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

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Goons also have the advantage of not having the same range as immortals, and thus you can combine them better in mixed forces without them overtly getting in each others way as much.

Speaking of immortals, has he unlocked the third option for that category yet? Because if so, that needs to come out and play.

[The Glyphstone]

I'll announce every new War Council choice as it comes up. Currently we only have Immortals and Annihilators.

[The Glyphstone]

Spoiler: Update 10: In Which The Enemy of My Enemy Is Not My Friend

Show

Artanis was already gone (again) when I returned to the bridge – only the regular crew at their stations and Vorazun pacing an anxious circle around the central command table. She spoke as soon as I appeared without even looking back at me.



“You continue to waste your time, Witness. He has gone into the depths of Ulnar alone. The fate of my people – my species – hangs in the balance and I can do nothing about it.”



“But aren't you his second-in-command? Even if something happens to him, you'd still be able to lead everyone, right?”

She stopped pacing and glared at me over her veil, green eyes flashing.



“I will explain it as I would to a child then, since you clearly do not understand. Artanis is not simply our Hierarch, he is also the leader of the Khalai. Many of the Templar aboard this vessel were placed in stasis a thousand years ago, when the memories of the Exile were still fresh. Their hatred for my people is strong, and they would not follow me in his place.



“So you wouldn't be in charge. Would they try to kill you guys then?”



“There are more ways to kill a people than that of the blade, Terran. Even if we triumph over Amon, the Nerazim will be once again forced to live alongside and among them. Our individuality, our culture and traditions – without a strong voice to preserve them, all my people have built will be absorbed and forgotten. The Khalai have always outnumbered us, and are unified in their path.”



“I thought they lost their psychic link thing? Amon took it over so they all cut their nerve-bits off? What's unifying them without that?”

I had meant it as a question, but asking it stopped her dead for a moment.



“That...is true. A child you may be, but the eyes of a child can sometimes see what adults miss. Perhaps Artanis is not entirely wrong to value in your council, though I still dislike the faith he places in your abilities.”



“Wait, what abilities? All I do is sit around and write stuff that no one is ever going to read.”



“Do you know why he has been avoiding you, Witness? Because he knows what you intend to ask him, and he does not wish to tell you. I believe it is because he does not wish to worry you, but we of the Nerazim have never hidden the uncomfortable truths from our children. You have been plagued with dreams before and since coming about our vessel, yes? And what you have dreamed becomes truth in time. You have the psionic gift of precognition, that of a prophet or seer.”



“I'm psychic? That's impossible, they tested me back when I was a teenager. And why wouldn't Artanis want to tell me that?”



“What your species knows of psionics is even less than that of a child, but the reason for his secrecy is simple. Without training and discipline, a seer eventually loses the ability to distinguish between what is and what might be, and goes hopelessly insane.”

Of course I fainted. And of course, I dreamed.

Artanis was walking through the dark stone hallways, peering at the carvings. They filled the walls, and looked like they were telling a story. He paused at one, where a warrior cut through the hair-braid of his opponent even as they carved open his chest in turn. Zeratul.

Further down the passage another fresco caught his eye - a planet in its violent death throes, exploding as tiny figures flee in every direction. Shakuras.

He paused a third time at an altar in a high-roofed room, where the carvings showed a monstrous hybrid looming over a female body sporting distinctive bony wings. The Queen of Blades.

A noise caught his attention, and he turned to see a hybrid's corpse plummeting from the ceiling and landing on the floor. It shuddered and slid away to reveal...Sarah? What was she doing here?



"Artanis - I am not your enemy. I have come seeking the Xel'naga..."

Artanis drew his other blade to fight, clearly not interested in listening, but then another hybrid interrupted them. It pounced down on Sarah, who was clearly injured already and proceeded to beat the stuffing out of her. At least it was only a dream...but no. I couldn't ignore the obvious now that I'd had my face rubbed in it - this was really happening, or going to happen soon.

She put up a good fight but finally collapsed, and for a moment I thought Artanis was going to finish her off. Thankfully, he just sort of shrugged instead, and met the hybrid's charge head-on. I'd never really seen Artanis cut loose under his own power till now; where Sarah had tried to pit brute force against the hybrid, he danced around the monster, dodging and teleporting and lopping off its limbs one by one. By the time he tossed it away like it had tossed her, it was little more than a torso shrieking in fury; Sarah had recovered enough to tear what was left in half, for what little it mattered.

