From: Host: Date: Strategy for Protoss (Kind of long) (iambad) ppp-207-151-70-158.dialup.pcmagic.net Wed Jan 6 21:26:49 Protoss Strategy by (iambad) of battle.net *This strategy covers many parts of Protoss strategy, and does not cover only one. **I have used some, but not all of the following, since I don't play as much and I get into different situations, or am too busy doing other things. INTRODUCTION Protoss have many factors that make them considering their force of power, magic, and shields. Their only weakness comes within the amount of supplies needed, and the cost for each unit. They are, though, possibly the best race in the alien Starcraft Universe. The single most important factor in all of the strategies is do something all the time. Never ever lean back on your chair, thinking that you have won the war with a victory class of 12 carriers, or just plainly get lazy and decide just to watch the battle and nothing else. You have to keep in move all the time. One of the easy and simple tactic I use in the early game is the rally point tactic. Since you can't really do anything in the beginning of the game as a Protoss, what I do is set rally point from the Nexus to the nearest mineral patch. This way, you can save the precious seconds you need to get in front of the others and prevent rushes. They won't mind the minerals automatically, but they will get there, and you can set them to mind along the way. Probes need not see the operation of warping in the buildings. They can mine or even warp in more buildings by themselves, leaving others to gather precious mine for your army. And it is true that Probes bring in minerals quicker than the other two races. They can quickly build up a base within minutes by itself, which is another advantage of the mighty Protoss. Also, use Shift F2, F3, and F4 to memorize the map location. This is valuable is you plan on switching back from one base to another, or from a battlefield to your base to keep on building and attacking simultaneously. Also, Ctrl 0-9 are available for memorizing up to 12 units or buildings. Use them to access through different kind of units, or for quickly building units without actually clicking on the building itself. BUILDINGS To build everything in Protoss, all you need to build is Nexus, Pylon, Gateway, Robotics Facility, Stargate, Templar Archives, Fleet Beacon, and Arbiter Tribunal. Instead of adding on like Terrans and having to build the same building over again or having to mutate them for more things in Zergs, the more buildings in Protoss is actually an advantage than a disadvantage. They allow you to create things faster, upgrade things in many other places, and not have to build that same building again. Pylons cover the area where you can warp in the building. This allows you to build buildings in places, but also gives you food. So two things at one time is a good deal, considering Terrans need to build place occupying Supply Depots and Zergs need to build Creep Colonies or Hatcheries, and an Overlord to match what Protoss can create in one building. It is also weak to attacks, and should be protected at all costs, since all the buildings except Nexus and Assimilator need Pylons. Overlap their blue forces if you can, to reinforce the weak and important areas. Gateway creates all ground units, fast, quick, and reliable Zealots, powerful, air-attacking, long ranged Dragoons, magical High Templars, and assassinating, permanently cloaked Dark Templars. Build this first to climb up the Tech Tree to gain more powerful units. Forge, Cybernetics core, and Citadel of Adun are the three buildings for upgrading things, or climbing the tech level, nothing else. You don't have to build Citadel of Adun if you are not going to upgrade Zealots' speed, Forge if you are going to rush, and Cybernetics core allows you to go up the Tech Tree, upgrade things, but nothing more. Build these buildings at your own consent, and at your own necessity. Don't build every single building just because you wanted to or you think it is needed. Know and understand why each building is there, and what their purpose is in the game. For example, Gateway creats ground units, Forge lets you build Photon Cannons and upgrade ground units, Cybernetics core upgrades air units and climb the Tech Tree, Robotics Factory allows you to build Reavers, Observers, and Shuttles, Stargate is needed for Scouts, Carriers, Arbiters, and Corsairs, Templar Archive is needed for upgrading High Templar and Dark Archon Magics and creating them, and so on. Build things only if you need them. If you are overwhelmed with money, ALWAYS upgrade and create more units and pylons, or expand your base. Never just sit still and observe. Do something at all moments. Photon Cannons These things are very useful in defense and offense. You can surround your or the enemy's base and defend or trap. In defense, these things are the base long based, computer automated defense system in the game. It attacks air and grounds, and can do 20 air and ground damage. Their range also helps to kill some of the units before they even get to attack, and can detect cloaked units in their range. In offense, you can slowly build these things around your enemy's base, build in rows of one, then two, then more for more support, and slowly creep in their base while you are attacking them. If you are outnumbered in units, then lure your enemy into the fire of these photon cannons surrounding their base. This tactic works most of the time, if the enemy tends to not scout, you have more units, or if your