StarCraft 64 #12 - Zerg Missions

Among the Ruins, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Build a Spawning Pool
• Build a Hyrdalisk Den
• Protect the Chrysalis
• Destroy Terran Encampment

This first mission is all about building Zerg ground units: the Zergling and the Hydralisk. Begin by making a Drone and an Overlord. Think of the Overlords as Terran Supply Depots and the Drones as SCVs. However, unlike the Terran SCV that can build multiple structures during a mission, a Drone morphs into a structure and then disappears forever. You must continually add Drones to your work force or mineral and gas mining production will drop.

Create as many Drones as possible, early in the mission, and then build a Spawning Pool (necessary for hatching Zerglings). Build a Hydralisk Den and one or two Evolution Chambers for upgrading your Hydralisk Missile Attack capabilities and Carapace (armor). Finally, surround the Chrysalis with Sunken Colonies, and place two or three more on the east side of your base for protection.

After you build up a force of twenty to twenty-four upgraded Hydralisks, move to the east and take out the Terran installations in the lower-right corner of the map.

Proceed north along the eastern edge of the map until you reach the Terran base. After you take out the main force, your last target is a Terran Starport in the upper-left portion of the map. Due to a large lake, you must come back to the Zerg camp and then approach the last Terran resistance from the west side of the map. Eliminate the remaining Terran structures and claim your first Zerg victory!

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Egresion, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Bring the Crysalis to the Beacon

Your job is to shuttle the Chrysalis from a base in the upper-left portion of the map to the Beacon in the lower-right quadrant. But this is more than a delivery run, because Protoss Dragoons and Zealots are poised to attack directly south and east of your starting position. Although your force of six Hunter defeaters and three Hydralisks is strong enough to fend off the initial attacks, subsequent battles will drain or eliminate some units, so create eight to ten extra Hydralisks before you set out for the Beacon. To accomplish this, build an Extractor and mine sufficient Vespene Gas to morph a Drone into a Hydralisk Den.

First, send any unit up the ramp to activate the Hunter defeaters. Produce several Drones and plant several Sunken Colonies around the perimeter of the base. Then, concentrate on building (and upgrading) your force of Hydralisks.

do not underestimate the Protoss firepower that you encounter on this mission. If your Hydralisks begin to take heavy losses, retreat to the base for reinforcements rather than pressing on too far down the map. Pay special attention to Protoss Missile Turrets.

Once you reach the Beacon, leave a patrol of Hydralisks in place and then go back to the base and assemble another escort team. Send a Drone back to the home Beacon to collect the Chrysalis and then direct the entire group to the secured Beacon in the southeast corner of the map. There should be only spotty resistance from the Protoss, but you do not want to risk a lucky hit on the Drone. Keep the Hydralisks clustered tightly around the royal cargo and move quickly to the Beacon to complete the mission.

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The New Dominion, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Protect the Crysalis
• Eliminate the Teran presence

This is a simple mission to play. Begin by building up your money and then research burrow. Have a pack of lings and some Hyrdalisk burrow around your Crysalis and then proceed to start building units. Make sure you have around 3 hatches so you can pump them out at a fast pace. Build up a strong ground force (1/3 Zerglings 2/3 Hyrdalisks) and begin the assault on the northern Terran base. If you have around 70 supply you should coem out on top.

The Terrans have been alerted to the arrival of the Chrysalis and the resulting attacks in this mission are swift and intense. Survival depends on your ability to protect your initial location (where the Chrysalis is housed) and then move quickly to the high ground north of the original base to establish a stronger position. The Terrans also have their sights on this location, so act quickly.

The heaviest attacks on the Chrysalis base come from the west, so place your strongest concentration of Sunken Colonies and Spore Colonies there.T07.jpg After setting up the perimeter, focus on producing Mutalisks and Hydralisks. The Mutalisks are critical for taking out the Terran Siege Tanks when you attack to the north, but they are helpless against Marines. that is where the Hydralisks come in. However, the Hydralisks are completely ineffective against the Siege Tanks, so this is a classic combined arms maneuver. The two units succeed as a team, but fail miserably if left alone. Remember to upgrade Hydralisks and Mutalisks before you venture north.

The strongest Terran concentration is in the northwest section of the map, so it makes sense to begin in the northeast and sweep to the west. Use two groups of eighteen Mutalisks. As you lose units in battle, bring reinforcements up from the rear group. Remember that Mutalisks are most effective in tight bunches when they can concentrate their fire.

