Power overwhelming – Your units are invincible to enemies.

Show me the money – Gives you 10,000 gas and 10,000 minerals

Operation CWAL – Speeds construction of buildings and units

The Gathering – Gives unlimited energy to all casting units

Game over man – Ends your game as a loss

Staying Alive – Prevents the mission from ending due to victory or defeat

There is no cow level – Completes the current mission

Whats mine is mine – Free minerals

Breathe deep – Free Vespene Gas

Something for nothing – Gives all upgrades

Black Sheep Wall – Shows entire map

Medieval man – Free upgrades to units

Modify the phase variance – Ability to build all buildings

War aint what it used to be – Disables fog of war

Food for thought – Ability to build units beyond the support limit

Ophelia – Enter this to enable level skipping cheat. Then enter the mission you want to skip to (i.e., “terran10″) to go there. For Brood War levels type x before the levels (i.e., “xterran8″)

Radio Free Zerg (Brood War and playing as Zerg only) – Hear the secret Zerg song. My favorite line is when the Overmind says “I got the skillz….”

Introduction

Despite how complex and confusing the StarCraft Campaign Editor may appear at times, I was only able to include tips on the mere basics of making your own campaigns and scenarios. Most of what this Fast Track guide includes are the ‘hows’ of Campaign Editing, without going why things work the way they do.

Examples will be somewhat scarce, and descriptions kept brief. Further, not all the features of the Campaign Editor are listed; only those deemed the most important. If you need more detailed explanations or long lists of examples and suggestions, these can be found in abundance in Prima’s full StarCraft Campaign Editor Strategy Guide.

Star Edit Basics

StarEdit is a powerful editor that allows you to modify most aspects of a StarCraft mission and build new ones from scratch. You can make completely typical missions (a straightforward fight between the Terrans and Zerg, for example), or highly unusual ones (a bizarre game of interstellar football).

The terms “mission” and “scenario” are used interchangeably in this book. Both terms refer to a single map designed with StarEdit. Campaign” refers to a series of scenarios or maps linked so the player proceeds automatically from one to the next.

Map Editing

The most basic, obvious function of StarEdit is map editing. This feature allows you to place terrain features (such as rivers or plateaus), buildings and even troops, from any of the three races. Most of the Star Edit palette is dedicated to Map Editing.

Scenario Editing

In addition to editing the map and everything on it, you also can change aspects of the scenario. Features such as how many players, which races will be playing and which units and upgrades are available to each are just a few of the things that you can control with Star Edit.

Briefing/Linking

With Star Edit, you’re free to edit and manipulate both the pre-mission briefing and the messages the player receives during the mission itself. You also can link scenarios into a campaign so that when he or she completes one mission, the player moves to the next automatically.

Triggers

Essentially, a Trigger is just a statement that tells the mission how to behave. It consists of a condition that tells the mission when to activate the Trigger, and an action that tells the mission what to do when the conditions are met. Things such as victory conditions, and when or where reinforcements will be provided can be set with the Triggers controls.

Artificial Intelligence

You may choose from a number of “pre-assembled” AI scripts to assign to computer-controlled forces. These scripts tailored enemy species behavior to specific circumstances (map, resources, available units) of each mission. And you can mix and match them in conjunction with Triggers to get the computer to do more or less what you want it to do.

How to Play Your Missions

To play your mission, you first must start StarCraft, and then either select Play Custom from the single-player menu, or choose to create a new game from the multiplayer menu. Then you’ll select your scenario from a list.

Now you may choose Game Type. In multiplayer games, you may select one of many options, including Use Map Settings, Melee, and Free for All.

When you select Use Map Settings, you’re saying, “Play the mission exactly as the mission designer meant it to be played.” This preserves everything you put into the mission.

Common Mission Types

The Melee Map

The most basic mission you can build is simply a map for melee and other multiplayer games. These maps are meant to be played in Melee, Free for All, or any mode that isn’t Use Map Settings. Such missions are very simple because you build only terrain, resources, and player starting locations. Your first few missions probably should be melee maps.

Combat with a Twist

After building a few standard melee maps, consider experimenting with more advanced combat missions. Advanced missions almost always include some sort of customization, so they must be played with Use Map Settings enabled. Any number of ways exist to take a basic combat map and change it radically using a few quick modifications. Rescuable units, wild card computer controlled forces, or any modifications to unit attributes or special ability costs can be mad in this kind of scenario.

Unusual Missions

The next step, should you want to take it, is to create missions where combat isn’t the principal goal. For example, let’s say you create a mission that gives each player five identical units and places them on a battlefield covered with 10 flags. You can create any number of variations on the standard StarCraft missions.

RPGs

Many players designing StarCraft missions try to create RPGs (role-playing games). In such missions, the player (or players) control a single unit apiece and travel through mazelike maps. When their unit kills enemies, it gains “experience points” as in a traditional RPG, and eventually gains levels based on this experience. These games usually also feature a rudimentary system of inventory, so a player’s lone unit can “pick up” items and use them later.

Toolbars and Palettes

Star Edit features several toolbars and command palettes. Often, their buttons and selections duplicate commands in the pull-down menus.

Main Toolbar

* The main toolbar runs along the top of the screen, just beneath the pull-down menus. It contains a number of useful buttons and tools. * (New, Open, Save) The first three buttons on the main toolbar are New, Open, and Save. These buttons allow you to perform basic file functions.

Various Buttons

* Compact Button Press the Compact button to “squash” your map file and create a smaller file.

* Undo/Redo Buttons The Undo button allows you to “take back” changes.

* Clear Button Select any number of units or Doodads, and then press the Clear button to remove them from the map.

Properties Button

Select a single unit or structure, or multiple units or structures, and then press the Properties button. The Properties menu appears. The Properties menu allows you to adjust both the selected units’ properties and initial state. This allows you to determine what attributes a unit or building will have when your mission starts.

Layer Picker

The Layer Picker lets you change quickly from one layer to another. There are five layers to choose from; Terrain, Doodad, Unit, Location, and Fog of War

Player Picker

Just as the Layer Picker lets you select which layer to edit, the Player Picker lets you choose which player’s forces to edit.

Forces Button

The Forces button brings up the Forces menu (figure 2-4). This menu provides an easy way to organize players within a scenario. Click and drag players to move them from one Force slot to another. You can also choose how these forces will interact with each other. Are they Allied, Neutral, or Enemies?

Sounds Button

Press the Sounds button to bring up the Sound File Manager

Triggers Button

Triggers are powerful scripting tools that allow you to modify the mission briefing, the victory conditions, and everything in-between. More is included on Triggers later in this guide.

Sidebar

The Sidebar is a big pane that covers the left edge of the screen. It includes a Mini Map that displays a miniature view of the entire map at once, and the Tool Tree, which looks like a big list of folders.

Terrain Palette

This Palette allows you access to the various Terrain types that can be used in constructing a Melee map.

Doodad Palette

This Palette that includes all the little odds and ends that make a map look realistic. These include terrain features like statures, broken buildings, and other dilapidated structures.

Building a Melee Map

The following is for a simple 64 x 64 space platform melee map. Other maps can be made by following these simple rules.

Setup

* Open the program * Under the File menu, select New. Under Tileset, select Space Platform. Leave Default Terrain as Platform. Finally, make sure the Square Map box is checked, and set Width to 64. When you’ve completed all this, press OK. * Scroll to the map’s upper-left corner. When you’re there, click on the folder labeled Player 1 (Red Terran), on the screen’s left sidebar. A number of new folders will appear. Click on Start Location, and then click on the icon labeled Start Location * Move the mouse cursor onto the map itself. You’ll see a green highlight. Place the highlight somewhere near the extreme upper-left corner of the map and click. A red Start point appears for Player 1. * Now scroll down to the lower-right map corner. From the sidebar, select the Player 2 (Blue Zerg) folder. Select the Start Location subfolder, and the Start Location icon. Then move the cursor onto the map and place a Player 2 Start location near the lower-right corner. * Select the Neutral Units folder from the left sidebar, and then select the Resources subfolder. Click on Mineral Field Type 1 and “paint” a small area near the Player 2 Start position with minerals * Now select Vespene Geyser from the sidebar and drop a pair of Vespene Geysers near the Mineral Field. * Scroll up to the Player 1 Start point and place some minerals and Vespene Geysers near it. * From the File menu, select Save and give your map a file name, such as “test.” Click Save to save the map.