strategy of creeping in Photon Cannons to support your offense is good enough. This is one of the most valuable unit in the game. Don't underestimate their powers, but always reinforce them with long ranged units such as scouts for Yamato Gun Battlecruisers, Guardians, and reavers for other reavers and tanks. Shield Battery One of the most important buildings I see absent in some of the games I have played is the Shield Battery. The Shield Battery can be overlooked, since either it cannot be reached in time, or there are other things the person needs to do. But one of the first things you should build, after Gateway, is a Shield Battery. I have seen many people complaining about rushes. Zergling rushes, Zealot rushes, Marine rushes, all of them. But all of them have some way of stopping rushes. All Protoss units can be recharged 2 shield points for every 1 magic point in this building, and for only 100 minerals which is equal to a zealot, it is worth the money. If you are rushed by Zerglings, get your units together in defense formation, preferably in a line to attack at the same time, and fall back at the last second, and recharge your shields and attack again. This is like having 1 new Zealot out of every 2 Zealot created, since their shields are recharged from a range and quickly. This is one valuable building that should be created to stop early rushes and recharge shields after offensive maneuver. UNITS Zealots Do not ever stop making these valuable units. In the beginning of the level, they are the only units you can create for defense, and do a lot of more damage than the other two beginning race units, Marines or Zerglings. They do 16 damage compared to their 5, can attack considerably fast, recharge their shields unlike Terrans, and still cost only 100 minerals and 2 food. They can last for a long time, especially with Photon Cannons on their back and Shield Batteries recharging their shields as the enemy of Aiur falls as another of the numerous victims. Dragoons These units are a must if you are not going to create air units. This is the only ground unit which can attack air, and with the upgrade for their range, they can attack further and faster than less long ranged or short ranged fighters. They do 20 damage, and like Zealots, cost only 2 food. If you were to build only one unit in a mission and still win, then it would be Dragoons. With 50 of these powerful Protoss mind machines, Protoss is almost unstoppable. Use this valuable unit with others, with zealots in early games, to attack faster and earlier than the enemy, with better efficiency. High Templars These magic spelling ground unit is a powerful psionic minded being that you can change the tides of war with. The only option available, though, when they are first warped in, is getting two High Templars into an Archon. Although Archons are indeed powerful units, High Templars are valuable units that should not be accounted for. Once researched in the Templar Archives, they can create Psionic Storms that can annihilate many people in that particular area. If the enemy is attacking and begins to form into one huge ball of units, Psionic Storm can destroy and severly damage all of the units in that area, and turn the tide of the battle in your favor. Also, Hallucination is another important magic possessed by these Templars. They create two exact duplicates of one unit, making the enemy think that there are more units in your possession than you actually do. This leads them to attack a totally Hallucinated unit, allowing your real units to do some damage before they find out that your army is full of Hallucinations. Use this with all of your units combined, especially a powerful unit such as an Archon or Carrier, so that it lasts longer. If you are to hallucinate a carrier, then make sure that they blend in with others, since it will not launch any interceptors. Hallucinating Archons, Psionic Storming the enemy, attacking long range with Dragoons, and powerful front line defense and offense Zealots is a good way to win a battle. Archons These units are best in all lines of defense. They can do splash damage on air and ground, attack relatively fast, have extremely high amount of shield which makes Shield Batteries more useful, and draw line of fire away from more sensitive units. These dangerous and strong Archons are worth the merge of two High Templars, but should only be done if going offensive. Merging especially after using up their magic points is a good idea. With a whole bunch of these units, you can take over any kind of defense, but going offensive with lots of other units will work a lot better. They have 360 shield/ hit points, so put them in the front lines for most effect. Hallucinating Archons and sending them in before is one of the best possible ideas. Use them in the front lines, draw enemy fire away from the real attackers, and kill them before they find out they are fulled by a hallucination filled army. Dark Templars These units are the only permanently cloaked assassin in the Starcraft Universe. They are permanently cloaked, which makes them impossible to detect except for few detection units. Put them in choke points, mineral patches, or in key areas for best effect. It also works defensively, since they will think that nothing is there guarding your base. The enemy won't know what hit them. They do 40 damage with their Psi Blade, but should not be used alone. They can die quite easily, don't have range, and can't move fast enough. Use them with other units, so that the enemy doesn't suspect any