StarCraft/Protoss mission 8: The Trial of Tassadar: Difference between revisions
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StarCraft/Protoss mission 8: The Trial of Tassadar (edit)
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{{Header Nav|game=StarCraft}} | {{Header Nav|game=StarCraft}} | ||
{{StarCraft | {{StarCraft/Level | ||
|Aiur | |Aiur | ||
| | | | ||
*Fenix (enhanced Dragoon) | * Fenix (enhanced Dragoon) | ||
*Hyperion (Jim Raynor's enhanced Battlecruiser) | * Hyperion (Jim Raynor's enhanced Battlecruiser) | ||
|Protoss Carrier | |Protoss Carrier | ||
|None | |None | ||
| | | | ||
# Destroy the Stasis Cell. | # Destroy the Stasis Cell. | ||
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[[Image:SC Trial of Tassadar Base.png|thumb|left|You want a good number of Cannons here to defend.]] | [[Image:SC Trial of Tassadar Base.png|thumb|left|You want a good number of Cannons here to defend.]] | ||
Placement of your defending troops should be intuitive by now. The Hyperion is of special note here—this souped-up Battlecruiser is pretty slow, but its powerful attacks can be effective in repelling the early attacks (do not hesitate to use the Yamato Cannon on incoming Reavers). Just make sure something else is taking damage, because '''you cannot repair any damage done to the Hyperion'''. Remember, Terran mechanical units don't have shields and only SCVs can repair them. 850 HP might sound like a lot, but enemy Protoss units can often kill Raynor before you know what's happening if you don't pay attention. | Placement of your defending troops should be intuitive by now. The Hyperion is of special note here—this souped-up Battlecruiser is pretty slow, but its powerful attacks can be effective in repelling the early attacks (do not hesitate to use the Yamato Cannon on incoming Reavers or Carriers). Just make sure something else is taking damage, because '''you cannot repair any damage done to the Hyperion'''. Remember, Terran mechanical units don't have shields and only SCVs can repair them. 850 HP might sound like a lot, but enemy Protoss units can often kill Raynor before you know what's happening if you don't pay attention. So you should have the Hyperion near the center of your base and bring it out when attacks begin. Use Raynor mainly against Reavers and Carriers, and use Fenix against the Scouts. Place a shield battery at both entrances as well as the wall where Scouts and Carriers attack you from. | ||
Once the money starts coming in, build two Gateways and start pumping equal numbers of Zealots and Dragoons. The map is rich in resource nodes that you will be conquering later (that is, unless you're following one of the alternate strategies), so you can tech relatively slowly. Keep building Photon Cannons: the nearby Furinax Tribe (purple) has a sizable number of Reavers, and you need a large network of Cannons to distract them while your units go in for the kill. Also, Ara Tribe (red) will periodically send large fleets of Carriers and Scouts to your main base. To defeat these, at least eight Cannons covering each other per entrance is necessary. Don't forget to build a few more in the area between your mineral patches and the geyser. | Once the money starts coming in, build two Gateways and start pumping equal numbers of Zealots and Dragoons. The map is rich in resource nodes that you will be conquering later (that is, unless you're following one of the alternate strategies), so you can tech relatively slowly. Keep building Photon Cannons: the nearby Furinax Tribe (purple) has a sizable number of Reavers, and you need a large network of Cannons to distract them while your units go in for the kill. Also, Ara Tribe (red) will periodically send large fleets of Carriers and Scouts to your main base. To defeat these, at least eight Cannons covering each other per entrance is necessary. Don't forget to build a few more in the area between your mineral patches and the geyser. | ||
{{-}} | {{-}} | ||
==Pushing Past the Reavers== | ==Pushing Past the Reavers== | ||
Unless you are going for a quick strike on the Stasis Cell, you will need two or three additional resource deposits. The Furinax Tribe base directly to the south is the closest, so make this your first target. As mentioned before, these guys have quite a few Reavers; you can obviously get past them with air units, but you don't want to wait that long to attack this base, or it will be mined out. The solution? Reavers of your own. Build a Robotics Facility and Support Bay, and then three or four Reavers. The enemy have more than this, but they won't be clumped together for focus firing like yours will be. Before you push, there are a few things you should do. First, prepare twelve Zealots and eight Dragoons (including Fenix). Also, have a Probe get out to the area outside the bottom corner of your base, and then build a Pylon plus four or so Photon Cannons (refer to screenshots for the location). This will not only help your defense later, but also deter attempts by the Furinax to strike while your force is assembling. Also, periodically take the Hyperion to the northern edge of their base, and make surgical strikes on their Reavers and Photon Cannons with the Yamato Cannon. This will weaken their forces while making your own Reavers that much more potent. Finally, make sure Scarab damage has been researched at the Robotics Support Bay. | Unless you are going for a quick strike on the Stasis Cell, you will need two or three additional resource deposits. The Furinax Tribe base directly to the south is the closest, so make this your first