For a moment they eyed each other, then Artanis glanced over at the next carving in the sequence. The spike-winged woman and a Protoss warrior walking side by side.



"Fate has led us to this moment. We should not tempt it further."



As they walked, Sarah shared a little more info. She'd been wandering the tunnels of Ulnar for weeks, killing hybrids with no idea what to do next or where to go.



A group of small stone constructs tried to get in their way, and got blown up.



The giant stone golem that came to life next and tried to kill them was a bit scarier, but still managable.



When it died, the door it had been guarding opened up.



Some mostly-intact Xel'Naga technology was tucked into an alcove, and Artanis snatched it up to bring back for Karax.



The next large room had a group of hybrids appear. It wasn't an easy fight – Sarah was still moving a bit slow.



Another pair of constructs guarded the next door.





One was right there to fight, but the other was hidden across a chasm – Artanis had to go poke it to wake it up, then lure it back across for them to smash.





A huge shrine filled the chamber beyond, covered with more of the weird carvings. Sarah puttered around impatiently while Artanis deciphered them. According to him, it told the story of the Xel'Naga being born in the Void, taking bodies and seeding universes with life before returning to wait in Ulnar.



Then a mixed gang of Tal'Darim and Moebius Corp thralls crashed the party; I guess we hadn't gotten all of them before opening the doors.



The hybrid in charge didn't fair much better.



At the next door, though, it had been caved in by massive explosions, forcing the two of them to detour.



The detour in question happened to take them right through a huge battle between Tal'Darim and stone golems. At least it showed that the guardians weren't taking sides.



Once the two groups had softened each other up a bit, the survivors were easy enough to destroy.



Compared to that, the squad of thralled Ghosts that tried to stop them were nothing.



A hybrid ambush at the next collapsed tunnel failed equally miserably.



In the next chamber, a whole mess of Goliaths and Reapers were set up and waiting. Instead of charging in, Artanis baited them back into the doorway where they got tangled up on each other.



Then he blew them to pieces. Sarah didn't even have time to drop her baneling bombs.



More Xel'Naga tech was abandoned in a corner.



Tal'Darim lasers started hammering through the roof, opening holes for troop transports to fly through. Artanis kept the infantry at bay while Sarah crunchy-blasted the transports, without even needing to discuss the plan.



Behind them was another huge shrine that continued the story. The Xel'Naga watched and waited, but never interfered with the lives of their creations. Artanis was shaken by this – it meant Amon and the other Xel'Naga who had uplifted the Protoss and acted as their gods were breaking the rules.



There was still one more shrine, but Amon had gotten proactive. A gang of hybrids were attacking the third shrine, trying to destroy it. For a pile of stone it was surprisingly tough, but would still only last a few minutes.



More hybrids warped in to try and stop Artanis and Sarah from interfering, collapsing another tunnel that would have been a shortcut to the shrine.



They sprinted through the corridors, dodging Tal'Darim laser beams and transports full of crazed Moebius thralls.



The two groups of minions clearly weren't been coordinated, because Artanis was able to lure most of the Moebius troops into the path of the lasers. Or more likely the hybrids just didn't care.



Another Xel'Naga artifact was half-buried in the rubble of a laser blast. Despite the ticking clock, Artanis took the time to dig it out and store it away.



The hybrids at the last shrine stopped smashing it when Artanis and Sarah arrived, turning to fight instead.





The big one leading them was the last to fall, but by this point the two of them were practically moving in unison. I guess that's the sort of thing you can do when everyone is psychic.



The last shrine was also the doorway to the innermost chambers. Of all the races the Xel'Naga created, two would grow to the the best – pure of form, and pure of essence. Together they would come to Ulnar, awaken the sleepers, and be elevated by their essence into the next generation of Xel'Naga. This was the Infinite Cycle, each loop lasting billions of years. But something was wrong, even as Artanis and Sarah headed inside.

Even here in the sanctum, everything was dark and rubble strewn everywhere. Huge, squid-looking creatures lay in sealed pods or hung half-out of broken ones...and every single one of them was dead.



BEHOLD, THE END OF THE INFINITE CYCLE. THOUSANDS OF UNIVERSES, TRILLIONS YEARS, UNCOUNTABLE LIVES. ALL SACRIFICED, CONSUMED, FOR THE SELFISH NEEDS OF THOSE WHO FEARED TO DIE. I TAUGHT THEM WHAT IT MEANS TO DIE. I WILL ERASE ALL THAT THEY BUILT AND AVENGE THEIR VICTIMS. EMBRACE OBLIVION...