cloaked units. This leads them to think that you have less units, and should be easily defeated. Use them wisely and with other units for best effect. Dark Archons These powerful spell-bounding Dark Archons are the newest, yet possibly the most powerful spell unit in Starcraft. It has the ability to drastically reduce other spellers' hit and magic points, control the minds of other units, and also stun units for about 5 seconds. These powerful magics, used together, is very affective against all kinds of enemies. If a magic spelling unit is nearby, then use the Dark Archon to reduce their magic points to 0 or possibly destroy the unit. Maelstrom is a new spell, stunning all units within the area of affect for about 5 seconds, and allows other forces to move in with ease. This new unit has made Protoss harder to beat. Mind Control is another spell, cast by the same Dark Archon. Although it reduces the Archon's shields to 0 when spelled, it is quite worth the time, effort, and money spent. If you are able to catch a Drone or SCV off guard and Mind Control that unit, you are able to build anything and everything of that race. Thus, not only is Protoss players able to control their own units, but other races as well, making them more affective with the combination of all three races. This powerful spell can also turn the tides of war. You can use only 12 of these units, and control a victory class of Battlecruisers or Carriers. Also, you get whatever the upgrade the previous owner had for themselves, so it can earn you the money, time, and effort. Also using against your own Protoss players is another good way to save time and money. With 3 people in a group as Protoss, they can concentrate on upgrading at one thing, and when the time is right, or the person wants to have those upgrades, then they can do so without so much hassle. Thus, you can get all the upgrades in 1/3 of the time or less! Mind Controlling Shuttles also gives you the upgrades, the Shuttle, and whatever is inside it, so Happy Mind Controlling! Reavers The single most powerful unit in the game is the Reaver. No other unit possesses the power to reduce 125 (upgraded) hit points at one time, do a splash damage, and still not hurt its own units. This wonderful unit is the siege weapon of the Protoss race, as is Tank for Terrans, and Guardians for Zergs. The only weakness comes from building the scarabs, the attack time, and medium-ranged firing ability. It can be hit by a siege tank or guardian earlier, but with proper precautions, it can lay siege and quickly be picked up by the shuttle. This famous Reaver Drop, as it is known, has been used by many people. Some neglect to safeguard the edges or ones' base, and therefore leaves a huge room for the shuttle to sneak in, do a lot of damage with the unloaded Reavers, and get picked up again without getting hit a lot, if any. This is a powerful tool, especially with the Speed Upgraded Shuttle moving equal to or faster than scourges, which dramatically improves the Reavers' slow movement. Use these to lay siege to Photon Cannons, their most defensive front covers, or just defensively watch 8 Zerglings die under the fire of a single Scarab. They are perfect for defense and offensive, so randomly put them into missions you wouldn't risk with your Zealots. Observers The single best cloak detecting unit on Starcraft. It is cheap to buy, can float and see far away, and also costs only 1 Psi. With only a dozen of these things, you can patrol around the entire enemy's base, keeping you informed about what is going in and out of it, and around on your on base, keeping you informed about the coming assault. Zergs do not have this ability, since their Overlords are easily destroyed and too slow, and Terrans need slow and costly Science Vessels for detection which is available late in the game. Never think about losing your money on an Observer. Always think about the money you would save by being able to prepare ahead of the attacks, and letting you know about the enemy, so you can prepare for war better. Scouts The best air unit in the Starcraft Universe. They do 28 damage air to air, and substantial, although less, ground damage. These fearless air pilots fly these dangerous planes, and the only foe they will meet is other Scouts or being outnumbered on the ground or on the air. Scouts rule the air. Mutalisks do too little damage and takes too much to shoot, and also has less hit points. Devourers can't attack fast enough, and does not do a lot of damage. Scourges are killed with two hits from these warriors, and also takes too long to aim and explode. Wraiths are detected easily with cheap Observers and is destroyed fast, and Carriers take to long to come around and attack again with interceptors, and therefore, destroyed. Corsairs do only 5 damage, and has too little hit points. Even though they are a bit costly and weigh a lot on your budget, they will be worth it in victory class of 12, or even two or three dozens of them. They will be worth your money. Carriers These units are very dangerous. They cost a fortune to build, and is possibly the costliest unit in Starcraft. They are destroyed easily by Scouts because they attack faster, cost less (which means there are more of them then Carriers), and easily outrun. Scourges are Carriers' nightmare. They can destroy a single Carrier with only 6 Scourges, and that is only the price of 3, since two come in each pack. They cannot acquire targets fast enough, and takes too long to destroy something. But in groups of 12 or with other air units