StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty


 * Zeratul: "I bring tidings of doom. The xel'naga return, the cycle nears its end, the artifacts are the key."
 * Jim Raynor: "The key... the key to what?"
 * Zeratul: "To the end of all things."
 * - Zeratul delivers a warning to Jim Raynorsrc

Wings of Liberty is the name of the StarCraft II terran campaign and episode. It was released on July 27, 2010.

It was the first StarCraft II product and was released separately from the two expansions, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void, occurring before them chronologically.

Wings of Liberty has 29 missions (though a maximum of 26 are playable in a single playthrough).

It has 13 minutes of pre-rendered cinematics and 32 minutes of in-engine on-the-fly cinematics.

Campaign Overview
The terran campaign focused on Raynor's Raiders, which had become a mercenary force based in the Hyperion. The campaign started at Mar Sara, site of the start of the original StarCraft.

Jim Raynor is "the central hero and character of the campaign," which focuses on his fight against the Terran Dominion as well as his relationship with Sarah Kerrigan.

Raynor's forces were out of money and morale, but Raynor had been trying to reverse this by acquiring alien artifacts and selling them to the mysterious.

Mechanics
The campaign is expected to take 20-60 hours to complete, depending on how "completist" the player is.

In the terran campaign, players could choose their own missions in the middle of the campaign rather than progress through a set series. The missions are designed to emphasize player choice, such as which technology to buy and which missions to play. The choices will be made obvious, and affect the fate of some characters.

Mission and cinematic replays can be viewed and data displayed. Missions can even be played again in order to get achievements.

All missions except the final Char missions add a new unit to the arsenal. The mission is generally tailored to be challenging when using the new unit. Delaying a mission to expand the arsenal by playing other missions first can alleviate much of that difficulty.

Character Interactions
Jim Raynor is the main character, and the player will direct him, determining to some extent who Raynor will become based on their choices. This is different from the "vague" player character from StarCraft.

The player will have the choice of bending Raynor's path in life (by taking missions from certain characters such as Ariel Hanson compared to taking missions from characters such as Tychus Findlay and Gabriel Tosh).

Interactions in briefings also changed, as Jim Raynor can interact with those around him (e.g. he can walk around the Hyperion or talk to characters like Tychus Findlay and his second-in-command Matt Horner. The player can choose which characters to interact with.

Often missions are associated with different characters. For instance, Jim Raynor can choose between allying with Gabriel Tosh or Nova. If the former mission is concluded, Raynor's Raiders can create spectres and Tosh remains on his team. If the latter mission is chosen, Raynor's Raiders can create s and Nova kills Tosh.

Sets
Numerous between-mission set pieces exist, such as the bar on Mar Sara where Tychus Findlay was reunited with Jim Raynor, and includes features such as a jukebox (which enables music to be turned on or off), a bulletin board containing useful information (such as wanted posters) and nostalgic pieces (such as a picture of Raynor and Findlay in the Heaven's Devils), and a TV set which showed newscasts informing Raynor about events affecting the Terran Dominion.

Armory
The Hyperion's armory is the favored hangout of engineer Rory Swann. It also contains a simulator to test new units.

In StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, players can buy new upgrades here. Players can "customize" their selections which suit their playstyles, for instance buying defensive upgrades for bunkers would suit a defensive playstyle. When a new upgrade is bought, a short video of the unit or ability is shown.

Bridge
The bridge of the Hyperion is where mission briefings take place. Matt Horner is usually stationed here.

The Battle Report screen allows missions to be replayed. Alternate missions can be played and although doing so will not affect the plot of a particular run through of Wings of Liberty, the missions' achievements can be earned, and credit for doing them (for achievements that have you complete all 29 missions) is also earned. Battle Reports of each mission are generated with stats ranging from SCV count to the actual build order.

Cantina
The ship houses an on-board cantina, where Jim Raynor has been known to drink.

The cantina features TV sets (to watch the news) and a jukebox stolen from a bar on Mar Sara. Newly-introduced characters often congregate here, news reports can be watched and decorations for completing a particular arc of the campaign (such as the UNN plaque Findlay took after Media Blitz, or the banner given to Raynor by the Haven colonists after Safe Haven) can be viewed above the door.

