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"For some time, our beautiful worlds have been under attack from enemies at all sides: the zerg vermin that want to consume us; the invading protoss who serve their own sinister, alien agenda; and worst of all, the human traitors who have cast their lot with anti-Dominion terrorists. While those threats will be dealt with in time, for now we must focus our efforts on rooting out the true enemy that lurks in the shadows.

Your time to show your complete and total dedication to the Dominion and your Emperor is at hand! Glory awaits!"

- Mengsk Summary(src)

Arcturus Mengsk is a playable commander in Co-op Missions mode. He utilizes masses of recruits to push the front, while "controversial" weapons support his fight against Amon.

The core of Mengsk's army are his Dominion Troopers and Laborers, conscripted forces who are cheap and easy to produce. They can switch between being a Laborer (SCV) and a Trooper (unupgraded marine) as the situation requires, and can equip themselves with powerful weapons, more expensive than they are. These weapons are dropped when they die, allowing other unequipped Troopers to pick it up to use it.

Supporting these are Mengsk's Royal Guard, the most powerful forces of the Terran Dominion that he keeps for his personal safety. These units each have powerful abilities, and gain veterancy as they continue fighting, giving them additional power and unlocking more abilities.

By training Troopers and Laborers, leveling up the Royal Guard, and using Imperial Witnesses, Mengsk gains Imperial Mandate, which allows him to utilize powerful calldowns.[1]

Overview[]

Info[]

  • Recommended for experienced players
  • Conscript a large disposable army of Dominion Troopers.
  • Control and level up the Royal Guard, your personal elite fighting force
  • Imperial Mandate grants access to even more powerful and controversial abilities

Mastery[]

Power Set 1
Laborer and Trooper Imperial Support: +1% – +30%
Royal Guard Support: +1% – +30%
Power Set 2
Terrible Damage (Calldown Damage, not affecting Forced Conscription): +1% – +30%
Royal Guard Cost: : -0.67% – -20%
Power Set 3
Starting Imperial Mandate: : +1 – +30
Royal Guard Experience Gain Rate: +0.5% – +15%

Prestiges[]

Level 1 – Toxic Tyrant
Advantage: Contaminated Strike's fear lasts 200% longer, its damage-over-time effect additionally increases damage received by 25%, its cost is reduced by 20%, and its cooldown is reduced by 66%. Troopers provide Imperial Support while operating Earthsplitter Ordnance.
Disadvantage: Nuclear Annihilation is unavailable.
Level 2 – Principal Proletariat
Advantage: Royal Guard vespene gas costs reduced by 25% and XP gain increased by 100%.
Disadvantage: Royal Guard mineral costs increased by 100% and supply cost increased by 50%.
Level 3 – Merchant of Death
Advantage: Equipped Troopers activate a self-destruct mechanism in their weapons upon death. Trooper weapons cost 40 minerals and 20 vespene gas.
Disadvantage: Troopers no longer drop weapons. Imperial Intercessors are unavailable.

Calldown Abilities[]

Calldown abilities run off of Imperial Mandate. Imperial Mandate is generated at Level 5 by using Royal Guard units, but can also be generated by using Imperial witnesses in Patriot Mode to Indoctrinate Dominion laborers and Dominion troopers (and their variants). Without any generation, Mengsk has Mandate generation of 40 every 240 seconds, but initial Mandate and Mandate generation can be increased via mastery.

Forced Conscription CA Icon
Forced Conscription

Drops a supply bunker with six unfortunate Dominion Trooper souls to man it. Can store up to 4 charges.

Usage
Hotkey Ctrl+Z
Cost 25 Energy
Cooldown 3 seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.
ve
Contaminated Strike CA Icon
Contaminated Strike

Loads all your Earthsplitter Ordnance with an experimental payload to target any location on the map. Payloads randomly land near the target location, saturating the area in Irradiated Biomaterial and causing all enemies who enter to take 5 damage per second for 20 seconds. Affected units cannot Cloak.

Psychoactive Payload: Contaminated Strike now cast Fear on enemy units on impact, causing them to run around in panic for 5 seconds.

Toxic Tyrant: Reduces the Contaminated Strike cost by 20% and its cooldown by 66%. Increases the Fear effect duration by 200%. Irradiate effect additionally increases damage received by 25% and deals 6.25 damage per second.

Usage
Hotkey Ctrl+X
Cost 25 Energy
20 (with Toxic Tyrant) Energy
5 seconds
Duration 5 (Irradiate cloud) seconds
5 (Fear effect, up to 15 with Toxic Tyrant) seconds
20 (Irradiate effect) seconds
Cooldown 30 seconds
10 (with Toxic Tyrant) seconds
Notes

Contaminated Strike deals summary 100 (125 with Toxic Tyrant) damage. The Irradiate effect restarts every 1 second while an enemy unit is in an Irradiate cloud (deals up to 125 (156.25 with Toxic Tyrant) damage).
Mastery: +0.05 (+0.0625 with Toxic Tyrant) damage per second per Terrible Damage mastery point. Up to a maximum 6.5 (8.125 with Toxic Tyrant) damage per second, deals summary 130 (162.5 with Toxic Tyrant) damage, or deals summary 162.5 (203.125 with Toxic Tyrant) damage when the enemy units are in the Irradiate cloud.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 4.
Acquisition
Required Earthsplitter ordnance (Launch 1 experimental payload per Ordnance)
ve
DogsofWar CA Icon
Dogs of War

Deploys 30 enthralled Zerglings at the target location that last for 60 seconds. Enthralled zerg will seek out and attack the nearest enemy.

