ZAM's Starcraft 2 Race Guides: Protoss! [Starcraft II]

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It's been about a month and a half since I received my Starcraft II beta invitation and, while I don't have nearly enough time to devote to "mastering" this game, my education in the RTS genre has been significantly improved over this short period of time. Maybe it's been the steady diet of competitive Starcraft II matches that I've been watching while sitting in traffic, or perhaps it's simply my competitive nature getting a hold of me once more, but either way, it's quite satisfying to know that, with light playing over the past month and a half, I've made the glorious transition from Copper League dweller hoping not to get dropped to some unknown "Wood League," (reserved for only the most inept of RTS players) to the highest ranks of Diamond 1v1 and 2v2, where I can hold my own against some of the scariest SC2 players this beta has to offer.

With that being said, however, Blizzard has also announced that their first phase of beta testing will be concluding at the end of this month, only to resurface a few weeks after that-hopefully stronger and more balanced than ever. Thus, as this will most likely be our last week of truly experimental beta testing, many players are taking this opportunity to try out new strategies, new build orders and, most importantly, new races. Getting used to each race, however, can be quite confusing, especially if you've ingrained those race-specific hotkeys into your brain.



But be confused no longer, ZAM readers, as I have decided, for this last week of beta, to compile some of the most common strategies and give some of the strengths and weaknesses of each race. So whether you're still deciding what race to try first, or if you're struggling in Silver league, read on and see if you can learn some new things about the three races in Starcraft! Today I'll be covering Protoss, and tomorrow you can expect to hear about the Zerg and Terran. Do note, however, that this is all based on Patch 13 and the strategies are what I have faced most commonly amongst top level Diamond / Platinum level 1v1 players. Finally, remember that I play Protoss the most, followed by Zerg and then Terran, so the level of detail in their respective strategies may vary.

 


The Protoss

Two months ago, when I was first learning how to play Starcraft II (and RTSs in general), the Protoss were the race I chose as my "main" because… well… they looked cool. Energy shields, big robots, laser swords and warping!? Yes please! I also chose the Protoss because they had a reputation for being one of the highest "skill-per-unit" races in the game; that is to say, the Protoss can often be the most effective with the least number of units, but they require intense micromanagement to really produce stellar results. For example, in a match of 20 zerglings against, say, two sentries, two zealots and a stalker, the Protoss player could potentially stomp the zerglings with few casualties, but they would need to position themselves and micromanage their sentries well if they wanted to win.

 



 

If you have read any of the "Situation Reports" that Blizzard publishes with every new patch note, then you know that the Protoss have one of the highest winning percentages across all three races. They are also the most played of the three races, and beginners tend to gravitate to the powerful the Protoss when first learning the game. Because of this, however, Protoss players have been getting the most nerfs across the past few patches, so if you think the Protoss are weak now… well, you may not be very happy with this race in the future. But who knows?

Common Strategies

Many Protoss strategies actually stem from what's known as "one-base play," meaning that a Protoss will rarely need to expand and create another base in order to win the game. The fact is, the Protoss have probably the strongest single-base potential because, while their units are expensive, they are also quite powerful, and so many Protoss try to focus on pure unit production, hoping to overpower their enemy with superior units. As well, the new Protoss warp-gate technology, where the Protoss can warp in their units at any pylon without having to build a unit producing-building at the location, means that they can maintain high aggression while constantly replenishing their army.

In knowing this, many Protoss players utilize mid-game "timing rushes," where they attack at a time when they believe their opponent will be focused on researching technology, or expanding to a new base, as opposed to building a sizeable army. Such strategies include:



The 'Four-Gate' Push: This nickname is really exactly what it sounds like: you stay with a single base, research Warp Gate technology as fast as possible, build four Gateways (not necessarily in this order) and then continuously warp in Stalkers, Sentries and Zealots in preparation to attack whenever you feel comfortable. Most players also tend to build an "advance pylon," or "proxy pylon" near their enemy's base so that they can continue to warp in even more units as they attack. The four-gate push is actually quite strong in most games if you do it right, and many players have been taken by surprise by this aggressive move, especially if they don't scout it.



