En Taro Adun. Hccch. Akkk. Sorry, this cold's got me sneezing all over the place. Now then... Ah yes. The Protoss Psi-Boys. Very well hard, and as such possibly the most used race on Battle.Net. Whilst I'm a Zerg player most commonly, if the other side have gone Protoss I'm quite happy to match them. If you have 2 Protoss against you, and they're even half decent then I would strongly advise that your team goes Protoss too. On with the show...

Zealots

As basic units go, these are the creme de la creme. Expensive, yes, but then all Protoss units are. Note that they also need 2 points worth of supply. They're shielded, and they have more than double the hit points of comparable units once you've punched through the shields. Their Psi Blades mean business too, but they do have to get up close and personal before they can use them. Prior to upgrading they are also relatively slow, so although Zealots can take down bunkers be wary of sending them up against a group of them, because they could get crippled in the time it takes them to reach the target. Try and keep Zealots in a crowd if facing Zerglings, because that will reduce the chance of a Zealot getting surrounded by 8 of them at once. If you're going up against enemies with range weapons like Hydras, try and do the equivalent of a cavalry charge so that your front row of Zealots can take on as many in the enemy front row as possible. Zealots may be tough for basic units but they are not invulnerable. As with Hydras, attack with units to spare.

High Templars/Archons

OK. I don't LIKE High Templars. Why? Well, for them to be any use at all you have to research the Psi Storm. They're also horribly slow movers. Fair enough, the Psi Storm is nasty; its area of effect is something like a small nuke and it does wonders for crowds of Zerg if they hold still while you zap them. However, it kills the troops you have engaged with them just as efficiently. If you have gas to spare, fine. If not... Oh, yeah, they do the Hallucinations thing too, but as with the Psi Storm, you have to trigger it yourself and it takes a hell of a lot of energy. There's no time for it in a manic game.
If you've opted to make HTs, then for any sake merge the buggers. Archons are far more useful. Power overwhelming indeed. Ground and air attack, only moderate range, but rate of fire is decent. Very few hit points but a big strong shield. What that means is that if a Terran Science Vessel EMPs a group of Archons they turn into complete wimps. You should find them a Shield Battery and recharge them immediately. Still, working as a group in the front lines or near them they are formidable, and you don't pay for the merging, just for the 2 HTs. Good value, if you can keep their shields up.

Dragoons

These are a match for the Terran Goliaths and Zerg Hydras. I have certain reservations about them as units go. The problem is that they take quite a while to warp in, and their rate of fire isn't all that hot. I also find that because of their size, if you're on a narrowish strip of land and your Zealots have gone in first, the damn things can't actually get near enough to the front line to back up the Zealots. Ideally they need to be used in the open on the flanks, so that they can provide effective air and ground support for the Zealots. In that respect they are vital, in that they are the only mobile air attack capacity the Protoss have early in the game. They have their place, but if you don't have Zealots for backup, they'll suffer from the Siege Tank syndrome of being outclassed by the sheer number of opponents able to attack them at once. A good squad of them is very capable, but they really do need the backup...

Reavers

Slow. Excruciatingly so. In terms of movement and rate of fire. And you have to build their firepower. But if you upgrade the damage done by the Scarabs, and increase the basic carrying capacity, you have one seriouly powerful ground attack... caterpillar. Useful for putting on hold behind Photon Canons as a base defender. In front line combat it's something of a liability due to the splash damage a Scarab generates, similar in effect to a Siege Tank's shots. Unfortunately you may have to absorb the collateral damage because no way will a Reaver survive by itself. Then again, there are always...

Shuttles

Dropships by any other name... However, unlike Dropships, you can get these boys built pretty early in the game. Which brings us to the Reaver drop. This is a rather cunning little manouevre which requires you to keep a close eye on what's going on. Basically, each Shuttle can take 2 Reavers and can pick them up very quickly. So, you find a nice big crowd of Zerglings or Zealots, possibly Firebats too, and you drop your Reavers so that they at a safe distance but can open up on the enemy. When the enemy responds, if you don't think the Reavers can handle it, just pick them up and move them to safer ground. Arguably easier said than done, but if you can get a pair of Reavers inside an enemy base next to his gatherers, just long enough for them to send 2 Scarabs in amongst them, you'll hurt his ability to mine a great deal. Expect or use this tactic if the bases are on high ground with only one approach ramp from below. Guarding a base from air drops may be expensive, but if your troops are en route somewhere and you suddenly have an enemy force in your base you'll be in very big trouble. Upgrade your shuttles' speed if you're intending to make drops a major part of your strategy.