Deploys additional enthralled zerg based on Imperial Mandate.

Usage
Hotkey Ctrl+C
Cost Tier 1: 25 Energy
Tier 2: 50 Energy
Tier 3: 75 Energy
Tier 4: 100 Energy
Duration 60 seconds
Cooldown 180 seconds
Notes

Mastery: +1% damage by enthralled zerg units per Terrible Damage mastery point. Up to a maximum +30%

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.
ve
NuclearAnnihilation CA Icon
Nuclear Annihilation

Blankets a target area with a seemingly endless barrage of 20 Tactical Missiles, each dealing 150 (+100 vs structures) damage in a small area, followed by a Nuclear Missile, which deals 500 (+300 vs structures) damage in a large area.

Complete Annihilation: Increases the number of Tactical Missiles dropped by Nuclear Annihilation from 20 to 40.

Toxic Tyrant: Nuclear Annihilation is unavailable.

Usage
Hotkey Ctrl+V
Cost 100 Energy
Cooldown 300 seconds
Notes

Mastery: +1.5 (+1 vs Structure) damage by Tactical Missiles and +5 (+3 vs Structure) damage by Nuclear Missiles per Terrible Damage mastery point. Up to a maximum 195 (+130 vs Structure) damage by Tactical Missiles and 650 (+390 vs Structure) damage by Nuclear Missile.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 10.
ve

Upgrades[]

WolvesofWar Talent Icon
Wolves of War

Dogs of War now deploys additional Mutalisks and Ultralisks at higher Imperial Mandate levels.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 7.
ve
PsychoactivePayload Talent Icon
Psychoactive Payload

Contaminated Strike now Fears enemy units on impact, causing them to run around in panic.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 11.
ve
CompleteAnnihilation Talent Icon
Complete Annihilation

Increases the number of Tactical Missiles dropped by Nuclear Annihilation from 20 to 40.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 13.
ve

Army Composition[]

Units and Structures[]

Icon Unit Details Production
(No Discounts)
Base Statistics:
Dominion Trooper Default Mengsk Dominion trooper General-purpose infantry. Can be outfitted with weapons for different combat situations. Can switch to a laborer suit.

Can attack ground and air units.

40 Minerals 1 Supply HP: 45
Armor: 0
Damage: 7 DPS
Dominion Trooper Assault Mengsk Dominion assault trooper Upgraded general-purpose infantry. Effective against all targets. Can switch to a laborer suit. Drops weapon upon death or upon switching to laborer suit.
Can attack ground and air units.
200 Minerals 1 Supply
80 Minerals 20 Vespene gas 1 Supply(With Merchant of Death)
HP: 45
Armor: 0
Damage: 14 DPS
Dominion Trooper Flame Mengsk Dominion flame trooper Armored flame infantry. Effective against light ground targets. Can switch to a laborer suit. Drops weapon upon death or upon switching to laborer suit.
Can attack ground units.
(Unlocks at level 2)
200 Minerals 1 Supply
80 Minerals 20 Vespene gas 1 Supply(With Merchant of Death)
HP: 145
Armor: 1
Damage: 11.4 (17.1 vs light) DPS
Dominion Trooper Rocket Mengsk Dominion rocket trooper Anti-air infantry. Effective against armored air targets. Can switch to a laborer suit. Drops weapon upon death or upon switching to laborer suit.
Can attack ground and air units.
(Unlocks at level 2)
200 Minerals 1 Supply
80 Minerals 20 Vespene gas 1 Supply(With Merchant of Death)
HP: 45
Armor: 0
Damage: Vs Ground: 7 DPS
Vs Air: 10.7 (21.3 vs Armored)
Medivac Imperial Intercessor Mengsk Imperial Intercessor Air transport. Heals nearby biological units. Can use Ignite Afterburners. 100 Minerals 50 Vespene gas 2 Supply HP: 150
Armor: 1
Blimp Imperial Witness Mengsk Imperial Witness Aerial support unit. Can use Enable Patriot Mode to indoctrinate nearby allies. Detector. 100 Minerals 100 Vespene gas 2 Supply HP: 350
Armor: 1
Marauder Aegis Guard Mengsk Aegis Guard Royal Guard heavy assault infantry.
Can attack ground units.
125 Minerals 350 Vespene gas 4 Supply
250 Minerals 262.5 Vespene gas 6 Supply(With Principal Proletariat)
HP: 300
Armor: 1
Damage: 13.3 (26.7 vs Armored) DPS
(Unranked)
Ghost Emperor's Shadow Mengsk Emperor's Shadow Royal Guard specialist. Can use Pyrokinetic Immolation and EMP Blast. Can call down Tactical Missiles built at the Royal Academy.
Can attack ground and air units.
200 Minerals 500 Vespene gas 4 Supply
400 Minerals 375 Vespene gas 6 Supply(With Principal Proletariat)
HP: 200
Armor: 0
Damage: 10 (15 vs. Light) DPS
(Unranked)
Siege Tank - Tank Mode Shock Division Mengsk

