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  1. - Top - End - #211
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    AssassinGuy

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

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    I almost brought out some High Templar in this map to counter the Hybrid Dominators with Feedback, but by the time it became practical I could just Death Fleet nuke them down instead.

    Is Guardian Shell really that useful? Even if you manage to micro your cripples out of the scrum, you're left with a unit sitting at like 5 HP and eating supply you could give to a 100% healthy unit instead. I figured Matrix Overload was going to be the go-to pick here with Energizers in our force mix and Deploy Pylon.
    The real winner on that tier is reconstruction beam, but even without that, carriers have repair drones, so you only need like one or two of them to keep your army completely full. Just use sentinels and a not-adept ranged DPS unit. Your spellcasters dont have enough HP to rely on them face tanking anything anyway, so guardian shield adds a lot more durability to expensive important units.

    On that note, i reset my brain and changed my solarite distribution vote, because im a silly who forgets things sometimes.
    Last edited by Keltest; 2021-12-18 at 08:19 PM.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  2. - Top - End - #212
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    I vote for dark archons because they are extremely powerful once you get enough to just steal all opponent capital ships.

  3. - Top - End - #213
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    Spoiler: Update 13: In Which Rak Beats Shir, Sirs
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    The ritual began for real at dawn the next day – Alarak had made himself scarce in the meantime, and the one time I saw him he was surrounded by a fog of terrazine gas and apparently high as a kite.



    Rohanna was able to explain the rules of the fight, and it seemed pretty simple. The two fighters – Alarak and the guy he was trying to overthrow – would blast each other with their mind lasers. No one else was allowed to attack either of them directly.



    At each end of the long pathway was a huge bottomless pit, like in my dreams. If a fighter got pushed back to the edge of the pit, the other warrior would knock them into it and win.



    Outsiders couldn't technically attack the duelists, but by pledging themselves as supporters of one fighter or the other, it would provide psychic support and strengthen their chosen fighter's attacks. And the supplicants could fight each other as much as they wanted.



    If we wanted Alarak to win, that meant keeping our army close to him and killing any Tal'Darim who tried to help Mal'ash.



    If it was just Protoss vs. Protoss that'd be a cinch, but Ma'lash had hybrids coming to aid him and they were a bit tougher.



    Apparently it also wasn't cheating to set up defenses beforehand, strongpoints you could fall back on if the enemy had the advantage.



    And if it was cheating, well they did it first so all's fair in love and Rak'shir.



    A good thing we did, because their counterattacks ramped up quickly. Hybrids leading bands of fanatical soldiers would have destroyed our troops without the defensive line and the Spear providing shield support.





    Bit by bit Alarak was gaining ground, though. That just encouraged Amon to step up his game and send stronger hybrids to help out.



    Again, we were forced back onto the fortifications. Alarak was furious at our lackluster support and inferior capabilities, but too focused on the duel itself to do more than complain every so often.





    Artanis's patience was growing thing at the barbs, so he brought the Spear in closer despite the risk of attacks from the Tal'Darim fleet and began direct fire support. Instead of encouraging counter-attacks, this show of strength actually seemed to impress elements of the fleet as more Destroyers fell into formation with our ships as their captains pledged loyalty to Alarak.







    The additional troops allowed Artanis and Karax to go chasing off after some of the local wildlife, whose bodies apparently contained solarite. Maybe they liked to eat it or something?



    Back on the main stretch, Ma'lash was definitely starting to struggle. While his troops had no end to them, they were mostly cannon fodder without hybrids to back them up.





    Alarak pushed him closer and closer to the pit, causing more and more of the Tal'Darim who had been watching on the sidelines to commit themselves in our favor. No one likes to root for a loser, seems that's a universal trait.



    One final elemental was close enough to be harvested. Karax was delighted to have figured out that these creatures apparently produced a form of solarite as byproducts of their digestion. So they didn't eat solarite...kinda the exact opposite. Artanis didn't want to know any more, and I couldn't blame him. Protoss and orifices were apparently always a touchy subject.





    With only the final push to go, Alarak stopped playing around and went full aggro on the increasingly desperate Ma'lash.



    It felt like hours had gone by since the start of the ritual, but in minutes he had the soon-to-be-former Highlord teetering against the edge of the pit.



    “Our confrontation draws to a close, Ma'lash. Soon, everyone will know the depths of your treachery.”



    “Our master has already won, Alarak. You only lead our people to their doom.”



    “You are right about one thing – I will lead them. But it will be to Amon's doom instead.”



    “That is blasphemy! This is madness!”



    “THIS! IS! RAK'SHIR!”





    One final blast sent Ma'lash plummeting down to his death, with Alarak's psychic boot print on his chest.



    And that was that. Alarak declared himself the victor, and the new Highlord of all Tal'Darim. His first decree was to call for the death of Amon, who had betrayed their people and lied by falsely promising immortality as hybrids. If any of them weren't keen on rebelling against their god, they were smart enough to stay very quiet and pretend otherwise.

    I was just happy to be leaving soon. Slayn was ugly and it sucked – going crazy was honestly looking like a more appealing option than looking at any more of this place.



    Yes, I went there.

    First, we've got the option of swapping to a new unit:

    Psionic Warrior Slot:
    A) High Templar – Support caster, can Feedback enemy casters for high damage, or cast Psionic Storms that damage enemies and restore allied shields. (Current Choice)
    B) Dark Archon – Support caster, can permanently Mind Control enemy units, or Confuse groups of enemies into fighting each other.
    C) Ascendant – Offensive caster, can nuke single targets with Mind Blast, launch Psionic Orbs that deal AoE damage in a line, and drain health from nearby allies to regain energy.

    Next, we have a new tier of subsystems unlocked, which means re-allocating our Solarite again.

    Solarite Total: 215

    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.

    Tier 5:
    Matrix Overload (0 Solarite): Friendly units inside the Power Field of a Pylon gain +25% speed and +15% attack speed, which lasts for 15 seconds after leaving it.
    Guardian Shell (50 Solarite): Friendly units are invulnerable for 5 seconds when they would otherwise be killed, with a 60-second cooldown for any one unit.
    Reconstruction Beam (100 Solarite): Up to 3 friendly mechanical units or structures are passively healed for 5/10 life per second.


    And Lastly, are we next headed for:
    1) Revanscar - Wipe out what remains of Moebius Corps and destroy Amon's hybrid breeding labs. Unlocks Capital Ships.
    2) Endion - Awaken and recruit the ancient Purifier construct army. Unlocks Robotic Siege units.
    Hmm, I honestly dont use the templars at all so i really dont have a horse in this race. But if I had to choose, aoe straight line shots sound great.

    As for solarite im gonna go deploy, solar, warp, shield, shell. The 5 second window of extra survivability would likely help punch through the enemy defenses.

