Shoot the Messenger directly follows Harvest of Screams. It is the second of three Kaldir missions.[1]
Background
Sarah Kerrigan's forces had to stop the protoss evacuation, otherwise they would alert Shakuras of Kerrigan's activities.
The protoss attempted to flee through three warp conduits. As the level progresses, the player is given more complicated tasks. At first, they just need to destroy one shipping lane, but as they gain more troops, multiple armed protoss ships head toward more exits, and the player must destroy all these armed ships too.
Walkthrough
In this mission the player must stop a series of protoss ark shuttles from reaching warp conduits to Shakuras. At the start of the mission the player will defend the route from one docking bay to one conduit, but as the mission progresses two more of each will be revealed, forcing the player to defend alternate routes. The shuttles will be protected by air units after the first one is destroyed. The shuttles slow down to warp when approaching the conduits, giving the player more time than their initial speed suggests. The player can destroy the shuttle bays the shuttles are launching from to prevent the protoss from using them. However, they lie behind heavily defended protoss bases, so this is difficult. If the player destroys all three shuttle bays, the mission is automatically won, unless there is a shuttle remaining in flight, in which case destroying it wins the mission.
The player should build up a small army and move to the east from their base. A feral hatchery can be found near a mineral site, and will thaw and fall under the player's control when approached, giving them a free expansion. The new unit for the mission, the hydralisk, is invaluable as the protoss will use mixed ground and air forces, and the player will need powerful anti-air units to bring down the shuttles. As optional objectives, the player can retrieve biomass the protoss were storing in tanks scattered throughout the level. Each biomass tank destroyed yields an additional Kerrigan level. The tanks are not heavily guarded and can be liberated simply.
With 4 waves left to go, the protoss will launch a pair of shuttles towards different warp conduits. They will do this for the next three waves. If the player has destroyed two launch bays, the protoss will deploy both shuttles from the same bay, but with potentially different destinations. For the final wave, the Protoss will launch three shuttles, and also deploy a mothership. The mothership will cloak nearby protoss, so the player will need detection or to focus on taking down the mothership to destroy nearby allies. When the final three shuttles are destroyed, the mission is won.
Starcraft 2 Shoot The Messenger - HARD Guide - All Achievements!
Notes
This mission is available in Co-op Missions as the scenario Void Launch.[2]
Achievements
 Shoot the Messenger
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| Points |
10 |
| Criteria |
Complete the “Shoot the Messenger” mission in the Heart of the Swarm campaign. |
| Edit | |
 Warp in Peace
| |
| Points |
10 |
| Criteria |
Don’t let a Protoss Shuttle begin Warping Out in the “Shoot the Messenger” mission. |
| Edit | |
 Extreme Nexism
| |
| Points |
10 |
| Criteria |
Destroy 2 Protoss Nexuses in the “Shoot the Messenger” mission on Normal difficulty. |
| Edit | |
 My Cool Bay Explosion
| |
| Points |
10 |
| Criteria |
Destroy all 3 Protoss Docking Bays in the "Shoot the Messenger" on Hard difficulty |
| Notes | |
|
The achievement name is made to sound similar to "Michael Bay explosions," a reference to the director's use of explosions in his films. | |
| Edit | |
 Failure to Launch
| |
| Points |
10 |
| Criteria |
Destroy a Protoss Docking Bay in less than 11 minutes in the "Shoot the Messanger" mission on Normal difficulty. |
| Edit | |
References
- ↑ Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, Shoot the Messenger (in English). 2013-03-12.
- ↑ Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Co-op Missions, Void Launch (in English). 2015-11-17.