Making it Better

That is all there is to making a simple melee map. In your next try, add some interesting terrain features, or try varying the terrain type. If you want, try adding base defenses, extra deposits of minerals or Vespene gas, or anything else that would make the level more interesting. For a complete list of suggestions for more playable levels, check Prima’s full StarCraft Campaign editor Strategy Guide.

Doodads

Doodads are non-unit objects that usually serve as simple obstacles or decorations. But a few, such as stairways and ramps, perform vital functions, such as allowing players’ units to get from low terrain to high terrain, and vice versa.

Extra Players

It’s easy to add extra players. Throw in a few extra Start locations, and they’re good to go. Extra players complicate melee and free-for-all games immensely, adding to the fun.

Editing Scenarios

Unit Upgrades

Let’s say, that you want to do something really interesting. How about beefing up the units available to one side. Let’s create a scenario where one player- the Terrans- has a new type of unit: a Super Marine.

*Either create a map complete with resources and starting points, or open one. Make sure one of the players is Terran (for simplicities sake- only one). * Click on the Settings tab under the Player menu to bring up the Settings box. There are four submenus within this main area, all useful for modifying your scenario significantly. * When you click on the Settings tab, a default box appears. Here you can alter the species of the armies in your scenario, as well as the way the player controls them when playing the scenario. * Go to the upgrades tab in the player menu and click on Terran Infantry Armor. Set the default level to 1. Now all Terran Marines start with a level one bonus to armor. Do the same on Terran Infantry Weapons and increase Player 1’s starting level to 1. * Go to the Special abilities tab in the player menu. Click on Stim Pack under Terran Technologies, and set the default setting to Researched by Default. Now your Marines start with the Stim Pack advantage.

Note-You can’t increase a technology’s maximum level beyond the default max. Terran Infantry Armor, for instance, never can be increased beyond three levels of upgrade.

These types of upgrades can be done for any unit type, although each unit does have maximum limits to any upgrade. Special abilities can be upgraded automatically, allowing units to use special abilities from the games beginning that must be researched otherwise. Limitations of unit strength or upgrade options can also be imposed on a player to give one player an advantage over another. Certain unit types can be eliminated entirely.

Playing with Settings

Where options in the Player Settings menu affect the availability of units, upgrades, and special abilities, the options we explore here control the power of those units, upgrades, and abilities.

* Go to the Scenario menu on the main control bar at the top of the screen. Open the Unit and Hero Settings, and click off the Use Default Settings box in the upper left. * Now adjust the hit points of your Super Marines to (60). Give the unit 1 point of armor, while you’re at it. You added an automatic armor upgrade to these units in the forgoing section, so Marines will come with 1 point of armor and one upgrade, effectively giving them 2 points of armor. * To make the Marines even more deadly, you can boost the damage they inflict. Increase Ground Weapon Damage from 6 to 9, and the Bonus from 1 to 2. Now each weapons upgrade will increase the Marines’ damage by 2 points instead of 1, making the Marines far more potent both offensively and defensively. * But this increase in power should come at some price. The time it takes to produce a Marine is 24 seconds: boost it to 36. Take the mineral cost from 50 to 65, and require 10 units of gas.

These are just a few examples of how a unit or structure can be upgraded. Feel free to experiment upgrading or limiting specific unit types and see how it effects game play.

Mission Briefings

How to create a Mission Briefing

* Go to the Scenarios pull-down menu and select Mission Briefing. * Click on the New button to get a second pop-up box. Here you’ll determine the player or players this mission briefing will affect. Once you have determined a player, click on next. * Now you have a blank menu labeled “Actions.” To add an action to the briefing, hit the New button to view a list of possibilities. When you’re satisfied with a particular action, click OK in the New Briefing Action menu to return to the Actions dialogue box.

Mission Objectives

The most basic briefing action, and perhaps easiest to understand, is Mission Objectives. This action places a text summary of actions a player must take to win the scenario in the briefing’s lower-left corner.

* To create Mission Objectives, click New in the Actions menu. In the New Briefing Action menu that appears, click on the pull-down menu and select Mission Objectives. * This brings up a new dialogue box containing the text, “Set Mission Objectives for current player to:” with a bit of text highlighted blue. Click on the blue text. This generates another dialogue box where you may type in your mission objectives. * Click OK to return to the Actions menu. You’re ready to create your next Mission Briefing action.

Showing and Hiding Portraits

From the pull-down menu on the New Briefing Action dialogue box, select Show Portrait. You’ll be asked for a slot number and the portrait you wish to show. For this example choose slot number 1 and Sara Kerrigan as the Portrait.

Animating Portraits

* Return to the New Briefing Action dialogue box and select Display Speaking Portrait from the pull-down menu. * First, you must select the portrait you wish to animate. Click Slot Number to view your options- slots 1-4. For now, keep the default of Slot 1 because this is the only slot where you’ve shown a portrait. * You must determine the length of time you want the picture of Kerrigan to stay animated. Click on Number of Milliseconds. For now, choose 10,000 milliseconds and click OK.

Making Portraits Disappear

* Return to the New Briefing Action menu and select Hide Portrait. You have only one option here- which portrait to hide. * Click on Slot Number and choose the portrait you wish to make disappear. For now, keep the default. This will cause Kerrigan’s portrait to disappear at the end of her 10 second animation.

Adding Sound to Briefings

* Return to the New Briefing Action menu and select Transmission. This action involves five variables. It combines the actions of displaying a speaking portrait, running text in the central window, and playing a .wav file simultaneously. * First, you must choose the portrait you want to animate. (You must have displayed the portrait already using a Show Portrait action.) * Next, determine the .wav file you wish to play, much as you do when simply playing a .wav file. Now you can adjust the way the sound file plays. Click Set to keep the .wav file playing at its normal duration, or to increase or decrease its playing time. * Next, click Number to specify the amount of time you want to add or subtract from the sound. * Finally, you may include the text you want displayed as the .wav file plays.

Making Campaigns

At times you’ll want to create more than one mission based on a particular theme, and to have players go through them in a particular order. In short, you’ll want to develop a campaign. The instructions listed below are for a simple campaign including 2 players. Player 1 is Terran, and Player 2 is Zerg.

* Click on the Triggers button, or select Triggers from the Scenarios pull-down menu. You’ll notice that a few triggers are in place already. Ignore these for now. You also will notice that this looks quite a bit like the menu you used to create your Mission Briefing. * In the Triggers menu, click on New, select Player 1, and hit Next. This does the same thing as starting a Mission Briefing does. The condition you’re about to generate will affect Player 1, your human player. * Click on New to get a New Conditions dialogue box (identical to the New Briefing Action box). Click on the pull-down menu and select Control. Now click on Player, and select Player 2, the blue Zerg forces- your computer opponent. * Next, click on Quantity and select Zero or Fewer. Leave the number alone (the default is zero) in the lower left. Finally, click on Unit and choose any unit. Then hit OK to return to the Conditions dialogue box.

You’ve told the game that the trigger you’re going to create will happen when the computer opponent (Player 2) has 0 or fewer buildings and units- that is, when all Zerg have been wiped out.

* Click Next in the Conditions dialogue box to proceed to the final section of setting this trigger. You’ll view the Actions dialogue box (identical to the Conditions box). * Click New to go to the New Actions box. Select Set Next Scenario from the pull-down menu. * Now click on Scenario in the dialogue box, select any scenario, and hit OK. Click New again and scroll down to Victory, and hit OK. Then click on Finish to set the trigger and close the Trigger menu.