Siege Tank - Siege Mode Shock Division Mengsk

Shock Division Royal Guard heavy tank. Can switch into siege mode to provide long range artillery support.
Can attack ground units, and can be upgraded to attack air units when picked up by Imperial Intercessor.
150 Minerals 425 Vespene gas 6 Supply
300 Minerals 318.75 Vespene gas 9 Supply(With Principal Proletariat)
HP: 350
Armor: 1
Damage: 24 (38.5 vs. Armored) DPS (Tank Mode)
13.3 (23.3 vs. Armored) DPS (Siege Mode)
12.3 (21.5 vs. Armored) DPS (Siege Mode in Intercessor)
(Unranked)
Thor Blackhammer Mengsk Blackhammer Royal Guard heavy assault mech. Can use Overwatch Mode.
Can attack air and ground units.
(Unlocks at level 9)
300 Minerals 600 Vespene gas 8 Supply
600 Minerals 450 Vespene gas 12 Supply(With Principal Proletariat)
HP: 600
Armor: 3
Damage: 70 DPS (Walker Mode) (vs Ground)
12 (6 vs. Light) DPS (Walker Mode) (vs Air)
23.5 DPS (Overwatch Mode) (vs Air)
(Unranked)
Viking Fighter Sky Fury Mengsk

Viking Assault Sky Fury Mengsk

Sky Fury Durable Royal Guard support flyer. Loaded with strong anti-capital air missiles. Can switch to ground mode to attack ground targets.

Fighter mode: Can attack air units.

Assault mode: Can attack ground units.

150 Minerals 375 Vespene gas 4 Supply
300 Minerals 281.25 Vespene gas 6 Supply(With Principal Proletariat)
HP: 270
Armor: 1
Damage: 18 DPS (Assault Mode)
15 (21 vs. Armored) DPS (Fighter Mode)
(Unranked)
Battlecruiser Pride of Augustgrad Mengsk Pride of Augustgrad Powerful Royal Guard warship. Can use Yamato Cannon and Tactical Jump.
Can attack air and ground units.
(Unlocks at level 12)
400 Minerals 900 Vespene gas 10 Supply
800 Minerals 675 Vespene gas 15 Supply(With Principal Proletariat)
HP: 800
Armor: 3
Damage: 39.1 DPS(vs Air)

52.1 DPS(vs Ground)
(Unranked)

Bunker Supply Mengsk

Bunker Supply Upgraded Mengsk

Supply bunker Defensive structure that provides supply. Supply allows you to create more units. Troopers fight from inside. Bonus: +1 range to units inside. 100 Minerals Provides 12 Supply HP: 400
Armor: 1
Missile Turret Mengsk Missile turret Anti-air defensive structure. Can attack air units. Detector. 100 Minerals  HP: 250
Armor: 0
Damage: 27.9 DPS
Earthsplitter Ordnance Mengsk Earthsplitter ordnance Randomly bombards near a target location, dealing damage to ground units in the area. Enables Contaminated Strike from the top panel. Can attack ground units.
(Unlocks at level 3)
100 Minerals 150 Vespene gas  HP: 400
Armor: 0
Damage: No Garrisoned Units: 3.3 DPS
1 Garrisoned Unit: 6.6 DPS
2 Garrisoned Units: 10 DPS
3 Garrisoned Units: 13.3 DPS
4 Garrisoned Units: 16.7 DPS

Talent Progression[]

Mengsk acquires the following talents as he levels up.

LawandOrder Talent Icon
Law and Order

Mengsk conscripts Dominion Laborers instead of SCVs to work and Dominion Troopers instead of Marines to fight. His Royal Guard units can level up, gaining new abilities and improvements to existing abilities.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.
ve
ExpandedArsenal Talent Icon
Expanded Arsenal

Allows Troopers to equip CPO-7 Salamander Flamethrowers and Hailstorm Launchers.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 2.
ve
UnitEarthsplitterOrdinance Talent Icon
New Unit: Earthsplitter Ordnance

Randomly bombards near a target location, dealing damage to ground units in the area. Enables Contaminated Strike from the top panel.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 3.
ve
ContaminatedStrike Talent Icon
Contaminated Strike

Unlocks the ability to launch experimental payloads, fired from your Earthspliter Ordnance randomly near a target area.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 4.
ve
Unquestioned Authority Talent Icon
Unquestioned Authority

Indoctrinated Laborers, Indoctrinated Troopers, and Royal Guards provide Imperial Support, which increases Imperial Mandate generation. Unlocks the Amplified Airwaves upgrade, which doubles the Imperial Support provided by Indoctrinated Laborers and Troopers (Researched at the Fusion Core).

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 5.
ve
EngineeringBayUpgradeCacheMengsk Talent Icon
Engineering Bay Upgrade Cache

Unlocks the following upgrades at the Engineering Bay:

  • Further increases the range of units within Supply Bunkers by +1.
  • Increases the range of Earthsplitter Ordnance's Bombardment ability by +25.
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 6.
ve
WolvesofWar Talent Icon
Wolves of War

Dogs of War now deploys additional Mutalisks and Ultralisks at higher Imperial Mandate levels.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 7.
ve
BasicRoyalGuardUpgradeCache Talent Icon
Basic Royal Guard Upgrade Cache

Unlocks the following upgrades:

  • Allows Aegis Guard to slow enemy units with their attack (Researched at the Royal Academy).
  • Allows Shock Division in Siege Mode to fire at enemy air units while picked up by an Imperial Intercessor (Researched at the Armory).
  • Increases the movement speed of Sky Furies (Researched at the Fusion Core).
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 8.
ve
UnitBlackhammer Talent Icon
New Unit: Blackhammer

Royal Guard heavy assault mech. Can use Overwatch Mode. Built from the Factory.

