Rak'Shir (mission)

Rak'Shir is a mission in the campaign of Legacy of the Void, and the second mission in the Tal'darim storyline.

Background
""The darkness within calls for the blood of Ma'lash. Now is the hour of my ascendance! Let Rak'Shir commence!"

- Alarak

After defeating his guardians, Alarak challenged Highlord Ma'lash to Rak'Shir, a ceremonial duel to the death for leadership of the Tal'darim. The two met at the Pit of Sacrifice, and though neither could be directly aided by their allies, the could be aided through psionic support.

Mission
""Our master has already won Alarak. You lead our people to their doom." "You are right about one thing Ma'lash. I will lead them."

- Ma'lash and Alarak

Alarak and Ma'lash engaged in combat, but were evenly matched. With psionic support, one could easily overpower the other and push them toward the Pit of Sacrifice. Around them, the Daelaam and the Tal'darim engaged in a fight for control of the area around the two, allowing them to give their psionic support. Ma'lash deployed hybrids for both his defense and for engaging the Daelaam base directly in order to push them from the battlefield.

Karax discovered the native Slayn elementals had solarite signatures, and that they excrement the substance. This solarite could be used to improve the Spear of Adun.

After a long battle, the Daelaam cleared the Tal'darim and hybrid around the Pit of Sacrifice and Alarak pushed the highlord into the pit. With Ma'lash dead, Alarak was the new Highlord of the Tal'darim. He informed the Tal'darim around them of Amon's betrayal, and that the Tal'darim would now wage war against their former god.

Aftermath
""Do your people believe in this cause as you do?" "What they believe is of little consequence. What matters is that they obey."

- Artanis and Alarak

Alarak and Artanis discussed the future of their two people aboard the Spear of Adun. Now that the Death Fleet was under Alarak, he stated he would use them to avenge Amon's betrayal. Artanis wished to form an alliance, and Alarak stated that would only be possible if Artanis submitted to his authority. Artanis firmly stated that the only way either could win was to unite, and that he shouldn't test his patience. Alarak was amused by this, and affirmed that they had struck another bargain in the conflict against Amon.

Walkthrough
The player starts in the northeastern corner, with Alarak and Ma'lash fighting in the center. As long as both or neither faction is near the two, they will not move, but if one faction is close to them they will start to push for the other pit.

A balanced force of ground units and void rays/destroyers will be helpful, as Ma'lash will send large forces both at the main base and the two of them. Alarak pushes further, Tal'darim static defenses must be cleared out.

For bonus objectives and achievements that require pulling forces away from the two's fight, push with Alarak until he hits a Tal'darim building. Leaving that and a small contingent of forces will mean the two of them will be evenly matched, and thus the two will not move. This allows the majority of the player's forces to be free to wander the map, but caution must be taken as Ma'lash will send attack waves toward himself every so often.

The Slayn elementals have a lockdown attack, and thus should only be approached once sufficient numbers have been reached. A large fleet of void rays or destroyers should be able to destroy them fairly quickly, but take care to remove the stun that it puts on attacking units.