Eye of the Storm is the tenth and final protoss mission of Episode III of StarCraft. As such, it is the final mission of the original game.
History[]
Background[]
Fenix and Zeratul led an attack on two cerebrates that controlled the broods that helped defend the Overmind's nesting area.[1] The attack was successful; Zeratul killed the cerebrates, throwing the Overmind's defenders into disarray, allowing the protoss to plan an attack on the creature itself. Jim Raynor, a terran Tassadar had befriended on Char, gave the aid of his men in the attack.
Tassadar's followers moved in from the south-east, Tassadar piloting the command ship Gantrithor into the battle, while Raynor's Raiders positioned themselves in the north-west with Raynor commanding from their flagship Hyperion.[2] As they prepared their attack, Judicator Aldaris contacted them on the behalf of the Conclave. He informed them the Conclave had witnessed their defeat of the cerebrates, and now recognized they were in error in persecuting Tassadar and his allies. Though Raynor mocked their lack of military support, Aldaris told the warriors the hopes of all the protoss were with them.[3]
After a fierce battle, the terran and protoss forces were able to pierce the Overmind's defenses and deal heavy damage to the creature. However, Tassadar and his allies had also sustained severe damage. Tassadar performed a sacrificial final attack on the Overmind, piloting the Gantrithor into a collision course with the Overmind while channeling the dark templar's energies into the ship's hull. The attack obliterated the ship and destroyed Tassadar, but the resulting blast of energy destroyed the Overmind as well.[2]
The death of the Overmind had dramatic repercussions for the galaxy. Most importantly, its death directly led to the Brood War.
Walkthrough[]
The mission has two starting bases - a protoss base in the south-east and a terran base in the northwest. Both must be defended against zerg attack. At the protoss base are Gantrithor, Zeratul, and four dark templar; the terran base has some marines, firebats, and Hyperion. Gantrithor is a carrier with increased health and shields, but with normal interceptors. The terran base has a lot of minerals but is poor in vespene, whereas the protoss base has two full vespene geysers but is short on minerals; fortunately, the terrans and protoss pool their resources.
The protoss base is on low ground and is more vulnerable to attack; work quickly to reinforce its defenses. Build photon cannons atop the entrance ramps; use the dark templar against ground units.
The terran base has ramps to the east and completely open terrain to the south. Place bunkers at the ramps. Wall off the southern perimeter with supply depots as resources allow, and reinforce it with siege tanks and bunkers. Zerg attacks include guardians; repel them with wraiths and/or scouts.
Each base is located near two expansions; the protoss' are to the north and west, the terrans' to the south and east. The south-west corner of the map has a massive mineral field, large enough to be mined by more than one nexus or command center. The north-east corner has four vespene geysers. SCVs and probes may return resources to any allied nexus and command centers, regardless of race; similarly, they may also gather gas from any allied refineries and assimilators. The edges of the map are mostly clear of enemies, easing the transfer of forces between bases. The resource areas in the corners have minor enemy garrisons. The other resource areas should only be needed if the battle is going badly or for an extended period of time.
The Overmind is situated just south-west of the middle of the map, and ringed by four hives; it is in the center of the large Jormungand (purple) hive cluster. The Tiamat (red) hive clusters are split among the corners of the Jormungand base; the south-east and north-west ones are larger than the other two. The Tiamat brood is primarily offensive; the Jormungand brood is primarily defensive but still sends harassing queens and defilers. All Tiamat hive clusters are directly below cliffs and may be attacked by air units and siege tanks from atop the cliffs; attacking any Tiamat base draws forces from the other bases.
The terrans and protoss use separate supply counts; building a very large combined army is possible. battlecruiser and/or carrier fleets are effective. Using mixed protoss-terran formations may also be effective. For example, zealots are more durable melee attackers than firebats, while marines are more cost effective than dragoons. Whereas the protoss have a more direct path of attack, the terrans have an advantage in some aspects with their battlecruisers, which can for example wipe out Scourge far more effectively than carriers. Including one observer or science vessel with the respective fleets to detect burrowed units is also a good idea.
Because the map is so rich in free expansions and the attacks from even the Tiamat brood are slow to ramp up (three Zerglings, three Hydralisks), a bold opening gambit is immediate and aggressive expansion, with an emphasis on gathering minerals. The player starts with enough minerals to begin constructing new gatherers at both bases, and with continuous gatherer production can afford to send Tassadar (the Gantrithor) to the southwest while Zeratul and the Dark Templar guard another expansion. While Tassadar is en route to the southwest mineral-rich expansion, it will be feasible to build four or more interceptors while still maintaining continuous worker production at both bases. Once Tassadar arrives, he will be able to take out the minimal zerg forces stationed in the southwest area and then loiter to protect the expansion, to which the player can immediately send a probe to construct one new Nexus followed by a second at the lower and upper parts of the expansive site. Next, the player can build expansions with a Nexus at the southern middle clifftop area, and in the northern middle area with a new Command Center, which will help extend the supply limits of the terran force. The player may send a Probe north and then west from the original protoss base to safely reach the terran camp without encountering any zerg.