Above all, be methodical. If you bite off more Siege Tanks than you can chew, drop back, gather your reinforcements, and return with caution. Try to isolate one or two tanks, rather than rushing headlong into a Terran stronghold. When the Terran forces are reduced to rubble, General Duke gives the order to drop back and you receive instructions to hold your position. Victory is yours.

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Agent of the Swarm, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Protect the Crysalis until it is ready to hatch
• Infest or destroy Raynor's Command Center.

The first 10 minutes of the match will be protecting the Crysalis. Remember, you know the drill — begin with building a strong money with lots of drones and then build an extractor and move on to building units. You have to start getting faster units this time, because the Terran will use many earlier strikes against you. Make many sunkens around your base to fend off the feeble strikes the Terran throw at you.

Once the 10 minutes are up, the Crysalis will emerge and Kerrigan will emerge from it. After the short scene, a team of vultures will attack you, cloak Kerrigan and attack with what forces you have to fend it off. you are going to need a lair for this, so evolve your hatchery. You have two options here: you can use mutes with some queens to infest the command center, or you can use the less expensive option and do a drop. The second one has little risk, so I recommend you use that one. A little note, there is some money at the northern part of the map, so if you run out, expo there. Make an offensive drop with Hyrdalisks and Zerglings at the top right of the map and start destroying stuff from there. it is rather poorly defended, so if you just keep going at it, you will come out on top.

Your first priority is to build up a defensive ring around the base, along with a few Hydralisks. The early attacks come from the east, so place several Sunken Colonies and Spore Colonies along the edge of the Creep. do not be fooled by the light, early attacks. They become more intense as the mission develops, especially when Siege Tanks join the fray.

If you succeed in keeping the Terrans away from the Chrysalis for ten minutes, it will hatch, revealing an infested Kerrigan. You must shift your focus to infesting or destroying Raynor's base in the northeast corner of the map. First, expand your base into the middle of the map. It is relatively safe there and you will find additional mineral and gas deposits. Research Transport for your Overlords and then load up the big fellas with Hydralisks to provide a basic defense force for your new base. Send a few Mutalisks along for air support and, once the base is operational, concentrate on building an attack force.

Raynor's Command Center is heavily guarded by seven Missile Turrets and a large force of Goliaths. Use two waves of Mutalisks to take out the Missile Turrets, before mixing it up with the Goliaths. If you take on Missile Turrets and Goliaths at the same time, your Mutalisks are likely to be decimated. Instead, use a combination of units: Mutalisks to take out the first row of Missile Turrets and Overlords to air drop Hydralisks and/or Zerglings onto the base.

Once the Missile Turrets are gone, maintain a group of ten Mutalisks and sweep from east to west, taking out the remaining Terran units. The mission ends with Raynor recognizing the significantly altered Kerrigan. She decides to let him live for old time's sake, but warns him to stay away from her side of the universe.

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The Amerigo, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Bring Kerrigan to the supercomputer
• Kerrigan must survive

Head through the very first gate and run past all the guns and stuff and up the stairs to defeat the ghost. Then, cloak Kerrigan and go through the next gate and defeat the 4 marines. Then, continue on to the beacon. After that, leave through the left gate and defeat the civillians if you wish and continue through. Go down the ramp and stay along the wall opposite to the marines so they cant shoot you. Then, go through two more gates and continue on, and go up the ramp when you can. Follow the path and keep doing so until you can go down to a different colour floor. Do so. Watch for a gate that will be locked and take a right when you can up the ramp. Walk on the two beacons and go through the locked gate. Take out the last of the firebats and then look for a blue beacon go through.

Go down the ramp and follow the wall on the left, take out the last of the forces and step on the whtie beacon. Mission completed.

As you begin the mission, you control Kerrigan and two Hunter defeaters. Walk to the left and down the stairs into a large room where you pick up six Zerglings. Gather your group and proceed to the left, through the lowered barrier. As you pass through the opening, your presence is detected, so get ready for company.

Destroy the Ghost, and two wall traps on the right, before going up the stairs and into the next room. From the top of the stairs, go straight across the hallway. When the wall lowers, get ready to blast the Marines waiting on the other side. Walk onto the Beacon and the Supercomputer is revealed on your mini-map. From the Beacon, proceed to your left into a chamber that contains several civilians.

