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table of contents single player basics 004 introduction 012 the jim raynor missions .016 liberation day .020 the outlaws zero hour .024 the zeratul missions whispers of doom .122 a sinister turn .128 echoes of the future .134 in utter darkness .140 the valerian missions maw of the void .146 the gates of hell .150 belly of the beast .154 shatter the sky .164 all in .168 the dr ariel hanson missions the evacuation .030 outbreak .034 safe haven .040 haven s fall .046 the gabriel tosh missions the devil s playground .052 welcome to the jungle .058 breakout .062 ghost of a chance .066 challenges .172 the matt horner missions the great train robbery .074 cutthroat .080 engine of destruction .086 media blitz .092 piercing the shroud .098 the tychus findlay missions smash and grab .104 the dig .108 the moebius factor .112 supernova .116[close]
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multiplayer mp intro battle.net mp-beginner multiplayer units and buildings 188 188 190 190 200 208 terran .284 protoss .318 zerg .352 maps 390 last words 420 achievements 424[close]
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single player the original starcraft story covered events among the terran protoss and zerg races as the story begins a terran confederate marshal jim raynor responds to the threat of strange zerg forces arriving on terran colonies later word of protoss forces eradicating colonies infected with zerg spreads throughout terran space during his attempts to battle the zerg infestation and reason with the protoss he is initially allied with and then later betrayed by the eventual ruler of the new terran dominion arcturus mengsk the betrayal nearly causes the death of raynor and results in the destruction of the former confederate capital of tarsonis as well as the sacrifice of mengsk s second in command the ghost sarah kerrigan to the zerg the protoss attempting to battle the threat of the zerg are eventually grudgingly reunified with their outcast dark templar brethren and with their aid they defeat the zerg overmind which had invaded their homeworld aiur as a direct result of these events and the death of the zerg overmind the human ghost sarah kerrigan is eventually transformed by the zerg becoming a dangerous fusion of human psionic and zerg as starcraft brood war opens the shattered remnants of the protoss race flee aiur to the dark templar homeworld of shakuras the zerg have pursued them and through a cautious alliance with the transformed kerrigan the protoss succeed in using ancient xel naga technology to wipe out the zerg forces on shakuras but as a direct result kerrigan is able to then gain control of the leaderless zerg swarm the events in the terran portion of brood war were complex but the heart of the situation was the return of human forces from the united earth directorate forces not allied with the terran dominion led by arcturus mengsk through a series of betrayals and battles eventually jim raynor arcturus mengsk and the protoss in the region become allied against the ued incursion as the ued assault the zerg world of char and gain control of a gestating zerg overmind on the planet the final events play out as kerrigan leads zerg and a very reluctant alliance of protoss and terran forces to annihilate the united earth directorate who are in control of the new zerg overmind at the very end of brood war kerrigan eventually betrays her temporary allies slaying the overmind and gaining full control of the zerg swarm and assuming the mantle of the queen of blades with the power of the ued fleet broken and terran dominion and protoss forces in the sector damaged it remains to be seen what the future holds in the battle against the zerg 5[close]
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basics single player the starcraft ii campaign was designed to introduce the game to players new to the starcraft universe then gradually ramp up the difficulty level the early missions are tutorial-like and forgiving the endgame missions are sprawling and quite challenging many missions set tasks that prepare you for the multiplayer experience you may crave after completing the campaign thus our single player basics section focuses on giving guidance to a wide range of players from novice to expert truly hardcore starcraft players especially veterans of the battle.net wars may want to jump ahead to part two multiplayer to explore the more esoteric fine points of mastering starcraft ii develop a hotkey system the most important gameplay skill you can learn for starcraft ii is this create your own hotkey system and then master it and by mastering a hotkey system we mean burn it into your unconscious mind so it haunts your dreams always assign hotkeys to critical units and groups and structures but just as important always be consistent about these hotkey assignments from mission to mission game to game scenario to scenario set it up any way you want but do it consisently some examples are listed below · always hotkey your orbital command so you can instantly access the structure for a quick scanner sweep when cloaked units attack your forces out in the field · always set the same hotkeys for specific training facilities such as barracks or factory or starport · it is particularly important to hotkey any units you send out as scouts scouts are usually weak expendable units who die fast when they stumble into the lethal trouble they are looking for you want to get a glimpse of what the scout has discovered before the poor guy gets obliterated · always assign the same hotkey to your special ability units such as wraiths or siege tanks so you can quickly select and activate their special ability e.g cloak wraiths or toggle tanks between siege and mobile modes · always assign the same hotkey to specific unit groupings for example always hotkey your primary ground assault force usually a balanced mix of units to the same key every game or mission · do the same with any other sort of group you like to form regularly your primary flying squadron your mobile base defense force your reconnaissance team