My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void

[Keltest]

Alarak and Vorazun were the buddy cops i didnt know i wanted when LoV first came out. Alarak is always a treat, but Vorazun responding playing straight man to him was not something i saw coming the first time i played the mission.

[Traab]

I always disliked this mission because it kept bugging out at the karax part. Im not sure why but I kept being unable to get past the force field that blocked my forces from the final confrontation. Its too bad because the mission was a lot of fun! A 2 person mixed stealth and slaughter run, a robo hacking army builder, and a speed run all in one mission? Yes please!

[The Glyphstone]

If anyone was counting, its also the most screenshot-dense mission of the entire trilogy so far. 80-odd pictures not including dialogue portraits.

[Keltest]

I do think they really nailed the return to Aiur missions. I dont have anything bad to say about any of them, which is impressive. Usually i can at least complain about being on a soft timer or something.

[The Glyphstone]

Spoiler: Update 18: On Soviet Aiur, Party Breaks Up Host

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It was time to destroy Amon's host body before it was finished growing. Artanis's forces would lead the assault, clearing beachheads for the other armadas to warp in support. Pretty straightforward, as plans go. Artanis started to give the orders – until the lights went out. Everything was dark, impossibly dark. The bridge had no power at all, even the stars visible through the viewports seemed faint and hazy.



Then he was there. Amon – immaterial, but with the full force of his attention directed at us. I built up the strongest mental shields I could, and they shattered like eggshells simply from his presence. He didn't even notice me, fixated on Artanis, but as I passed out (again, this was getting frustrating) my mind brushed against his and I saw him. Not what was he was now, but what he used to be, or perhaps could have been. Full of rage and sorrow, furious at the Xel'Naga for deeming him worthy of godhood and mourning all the lives discarded and thrown away as insufficient. His determination to break the cruelty of the Infinite Cycle forever not simply by killing the Xel'Naga but by obliterating their legacy, every artifact and relic they had built and every species who could potentially remember of them. All that complexity and cunning, devoured by his own rage over countless millennia until all that remained was a hollow shell lashing out blindly with plans that made no sense even to itself.



By the time I woke up, we were already deploying onto the surface. Amon's planned host body was massive, a melded amalgamation of flesh taller than a building. It floated inside a bubble of Void energy above the Overmind's corpse, but the bubble was also shielding it from orbital bombardment.



Void crystals surrounding the area were fueling the reaction, draining life from their surroundings and channeling it into the host. We'd have to shatter them all to expose it.



Amon, naturally, strongly objected to our plans. Almost immediately he began testing our defenses, sending shadow-constructs from void rifts opening near the crystals. They weren't particularly strong, but there were a lot of them and they attacked relentlessly.



The Spear couldn't attack Amon's host, but it could provide us with valuable fire support while Artanis focused on building up the nexus structures.



As usual, his first order of business was fortifying our flank. The endless waves of shadows would wear through eventually, but it would be enough to let the fleet go on the attack.



When the carriers had arrived, they ventured out towards the closest crystal. Even the capital ships couldn't effectively attack the shard without drawing in range of its corrupting aura, but carriers were sturdy enough to endure it.



The shard itself proved a challenge for the lightly armed interceptors. Karax was forced to call them back for an emergency refit of upgraded cannons that wouldn't be shrugged off by the crystal's void armor.



Once the crystal was down and the land cleared, an outpost was set up to gather more resources.



As a bonus, it was also perfectly positioned for building a second strongpoint, sealing both entryways to our base and allowing the fleet to roam freely.



To the north, a large encampment of infested Terrans was spread out across the ground. The carriers tore them apart pretty effortlessly, and I think I spotted an emblem from Raynor's Raiders in the process.



With the infested gone, Vorazun deployed her Dark Templar forces into the now-open breach.



They promptly went on the attack, and with the carriers for air cover they tore a swath through Amon's troops on the way to the next crystal.



Unfortunately, a massive counterattack from Amon's minions ran headlong into their charge. Fortunately, the Spear's 'time stop' disruption weapon was charged by now, letting us make easy work of the attack wave.



The remainder of the Nerazim troops fell back to regroup, letting the carriers push on to the crystal. This one crumbled more easily with the overcharged interceptor blasters.