You’ve told the game that, when the computer forces are completely destroyed, it should reward the Player 1 with victory, and then load the next scenario. Use these same tools to create more detailed and interesting campaigns.

Triggers

A trigger is something special that happens during the game as the result of a particular event or the attainment of a goal. Triggers work by combining conditions and actions. When a player meets a particular condition or set of conditions, a particular action takes place.

Conditions can be virtually anything, from bringing a certain unit to a specified location to wiping out all enemy structures. Actions can range from something as simple as playing a .wav file to something as complex as creating several dozen enemy units and having them swarm the player.

Conditions

Certain conditions must be met before an action can take place. Almost every condition involves defining certain variables- usually a player or force and another variable, such as a location. Each trigger must have at least one condition, and it’s possible for a trigger to have two, three, or a dozen conditions. In fact, there is no limit. All conditions must be met before a trigger’s actions can take place.

Trigger Actions

Trigger Actions take place once a player meets a given condition or set of conditions. These can be simple occurrences, such as the playing of a .wav file, or complicated ones, such as adding resources and units to a computer player’s army, or generating an attack. As with conditions, you may incorporate numerous actions into a particular trigger.

Setting Switches

Switches allow you to use and reuse triggers, or to set up a series of actions that culminate in one large, all-encompassing action.

Much more on Triggers including detailed descriptions of all conditions and action triggers are included in the full version of StarCraft Campaign Editor Strategy Guide.

Choosing an AI

The AI (Artificial Intelligence) is basically your computer opponent. The way you’ll use the AI will vary considerably from scenario to scenario. This section examines AI function in depth. Learning how it operates will give you a better framework for determining how to use the AI in your own scenarios.

Custom AI

* These AIs expect to start with nothing, or very little. * Custom, or Melee, AIs expand when their resources run low or when their script instructs them to, whichever comes first. * They build a lot of SCVs, Drones, or Probes, expecting to start with only 50 units of minerals. * They use scripted rushes, but only when they have a good chance to end the scenario. They’re unlikely to use these rushes if the human player starts with any units. * They attack when a human player starts a new base, in an effort to box the player in. If the player doesn’t expand within 40 game minutes or so, they’ll attack the player’s main base. * They respond aggressively to all player attacks.

Campaign AIs

* These AIs expect to begin with a town, and so won’t build new structures. They’ll repair or replace important structures that are damaged or destroyed. * They won’t expand to new bases. * They expect to start with numerous resources, and will build few gathering units. * They use no rushes, and won’t attempt to destroy the player. * They’ll attack what they find, and won’t specifically target the player if he or she tries to expand to a new base. * They attack the player’s bases periodically, regardless of the composition of the player’s army. * They don’t respond aggressively to attacks, often giving the player time to destroy a structure or two.

Below we have listed every Protoss Unit & Building, their pictures, stats, requirements, abilities, weapons, and strategies.

We hope that this section will help you whether you are trying to save Aiur, or just mopping up opponents with a mass of Carriers.

The links below will jump you to the unit or section you are looking for.

Protoss Buildings

Nexus – Pylon – Assimilator – Gateway – Forge – Photon Cannon – Cybernetics Core – Shield Battery

Robotics Facility – Stargate – Citadel of Adun – Robotics Support Bay – Fleet Beacon – Templar Archives – Observatory
Arbiter Tribunal

Protoss Units

Probe – Zealot – Dragoon – High Templar – Dark Templar – Archon – Dark Archon – Shuttle – Reaver – Observer – Scout
Carrier – Interceptor – Corsair – Arbiter

Protoss Buildings

Protoss buildings are warped in by Probes. The advantage is that you do not have to lose a worker to constructing the building permanently or until it’s done like the Terran or Zerg. They also have shield points for all of their buildings which regenerate over time. Plasma Shield upgrades help their defense, which is unique since Terran and Zerg buildings cannot have the same benefit with upgrades. The downsides to Protoss buildings are they are expensive, take longer to build, and require Pylons for power while being built near them.

There are four types of buildings in StarCraft.

- Defensive: Structures that have weapons to attack enemy units. (Photon Cannon)

- Factories: Structures that can create units. (Nexus, Gateway, Robotics Facility, Stargate)

- Research: Structures that can research upgrades and abilities for your units. (Forge, Cybernetics Core, Citadel of Adun, Robotics Support Bay, Fleet Beacon, Templar Archives, Observatory, Arbiter Tribunal)

- Support: Structures that provide a single special ability. (Pylon, Assimilator)

Protoss Nexus

Jump to Top – Next Unit: Pylon

Description

This is the Protoss base building, the Nexus. It is the foundation of your economy due to it’s ability to collect the resources workers gather, and is the requirement of the most basic buildings aside from Pylons and Assimilators. It must be built a short distance away from any resources. Any Protoss player on a non UMS map should try to have at least one of these at all times.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
+9	400	0	1800	750	750	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	1200

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Probes

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 4×3 Size. Does not require Pylon’s aura to build.

Enables Creation of: Gateway, Forge.

Abilities & Upgrades

Process Resources: A passive ability, this allows the Nexus to collect resources that a worker brings.

Build Probe: Creates a Probe for 50 Minerals and 1 Psi.

Set Rally Point: Select an area on the map to set where created units will move to upon completion.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

The Nexus is provided to you as soon as you start after picking Protoss as your race. Being the supplier of resources to you, it is vital that you defend your Nexuses carefully. Photon Cannons are great for choke-points into your base, but having some around your Nexus and the Probes that are mining for it is the best way of keeping it alive. In non money maps, an emphasis is placed upon expanding to other areas. While it is important to defend those Nexuses too, it’s best to put the most Photon Cannons and units to protect your main base as that is usually where your main factories and higher tech buildings are.

When an enemy attacks your main base and you feel like you will lose no matter what, a good desperation move is to stop building other units and buildings and conserve minerals and Probes, that way you can move those Probes to a new area (like an ally’s base) and use the minerals you saved to build a new Nexus.

Knowing all this, the best strategy against players is to try to take out their Nexus before they expand and then wiping out their probes. Even simply destroying a Nexus at an expansion base can potentially make the cash flow come to a big halt for that player as they try to recover, especially after they have few mineral fields left in their main base.

- Money Melee

In money maps, you should emphasize on protecting your starting base. If you lose your Nexus in a Fastest Money map where the minerals are placed directly underneath your Nexus, this is a devastating hit to your economy. This makes it imperative to keep your defenses healthy around your Nexus. Make sure you have plenty of Photon Cannons or strong units around it, and try putting Observers around the perimeter of your base so you can see incoming unit drops and air attacks.

Likewise, taking out an opponent’s Nexus in one of these style maps can hurt them incredibly. Since most people stick to one or two bases, knocking out their Nexuses and Probes (Psionic Storm is great for the Probes, then focus on attacking the Nexus with something else) is the best tactic for leaving an enemy hung out to dry.

- Use Map Settings

In UMS Maps, the Nexus is typically given to a player in maps only when they are going to be building a base. They serve as NPC buildings for towns and landmarks in RPGs. In UMS maps, you want to be careful when making them to remove the option to build Nexuses if you don’t want a player building up a base because it will mess up your map. Go into the Player Settings and disable Nexuses to do this.

Protoss Pylon

Previous Unit: Nexus – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Assimilator

Description

The Protoss Pylon is a building of necessity. The Protoss do not construct buildings on the battlefield, but instead warp them in. Pylons come in by providing power to do this. Basically, you cannot build anything other than a Nexus or Assimilator without a Pylon. Pylons provide energy to buildings in a radius around the Pylon. If the Pylon gets destroyed, the buildings will lose their energy and will become unpowered making them sitting targets that cannot perform actions until a new Pylon is built near them. Also very importantly, Pylons provide psi so you can build more units.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
+8	100	0	450	300	300	0	0	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	150

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 2×2 Size. Does not require Pylon’s aura to build.