    As for where to go next, meh, I dont care much personally, but the carrier mission is fun so I will go with that.
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  4. - Top - End - #214
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Gonna cast my vote for Revanscar, High Templar since we're using Energizers instead of Sentries, swapping to Void Rays since the extra range from charging up is super useful against the Vikings and Missile Turrets, and the following distribution:

    25 - Chrono Surge - Can't beat fast production.
    50 - Solar Beam - Except with orbital lasers.
    25 - Orbital Assimilation - Don't have to wait for geysers to empty before moving the platform.
    0 - Mass Recall - To respond to attacks.
    100 - Reconstruction Beam - Carriers don't have repair drone yet, gotta keep your air force healthy.
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  5. - Top - End - #215
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Spoiler: Update 14: In Which Carriers Have Arrived
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    Alarak came back aboard after his ceremony, still absolutely reeking of terrazine. I must have gotten to close and ended up with a whiff of it, because the next few days went by in a blurry haze of nightmares. I found myself running from hybrids in the corridors of the Spear itself, waking up and thinking the dark shadows in the corners of my room were hybrids too. Even venturing out into the corridors started becoming hard; I couldn't ever guess if a hybrid would turn the corner ahead, then wake up as it turned out to be another dream. Vorazun's warning kept echoing in my head when I was awake, and it sure seemed like this was the start of going downhill. Certainly, there was no way hybrids would end up onboard the Spear.

    I was so miserable, I didn't even notice at first when the door to my room was forced open with a loud bang. At first I thought I was dreaming again and expected to see a hybrid in the doorway, but it turned out to be someone much worse.



    “Enough! This infantile bleating has become impossible to ignore. Weak and untrained as you might be, you lack even a concept of shielding your own thoughts and half the ship is in range of you accidentally sharing them. If not for the Hierarch's misplaced affection, I would do everyone aboard a favor by ending this distraction permanently.”



    “You want to kill me? At least then I won't end up going insane first. Assuming that hasn't already happened.”



    “ I am painfully aware of the reason for your fears. Have your owners abandoned you then, refused to teach you their secrets of mental discipline?”



    “Rohana says any of their techniques that might help me would require the Khala to be shared properly. Vorazun's training methods take like a hundred years to learn. So unless you can teach me something they can't, go make someone else's life miserable instead.”

    I was too tired to worry about making him angry, but the half-hearted defiance seemed to amuse him more than anything.



    “It is far beneath my station as Highlord to serve as a simple tutor. And yet I find myself aboard this vessel, bored until Artanis musters his courage and delivers me to my confrontation with Amon. Imparting on you the basic principles of mental shielding would make that delay slightly less tedious by silencing your whimpers in my head. “



    “And that helps me how?”



    “It would also serve you to separate your mere physical senses from your psychic ability, so that you no longer need fear the intermingling of present and future as you now do. Do you wish to learn as the Tal'Darim do, swiftly enough to still be of use in your minuscule lifespan?”



    “...Fine. Deal with the devil never hurt anyone. Am I supposed to meditate or something?”



    “Oh, no. You will learn, or break yourself in the learning, and your motivation will be the oldest and most simple of teaching tools...pain.”

    The less said about the next few days, or maybe years, the better. Alarak didn't even actually attack me in any way, just 'shouted' at me so loud it was agonizing. I was supposed to figure out how to mute him on my own, or just start doing it instinctively. And the worst part was that he didn't even seem to enjoy it that much. On the bright side, his 'training' was exhausting enough that I could actually sleep without dreams for once.

    When I finally made an appearance on the bridge, I was disheveled enough that even Artanis noticed and inquired as to what was wrong.



    “Just...training. Sort of.”



    “You are not the only one capable of striking bargains, Hierarch. That is all you need to know.”

    A furious glance in Alarak's direction was cut off by the Spear emerging from warp outside a massive asteroid cluster, thicker than any natural group of space rocks could be.



    “We will discuss this later. Nora, I would ask of you a great favor – this Moebius Corp stronghold contains Amon's hybrid breeding laboratories, the beating heart of his armies. Terran technology remains a mystery to us in many ways, and having you available for our strike team to consult could prove vital. Will you accompany them to Revanscar, though it will be more dangerous than remaining safe aboard?”

    Anything to get away from Alarak for a bit. Before I could reply, the lights flickered and the entire bridge shook under a series of explosive rumbles.



    “It's an ambush. Moebius Corp battlecruisers are warping in to attack, and have launched boarding shuttles. There are reports of hybrids on the lower decks and corridors! We will repel these invaders, the Spear of Adun shall not fall!”

    He looked over at Karax.



    “Phase-smith – though you are not a warrior, you know our technology than anyone else. I entrust this task to you; lead our carriers against the facility in a counter-attack Moebius Corp will not expect. You will not fail us, I have faith!”



    “...Yes, Hierarch.”

    Things moved quickly after that. We made it to the hangar bays before any boarders did, slinging a squadron of carriers through gaps in the asteroid field that the Spear couldn't fit between.



    The base itself was driven by three huge power cores. Blowing them up would shut down the anti-space defenses and allow a direct bombardment of the labs.



    The entire base was built very oddly as well – sets of tracks connected the various asteroids, with a huge automated platform that appeared to be the only way to get from one to the other.



    Setting up our nexus on the platform, Karax put the probes to work harvesting what little could be found. Moebius had mostly mined out the area of anything useful, but they'd left resources just lying around on pallets.



    Despite the surprise of our raid, the defenders mobilized quickly. They didn't mobilize enough, but it was the though that counted. Karax was trying to activate the platform's mobility controls, but it was password-locked. Protoss, apparently, don't do passwords – either you're psionic enough to use their tech or not, and no need to lock stuff up if everyone can just reach each other's minds anyways. And this code was made by a Terran as well.

    I tried 'AMON4LIFE' first, no dice.

    It occurred to me that the platform would be designed for Marines to operate it, and Marines were not the sharpest bulbs in the cookie drawer. “PASSWORD” and “123456789” didn't work either.

    Karax was looking worried, and I was running out of ideas. Then it hit me – whoever built this platform would have been a nerd, and nerds loved their obscure in-jokes that no one else got. One of my favorite classic holo-vids, Spider Mines IV: Death From Below, had made guessing the password to self-destruct the giant boss mine a climactic scene, and the nerd-hero who solved it had a line that always stuck with me. “The password is always swordfish.”

    “SWORDFISH”...worked. Hooray for cheesy horror movies, and hooray for nerds all making the same references to each other.



    Scouting ahead, the carrier squadron razed all the defenses on the next-closest asteroid, even as the last few bits of crystals got dragged home.





    Karax recalled all his probes, and with alarm sirens blaring the platform began to move. Luckily, being mindless thralls hadn't disrupted Moebius Corp's maintenance routines and it worked smoothly.





    We docked at the next asteroid, and probes immediately began scavenging it as well.