I woke up on my bed, gasping. Everything felt cold and the air was thin – somehow I knew this was in my head, but it didn't help. Whatever had just happened, it was very, very bad.

So no new units, but we have unlocked Tier 4 abilities with a heap of new Solarite!

Solarite Total: 150

Tier 1:
-Deploy Pylon (0 Solarite): Instant free Pylon at any location.
-Chrono Surge (25 Solarite): Target building acts 1000% faster for 20 seconds, warping in units or researching upgrades.
-Warp In Reinforcements (50 Solarite): Instant free Pylon at any location, but it also comes with 2 Melee Warriors (Centurions) and 2 Ranged Warriors (Dragoons).

Tier 2:
-Orbital Bombardment (0 Solarite): Strike 5 circular locations for 50 damage (+50 vs. Armored).
-Temporal Field (25 Solarite): Freeze 3 locations in time-bubbles that stun enemies for 20 seconds.
-Solar Beam (50 Solarite): Strike 3 line-shaped areas for 200 damage each.

Tier 3:
Nexus Overcharge (0 Solarite): Nexus structures get a photon cannon glued to their roof, letting them defend against attackers. "Your probes are under attack!"
Orbital Assimilation (25 Solarite): Assimilators become automated and no longer need probes to harvest.
Warp Harmonization (50 Solarite): Robotics Facilities and Stargates can transform into Warp Gates, and all warp-in cooldowns get cut by 20%.

Tier 4:
Mass Recall (0 Solarite): Teleport a group of units back to your home Nexus and give them a 200-point shield.
Shield Overcharge (50 Solarite): Give all friendly units and structures a temporary 200-point shield boost.
Deploy Fenix (100 Solarite): Fenix drops onto the battlefield and fights by himself for 30 seconds, doing high AoE damage wherever he goes.

[Keltest]

Drat, you skipped my favorite cinematic in the game. Theres something about having Artanis watch Kerrigan get beaten up thats just incredibly satisfying.

[The Glyphstone]

Sorry. I was already worried about the narrative segment getting too long, and I figure most people are here primarily for the actual gameplay potion of the LP.

In retrospect that was a mistake, someone who hasn't played the game will be wondering where the hell Kerrigan came from.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

In retrospect that was a mistake, someone who hasn't played the game will be wondering where the hell Kerrigan came from.

Yes, this.

[The Glyphstone]

I may have to compromise my artistic integrity and do a rewrite to incorporate the bit I cut out then. Its a holiday weekend anyways.

[Traab]

Spoiler: Update 10: In Which The Enemy of My Enemy Is Not My Friend

Show

Artanis was already gone (again) when I returned to the bridge – only the regular crew at their stations and Vorazun pacing an anxious circle around the central command table. She spoke as soon as I appeared without even looking back at me.



“You continue to waste your time, Witness. He has gone into the depths of Ulnar alone. The fate of my people – my species – hangs in the balance and I can do nothing about it.”



“But aren't you his second-in-command? Even if something happens to him, you'd still be able to lead everyone, right?”

She stopped pacing and glared at me over her veil, green eyes flashing.



“I will explain it as I would to a child then, since you clearly do not understand. Artanis is not simply our Hierarch, he is also the leader of the Khalai. Many of the Templar aboard this vessel were placed in stasis a thousand years ago, when the memories of the Exile were still fresh. Their hatred for my people is strong, and they would not follow me in his place.



“So you wouldn't be in charge. Would they try to kill you guys then?”



“There are more ways to kill a people than that of the blade, Terran. Even if we triumph over Amon, the Nerazim will be once again forced to live alongside and among them. Our individuality, our culture and traditions – without a strong voice to preserve them, all my people have built will be absorbed and forgotten. The Khalai have always outnumbered us, and are unified in their path.”



“I thought they lost their psychic link thing? Amon took it over so they all cut their nerve-bits off? What's unifying them without that?”

I had meant it as a question, but asking it stopped her dead for a moment.



“That...is true. A child you may be, but the eyes of a child can sometimes see what adults miss. Perhaps Artanis is not entirely wrong to value in your council, though I still dislike the faith he places in your abilities.”



“Wait, what abilities? All I do is sit around and write stuff that no one is ever going to read.”