Enables Creation of: Nothing. But is required to warp in any non Nexus, Assimilator, or Pylon Protoss building.

Abilities & Upgrades

Warp Aura: A passive ability that powers nearby buildings and allows you to build any non Nexus, Assimilator, or Pylon Protoss building.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

Pylons are the most frequently created building for Protoss. While a Nexus provides psi too, Pylons do so in a much cheaper and space conserving manner. When creating a Pylon there isn’t too much strategy involved. If you’re creating a batch of Photon Cannons at a choke point into your main base, you’ll want to put the Pylon behind the cannons so units will be attacked by the Photon Cannons first instead of being able to just knock out your Pylon and then destroy the unpowered Photon Cannons. That being said, a good idea is to create more than one Pylon to power your Photon Cannons so a situation like that doesn’t happen against long range attackers.

When attacking an enemy’s base try to look for stupidly placed Pylons. If you see that their Gateways and Stargates are being powered by only one Pylon, it takes less time to destroy a Pylon that has 300 hp and 300 sp than a Gateway with 500 hp and 500 sp. You can cause their unit production to cease while you take out the remaining ground and air threats.

- Money Melee

Refer to the Non Money Melee section. The only differences you may want to keep in mind are that you should be able to build them quickly due to the higher cash flow. So creating Pylons all over your base to provide backup power to your buildings is good as you will need the Pylons for your psi limit anyhow. Or if you’re rich and bored enough you could just replace extra Pylons with Nexuses so you can a little more supply and they take much longer to kill.

- Use Map Settings

UMS Maps see Pylons primarily in defense games. But you can also see them in towns in RPGs. Usually a Pylon in a UMS map fit the same needs as in a Melee map because they don’t have much else of a role. In UMS maps, you want to be careful when making them to remove the option to build Pylons if you don’t want a player building up a base because it will mess up your map. Go into the Player Settings and disable Pylons to do this.

Protoss Assimilator

Previous Unit: Pylon – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Gateway

Description

To gather Vespene Gas from worlds, the Protoss require an Assimilator to be warped in. The Assimilator is placed on a Vespene Gas Geyser and Probes can then gather Vespene Gas from the Assimilator and return it to your Nexus. The Assimilator has one use, but is important if you want to build the majority of your units and buildings.

Remember that the difference between Mineral Fields and Vespene Gas Geysers is that while a Mineral Field can run out, Geysers will simply become depleted giving you less resources per harvest.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	100	0	600	450	450	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	150

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 4×2 Size. Does not require Pylon’s aura to build. Must be built on a Vespene Gas Geyser.

Enables Creation of: Nothing.

Abilities & Upgrades

Process Vespene Gas: A passive ability that allows Probes to enter the Assimilator for a moment to harvest Vespene Gas so it can be returned to the Nexus.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

This is a building that you should try to get early on in maps. You usually will want to have 3-4 Probes gathering from your Assimilator (3-4 is based on distance) at all times. Vespene Gas is going to be relied on for your ground unit and air unit construction more so than any other race. Try to expand so you can create more Assimilators. You’re going to need the Vespene Gas, trust me.

- Money Melee

Refer to the Non Money Melee section. The main difference is you won’t need to expand in most cases because you are not going to have to worry about the geysers depleting as much. In Money Maps you will want to create an Assimilator even earlier on in the game as your Minerals will add up so quickly and you will want the Gas to keep up.

- Use Map Settings

UMS Maps do not see much in the way of Assimilators. In UMS Melee Maps they’ll be there for the most part. You will also be seeing them in RPGs for Towns and that’s about it. Don’t forget, the Assimilator doesn’t have any building requirements. If you want to give a player a Probe but don’t want them building an Assimilator, go to the Player Settings and to the Units tab to disable them.

Protoss Gateway

Previous Unit: Assimilator – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Forge

Description

The Protoss Gateway is the factory for all Protoss Ground Units aside from the Reaver. It is capable of warping in Zealots by itself, Dragoons with a Cybernetics Core, and High and Dark Templar with a Templar Archives. You can only create one unit at a time at a Gateway. Finally, the Gateway requires a Pylon nearby otherwise it will become Unpowered and will stop functioning.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	150	0	900	500	500	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	225

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Zealots, Dragoons (Requires Cybernetics Core), High Templar (Requires Templar Archives), and Dark Templar (Requires Templar Archives)

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Nexus.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 4×3 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Cybernetics Core, Shield Battery.

Abilities & Upgrades

Warp in Zealot: Creates a Zealot for 100 Minerals and 2 Psi.

Warp in Dragoon: Creates a Dragoon for 125 Minerals, 50 Vespene Gas, and 2 Psi.

Warp in High Templar: Creates a High Templar for 50 Minerals, 150 Vespene Gas, and 2 Psi.

Warp in Dark Templar: Creates a Dark Templar for 125 Minerals, 100 Vespene Gas, and 2 Psi.

Set Rally Point: Select an area on the map to set where created units will move to upon completion.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

Gateways create the majority of your ground units and are required to get any kind of combat unit. It should be created early on so you can build Zealots for protection from rushes. If you’re going to play defensively with Cannons at first you can hold off on the Gateways for longer. If you’re playing against someone who is using lots of ground units, wipe out the Gateways when you attack their base after you take out immediate threats.

If you want to make an army of the troops it can warp in, then you should create several Gateways so you can produce your units faster. This is harder in non money, so be resource conscious and expand when needed so you can keep up the cash to continue your army. You’ll probably want your Gateways near your Nexus and behind any Photon Cannons or units you’re using for defense so they don’t get destroyed. Finally, don’t forget to use the rally point command with caution. You can use this to gather units in a better location than right in front of your gateway, but when units are created from it they will be ordered to Move to the location and will not attack any nearby enemies until they reach that spot.

- Money Melee

Money maps are a great way to get a lot of use of Gateways. If you’re going to be using a ground army, you should have the resources to get more than enough Gateways to create your forces quickly. Follow the same rules for Non Money Melee and you should be fine.

- Use Map Settings

Gateways are typically in UMS Melee Maps. They also tend to serve as landmarks or town buildings in RPGs. Basically, if you want the player to be able to build ground units, you’ll give them a Gateway. If not, go into the Player Settings and disable the Gateway.

Protoss Forge

Previous Unit: Gateway – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Photon Cannon

Description

The Forge is the first research building available to the Protoss. It allows you to upgrade your Ground Weapons and Armor for your ground units. It also allows you to upgrade your Plasma Shields so that damage taken to your Shield Points is reduced for all Protoss units and buildings. Like everything else, the Forge can only research one upgrade at a time.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	150	0	600	550	550	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	300

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Nexus.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Photon Cannon.

Abilities & Upgrades

Upgrade Ground Weapons: Provides a damage bonus to Ground Units per level. The costs in time and resources will vary from Melee to UMS maps. UMS Maps can also increase the max upgrade level from the default 3 to 255. It starts with a base cost and then can increase each cost from level to level. Below are the default settings for Melee.

- Level 1: Minerals: 100, Vespene Gas: 100, Time: 266.

- Level 2 (Requires Templar Archives): Minerals: 150, Vespene Gas: 150, Time: 298.

- Level 3 (Requires Templar Archives): Minerals: 200, Vespene Gas: 200, Time: 330.

Upgrade Ground Armor: Provides +1 Armor bonus to Ground Units per level. The costs in time and resources will vary from Melee to UMS maps. UMS Maps can also increase the max upgrade level from the default 3 to 255. It starts with a base cost and then can increase each cost from level to level. Below are the default settings for Melee.

- Level 1: Minerals: 100, Vespene Gas: 100, Time: 266.