Can attack ground and air units.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 9.
ve
NuclearAnnihilation Talent Icon
Nuclear Annihilation

Unlocks the ability to call down a rain of Tactical Missiles followed by a Nuclear Missile. Activate Nuclear Annihilation from the top panel.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 10.
ve
PsychoactivePayload Talent Icon
Psychoactive Payload

Contaminated Strike now Fears enemy units on impact, causing them to run around in panic.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 11.
ve
UnitPrideofAugustgrad Talent Icon
New Unit: Pride of Augustgrad

Powerful Royal Guard warship. Can use Yamato Cannon and Tactical Jump. Built from the Starport.

Can attack ground and air units.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 12.
ve
CompleteAnnihilation Talent Icon
Complete Annihilation

Increases the number of Tactical Missiles dropped by Nuclear Annihilation from 20 to 40.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 13.
ve
AdvancedRoyalGuardUpgradeCache Talent Icon
Advanced Royal Guard Upgrade Cache

Unlocks the following upgrades:

  • Allows Emperor's Shadows to fire Tactical Missile Strikes without channeling (Researched at the Royal Academy).
  • Blackhammers grant 3 armor to units positioned beneath them (Researched at the Armory).
  • Pride of Augustgrads grant +1 attack range to nearby friendly ranged ground units (Researched at the Fusion Core).
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 14.
ve
PromotionGranted Talent Icon
Promotion Granted

Royal Guard units can now attain Rank 3, gaining the following abilities:

  • Aegis Guards can greatly increase their attack speed.
  • The Emperor's Shadow's Pyrokinetic Immolation causes an explosion when the target dies. Units take damage from the Emperor's Shadow's EMP Blast equal to the amount of energy drained.
  • Increases the Shock Divisions attacks splash range in Siege Mode.
  • Increases the attack speed of Blackhammers in Overwatch Mode.
  • Grants Sky Furies with a chance to evade enemy attacks in Fighter Mode. When Sky Furies take fatal damage in Assault Mode, they transform to Fighter Mode and gain a barrier.
  • Allows the Pride of Augustgrad's Yamato Cannon to fire three times in rapid succession.
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Mengsk Level 15.
ve

Strategies[]

Mengsk's kit is highly varied, with a mix of low-cost expendable units, high-cost powerhouse units, and calldowns that rely on him building up his infrastructure to be useful. His major benefit is his powerful early-game economy due to his Laborers being cheaper and quicker to build than other commanders, and he can leverage this advantage into early expansions and rapidly build structures to further strengthen his position. From there, the player can start training Royal Guard and get Imperial Witnesses onto the field to start generating Imperial Mandate. With his tech and base properly established, Mengsk can field an army of Troopers with specialized weaponry for high damage output, support them with the Royal Guard as called for, and use his calldowns to soften up enemies without putting his forces at risk.

Mastery Strategies[]

Power Set 1: Laborer and Trooper Imperial Support / Royal Guard Imperial Support

  • Mandate gain is key to Mengsk, but the mandate gained by his Royal Guard and their promotions are trivial compared to that gained by using imperial witnesses over groups of laborers mining from Mengsk's bases. This mastery provides much more mandate for Mengsk if used properly.
  • If using the Royal Guard Imperial Support, it is best used exclusively with the Royal Guard Cost Reduction and the Principal Proletariat Prestige talent. If a significant portion of your army is Royal Guard, the buff to Imperial Mandate creates a steady stream of Mandate that does not require an Imperial Witness. Despite that, you will still need Witness units due to them also being Mengsk's sole form of detection.

Power Set 2: Royal Guard Cost / Terrible Damage

  • The high vespene cost of the Royal Guard can be prohibitive to their use in his army, and this will help mitigate much of the steep gas cost, and allow for earlier units to build up experience. Terrible Damage is a significant buff to Dogs of War, but as Contaminated Strike damage does not overlap it does not scale well for it, and Nuclear Annihilation can already destroy most enemy targets without increased damage.
  • If using Terrible Damage, the benefit to it is mainly in the Dogs of War. Due to their relatively low cooldown and Mandate cost, they can be deployed fairly early, and the 30% buff can allow for a battering-ram strategy if deployed in an early enemy encampment. Missions such as Part & Parcel or Scythe of Amon greatly benefit from this, allowing you to burst through tough locations and back your army, while missions such as Temple of the Past or Miner Evacuation do not see as much help from the dogs.

Power Set 3: Starting Imperial Mandate / Royal Guard Experience Gain Rate

  • Putting 25 points into Starting Imperial Mandate allows Mengsk to have one of the strongest economic openers in the game on maps with destructible rocks, where he can instantly call down one Bunker, destroy the rocks, turn the Troopers into Laborers and build an enlistment center at his expansion with their ability to use multiple Laborers to speed up building. This means Mengsk can expand to a new base in about 2-3 minutes. In maps where enemy forces guard expansions, this can still be used to either supplement the main base with Laborers/Troopers, or to summon an early 25 Mandate Dogs of War to push the enemy out of the expansion area. This is also powerful with commanders like Abathur and Dehaka who gain their early game power from destroying enemies. Even without expanding, using the starting Imperial Mandate to immediately call down an extra six troopers and converting them into laborers jump-starts Mengsk's economy considerably.
  • Royal Guard Experience Gain is extremely finnicky when it comes to usability in replacement of Imperial Mandate. Most Royal Guard won't be released onto the battlefield until mid-game due to their extreme costs (save for maybe Aegis Guard), and the prestige talent Principle Proletariat makes this next to worthless to utilize when using said prestige.