and so forth terran tactics you control terran forces in the wings of victory campaign so part one focuses primarily on the terran race basic terran strategy overall terran strategy tends to be more defense-oriented especially in the early going with an emphasis on solid base development and orderly expansion but the race is balanced enough that you can adapt terran forces to almost any style of play conservative or aggressive game phases most single-player missions unfold in recognizable phases generally the early phase is about base development and reconnaissance the middle phase is about expansion and the endgame is about crushing your foe in a final showdown however not all missions conclude with the destruction of your enemy s base or force some feature less conventional objectives mining a certain amount of minerals or escorting civilians safely down a zerg-infested road or simply holding out against an endless stream of enemy forces until a friendly ship can extract your team sometimes you ll have to adapt to changing objectives on the fly note also that aspects of each game phase apply to other phases and that phases overlap all that said let s take a look at how a typical mission unfolds 6[close]
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single player at this point you ve got a solid defense in place for fending off enemy raiders in the early stages of a standard mission but your base isn t fully secure or developed yet and you need infrastructure in place for the expansion that lies ahead in the mid-game phase plus you should start getting a sense of what s lurking out there in the fog of war · send out a few cheap scouts marines or even scvs to get a peek up the road try to locate new resources mineral fields and gas geysers as well as enemy bases and deployments early game develop explore command decisions made in a mission s first five minutes can mark the difference between a clean efficient victory and a long painful slog marked by setbacks or even failure good early choices certainly make things much easier in later phases for terrans the typical early focus is to establish a productive welldefended base buoyed by a robust resource-gathering operation we also recommend some early recon work our tips for the early going · immediately order any pre-existing scvs to mine nearby mineral deposits · place your command center s rally point in the midst of those deposits so that newly trained scvs automatically start mining when they emerge then train as many new scvs as your initial funds will allow you can never have too many scvs · most campaign missions start with a pre-existing barracks in place if not order an scv to build a barracks as soon as you mine your first 150 minerals · important add another supply depot to raise your unit cap keep one scv dedicated to the task of building additional supply depots over the course of the mission · start training marines at the barracks in groups marines are tough all-purpose troops who can target both enemy ground and air units with good punch but you need a fair-sized squad minimum 8-10 for marines to be effective they must have enough concentrated firepower to take out more powerful enemies quickly in smaller groups marines are easily overwhelmed because their firepower doesn t compensate for each individual marine s relative weakness · start building bunkers on your base perimeter your goal is to put at least one bunker in each obvious approach route to the base · as your first marines emerge from the barracks send them to garrison your bunkers keep this up until every one of your bunkers has a full complement of marines · put an scv in auto-repair mode behind each bunker cluster for quick repair work when bunkers are damaged · add 2-3 more supply depots in the very early going · after your bunkers are full keep training marines until you have a squad of 8-10 of them grouped in the center of your base assign a hotkey to this squad · tip assign a hotkey to each scout so you can switch your view to him quickly especially if he s getting attacked a lone scout will die fast if he wanders into an enemy assault team or a bustling base double-tap the hotkey to get a good glimpse of the area before he goes down · build refineries atop nearby vespene gas geysers and assign scvs to work each refinery any scv that finishes construction of a refinery automatically begins gas delivery from that structure · keep training new scvs for mining and gas delivery you want at least 2-3 scvs for every mineral patch and 3 for every refinery · add a tech lab to your barracks so you can start producing medics marauders reapers and firebats note in the campaign you gain the ability to train reapers and firebats in optional missions firebats first appear in the evacuation and reapers in the devil s playground · build an engineering bay so you can construct missile turrets this structure detects the enemy s cloaked units tip build new production buildings behind your command center · when the engineering bay is done build a missile turret just behind each bunker cluster around the base perimeter make sure it s behind the bunkers put at least one turret near your command center too just in case enemy air units slip past your perimeter defenses · get a factory in place so you can start producing your vehicles hellions and siege tanks mid-game expansion once you ve got a well-established well-garrisoned base and a good idea of what s happening out on the map it s time to start expanding your operations · locate any expansion sites that you can secure and send a military force to protect it while a command center is established remember you can create a command center in a fortified area and then fly it to an expansion site · track down any bonus resources or hidden goodies on the map make use of your fast moving or flying units for this purpose · scout out enemy positions and figure out an avenue of attack or if you can t attack set up a solid defense · continue to build your military and research new upgrades unless you are limited by the mission you should always continue to build up your military forces · evaluate any special military needs that are necessary for victory during the mission be it a specific tech or a large number of a specific type of unit 7[close]