- Level 2 (Requires Templar Archives): Minerals: 175, Vespene Gas: 175, Time: 298.

- Level 3 (Requires Templar Archives): Minerals: 250, Vespene Gas: 250, Time: 330.

Upgrade Plasma Shields: Provides +1 Plasma Shields bonus to any unit with Shield Points per level. The costs in time and resources will vary from Melee to UMS maps. UMS Maps can also increase the max upgrade level from the default 3 to 255. It starts with a base cost and then can increase each cost from level to level. Below are the default settings for Melee.

- Level 1: Minerals: 200, Vespene Gas: 200, Time: 266.

- Level 2 (Requires Cybernetics Core): Minerals: 300, Vespene Gas: 300, Time: 298.

- Level 3 (Requires Cybernetics Core): Minerals: 400, Vespene Gas: 400, Time: 330.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

The Forge is an important building for any Melee game. You will want to upgrade your units as much as possible. When it comes down to it, if you fight an enemy with the same amount and same units as you do, upgrades will make a big difference. But if you are not going to be using ground units as your main force, you’re best off sticking to the Plasma Shields Upgrades and ignoring the others. If you are on the other hand using ground units, you should build 3 Forges so you can do each upgrade at once.

The Forge is not a big target when attacking a base. I recommend attacking the threats and unit producing buildings, leaving research buildings like this as a last kill.

- Money Melee

Forges in Money maps should always be cranking. You might not need the ground weapons upgrades if you are not focusing on a ground unit army. You should still get at least 2 forges for the Plasma Shields and Ground Armor upgrades.

- Use Map Settings

The Forge is a building that is used mostly in RPGs, UMS Melees, and Defense maps. Due to the upgrade limit being able to be pushed up to 255 with most 3rd party map editors, the Forge gets more useful than before. Typically when you want players to be able to make their units stronger, you’ll give them a Forge somewhere on the map or enable them to build it. Just make sure if you put one on the map that you didn’t want used for upgrading to disable the researching of those upgrades.

Protoss Photon Cannon

Previous Unit: Forge – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Cybernetics Core

Description

Your sole defensive building for the Protoss is the Photon Cannon. Photon Cannons are actually a pretty good deal compared to the other races’ defensive units due to cost and damage. While the other races need to spend much more cash to fill bunkers or build Sunken/Spore Colonies, you get one building that can hit both ground and air for decent damage while detecting cloaked and burrowed units. Photon Cannons do have their downsides though. They are low on overall HP compared to Bunkers and Sunken/Spore Colonies and have a slower attack speed. Most players will agree though that with Photon Cannons, the positives outweigh the negatives.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	150	0	750	100	100	0	0	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	300

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web TARGETABLE	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Forge.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 2×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Nothing.

Weapons

STS Photon Cannon

Attack Speed: Normal

Damage: 20

Damage Bonus: N/A.

Damage Type: Plasma (50% damage against Medium units and 25% against Large units.)

Range: 7

Targets: Ground

STA Photon Cannon

Attack Speed: Normal

Damage: 20

Damage Bonus: N/A.

Damage Type: Plasma (50% damage against Medium units and 25% against Large units.)

Range: 7

Targets: Air

Abilities & Upgrades

Detection: Allows you to see nearby cloaked or burrowed units.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

Photon Cannons are a great defense against rushers and just in general. Good spots to place them are at chokepoints into your base, near your miners (in case of an air attack on them), and if you’re around the edges of a the higher elevation (so you can start attacking melee units while they have to go to a ramp and hit ranged ground units while gaining a cover bonus making them harder to hit). They’re pretty cheap, even in Non Money you can’t go wrong with them.

Don’t forget to protect the Pylons powering your Cannons. If you only have one Pylon providing power to a bunch of Cannons, watch out because one destroyed Pylon can lead to many destroyed Cannons. Always provide extra Pylons for large amounts of Cannons.

When attacking Photon Cannons, the best choice by far is a unit with a long range weapon. Seige Tanks, Reavers, and Guardians can make short work of Cannons or any other defensive building. Just make sure to back them up. Another good choice is to use the Disruption Web ability from a Corsair if you are Protoss and pick them off while they can’t attack.

- Money Melee

For the defensive players, Photon Cannons in Money Maps are a great benefit. They’re cheap and you can surround yourself with plenty of them to detect and fight off any approaching enemies. The best recommendation I can give is if you’re playing a map like a Fastest that’s laid out with only one entrance to your base, you wall it off with other buildings so your enemies can’t pass through without destroying them, while placing Cannons behind them. This will deter every computer player from attacking without siege units. I also recommend placing Observers around the outskirts of your base if you play defensively like this though, because then you can detect any threats before they reach your Cannons.

In a Money Map attacking against Cannons early on can be difficult. Bring in units that hit hard like melee units (not so much with Zerglings. They get wiped out quickly without the faster attack upgrade and a big number of them). Later on, they won’t be a problem if you bring a few siege units like Siege Tanks, Guardians, or Reavers. Make sure to back them up with other units of course. The Disruption Web ability from a Corsair is great if you are Protoss because you can destroy them off while they can’t attack.

- Use Map Settings

Photon Cannons are used most frequently in defense maps. Since they only have a defensive purpose, it’s a natural fit. Make sure when making a map with Photon Cannons to make sure to keep Pylons in mind otherwise you’ll be making a beginner’s mistake. Another mistake to look out for is that Plasma Shields are on the Cannons, so enabling 255 upgrades and giving them the ability to have Cannons can lead to very hard to kill Cannons. One of the coolest uses of Photon Cannons would be stacking, which is placing multiple Photon Cannons on the same spot. You can do this with editors like SCM Draft 2 or StarForge. They will rack up kills like crazy this way.

Protoss Cybernetics Core

Previous Unit: Photon Cannon – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Shield Battery

Description

The second research building for the Protoss is the Cybernetics Core. The counterpart to the Forge, it is for upgrading your Air Weapons and Armor. Like everything else, it can only research one at a time, so warping in 2 would be a good idea. It also houses an upgrade to increase the Dragoon’s weapon range. Last but not least, it’s the requirement to get to the advanced buildings for Protoss.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	200	0	900	500	500	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	300

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Gateway.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Dragoon, Robotics Facility, Stargate, and Citadel of Adun.

Abilities & Upgrades

Upgrade Air Weapons: Provides a damage bonus to Air Units per level. The costs in time and resources will vary from Melee to UMS maps. UMS Maps can also increase the max upgrade level from the default 3 to 255. It starts with a base cost and then can increase each cost from level to level. Below are the default settings for Melee.

- Level 1: Minerals: 100, Vespene Gas: 100, Time: 266.

- Level 2 (Requires Fleet Beacon): Minerals: 175, Vespene Gas: 175, Time: 298.

- Level 3 (Requires Fleet Beacon): Minerals: 250, Vespene Gas: 250, Time: 330.

Upgrade Air Armor: Provides a +1 Armor bonus to Air Units per level. The costs in time and resources will vary from Melee to UMS maps. UMS Maps can also increase the max upgrade level from the default 3 to 255. It starts with a base cost and then can increase each cost from level to level. Below are the default settings for Melee.

- Level 1: Minerals: 150, Vespene Gas: 150, Time: 266.

- Level 2 (Requires Fleet Beacon): Minerals: 225, Vespene Gas: 225, Time: 298.

- Level 3 (Requires Fleet Beacon): Minerals: 300, Vespene Gas: 300, Time: 330.

Develop Singularity Charge: Gives a 50% bonus to the Range of the Dragoon’s Phase Disruptor Weapon, increasing it from 4 to 6.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

The Cybernetics Core is a building you will want to hurry to build if you’re trying to climb the tech tree fast. It provides vital upgrades to those that love to swarm with Carriers. Those who prefer Dragoons will enjoy the range upgrade. This is an important building because it leads to the advanced buildings, but like the Forge it’s not something that enemies will rank as a high priority. If focusing on an air unit army, you will definitely want 2 of these so you can research the Air Armor and Weapons upgrades at the same time.

