Heart of the Swarm is the name of the StarCraft II zerg campaign and episode.
It is released separately from the other two games[5][6] and was priced as an expansion.[7][8][9] The basic set costs $40 USD and the deluxe set costs $55[10] to $60. The Collector's Edition costs $80.[11] It has been collected into a battlechest alongside Wings of Liberty.[12] On July 15 2015, Heart of the Swarm was made a standalone title, allowing play without having first purchased Wings of Liberty.[13] After StarCraft II became free to play, Heart of the Swarm is free for anyone who purchased Wings of Liberty prior to the F2P model.[14]
It follows Wings of Liberty and precedes Legacy of the Void chronologically[15][16] and storywise.[17]
The game is so named as per it being the most in-depth look into the zerg that Blizzard has ever carried out, allowing players to look into the 'heart' of the Swarm.[18]
Description
The game's logo
- The main themes of the game.(src)
The Queen of Blades is gone. On the hellish planet Char, Jim Raynor harnessed the power of an ancient Xel’Naga artifact in a desperate bid to stop the zerg Swarm from overrunning the Koprulu sector, and the relic restored Sarah Kerrigan to her human form. Without their queen to guide and unify them, the Swarm has fractured into several broods scattered throughout the Koprulu sector. One of the greatest threats to the galaxy has been neutralized...or so it seems.
Sarah Kerrigan is on the loose. Even without the terrible powers of the Queen of Blades or the might of the Swarm at her command, the former Ghost remains a foe not to be taken lightly. But if the artifact really did set her free, then why is Kerrigan seeking out zerg broods scattered throughout the Koprulu sector? What happened to Jim Raynor? Is she still pursuing her quest for vengeance, or has her transformation given Kerrigan a new purpose?
Who is Sarah Kerrigan?[19]
Storyline
Heart of the Swarm is a sequel to Wings of Liberty.[20] It focuses on Sarah Kerrigan[21] and the development of a zerg empire.[22] Kerrigan is no longer considered the Queen of Blades. Questions remain about why Kerrigan is no longer with Jim Raynor and whether her transformation has given her new purpose.[23] It begins three weeks after the end of Wings of Liberty.[24] Kerrigan is treated as an anti-hero storywise, and will have to make peace with her relationship with the Swarm over the course of the story. Themes of identity and responsibility will be present, of how responsible Kerrigan is for her actions and whether there are some crimes that can't be forgiven. She is torn in a sense, with her love for Raynor pulling her in one direction, and her hatred for Mengsk pulling her in another.[18]
Summary
Following the Dominion victory on Char, the Zerg Swarm was scattered, and Kerrigan was transformed into a human form but still has some infested elements (such as her zerg "dreadlocks"), and whether she had her original personality back. Kerrigan was taken by Jim Raynor and Valerian Mengsk to a Umojan Protectorate lab in order to escape the pursuit of Arcturus Mengsk, who wanted her dead.[25] Valerian and the Umojan scientists experimented on her control of the zerg swarm, which angered Kerrigan, and she sent zerglings against the robotic defenses of the lab.[26] Valerian later let her go, but a Terran Dominion force under Nova stormed the facility to capture Kerrigan. Kerrigan escaped, but Jim Raynor was captured.[27] Kerrigan went to the rendezvous site to find Jim, but found only a Dominion force that had set up a Drakken pulse cannon. She reclaimed the Naktul Brood in the region, and destroyed the Dominion forces, but Jim was nowhere to be found. She tuned into a UNN broadcast reporting that Jim Raynor had been killed, which set her on the path of revenge against Mengsk.[28]
Kerrigan boarded a zerg Leviathan, and took control of the broods there. She found Abathur and Izsha aboard it, who had served as her assistants when she was the Queen of Blades.[29]
The following section contains timeline information which isn't necessarily in chronological order.