“Do you know why he has been avoiding you, Witness? Because he knows what you intend to ask him, and he does not wish to tell you. I believe it is because he does not wish to worry you, but we of the Nerazim have never hidden the uncomfortable truths from our children. You have been plagued with dreams before and since coming about our vessel, yes? And what you have dreamed becomes truth in time. You have the psionic gift of precognition, that of a prophet or seer.”



“I'm psychic? That's impossible, they tested me back when I was a teenager. And why wouldn't Artanis want to tell me that?”



“What your species knows of psionics is even less than that of a child, but the reason for his secrecy is simple. Without training and discipline, a seer eventually loses the ability to distinguish between what is and what might be, and goes hopelessly insane.”

I fainted. And of course, I dreamed.



Artanis was walking through the dark stone hallways – but he wasn't alone. Sarah was there too, and they were moving together instead of fighting.



A group of small stone constructs tried to get in their way, and got blown up.



The giant stone golem that came to life next and tried to kill them was a bit scarier, but still managable.



When it died, the door it had been guarding opened up.



Some mostly-intact Xel'Naga technology was tucked into an alcove, and Artanis snatched it up to bring back for Karax.



The next large room had a group of hybrids appear. It wasn't an easy fight – Sarah seemed to be moving a bit slow, like she was tired or hurt.



Another pair of constructs guarded the next door.





One was right there to fight, but the other was hidden across a chasm – Artanis had to go poke it to wake it up, then lure it back across for them to smash.





A huge shrine filled the chamber beyond, covered with more of the weird carvings. Sarah puttered around impatiently while Artanis deciphered them. According to him, it told the story of the Xel'Naga being born in the Void, taking bodies and seeding universes with life before returning to wait in Ulnar.



Then a mixed gang of Tal'Darim and Moebius Corp thralls crashed the party; I guess we hadn't gotten all of them before opening the doors.



The hybrid in charge didn't fair much better.



At the next door, though, it had been caved in by massive explosions, forcing the two of them to detour.



The detour in question happened to take them right through a huge battle between Tal'Darim and stone golems. At least it showed that the guardians weren't taking sides.



Once the two groups had softened each other up a bit, the survivors were easy enough to destroy.



Compared to that, the squad of thralled Ghosts that tried to stop them were nothing.



A hybrid ambush at the next collapsed tunnel failed equally miserably.



In the next chamber, a whole mess of Goliaths and Reapers were set up and waiting. Instead of charging in, Artanis baited them back into the doorway where they got tangled up on each other.



Then he blew them to pieces. Sarah didn't even have time to drop her baneling bombs.



More Xel'Naga tech was abandoned in a corner.



Tal'Darim lasers started hammering through the roof, opening holes for troop transports to fly through. Artanis kept the infantry at bay while Sarah crunchy-blasted the transports, without even needing to discuss the plan.



Behind them was another huge shrine that continued the story. The Xel'Naga watched and waited, but never interfered with the lives of their creations. Artanis was shaken by this – it meant Amon and the other Xel'Naga who had uplifted the Protoss and acted as their gods were breaking the rules.



There was still one more shrine, but Amon had gotten proactive. A gang of hybrids were attacking the third shrine, trying to destroy it. For a pile of stone it was surprisingly tough, but would still only last a few minutes.



More hybrids warped in to try and stop Artanis and Sarah from interfering, collapsing another tunnel that would have been a shortcut to the shrine.



They sprinted through the corridors, dodging Tal'Darim laser beams and transports full of crazed Moebius thralls.



The two groups of minions clearly weren't been coordinated, because Artanis was able to lure most of the Moebius troops into the path of the lasers. Or more likely the hybrids just didn't care.



Another Xel'Naga artifact was half-buried in the rubble of a laser blast. Despite the ticking clock, Artanis took the time to dig it out and store it away.



The hybrids at the last shrine stopped smashing it when Artanis and Sarah arrived, turning to fight instead.





The big one leading them was the last to fall, but by this point the two of them were practically moving in unison. I guess that's the sort of thing you can do when everyone is psychic.



The last shrine was also the doorway to the innermost chambers. Of all the races the Xel'Naga created, two would grow to the the best – pure of form, and pure of essence. Together they would come to Ulnar, awaken the sleepers, and be elevated by their essence into the next generation of Xel'Naga. This was the Infinite Cycle, each loop lasting billions of years. But something was wrong, even as Artanis and Sarah headed inside.

Even here in the sanctum, everything was dark and rubble strewn everywhere. Huge, squid-looking creatures lay in sealed pods or hung half-out of broken ones...and every single one of them was dead.