Fast Robotics / 'Two-Gate' Robotics: There are a few variations on this build, but it's basically where the player tries to get a Robotics Facility as fast as possible-either to counter a potential Roach rush (this is becoming much more uncommon because Roaches are now two supply instead of one) or the more dangerous Marauder or Siege Tank push. Players try to get a Robotics Facility as fast as possible for a quick observer to spy on the enemy movements (scouting an enemy's strategy is invaluable), typically followed by a few Immortals, the Protoss's new armored unit that deals incredible damage to other armored units and, if their shields are still up, they reduce all incoming damage to 10 per hit. The Immortal has been designed to, literally, smash through high damage units, like the Zerg's Roaches and Ultralisks, or the Terran's Marauders and Siege Tanks.

Following this, Protoss players must decide if they want to follow up with a Robotics Bay for the ultra-powerful Colossus (best used against large groups of units, like lots of Zerglings, Roaches, Marines, Marauders, Zealots or Stalkers), or if they simply want to push out with their beefy Immortals. Be warned that you will have fewer units in comparison to the "four-gate" push, or you might take longer to assemble your units, but Immortals can often spell the difference between disaster and success if the enemy Terran has gone Siege Tanks (which will destroy your Stalker, Sentry, Zealot army) or if the enemy Zerg / Protoss have put down static defenses (Phase Cannons or Spine Crawlers).

Void Ray Rush: Void Rays are another new unit addition to the Protoss in Starcraft II, and they are highly capable of destroying an enemy's base if they are not prepared. Basically, if a Void Ray is allowed to hit a constant target for a few seconds (for example, a building), the Void Ray's beam becomes "upgraded" from 5 damage per attack to a whopping 10 damage per attack. In this way, aggressive Protoss players will sometimes get a Stargate up as fast as possible (often only producing a single zealot and a sentry to defend their base), produce one or two Void Rays, and then try to destroy their enemy's main base in one go. If the Protoss can attack early enough, many Zerg players don't expect Void Rays, and so they sometimes only have a single Queen (who can't kill a single Void Ray in a straight fight) to defend their hatchery. Against Terrans, however, this strategy only works if the marine decides to pump out Marauders and Siege Tanks for an early game push (since both Marauders and Siege Tanks can't hit air). Be warned, however, that if a Void Ray is unable to charge its beam (as in, you try attacking multiple marines with a single Void Ray), you are effectively cutting its potential damage in half.



Dark Templar Drop: Often derided as being a very cheesy strategy, the Dark Templar Rush is a very strong choice against an opponent who doesn't scout well enough. Dark Templars are the same as the Dark Templars in the original Starcraft, meaning they have low health and low armor, but they deal exceptional damage and they are constantly stealthed. This means that a Terran player will need to build a missile turret nearby, or build a Raven or Scanner Sweep the area to find the Dark Templar. Zerg have to either build a Spore Colony or evolve an Overseer from an Overlord, while Protoss have to drop an Orbital Cannon on the area or build an Observer as fast as possible to detect these Dark Templars.

Now, you can obviously build the Dark Templar at your base and then run them over to your opponent's base, but this requires the Dark Templar to make it through the front of the enemy base, which is typically where their army is. The potential of the Dark Templar, however, lies in its ability to one-shot Probes, SCVs and Drones, making them ideal units for destroying your opponent's economy. Thus, Dark Templar "dropping," in this case, stems from the new Warp Gate technology that Protoss have. Basically, you can either build a Pylon in the enemy base (this is dangerous), or, more commonly, you can build a Warp Prism (from the Robotics Bay) and have it fly over to the back side of the enemy base. From there, toggle the "Phase Mode" of your Warp Prism, and it will instantly transform into a mini-pylon for you, thus allowing you to warp in a few Dark Templars (they are stealthed when they warp in), who can then run up to the enemy's mineral line to destroy all of their harvesting units. Be wary of the anger this tactic incites, however!



That's all the space I have today to discuss various Protoss 1v1 strategies. Do note that there are, literally, hundreds of other strategies and variations for Protoss, so that's why I don't give specific "build orders" for you to follow verbatim. Just remember that Starcraft II is really about individual talents and maximizing your strengths! A strategy created and tailored to your abilities will often lead to more success than a recipe you picked up off the internet, so be sure to take advantage of the constant ladder resets, and just try out as many strategies as possible! Tomorrow I'll talk about the Zerg and Terran (unfortunately, it probably won't be as detailed as the Protoss), so stay tuned and see you on Battle.net!



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