such as Scouts and Corsairs, they will be easily drawn away from the line of enemy fire, and can more effectively kill with their Interceptors. Each Interceptors do 6 damage, and every turn they make lets them hit 2 times. With 8 of them with the upgrade, they will take away 96 hit points every wave per Carrier. This is impressive, but should be used for ground attacks instead of air power, since Scouts can kill air units better, and ground units have a hard time destroying the Carrier itself, since it is quietly drawn away from battlefield and only observes the battle in a safe distance. If in an island map, Carriers are excellent way to harass the enemy, since they will not easily target Carriers themselves. Corsairs This new unit in Brood Wars is not a air superpower. This is mainly for allowing the other more important air units to shoot, while it takes on the damage. It does 5 damage per every hit they make, and since they attack pretty fast, that is not that good. They never be used alone, since ground units will attack without being fired back, and air units will just have fun target practicing. Instead, use these units for assault or defense. Their magic, the Distruption Web, makes anything on the ground within the range of the web not attack. Since this works only for ground, and Corsairs are cheap to buy, a lot of them with Carriers for ground attack and Scouts for air attack will be unstoppable. About a dozen of these things can spell the Web 2 times, if upgraded for 50 more magic points. That means, that considering the large Webs made by Corsairs, 24 of the Webs will practically cover the entire base itself. Carriers will have a joy ride over the Webs firing at will, while Scouts join the fun and pick up some air units on the way. Arbiters These units permanently cloak any friendly unit around the circle of their power, which means that the enemy will not see what hit them, except that the Arbiter was there. These things have a wide range of cloaking ability, but that is not what makes them valuable. These things also have magic. Stasis field is an excellent way to defend or attack. These things trap any units within a radius of their range, and temporarily makes them unusable for about a minute. Meanwhile, your war happy Zealots, Dragoons, Dark Templars, Archons, Reavers, Carriers, Scouts, and Corsairs can easily penetrate unit forces and attack at will. Also, Recall is another magic ability. Arbiters can recall any units in their range, and with a simple click, it will immediately transport units from one place of the map to the other, or from the outnumbered units in a war zone to a defensive area, or vice versa. These things can only occur in long games, but they will sure be worth your money. STRATEGY Some of the strategies are mentioned in the Units and the Buildings section, but more of the detailed, thorough strategies will now be described Probe Rush Never ever try this. This technique is when someone in a small or even a large sized map tries to take over their enemy by rushing with Probes. THIS DOES NOT WORK! They would have 5 or more workers before you find them or detect them, and SCVs have 60 hit points, instead of 40 points combined for Probes. If you wish to do this anyway, then send the Probes in different directions, find out where the enemy is, and attack one worker at a time after gathering up your Probes. Lots of newbies have tried this technique, but this technique is not worth the loss you will most likely gain. Zealot Rush Zealot rush is one of the deadliest rushes ever seen. It involves a lot of commitment to create nothing but the necessity ground-to-ground, no-range Zealots and hope to win. But if the enemy is caught off guard, and you have done well to prepare for the attack, then the victory should be yours. First thing in the game, create a Probe. Then, send all four Probes to a mineral patch, and on their way, separate them. Use the Rally Point Technique, and keep creating Probes. If you see that you have about 42 but less then 50 minerals and want to get a little head start on building the Probes, push P or click on the button just before the Probe that is bringing in the necessary mineral for another one. This is because it takes about a split second to a second to actually start creating the unit after you have affirmed the warping. On the 7th or 8th Probe, create a Pylon. A Pylon builds exactly at the same time as the Probes do, so as soon as your 8th or 9th Probe is out, build a Gateway. As they are building, keep on warping in Probes. Some like to scout with Probes, but it is not recommended. Build about 15 Probes, and do not build an Assimilator. You waste valuable money, time, and effort just scouting with them, and you will soon discover your enemy anyway. Build about 15 Probes, (you will need lots of money to build Pylons, Gateways, and Zealots) and do not build an Assimilator. Some people also like to build more than one Pylon or Gateway. Do so at your own consent. Preferably, build the second Gateway when you know that you will have more than enough money to warp in another Zealot, warp in the Gateway, and still have a little bit of money left. Keep building Probes and Pylons as necessary. Pylons should be built at least 2 Psi away from the maximum capacity, since the Zealots take up 2 Psi. As soon as you have your first zealot, scout the map. If it is an island map, forget about rushing and try to climb up the tech tree. If it is not an island map, then scout. If you find the enemy, try and find out as much as you can about the base