BEHOLD, THE END OF THE INFINITE CYCLE. THOUSANDS OF UNIVERSES, TRILLIONS YEARS, UNCOUNTABLE LIVES. ALL SACRIFICED, CONSUMED, FOR THE SELFISH NEEDS OF THOSE WHO FEARED TO DIE. I TOUGHT THEM WHAT IT MEANS TO DIE. I WILL ERASE ALL THAT THEY BUILT AND AVENGE THEIR VICTIMS. EMBRACE OBLIVION...

I woke up on my bed, gasping. Everything felt cold and the air was thin – somehow I knew this was in my head, but it didn't help. Whatever had just happened, it was very, very bad.

So no new units, but we have unlocked Tier 4 abilities with a heap of new Solarite!

Solarite Total: 150

Tier 1:
-Deploy Pylon (0 Solarite): Instant free Pylon at any location.
-Chrono Surge (25 Solarite): Target building acts 1000% faster for 20 seconds, warping in units or researching upgrades.
-Warp In Reinforcements (50 Solarite): Instant free Pylon at any location, but it also comes with 2 Melee Warriors (Centurions) and 2 Ranged Warriors (Dragoons).

Tier 2:
-Orbital Bombardment (0 Solarite): Strike 5 circular locations for 50 damage (+50 vs. Armored).
-Temporal Field (25 Solarite): Freeze 3 locations in time-bubbles that stun enemies for 20 seconds.
-Solar Beam (50 Solarite): Strike 3 line-shaped areas for 200 damage each.

Tier 3:
Nexus Overcharge (0 Solarite): Nexus structures get a photon cannon glued to their roof, letting them defend against attackers. "Your probes are under attack!"
Orbital Assimilation (25 Solarite): Assimilators become automated and no longer need probes to harvest.
Warp Harmonization (50 Solarite): Robotics Facilities and Stargates can transform into Warp Gates, and all warp-in cooldowns get cut by 20%.

Tier 4:
Mass Recall (0 Solarite): Teleport a group of units back to your home Nexus and give them a 200-point shield.
Shield Overcharge (50 Solarite): Give all friendly units and structures a temporary 200-point shield boost.
Deploy Fenix (100 Solarite): Fenix drops onto the battlefield and fights by himself for 30 seconds, doing high AoE damage wherever he goes.

Hmm, deploy pylon
solar beam
I think I will go with assimilation for right now
and how about overcharge? Ive never used it, does it cost energy to activate taking away from beams and pylons? Mass recall can be handy as it allows you to send all your troops out rather than keep some home.

[The Glyphstone]

Recall costs 25 energy, overcharge and Fenix cost 50 energy.

[Keltest]

I find Overcharge to be the most generally applicable of the choices, but Deploy Fenix is a lot of fun to do. Wind him up and let him go.

[Thomas Cardew]

Chrono Surge + Solar Beam + Orbital Assimilation + Overcharge

Nice update thanks!

[ShneekeyTheLost]

There's two ways you can do this, and both are equally viable in their own way:

1) Chrono Surge/Solar Beam/Orbital Assimilation/Shield Overcharge

2) Summon Pylon/Solar Beam/Warp Harmonization/Shield Overcharge

The former nets you faster saturation, with six less population needed due to not needing probes on gas. This gets you up and running faster so that you can hit a critical mass sooner and needing around one pylon less for an equivalent army.

The latter lets you start warping in your mech and air units into the front lines (because we're using the mobile pylons that are the Energizers) and helps maintain momentum on your ever growing deathball.

Both are solid options. I tend to prefer the former as it is less micro-intensive, and also because I went full HAM on Skytoss to the point of not having any ground units in my composition and thus no energizers to remotely warp to, but either way works. I also happen to be a sucker for Chrono Surge because I'm often very bad at remembering to keep tech researching so it helps mitigate the damage I cause myself for being a derp, and because it helps you crank out probes early game WAY faster to fully saturate the lines. But if you're using a mixed composition of ground and sky, or if you're going Robotoss, the Warp Harmonization is an insane advantage.

[The Glyphstone]

We won't get to play around with a real Skytoss comp until the Tal'Darim missions give us Void Rays at least - Mass Phoenix is a meme build only. So we're definitely stuck in Robotoss for now.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

We won't get to play around with a real Skytoss comp until the Tal'Darim missions give us Void Rays at least - Mass Phoenix is a meme build only. So we're definitely stuck in Robotoss for now.

