
-----Zerg Rush--10p
Complete "The Reckoning" mission in less than 25 minutes on Normal difficulty.
-----Bonus Objectives: Final--10p
Complete all bonus objectives in each of the Final Missions.
-----Final Missions--20p
Complete all of the above Final mission achievements.
-----viii. Story Mode--350p--------------------------------------------[STRY]--
-----Umoja Missions--10p
Complete the Umoja missions in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
Reward: Prince Valerian Portrait
-----Char Missions--10p
Complete the Char missions in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
Reward: Zagara Portrait
-----Kaldir Missions--10p
Complete the Kaldir missions in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
Reward: Lasarra Portrait
-----Zerus Missions--10p
Complete the Zerus missions in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
Reward: Dehaka Portrait
-----Skygeirr Missions--10p
Complete the Skygeirr missions in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
Reward: Infested Stukov Portrait
-----Space Missions--10p
Complete the Umoja missions in the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
Reward: Mira Horner Portrait
-----Heart of the Swarm--10p
Complete the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
Reward: Primal Queen Portrait
-----Visionary--10p
On Char, teach Zagara what it means to be the ruler of the Swarm.
-----Xel'Naga Secrets--10p
Discover the true purpose of the Xel'Naga Artifact while at the Skygeirr
Platform.
-----Judgement Day--10p
Discover Zeratul's next destination.
-----StarTours--10p
Click on each object viewable from the Leviathan.
Reward: Izsha Portrait
-----Fashion Statement--10p
Show off your new look to the following characters [Izsha, Abathur, Zurvan].
-----For the Swarm!--10p
Mutate each Zerg unit in the Evolution Pit.
-----Abathur's Cookbook--10p
Complete all the Evolution missions.
Reward: Abathur Portrait
-----Rally the Troops--10p
Speak to the following characters before assaulting Mengsk's Palace on Korhal
[Abathur, Zagara, Dehaka, Stukov, Izsha].
-----Kerrigan Power--70p
Gain levels with Kerrigan in the Heart of the Swarm Campaign.
Ranks: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70
Reward: Ghost Kerrigan Portrait (70)
-----Heart of the Swarm: Normal--40p
Complete Heart of the Swarm campaign missions on Normal difficulty.
Ranks: 5, 10, 15, 20
-----Heart of the Swarm: Hard--40p
Complete Heart of the Swarm campaign missions on Hard difficulty.
Ranks: 5, 10, 15, 20
Reward: Zurvan Portrait
-----Heart of the Swarm: Brutal--40p
Complete Heart of the Swarm campaign missions on Brutal difficulty.
Ranks: 5, 10, 15, 20
Reward: Narud Portrait
-----Swarm Domination--10p
Complete all Kerrigan Level, Army mutation, and Evolution mission achievements.
-----ix. Kerrigan--170p------------------------------------------------[AKRR]--
-----Smoking Corpses--10p
Kill 50 enemy units or structures with Kinetic Blast.
-----Leaping Death--10p
Deal 15,000 damage with Leaping Strike.
-----Get a Grip--10p
Target and hit 150 enemy units with Crushing Grip.
-----Unchained--10p
Deal 5,000 damage with Chain Reaction.
-----Shifted Priorities--10p
Deal 5,000 damage with Psionic Shift.
-----Endless Swarm--10p
Reconstitute 500 Zerglings with Zergling Reconstitution.
-----Where the Wild Things Are--10p
Target and hit 100 friendly units with Wild Mutation.
-----So Many Banelings!--10p
Kill 100 enemy units or structures with Spawn Broodlings.
-----Worker Rush--10p
Morph 36 sets of Drones with the Twin Drones ability active.
-----Surprise!--10p
Kill 100 enemy units with the Infest Broodlings ability active.
-----To The Limit--10p
Maintain Kerrigan's Fury for 60 seconds with Fury.
-----Spammer--10p
Use 4 abilities within 10 seconds with Ability Efficiency.
-----Air Drop--10p
Use Drop-Pods 3 times in a single mission.
-----Release The Kraken--10p
Use a Leviathan to kill 25 enemy units or structures in a single mission.
-----Apocalypse Now--10p
Use Apocalypse to kill 150 enemies or structures in a single mission.