The game Lost Viking can be played here.

Graven Hill Mercenary recruiter Graven Hill hangs out here.

Gabriel Tosh Gabriel Tosh hangs out here.

Lab
The laboratory provides upgrades and additional units in campaign mode. There are two research trees: zerg and protoss. Progression up the zerg tree is through accumulating zerg research points in missions, with protoss research points being applied to the protoss tree. Collecting points and advancing up the trees are a type of quest.

Points are applied to the tree cumulatively; points are not expended like credits. A tree level is unlocked for every five points accumulated. Each level has two upgrades/unit options, but only one may be chosen. An option must be chosen at each level for the tree to progress.

Once a tree has reached 25 points there are no further upgrades or units. Points beyond the 25 may be sold to the Möebius Foundation for 10,000 credits each.

Dr. Ariel Hanson and Egon Stetmann spend their time in the lab.

Unit and Upgrade Availability
Units will become available in the campaign through missions. The player can also gain access to upgrades for them which are purchased outside actual missions in the Hyperion armory. Players will be able to "customize" their selections which suit their playstyles, for instance buying defensive upgrades for bunkers would suit a defensive playstyle. In addition, other upgrades that will never be seen in multiplayer, such as area-of-effect increases or the ability to add both a tech lab and a reactor to a barracks will be included in the system.

Most missions completed gives access to a unit or upgrade to a unit. Each unit has two upgrades.

There are only enough credits to purchase approximately 80% of upgrades in the campaign.

Raynor's Raiders will have access to some older technology, such as Wraiths, goliaths and medics.

Protoss Mini-Campaign
Wings of Liberty includes a protoss mini-campaign. It must be unlocked. It will consist of a series of missions, and will include other protoss forces. The mini-campaign is not separate from the main terran campaign; rather, there are missions where the player plays as protoss.

The mini-campaign is presented as a flashback of Zeratul's actions.

Mission Types


The mission types are varied; early missions are focused on acquiring credits and equipment. One mission consists of a series of train robberies (The Great Train Robbery). The third mission is a hold-out mission.

Other missions include one where lava rises every five minutes, killing anything that isn't on high ground (The Devil's Playground); a mission where infested terrans emerge at night and force the player into a hold-out situation, but they become dormant during the day, during which the player tries to kill as many as possible (Outbreak); a mission where opposing terran and zerg forces seek to steal an alien artifact from within a hostile protoss fanatics base (Smash and Grab); a mission in which a lone "ghost" must influence a battle (Breakout); a mission on a xel'naga worldship where rip field generators damages units (Maw of the Void), a mission on a scrap planet where there are no traditional resources and scrap must be collected (Cutthroat), the "Thor" missions (Engine of Destruction and Media Blitz) and one mission will have walls of fire burn across the map and the player must complete the mission before being consumed by a nearby supernova (Supernova).

Storyline
Note: The storyline of Wings of Liberty'' contains branches, some of which are mutually exclusive. Information has been grouped by missions lines, but some overlap can still occur at the player's discretion. In terms of timeframe, it takes place over a period of weeks with several early missions taking place in early October, 2504.''

Mar Sara
After nine years of being a convict, Tychus Findlay was released from cryo-prison, but not without a price. Meanwhile, Jim Raynor was present on Mar Sara, fighting against a Terran Dominion takeover of a local colony.

Traveling back to Joeyray's Bar, he met up with his old friend Tychus Findlay. Findlay offered Raynor a business proposal; "liberating" alien artifacts from the Terran Dominion. The Dominion had recently prohibited transportation of such artifacts, and began digging them up on planets such as Mar Sara. The artifacts would be sold to his contact, the formerly legitimate. Raynor and Findlay's forces teamed up to steal one such artifact from the Dominion.

The zerg invaded Mar Sara en masse, starting at the location of the dig. The Raiders defended a town until the Hyperion could rescue them. The zerg had, in fact, struck many Dominion worlds. Afterward, Raynor had to choose between rescuing the colonists of Agria or retrieving an artifact from protoss fanatics at Monlyth.