We already have Void Rays, but I understand what you mean. The Tal'Darim version is really good at sweeping. I happen to enjoy VR + Carrier comp using the 'vanilla' VR's, but we haven't unlocked the unit tier that carriers are a part of. But I bet that Tal'Darim VR + Arbiters can be a silly good comp as well.

[The Glyphstone]

We already have Void Rays, but I understand what you mean. The Tal'Darim version is really good at sweeping. I happen to enjoy VR + Carrier comp using the 'vanilla' VR's, but we haven't unlocked the unit tier that carriers are a part of. But I bet that Tal'Darim VR + Arbiters can be a silly good comp as well.

Huh? We don't unlock the Assault Ship slot at all until Steps of the Rite, the Tal'darim Mission 1 - that'll give us Void Rays or Destroyers, with Arbiters unlocking later. We're currently at Ulnar 3 (Psionic Warrior will unlock next), and will have the option of starting either Purifier or Taldarim missions next. Did you think Phoenix and VR were in the same unit slot?

Currently we have
Melee Warrior (Centurion)
Ranged Warrior (Dragoon)
Robotic Assault (Annihilator)
Cloaked Warrior (Dark Templar)
Robotic Support (Energizer)
Starfighter (Phoenix)
Psionic Warrior
Assault Ship
Robotic Siege
Capital Ship

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Huh? We don't unlock the Assault Ship slot at all until Steps of the Rite, the Tal'darim Mission 1 - that'll give us Void Rays or Destroyers, with Arbiters unlocking later. We're currently at Ulnar 3, and will have the option of starting either Purifier or Taldarim missions next.

I thought we got Void Rays way back in the mission with the vespine eruptions where you have to run around and collect the gas on sites rather than standard Assimilatiors. Which was really early, I thought, at least for me. Maybe I did it in a different order, or maybe I'm just misremembering. It felt super early to get it.

[The Glyphstone]

I thought we got Void Rays way back in the mission with the vespine eruptions where you have to run around and collect the gas on sites rather than standard Assimilatiors. Which was really early, I thought, at least for me. Maybe I did it in a different order, or maybe I'm just misremembering. It felt super early to get it.

Oh....you're remembering the Zeratul Prologue missions. Yeah, you get Void Rays in that, but that's separate from the campaign entirely - they take place before Aiur 1 and feature full tech tree access. I've omitted those entirely in this LP because I couldn't figure out a good place to slip them in narrative-wise and keep the flow going. That, and they're non interactive as far as reader feedback, so it would be 3 weeks solid of nothing to vote on.

EDIT: In lieu of a full update, I've gone back and patched in a bit more narrative to bridge the gap between pre-mission and mission time, for Keltest and Kareeah's enjoyment.

[Keltest]

Oh....you're remembering the Zeratul Prologue missions. Yeah, you get Void Rays in that, but that's separate from the campaign entirely - they take place before Aiur 1 and feature full tech tree access. I've omitted those entirely in this LP because I couldn't figure out a good place to slip them in narrative-wise and keep the flow going. That, and they're non interactive as far as reader feedback, so it would be 3 weeks solid of nothing to vote on.

EDIT: In lieu of a full update, I've gone back and patched in a bit more narrative to bridge the gap between pre-mission and mission time, for Keltest and Kareeah's enjoyment.

Wheee!

As somebody who has always been a protoss main, and has seen Kerrigan as both a hero and a villain, that is my favorite cinematic. After the power trip that is HotS, watching Kerrigan just lose to these guys where Artanis can step in and completely, calmly shred one without even flinching when it actively grabs him by the head was everything i needed.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

EDIT: In lieu of a full update, I've gone back and patched in a bit more narrative to bridge the gap between pre-mission and mission time, for Keltest and Kareeah's enjoyment.

Thank you! Much appreciated!

[The Glyphstone]

Wheee!

As somebody who has always been a protoss main, and has seen Kerrigan as both a hero and a villain, that is my favorite cinematic. After the power trip that is HotS, watching Kerrigan just lose to these guys where Artanis can step in and completely, calmly shred one without even flinching when it actively grabs him by the head was everything i needed.

I like how it highlights the difference in their fighting styles as a way of commenting on their philosophies towards life. Kerrigan doesn't compromise, she meets everything in her path head-on and beats it with the OP sledgehammer that is her Class 12 psi rating and the Swarm. Hybrids are the first thing she's ever fought that can match her in power, and so she wears herself out trying to wrestle them.