    Operating the platform seemed simple enough, and Karax was real busy. Maybe I could help by moving the base around whenever it would be useful, to get resources or escape enemy raids. Up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right...wherever it needed to go.



    Maybe it was my frustratingly useless visions, or just an overactive imagination, but I suddenly imagined the platform's motors overheating and exploding in a nuclear fireball.



    One that left a minotaur in power armor behind for some reason. No. Bad Nora. We are not going to have another Laser Drill incident, we are more mature than that now. Just sit tight, let Karax do his phase-smith thing.



    Moebius had left a lot of crates and barrels just lying around. It was really sloppy of them, to be honest, though that might have been a side of effect of their brains being hollowed out by hybrid mind control.



    Not too far away, a stasis cell held a bunch of almost-completed hybrids. Not only would killing them now help, the chambers were powered by solarite that we could loot.



    The Spear was still under attack, but luckily its weapon systems were automated and could be fired remotely by Karax.





    Between the giant lasers and our carriers, the cell was reduced to rubble quickly.



    On the way to scout the next platform, the carriers found some crystal clusters Moebius Corps had missed. Every little bit helped with how expensive carriers were to build.





    Next up was the first power core, and it had some actual defenses to clear. Burning the area clean would safe it for our probes to loot their abandoned supplies anyways.



    Moebius Corps really didn't like us breaking their stuff. They sent another strike force to raid our base, forcing Karax to do an emergency recall of the carrier squadron to play defense.





    He blew up another stasis cell in return, and stolesalvaged its solarite core for ourselves.



    The second power core was smack dab in the middle of the facility's primary basing complex. That also meant it had the heaviest defenses, but taking it out would kill two birds with one stone.



    The second core detonated, and Artanis reported that the Spear was almost secure. The hybrid reinforcements had stopped coming, and we were reclaiming much of the ship.



    That left only one core, with a token detachment of guards now that we'd razed their primary manufacturing center.





    “Moebius Corps' battlecruisers are warping away from the Spear!”



    “Yes, I believe I have found them.”



    The final power core erupted, and the gigantic missile turrets on the base's edges fell silent. Artanis gave Karax the honor of launching the annihilation bombardment.



    Lasers go boom.



    So we've got 2 units to pick, and our Tier 6 Spear abilities have finally unlocked.

    First, our Air Assault now has a third choice that isn't very assaulty.

    1) Void Ray: Has a laser beam that gains damage and range the longer it channels. Good against strong single targets.
    2) Destroyer: Has a laser beam that splits and chains to multiple targets. Good against swarms of weaker enemies.
    3) Arbiter: Support ship that can cloak allies, freeze enemies in stasis, and Recall friendly units to its location.

    Next, we get to pick our Capital Ship unit:
    1) Carriers: As seen here, launches interceptors to bombard enemies. Gains two repair drones that heal the carrier or other nearby mechanical units.
    2) Tempest: Aerial siege unit, does large single-target damage against ground stuff and buildings.

    Solarite Total: 250

    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.

    Tier 5:
    Matrix Overload (0 Solarite): Friendly units inside the Power Field of a Pylon gain +25% speed and +15% attack speed, which lasts for 15 seconds after leaving it.
    Guardian Shell (50 Solarite): Friendly units are invulnerable for 5 seconds when they would otherwise be killed, with a 60-second cooldown for any one unit.
    Reconstruction Beam (100 Solarite): Up to 3 friendly mechanical units or structures are passively healed for 5/10 life per second.

    Tier 6: (All abilities start on 5-minute cooldown)
    Purifier Beam (0 Solarite): Creates a giant laser that can be manually dragged around for 15 seconds, dealing massive AoE damage to enemies it touches.
    Time Stop (50 Solarite): Stuns all enemy units and structures across the entire map for 20 seconds.
    Solar Bombardment (100 Solarite): Fires 200 small bomblets at a large area, each one dealing a small amount of AoE damage.

  6. - Top - End - #216
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    AssassinGuy

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

    This mission was basically a giant love letter to carriers. Good stuff.

    I, of course, have to vote for arbiters and carriers. The next mission gets its own toys to play with, but the one after that has a lot of freedom to build whatever army you want.

    As for Solarite, i vote for

    Chrono Surge
    Solar Beam
    Warp Harmonization
    Mass Recall
    Guardian Shell
    and finally Time Stop.

    Which if i mathed correctly leaves 25 solarite to be put into the support systems. I recommend building time so you can get large numbers of pylons and cannons out faster while your army is away.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  7. - Top - End - #217
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    I vote for Void Rays + Carriers.

    Carriers are really good at sweeping swarms, Void Rays are good single-target 'kill that now'. They're a powerful combination against anything you run into going forward. The VR's extended range over the Tal'darim version keeps them in station with the carriers so they don't wander too far out of mutual support.

    Much as I like arbiter cheese, and who doesn't, there will be virtually no opportunity to deploy it going forward. Enemies will have plenty of stealth detection at their disposal, negating the arbiter's purpose in life.

    Chrono Surge
    Solar Beam
    Warp Harmonization (now that you have a full skytoss combination, and can then warp reinforcements directly to the fleet)
    Mass Recall
    Matrix Overload (which also functions within the effect of an Energizer's field, by the way)
    and finally: Solar Bombardment (the biggest laser pew-pew in the galaxy!)
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  8. - Top - End - #218
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    I'd vote for the same as Keltest. Normally I don't like replacing the assault ship with the spellcaster unit, but honestly I find that carriers work fine on their own, no need for void rays as backup. Caster units take more micromanaging, but I'm OK having one type of unit that takes micromanaging in a fight as long as the rest can take care of themselves, so a carrier fleet + a few arbiters is one of my preferred campaign fleets. (My other one is void rays/destroyers plus mothership, but we don't have that last one yet.)

    Quote Originally Posted by ShneekeyTheLost View Post
    Much as I like arbiter cheese, and who doesn't, there will be virtually no opportunity to deploy it going forward. Enemies will have plenty of stealth detection at their disposal, negating the arbiter's purpose in life.
    The cloaking field is mostly a gimmick; Recall and Stasis Field are the real point of the arbiter, and they're both good abilities to have on call. (My other preferred fleet configuration is void rays/destroyers plus Mothership, but we don't have that last one yet.)

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    Is Guardian Shell really that useful? Even if you manage to micro your cripples out of the scrum, you're left with a unit sitting at like 5 HP and eating supply you could give to a 100% healthy unit instead. I figured Matrix Overload was going to be the go-to pick here with Energizers in our force mix and Deploy Pylon.
    Belatedly: it's less about saving the unit for later use, and more about getting an extra 5 seconds or so out of firing time out of it... usually a bit more than that, actually, because units going invulnerable messes up the AI's targeting.