Hanson's Saga
The Raiders aided the world of Agria, which had been abandoned by the Dominion. After the evacuation, Dr. Ariel Hanson joined the Raiders. Hanson developed romantic feelings towards Raynor over the course of her stay, but the rebel leader was clueless to this.

Hanson's people settled on Meinhoff, only for a zerg virus to run rampant. The Raiders erradicated the infested terrans and the Agrians set off for a new home. That new world turned out to be Haven, a planet on the edge of protoss space. Suddenly, all communications were cut off, and upon arrival, the Raiders discovered why&mdash;a protoss force under Executor Selendis had arrived, knowing that the colonists were infected. Hanson however, maintained that she was close to finding a cure for the virus and both terran and protoss vied for the captain's allegiance.

Raynor decided to aid the colonists and fended off the protoss. Afterwards, Hanson decided to stay on Haven to help her people. She tentatively offered Raynor a new life on the world, but the rebel maintained that he had to finish what he'd started&mdash;his revolution against Arcturus Mengsk. Hanson revealed her affections, but accepted Raynor's decision.

Tal'darim Troubles
On Monlyth, the Raiders had to contend with both the Tal'darim, a fanatical protoss splinter faction, and Kerrigan's zerg. They performed a quick smash and grab mission, wrestling the artifact and escaping before Kerrigan could arrive...but not before she could taunt Raynor. Afterwards, Findlay familiarized himself with the Queen of Blades via the Hyperion's archive, much to Matt Horner's irritation at the lack of permission granted for such access. Findlay saw Kerrigan as a threat to be dealt with. Horner however, was more sensitive and aware of Raynor's past with the former ghost.

The next artifact uncovered was on the dead world of Xil, where a Moebius Foundation team had been wiped out. The Raiders descended to the surface and discovered why&mdash;the Tal'darim. However, using the Drakken laser drill as both excavator and weapon, the Raiders succeeded where Moebius had failed and retrieved the artifact.

Whispers in the Dark
After Xil, Raynor was confronted by another protoss, one who didn't want to kill him&mdash;Zeratul. He gave Raynor a cryptic warning about Kerrigan, that for all her sins, she was the only one who could save them from a looming catastrophe. The rebel recieved an ihan crystal from the Nerazim, one that contained Zeratul's memories. Memories that would allow the terran to understand what his protoss friend had seen and experienced.

Raynor stared into the crystal, seeing Zeratul arrive on the world of Ulaan, seeking a prophecy that heralded the return of the xel'naga. However, Kerrigan was present as well, along with her zerg. The two fought and Kerrigan held her own, but her heart wasn't in it. Like Zeratul, she had seen portents of what the future would bring. And unlike the Dark Templar, she was willing to let fate take her. Zeratul however, clung onto hope and retrieved the prophecy's fragments. He travelled to Zhakul, where the fragments might be translated.

Raynor was losing himself in the crystal, prompting the concern of those around him. Nonetheless, he watched as Zeratul arrived on Zhakul, finding the three preservers he sought imprisoned by a hybrid and the local protoss corrupted by its influence. The prelate defeated the creature and freed the preservers, who in turn interpreted the prophecy. It spoke of a "Fallen One" and that what had begun with the Great Hungerer would end in utter darkness. Zeratul realized that the "Great Hungerer" might be the Overmind and departed for Aiur.

Aiur was a ruined world, and the area around the corpse of the Overmind was no exception. Zeratul accessed its thoughts from its tendrils, sensing, strangely enough, fear of the future, yet also joy. Arriving at its cortex, the Nerazim was confronted by the spirit of Tassadar, thought dead four years ago. Tassadar had never truely died however and in the high templar's own words, never would. He explained that the Overmind was not always the monstrous creature the protoss had fought in the Great War. Instead, its personality had been altered by an outside force, compelling it to assault the protoss rather than merge naturally as per the xel'naga's cycle of rebirth. The Overmind knew it had been corrupted, but had been created without free will and could therefore not fight its overriding directive. It could, however, create a being who might save its species from manipulation...the Queen of Blades. For it had seen what the future held. And through Tassadar, Zeratul saw it as well...