With expansions begining, the player will next need to begin harvesting gas and begin climbing the terran and protoss tech trees. With continunous worker production, minerals will accumulate rapidly. Photon Cannons can be placed in areas that will guard the expansions against attack but not provoke the Tiamat brood. The player should build some cannons to stop zerg counter-attacks, then push with more aggressive placements. The southern middle expansion overlooks a major Tiamat hive, and if placed carefully along the cliffs the cannons will wipe out any drones gathering resources. This will provoke Hydralisks to counterattack, but the cannons will have an advantage firing from the cliffs above while a line walling the ridge on the eastern side of the site, plus Dark Templar to slice through any Ultralisks that may come along, will keep the cliff going. Guardians may be rallied to attack the cannons, which makes it a good idea to either have Tassadar ready to repel such an attack or (better) to start this push after producing a handful of Scouts. Another (unguarded) expansion in the north central region of the map is an excellent site for an aggressive cliff-based canon push, and can be supported by Raynor in the Hyperion while it is under construction. A third place to stage a cannon push is at the south of the mesa where the terran base is located. It is closeby but not associated with the nearby terran-accessible expansion on the western edge of the map, but reinforcing it will plug a ramp where the zerg could otherwise stage attacks against the main terran base, and cannons placed along the ridge will again fire against drones attempting to harvest minerals.
Getting a Probe to the terran base is a great advantage, as the probe can construct numerous Photon Cannons with no unit supply cost and much less need for attention than terran Bunkers (they will fire on air and ground, and while they will be weakened by a Defiler's Plague ability, they will not burn down). With the southwestern mineral fields in production, cannons can be built throughout the player's many bases while the gas supply ramps up. Eventually, the cannons will wear down Tiamat brood's ability to produce Hydralisks and send them in flailing attempts at counter-attacks. To really tighten the screws, the player can build Arbiters and Siege Tanks. The Arbiters can Recall the tanks anywhere on the map, and if the player plans carefully the cannon emplacements can even allow positions for tanks to reach all the way to various Tiamat Hives and Lairs, which will keep the threat up and continue to exhaust the red zerg forces. Exposed Siege tanks will still do damage, but are vulnerable to near-automatic counterattacks by Queens (Spawn Broodling). Cloaked tanks surrounded by cannons are a low-maintenance way to inflict devastating losses on the Tiamat brood. With the siege in its later stages, Zeratul can simply walk around various Tiamat bases such as the southwestern Lair and slice his way through the buildings with minimal resistance.
The player's simplest attack force is Battlecruisers, but there are still vulnerabilities such as Defiler Plague and Scourges. The player can produce High Templar to conjure Hallucinations that will absorb some of the dense flocks of Scourges around the Overmind itself, and ahead of an attack various Command Centers at the player's bases may use Comsat Stations to scan for burrowed Defilers while Science Vessels seek and kill them. Siege tactics will destroy most of the Tiamat brood's Spore Colonies, the most problematic defensive structures, but the Garm brood's Spore Colonies are closer to the middle and can be taken out by pairs of Battlecruisers peeling off from the pack to use their Yamato Cannons. An initial flight around the Garm brood's zone, taking out Spore Colonies and also assaulting the Defiler Mound, can lay the foundation for total annihilation of the Garm forces and a straightforward attack on the Overmind itself.
Regardless of attack force composition, the paths of least resistance to attack the Overmind are the four primary compass directions, by moving between the four Tiamat bases. The zerg are heavily entrenched behind static defenses, and are under no tech restrictions. The Overmind has 5000 HP, the highest of any structure or unit in the game; deplete its HP to complete the mission.
References[]
- ↑ Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Shadow Hunters (in English). 1998.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Eye of the Storm (in English). 1998.
- ↑ Aldaris: "Executor. Tassadar. This comes too late to you. But the Conclave has witnessed your defeat of the Cerebrate. They know now that they cannot deny the necessity or the valiancy of your actions. We sought to punish you, while it was we who were in error. You represent what is greatest in us all, and all our hopes go with you. EN TARO ADUN, brave Sons of Aiur!" StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Level/area: Eye of the Storm (in English). 1998.