    It's especially nice with carriers, since an extra 5 seconds of life for all interceptors is a lot of damage and the way they zoom all over the place means it's even more likely the AI won't manage to finish them off. Protoss are probably the race least able to take advantage of this - it's most useful for units that are fragile but can put out lots of damage, like marines, zerglings or hydralisks - but it's still nice to have. Especially if you're using carriers, because interceptors are one of the few Protoss units that fit that category.

    Reconstruction Beam is my favorite in a vacuum, but if I have carriers around to repair units then I typically switch away from it.
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  9. - Top - End - #219
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    RedWizardGuy

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

    Carrier/void ray seems difficult to refute. I have to vote for Warp Harmonization, though; protoss capital ships are slow, after all, and it'll be much easier to keep the fleet at full strength, even with lapses in macro, with the ability to produce reinforcements at the front on demand. (Then again, this might be my own small skill informing my choices.)

    Reconstruction Beam will help keep those high-investment ships alive, too. It's a mite redundant with the repair drones, but one can never have enough healing.

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

    Void Ray/Carrier for me.

    Now that we've got a good selection of advanced units, it's a good time for Warp Harmonization. Meanwhile Time Stop can't just outright delete an attack wave, but for pushing into enemy territory it's pretty much unbeatable once you've got a good army.

    Deploy Pylon (0)
    Solar Beam (50)
    Warp Harmonization (50)
    Mass Recall (0)
    Reconstruction Beam (100)
    Time Stop (50)
    Last edited by Guancyto; 2021-12-31 at 12:02 AM.
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  11. - Top - End - #221
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Spoiler: Update 15: In Which There Are Shadows of the Colossi
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    Life became a endless loop of Alarak's “training” and brain-weary sleep, punctuated only by fitful, fuzzy dreams even more indistinct than usual. It was immensely frustrating, because every time I thought I was actually getting the hang of muting the volume of his mental attacks, he got loud again. Tal'Darim techniques clearly weren't suited to me, but Alarak didn't seem to care if I was making progress or not and I wasn't giving that smug bastard the satisfaction of begging him to quit. 'Lessons' happened whenever he felt like it, and huddling in my room all the time just made it easier to find me. It could have turned into a game of cat and mouse across the ship, except the cat would happily just cheat and read the mouse's mind to find her.

    Once again, the solar core turned out to be the closest thing to a refuge I could find. If I hid there too long he'd be waiting outside just to prove a point, but the ship-song had grown to a full-blown orchestra of alien music, weirdly soothing to be surrounded by and strongest near the core.



    “You did good on that platform, Karax. I guess that makes you a Templar now?”



    “So the Hierarch says. My life has always been dedicated to creation. My war was one of design, and my battles against inferior optimization. I will always be a phase-smith first, the mantle of warrior fits ill on my shoulders. But I will bear it, for all of those not born Templar but eligible to become so through their deeds.



    “There is no shame in being Templar, Karax. You have earned yourself a place amongst our heroes in this, and should we ever take the field together I will be proud to fight at your side!”

    Fenix was in much better spirits than the last time I'd talked to him, and I said so.



    “You are correct once again, Just Nora. I have thought long about your words, and discussed the matter with Karax. I am Fenix, but I am not. I know his memories and his techniques, as if he were my favorite teacher and I his most dedicated student. I may not yet know who I am, but I know what I am – a Templar. Karax's victory has reassured me of my own place in the Daelaam, and even now we set course for Endion where fate has set a purpose only I can accomplish. It is exhilarating.”



    “Endion is where the original Purifiers and and their command station Cybros were placed in stasis after their rebellion against the Conclave. We mean to awaken them once more, and request their aid as fellow Templar against Amon. Fenix will be crucial in this, for them to see he is treated as our equal and not a new generation of slave.”

    That sounded like a lot of responsibility to carry around, but Fenix was clearly eager to be useful again, so I wasn't going to dampen his spirits any by questioning whether this was a good idea.



    “You cannot hide forever, little Terran. Eventually you will require sustenance, and we shall see if your will to resist me continues to falter so easily.”

    Sigh.



    We came out of warp at Endion next to the largest Protoss construct I'd ever seen aside from the Spear of Adun itself. This had to be the Cybros space station, but it was sealed inside a powerful stasis field. Good for protection against the Zerg infesting the planet, but bad for us.



    Five stasis locks were keeping the field powered, and they could only be disabled by a special automated construct called the Megalith. We'd have to clear out a space to activate it, then protect it from the Zerg while it went around opening locks.



    A group of Colossi were lying dormant on the surface, and Karax gleefully took command of them to be our vanguard.





    Their heat beams were perfectly suited for the job, climbing up and down cliffs to incinerate Zerg as they milled around helplessly.



    With the Megalith's storage pod secure, Karax went about rebooting it for use, installing a thousand years worth of software patches or whatever nerds do.





    Meanwhile, the Colossi wandered off to clear ahead towards the first of the stasis locks.



    When the Megalith finally booted up, it headed right over and started disabling the lock all on its own.





    By that time, the Colossi had cleared their way to the second lock, and were starting to make progress towards the third.



    The colossi were starting to look a little beat up by now, and so a group of Carriers came in to take over for them. Most of the zerg were ground-bound and couldn't even fight back against the capital ships, but there were a lot of them and the Megalith could only withstand so much damage.





    At Karax's request, the fleet diverted long enough to smash up a few old storage bases, where he promptly looted the Solarite kept within.



    While the Megalith worked on the third lock, the slowly growing carrier fleet forged ahead. The narrow canyon was full of caves that kept spewing Zerg, probably from tunnels down below. Collapsing the cavern entrances sealed them off and made the canyon safe. But the fourth lock itself had a full-blown hive cluster in the way, more than even the Carriers could clear before the Megalith arrived.



    “Heirarch, I believe I have a new weapon for the Spear of Adun, incorporating both my studies of the Keystone and the stasis technology recovered here on Endion. We can now deploy a powerful psi-disruptive stasis bomb; for a short period it will be as if time has stopped for all our enemies.”



    Karax's new toy worked great. Everything hostile on the surface was stunned and frozen, perfect targets for the carriers to sweep clean.



    The fourth lock was cleared without a scratch on the Megalith's shiny white hull.



    With the natural tunnels collapsed, the Zerg went back to using Nydus worms to throw troops in our way.



    The local swarm had finally figured out what we were after, and was throwing everything they had between our fleet and the final stasis lock.



    Giant lasers had something to say about that, though.





    With the final lock disabled, the stasis projector powered down. Now it was a race against time, to awaken the Purifiers onboard Cybros before the Zerg swarm on the planet below came boiling in to eat everything.



    Closing in on the endgame. Two unit votes:

    We just got Carriers, but now we've unlocked the Tal'Darim Mothership as well:

    1) Carriers w/ Repair Drones
    2) Mothership: Has Black Hole and Thermal Lance

    And for our Robotic Siege unit that we'll never use again will be a crucial army element:

    1) Colossus: Thermal beams set the ground on fire.
    2) Reaver: Scarab bombs do AoE and bonus damage to buildings.