A hive cluster was just behind the crystal, guarded by Hybrids. Not enough hybrids, but points for effort.





The hole it left behind was a perfect place for the Purifiers to begin their attack, with Fenix directing them from above.



Artanis was forced to pull his fleet back to intercept another strike wave, but the Spear's solar beams were free to help the Purifiers make a bit more progress before they too were driven back.



When we moved on the third crystal, Karax warned of an odd spike in the local void energies. The first two crystals had been defenseless except for their guards, but this one fired out an odd beam that struck the hull of the closest carrier. In an instant the entire ship disappeared, apparently transported into the Void and certain destruction.



Artanis mourned the loss of a valuable ship even as he ordered a replacement warped into formation. The primary encampment of Amon's corrupted Protoss lay ahead, and they fought with the same berserk fury they had before.



Alarak sent his Tal'Darim in to claim the ruins, grouching at Artanis about taking too long to clear his landing zone.



By what I'm sure was sheer coincidence, no support was available when the Tal'Darim forces assaulted Amon immediately after, and it went very poorly.





The fourth and fifth crystals had a vastly stronger aura of corruption, in addition to firing its disintegration beams. Between the carrier's repair drones and the Spear's reconstruction beam, though, the fleet was still unhindered.



The last one shattered - a cheer died halfway to my lips as the host body twitched and opened its massive eyes, roaring in rage. Amon, incarnate.



Beams of devastating energy shot from his claws, annihilating everything they touched.



In his fury, though, he forgot one important thing – the shield had dissipated. Every arkship, mothership, carrier, destroyer, and kitchen sink unloaded everything they had at him simultaneously.



When the dust settled, nothing was left by a crater filled with ashes. We had won.

[Keltest]

Whatever else you may think of this game, or Blizzard's writing quality for SC2 as a whole... seeing that moment for the first time... that was pretty dang cool.

[The Glyphstone]

Which one - Amon manifesting on the bridge?

[Keltest]

Which one - Amon manifesting on the bridge?

All of it, really.

[The Glyphstone]

Personally, I think the best bit of storytelling in LotV is the opening cinematic. Artanis gets to be a badass in-game, but he's also a named hero character, badass is inherent. 'Legacy' puts the spotlight on ordinary mook Protoss and makes the basic foot soldiers look awesome. Also Probius, best probe.

[Traab]

Personally, I think the best bit of storytelling in LotV is the opening cinematic. Artanis gets to be a badass in-game, but he's also a named hero character, badass is inherent. 'Legacy' puts the spotlight on ordinary mook Protoss and makes the basic foot soldiers look awesome. Also Probius, best probe.

Honestly, cinematics has always been a strong point of blizzard. Starcraft, warcraft, diablo, you name it. The haunting story of marius in diablo 2, archimonde destroying dalaran with his sand sculptures, the protoss opening cinematic, kerrigan fighting naruds true form, there are just so many really good ones.

[VoxRationis]

One of the things that always bothered me about the SC2 cinematics was how limited all the rosters were compared to what was actually present in game. To look at the cinematics, the zerg have nothing but zerglings, hydras, and ultras. The protoss always fight in melee because we only see their zealots, and the terrans never bring out their heavy infantry, light mech units, or ravens.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

One of the things that always bothered me about the SC2 cinematics was how limited all the rosters were compared to what was actually present in game. To look at the cinematics, the zerg have nothing but zerglings, hydras, and ultras. The protoss always fight in melee because we only see their zealots, and the terrans never bring out their heavy infantry, light mech units, or ravens.

Mutas featured spectacularly in the cinematic following the opener from Wings of Liberty, as Horner bailed out Raynor (and that convict) from a zerg rush. Banelings featured in several cinematics including the opening Protoss cinematic, where it scored a kill on a Zealot. Templars and an Archon also feature in the Protoss cinematic. So there's quite a bit of hyperbole or perhaps memory bias in the statement. However, there's also a reason why... there's probably millions of 'lings to one of almost any other unit in the Swarm, by lore. Zealots are an entire caste of Protoss society. There are LOTS of them per other unit. So it makes sense they get a lot of camera time.