- Money Melee

Money Maps breed Carrier users. So getting two of these up and running ASAP is important. If you want to focus on ground units, it’s not as important. But keep in mind those who like to Recall ground units in or Unload them with a Shuttle may need the Air Armor upgrade for the Arbiter and Shuttle.

- Use Map Settings

The Cybernetics Core is as important to unit development as a Forge. A lot RPGs, UMS Melees, and Defense games will make providing a Cybernetics Core to players a necessity. Of course, keep in mind if you don’t want people to upgrade to disable the upgrades in the Players Settings. If you want to give Dragoons their increased Range automatically (or disabling it) that’s in the Players Settings too.

Protoss Shield Battery

Previous Unit: Cybernetics Core – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Robotics Facility

Description

Arguably the least used building next to the Infested Command Center, the Protoss Shield Battery has very limited uses. As you probably already know, Protoss units recover their shield points over time. The shield battery’s one ability is Recharge Shields, which acts like a Medic, healing damage dealt to your shield points.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	100	0	450	200	200	200	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	150

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Nothing.

Abilities & Upgrades

Recharge Shields: Uses the Shield Battery’s energy to regenerate the shield points for the target unit. Can only target non building units owned by the player that have shield points.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

The Shield Battery is a very underused unit for a reason: it’s uses are extremely limited and not too helpful. It can be helpful when doing hit and run attacks against targets early on. But loses it’s luster quite quickly. Shield points already regenerate themselves, and while healing them can be nice, it more often than not is a waste of space and Minerals. When attacking a base, ignore the Shield Batteries and focus on the enemy units unless they have at least 3 or 4.

- Money Melee

Refer to the Non Money Melee section for the Shield Battery.

- Use Map Settings

In UMS Maps, Shield Batteries tend to only be used in RPGs for landmarks or in towns. Again, this is a unit where there is not much you can do with it.

Protoss Robotics Facility

Previous Unit: Shield Battery – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Stargate

Description

The Robotics Facility is the only factory building that produces both air and ground units. It can build Shuttles, Reavers, and Observers. These are all tactical units that you can’t just throw at an enemy and then look away. The building is also a requirement for the Robotics Support Bay and Observatory so you can build the latter two units.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	200	200	1200	500	500	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	900

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Shuttles, Reavers (Requires Robotics Support Bay), and Observers (Requires Observatory).

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Cybernetics Core.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Robotics Support Bay, Observatory.

Abilities & Upgrades

Build Shuttle: Creates a Shuttle for 200 Minerals and 2 Psi.

Build Reaver: Creates a Reaver for 200 Minerals, 100 Vespene Gas, and 4 Psi.

Build Observer: Creates an Observer for 25 Minerals, 75 Vespene Gas, and 1 Psi.

Set Rally Point: Select an area on the map to set where created units will move to upon completion.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

Robotics Facilities are not as popular as the other two factories for the Protoss. The units created by it are only good for certain situations (save the observer), and building a Robotics Facility does not open up any buildings’ requirements other than ones that help itself. This being said, Reavers are an expensive but great siege unit. You’ll want them when you have ground units trying to invade a base through a choke point that is covered with enemy defenses. Shuttles are another ground unit supporter, allowing you to transport a certain number of each unit to another location and drop them off there. This can be useful in island maps, getting probes to expansion bases (or to start a new one), or just plain old dropping in ground units into an enemy base. Observers are the last of the units it creates, and are cheap cloaked detectors making them great for any situation.

All and all, the main combat unit you’ll get from this is a Reaver which is very expensive. The two support units are nice, but not always necessary. Rush for making this building if you want them, otherwise save your minerals.

- Money Melee

Money maps let you get so loaded with cash you really just have to think about what your attack force will be made up off. The Robotics Facility can only create the Reaver for combat. But a Shuttle might help you if you want to use ground units. And Observers are always good if you have the free psi since they’re so cheap. If you have some free minerals or want some of these units, buy one. Otherwise don’t worry about it.

- Use Map Settings

Robotics Facilities are in UMS Melee Maps and also make their use as landmarks or town buildings in RPGs. As a factory building, you’ll want to make sure to disable units accordingly so players don’t build things you didn’t intend for.

Protoss Stargate

Previous Unit: Robotics Facility – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Citadel Of Adun

Description

The factory building for all Protoss combat air units, the Stargate is an important advanced building. Being able to manufacture Scouts, Arbiters, and Corsairs is great, but they can also build the powerhouse Carriers. Aside from being able to construct some strong air units, the Stargate is also a building requirement for the Fleet Beacon and Arbiter Tribunal.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	150	150	1050	600	600	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	900

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Scout, Corsair, Carrier (Requires Fleet Beacon), and Arbiter (Requires Arbiter Tribunal).

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Cybernetics Core.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 4×3 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Fleet Beacon, Arbiter Tribunal.

Abilities & Upgrades

Warp in Scout: Creates a Scout for 275 Minerals, 125 Vespene Gas, and 3 Psi.

Warp in Corsair: Creates a Corsair for 150 Minerals, 100 Vespene Gas, and 2 Psi.

Warp in Carrier: Creates a Carrier for 350 Minerals, 250 Vespene Gas, and 6 Psi.

Warp in Arbiter: Creates an Arbiter for 100 Minerals, 350 Vespene Gas, and 4 Psi.

Set Rally Point: Select an area on the map to set where created units will move to upon completion.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

Any player who wants to go with air units for their main force needs a Stargate. Actually, you’ll want to build more than one. Rushing to build one of these can be great, if you want to attack an enemy very early on in the game with a Scout rush so those not protected against air yet get destroyed. Scouts are not powerful, but do make for a quick attacker. Corsairs are great anti air and their Disruption Web can be a quick way to knock down enemy defenses. Carriers are great against computer players, but against humans you’ll want a little back up in some form. Arbiters are good for cloaking a force the enemies don’t have detection on. The Arbiter’s Recall can be better than Shuttle transporting units. The Stasis Field ability they have is great against a mob of close enemies.

You’ll probably end up using a Stargate for the units in some way. So unless you’re rushing with Zealots and Dragoons I would recommend getting one.

When fighting against a Protoss player, wiping out their Stargate can be a critical loss if they don’t have any others.

- Money Melee

Money maps with Protoss players usually breed Carriers. So getting multiple Stargates quickly so you can get to the Fleet Beacon and start building some is a great idea. The Fleet Beacon will allow you to upgrade their Interceptor amount, and lets you upgrade your Air Armor and Weapons past level 1. If you are going to be using any kind of air units, get one of these as soon you feel you can.

- Use Map Settings

Stargates are in UMS Melee Maps and also make their use as landmarks or town buildings in RPGs. As a factory building, you’ll want to make sure to disable units accordingly so players don’t build things you didn’t intend for.

Protoss Citadel Of Adun

Previous Unit: Stargate – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Robotics Support Bay

Description

A stepping stone to the final ground unit research building, the Citadel Of Adun is another building with limited uses. It is a research building that allows you to upgrade your Zealot’s speed with Leg Enhancements. Most importantly, it’s the requirement to the Templar Archives.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	150	100	900	450	450	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	600

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Cybernetics Core.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Templar Archives.

Abilities & Upgrades

Develop Leg Enhancements: Increases the movement speed of the Zealot by close to 50% .

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

The Citadel of Adun is mainly just a required building for the Templar Archives. The Leg Enhancements upgrade shouldn’t be overlooked if you want to use Zealots though. With this upgrade they are much more effective against Hydralisks, Siege Tanks, and other ranged ground units. If you have a Shield Battery, you can use the upgrade to your advantage and do hit and run attacks with Zealots.

The Citadel Of Adun is a requirement for the Templar Archives. So if you want to upgrade your Ground Armor and Weapons, build High and Dark Templar, or want the Arbiter Tribunal you need one of these first.