-----Kerrigan Domination--20p
Complete all the above Kerrigan achievements.
-----x. Mastery--190p--------------------------------------------------[MSTR]--
-----Mad Dash--10p
Destroy 3 Factories in the "Lab Rat" mission in less than 10 minutes on Hard
difficulty.
-----Nick of Time--10p
Complete "Back in the Saddle" with more than 40 seconds on each lockdown on
Hard difficulty.
-----Premature Evacuation--10p
Destroy all Dominion Structures in the "Rendezvous" mission before Naktul's
brood arrives on Hard difficulty.
-----Shutout--10p
Destroy Zagara's base in the "Domination" mission in less than 14 minutes on
Hard difficulty before collecting 100 eggs.
-----Going, Going, Gorgon!--10p
Destroy 4 Gorgon Battlecruisers within 120 seconds in the "Fire in the Sky"
mission on Hard difficulty.
-----Home Wrecker--10p
Destroy the Planetary Fortress in the "Old Soldiers" mission before the nuclear
strike on Hard difficulty.
-----Psi-lence is Golden--10p
Complete all objectives in less than 12 minutes in the "Harvest the Screams"
mission on Hard difficulty.
-----My Cool Bay Explosions--10p
Destroy all 3 Protoss Docking Bays in the "Shoot the Messenger" mission on Hard
difficulty.
-----Monster Smash--10p
Kill 15 units with the Giant Ursadon in the "Enemy Within" mission on Hard
difficulty.
-----Whack-A-Brakk--10p
Don't let Brakk destroy any Biomass in the "Waking the Ancient" mission on Hard
difficulty.
-----Short Life Expectancy--10p
Kill the Tyrannozor in under 1 minute after it appears in "The Crucible"
mission on Hard difficulty.
-----Whose Queen Reigns Supreme?--10p
Complete the "Supreme" mission in less than 12 minutes on Hard difficulty.
-----Once, Twice, Three Times Malady--10p
Complete the "Infested" mission before the Dominion Gas the Platform a 3rd time
on Hard difficulty.
-----Dominion Domination--10p
Kill 3 Hybrid Dominators with Terran units in the "Hand of Darkness" mission on
Hard difficulty.
-----No-toss--10p
Destroy all Protoss structures in the "Phantoms of the Void" mission on Hard
difficulty.
-----Ludicrous Speed!--10p
Complete the "With Friends Like These..." mission in less than 11 minutes on
Hard difficulty.
-----Fast Break--10p
Complete the "Conviction" mission in less than 10 minutes on Hard difficulty.
-----Crash The Party--10p
Destroy all Dominion structures in the "Planetfall" mission before the 5th Bile
Launcher lands on Hard difficulty.
-----Speed Bump--10p
Destroy the Odin in "The Reckoning" mission before Mengsk sends it at Raynor on
Hard difficulty.
=====G. Feats of Strength==============================================[FTFS]==
The beta achievements say level 30, but Blizzard actually reduced the
requirement to level 5 with each race.
-----Devoted Fan-----
Purchase the Starcraft 2 Collector's Edition.
New Rewards: Collector's Edition Thor Skin (can now switch between normal and
special skin)
-----HeartCore Devotion-----
Purchase the Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm Collector's Edition.
Rewards: Overlord of Terror Portrait, Night Elf Queen Portrait, Infested
PanTerran Portrait, Kerrigan's Brood Decal, Annihilators Decal, Khalai Caste
Decal, Tal'darim War Crest Decal, Collector's Edition Ultralisk Skin (can
select between normal and special skin)
-----Heart of the Swarm Beta Protoss Level 30-----
Reached Level 30 as Protoss in the Heart of the Swarm Beta.
Reward: Beta 30 Tempest Portrait
-----Heart of the Swarm Beta Terran Level 30-----
Reached Level 30 as Terran in the Heart of the Swarm Beta.
Reward: Beta 30 Warhound Portrait
-----Heart of the Swarm Beta Zerg Level 30-----
Reached Level 30 as Zerg in the Heart of the Swarm Beta.