Part of it also has to do with brand recognition. You see a Siege Tank, and you know 'Starcraft'. You see a Viking and it isn't immediately Starcraft, it's 'some kind of Sci-fi transforming mech, is it a Gundam or something?'. You see a Goliath and go 'okay, it's a big stompy mech. Is it a Madcat? Is it a WH40k Dreadnought? Something from Macross?' It's not nearly as iconic. But siege tanks are iconic. 'lings and hydra are iconic. Zealots are iconic. They're the units that anyone can immediately recognize as specifically Starcraft units. So they are the ones heavily featured.

The initial cinematic for the Protoss campaign is multi-functional. On one hand, yea... that's amazing badass combat. But look again, they're going into the Khala, that connection between each 'toss. Which is extremely plot-relevant in the upcoming plot twist. They're setting up the dramatic boss reveal here, and you don't even realize it because you pass it off as 'Protoss being badass!'. For this purpose, the best units to use are Zealots and Templars. So that's what they used. After all, this was before they figured out how to warp in mech and air, so the only other units they could warp in would be Stalkers and DT's, both of whom have severed their connection to the Khala. Which also is a relevant plot point because when your zealots turn on you, your Stalkers don't.

Most of the 'classic' units get decent enough screen time. Maybe not all the new SC2 units, but cinematics serve at least two purposes, first is to entertain and provide players with a 'that's awesome!' moment, but also to drive plot. There are reasons why each unit present in any cinematic is present in that scene. Say what you will about Blizzard on virtually any other topic, I've got a few views that I don't believe fall within posting guidelines of this forum, but they have always been top-notch on cinematics.

[The Glyphstone]

I still remember the first time I was awed by the Wrathgate cinematic on the WoW side.

[Guancyto]

I'm assuming the final Protoss mission is gonna take an absolute buttload of screenshots to storytell properly.

[The Glyphstone]

Not as many as you might think - looks like its around 30 screenshots, so roughly average.

Ive just been so terribly swamped with RL stuff, I havent had the time to write it up.

[The Glyphstone]

Spoiler: Update 19: In Which Salvation Is At Hand

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Preparations were being made all over the Spear – Amon's host body had been destroyed, but he still had a swarm to attack us with and the Golden Armada was on its way. We had to deploy the Keystone and purge him from the Khala before we were crushed between the two enemy armies. I found myself wandering around a little aimlessly, looking to see people I'd gotten to know one last time before we either won or doomed the galaxy by losing.

Karax was poking at the Keystone in the core chamber, putting the finishing touches on whatever he had done to make it a god-trap.



“What are you going to do afterwards? Go back to engineering?”



“In all truth...I do not believe that will be possible. We have all been changed forever by this experience, and there will be no going back for anyone. I have taken on many construction projects in my career – but building a new society that incorporates both the Purifiers and the Tal'Darim will be a work of artifice greater than anything that has come before. I cannot even begin to imagine yet what it will look like, but creating it will be the work of a lifetime.”

Fenix watched from his usual post off to one side, shifting weight from one leg to the other and flexing his claw-hands with anticipation.



“You look like you're spoiling for a fight, Fenix.”



“That I am, Just Nora! What better battle could I ask for to prove myself once and for all than that which decides the very fate of our people? But...I no longer wish to be called 'Fenix'. He was a mighty warrior and one I have learned much from, but I am proud to choose my own path as you suggested I should. From this day forward, I shall be known as 'Talandar'.”

Vorazun and Rohanna were gathered over the holo-table in the war room, plotting out troop movements and strategies. Something was different about Rohanna, though, besides the fact that she was free of her force-field prison – then it hit me. The huge headdress she had been carrying around was gone, and with it her nerve-cords. They both looked up as I entered.



“Witness, greetings. We will be departing for the surface of Aiur shortly – if we do not speak again, know that the aid you have provided us was most welcome. When you first joined us, I was focused on preserving the traditions and rites that made the Nerazim who they are, but no longer. I cannot see the future, but I now understand that people are not made by their traditions; is it traditions who are made by their people. If the Khalai can surrender all that they know to build something greater – perhaps in time, so can we.”

Not really sure what to say to that, I looked over at Rohanna, whose face was oddly neutral instead of the disgust and disdain she'd never hidden from me before.