Artanis is far older - 300+ to her 30 or so - and thus more experienced, and is also familiar with the idea of fighting something that outmatched him physically. He pits skill against the hybrid instead of brute force and cakewalks it.


(Also, were either of you going to weigh in on Solarite allocations this round?)

[Kareeah_Indaga]

(Also, were either of you going to weigh in on Solarite allocations this round?)

I still haven't played and thus still don't know what is tactically viable/most fun, but since you asked I'll take a stab at it:

Tier 1:
-Warp In Reinforcements (50 Solarite): Instant free Pylon at any location, but it also comes with 2 Melee Warriors (Centurions) and 2 Ranged Warriors (Dragoons).

Tier 2:
-Solar Beam (50 Solarite): Strike 3 line-shaped areas for 200 damage each.

Tier 3:
Nexus Overcharge (0 Solarite): Nexus structures get a photon cannon glued to their roof, letting them defend against attackers. "Your probes are under attack!"

Tier 4:
Shield Overcharge (50 Solarite): Give all friendly units and structures a temporary 200-point shield boost.

[Keltest]

I would go with Deploy Pylon, Solar Beam, Warp Harmonization and Shield Overcharge for solarite personally. Deploy Reinforcements is more of a novelty than an asset, Solar Beam is just fantastic, and Warp Harmonization is both generally useful and will synergize well with the upcoming mission if you use any robo units at all. Shield Overcharge will be especially important in the next mission due to the fairly aggressive nature.

[Guancyto]

For this next mission at least, go Chrono Surge/Solar Beam/Orbital Assimilation/Shield Overcharge. Your only robo unit is Immortals (which are good, mind), but the unit getting focus is gonna be a Gateway unit anyway.

[Keltest]

For this next mission at least, go Chrono Surge/Solar Beam/Orbital Assimilation/Shield Overcharge. Your only robo unit is Immortals (which are good, mind), but the unit getting focus is gonna be a Gateway unit anyway.

Disagree. Immortals/annihilators will be your friend this next mission.

[The Glyphstone]

Spoiler: Update 11: In Which Oblivion Awaits

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I woke up in an empty chair in the corner again, where someone had dumped me instead of cluttering up the deck. Once I had my wits about me again, the first thing I noticed was that Vorazun wasn't alone anymore – there was another Protoss at the command table, pale and covered in spiky black armor. He turned and looked back at me with glowing red eyes.



“You have a Terran on your bridge. Is your Hierarch keeping alien pets now, Matriarch? Or are you simply so slovenly that vermin have infested your precious ship?”

It took a second to place his face – this was Alarak, the Tal'Darim commander who had tried to kill us. He was way creepier in person than over a comm screen, and my curiosity as to why a bad guy was chilling out on the Spear's bridge went to war against my need to be anywhere except near him.



“The Terran is not your concern, Alarak. You claim your people have mapped these tunnels, which is the fastest route to Artanis's location?”

Alarak turned away, thankfully, and went back to poking at the table's holograms. Happily forgotten, I booted up the console in front of me and went hunting for the observers tailing whatever troops Vorazun had sent to rescue Artanis.



A small group was cautiously making their way through Ulnar, centurions and some High Templar warriors I wasn't familiar with. They were levitating around instead of walking though, so they obviously had power to burn.



A group of Moebius thralls stood in their way, and one of the Templar blasted them with a giant lightning storm. Definitely power to burn. The Centurions were mostly there for cleanup work it seemed.



More thralls had gathered to block the way, and they brought Spectres this time.



High Templar can also make your head explode in violent fountains of energy, at least if you're psychic. I made a note to never, ever bump into one of these guys in the corridors.



Just ahead, they finally reached Artanis – he and Sarah were fighting off a mess of hybrids, and her Zerg showed up to assist at the same time. Back in communications, Artanis laid out the situation.



Pretty much exactly like it had gone down in my dream, Amon had opened a portal to the Void, and its power was leaking out and killing everything.



The only way to stop it was to destroy some void crystals feeding the portal energy. They were obviously guarded by thralls and fanatics, and the portal itself was spawning void monsters.



Sarah had planted her Swarm between us and the portal, and was going to buy us time by soaking the brunt of Amon's assault. But she couldn't last forever.



Naturally, that meant looting Ulnar of its abandoned Solarite deposits was a high priority.



Once Artanis had built up enough of an army, they ventured out to attack the first void crystal.