target. As mentioned before, these guys have quite a few Reavers; you can obviously get past them with air units, but you don't want to wait that long to attack this base, or it will be mined out. The solution? Reavers of your own. Build a Robotics Facility and Support Bay, and then three or four Reavers. The enemy have more than this, but they won't be clumped together for focus firing like yours will be. Before you push, there are a few things you should do. First, prepare twelve Zealots and eight Dragoons (including Fenix). Also, have a Probe get out to the area outside the bottom corner of your base, and then build a Pylon plus four or so Photon Cannons (refer to screenshots for the location). This will not only help your defense later, but also deter attempts by the Furinax to strike while your force is assembling. Also, periodically take the Hyperion to the northern edge of their base, and make surgical strikes on their Reavers and Photon Cannons with the Yamato Cannon. This will weaken their forces while making your own Reavers that much more potent. Finally, make sure Scarab damage has been researched at the Robotics Support Bay. | ||
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==Disrupting Arbiter Production== | ==Disrupting Arbiter Production== | ||
[[Image:SC Trial of Tassadar Stasis.png|thumb|left|If this happens, don't overexert yourself. You have time.]] | [[Image:SC Trial of Tassadar Stasis.png|thumb|left|If this happens, don't overexert yourself. You have time.]] | ||
Arbiters cost a lot of gas. 350 gas, to be exact, which makes them more expensive in that regard than Archons. To finance a whole fleet of Arbiters, the Ara Tribe mines from two Vespene Geysers, located in a plateau base in the southwest corner of the map. Give this base a good whacking, and soon enough the enemy will run out of gas to make Arbiters or any other high-end units (they will have some stocked up, but that doesn't last). The force you take there is going to be the same army that mounts the final assault, so build up 12 Zealots, 12 Dragoons, 4 Archons (if you took the Templar build), 4 Reavers, at least 6 Scouts, and at least 6 Carriers. It's advantageous to have eight of each of the air units by the final assault however. Use an Observer to scout out the path you will take: starting from the third expansion, go southwest following the river. Continue into the canyon leading southeast, and that's where you will start the assault. As your ground units lumber along the small ground path, they might come under attack by Photon Cannons above. Use Carriers and Dragoons to take these out quickly. In general, the Carriers and Scouts should move further away from the enemy ridge, and it's a good idea to actually have them fly above the river the whole time. This is done to avoid Arbiters freezing these units for a long time. | Arbiters cost a lot of gas. 350 gas, to be exact, which makes them more expensive in that regard than Archons. The Ara Tribe starts with three Arbiters in the game, ready to put your units under a Stasis Field. To finance a whole fleet of Arbiters, the Ara Tribe mines from two Vespene Geysers, located in a plateau base in the southwest corner of the map. Give this base a good whacking, and soon enough the enemy will run out of gas to make Arbiters or any other high-end units (they will have some stocked up, but that doesn't last). The force you take there is going to be the same army that mounts the final assault, so build up 12 Zealots, 12 Dragoons, 4 Archons (if you took the Templar build), 4 Reavers, at least 6 Scouts, and at least 6 Carriers. It's advantageous to have eight of each of the air units by the final assault however. Use an Observer to scout out the path you will take: starting from the third expansion, go southwest following the river. Continue into the canyon leading southeast, and that's where you will start the assault. As your ground units lumber along the small ground path, they might come under attack by Photon Cannons above. Use Carriers and Dragoons to take these out quickly. In general, the Carriers and Scouts should move further away from the enemy ridge, and it's a good idea to actually have them fly above the river the whole time. This is done to avoid Arbiters freezing these units for a long time. | ||
When you're there, have the Carriers move into the enemy base, taking out the Cannons and Dragoons first, then targeting the two Assimilators. The other base will send Arbiters and Shuttles loaded with ground troops as reinforcements, so have all your Dragoons positioned in the canyon between the two bases to deter their movement. Zealots and Reavers obviously can't do anything here (other than dispatch any units that get prematurely dropped from Shuttles), so just make sure they're protected from marauding enemies. The Archons can help deal with airborne threats as well. | When you're there, have the Carriers move into the enemy base, taking out the Cannons and Dragoons first, then targeting the two Assimilators. The other base will send Arbiters and Shuttles loaded with ground troops as reinforcements, so have all your Dragoons positioned in the canyon between the two bases to deter their movement. Zealots and Reavers obviously can't do anything here (other than dispatch any units that get prematurely dropped from Shuttles), so just make sure they're protected from marauding enemies. The Archons can help deal with airborne threats as well. | ||
{{-}} | {{-}} | ||
==Breaking the Stasis Cell== | ==Breaking the Stasis Cell== | ||