“You cut off your nerve cords?”



“That is correct. If our people are to move forward without the Khala, I will not be selfish and cling to it any longer for my own desires. I no longer carry perfect knowledge of our people's history as it was seen by those who lived it, nor can I view the present as they would have. I am forced to make judgements purely on my own experiences, and I am forced to admit; if you are representative of the best Terrans have to offer...there may yet be potential in the future of your species.”

If that was her idea of a compliment, it needed a lot of work. Still, it meant more than it seemed coming from her.

Alarak was on the bridge with Artanis, separate and consulting with their own respective officers.



“Is there really nothing more I can learn about my visions?”



“Your listening skills continue to be deplorable. I did not say there was nothing left for you to learn, I said there was nothing more that I felt the need to teach you. I have graciously bestowed upon you the miminal strength necessary to not destroy yourself with your own power – it will be up to you to figure out how to hone it into a proper weapon and destroy your enemies instead.”

I didn't want to bother Artanis while he was busy with something this important, but he decided otherwise.



“Witness Nora – we stand upon the precipice of a new age, but know this. You have proven yourself courageous beyond all measure through the trials we have faced together, and honor not just Commander Raynor but all Terrans who live in doing so. You may not be a warrior, and it is likely the annals of history will pay little heed to your presence among us, but I, for one, will remember the aid you provided for as long as I live.”



“...Thanks, Artanis. That means a lot, really.”

There wasn't much more to say after that. It was do or die – nearly everyone was headed for the surface, leaving only Rohana to command a skeleton crew aboard the Spear.



The Keystone would need time to charge, and it was Artanis's job to buy that time by holding off Amon's forces.



Karax joined the Purifiers to secure the eastern entrance to the plateau. FenixTalandar had gone with him, but I couldn't see exactly where he went.



Alarak and the Tal'Darim laid claim to the south entrance, where the bulk of Amon's attacks were likely to come from.



Vorazun and the Nerazim occupied the west entrance. Artanis, meanwhile, built up his nexus point around the Keystone itself and would bring support where needed.



Amon didn't hesitate for a second, throwing a horde of Zerg at the west side just to probe our defenses. Artanis's vanguard joined up with Vorazun to deflect them, but they just kept coming.



Rohana still held command of the Spear's arsenal, and she brought down a punishing bombardment to clear back the Zerg attack wave a bit. They were obliging enough to be charging forward in a narrow column, which made aiming easier.



But it wasn't only Zerg he was sending. The masses of possessed Templar still on Aiur were his as well, and they charged fearlessly in to try and kill us.



Alarak, thankfully, had exactly zero hesitations about killing other Protoss, but he would still have been overrun without a supporting laser strike.



Karax was also under siege to the east – Artanis's meager forces were tied up, so instead Rohana dropped a time-stasis bomb to buy everyone some breathing room.



Suddenly, alarms began to shriek. The entire three-kilometer long bulk of the Spear shuddered, even as the viewscreens showed a terrible sight. The leading ships of the Golden Armada had arrived, immediately launching attacks on our ship. Rohana diverted all the power we could spare into the shields and turned to face them – we would no longer be able to provide Artanis with chrono surges.



Artanis had chosen to play a risky game. Instead of building an army, he had trusted his allies to stand their ground while he rushed to build infrastructure to support our fleet on the surface. But the gamble paid off, and a squadron of carriers was on the field to provide punishing air support to Alarak's increasingly fragile battle line.





It was just in time too, as not all of the Golden Armada was occupying itself in a duel with the Spear. The rest of the hostile fleet was descending to join the fight, with a pair of Motherships leading the charge.



The Spear quaked again, as more Armada ships arrived to hammer away at it. With Karax on the ground, our repair abilities were minimal; Rohana was forced to turn all our remaining weapons away to try and thin out the attackers. There would be no more giant laser bombardments on the surface.





To try and make up for the loss, Artanis began thickening his ground defenses – anywhere he could fit a photon cannon or shield battery, he built a wall of guns between Amon and the Keystone.





Another surge of Zerg swarmed over Alarak's lines – it took both a time-stop bomb and Artanis's fleet to preserve his position.