Prestige Masteries[]

Toxic Tyrant allows Mengsk to utilize Contaminated Strike much more often, almost spamming it, letting him more effectively disable large groups of enemies either when pushing or defending. The increased imperial mandates generated by manned earthsplitter ordinances also allows Mengsk to use his calldowns more often, and Dogs of War in particular can be useful for attacking enemies after disorienting them with Contaminated Strike. Without his Nuclear Annihilation talent, Mengsk will need to use Contaminated Strike and Dogs of War as his means to smash fortified positions instead. Because Contaminated Strike and Dogs of War will see increased use, and the player will be using lots of earthsplitter ordinance, they may wish to reallocate Mengsk's second mastery to power up his calldowns further; while the Royal Guard will be less viable due to no discount to their cost, the player can rely more on troopers to push and use Contaminated Strike to scatter enemies so they cannot fight back against Mengsk's fragile troopers. This prestige is much less useful on maps where earthsplitter ordinances are not as viable, since Contaminated Strike is much more powerful with multiple earthsplitter ordinance. While it is viable to build unmanned earthsplitter ordinance just to enable Contaminated Strike, this is a significant investment of resources that is not being used as best it could.

Principal Proletriat rebalances the Royal Guard; their resource costs are easier to field and they level up faster, but cost more supply. In tandem with the mastery to decrease the cost of the Royal Gaurd, they are significantly discounted and using an army of Royal Guard units is viable. Because they are more expensive to replace, the player should avoid taking losses of Royal Guard units and support them well. Aegis Guard can be send forward forward to tank damage due to their shields and ability to be healed by imperial intercessors, and behind them move in the rest of the Royal Guard. Use Emperor's Shadows to EMP enemy spellcasters, Pride of Augustgrads to quickly Yamato Gun down powerful targets of opportunity, and Sky Furies in either Assault or Fighter Mode as the enemy unit composition demands. Due to the increased mineral cost of the Royal Guard, the player will be fielding fewer troopers and likely not upgrading their weapons, but they can still be deployed without their weapon upgrades to serve as meatshields for the Royal Guard, especially in the early game before the Royal Guard can build up their ranks to fight on their own.

Merchant of Death turns Mengsk's troopers into his most powerful weapon. Players can equip their troopers with weapons much earlier and in greater numbers, making a large army of upgrades troopers much more viable and allowing Mengsk to swarm enemies and overwhelm them with raw DPS. When Mengsk's troopers die, they self-destruct their weapons, dealing heavy area damage around them, comparable to a missile from an Emperor's Shadow. The drawbacks are that troopers no longer drop weapons and imperial intercessors are not available, so Mengsk's army is more fragile and difficult to reinforce effectively, as newly arriving troopers will be unequipped. This also means he cannot afford to take heavy losses because they will be more costly to replace, so the player cannot be as reckless with troopers as they usually are. The player should make use of Royal Guard, particularly Aegis Guards and Sky Furies, to tank for Mengsk's troopers and provide support fighter for heavier enemies. Mengsk's increased reliance on troopers makes this prestige less effective against enemies that use units with powerful splash damage capabilities, and the player should make good use of Contaminated Strike and Dogs of War to soften up enemies before attacking.

No Matter the Cost[]

Mengsk's cheap and speedy worker forces allow him to build his expansion and his overall base rapidly. They also share Swann's ability to queue multiple workers on each construction site to speed it up. Take advantage of this by churning out expendable workers and troopers to provide an early defense and an impressive economic advantage. Remember that Mengsk's bunkers double as supply depots, allowing him to provide a defense for both commanders if his forces are placed properly.

Troopers form the backbone of Mengsk's army, and the player should practice using and arming them in order to learn how to use Mengsk's forces effectively. While the Elite Guard brings a tremendous amount of raw power to the field, the troopers can bring a great deal of utility with their various weapons, and they should not be underestimated even in the late-game. If one is looking to spam them, building multiple Enlistment Centers can let a player churn them out at a high rate.

Mengsk is, however, hungry for vespene for his Royal Guard, so refineries should be built quickly.

The Voice of the People[]

Mengsk's calldowns rely on Imperial Mandate. This is gained from two ways, one by having leveled up Royal Guard units, the other by using a pair of Imperial witness units to "indoctrinate" troopers and laborers. This is done by placing them in "Patriot Mode" over an army. Due to the large amount of Imperial Mandate gain, witnesses will be the primary means for Mengsk to gain energy to use his powerful abilities. Putting an Imperial Witness over each mineral line will gain a substantial amount of mandate, allowing him to have calldowns ready in most situations. Upgrade Amplified Airwaves to ensure that maximum mandate is gained.

The witness's ability also gives a buff to Mengsk and his ally's movement speed and attack speed, so spreading witnesses around on both the player's and their ally's army will give them a substantial edge in combat. Take care however, as witnesses are often targeted by anti-air units.

The Best of the Dominion[]

All units of the Elite Guard are very powerful when used correctly. These elite units gain strength as they level up, similar to Dehaka, allowing Mengsk's army to continually grow more dangerous as the game goes on. Careful micro of of these elites is a must, as Mengsk's healing and repair abilities are less viable than those of Raynor or Swann. The Dominion troopers are fairly expendable compared to the costly Elite Guard.

The combination of Blackhammers, Pride of Augustgrads, Sky Furies, Emperors Shadows, Shock Divisions, and Aegis Guard, means that Mengsk has many viable options to choose from to form the muscle of his army.