Continue down the stairs and destroy the Vulture. At this point, you are at the beginning of a long hallway/ gauntlet. you will receive fire from above from multiple units, so run all of the way to the end. you will take some hits. Also, you face heavy fire from six Goliaths when you enter the next room, so save your Zerglings for fodder.

If you have grown accustomed to your Zerglings, pull off to the left at the end of the corridor before charging into the next room (even if the barrier lowers). Cloak Kerrigan and send her into the room alone to pick off the unsuspecting Goliaths.

Continue moving through a series of rooms until you reach a narrow corridor leading to the right. Go up the stairs and turn left down another long corridor, where hidden floor guns ambush you. Turn left again at the end of the corridor and proceed through the door. Another right then left takes you around the prison tanks. defeat the Marines who are using the prisoners for target practice. Walk onto the Beacon at the end of the room to gain some reinforcements when the prison doors open, releasing the unfortunate critters that were subjected to the guards' abuse.

Actually, the prisoners provide mostly moral support, but every little bit helps. Select as many of the roaming creatures as you can and add them to your group. Go around the prison tanks and proceed along the hallway where you run into another nasty ambush, courtesy of Marines and hidden floor guns.

After weathering the assault, go down the stairs, where you find a locked door. Eventually, you will be able to open it. Proceed through the room and defeat the Firebats. If your units are dwindling, cloak Kerrigan and let her take out the Firebats (she can waste one with a single shot).

Take your group between the two rows of openings in the floor and turn right when you reach the wall. Watch out for Marine snipers on the ledge above. At this point, check Kerrigan's energy. You are about to walk into the worst trap in the mission, but you must get through it to unlock the doors. When Kerrigan is up to the task, cloak her and proceed in a northeasterly direction. The Missile Traps target Kerrigan despite the cloaking, so destroy these guns first. The ensuing firefight with a wave of Marines is harrowing, but Kerrigan can survive if her strength was close to maximum before going in.

Walk over the two Beacons. One will reveal a Transporter and the other will unlock all of the doors (check your mini-map for locations). The hard part is finished. Join up with your group and return to the locked door, which is open, allowing access to the Transporter. Take out the light resistance and go up the stairs to the Transporter, where your group will be transported to Sector 6 (straight up the western edge of the map).

you are almost home. defeat the guards in the Transporter room and then go down the stairs and through the corridor to one more stairway leading to the final Beacon. you will encounter several more Marines, but their days are numbered. Step onto the Beacon and Kerrigan downloads the information she has been defeating for, ending your mission victoriously.

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The Dark Templar, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Eliminate Protoss intruders
• Kerrigan must survive

you will have control of the Kerrigan again this mission, and htis time you will have access to the powerful Psionic Storm. Read the High Templar unit to see what this does. Again, start off by mining minerals and build 2 hatches, one closer to the extractor. Build a strong force of ground units and have some guardians too. Use your ground troops with a two guardians to attack the largest base in the bottom right. Use the rest of your guardians, like 4 or 5 to attack the smller bases on the middle left and middle right bases. When Tassadar challenges you to the final battle, bring Kerrigan alone to the middle of the map.

Start with Ensnare, and then when the Templar's slower, begin the stormage, storm until all your energy is used up and then move in to finish him off.

Place Sunken Colonies and Hydralisks along the southern edge of your original base. Next, research Transport for your Overlords and then ferry Drones and Hydralisks to the mineral deposits to the south. Build another defense system of Sunken Colonies and Hydralisks. It will be all you can do to defend both locations against the onslaught of Protoss Dragoons, so be sure to replace lost units or colonies when necessary.

Your strike force should contain three groups of mixed ground and air units. You need twelve Mutalisks and then at least ten more for conversion to Guardians. Create at least a dozen Hydralisks to round out the attack group. After you set out down the west side of the map, begin building reinforcements, because you will likely lose most—or even all—of your units in the initial thrust.

Your first skirmish takes place after you reach the southwest corner of the map and then turn toward the east. Initially, the Protoss attack comes from the north, but the strongest concentration of enemy units remains in the southeast corner of the map and continuing up along the northern edge. Eliminate the Protoss units in the first concentration or they will return to flank your attacking force when you head for the Protoss base.