“Enough! While I delight in butchering these animals by my own hand, it is too hard to properly survey the field. I shall command the remainder of this battle from my Mothership.”



Golden Armada ships were everywhere – a squadron slipped around our flank and launched an attack against the probes in our backline, forcing a hasty retreat to salvage them.



All this time, the Keystone had been building strength. I could almost feel it, in that weird corner of my mind where the psionic gift I still didn't understand lived. It couldn't be long now...



More impacts shook the Spear, and this time they didn't stop. Ringing explosion after explosion rocked the deck like an earthquake – the Golden Armada ships were ramming our hull, shattering great chunks out of the armor and blasting entire corridors open to space.



“The core is going critical! Hierarch, we can no longer support you.”



“You have done enough, Rohana. The Keystone is approaching full power--evade them as long as you can.”

I could see a golden carrier boosting headlong directly towards us – it would smash through the windows of the command deck and kill us all instantly...then it was gone. The Spear screamed as Rohana engaged the emergency warp, flinging us away from Aiur and back into the shadow of its moons.





Free from engaging us, the full force of the Golden Armada descended down on Artanis. Ship after ship was torn to pieces, with two more replacing each one we destroyed.





And on the ground below – a seemingly endless wave of Protoss soldiers was cresting the horizon. Every last Templar on Aiur was coming to kill us, and they weren't alone. A wall of lightly armored Protoss carrying simple tools or merely their bare clawed hands marched in front – the Khalai civilians who had fallen under Amon's sway had become living shields.



Glowing motes of light poured down Vorazun's face as she cut them down, but she was a rock that the tide flowed around and past.





Even the massed firepower of our carriers could no longer hold them back, when Amon had more soldiers on the ground than we could launch interceptors into the sky.



With our defenses collapsing on every front, Artanis had one last card left to play He called his probes forward from the mineral line, positioning them in a ring around the Keystone. Crazed red-eyed Zealots fell on them in a orgy of violence, smashing a probe with every swing of their blades – but every one that got in their way delayed them just a second longer.



The final defense of the Keystone was descending into a flurry of duels – then Artanis did it. From a million miles away, I felt the Keystone fire off. Memories unexpected flooded back, of the time I had seen this exact thing happen before on Char, but this time I was far enough away to stay conscious. We had lost sensor link to Aiur's surface, and an eternity passed in moments.

The psychic scream was deafening, impossibly loud in a way that defied how sound or thought was supposed to work. Pain, loss, and simple indescribable RAGE flooded across us, as a rippling beam of ugly red light burst from the surface of Aiur and streaked away into the depths of the void. Silence fell, until a single sound began to ripple through the air – faint music, threadbare and weak but unmistakable. Battered, broken, and on the verge of destruction, the Spear of Adun began to sing again.

---

---

Great clouds of smoke choked the skies of Aiur, Zerg corpses piled as high as buildings burning merrily. The entire brood had gone feral or catatonic when Amon was banished, but it would be months simply to clear them out before the rebuilding could even begin. I watched the work gangs of Khalai and Templar industriously clearing rubble, till a shadow fell over me from behind.



“You will always be remembered among us, Witness Nora. But your oath now stands fulfilled, for Aiur has been reclaimed, and you are released from your vigil at last. When you are ready, a ship is standing by to return you to Korhal.”

Home at last! I'd be able to see my parents, and talk to Kate, get all this material copied down and start working on another docu-drama...

...We have all been changed forever by this experience, and there will be no going back for anyone...

Karax was more right than he knew. I couldn't go home, not now. I might be able to keep my visions from driving me insane, but I couldn't hide my new power from the wranglers. At best, I'd have a life in a gilded cage as I tried to predict the future for the Dominion. And that assumed I didn't end up brainwashed into a psychic ninja assassin. My career with UNN was over. I could always flee to the Umojan Protectorate – their news bureaus would offer me a job in a heartbeat, with the recognition I'd earned off my Metsy award. But that didn't sit right either, somehow. I'd told Talandar to find his own path, that he had more choices than to live forever as the lesser twin. Maybe it was time I listened to my own advice.