    Also a random discovery, apparently I haven't been writing a Let's Play at all this whole time.
    https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.p...erActionReport

  12. - Top - End - #222
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    AssassinGuy

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

    Personally i like carriers. Carriers best unit. But the mothership is... well, a mothership, and she packs quite the wallop.

    As for the siege walkers, colossi all the way. Reavers are cool, but you have better tools for dismantling buildings, and the long range AoE damage role is better filled by the colossi.


    Unrelated, its rather tragic to me that the soundtrack for this game cant really be incorporated into the lets playafter-action report. LoV has by far the best soundtrack of the SC2 campaigns.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

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

    You know, it's kind of strange that a feral Zerg brood is so dead-set on infesting and destroying a space platform entirely inhabited by mechanical beings. It is clear that the Zerg are capable of growth and expansion on planets that lack significant biospheres, but both the Zerg campaign and the way non-Zerg talk about them indicate that a significant element of their default behavior in the absence of a strategic objective is the urge to consume organic material.

    Or is this brood not feral? Perhaps I'm misremembering the scenario.

    What's also difficult to comprehend is the thought process behind the original Purifier program and its (lack of) integration into Protoss society. For a culture that already has mass-produced robots with advanced AI to then take the extra step of uploading complete sentient personalities into those robots but then not even think of affording those sentient personalities rights or the status those personalities had in life seems odd, to say the least. It's comprehensible at a small scale, when first tinkering with the technology and uncertain of how effective the upload would be, but the Purifier program as we see here is a mature technology being implemented at a large scale and integrated with bleeding-edge technology of other fields.

    As far as unit choices go, I'd stick with carriers and colossi. The mothership's cool and all, but it doesn't scale (i.e., one either has it or one doesn't; one cannot deploy half of one when time and resources are scarce or make more when they are plentiful) and cannot be divided into groups to handle multiple objectives simultaneously.

  14. - Top - End - #224
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by VoxRationis View Post
    As far as unit choices go, I'd stick with carriers and colossi. The mothership's cool and all, but it doesn't scale (i.e., one either has it or one doesn't; one cannot deploy half of one when time and resources are scarce or make more when they are plentiful) and cannot be divided into groups to handle multiple objectives simultaneously.
    The Mothership got recall which can help with handling multiple objectives consecutively faster.
    Last edited by noob; 2022-01-02 at 01:16 PM.

  15. - Top - End - #225
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by VoxRationis View Post
    You know, it's kind of strange that a feral Zerg brood is so dead-set on infesting and destroying a space platform entirely inhabited by mechanical beings. It is clear that the Zerg are capable of growth and expansion on planets that lack significant biospheres, but both the Zerg campaign and the way non-Zerg talk about them indicate that a significant element of their default behavior in the absence of a strategic objective is the urge to consume organic material.

    Or is this brood not feral? Perhaps I'm misremembering the scenario.
    They refer to it as Amon's Brood, so I don't think it's feral. They are Zerg directly under Amon's control, or more likely some of his hybrid lieutenants. The Purifiers were in stasis, and so irrelevant to his plans until Artanis showed up and started to release them. That boosted their priority level from 'ignore' to 'destroy.


    What's also difficult to comprehend is the thought process behind the original Purifier program and its (lack of) integration into Protoss society. For a culture that already has mass-produced robots with advanced AI to then take the extra step of uploading complete sentient personalities into those robots but then not even think of affording those sentient personalities rights or the status those personalities had in life seems odd, to say the least. It's comprehensible at a small scale, when first tinkering with the technology and uncertain of how effective the upload would be, but the Purifier program as we see here is a mature technology being implemented at a large scale and integrated with bleeding-edge technology of other fields.
    The Conclave did a lot of dumb things in their time, even before the Zerg ate them all. Rohana's probably the best perspective on that sort of old-fashioned dumbness, because she lives it - she looks at Fenix, and for a long time only sees a very advanced machine. Its personality is a copy of a living Protoss, but only a copy. It's not the real thing, so it doesn't deserve the rights and status the real thing earned.
    Last edited by The Glyphstone; 2022-01-02 at 01:34 PM.

  16. - Top - End - #226
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    The Conclave did a lot of dumb things in their time, even before the Zerg ate them all. Rohana's probably the best perspective on that sort of old-fashioned dumbness, because she lives it - she looks at Fenix, and for a long time only sees a very advanced machine. Its personality is a copy of a living Protoss, but only a copy. It's not the real thing, so it doesn't deserve the rights and status the real thing earned.
    I think humanity is ready to fall in the same trap.
    It is the issue of gradually improving ais until you have something as good as a person: people during the process will constantly invent new reasons to say the ais are not worth being treated ethically and do horrible things to ais during the process of training them (such as repeated death battles with duplicates during the stade 2 of the training of the SC2 deepmind ai).
    So once the new tech that allows to copy protoss minds comes in they deprotossified ais so hard in their reasoning that they consider that it is one more ai and thus not deserving of fair treatment while it is literally copies of real protosses.
    After they stop using those for long enough and rediscover them, they have a new viewpoint on the issue (since it no longer reminds them of the ais they use everyday) and manage the problem better (considering them to be true templars).
    Last edited by noob; 2022-01-02 at 01:50 PM.

  17. - Top - End - #227
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    They refer to it as Amon's Brood, so I don't think it's feral. They are Zerg directly under Amon's control, or more likely some of his hybrid lieutenants. The Purifiers were in stasis, and so irrelevant to his plans until Artanis showed up and started to release them. That boosted their priority level from 'ignore' to 'destroy.



    The Conclave did a lot of dumb things in their time, even before the Zerg ate them all. Rohana's probably the best perspective on that sort of old-fashioned dumbness, because she lives it - she looks at Fenix, and for a long time only sees a very advanced machine. Its personality is a copy of a living Protoss, but only a copy. It's not the real thing, so it doesn't deserve the rights and status the real thing earned.
    Also you have to think about what makes the protoss protoss, connection to the khala. Can these purifiers do that? Not likely, therefore they arent "real" protoss. I would think the dark templar would be more accepting considering their own historical treatment but ah well.
    "Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europae vincendarum"
    Translation: "Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe."

    Quote Originally Posted by Nerd-o-rama View Post
    Traab is yelling everything that I'm thinking already.
    "If you don't get those cameras out of my face, I'm gonna go 8.6 on the Richter scale with gastric emissions that'll clear this room."

  18. - Top - End - #228
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by Traab View Post
    Also you have to think about what makes the protoss protoss, connection to the khala. Can these purifiers do that? Not likely, therefore they arent "real" protoss. I would think the dark templar would be more accepting considering their own historical treatment but ah well.
    Its actually even weirder than that, because the Purifiers are built with a sort of collective wireless neural net/dataweb, basically an artificial Khala amongst themselves.