Reward: Beta 30 Viper Portrait
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----- IX. CHEAT CODES ------------------------------------------------[SCRT]-|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm has many cheat codes available for players to
have fun with. Just press enter to bring up the chat box. Then, type in one of
the cheats below. While achievements are disabled when cheat codes are active,
you can still have some fun with them until you decide to reload your save.
Caution: Once you use a cheat code, any saves after that point are flagged as
unable to earn achievements. Make sure you keep track of which saves you have
cheated on, because the game gives no indication. You might do everything for
that really hard achievement and get nothing for it because you forgot you used
a cheat code earlier in the campaign.
These cheats only work in the single player Campaign or in Offline Custom Games
vs. AI players. Campaign cheats only work on the Leviathan.
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| General Cheats | Effect |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| WhatIsBestInLife | Instant Victory. |
| LetsJustBugOutAndCallItEven | Instant Defeat. |
| TookTheRedPill | Disables Fog of War. |
| Bunker55AliveInside | Disables the need for Supply (Food). |
| TerribleTerribleDamage | Enables God Mode. |
| SpectralTiger | Adds 5000 Minerals to the Available |
| | Resources. |
| RealMenDrillDeep | Adds 5000 Gas to the Available Resources. |
| WhoRunBartertown | Adds 5000 of each Resource to the Available |
| | Resources. |
| IAmIronMan | Instantly adds all Upgrades to all units and |
| | structures. Weapon/armor require 3 uses. |
| CatFoodForPrawnGuns | Enables Fast Builds and Fast Upgrades. |
| HanShotFirst | Disables Cooldowns on Spells. |
| TyuHasLeftTheGame | Disables Victory Conditions to Allow |
| | Continued Play. |
| NeverGiveUpNeverSurrender | Enables Continued Play After a Defeat. |
| ImADoctorNotARoachJim | Enables Fast Unit Healing. |
| MoreDotsMoreDots | All Units and Buildings are Free to Build |
| | (No Cost). |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| Campaign Only Cheats | Effect |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| WhySoSerious | Shortcut to Infestation Pit (Swap Mutations). |
| LeaveYourSleep | Shortcut to Mission Archives with a Little |
| | More Information. |
| EyeOfSauron | Allows Access to all Cinematics. |
| HoradricCube | Shortcut to Kerrigan Page (Swap Kerrigan |
| | Powers). |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----- X. FAQ ---------------------------------------------------------[SFAQ]-|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
This section contains some spoilers in the campaign section. I have put those
questions at the end to make them easier to avoid if you haven't played through
the campaign yet.
Q: Want your question answered here?
A: Submit a question, and I will answer it to the best of my abilities.
-----General-----
Q: How many units does Heart of the Swarm add to the game?
A: Zerg and Terran both get 2 new units in multiplayer. Protoss gets 3 new
units in multiplayer. Zerg also gets many additional "evolutions" to their core
units that are only available in the campaign.
Q: When was Heart of the Swarm released?
A: It was released worldwide on March 12, 2013.
Q: What is the level cap for each race on Battle.net?
A: The level cap is 30 for each race. Your portrait shows the total of all
three races, so it can go up to 90.
Q: What are levels for each race used for?
A: You can unlock Portraits, Decals, and other cosmetic rewards for getting to
certain levels with each race. Levels do not give any gameplay advantage. They
are simply for the more casual players to get something out of putting time
into the game.
Q: Which game modes in Heart of the Swarm give experience points?
A: You gain experience points from all game modes in "Matchmaking", including
Team play. You also gain experience points in Custom Games but only if you play
on Blizzard official maps in online mode (the default).
-----Battle.net-----
Q: How do I find out my character code?
A: The easiest way is to go to your friends list in Starcraft 2 and view the
Add Character Friend panel. You can also, on the official Starcraft 2 website,
login and float your mouse over your portrait.
Q: How does team rating work in the ladders?
A: There are two kinds of teams in Starcraft 2: Arranged Teams and Random
Teams. Both of these kinds of teams are on the same ladder. Arranged Teams are
a group of friends in a party that join together to create a persistent team.
They go through placement matches together and play all games together. Their
team, an Arranged Team, has a shared rating. In Random Teams there is no team
rating. Each player has their own rating base on their own wins and losses
since they are not expected to play with the same people ever again.
Q: What are Real ID and BattleTags?