Position the Guardians to take out the Protoss Photon Cannons, but make sure that the Mutalisks and Hydralisks provide support during the bombing runs. Continue moving south along the western edge of the map and then sweep to the east. When you reach the southeast corner, move up along the eastern edge of the map. Destroy everything in sight, until Tassadar challenges Kerrigan to a duel. Engage an Overlord to transport Kerrigan to the center of the map (make sure that she is at full strength!). Tassadar makes a token appearance and then disappears, signaling the end of the mission and a Zerg victory.

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The Culling, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Eradicate every last remmant of the Garm Brood

Start by defeating the small Zerg base above of you, then, build a hatchery. Begin to build up an economy and focus on money at first. The enemy will have access to the powerful Ultralisk, and these babies have a bulk 400HP (check above for more info.), and can take a lot of damage. it is important in this mission you really focus on Guardians and Hyrdalisks. You should also use the Defiler, and its Darkswarm ability (check Unit section to see what this does). Build strong groups of Guardians and watch out for Mutes and Scourges and you will come out on top.

From your starting position at the bottom center of the map, take out the Garm Brood base to the northwest. Resistance will be light and you should be able to destroy the base with your opening force still intact. Build a Hatchery immediately, create several Drones, and start mining minerals. As you stockpile resources, upgrade your structures and position Sunken Colonies to protect either side of the base from the inevitable, and incredibly annoying, Zergling attacks.

When the perimeter is secure, start working on your attack force to take out the base to the west. you will need at least a dozen Hydralisks to attack the base and another dozen to ward off a vicious enemy counterattack. Also, send a dozen upgraded Zerglings to shred the Sunken Colonies. they will most likely die in the line of duty, but their sacrifice allows the Hydralisks to hold their ground.

Send a team of twelve Zergling scouts up the eastern edge of the map to reveal enemy Ultralisks. The bladed Ultralisks will carve up your Zerglings, but not before the little munchers destroy a Sunken Colony or two and possibly work their way to the Hatchery.

Mop up the enemy base with another force of twelve Zerglings and twelve Hydralisks. Also, do not forget to bring in the Overlords to reveal burrowed Hydralisks on the ridges overlooking the base.

As one last preparation for the final assault on the northern base, send a couple squads of Hydralisks and Zerglings along the ridgeline from east to west, taking out as many Sunken Colonies, Spore Colonies, and Ultralisks as possible. They will not clear the entire ridge, but their advance work softens the job for your final assault wave of Hydralisks, Zerglings, and Guardians.

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Eye for an Eye, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Destroy the Protoss base
• Let no Dark Templar escape
• Kerrigan must survive

This match is all about the Nydus Canal, and utilizing it correctly. Begin with the usual, mining and building some hatches. Then, as you have enough money to begin building your massive army, do so. Build a ground army of Zerglings and Hyrdalisks with some Defilers and some Guardians. Then, begin the work on the bases of the Protoss. Keep bashing away at everything with your forces and the Protoss will eventually be taken down.

Build up a strong defensive force of Hydralisks and Sunken Colonies to protect your bases and Beacons. You can divide units among the three locations or use the Nydus Canal to send them to attack the sources. The enemy constantly tests the Beacon sites and even attacks your bases on occasion, so your Hydralisk support forces will serve you well.

The Nydus Canals are handy little structures that enable your forces to "teleport" from one area to another almost instantly. Build up a force of ten to twelve Hydralisks by your base in the upper-left corner of the map and then move toward the resource area in the upper-middle area of the map.

After your new base is raking in resources in the upper-middle area of the map, sit back (defend) and concentrate on researching missing structures or abilities. When you are ready, make an air group of eight Guardians and four Mutalisks, a ground group of eight Hydralisks and four Ultralisks, and two single-unit groups with a Queen in one and a Defiler in the other. This gives you the power you need to take out the entire right side of the map so you can secure the resource fields there.

Once the Protoss force is gone, build another Hatchery near the mineral fields and start harvesting the vast resources that line the map's right side. Use these resources to build up another attack force, roughly double in size, with a few Zerglings thrown in just for good measure. The Protoss base in the bottom-left corner of the map has plenty of Templars standing by, and they will not hesitate to use Psionic Storms to kick your butt.

When you mount the attack on the main Protoss base, keep two or three Queens in reserve to Spawn Broodlings on any High Templars you come across. However, if you sparred with the Templars throughout the mission, they may be depleted by the time you reach the base. After the lower Protoss base falls, victory is academic. You need only sweep the remaining Protoss off of the map to win.