Karax must have brought another sub-system online, because the front wave of troops was getting energy beamed down to them from the Spear for extra shielding. It came in handy, because Amon's minions wouldn't surrender the crystal easily.



The Swarm was losing ground, though – where the void cloud spread out, anything inside just died. There was no way to counter-attack, only win before we lost.



The next attack had a screen of smaller Zerg to support Artanis's troops. They didn't do much except die, but I guess it was the thought that counts?



More abandoned Solarite was free for the taking.



Giant lasers were much more helpful in breaching the third crystal's defenses than the Zerg had been.



The hybrids finally decided to do something about our raids. Luckily that something was 'get blasted to pieces by a giant ball of angry Protoss'.





The void was devouring the last of Sarah's hive clusters, though. We were running out of time.





That left only one final crystal, with the heaviest defenses. Every Zerg warrior not holding the line against Amon's void-ghost minions was thrown in to join Artanis's attack.







The last crystal shattered, and I could have sworn I heard angry screaming in the back of my head as the void portal collapsed in on itself. Amon was beaten here, for now – but it had cost a ludicrous number of Zerg just to hold him at bay. It was only going to get harder from here, not that I wanted to think about the future. Especially a future that included me in a padded cell somewhere, babbling about visions I couldn't stop seeing.



You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, Little One.



“Fortune Cookie! Can you or Sarah help? I really don't want to go crazy...”

We cannot. The gifts that grow within you are unknown to the Swarm, or the Kerrigan. We can offer only the wisdom already given, which you may now need more than ever.

I still didn't get it. But it was clear the Swarm had been gutted in either case, and even if Sarah could rebuild it Artanis wasn't going to wait. Not with Amon running rampant and eating all the Protoss on Aiur or whatever he was up to. A lifetime of straitjackets and pudding was all I had to look forward to now.

Time for Voting! And we've got some big ones now.

First off, we now have new units to choose.

In our newly opened Psionic Warrior slot, do we prefer:
A) High Templar – Support caster, can Feedback enemy casters for high damage, or cast Psionic Storms that damage enemies and restore allied shields.
B) Dark Archon – Support caster, can permanently Mind Control enemy units, or Confuse groups of enemies into fighting each other.

And with Alarak's troops in the mix, we can re-pick two other slots:

Robotic Assault:
A) Immortal – Defensive assault strider, can put up a Barrier that absorbs 200 damage.
B) Annihilator - Offensive assault strider, has a Shadow Cannon special attack that deals heavy damage to a single target, including airborne enemies. (Current Choice)
C) Vanguard - Offensive assault strider, does passive AoE damage on all its attacks.

Cloaked Warrior:
A) Dark Templar: Can attack with Shadow Fury for a large DPS burst against groups. (Current Choice)
B) Avenger: Has Emergency Recall, gaining a free teleport back to base and full-heal every 60 seconds.
C)Blood Hunter: Can place enemy targets in Void Stasis, preventing them from attacking or being attacked.


And finally, we can choose our next mission!

A) Purifiers – Travel to Endion, and with the help of Fenix try to recruit the ancient Purifier AI war-bots to join the armada. Will unlock Robotic Siege units (Colossus/Reaver).
B) Tal'Darim – Travel to Slayn, and aid Alarak in usurping control of the Tal'Darim armies to remove them from Amon's control. Will unlock Assault Ship units (Void Rays/Destroyers).

[Keltest]

I vote High Templar, switching Robotic Assault to vanguard, because yes, and go to Endion first, because colossi are cool.

Do we have new solarite amounts to work with?

[The Glyphstone]

We've got 15 Solarite to play with right now. Not enough to choose a new ability, but I suppose if people have strong opinions on Starting Supply, Building Construction Speed, or Shield Regeneration Speed for auxiliary systems, go ahead and push for one.

[Traab]

I vote High Templar, switching Robotic Assault to vanguard, because yes, and go to Endion first, because colossi are cool.

Do we have new solarite amounts to work with?

Basically this. :p How close was the void to breaking through the swarm? And what happens if it does? Do you auto lose if the zerg are wiped out?

[The Glyphstone]

You lose if Kerrigan's last Hive is destroyed. Since the void-cloud advances at a fixed rate, that puts a set 24-minute timer to complete the entire mission. Here, it was starting to chew at the edges of her final base, so maybe a couple of minutes to spare at most.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

B) Dark Archon – Support caster, can permanently Mind Control enemy units, or Confuse groups of enemies into fighting each other.

Of the two these sound more fun.