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    Justw anted to mention something from your update. What are the odds that nora is getting way better and death scene darth vadar is just trying harder and harder to achieve the same effect? Im thinking its exactly the sort of thing alarak would do. Not bother to mention that she is improving to keep pushing her harder to improve even more.
    "Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europae vincendarum"
    Translation: "Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe."

    Quote Originally Posted by Nerd-o-rama View Post
    Traab is yelling everything that I'm thinking already.
    "If you don't get those cameras out of my face, I'm gonna go 8.6 on the Richter scale with gastric emissions that'll clear this room."

  20. - Top - End - #230
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    Lightbulb Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by Traab View Post
    Justw anted to mention something from your update. What are the odds that nora is getting way better and death scene darth vadar is just trying harder and harder to achieve the same effect? Im thinking its exactly the sort of thing alarak would do. Not bother to mention that she is improving to keep pushing her harder to improve even more.
    That does seem like the sort of thing Alarak would do, doesn't it?

    Quote Originally Posted by Keltest
    Unrelated, its rather tragic to me that the soundtrack for this game cant really be incorporated into the lets playafter-action report. LoV has by far the best soundtrack of the SC2 campaigns.
    If it helps any, you can imagine the ship-song is the soundtrack when it's mentioned, resonating through the hull of the Spear. Golden Age Protoss were real big on melding form to function, and with how they feel sound on their skin a warship that also makes pleasant music would be like walking around while getting a soothing massage.

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

    Spoiler: Update 16: In Which There Is Pure Destruction
    Show




    As quickly as we could deploy onto Cybros and set up a nexus, the Zerg outnumbered us and were already entrenching on the platform. The hybrids in charge of the local swarm had clearly figured our our goal and were set on stopping us.



    The Conclave had been right bastards apparently, but they were also paranoid. Not only had Cybros itself been under a stasis field, the Purifier armies themselves were also locked inside individual stasis cells.



    A set of redundant crystal generators powered the cells – we'd have to demolish each set in turn to free a portion of Cybros's residents.



    And meanwhile, the central power matrix that we'd deployed next to was being assaulted by Zerg – if it failed the station would blow up, taking the Spear and probably a good chunk of the planet with it.



    First step was making sure we didn't all die in a catastrophic core detonation, by building a defensive shell around the power matrix.



    The first Zerg attacks bounced off easily, but they were just scouts sent to test our readiness. More would come.



    To keep our right flank secure, Artanis simply walled it off with a ton of turrets and barriers; it would be impassible for troops, but he had an air force now and no reason not to use it. But investing all those resources into the nexus defenses left the central matrix weak, and the Zerg were pushing at it again.



    “ENOUGH! If I am to prove myself a Templar, I must know for certain whether I truly possess the skills of my predecessor or simply imagine that I do. My brethren are in danger, and I shall join them on the field of battle!”



    Long story short: Fenix 2.0 kicks ass. He singlehandedly held the breach long enough for Probes to rebuild our cannon walls, thicker than ever.



    By the time Hybrid started testing themselves against us, Artanis had carriers in the sky and the interceptors chewed them apart.





    Trusting the core secure for a time, the fleet was ready to move out and begin its primary mission of freeing the Purifiers from their prisons. Somehow, I've been involved in three completely different prison breaks over the course of my career...its like history repeats itself. Weird, huh?





    The first batch of Purifiers emerged immediately after the third stasis lock was disabled. Someone named Executor Clolarion was in charge, and he didn't seem very happy to see Artanis. But the aliens running all over his space station were a bigger problem, at least for now. They moved out in force, heading for the nearest hive cluster.



    If I was ever questioning why the Conclave got scared and locked these guys away, I wasn't anymore. They tore through the zerg like something really sharp tears through something very squishy.





    Fenix took the field again to lead them into the Zerg base, and it was all mop-up after that.



    Once the area was clear they teleported away to clear the station's other areas, instead of sticking around. It seemed they were willing to tolerate our presence, but not to actually coordinate with us at all. Even Fenix was mostly just fighting in front of them.



    Warning alarms began to go off about then – it seemed those paranoid Conclave jerkbags had built a third layer of defense into their stupid robot prison. A powerful AI Warden construct had been set to watch the place and prevent any escapees, and it wasn't interested in hearing excuses of any kind.



    Carriers, however, are an extremely persuasive argument.



    The fleets went out to free another Purifier cell block, now that there was only Zerg in our way.







    Much like the first bunch, they decanted and immediately charged out to purify some aliens. With Fenix leading the charge and the carrier fleet for air support, the Zerg didn't stand a chance.



    And like the first bunch, they didn't even wait around to say thank you.



    The Zerg had left a fair bit of minerals behind in their purified bases, and Artanis was quick to scoop them up to fuel the fleet. We wouldn't be coming back to this planet anytime soon, for sure.



    The flanks were secure, and half the station cleared. Artanis pulled our fleets back for a bit and built up the core matrix defenses into a near-impregnable fortress.





    With that taken care of, the carriers could roam at will, punching through and breaking out a third contingent of Purifiers.





    Direct fire support from the Spear of Adun's main guns miiiiiight have been overkill, but like I said, we weren't coming back here anytime soon. Avoiding excessive property damage wasn't high on the priority list.



    Cleansing the final Zerg hive cluster was practically an afterthought – we wiped it out before the Purifiers could even get into formation.



    So of course Executor Clolarion nuked the planet, turning everything on it into a cinder. Now that's what I call a scorched earth defense strategy.



    Sorry for the delays on this, I've had a hectic few weekends. But we're into the endgame now, with only the Return to Aiur left. This will be the last chance to rearrange my force mix and alter my Solarite ability purchases, so I'm opening up the entire list for people to vote on and customize as they see fit.

    I'd also like to see a vote on one other thing – since there will be no further openings for audience participation between now and the end, and commentary outside of voting has dropped off, would people prefer regular 1-mission updates, or have all three Return To Aiur missions dropped in one massive chunk?

    War Council

    Melee Warrior: Zealot, Centurion, Sentinel
    Ranged Warrior: Dragoon, Stalker, Adept
    Cloaked Warrior: Dark Templar, Avenger, Blood Hunter
    Robotic Support: Sentry, Energizer, Havoc
    Robotic Assault: Immortal, Annihilator, Vanguard
    Starfighter: Phoenix, Corsair, Mirage
    Psionic Warrior: High Templar, Dark Archon, Ascendant
    Assault Ship: Void Ray, Destroyer, Arbiter
    Capital Ship: Carrier, Tempest, Mothership
    Robotic Siege: Colossus, Wrath Walker, Reaver

    Solarite Total: 300

    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.

    Tier 5:
    Matrix Overload (0 Solarite): Friendly units inside the Power Field of a Pylon gain +25% speed and +15% attack speed, which lasts for 15 seconds after leaving it.
    Guardian Shell (50 Solarite): Friendly units are invulnerable for 5 seconds when they would otherwise be killed, with a 60-second cooldown for any one unit.
    Reconstruction Beam (100 Solarite): Up to 3 friendly mechanical units or structures are passively healed for 5/10 life per second.