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Kerrigan sought to regain the broods of the rogue broodmother Nafash on the planet Kaldir. When she arrived, she found the brood feral and scattered, and that the protoss colonists there had slew Nafash. They tried to contact Shakuras to bring their fleets against her, but she destroyed their psi-link spires and ark shuttles before they could contact the Golden Armada.[30][31] The colonists then attempted to escape on the Daelaam Ark, but using a larva implanted in the protoss Lasarra, Kerrigan spawned a broodmother on the shuttle. All protoss on board the ship were killed before they could contact Shakuras.[32]
Kerrigan set her broods to reclaim the planet Char, which was under the control of the Terran Dominion under General Warfield. She first fought against the rogue Broodmother Zagara, who did not recognize Kerrigan's authority as the leader of the swarm. Kerrigan spared her, and began having Abathur manipulate her to make her more powerful.[33] She then broke through Warfield's Bone Trench, and assaulted his base. [34] The Dominion on Char were broken, and Kerrigan killed Warfield. However, his last condemning words gave Kerrigan a moment of mercy, and she allowed the wounded Dominion forces to escape.[35]
In the aftermath, the Leviathan was boarded by Prelate Zeratul. Kerrigan was initially hostile to Zeratul, but he granted her a vision of Zerus, the zerg homeworld, and that the prophecy demanded that she be remade there as a primal zerg. Kerrigan was hesitant, but acted on the prophecy, and moved on Zerus, wanting the power to get revenge on Mengsk.[36] She battled the pack leaders of the planet, and awakened Zurvan, the most ancient primal zerg on the planet.[37] Zurvan told her of the first spawning pool, where she could be reborn as primal zerg. Kerrigan did this, leaving her assistants to defend her. After battling the pack leaders, Kerrigan was reborn with more power than she ever had as the Queen of Blades.[38] A primal zerg named Dehaka saw her power, and offered his allegiance, but the other primals gathered their packs to challenge her. Kerrigan used her new power to defeat all of the pack leaders, including Zurvan himself, and gathered the primal zerg under her control.[39]
Kerrigan was then contacted by Mengsk, who told her Raynor was alive and if she attacked the Dominion he would kill her. Kerrigan could not sense Raynor, but swore to find him. She contacted Matt Horner and Valerian Mengsk, who knew only Colonel Orlan could get through the Dominions deep-encryption network to find Jim Raynor. The group met with Mira Han who had him in custody, but refused to give him up. Matt Horner lead the Hyperion against Mira Han, and destroyed her fortress, getting Orlan back.[40] Orlan found Jim Raynor on the Moros, a secure Dominion prison vessel. Kerrigan raided the vessel and found Jim. Sadly, he believed that she had re-infested herself as he left the ship.[41]
The Swarm got a psionic message from an infested terran named Alexei Stukov, who told Kerrigan of the Dominion Hybrid Breeding Program on Skygeirr Platform. Kerrigan agreed to help Stukov, and boarded the platform, infesting the marines guarding it.[42] She broke into the facility, discovering the ancient xel'naga Narud in the guise of a Moebius Foundation terran. Kerrigan destroyed the Hybrid dominators he sent to assault her, and pushed further into the xel'naga ruins the base was built on.[43] The swarm engaged the Tal'darim guarding the inner ruins, and Kerrigan engaged with Narud in single combat. Stukov set about commanding the swarm to deactivate the xel'naga shrines powering Narud, allowing Kerrigan to push his null zone back at him. He was wounded, but not killed.[44] Kerrigan then pursued Narud into the ruins, where he took the guise of Jim Raynor, then her in her uninfested form. After a close battle, Kerrigan slew Narud, but he told her of the fallen xel'naga Amon and his return. She was rescued by Zagara, who commanded the swarm while she recovered. Kerrigan swore that after she killed Mengsk, she would face Amon.[45]
Kerrigan then began her final assault on Korhal to kill Mengsk, bringing her broods in for the final battle. Valerian told Kerrigan to set her brood down outside the city so he could evacuate the civilian population, to which Kerrigan reluctantly agreed. Korhal's orbital defenses were heavy, and destroyed millions of zerg upon entry. Kerrigan engineered bile launchers that were able to destroy Korhal's defense network.[46] As they closed on the capitol, Mengsk unleashed the psi destroyer, a platform that could destroy any zerg connected to the hive mind. Dehaka lead the primal zerg unconnected to the hive mind to destroy the power generators on the platform, allowing Kerrigan to destroy the weapon.[47] In the final assault, Mengsk sent his elite guard against Kerrigan. Jim Raynor moved in with the Hyperion to support Kerrigan's forces. After fighting their way through his elite guard, Kerrigan entered the palace herself to kill Mengsk.[48] However, Mengsk was prepared with the Keystone, which could still harm Kerrigan. Raynor was close behind, and crushed Mengsk's control device. Without his artifact, Kerrigan sent a psionic pulse through Mengsk, killing him. Kerrigan thanked Jim, then mobilized her broods to face Amon as Jim watches Kerrigan flies off.[49]
Gameplay
A few updates have been made to the game's graphics engine, including upgrades to the look and behavior of zerg creep, as well as some changes that allow Blizzard artists to better showcase the worlds in the game. However, Blizzard intends for the expansion to have the same minimum hardware requirements as Wings of Liberty.[50]
A new feature is the rock pillar[51]/collapsable rock tower,[52] which can be destroyed in order to block off a choke point.[51]
