Forum:2018 Season 3 Protoss Wall-off Guide

Protoss Season 3 2018 Wall Off guide.

1.1 Intro During competitive play as Protoss. Walling off your base is an essential part of most openers as both Protoss and Zerg armies rely on early game melee units to do damage. Veteran Protoss players can agree that the feeling of terror associated with an undefended Zergling runby is only outmatched by the damage that it does to the starting economy. Terran players are gifted with an ability to create gates using supply depots allowing for easy and no-brainer wall offs. Terran players can even lift off buildings to create emergency walls that will stop Zerglings in their tracks. Protoss players are not as lucky and must use building placement and their own valuable units to wall off. As the seasons, maps, and expansions change, so too have Protoss walls. This guide is meant to show the player which walls work best for which maps on Season 3 of Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void.

1.2 Main Base Wall offs At the start of the game, depending on your chosen build order or style of play, a player may decide that they only need to wall off their main base. This is a popular strategy in early game pressure builds such as any early rush or proxy builds. In addition, some mid-game builds like the three gate robo and/or the four gate pressure builds can make it by with only a main base wall off. The main base ramp has a tile width of 3 tiles at its base and it’s top. Most Protoss buildings are 3 tiles by 3 tiles, but one building alone cannot block off a ramp as the ramps run diagonal to the grid style set up of the tiles. This requires some creativity when building a wall. There is no wrong way to build a wall. If you need a wall, a group of pylons can save you, however, there is a best way to build a main base wall. First, you must place a pylon so the edge of the power area skims the top of a the main base ramp. This will allow your buildings to be placed right up against the ramp. It is important that you place the pylon as far into your base and away from any sides that a Marine or Roach might be able to shoot up if the enemy gains vision.

From there you will need to stagger two 3x3 tile buildings so that they either completely wall off the ramp, which is not recommended as you will need to destroy one to allow your units to pass through. Instead, stagger them so you leave a 1x1 space that a Probe or Zealot can fill in. Once in position, set your 1x1 unit to hold position and the unit will not be able to be pulled away from the wall. In addition, any army simply put on attack move will prioritize killing that one unit and not the buildings. Just like the Spartans in the famous battle of Thermopylae, a single unit can take on a far greater number of enemy units if they are able to face them one on one. Below is a picture of an ideal main base wall.

1.3 Main Base Wall

3.0 Reacting to the enemy The problem with every wall that uses a unit as a gate, is that it is only as strong as that unit is. Once the unit falls, the enemy can rush in and take out the main pylon, crippling the players base. In the past, cannons were used to either close the gap, or support the unit as it fights the enemy, However, since the new style of wall doesn’t include a forge, cannons can not be created to defend. Instead, the player must keep an active scout on the enemy until the point where they have an active army to defend the wall. Once early aggression is scouted, such as a large amount of Zerglings, an early spawning pool, or a Baneling nest, it is important to close the gate in your wall with a shield battery. A shield battery is the ideal defense as it is cheap and requires no tech to build. In addition, it can also maintain the shields or both units and buildings alike. By properly managing your scouting and chrono boosts a player with a solid wall and quick enough micro can hold back even the most aggressive of Zerg all ins.