A: These are special friends list features. It allows friends to chat with each
other across Blizzard games (World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3) and see
more information about what the person is doing in those games, for example,
server and location in WoW. Real ID shows each others real names while
BattleTags lets the people use an anonymous nickname of their choosing. Unlike
character friends, both people must accept the invite.
-----Leagues and Ladders-----
Q: What is the difference between Unranked and Ranked?
A: In Ranked, you are placed into a league to start with and can go up and down
leagues based on your performance. Your league and division rank is displayed
on your in-game profile. In Unranked, the game still keeps track of your
performance for matchmaking, but you don't have a league or division rank. Some
people like Unranked because they feel stressed out playing Ranked.
Q: What are the possible leagues in the ladder system?
A: The seven possible leagues are Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond,
Master, and Grandmaster. Each league except Grandmaster is broken up into
divisions made up of 100 players.
Q: When does Blizzard reset the ladders?
A: Starcraft 2 ladders are usually reset quarterly, so there are about four
ladders per year. Blizzard will change the date based on their release schedule
for major patches. A few weeks before the reset, they will make an
announcement.
Q: What does a ladder reset actually reset?
A: When Blizzard does a ladder reset, the ladders are completely cleared of all
rankings. Your rank in all of the leagues you participated in will be removed
along with your wins and losses. All teams you may have been in are also
cleared. Achievements, Rewards, and Career Stats are never cleared.
Q: What causes promotions or demotions between leagues?
A: Promotions occur if you win a lot of games against players in higher
leagues. Demotions occur if you lose a lot of games against players in lower
leagues. They are not based on activity at all. If you stop playing for a few
months, your ranking in your division may go down, but you will never be
demoted for inactivity.
-----Map Editor-----
Q: How do I make a custom map?
A: Custom maps are created with the Starcraft 2 Map Editor. This is included on
both Mac and PC when you install the game. On Mac, it is found in the
Applications folder where you would normally go to launch Starcraft 2. On PC,
the shortcut is found in the Start Menu or you can open it directly from your
Program Files. Note that the PC installer does not create a desktop shortcut,
only the Start Menu shortcut.
Q: How do I use my custom map with friends?
A: Starcraft 2 uses a new system for custom games compared to Starcraft 1. All
maps that you want to play online with others you have to publish to
Battle.net. You can choose whether you want it to be a public map or a private
map. Public maps anyone can see and use when they go to create a game. Private
maps only the author is allowed to create games with.
-----Achievements-----
Q: Several of Kerrigan's achievements are not updating or being awarded to me.
Are Kerrigan's achievements broken?
A: They are bugged but not totally broken. Some of the achievements are
supposed to maintain a running tally over all the missions you do. There is
currently a bug that requires you to meet all the requirements in a single
mission. Until (or if) this bug gets fixed, you can get most of them by doing
one of the base building missions that let you hang out in your base. Just spam
Kerrigan's abilities whenever your base is attacked.
Q: Can achievements be earned offline?
A: No, you must be online and connected to Battle.net to earn achievements.
Q: What are achievement points used for?
A: Achievement points are just to show your overall progress in the game. Other
players viewing your profile can see what kinds of games you like to play based
on the categories you have the most achievement points in. You can't trade in
achievement points for anything. They are basically the same as Xbox Live gamer
points, if you have played or heard about that.
Q: Do achievements work with cheat codes?
A: No, achievements will be disabled as long as cheat codes are active. Keep
track if you save a game while cheat codes are active. That save file will be
tainted from that point on, with no achievements possible. Reload an earlier
save to continue getting achievements.
Q: If I play on a harder difficulty, can I get the lower difficulty
achievements?
A: Yes, if you play on Hard difficulty you can get both Normal and Hard
achievements. The same goes for the Matchmaking Versus A.I. and Custom Games
achievements. Playing against a Hard A.I. will give you credit for both Hard
and Medium A.I achievements. If you are really good, you can play Brutal in the
campaign and Elite A.I. in the other modes to get a lot of the lower difficulty
achievements for free.
Q: How come I met all the requirements for an achievement in the Custom Games
category, but Battle.net didn't give it to me?
A: Make sure you are not playing an offline game. By default, all Custom Games
are played online. However, you can click on a map name to play a map offline.