In the present, Raynor took the final step and saw what others before him had&mdash;Armageddon. Humanity had been consumed, the galaxy was in flames, the protoss were making a final stand on Shakuras and the Swarm had come under the control of the hybrids, as well as their mysterious leader. The Dark Voice mocked the protoss, revealing that in this future, Kerrigan, the one person who might have saved them, was dead. Killed in the perception that she had been the true threat. The protoss were eventually overcome and darkness descended over Creation. And Kerrigan, the same bringing death and destruction to the Koprulu Sector, was the only one who could avert this.

Spectres
Fighting a war against Mengsk took money, and that didn't grow on trees. Minerals could be found on Redstone III however, and that's what a contact named Gabriel Tosh wanted harvested. Taking the job, the Raiders carried out a succesful mining operation and found themselves financially rejuvinated, along with Tosh as a member. Raynor had his suspicions, but let them pass for the time being, even with the revelation that the minerals collected included jorium.

On Bel'shir, the Raiders once again encountered the Tal'darim, this time protecting terrazine. It was a gas that Tosh wanted and once again, the Raiders pulled off a succesful smash and grab. After the mission, the Raiders recieved a transmission claiming that Tosh was a spectre. Tosh didn't deny this, but maintained that the message had been sent to divide them. Raynor took him at his word, but also heard that the message ended with "I'll see you soon."

"Soon" involved New Folsom Prison, which Tosh wanted assaulted. However, the Raiders found out who had sent the message&mdash; a ghost named Nova. She explained that the jorium and terrazine collected were part of Tosh's plan to build a spectre army, and that attacking New Folsom would essentially be releasing psychopaths into the galaxy. Raynor stayed loyal to Tosh however, and helped bust open the prison, freeing the spectres along with political prisoners. Tosh and Horner debated what the real victory was, both having different views on the nature of humanity and government. Raynor still believed in Horner's vision of a better future, but knew that men such as Tosh and himself weren't meant for it.

List of Missions

 * Main article: Wings of Liberty missions

Characters

 * Dark Voice (prophesied foe)
 * Jim Raynor (leader of Raynor's Raiders, Hyperion commander)
 * Tychus Findlay (marine ex-convict)
 * Dr. Ariel Hanson (scientist)
 * Graven Hill (mercenary recruiter)
 * Matt Horner (second-in-command of Raynor's Raiders, captain of the Hyperion)
 * Sarah Kerrigan (the Queen of Blades)
 * Arcturus Mengsk (emperor of the Terran Dominion)
 * Valerian Mengsk (heir to the Dominion)
 * Egon Stetmann (scientist)
 * Rory Swann (chief engineer)
 * Gabriel Tosh (spectre)
 * Horace Warfield (commander of the Dominion military)
 * Zeratul (Dark Templar prelate)

Collector's Edition
Wings of Liberty has a Collector's Edition, selling for $100 US and will only be available through retail stores.

Bonus items include:


 * The Art of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
 * A USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor's dog tag, which will include StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War
 * A behind the scenes DVD.
 * The official Wings of Liberty soundtrack CD, with 14 game tracks and exclusive bonus tracks.
 * StarCraft: Issue 0, a prequel to the StarCraft comic
 * A World of Warcraft mini-thor pet.
 * A different thor model for in-game use.
 * Exclusive Battle.net downloadable content, including special portraits for your Battle.net profile, decals to customize your units in-game.

Development
The Wings of Liberty beta launched on February 17, 2010.

The final release had been pushed back to at least the first half of 2010 to give adequate time to develop Battle.net. Development of the game itself is currently focused on polishing the singleplayer, specifically briefings, newscasts, outros and videos for unlocked technologies.

As of March 2010, all missions were in, dialog was in, and all game mechanics were working. Its storyline has been fully solidified, and the team who developed it has since moved on to Heart of the Swarm.

StarCraft II had a day one patch.

Trivia
Such is the scale of Wings of Liberty's storyline that Chris Metzen believes that it would take at least three novels to tell it were it in written form, though nine would be the preferred number. He considers the ending of the game to be one of his favorite moments out of all the work he's done at Blizzard Entertainment.

In conjunction with Blizzard Entertainment, SteelSeries has developed a custom Wings of Liberty keyboard, specifically designed for macromanagement and with labeled commands on the keys.