Main and gas-extracting structures now display by passing the cursor the number of workers related to it.[52] For example, passing a cursor on a hatchery will show "workers: 10/24" and on an extractor will show "workers: 0/3").[52]
Singleplayer
Heart of the Swarm has 20 main missions and 7 optional evolution missions.[8] It requires an installed version of Wings of Liberty to play.[53]
A canon choices are the default in regards to the events of Wings of Liberty, but the game reflects player choices.[54] References are made in character dialogue to such events.[18] However, the impact of individual choices in Wings of Liberty is only aesthetic.[55]
The campaign operates similarly to an RPG, in which Kerrigan is focused on increasing her personal power through mutations. Zerg armies protect her as she garners this power.[56] The greater her power, the more zerg she's able to control.[57] Like Wings of Liberty, the player is presented with choices as to which missions to carry out and which units to get, but such choices aren't be based on cash.[58] Both the missions and their objectives are intended to be quite different from the ones featured in Wings of Liberty.[59] She will instead worry about evolving the Swarm.[60]
The campaign features a branched storyline structure.[20] Each planet gives access to multiple missions.[61] The set pieces alter in accordance with planet and the results of missions.[62] It is intended that the missions strike a balance in regards to foes, with terrans, zerg, and protoss getting equal limelight.[63]
Missions cannot be skipped, but their order can be changed.[64] Browder expects that it will take the average player 20 or fewer hours to complete the campaign.[65] Many hybrids will appear in the campaign as opponents to Kerrigan.[18]
The missions of the game are intended to have a different feel than those in Wings of Liberty. In the first game of the trilogy, the zerg were rarely engaged directly and instead, it was about Raynor side-stepping them while completing his objectives. In Heart of the Swarm, the missions are more offensive in nature, such as preventing anyone from escaping an invaded planet.[18]
It is intended that character lines will be altered slightly based on context—not new scenes, but ones that will be contextually appropriate.[66]
There is little use for air-to-air units in the campaign.[63]
A full listing of the single player campaign missions can be found at Heart of the Swarm missions.
Kerrigan's Evolution
Kerrigan can increase her stats in a manner similar to Warcraft III, but not to the same extent.[53] She is present on almost every singleplayer mission. Unlike Raynor, Kerrigan is a creature of power that leads her army from the front and unlike Wings of Liberty, the mission isn't over if she dies. Kerrigan is able to revive at the nearest hatchery if she is killed, allowing players to use her aggressively.[67]
Kerrigan initially starts out looking very human and armed with a gun, though she can control zerg forces.[61]
Each battle focus allows Kerrigan to have a certain set of special abilities.[61]
Unit Evolution Mechanics
Regarding the evolution pit mechanic Dustin Browder said "we are trying to focus the player on finding new DNA from exotic and strange creatures around the sector so that you really feel like the key to zerg success is finding and infesting the immense, deadly monsters that live on the most savage planets in the galaxy."[67] The developers intended to make the choices of unit type/evolution by less clear-cut than in Wings of Liberty, with different options being equally viable.[63]
Mini-missions are available when a unit split is available. The evolution missions allow the player to use both types of units, enabling the player to make an educated choice by the end of it.[54] These changes cannot be reverted.[68]
There are 14 or so short skirmishes far from the standard missions. In one example, zerglings can be upgraded into raptors by absorbing the genetics of leaping creatures, while the alternative is to absorb a strain of feral zerg that have developed swarmlings.[69] This is a change from the old mutagen system of evolution, which developers felt was too similar to the system of upgrades in Wings of Liberty.[18]
Characters
- Abathur
- Brakk
- Dehaka
- Kaldir Expedition Leader
- Mira Han
- Matt Horner
- Izsha
- Sarah Kerrigan
- Lassara
- Arcturus Mengsk
- Valerian Mengsk
- Emil Narud
- Naktul
- Niadra
- Jim Raynor
- Alexei Stukov
- Rory Swann
- Nova Terra
- Horace Warfield
- Yagdra
- Zagara
- Zeratul
- Zurvan
Units
- BlizzCon 2011 slogan(src)
There are new multiplayer units for each of the three playable races.[70] It was Blizzard's intention to enhance the uniqueness of each playable species in regards to gameplay[50] and to avoid redundancy.[71]
Units, which were cut from multiplayer, make their appearances in the campaign mode.[72]
Terrans
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| Hellbat[73] | Widow mine[74] |
According to Dustin Browder, the terrans have "enough stuff already" and as such, it is difficult to know what to do with them. Terrans are more flexible in multiplayer than the zerg or protoss and the team doesn't want to add units/unit properties that increase this trend.[65] Reapers gained an out-of-combat regeneration ability called Combat Drugs.[51][75]
At BlizzCon 2011, three new terran units were revealed—the warhound, the shredder and the hellbat.[76] However, the shredder was later removed.[77] Overall, the new terran theme for Heart of the Swarm is a mech one, standing in contrast to Wings of Liberty which was more balanced around biological terran units.[78]
As of June 2012, the widow mine, which could attack both air and ground units, was introduced.[79]
As of September 2012, during the beta, the warhound was removed.[80] However, it was used in the campaign.
