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"On a distant, shadowed world, the protoss will make their final stand. Their heroes will gather, their forces will be marshaled, and they will die bravely. But still, they will die. And my zerg... will be slaves... to the hybrid. All will bow before the power... of the Fallen One."

- The Overmind's vision of the battle(src)

In Utter Darkness is the fourth and final mission of the Zeratul mini-campaign in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. It is a flashforward of the Overmind's vision as seen by Zeratul, and watched by Jim Raynor on board the Hyperion.

History[]

Observing the Future[]

Zeratul witnessed the protoss gathered for a final stand against Amon and his hybrid, in a future where the Queen of Blades was dead, the terrans had been consumed, and the Zerg Swarm had fallen under the control of Amon. It was a vision from the Overmind channeled to Zeratul through Ouros, in the guise of Tassadar.[1]

The Last Stand[]

"Protoss brethren, heed me! The last twilight has fallen. The galaxy burns around us! The terrans have been consumed. We are all that stands against the shadow. But if we are to meet our end this day, then we will do so AS ONE! En Taro Tassadar!"

- Dark Prelate Zeratul rallies the final protoss(src)

The protoss gathered their remaining strength for a last stand against Amon's combined hybrid and zerg force. The besieged hoped to survive long enough to complete an archive intended to aid those who might arise after and challenge Amon. Many protoss heroes arrived with reinforcements but for all of their efforts, it was fruitless.

The protoss were ultimately wiped out. They were followed into extinction by the zerg, which were wiped out by the hybrid.[2]

Aftermath[]

Main article: campaign quotations

Walkthrough[]

Players control a protoss army, including a number of heroes, besieged by hybrid and zerg on three sides. Enemy units attack from off-map, and unassailable, bases. The main objective is to kill a certain number of enemy units. The target for casual and normal is 1500, 2000 for hard, and 2500 for brutal. After that, the mission continues until the protoss are wiped out.

Defending the archive yields three protoss research points.[2]

A good combination of colossi and photon cannons is the key to win this mission without much micro work. Build a robotics bay and an additional robotics facility at the beginning, then train as many colossi as possible; they will give you very high kill counts at the end of the mission. You can also train some immortals and reduce the amount of colossi since they deal with the hybrid better. When training colossi is not available (unit count maxed or not enough vespene gas), start building photon cannons; they will help your air force fend off the zerg flyers. It is also important to deal with the brood lords once they appear since they out-range the cannons' attack range.

In the early stages there is a golden mineral base to the northwest of the player. Seizing it as soon as possible will allow for a boost to establishing fortifications going into the mid game, however the base will be destroyed when the zerg begin to send in their trickling attack waves from the east. Due to the intensity of the attacks it is not recommended to try to defend this base during these attack waves.

Several strategies can make the early game easier, including using dark templar on hold position to block early attack waves with no detection. This will help in the early game, but will become less useful as the attack waves begin to produce overseers. A flight of phoenixes on a hotkey with Urun should allow the player to clear out the air attacks that come from the side. Also do not forget Zeratul's abilities, as void prison can lock down large targets like hybrid.

After the archives fall, it may be beneficial to retreat to the core base to have a more defensible position. Block the ramps with photon cannons using what excess minerals have been accumulated, and begin to transition to heavier units like colossi and void rays. From there, hold out until worn down by the growing attack waves.

Gateway Wall[]

InUtterDarkness1_SC2-WoL_VGame1

InUtterDarkness1 SC2-WoL VGame1

"Arawethion", 3483 kills.

Wall off the bridges with gateways backed by colossi. Use a group of phoenixes and void rays to kill air units and hybrid, disabling the hybrid with the phoenixes' Graviton Beam to keep them from breaking the barricade. Build photon cannons all around the base to destroy nydus worms and retreat to the upper level once the archives are safe. As the hero units and their reinforcements spawn add them to the group of air units.[3]

Achievements[]

"In Utter Darkness" is the only mission in the Wings of Liberty campaign in which all achievements can be accomplished on Normal difficulty. However, it still needs to be completed on Hard and Brutal difficulty to complete the challenges related to completing all Brutal/Hard missions.

InUtterDarkness SC2 Icon1 In Utter Darkness
Points

15 (Prophecy Mission) Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete all mission objectives

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Semi-Glorious SC2 Icon1 Semi-Glorious
Points

10 (Prophecy Mission) Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Kill an extra 250 enemy units on Normal difficulty

Edit
BlazeOfGlory SC2 Icon1 Blaze of Glory
Points

10 (Prophecy Mission) Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Kill an extra 750 enemy units on Normal difficulty

Edit
10tAnniversary SC2Portrait Grounded and Scared
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete the "In Utter Darkness" mission without building a unit from a Stargate on Normal difficulty.

Edit

Notes[]

  • When the player beats this mission, the final score window says "Glorious End!", instead of "Victory!".
  • Artanis's speech after warping onto the battlefield would later be mirrored in the briefing of the Legacy of the Void mission "Salvation."[4] Over the course of Legacy of the Void Amon will have quotes that mirror his from this mission as well.[5]

References[]

  1. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Echoes of the Future (in English). 2010-07-27.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, In Utter Darkness (in English). 2010-07-27.
  3. (Sept. 24, 2010) "Arawethion." Youtube "In Utter Darkness, Brutal, 3483 kills". Last Accessed: Nov. 18, 2010.
  4. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Cinematic: The Path of the Warrior. (in English). 2015.
  5. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard) (in English). November 10, 2015
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