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basics endgame the showdown once you have fully established your economy and built up your military as much as possible in terms of size and technology it is time to finish off your opponent note that some missions do not follow a standard `build up base expand and attack model at all and there may be very significant environmental hazards that must be dealt with be sure to see the specific mission entry for more information on special missions · move a massed force of units to tackle each objective area strike with maximum force so that you take minimal losses · leave enough of a defensive force at threatened bases or areas to hold the line · rebuild lost forces and rally them to a position where they can soon rejoin your offensive army · focus on each objective in order unless you have a critically pressing need to split up your force · tackle any special or bonus objectives that require specific action to complete before you finish a mission resource gathering · every mission is a production race at some level whoever cranks out more and better units usually wins regardless of combat skill but your production outflow depends on the inflow of raw materials creating an efficient mineral/gas collecting operation is perhaps the most fundamental skill to master in starcraft ii · expand your scv corps until you have at least two and preferably three units mining each mineral cluster · build a refinery on every defendable vespene gas geyser near your base assign three scvs per refinery to the task of gas delivery · protect your scvs their labor is the bedrock of your economy put garrisoned bunkers along the supply route from resource-rich sites to your base keep a mobile force nearby ready to fend off raiders · assign a single hotkey to all of the scvs working a specific resource site and keep it updated to include any new scvs you deploy to that site if the enemy launches a major raid on that supply line you can select the entire scv crew with a single button press and quickly pull them back behind your base defenses once the raid is repelled you can reassign your scv squad back to collection with a single hotkey press and click don t forget to reassign scvs to gas · in a pinch scvs can fight but remember that they re very fragile and easy to kill use them against only small squads of weaker enemies like zerglings or a handful of zealots otherwise send them fleeing into your base or toward other units that can defend them · try to disrupt the enemy s supply line send swift raiders or powerful units with area-of-effect attacks like the siege tank to decimate your foe s weak resource gatherers sacrificing a single siege tank to take out a large batch of enemy gatherers is almost always a very good trade · always be on the lookout for new mineral and gas resources send out scouts until you ve revealed the entire map · if you find a rich defendable source of minerals and/or gas it s worth the money to build an expansion base nearby starting with a bunker or two for defense and then a new command center to reduce travel time for your gatherer corps be sure to construct a well-defended base around the command center in the same way that you built your original base · at each new expansion base train another full crew of scvs 3 per mineral patch 3 per refinery base building in general good base building techniques are always the same for the terran establish a sturdy defense making use of your defensive structures get your economy running and build up your military production on missions where you do not have access to your defensive tools or a restricted economy or military you must make do with what you are given and making use of your units more carefully becomes more important remember to make use of scvs ability to repair structures and units it is always cheaper to repair a unit or building than to build a new one and you can also use scvs set to autocast repair to help hold the line on especially difficult defensive missions 8[close]
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single player combat tips taking damage does not decrease a unit s firepower a near-dead marine with only one red health bar inflicts the same amount of damage as a marine with full health so it makes sense to keep your units engaged in combat as long as possible pulling a unit back for repair/healing only when its overall health dips dangerously into the red zone repairing/healing existing units is considerably cheaper than training new units remember that scvs can repair any terran mechanical unit hellions siege tanks etc including flying units you can also deploy medics and eventually medivacs that can heal wounded biological units marines marauders firebats and ghosts spectres always deploy medics in teams of two that way they can heal each other after healing your combat units the same goes for scvs deploy teams of two for repair purposes so they can fix each other after repairing damage to the structures and/or mechanical units to which they re assigned when facing large numbers of enemy units that are all of one unit type you can build up a counter force by creating units that have bonus damage against that specific unit type counter units know them cold there are a few special cases where units don t just deal bonus damage they can flat out kill other units without retaliation the two special cases for this are air units and cloaked units air units can attack ground units without an anti-air attack without fear of retaliation if you have air to ground units feel free to beat up on your opponent s ground forces cloaked units are similar if you have cloaked units and your enemies forces have no units that can detect them you can freely inflict damage without worry of retaliation just be careful about approaching enemy bases with cloaked units they often have structures that can detect your units if your enemy does show up with anti-air or detection units evaluate the situation if you have a very large mass of air or cloaked units you may be able to destroy the offending enemy units or structures and continue with your rampage if the situation doesn t look favorable withdraw damage matchups remember that some units deal bonus damage to other units you can see this information easily in-game by mousing over a unit s weapon on its information pane 9[close]