When offline, you cannot get any achievements.
Q: What are Feats of Strength?
A: Feats of Strength are a special kind of achievement. They don't give you any
points, but they sometimes have special rewards. They are usually rewarded for
doing something out of the ordinary. For the most part, they track your highest
ranking or league progress in your history playing Starcraft 2, but you can get
some from buying Collector's Editions of Blizzard games. Feats of Strength kind
of form a history other players can see on your profile.
-----Heart of the Swarm Campaign-----
Q: I accidentally skipped the intro cinematic. How do I view it again?
A: You can replay all the cinematics from the Archives, which is available
after you complete your fifth mission in the campaign.
Q: How many missions are in the campaign?
A: There are a total of 20 story missions and 7 evolution missions in the
campaign. Evolution missions are much shorter than story missions, so overall
the campaign is a little shorter than the Wings of Liberty campaign.
Q: Do my Wings of Liberty choices carry over to Heart of the Swarm?
A: Yes, but the consequences of those decisions are minimal. Blizzard wrote the
story for the new campaign so that your decisions don't have any major impact.
If you did not play the Wings of Liberty campaign or deleted your save files,
Blizzard makes some default decisions for you. Blizzard chooses to side with
Gabriel Tosh, side with Dr. Hanson, and destroy the Zerg air platform.
Q: What gameplay is available after beating the campaign?
A: After you beat the campaign, the Master Archives becomes available. This is
available from the Campaign -> Heart of the Swarm menu within Battle.net. The
Master Archives allows you to replay any mission with your upgraded units. This
includes being able to swap Mutations, Evolutions, and Kerrigan's Powers. It is
a great way to finish up all the achievements you missed the first time
through.
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----- XI. LINKS ------------------------------------------------------[LNKS]-|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Of course, my FAQ/Walkthrough can't cover everything on the game. I don't have
enough time or the experience even to cover everything. As always, there is a
wealth of information online. In this section I have gathered a small library
of Starcraft 2 resources which cover certain topics in more detail.
-----Official Websites-----
http://www.blizzard.com
The official Blizzard website features announcements and major news about new
Blizzard games.
http://www.battle.net
The official Battle.net website features community sites for all Blizzard games
including Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, and soon Diablo 3. It also has some
content for Blizzard's legacy games (Warcraft 3, Diablo 2, Starcraft 1).
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en
The official Starcraft 2 Community site features announcements and news related
to Starcraft 2 as well as forums, a beginner's guide, and top 200 1v1 rankings.
-----Fan sites-----
http://sclegacy.com/
One of the oldest Starcraft fan sites that's still alive. It was formed
sometime around 2000 and has grown ever since. They frequently have very good
Starcraft 2 articles.
http://www.sc2armory.com
One of the better fan sites out there. They cover Starcraft 2 news and have
forums with a pretty active community. They also have a good visual overview of
the races, units, and buildings.
http://starcraft.wikia.com
The most up to date wiki for all things Starcraft. While not having much in the
way of gameplay information, it can answer pretty much any Starcraft lore-
related question.
http://sc2ranks.com
This is a great website for seeing who the top players are on Battle.net across
all the regions. There five regions: Korea, China, North America, Europe, and
Southeast Asia. The top players are almost all Korean, though Europe also has
some good players.
-----Maps & Modding-----
http://www.sc2mapster.com
This is the most popular place for custom map development. This is the
development side of Curse's Starcraft 2 portal.
http://www.curse.com/maps/sc2
This is the download side of Curse's Starcraft 2 portal.
http://sc2.nibbits.com/maps/
This is another site with custom maps, although I haven't used it much. It
doesn't seem to have as much activity as the other two sites but has it's own
library of maps.
-----Multiplayer-----
http://www.teamliquid.net
This is the place to go if you want to follow the pro scene or even try your
hand at becoming pro. TeamLiquid is a clan of Starcraft 1 & 2 players. In
addition, the forums are filled with pros and experienced players from all
around the world, so you can bet you will be getting good information. It's the
best English language website for competitive enthusiasts.