Once fully levelled, Royal Guards are some of the most devastating units in the game: half a dozen Aegis Guards can take on basically any ground threat, Sky Furies are practically unkillable and can annihilate massive targets with disturbing speed, and a single Pride of Augustgrad can teleport to anywhere on the map and delete entire attack waves with its two charges of triple AoE Yamato Cannon, then teleport back to your main army within 10 seconds of leaving.

The Emperor's Tactics[]

Mengsk's call downs are powerful offensively. His ability to call down a nuclear barrage and summon an attack wave of zerg gives him tremendous wave clear, though such power costs a large amount of mandate. His ability to poison the enemy with contaminated ordnance can kill weaker units and slow down hybrid, and his ability to unleash an expendable army of zerg means that Mengsk can bring incredible offensive firepower to bear and/or greatly help an ally's push. Add to that these abilities are global, many of them not requiring vision of the target area. Although the player should be extremely careful with the timing of these abilities and should not rely on them at the expense of building an army, as that will leave Mengsk vulnerable.

One key ability for Mengsk is Forced Conscription. In the early game with high-level mastery, this can allow him to clear out expansion rocks and immediately change his troopers to workers, giving him one of the fastest early economies in the game. These bunkers can also be used to swap troopers for laborers, letting Mengsk repair his guard on the field.

The power of his calldowns comes from his mandate gain, with Dogs of War gaining more power as Mengsk gains mandate, so creating witnesses with Amplified Airwaves early for enhanced mandate gain will help Mengsk get maximum power ouf of his calldowns.

Shatter the Sky[]

The Earthsplitter ordnance can be an incredibly powerful tool if used correctly, as their firepower is immense. They take a considerable number of resources, and cost no supply. However, they fire at a rate of once per 30 seconds unless troopers are garrisoned within, which at full stock lowers their firing rate to one shot every six seconds. The ability to fully salvage for 100% of the cost also means that batteries can be moved up if enemies are out of range of the ordnance. However, their power comes from a large number of batteries, and since their attacks are randomized massing the structures can lead to periods of the game where Mengsk may be weaker without support. However, massed Earthsplitters are powerful on maps where players hold the center and have set objectives to shell, such as "Dead of Night" or "Miner Evacuation." The strike zones also provide vision of the target area before each ordnance salvo, allowing whatever requires vision to be launched in full.

The weakness of these guns is that they require a large amount of room and resources to build. An ally can get the erroneous impression they are working with a "turtle" player instead of a contributing commander. Further, Mengsk must be careful not to block his ally in or prevent his fellow commander from maneuvering. Maps that require heavy defense tend to have limited areas to build, and with Mengsk filling a lot of the terrain with his Earthsplitters, players like Dehaka and Swann can be left being unable to reach objectives.

It is important to note that Earthsplitters can only target ground units. Building some Earthsplitters is always a good idea, but focusing heavily on them instead of other units can be a costly mistake against air heavy enemy forces.

Synergies[]

Protoss Commanders[]

Artanis and Mengsk have some amazing synergy together. Mengsk’s core army is very lightly armored and dies quickly, but Guardian Shield prevents death for a long period of time, not only keeping troopers from dying but allowing them to keep in the fight for longer. This shield also protects Mengsk’s Dogs of War, giving more strength to an already powerful calldown. This also keep key Royal Guard units from dying should they get picked off from something like a viper abduct. In addition, Mengsk can provide vision with his artillery for Artanis’s calldowns and warp field. Artanis’s tankier units also serve as a powerful screen for Mengsk’s trooper army, while the extra range ‘’Pride of Augustgrads’’ can provide to units like dragoons and reavers give some strength to Artanis. Shield Overcharge also is especially powerful for Mengsk during pushes.

Vorazun and Mengsk do not overlap much, but have some power together. Mengsk lacks cloaked units that benefit much from Vorazun, but dark pylon’s bonuses can be used to enhance Mengsk’s power levels. Mengsk’s calldowns also allow him to cover areas Vorazun may not be able to, and Dogs of War works well with Time Stop as it can take advantage of an attack even when units are spread out. Black hole can also lock down units for Nuclear Annihilation if needed (though usually it can take out armies without it if timed correctly), though unless at a critical mass does not work well with Earthsplitters.

Karax and Mengsk have some power together, depending on the build the two go. Karax’s Unity Barrier applies to Mengsk’s units, and gives his army in general much more durability that it desperately needs. Karax’s calldowns pair well with Mengsks, as his Earthsplitters give vision, and both can deliver powerful blows to enemy positions. Energizers pair well with Mengsk’s Royal Guard, though may end up using too much energy on regular troopers. Reconstruction Beam can be a blessing to Mengsk’s mechanical Royal Guard units, as they keep them repaired even during a battle without the need to switch to laborers. Chrono Wave and Chrono Boost is a massive boon to Arcturus, who produces troopers and laborers rather quickly, and has a number of upgrades he can pick from.

Alarak and Mengsk have some elements that assist one another, but both can end up being “selfish” commanders. The biggest boon is Mengsk’s large trooper ball, which provides Alarak with a much stronger Empower Me. Vanguards can also serve as artillery from behind trooper balls, while Alarak and his supplicants can be a powerful frontline from which Mengsk can keep fighting.