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basics attacking always use the attack move command to move troops across an active battlefield unless you re ordering an all-out retreat when you issue a simple move order your troops stop shooting and move to the selected spot ignoring any hostile forces along the way units deployed with move won t fight again until they arrive at the designated spot if you use the attack move command instead your units work their way to the same spot but aggressively engage any enemy units they encounter on the way group your units into large squads and concentrate ranged fire on single dangerous targets to eliminate them quickly let your siege tanks spread their fire but beware your own splash damage don t rush units into close range with enemy forces if you have friendly siege tanks firing onto the field they quickly become very unfriendly make use of fast moving or aerial units or scanner sweeps to scout out ahead of your army and figure out which units should engage to suffer minimal losses defending the terran forces have many powerful defensive advantages be sure to make use of them all · bunkers are awesome units inside bunkers are completely shielded from damage and automatically gain +1 range always keep an scv behind each bunker for swift repair · use your command center to protect scvs command centers can only carry scvs · the neosteel frame research upgrade adds 2 more slots to each bunker and 5 more slots to your command centers · your various turrets and their upgrades researched throughout the campaign are very helpful for defending your base expansions and key chokepoints · siege tanks are amazing on defense and a few stationed near a chokepoint behind bunkers and turret can destroy many times their cost in enemy forces 10[close]
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single player recon raiding aerial units and very fast moving ground units are the perfect units for recon and aerial units and cliffjumpers are excellent for raiding when setting out on a recon mission accept that you may take some losses that s okay the cost of the information gained is always worth a few lost units though they might disagree with that assessment for raiding missions be sure to strike with a small highly mobile force eliminate your target quickly and then withdraw before the enemy can retaliate if you are striking with a large force it is no longer a raid it s an offensive aerial units or cliffjumping reapers make the best raiders as they are unbothered by most terrain and you can hit your target from its least defended area tech-up upgrades · more guns is preferable to better guns especially in the early going in other words don t sacrifice your troop production to the activity of upgrading your equipment spend the bulk of your early funds on basic defensive structures and a strong garrison of troops weapon and armor upgrades are valuable in the long run but also expensive and very time-consuming · a corollary of the previous tip is this wait a while before constructing an armory your armory is upgrade central it has no other purpose other than researching better weapons and armor save it for later · identify which upgrades complement your style of play if you re a fan of raiding with cloaked units by all means buy any upgrade that enhances cloaking ability energy boost etc expansion tips in a typical campaign mission your initial forces start out in a base with plentiful resources nearby but in many cases you must find new mineral fields and gas geysers and then outpace the enemy in extracting their raw materials indeed a faster inflow of resources can offset weaknesses in combat skill if you can build more stuff than your foe you can be an inferior tactician and still kick his ass · don t worry about aggressive expansion until your initial base is secure and its resource-collecting operation is humming along at high capacity higher-level players often ignore this suggestion of course they may go on the attack the moment their first grunts hit the field but in general it s best to focus on development first · but scout early for other mineral/gas sites on the map try to keep an eye on them as you develop your home base don t let your enemy drain resources from auxiliary sites without a fight · keep an eye on what your foe is doing too his expansion efforts directly affect yours 11[close]
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campaign walkthrough depending on your experience with real time strategy games in general or starcraft in particular you can make use of this guide in several ways for newer players or for those of you that are feeling a bit rusty we strongly recommend you begin with the campaign as you encounter decisions or difficult spots consult the campaign walkthrough chapters for advice and information to smooth your ride the walkthrough covers all possible mission branches as well as all secrets and hidden goodies throughout the campaign once you have completed the campaign or when you want a break check out the challenges which are training maps designed to teach you some basic skills that are useful in multiplayer matches at this point you may also want to play a few skirmish games against the computer to practice when you are ready for multiplayer skim through the early game portion of the multiplayer section for some basic advice to incorporate into your play and when you want to really dig into the heart of multiplayer check out the full multiplayer strategy section for much more detailed advice on all aspects of multiplayer in starcraft ii finally the racial sections cover units structures and abilities for the terran protoss and zerg 13[close]
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