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Main_Page
The Liquipedia is a wiki for Starcraft 2 competitive multiplayer, featuring
build orders, pro gamer biographies, and map strategies. It also has a little
bit of information about the campaign. It is run and supported by TeamLiquid.
http://www.youtube.com/huskystarcraft
http://www.youtube.com/hdstarcraft
Husky and HD are extremely popular YouTube commentators of pro Starcraft 2
games. Both of them average over 100,000 viewers per day on their YouTube
channels. They also do some live commentating at tournaments, but most of their
work goes into their channels.
http://www.youtube.com/day9tv
Day[9], the 2007 WCG Pan-American Starcraft champion with Starcraft: Brood War,
is a popular analyst of pro game replays. His channel features highly in-depth
analysis of all things Starcraft. He brings all of his pro gaming experience to
the viewer. He also does commentating at several community tournaments.
http://www.youtube.com/ArtosisTV
Artosis is a three time WCG US Champion with Starcraft: Brood War. He lives in
Korea, goes to all the big tournaments, meets with the top pro players, and
posts videos and news about them on his channel. He does commentating as well
for many major events including the English stream of the GSL tournaments.
All four of these personalities also have Twitch.tv and Twitter accounts, but I
find YouTube to be the most accessible for seeing their content.
http://www.sc2win.com/ - pro replays
http://www.star2.org/ - casual replays
http://drop.sc/ - fast replay uploading, easy access when you want help on
forums.
These are some websites with Starcraft 2 replays. I have found sc2win.com to be
the best for finding pro player replays. The big tournaments sometimes don't
release replays, but the players might send them to a friend who uploads it to
sc2win. For general entertaining replays, star2.org is the best. Non-pro games
can be a lot more entertaining just because of the mistakes regular players
make. Finally, drop.sc is the best site for quickly uploading replays to share
with others. If you want advice from others on a forum, upload it to drop.sc
and post the link to give them quick access to your replay and to see what you
did wrong.
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----- XII. CLOSING ---------------------------------------------------[CLSN]-|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
=====A. Thanks=========================================================[TNKS]==
* Blizzard - For making a great expansion pack.
* The general Starcraft 2 community - When you see a lot of community
involvement outside the game it feels like your work will pay off such as this
walkthrough.
* You, the reader - Thanks for taking an interest in my FAQ. I hope this
walkthrough was useful to your Starcraft 2 playing.
* Your Name Here - submit something today!
=====B. Submissions====================================================[SBMS]==
There are three kinds of submissions I'm looking for specifically. The first
are corrections. I know I probably made a lot of mistakes when writing this.
They could be as small as spelling mistakes or as big as bad directions. I
always hated when I read a FAQ and their directions were backwards. I know how
annoying that can be, so please let me know about big mistakes like that.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The Second Kind of Submission Submitted by: Your Name Here |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The second kind of submission I am looking for is your own strategies for
beating a mission or a challenge. Maybe my strategy is the hard way of doing
it. Maybe there is a more creative way to win. Maybe there are secrets in the
mission I missed. Or maybe you just think your strategy is more fun.
Regardless, your strategy will be featured in a box like this.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The third submission I am looking for is more questions for the FAQ section.
Maybe some information was hard to find in my walkthrough or something in the
game is tricky or whatever you can think of. I will add a new question or
update an existing one with the new content.
Please send submissions to my email address ( perfdark@gmail.com ). The subject
line should have something like "Heart of the Swarm Walkthrough" or "HotS
Walkthrough". Please include a nickname in your email so you will receive
credit. Everyone who sends quality submissions will be thanked in the section
above.
=====C. To-Do List=====================================================[TDLS]==
-----Possible Additions-----
These are ideas I am interested in doing for the FAQ/Walkthrough if I have
time. Reader requests will also go here if I think they are a good idea.
* Submit a request!
-----Things I Will Never Do-----
* Maps of the levels - This would take way too long to do well. ASCII art is
really hard to do well for a game that isn't grid-based.
* Multiplayer strategies - I don't have enough experience with multiplayer to
be any kind authoritative source on the subject. The Multiplayer section will
always be an overview of the gameplay modes possible and the basics of playing
the game in multiplayer. I do provide links to the multiplayer experts, though.
On the same line, I won't accept submissions for Build Orders or anything of
that sort.
Amazing Games. Many Cheats. Such Wow.
