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Smash and Grab is a StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty mission. Raynor's Raiders retrieved an alien artifact for the Moebius Foundation from Monlyth. The Raiders took the artifact from the resisting Tal'darim before the zerg could secure it for themselves.[1]

History[]

Artifacts[]

The archaeological Moebius Foundation contacted Raynor's Raiders via Tychus Findlay and hired the Raiders to retrieve an artifact from Monlyth.

The artifact was guarded by "protoss fanatics" who refused to turn it over to Raynor, a terran with notable protoss connections. The operation was made more urgent by the zerg; the Swarm was on the planet and sought the artifact for themselves.[1]

The Heist[]

The Tal'darim quickly discovered the Raiders; the terrans' newly acquired marauders were quickly engaged by encroaching Tal'darim.

The Raiders beat the zerg to the artifact, even though the latter were constantly reinforced by sacs. The terrans awakened and defeated the three stone guardians and a dropship took the artifact away.

Sarah Kerrigan contacted Raynor and voiced her annoyance at his success. She would not forget his penchant for resourcefulness a second time.[1]

Queen of Blades[]

Afterward, Tychus Findlay hacked into Hyperion's database in search of information on Kerrigan. He was caught by Matt Horner. Findlay was unaware of Kerrigan's past relationship with Jim Raynor, and was amused when Horner told him in contrast to Horner's more sympathetic and concerned feeling.[2]

Conversations after Mission[]

Main article: Campaign quotations

Walkthrough[]

StarCraft_2-_Wings_of_Liberty_-_Mission_4_-_Smash_and_Grab_Walkthrough_-_Hard_Difficulty

StarCraft 2- Wings of Liberty - Mission 4 - Smash and Grab Walkthrough - Hard Difficulty

Raynor's Raiders receive marauders starting this mission; they are excellent for taking out stalkers and are better at soaking up fire than marines. Using a good mix of marauders, marines and medics is a good way to beat the mission. Kerrigan takes quite some time to reach the artifact, so there's no rush.

A force of 24 units, a mix of marines, medics and marauders, will be plenty to fight their way to the artifact and destroy the stone guardians that awaken when it is taken.

Many protoss defenses are powered by exposed pylons, so it is beneficial to take them out outside of range of the protoss defenses in order to minimize losses. On higher difficulties high templar with psionic storm will defend the second bridge, use a smaller force to bait out the storms and pick them off if possible.

On casual and normal difficulties there are two vespene geysers present in the player's base, but on hard and brutal difficulties, there will only be one. On higher difficulties attacks on the player's base will be intense and quick, and if inadequate defenses are left the zerg will destroy the player's infrastructure before they can pull their forces back. Early in the level hold forces back at the base and only push out after a zerg attack has been repelled, and as the mission goes on construct two bunkers and two or more missile turrets to dissuade the zerg attackers.

There are four protoss research points available on the map. The first is located directly in front of the ramp leading out of the Raiders' home base. The second is to the west of the starting point, where Raynor's men will need to fight through a small zerg outpost and then some stalkers and photon cannons. The third is in between the two bridges on the way to the protoss base, defended by three proton cannons. The last is tucked away in a narrow peninsula behind the protoss base, where the player must pass by two pylons to reach it.

A simple way to get the protoss research point to the west of the player's base is to load up SCVs into a command center, lift it off and drop the SCVs on top of the pickup. This can also be accomplished by a Hercules dropship if the mission is done late enough in the campaign; however the latter method is not nearly as efficient as the former due to the expensive requirements and cost of building one.

That being said, having a Hercules dropship can allow the player to bypass practically all Protoss defenses and head straight for the guardians, as well as securing the other artifacts behind the gauntlets of photon cannons and Protoss troops.

The zerg must defeat the stone guardians on their side to secure the artifact; an overlord will fly across the map to pick it up.

While it is possible to overrun the zerg hive cluster with a massive army, this does not end the mission. The protoss will then switch to continuously attacking the player's base, and zerg sacs will continue to land outside the site of the hive cluster.

Achievement Guide[]

To earn the "Rock Solid" achievement, build a force of primarily marauders, as they can tank damage better than marines. Keep the marauders to the left side of the artifact area and focus the nearest stone zealots down, then when engaging the other two, micro the marauders back out of their range when they take too much damage. As for the "Hit & Run" achievement, the player should build up a good force of marines and marauders backed by medics and then push through the protoss base, ignoring most of the structures as destroying them is unnecessary and wastes time.

The next article in this series is The Dig.

Achievements[]

SmashAndGrab SC2 Icon1 Smash and Grab
Points

10 (Artifact Missions) Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete all mission objectives

Edit
RockSolid SC2 Icon1 Rock Solid
Points

10 (Artifact Missions) Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete mission on normal difficulty without losing any units to the Protoss Stone Guardians

Edit
Hit&Run SC2 Icon1 Hit & Run
Points

10 (Artifact Missions) Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete the "Smash and Grab" mission on Hard difficulty in less than 15 minutes.

Edit
10tAnniversary SC2Portrait No Smash, Only Grab
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Gather all 4 Protoss relics without destroying a Zerg structure in the "Smash and Grab" mission on Normal difficulty.

Notes

A reference to the short comic "No Take, Only Throw ."

Edit

Development[]

The following section contains information from a previous version of StarCraft II which is no longer valid.
Queen's Gambit[3]
Criteria
  • Complete mission
You Weren't Using That?[3]
Criteria
  • Complete all objectives
Swift and Deadly[3]
Criteria
  • Complete mission on hard difficulty
  • Complete mission within 20 minutes
Photon Phobia[3]
Criteria
Smash and Grab 2009

The mission was previously known as Tooth and Nail.[3]

An alternate version of the ending can be seen in a 2009 demo of the campaign, without the center walled off and four stone guardians rather than three on each side.[4]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Smash and Grab (in English). 2010-07-27.
  2. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Cinematic: Queen of Blades. (in English). 2010.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Zero. 09/08/17. July 20, 2009 Wings of Liberty Single Player Info. StarCraft Legacy. Last accessed: 09/08/17.
  4. Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Single Player Gameplay Demo [HD]. Youtube
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