    Tier 6: (All abilities start on 5-minute cooldown)
    Purifier Beam (0 Solarite): Creates a giant laser that can be manually dragged around for 15 seconds, dealing massive AoE damage to enemies it touches.
    Time Stop (50 Solarite): Stuns all enemy units and structures across the entire map for 20 seconds.
    Solar Bombardment (100 Solarite): Fires 200 small bomblets at a large area, each one dealing a small amount of AoE damage.

  22. - Top - End - #232
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Personally i would prefer the one mission updates still. Lots of good one-liners in the next couple missions, it would be a shame to cut them down for post length.

    My final army choice would be

    Centurion
    Stalker
    Dark Templar
    Energizer
    Vanguard
    Corsair
    Ascendant
    Void Ray
    Carrier
    Colossus

    Though it wont come online until the mission after next.

    And for Solarite, i vote for

    Deploy Pylon
    Solar Beam
    Warp Harmonization
    Shield Overcharge
    Reconstruction Beam
    Time Stop

    Which if i mathed right should use all 300 Solarite. I have to say the devs did a really good job of making just about every option interesting in its own right. The only one i think i would never, ever use is Orbital Bombardment just because Solar Beam does the same thing but better.
    Last edited by Keltest; 2022-01-21 at 01:58 PM.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  23. - Top - End - #233
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    You'd still get full length updates in either case, it was just a question of whether they get spaced out regularly every 1-2 weeks or posted back to back all at once.

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

    Regular 1-mission updates for me, rather than just polishing off the whole endgame in one go. Are you going to do the Epilogue?

    Melee Warrior: Sentinel - chonky tanky boys, a repairable mineral dump
    Ranged Warrior: Stalker - the sweet mobility, repairability, shield restoration and not getting in each other's way
    Cloaked Warrior: Dark Templar - scythe all the things!
    Robotic Support: Energizer - with Reconstruction Beam and carriers you've got enough healing, and the damage boost on these boys is insane.
    Robotic Assault: Vanguard - for example, for mowing down hordes
    Starfighter: Phoenix - Mobile air superiority in style.
    Psionic Warrior: Ascendant - Gotta give the edgy boys something to do.
    Assault Ship: Void Ray - For blowing up all the things.
    Capital Ship: Carrier - For blowing up even more of the things.
    Robotic Siege: Colossus - To fill our giant laser quota.

    Deploy Pylon (0)
    Solar Beam (50)
    Warp Harmonization (50)
    Deploy Fenix (100)
    Reconstruction Beam (100)
    Purifier Beam (0)

    Is Fenix better than Time Stop and Shield Overcharge? Heck no, but he deserves to help reclaim his home!
    Rider avatar by Elder Tsofu

  25. - Top - End - #235
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    I'm definitely planning to do the Epilogue, yeah.

  26. - Top - End - #236
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    No comments from me, just along for the ride as I can't remember the Protoss campaign at all, so don't want to interfere by making stupid suggestions.

  27. - Top - End - #237
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    AssassinGuy

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

    Quote Originally Posted by Brother Oni View Post
    No comments from me, just along for the ride as I can't remember the Protoss campaign at all, so don't want to interfere by making stupid suggestions.
    I've played the LoV campaign like a lot. There are no suggestions you could make that are so stupid as interfere. I heartily recommend just looking at your favorite sci-fi tech at each level and voting for it. LoV is really cool in that basically every option at every tier is useful, so as long as you have the solarite for it, you can make a viable game plan for it.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  28. - Top - End - #238
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    You'd still get full length updates in either case, it was just a question of whether they get spaced out regularly every 1-2 weeks or posted back to back all at once.
    Then whatever works best for you works for me.

  29. - Top - End - #239
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    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Spoiler: Update 17: In Which The Matrix Is Not Resurrected
    Show


    Alarak had been strangely absent for a few days, as if he'd simply gotten bored, or more likely given up with my lack of progress. I was expecting to see him when my door opened, but instead it was Artanis.



    “My apologies for intruding upon you, Nora, but the final preparations are being made and we will shortly depart for Aiur. If you wish to return to the Dominion, this will be the last chance.”

    I thought about it, I really did. The dreams had all but gone away entirely, though I wasn't sure if that was a good thing – if Amon was going to win and kill everyone, I couldn't see a future that didn't exist. It didn't feel right, though, in a normal way. Not the weird gut hunches that came from a premonition, just the regular sort of wrong that came with abandoning the Protoss right before they threw all the marbles down on the table. Besides, I was humanity's Witness and that meant something too, even if I hadn't realized what I was signing up for at the time.



    “I'll stick it out to the end, I think. Better to see it up close than go home and wonder if Amon's going to eat everyone next year. You haven't seen Alarak hanging around nearby though, have you?”



    “The Highlord is busy giving instructions to the Tal'Darim component of our fleet, but when I spoke of going to see you he had a message he wished to be passed on. Whatever bargain you had he deems fulfilled, you have progressed sufficiently that he is satisfied and no longer needs to occupy his time.”

    That rat bastard, he'd been pushing harder all that time to make me think I wasn't getting anywhere. I guess the lack of dreams wasn't a coincidence after all.




    Aiur felt wrong. There was no other way to describe it. The jungles looked normal from orbit, but it was like it had an invisible cloud around it that I could feel even on the bridge of the Spear, that made me want to go hide at the opposite end of the ship. What the real psychics on the ship must have made of that nasty aura I couldn't imagine, but they didn't show any reaction.



    “Amon's host body is nearly complete. We will destroy it, but first we must ensure he cannot bring the Golden Armada down upon us from behind and trap us. This will require the destruction of Aiur's psionic matrix.







    “Three crystals maintain the stability of the matrix, so three teams must be dispatched to assault them all simultaneously. Alarak and Vorazun, you will assault the Citadel of the Executor and shatter the crystal within."



    “Most delightful, I have gone far too long without being able to kill something."



    “Fenix and Karax, you must infiltrate the grounds of the old Xel'Naga Temple to destroy its crystal."



    “If that is what you wish, Heirarch, we shall do our best.”



    “I will lead the final team into the caverns deep below Aiur's surface in search of the final crystal. May Adun be with us all!”



    Alarak and Vorazun landed seemingly undetected, or more likely Amon simply didn't care.



    “I will inform you if I have need of your ability, Nerazim. For now, simply stay out of my way.”



    “Do not presume to give me orders, Alarak. I am not one of your Tal'Darim, and you have never fought the Zerg before.”





    “And now I have. How could these animals have ever posed a threat to your kind? Did they jump into the air and chew apart your starships?”



    “Only a fool would underestimate the Zerg.”