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The Invasion of Aiur, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Take a Drone to the Khaydarin Crystal Formation

The key here is to work fast. Research speed and transport for Overlord fast. Then, start building some Hyrdalisks and Zerglings. Have lots of Overlords and units load them all with a couple of drones. Then, fly over to the crystal and unload all. Use your drone and walk on the beacon, then all your forces fend off the Protoss for 10 minutes. Send in mutes for reinforcements as they are quick.

The Khaydarin Crystal sits just below the center of the map where it is surrounded by Protoss units. Stay in defense mode until you can create Hydralisks, Zerglings, Queens (for Ensnaring Carriers), Scourge (Carrier defeaters), Overlord Transports for delivering ground troops, and Guardians.

As you move out, do not overlook the small base that sits in the upper middle of the map, where you take a right turn into the center canyon. After clearing out the Protoss, tap into the resources that surround the ruins of the Nexus and fortify the area with Sunken Colonies.

After the pathway to the Crystal is clear, you can either move a Drone down (via the ground) or you can transport it with an Overlord. But, do not try either route until you beef up your forces around the Crystal and, more importantly, solidify the forces around your central base at the opening of the canyon.

When the Drone enters the Crystal, it triggers a ten minute countdown as well as a final Protoss attack. Continue moving units down to the Crystal to hold the location while the Crystal is being harvested. Enemy units that are particularly devastating at this point include Templars, Carriers, and, especially, Reavers.

The Reavers can take out a row of Hydralisks with just one or two Scarabs, so stay cool and use Guardian air support. If you have the resources, deploy a squadron of Guardians at the southern entrance to the courtyard, especially when the timer slips under five minutes. After you hang on to the Crystal for ten minutes, the Drone emerges, ready to head for the Beacon. Send a few bodyguards along with the Crystal-packing Drone on its final journey.

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Full Circle, Zerg Missions

Objectives

• Destroy the Protoss temple

it is time to build up a strong ground force. Have a mix of Hyrdalisks and Zerglings, both fully upgraded with Guardians in the air. Start off by mining for a bit, and then build a pool and a den followed with three evolution chambers. Have around 4 of 5 hatches to pump out units quick. Anyway, when you are ready, build the above mentioned force of Hyrdalisks and Zerglings on the ground with Guardians in the air. Fight through the forces the Protoss throw at you and rebuild zerglings or hyrdalisks if necessary. Keep fighting and rebuilding, rebuilding, fighting, etc and you will make it to the temple eventually. When the drone with the crystal appears, use an overlord to transport it to the temple.

After you produce a pile of Drones and two new Hatcheries to maximize harvesting and unit production, build Sunken Colonies and Spore Colonies galore around the perimeter of your base. Be sure to add several Sunken Colonies to the northwest, so that the Creep expands to encompass a critical Vespene Geyser.

When the base is secure and the new Gas Extractor is pumping away, assemble a force of six Guardians and two Overlord Transports (carrying a full load of Hydralisks and Zerglings). Take this force to the east, where the Protoss base protects vital mineral beds.

After securing the eastern mineral beds, retool your forces and shift your focus to the Protoss base on the west side of your original location. Use the same mix of forces mentioned above, except for the Overlord Transports. The fortifications are less severe, so you can move your Hydralisks and Zerglings over land.

With the entire southern edge of the map under your control, ground attacks are reduced to a trickle. However, you can expect a massive air attack with one or two Carriers and at least five Scouts pounding you up the middle. Counteract this threat by grouping at least eight Hydralisks in the bottom center of the map. When firing en masse, the Hydralisks can take out a Scout with a single shot.

Assemble a force of eight Guardians and four Mutalisks in group one, twelve upgraded Hydralisks each in groups two and three, and mixed units (Zerglings, Hydralisks, Mutalisks) in group four. Assign each group to a hot key and move them up toward the temple. Use your Guardians to take out Protoss Cannons and structures quickly and clear a path for your Drone to follow with the Crystal.

On the way to the Temple you face stiff opposition from Photon Cannons and ground forces (Zealots and Dragoons) and a Carrier awaits you at the temple. Target the big ship first to eliminate the threat. When the enemy presence at the temple is almost gone, hit it with your Guardians while your Hydralisks mop up Zealots and nearby structures. When the Khaydarin Crystal Drone appears, grab an Overlord and transport the Drone to the Beacon near the temple rubble.

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