as you can, and still come back alive. If they have too much defense, bring in more units, and send in a Probe near the enemy's base to build a Pylon and Gateways for better performance.. Then, try to gain control of the choke point, and bring all your available Zealots there. As soon as you have 2, usually 4, or more Zealots, rush in. Beware of the Photon Cannons, Bunkers, and Sunken Colonies. You will need more units if any of these are present. Keep building Zealots, and put them into a Rally-Point near the battle. Gather them again, and attack with the second wave. If you are lucky enough, then you would have defeated the enemy. If the enemy has concentrated on their defense and does not fall back, then climb the tech tree, since continuous attacks will probably fail. Reaver Attack This simple technique is not necessarily a Reaver Drop. It requires more than just two Reavers and a Shuttle. This kind of strategy is used with Reavers, Shuttles, Dragoons, Observers, and High Templars. Air units are hard to get in the beginning and the middle of the level, but are still available to rich people. Therefore, Dragoons should provide some kind of protection for that kind of attack from the enemy, which is probably all he has. Dragoons can now attack 1 unit further than before with the new patch out, which is upgraded in the Cybernetics Core. With this upgrade, you will be able to attack practically anything from where you are. Then, with the Reavers, attack at will at a safe distance, killing the unsuspecting units first then going for the buildings. Observers should be available by the time you have two Reavers and 1 Shuttle, so use it to safely spy the enemy's position. Then move in with ease. If all too many units are moving in with much probability that they will win, then Psionic Storm with the High Templars their proceeding path. As they walk through the valley of death, they will drastically damaged or killed. Continue doing this, and the enemy will be conquered, unless he has more units, Tanks, Guardians, or too good of a defense. Use this strategy with caution, and if the Reavers are in danger, put them into the Shuttle and retreat. Reaver Drop is the same thing mentioned here only with Reavers and Shuttles. Archon Attack This attack is used with Archons only. From the beginning of the level, concentrate on nothing but climbing up the tech Tree. Build a Pylon with a 8th Probe, a Gateway with the 9th, Assimilator with 12th, Cybernetics Core with 13th or 14th, Citadel of Adun with 17th, and Templar Archives with however many more Probes you need. 3 Probes are fitting for the Assimilator, since only one can fit in at one time, and has to wait if there are too many Probes waiting, too. Build as many Gateways and Pylons as you can, preferably about a dozen Pylons altogether and 4 Gateways. Start getting High Templars in all Gateways, and do not upgrade or build anything else unless you are overwhelmed with money. Then make Archons out of each 2 High Templars, and attack at will. This technique almost never works, since the enemy is probably scouting at what you are doing, but if they don't know about your plans, then it will work perfectly against all kinds of defenses. Try and get the Probe around the place where your Archons are waiting to attack, and build Shield Batteries. If any of the Archons are damaged, send them back for shield recharge, and attack again with the others. Keep building High Templars and sending them into battle. Carrier Attack This technique requires you to build lots and lots of Photon Cannons and Carriers. Build as you will, but try to concentrate on not building anything but Photon Cannons for about the first 7 to 10 minutes. Then, with a set defense around your base, build Carriers. Stargates are now pretty cheap, so build two or three as you wish. Upgrade to 8 Interceptors, and as soon as you have about 4 or more of them filled with Interceptors, attack. This works perfectly with Corsairs, which can create Disruption Web at units or buildings trying to harm the Carriers. If any Scouts are present, try and back away from the battle. As you are, the Interceptors will still attack, but if the Scouts are fixed to one Carrier, then you don't have much chance, unless you outnumber him. Dark Archon Madness This calls for Mind Controlling enemy units' souls at will with Dark Archon Madness. In the beginning, establish defense, and gradually climb the tech tree until you are able to create Dark Templars. If you possess only few of them, do not combine them. Wait until you have many of them to use, then combine some of them to Dark Archons. Remember to upgrade 50 more magic points and Mind Controlling Ability. Then, as soon as all your Dark Archons are almost filled with magic, send them in with mixed group of units. About 6 Dark Archons with Mind Controlling ability can turn the tides of war for you, since they can Mind Control about a dozen of them with upgraded magic points. Mind Control only the key units, such as Battlecruisers, Tanks, Carriers, Scouts, Lurkers, and Ultralisks, unless there are none. Try and control the enemy's worker, so that you may build their own buildings in case this attack fails. So far, I just wanted to let everyone know about my little strategy guide. If there are ANY kind of mistakes, reply to this post and let me know. Also, if you have any kind of strategy for Protoss you would like to add to this, or want to omit, let me know, too. Just let me know how you liked this post overall. Thanks to all of you that took the times to read this.