I knew my bank account balance was hefty even before the cash component of the Metzy was factored in – when you live in a tiny apartment and your only real vice is collecting fancy sweaters, you end up saving a lot. It wasn't enough to buy a ship outright, but I could leverage a loan and put a hefty down payment on one. Something a bit like Commander Raynor's dropship, but with more creature comforts and a lot more room for supplies. There was a whole galaxy to explore and we had only seen a tiny sliver of it. Habitable worlds lay out there waiting to be found and colonized, and all sorts of rich mining sites that prospectors would pay good money for information on. The Xel'naga might be gone, but they had left plenty of artifacts behind just lying around for the taking. Who knew what else might be waiting in the stars?

I'd spent long enough recording history.

Time to go make history instead.

And that's it for Legacy of the Void! I still think I'm going to do the Epilogue at some point, but Nora's story, and with it the main campaign arc of Starcraft 2, ends here. It's been a wild experience, and a lot of fun writing and playing through it - the largest. longest-running and most ambitious writing project I've ever tackled. I'm happy for everyone who followed along and participated, and I hope you all enjoyed it too.

[Brother Oni]

Now that was a ride!

Thank you for taking us along, Glyphstone.

[Guancyto]

An impressive LP overall, patching some serious holes in the canon story while giving us an interesting and relatable main character to boot.

We salute you, Reporter Girl, and hope you take your destiny among the stars!

[Keltest]

Wooo! Its been a heck of a ride. But all good things must come to an end.


Have you considered doing Covert Ops as well? Its an interesting experience going back to terran stuff after all that, with the better sense of how to make a campaign that the team learned over the years.

[Traab]

Whew, what a day. I wonder what Noras eventual path will be? Perhaps she will study the use of her gift with the templars? Use her abilities to help record the rebuilding process as the people of aiur become something new in culture? Either way, great story, and great ending.

[The Glyphstone]

Wooo! Its been a heck of a ride. But all good things must come to an end.


Have you considered doing Covert Ops as well? Its an interesting experience going back to terran stuff after all that, with the better sense of how to make a campaign that the team learned over the years.

Considered it and ultimately decided against it for a few reasons. Firstly, It'd be very difficult for me to justify Nora being present for Nova's little black ops crusade with the whole thing being ultra top secret and all that - Nova is absolutely ruthless enough to kill a potential security leak on principle. Secondly, I didnt really enjoy Covert Ops all that much; the solo hero missions are engaging but the 'regular' missions suffer from being time gated (the hardest to get screens for) and taking too long to unlock the cool toys. Maybe if it had been longer.

Mission 2 of the Epilogue is Terran though, IIRC. There's also a part of me that wants to go back and 'remaster' Chapter 1, replacing the missing images and tightening up the writing a bit to make it fit better into the story, but for now I'm going to rest on my laurels and do other things.

[Keltest]

Considered it and ultimately decided against it for a few reasons. Firstly, It'd be very difficult for me to justify Nora being present for Nova's little black ops crusade with the whole thing being ultra top secret and all that - Nova is absolutely ruthless enough to kill a potential security leak on principle. Secondly, I didnt really enjoy Covert Ops all that much; the solo hero missions are engaging but the 'regular' missions suffer from being time gated (the hardest to get screens for) and taking too long to unlock the cool toys. Maybe if it had been longer.

Mission 2 of the Epilogue is Terran though, IIRC. There's also a part of me that wants to go back and 'remaster' Chapter 1, replacing the missing images and tightening up the writing a bit to make it fit better into the story, but for now I'm going to rest on my laurels and do other things.

Fair enough.

[The Glyphstone]

Whew, what a day. I wonder what Noras eventual path will be? Perhaps she will study the use of her gift with the templars? Use her abilities to help record the rebuilding process as the people of aiur become something new in culture? Either way, great story, and great ending.

Maybe she'll become a professional wrestler.

(I still can't get over the sheer weirdness of that clip, especially since there are like a total of 3 other pieces of Kate Lockwell fan art on the entire internet I can find, and one of those is Nora's avatar.)


EDIT: Oh, and a double special thanks to Keltest for his assistance in this last chapter, being an inexhaustible font of Protoss lore and a very useful sounding board for bouncing narrative ideas against.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I'm happy for everyone who followed along and participated, and I hope you all enjoyed it too.

I know I did! Thank you for all your hard work!