    “Then I will bow to your superior experience, as the fool.”



    The door ahead of them was obviously old, but impressively thick for its age and seeming neglect.



    “It is time you started doing some of the work on this mission. Your vaunted Nerazim stealth should be able to find a way to open this door, and save me the effort of battering it down.”



    Vorazun looked like she wanted to kill Alarak, but chose to shadow-walk away instead of rising to his bait again.



    The hallways of the Citadel were full of Zerg. While Vorazun probably could have just chopped her way through them all, instead she took the time to look for gaps in the vision of their Overseers.





    Even with the Spear's sensors I could barely see her, and the faint lines of smoke were even less visible. It seemed like it was a point of pride now for her to reach the door's controls without even igniting her blades.







    “About time, I was practically falling asleep from the tedium.”



    “.....”



    The Zerg got thick ahead, and it seemed no matter how many Alarak blew up they kept coming.





    The answer was obvious, a whole mess of Nydus worms under the protection of an Overseer between them.



    “Are your vaunted skills of destruction up to the task of killing that Overseer, Alarak? I'd hate to have to leave you behind when I proceeded ahead.”



    Alarak's answer was wordless and violent, and would have looked as dismissive as everything else he did to someone who hadn't spent weeks being used as his psychic football. He hated being mocked, and threw his blast waves a little too fast to hide it.





    Vorazun didn't push it though, happy to just slip ahead and shred the now-defenseless worms.





    “Another barred door. Try not to let yourself get too bored while I go to open it.”





    This area looked like it had been turned into a Mutalisk breeding ground, the skies were thick with the ugly flying critters. Vorazun would be shredded if they swarmed her, but the Overseers moving around just left gaps in their pattern to exploit again.







    Even where she slipped into view of an Overseer, she was gone again before the nearby Mutalisks could react.







    “Did you take a nap along the way? There are only so many ways I can slaughter Zerg before it becomes repetitive.”



    The huge crowd of Swarm Hosts burrowed ahead would be more than Alarak could batter through, even if he'd never admit it. Luckily, they only had one Overseer to protect them.



    He didn't wait for Vorazun to ask this time, blasting it apart then waiting while she tore the hosts to pieces.





    With the path clear again, they found the way to a large open chamber and a door even more impressive than the first two.





    “Our objective lies beyond, but no stealth will avail me here.”



    “Then it is good that I used you to conserve my strength earlier. Guard me while I prepare. The zerg will surely sense my growing power.”



    Alarak started to build up energy, and sure enough the Zerg began to swarm the pair. Vorazun was jumping around without pause, carving up anyone who got too close. Alarak was practically glowing with power before long, then he erupted with a massive blast.









    “You didn't simply break the door, you shattered the crystal as well.”



    “Both the zerg and the power structure will trouble us no more. Contact the others, and tell them of the victory I have bought you.”



    “Rohana, Alarak and I have destroyed the first crystal. Alert the second team they may begin."







    “Hybrid have assembled to defend this second crystal. I am a mighty warrior, but my skills alone may not be enough to slay them all.”



    “You do not need to fight alone, friend Fenix. There are many robotic units scattered across this area; I cannot free their pilots from Amon's power, but I can override their ability to control the walkers they are inside."





    As if on cue, an Immortal with a pair of mind-controlled Zealots wandered into view to check out the disturbance of Fenix's kinetic entrance. Sure enough, Karax's hacker skills brought the mech under his control.



    The guards ahead of them didn't include any Immortals, though. Fenix was all set to charge in, but Karax had another idea.



    First, he warped in a set of photon cannons, which started firing and neatly distracted the enemy Protoss.



    Absorbed in the turrets, none of them saw Fenix coming until he brought the hammer down.



    A pair of sentries wandering in to investigate the noises only added two more units to Karax's little army.





    An abandoned robotics facility was a juicy prize tucked away in one corner. Its guards fell for the same cannon-bait strategy as before, along with adding another Immortal to the squad.





    The nearby support bay was the real prize, though. More cannons and Surprise! Fenix dealt with its defenders.



    Now Karax had Colossi of his own, some real heavy firepower.





    “Do not trouble yourself with this small group of guards, friend Fenix. If I am to be a Templar as well, I must not always depend on your strength.”





    “On second thought, a Templar should also learn to judge when a foe outmatches him, and is best met shoulder to shoulder with his allies.”



    More colossi joined the little army. It was enough that Karax was confident of attacking the hybrids, but first he decided to explore a little more.



    A pair of Reavers were tucked away to the north, real siege units. They'd be tricky to get close enough to fight without being blown up, though.





    Instead, Karax baited them into attacking his now-useless factory, sneaking up on the simple-minded robots from behind while they were distracted.





    “Enough delays, Phase-Smith. You have built us an army, now I shall lead them into battle against the hybrids who stand in our way!”





    Fenix and his robot army promptly proceeded to tear the hybrids a new one. Or a first one, I don't know and have no intention of ever finding out.







    “The second crystal is down, but it is behaving...oddly. I fear the energies are reacting poorly to the destabilized network.





    “Psionic energy is building wildly in the caverns near the third crystal, and if it overruns your position, Heirarch...”



    “Have no fear, Karax! My warriors and I shall keep ahead of the storm, and achieve victory!”



    The handful of Zealots and Vanguards he had brought seemed wildly insufficient, but Artanis leading them in person was the sort of thing that could turn the tide.





    He charged ahead, letting his soldiers catch up and dashing about relentlessly to intervene where one was at risk of falling.



    With the storm at their heels, though, he couldn't delay long, and there were so many Zerg to fight. Eventually it was only him and the Tal'Darim walkers.





    A group of Purifier robots had dropped in from another entrance, and Artanis added them to his team before continuing.



    The tidal wave of psychic lightning kept right on moving behind them, melting any Zerg who tried to flank the group but also cutting off reinforcements.



    A third hive cluster was being shredded by some Dark Templar, who joined the expedition as well.



    Lightning filling the hallways, and Zerg ahead. There was nothing to do but charge forward, so that's exactly what Artanis did.





    With the energy almost close enough to touch, he broke through the last line of the Zerg's defenses.





    Shattering the crystal caused the entire storm to simple fade away harmlessly, just in the nick of time.



    Everyone on the away teams beamed back aboard to recover, but something had definitely changed. That weird cloud of wrong that filled the space around Aiur was...concentrated towards us, somehow. It was like being an ant that someone had just put a magnifying glass on top of, and I couldn't help but wonder when the burning would start.

  30. - Top - End - #240
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    RedWizardGuy

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

    You know, upon reflection, it's kind of impressive how the Blizzard team managed to squeeze in a heist movie plot* into a game about honor-obsessed psychic warriors fighting large-scale battles to reclaim their ancestral homeland from all-devouring alien locusts.


    *Though I suppose the actual mechanics of the scenario are fairly direct and combat-oriented except for the Vorazun segments.

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