Fenix and Mengsk provide complementary army compositions. With much of Fenix’s army designed to take on the enemy head on, Fenix, Kaldalis and his Legionaries pair well with trooper swarms. What Fenix also lacks in powerful calldowns, Mengsk makes up for in droves, and this allows Fenix to focus on one objective while Mengsk can divert Imperial Mandate to deal with an oncoming attack wave or side objective. Both commanders are flexible in terms of composition they can use to counter the enemy, so compositions such as scout + Aegis Guard and colossi + Sky Fury can work to fill in one another’s gaps.

Zeratul and Mengsk do not have a lot of synergy, but are both powerful commanders who work well on their own. Both have powerful calldowns to deal with enemy attack waves or pushes into enemy bases. Earthsplitters can also reveal fog of war, allowing Zeratul to use his Phase Cannons on enemy positions should he be going a build with heavy cannons. Cannons themselves can provide a powerful distraction to prevent damage on Mengsk’s army, and allow him to dish out the damage he can with his trooper swarm. If Zeratul finds a need to pushand lacks the levels and resources to do so, Mengsk can help with Dogs of War or Nuclear Annihilation. This can, however, be a detriment should Mengsk need it moments later for himself.

Terran Commanders[]

Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk, for all their differences in history, tend to compliment one another fairly well. One of the big things Mengsk lacks is the ability to keep his troopers alive when under fire, something that Raynor can help support with his medics, which also serve as a means to recover health on Mengsk’s Royal Guard without the need for switching to laborers on the field. Mengsk meanwhile can provide a significant boost to Raynor’s infantry with his imperial witness buff, which can further increase the marine’s rate of fire while stimmed to a significant amount. The ‘’Pride of Augustgrad’’ range buff to nearby ground units also greatly aids Raynor’s infantry, allowing more marines to shoot at once without stacking on top of one another. A good Raynor can also compliment Mengsk’s somewhat unreliable detection with scanner sweeps, though both players will have to be on the lookout for cloaked units.

Rory Swann provides a boost to one of Mengsk’s key limiting factors: vespene gas. Vespene drones allows Mengsk to produce more Royal Guard quicker, and Mengsk’s ability to quickly expand means he can take advantage of this gas income boost very early in the game. In exchange, a single Imperial Witness over both Army's expansions can increase the speed at which materials are gathered, allowing Swann to build defenses in large amounts. In addition, science vessels provide healing for Mengsk’s mechanized Royal Guard and give him detection, while laborers on the field can help give further healing to Swann’s units. Earthsplitters also compliment Swann’s Drakken Laser Drill, as they can target the fog of war and reveal areas of the map, allowing the drill to help with damaging far targets or laying the vision for a pulse cannon. Earthsplitters can also help give breathing room to siege tank balls if enemies decide to close in on Swann’s forces. Depending on the composition, Megsk’s flame troopers and missile troopers can also provide a good buffer for Swann’s heavier siege lines. On defense missions, Swann's powerful turrets can act as frontline defenses while Mengsk's Shock Division's can gain experience and devastate ground units and Blackhammer's can destroy incoming aerial assaults.

Nova Terra and her emperor don’t have a large amount of overlap, as Nova’s abilities tend to help smaller more specialized armies. The amount of troopers on the field makes defensive drone not particularly helpful, unless microed properly to impact just his Royal Guard units. Nova’s early detection can compliment Mengsk however, and her snipe can take out priority targets that would deal area-of-effect damage to his forces. Tactical Airlift also provides Mengsk’s army with some much-needed mobility, and both can use powerful wave-clearing calldowns. The added boon from the Imperial Witness buff can also help Nova get stronger units fielded earlier by allowing her SCV's to move just a tad quicker.

Mira Han and Matt Horner give some good benefits to Arcturus. The salvage mechanic means that even though Mengsk may lose a large number of troopers or even guard, he can make those minerals back quicker than he would before. Earthsplitters also pair well with Strike Fighters on maps where indirect fire is powerful such as “Dead of Night,” meaning both commanders can keep up their offensive even when it is difficult to leave their base. However, both Han and Horner’s and Mengsk’s core army suffer heavily when hit with area-of-effect, and though both rebuild quickly this often means both armies will suffer losses at similar points in the game. Both also must be careful not to endanger their stronger units, as replacement of a Royal Guard unit or Horner unit are heavy expenses.

Tychus Findlay and Arcturus are a strong pair. Tychus has one of the strongest early games in the game, which can allow Mengsk to focus on his economy and building up his tech for specialized Royal Guard and Imperial Mandate. Earthsplitters can also fire through the fog of war, giving Tychus vision for areas that he can move with his medivacs. The attack and movement speed boost of witnesses also can greatly aid Tychus, especially stacked with the Revitalizer attack speed boost or Reinvigorating Burst's damage boost, while Rattlesnake or Nikara can give healing to Mengsk’s army and Royal Guard, something he normally would have to do with intercessors and laborers. As Tychus, remember to lay down revitalizers for ally Mengsks between fights (this also applies to other commanders). The strong calldowns of Mengsk also compliment Tychus perfectly, and can make for powerful pushes into enemy bases.

Zerg Commanders[]

Sarah Kerrigan, uncharacteristic for their history, has powerful synergy with Arcturus Mengsk. Kerrigan’s powerful hero means early attack waves will be removed, while Mengsk can compensate for waves that potentially hit before Kerrigan spawns, meaning she can focus on macro and not on early units. Assimilation Aura also provides Mengsk with more gas, helping ease the gas burden of his Royal Guard. Omega Worms give much needed mobility to Mengsk’s core army, as well as viable detection if used correctly. Mengsk meanwhile can supplement Kerrigan’s pushes with powerful calldowns that quickly generate, with Dogs of War being powerful when used alongside Immobilization Wave.