Observers

Cloaked detectors. Sounds like an oxymoron, but who cares when they're so damned useful. The nice thing is you don't have to worry about them decloaking like Wraiths always do at inopportune moments. Get an Observer in around a base's defences and it's almost like a Zerg Parasite. Of course if any detectors are around it'll be nailed pretty damn fast, but used with care and kept patrolling they can be invaluable as early warning and intelligence gathering devices. Particularly handy if you have some Scouts and run into cloaked Wraiths because odds are the Wraiths won't be in a position to take out what's detecting them. Nice.

Scouts

VERY expensive for what they are, but given that your main foot soldier can't defend itself against air attacks you'll probably find the investment worthwhile. They're easily a match for Wraiths one on one. With upgraded shields half a dozen could probably hold a force of enemy air units into double figures. Add Shield Batteries into the equation and you're looking at air superiority, for a price. Best use is really in a support role for Carriers or Zealots. If Scourges go for Carriers, hopefully Scouts will kill enough of them to save some if not all of the Carriers.

Carriers

Upgrade their Interceptor capacity as a priority. Beyond that, build the Interceptors and watch the fireworks but make sure they don't go out to play without company. As with Scouts, about six in a group would be pretty solid. As with Zerg Guardians, it pays to keep them holding at a distance while the Interceptors make their attacks at range. Keep your Scouts between the Carriers and the enemy. If you handle it right, Carriers can be every bit as effective as Guardians, and they also hit air targets. For the price they're arguably the best all round unit you can get. Beware of nuke strikes on Carrier groups. They're big, so it's easy for them to obscure that red dot. I once lost a whole bunch of Carriers to a nuke attack in an island scenario. Similarly, beware Psi Storms and Plagues. Both could catch Carriers unaware, and you might want to manually target with a couple of Carriers to try and avoid those problems.

Arbiters

If you've been a really good boy Santa may get you an Arbiter to play with. Top marks for funky area cloaking effect, penalties for the fact that the Arbiter itself remaining uncloaked makes it the centre of attention..! The Stasis Field upgrade could buy you time to get a defence ready, while the Recall development can do a speed of light dropship effect for a surprising large number of troops if you can get them into a nice huddle. Although I've never done it on Battle.Net, I once finished the single player game by teleporting half a dozen Carriers and assorted Archons, Zealots and Dragoons right into the middle of the Zerg area. Laugh? I did, the Zerg didn't..! Oh, yeah, the Arbiter can shoot as well. Let's face it, for the price, it'd better come with a passenger side airbag as standard too..!

General

The Protoss are a horribly expensive race, and the units also place high demands on supply in the form of Pylons, so make sure you keep ahead of your needs in terms of Probes and Pylons. Fortunately Pylons are quite compact and bunch together easily. For some reason everyone makes nice symmetrical Protoss bases these days... Three Gateways are not unusual. The most recent patch changed the nature of Photon Canons so that apparently they're now more effective. Until you get Observers they're the only detectors you have, but they are quite expensive and relatively weak with moderate range. Don't go over the top with them. Early on Zealots are the order of the day. Get your Probes and Gateways up and go from there. Whilst you'll always make a Cybernetics Core and be able to make Dragoons, I'd suggest you only follow one of the advanced building paths initially. That means you'll go for air superiority, or Reavers, Shuttles and Observers, or High Templars and Archons. Discuss it with your team mate and make sure you have ground and air well covered between you. Shield Batteries can be handy. Note that upgrading shields will benefit your buildings as well as your units, buying you time to save a building. Plan ahead; use your resources to get the right building or upgrade at the right time, and don't waste troops in piecemeal attacks. All or nothing.

Brood War

The Protoss do quite well out of the Brood War expansion. In the past Dark Templars were only available as special units in the original StarCraft; now you can make them yourself. Less tough than Zealots, they do however pack a lot of damage with their hand to hand weapons and are permanently cloaked. They can also merge to form the Dark Archon which has a range of psi powers, ranging from the ability to stun ground units up to actually mind controlling them. As with the High Templars these abilities require you to use them, which isn't always possible, and the use of some of the powers drains their shields completely making them horribly vulnerable. I've only ever seen Computers making use of them in multiplayer. The other new Protoss unit is the Corsair. This is another air to air unit, which can also fire a disruption web which knocks out ground to air defence systems like missile turrets and photon cannons, plus Goliaths and Hydras within its area of effect. Again, tricky to use in that way, and like other air to air units only effective in numbers. Quite weak, but relatively cheap and a fast flyer - useful for scouting and annoying unprotected Overlords with.

For Aiur!

Last updated 31 January 2002