- Money Melee

Refer to Non Money Melee.

- Use Map Settings

The Citadel Of Adun is another unit mainly used in UMS Melees and as decoration in RPG maps. If you do not want the player who owns it to buy the Zealot speed upgrade make sure to disable it in the Players Settings.

Protoss Robotics Support Bay

Previous Unit: Citadel Of Adun – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Fleet Beacon

Description

The Robotics Support Bay is basically the home to the Reaver. Aside from letting you build them at a Robotics Facility, It allows you to increase the damage of the Scarabs Reavers use as well as the maximum number they can carry. It also has a Shuttle upgrade to increase its speed.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	150	100	450	450	450	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	375

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Robotics Facility.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Reavers.

Abilities & Upgrades

Upgrade Scarab Damage: Provides a damage bonus to Scarabs per level. The costs in time and resources will vary from Melee to UMS maps. UMS Maps can also increase the max upgrade level from the default 1 to 255. It starts with a base cost and then can increase each cost from level to level. Below are the default settings for Melee.

- Level 1: Minerals: 200, Vespene Gas: 200, Time: 166.

Increase Reaver Capacity: Increases the maximum number of Scarabs a Reaver can carry from 5 to 10.

Develop Gravitic Drive: Increases the movement speed of the Shuttle by close to 50%.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

If you are going to be using Reavers, the Robotics Support Bay is required. It’s also the best building to upgrade them. It increases the capacity which is good if you’re using a lot of Reavers (Not normally a good idea). The Scarab Damage upgrade gives them a 25 damage boost which is nice as well. The Shuttle Upgrade is a good idea for those who like to use transports because it makes it the fastest transport unit. But all in all, if you don’t want Reavers or Shuttles, you don’t want this building.

- Money Melee

Refer to Non Money Melee.

- Use Map Settings

The Robotics Support Bay gets a boost in UMS from 3rd party map editors. The feature to increase the max level on the Scarab Damage upgrade has led to Reaver Defense maps and is useful in other UMS games. But mainly this building is just for Reavers. So if you’re just using it for decoration in an RPG map or something then make sure to disable the upgrades in the Players Settings.

Protoss Fleet Beacon

Previous Unit: Robotics Support Bay – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Templar Archives

Description

Protoss Air Units have a good research building in the Fleet Beacon. It provides upgrades to the Scout making it faster and better at, well, scouting with the sight upgrade. The Corsair gets a boost from an increase in max energy upgrade, as well as the helpful offensive ability Disruption Web. Finally, much like the Robotics Support Bay with the Reaver, the Fleet Beacon has an upgrade to increase the Carrier’s max capacity when it comes to storing Interceptors. The Fleet Beacon is also a requirement for upgrading Air Armor and Weapons past level 1 at the Cybernetics Core. And to top it off, it is a requirement for Carriers and the Arbiter Tribunal.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	300	200	900	500	500	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	1050

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Stargate.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Carriers, Arbiter Tribunal.

Abilities & Upgrades

Develop Apial Sensors: Increases the sight range of Scouts.

Develop Gravitic Thrusters: Increases the movement speed of the Scout by close to 50%.

Increase Carrier Capacity: Increases the maximum number of Interceptors a Carrier can hold from 4 to 8.

Develop Disruption Web: Unlocks the Disruption Web ability for Corsairs.

Develop Argus Jewel: Increases the maximum Energy Points for Corsairs from 200 to 250.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

For Air Units, the Fleet Beacon is a great resource when it comes to just about everything aside from people who just want to rush with Scouts and Corsairs and not upgrade them. You get the majority of upgrades for air units here and it unlocks upgrades for Air Armor and Weapons past level 1 as well, making it the best Protoss air unit research building. If you want to use Air Units, you’ll be getting one of these. The decision on how quickly you get there is up to you. Unlike the Forge or Cybernetics Core, I would only get one of these because there’s 2 upgrades for the Scout, 2 for the Corsair, and 1 for the Carrier. That’s a lot of upgrades but they do not take long to research and you’ll probably be looking for one or two and the rest are just icing on the cake.

You do not really need to worry about enemies’ Fleet Beacons right away. Aim for enemy units and factories first.

- Money Melee

Refer to Non Money Melee.

- Use Map Settings

The Fleet Beacon is used in UMS maps primarily in RPGs and Defense maps. Mainly used for the Cybernetics Core being allowed to upgrade past level 1 requirement and for land marks in towns. Don’t forget to put one of these somewhere for the player if you want them to be able to do that. It’s an easily overlooked mistake.

Protoss Templar Archives

Previous Unit: Fleet Beacon – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Observatory

Description

Home to the powerful Protoss Templars and Archons, the Templar Archives serves as a research building to upgrade those units only. There are also two powerful spells you can gain for the High Templars and for the Dark Archons at the Templar Archives. Finally, the building is a requirement for leveling up your Ground Armor and Weapons at the Forge. All in all a good building to wrap things up for ground units.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	150	200	900	500	500	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	750

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Citadel of Adun.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: High Templar, Dark Templar, Arbiter Tribunal.

Abilities & Upgrades

Develop Psionic Storm: Unlocks the Psionic Storm ability for High Templars.

Develop Hallucination:Unlocks the Hallucination ability for High Templars.

Develop Khaydarin Amulet: Increases the maximum Energy Points for High Templars from 200 to 250.

Develop Mind Control : Unlocks the Mind Control ability for Dark Archons.

Develop Maelstrom: Unlocks the Maelstrom ability for Dark Archons.

Develop Argus Talisman: Increases the maximum Energy Points for Dark Archons from 200 to 250.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

Templar Archives is a great building to have for the Protoss, mainly if you’re doing ground units. Unless you want Arbiters you might want to pool your resources into Air Upgrades instead. Templars and Archons should not be overlooked though. A good High Templar drop near an enemy’s workers and you are a Psi Storm away from hurting their economy significantly. A good amount of Dark Archons can hold back Zerg forces with Maelstrom, Feedback Protoss and Terran Forces, or just Mind Control whenever something threatening comes around. Keep in mind with Mind Control as well you can gain upgrades for just Energy by Mind Controlling enemy units that already have higher upgrade levels than you. The Arbiter Tribunal that you can get once you fill the Templar Archives and Fleet Beacon requirement can get you some Arbiters to recall Dark Templar and Archons into the field quickly too.

If you can pull off a ground unit army, you will need a Templar Archives at some point. When attacking an enemy base, don’t worry about it so much until all are threats are taken care of.

- Money Melee

Refer to Non Money Melee.

- Use Map Settings

The Templar Archives is used in UMS maps primarily in RPGs and Defense maps. Mainly used for the Forge being allowed to upgrade past level 1 requirement and for land marks in towns. Don’t forget to put one of these somewhere for the player if you want them to be able to do that. It’s an easily overlooked mistake. Also, the abilities you can learn here are sometimes appropriate level up or such bonuses in RPGs.

Protoss Observatory

Previous Unit: Templar Archives – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Arbiter Tribunal

Description

The Protoss Observer gets its own research building in StarCraft Brood War. The Observatory enables the creation of Observers at the Robotics Facility. The secondary function is supplying two upgrades you can buy for the Observer increasing its speed and sight range. Observers are almost always a good call and serve as the only mobile detection unit for the Protoss short of using area hitting abilities where you think cloaked enemies are.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	50	100	450	250	250	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	525

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Robotics Facility.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Observers.

Abilities & Upgrades

Develop Gravitic Booster: Increases the movement speed of Observers by close to 50%.

Develop Sensor Array: Increases the sight range of Observers.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

Observers are one of the best detection units in the game. They not only detect cloaked units, but cloak themselves. On the flip side, they have low HP and SP which can cause them trouble if spotted. The Observatory enables Observers and also allows you to increase their detection range and speed to get away from enemies or get to them quicker. That’s up to you. The Observatory is a good building to have, simply because Observers are good to have on the field with your ground and air forces, simply at an enemy’s base, or around the perimeter of your own to detect incoming enemies before they see you.