[[Image:SC Trial of Tassadar Canyon.png|thumb|left|Soon, this canyon will mark the steps of a triumphant force.]] | [[Image:SC Trial of Tassadar Canyon.png|thumb|left|Soon, this canyon will mark the steps of a triumphant force.]] | ||
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{{-}} | {{-}} | ||
==Alternate Strategies== | ==Alternate Strategies== | ||
===Air Superiority | ===Air Superiority=== | ||
Building and managing ground units can be a pain. With this scenario in particular, to attack the Stasis Cell with a large ground force you all but have to fight through one of the Furinax Tribe bases. If you don't want this, you can mount an air-only attack on the enemy. After setting up the initial defense, tech straight to Carriers and build about 12 each of Carriers and Scouts. This is going to take a gigantic amount of resources and time (you will need two Stargates as well), so if you can try to secure the lightly defended deposit on the right side of the map. You can attempt to steal resources from the other bases, but by the time you have enough Carriers to give a good fight, they'll probably have mined too much of it. Either way, secure enough resources to build the aforementioned fleet and upgrade Air Weapons, Air Armor, and Shields to level 3. Take the attack force '''plus the Hyperion''' and fly straight to the Stasis Cell. Chances are, you will not have destroyed many Arbiters if you took this approach, so prepare to see your entire force get frozen multiple times. To avoid this, have the fleet split into two or three groups that will not all get hit by a Stasis at once. When you get there, pound the Stasis Cell with everything you've got, including the Yamato Cannon; but do take the time to kill annoying Dragoons or Scouts if it looks like they are doing too much damage to your Carriers. | Building and managing ground units can be a pain. With this scenario in particular, to attack the Stasis Cell with a large ground force you all but have to fight through one of the Furinax Tribe bases. If you don't want this, you can mount an air-only attack on the enemy. After setting up the initial defense, tech straight to Carriers and build about 12 each of Carriers and Scouts. This is going to take a gigantic amount of resources and time (you will need two Stargates as well), so if you can try to secure the lightly defended deposit on the right side of the map. You can attempt to steal resources from the other bases, but by the time you have enough Carriers to give a good fight, they'll probably have mined too much of it. Either way, secure enough resources to build the aforementioned fleet and upgrade Air Weapons, Air Armor, and Shields to level 3. Take the attack force '''plus the Hyperion''' and fly straight to the Stasis Cell. Chances are, you will not have destroyed many Arbiters if you took this approach, so prepare to see your entire force get frozen multiple times. To avoid this, have the fleet split into two or three groups that will not all get hit by a Stasis at once. When you get there, pound the Stasis Cell with everything you've got, including the Yamato Cannon; but do take the time to kill annoying Dragoons or Scouts if it looks like they are doing too much damage to your Carriers. | ||
===Backdoor Rush | |||
===Backdoor Rush=== | |||
The last Ara Tribe base may look like it's pretty much closed off except for the one ramp used in the main walkthrough, but there is another way into it. Remember that ramp? Continue along the canyon there, and you'll come to another body of water. From here, go straight east until the edge of the map, and there will be a low ground area. To take advantage of this, you'll need Shuttles. Prepare a sizable air force (you need at least six Carriers and four Scouts), and a ground force with four Reavers, a dozen Zealots, and four Archons (if you can't afford these, replace with four Dragoons). You will need seven Shuttles to transport those ground units. Make your way around to the lower right corner of the map as stated above, and drop the ground units there. Go up the ramp and dispatch the Photon Cannons, and you will have a clear path straight to the Stasis Cell. Depending on how early you attempt this "rush", there could be a good number of Arbiters and Carriers waiting for you. The Reavers still do the heavy lifting with destroying the Cell here, so just do everything possible to protect them, even if it means sacrificing Carriers to draw enemy fire. | The last Ara Tribe base may look like it's pretty much closed off except for the one ramp used in the main walkthrough, but there is another way into it. Remember that ramp? Continue along the canyon there, and you'll come to another body of water. From here, go straight east until the edge of the map, and there will be a low ground area. To take advantage of this, you'll need Shuttles. Prepare a sizable air force (you need at least six Carriers and four Scouts), and a ground force with four Reavers, a dozen Zealots, and four Archons (if you can't afford these, replace with four Dragoons). You will need seven Shuttles to transport those ground units. Make your way around to the lower right corner of the map as stated above, and drop the ground units there. Go up the ramp and dispatch the Photon Cannons, and you will have a clear path straight to the Stasis Cell. Depending on how early you attempt this "rush", there could be a good number of Arbiters and Carriers waiting for you. The Reavers still do the heavy lifting with destroying the Cell here, so just do everything possible to protect them, even if it means sacrificing Carriers to draw enemy fire. | ||