Zagara and Arcturus both have a similar focus at their core: massive waves of expendable units to send crashing into enemy positions. In spite of this the two do compliment one another, Zagara’s Frenzy is powerful when used in conjunction with upgraded masses of troopers. Arcturus’s calldowns give more pushing power to Zagara’s forces and can help her anywhere on the map. Mengsk’s powerful anti-air Royal Guard, like Sky Furies, Blackhammers and ‘’Pride of Augustgrad’’ yamatos can help clear the air for Zagara and ease the number of scourges she has to rebuild. As Zagara can clear bases pretty quick, it is beneficial to get out Royal Guard to soak the experience should she decide to do early pushes. Should Zagara push into an enemy encampment without Megnsk, a deployment of the Dogs of War can give a huge benefit as the Ultralisk, Hydralisk, and Mutalisk can help frontline for her squishier army and help defeat aerial targets.

Abathur and Mengsk compliment in several ways. If coordinated correctly, early bunkers or Dogs of War can help in the beginning of the game when Abathur is beginning to create his first brutalisks, which can quickly allow him to scale into the mid game. Abathur’s mend meanwhile provides Mengsk with an army-wide heal on both his troopers and Royal Guard. Abathur’s toxic nests can provided a needed defense for Mengsk’s batteries. Forced Conscription can also provide a means to help enemy attack waves stop on Abathur’s minefields.

Dehaka and Mengsk have some strengths together. On maps where expansions are blocked by enemies, an early Dogs of War at 50 energy can really help Dehaka’s early essence hunt, as well as clear the way for the expansions. This allows Dehaka to scale nicely through the early game and get key abilities. His regeneration aura and detector hero unit also benefits many of the holes in Mengsk’s arsenal, and both have neigh global presence with their calldowns. Dehaka himself can also serve as a powerful tank to prevent Mengsk’s troopers from being overwhelmed quickly.

Egon Stetmann and Mengsk can provide some utility to one another. With the HUGS zone activated, Mengsk can heal his forces, though the overcharged stetellites may not be as effective with Mengsk’s heavy trooper army. Mengsk also only has Emperor’s Shadow that benefit from the JUICE configuration, which usually aren’t heavily used. While FAST does not provide much of an early game bonus to Mengsk as he can create workers quickly, it does allow for Mengsk to reposition. Between the FAST configuration and the speed boost from the imperial witnesses, both players can almost instantly reposition their armies if needed.


Quotations[]

See: Arcturus Mengsk Commander Quotations

Achievements[]

Gameplay[]

IamtheLaw SC2 AchieveIcon1 I Am the Law
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Kill 2000 enemy units in total with Contaminated Strike, Dogs of War, and Nuclear Annihilation.

Edit
ThisWasYourRifle SC2 AchieveIcon1 This Was Your Rifle
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Pick up 500 weapons with Dominion Troopers.

Edit
Earthbroken SC2 AchieveIcon1 Earthbroken
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Deal 200,000 damage with Earthsplitter Ordnance bombardments.

Edit
BestoftheBest SC2 AchieveIcon1 The Best of the Best of the Best, Emperor
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach Rank 3 with at least 50 supply of Royal Guard units simultaneously on Hard difficulty.

Edit
IamoneWhoNukes SC2 AchieveIcon1 I Am the One Who Nukes
Points

20 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete all the Commander Mengsk achievements.

Rewards
Mengsk portrait
Edit

Levels[]

MengskLevel5 SC2 AchieveIcon1 Mengsk: Level 5
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 5 with Arcturus Mengsk in Co-op Missions.

Edit
MengskLevel10 SC2 AchieveIcon1 Mengsk: Level 10
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 10 with Arcturus Mengsk in Co-op Missions.

Edit
MengskLevel15 SC2 AchieveIcon1 Mengsk: Level 15
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 15 with Arcturus Mengsk in Co-op Missions.

Edit


Videos[]

Development[]

As one of the iconic villains of StarCraft lore, the goal of Mengsk was to capture his duplicity and ruthlessness. His talk of unity and the "common good" being used to manipulate people was made to be captured in his trooper weapons, which cost more than the troopers themselves and are dropped when the trooper dies, to reflect how little he cares about them. His Royal Guard meanwhile were the elite soldiers he keeps close to his chest, and designed to be used to support troopers with powerful abilities. As the bastion of military power in the Koprulu Sector, Mengsk was made to embody the iconic real-time strategy concept of a commander who entrenches and plays to win at all costs.

The ability to swap laborers for troopers and garrison units within supply bunkers were concepts borrowed from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, to allow Mengsk to defend his base with workers alone.[1]

Arcturus Mengsk has an unused speech for his gameplay trailer, that appears in the Galaxy Map Editor:

"Citizens of the Dominion, what separates us from one another is not money or creed or heritage. It is simple loyalty. While monsters walked the streets of Augustgrad, I prepared for a war greater than the last. Whatever betrayals I have suffered, I will rise above them. I cannot abandon you when the hour has grown so dark. Just as we threw back the zerg and the protoss, we will strike down all who threaten our way of life. I know our Dominion will live on... so long as we put our trust in those who deserve it."

Trivia[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 New Co-Op Commander: Arcturus Mengsk Battle.net, 10-3-2019
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