As with other research buildings for Protoss, these should be a target only after all other threats and factories.

- Money Melee

Refer to Non Money Melee. Also, Observers are cheap to begin with. You can mass produce these guys easily in Money Maps. And that makes it great to get a huge view of the map (the sooner the better). So you’ll want to get the sight upgrade from the Observator and then get them out there. However, while they do not cost much in Psi, a lot of them will. So use them wisely or bounce them when you start maxing out on Psi.

- Use Map Settings

The Observatory is another building mostly used as a landmark in UMS maps. Specifically RPGs and Defense maps. When available in UMS Melee maps, make use of them as you would normally.

Protoss Arbiter Tribunal

Previous Unit: Observatory – Jump to Top – Next Unit: Probe

Description

The Arbiter Tribunal gives access to the Arbiter and upgrades to it. Arbiters are air units built at the Stargate that can cloak all nearby units you control. The upgrades give you some nice tactical abilities and an Energy upgrade to the Arbiter. It is the final Protoss building due to the high requirements for building it in the tech tree.

Building Statistics
			Time Requirement	HP	Shields	Energy	Armor	Armor Type	Razings Score
0	200	150	900	500	500	0	1	Large (75% Resistance to Concussive)	1350

Building Ability Resistances All other abilities cannot target Buildings.
Activate EMP Shockwave TARGETABLE	Dark Swarm TARGETABLE	Disruption Web NO EFFECT	Infest Terran Command Center NO EFFECT	Nuclear Strike TARGETABLE	Plague TARGETABLE	Repair NO EFFECT	Yamato Gun TARGETABLE

Requirements & Tech

Creates: Nothing.

Units/Abilities/Buildings Required: Built by Probe. Requires Fleet Beacon and Templar ArchivesArbiters.

Unit/Building Placement Requirements: 3×2 Size. Requires Pylon’s aura to build and to be powered.

Enables Creation of: Arbiters.

Abilities & Upgrades

Develop Recall: Unlocks the Recall ability for Arbiters.

Develop Stasis Field: Unlocks the Stasis Field ability for Arbiters.

Develop Khaydarin Core: Increases the maximum Energy Points for Arbiters from 200 to 250.

Protoss Plasma Shields: +1 per upgrade from Forge.

Strategy

- Non Money Melee

Arbiters are great support units, not great fighters. So you will need to have back up for them otherwise any ability you try to use with them can be ruined by the enemy shooting it out of the sky. Recall is a fantastic ability allowing you to transport a chunk of units in a matter of seconds from one spot on the map to where the Arbiter is. This is great in combination with strong units such as Archons, Dark Templar, Carriers, etc. Warping over a group of Zealots into an opponent’s mineral area can take out their workers quickly. Another great ability is Stasis Field. Stasis Field will freeze enemy units in an area for a good 40 seconds while you can use that time wisely.

If you feel that you do not need Arbiters though, that is the only reason to get an Arbiter Tribunal. So you can skip out on it and save the money for something else. As with most other research buildings, they do not pose a threat while attacking an enemy base so save them for last.

- Money Melee

Refer to Non Money Melee. Arbiters are expensive in Psi and resources. The resources do not matter as much in these kinds of maps. So as long as you can spare the Psi, it’s a good idea to take advantage of an Arbiter.

- Use Map Settings

The Arbiter Tribunal is another building mostly used as a landmark in UMS maps. Specifically RPGs and Defense maps. When available in UMS Melee maps, make use of them as you would normally.

Unit	Size				Armor	HP	Shield	Ground Attack	Air Attack	Cool	Range	Attack Mod	Sight	Notes	Build Time
Arbiter	L	4	100	350	1	200	150	10e	10e	45	5	1	9	SA	160
Archon	L	4	100	300	0	10	350	30s	30s	20	2	3	8		20
Carrier	L	6	350	250	4	300	150	6	6		8	1	11		140
Dragoon	L	2	125	50	1	100	80	20e	20e	30	4/6 upg.	2	8		40
High Templar	S	2	50	150	0	40	40	0	0		0	0	7	B,SA	50
Observer	S	1	25	75	0	40	20	0	0		0	0	9/11 upg.	D	40
Photon Cannon	L	0	150	0	0	100	100	20	20	22	7	0	11	D	50
Probe	S	1	50	0	0	20	20	5	0	22	1	0	8	W	20
Reaver	L	4	200	100	0	100	80	100s/ 125s upg.	0	60	8	0	10		70
Scout	L	3	275	125	0	150	100	8	28e	30Gnd/ 22Air	4	1Gnd/ 2Air	8/10 upg.		80
Shuttle	L	2	200	0	1	80	60	0	0		0	0	8	T	60
Zealot	S	2	100	0	1	100	60	16	0	22	1	2	7	B	40
Corsair	M	2	150	100	1	100	80	0	5es	8	5	1	9	SA	40
Dark Archon	L	4	250	200	1	25	200	0	0		0	0	10	SA	20
Dark Templar	S	2	125	100	1	80	40	40	0	30	1	3	7	B	50
Cool is the time between the ending of the attack and the beginning of another. Attack Mod is the Damage modifier for each level of upgrade. Gnd is Ground attack for units with split Air/Ground Weapon Systems Air is Air attack for units with split Air/Ground Weapon Systems Upg is a stat change after getting an upgrade Red indicates that the information is specific to Starcraft Brood War. Towers such as the Photon Cannon have a detection range of 7. Mobile detectors such as the Observer have a detection range of 11. This is independent of sight range. Attacks: E indicates Explosive Attack (50% damage to Small Units 75% damage to Medium Units, full damage to Large Units). C indicates Concussive/Plasma damage Attack (50% damage to Medium Units 25% dam to Large Units). S indicates Splash damage, which affects all units in the blast area. Notes: B indicates Biological D = Unit can Detect Cloaked/Burrowed units SA = Unit has one or more Special Abilities (is a spell-caster) T = Transport W = Worker

Units in Red are Brood War only.

Protoss
Psionic Storm
Hallucination
Disruption Web
Recall
Stasis Field
Feedback
Mind Control
Maelstrom

Heal

Used By: Medic
Energy Cost: N/A
Description: The Medic starts with this ability and may use it to heal damage done to any ground biological units, including the Protoss Zealot, Dark Templar, High Templar and all Zerg ground units. It heals 2 HP per energy.
Rating: B+
Commentary: Heal is excellent with Marines and other infantry. Works very well with stimpacked Marines. However, Medics will often run off and heal each other without proper micromanagement.

Restoration

Used By: Medic
Energy Cost: 50
Description: The Medic may use this ability on any unit to remove harmful effects such as Lockdown, Optic Flares, Irradiate, Devourer Acid Spores, Plague, Ensnare and Parasites (does not affect Stasis Field).
Rating: C-
Commentary: While restoration does have it’s uses, it’s not very practical and not used very often.

Optical Flare

Used By: Medic
Energy Cost: 75
Description: The sight range of the targeted unit is permanently reduced to 1 matrix, unless the condition is Restored by a Medic. This also removes any detection ability that unit may possess. The affected unit will display a ‘Blinded’ tag in its information box when selected.
Rating: D
Commentary: In my opinion, the worst spell in the game. Optical Flare isn’t exactly good for blinding attack units, but it can work well against detectors.

Lockdown

Used By: Ghost
Energy Cost: 100
Description: Lockdown Targets mechanical units shorting out circuitry of target, rendering it immobile for about 60 seconds. The Locked down unit cannot be controlled in any way. You also cannot use any of their special abilities if that particular unit has any. You can repair Terran locked down units.
Rating: B+
Commentary: Lockdown is really helpful for freezing enemy units, but requires good micromanagement.

Yamato Gun