A general theme for terran units in the expansion is that they are more high-tech than units in previous installments.[81]
Zerg
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| Swarm host and locust[73] | Viper[73] |
At BlizzCon 2011, the viper and swarm host were added to the Swarm,[76] while the overseer was said to be removed from multiplayer.[73] The overseer made a reappearance in the game due to changes to the viper.[77] Prior to this, numerous ideas were tossed around—the lurker was a possible addition but wasn't confirmed[82] and it was suggested a different unit be created to take the role the lurker once had.[65] At BlizzCon 2010, the infested bunker was touted as a possible campaign unit.[83]
Protoss
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| Oracle[73] | Tempest[73] | Mothership core[79] |
The protoss were to gain three new units—the oracle, the replicant and the tempest,[76] while the mothership and carrier were to be removed from multiplayer games.[73] As of April 2012, the replicant had been removed.[77] As of June 2012, the mothership core, a new unit built on the nexus that can later upgrade into a Wings of Liberty mothership, was named and displayed.[79] The carrier reappeared during the beta.[84]
A general goal of protoss development in the game is to give them more aerial firepower.[77]
Multiplayer
Blizzard planed on adding "drawing" functionality for referees in Heart of the Swarm, but this was not available in the final game.[85]
From a multiplayer standpoint, Heart of the Swarm is an expansion, not a sequel.[20]
It has a separate ladder from Wings of Liberty.[86]
Heart of the Swarm will have the same e-sports focus as Wings of Liberty.[87]
The expansion added a leveling system, introducing a system of leveling and rewards. In this system, experience is earned while playing matchmaking and custom games. XP is given in accordance with race played, given at the end of the match, and is earnt through each unit built and destroyed. Levels range from 1 to 20 for each race. Bonus XP can also be earnt. Each level gifts the player with a new decal or portrait. These levels have a net total; by reaching level 20 for each race, a player has a net total level of 60 for instance.[88]
A clan system was added into the game. Players can form/join clans and assign tags accordingly.[89]
Reception
Heart of the Swarm was the best selling retail PC game in North America in 2013.[90] The game sold approximately 1.1 million units on the first two days of sale.[91]
Heart of the Swarm maintains a 86/100 on Metacritic.[92] PCgamer gave the expansion a 91/100, calling it "A traditional RTS essential for anyone interested in competitive strategy games, and highly recommended for anyone who isn't."[93]
The cinematics from Heart of the Swarm received the 2013 Golden Reel Award for Best Sound & Music Editing: Computer Interactive Entertainment from the Motion Picture Sound Editors society.[94]
Development
Development History
Development image
Blizzard's storyboard team was already working on Heart of the Swarm while Wings of Liberty's gameplay was refined.[95][96] The development team numbers over 150, with a core team of 70 developers.[65] It was deemed that the game's "zerg fantasy" (similar to the "terran fantasy" of Wings of Liberty) would be focused on adapting to hostile environments, picking mutations and evolutions to become a more efficient killing machine.[97]
As of March 2011 Dustin Browder expected Heart of the Swarm to finish development in approximately one year.[98] As of July 2011, the first part of the campaign (including cutscenes) had been completed.[99]
In October 2011, Blizzard began releasing preview art of new units.[100][101][102]
May 2012 Announcement
As of May 2012, Blizzard announced plans to include the following functionalities in Heart of the Swarm:
- Multiplayer resume from replay: This would enable an interrupted multiplayer game, such as in an e-sport tournament, to start from a point in the replay.
- Global Play: Enabling players to operate accounts outside of their home region
- Multilanguage support
- Clan/group system
- Unranked matchmaking
- Multiplayer replay viewing[103]
Beta
The beta test went live September 4, 2012.[104] It was expected to last 3–5 months.[63] By June 2012 the missions were complete, and Dustin Browder believed the game would be released that year. However, there was a lot of multiplayer work, UI, art and debugging to work on.[105] On November 13, 2012, the release date of March 12, 2013 was announced.[1] Presales became available as of then.[106] The beta ended on March 1, 2013.[107]
Release
The game was released on March 12, 2013.[1] With the game's release, many of those who had worked on it were transferred to work on Heroes of the Storm.[108]
Maps
Because of feedback from Wings of Liberty players, Heart of the Swarm received larger map sizes.[108]
Units
Browder was open to the idea of the defiler being playable in the campaign, but was more reserved about the devourer.[63] Various new types of nydus worms were being planned as well.[77] None of these were playable in the final product.[24]
Destroyer of Worlds
"Destroyer of Worlds" was a mechanic that existed in a pre-release version of the game. Here, Kerrigan could select from various worlds for a broodmother to destroy, said worlds being of tactical advantage to the Dominion.[109] In the final version of the game, while broodmothers do destroy worlds upon Kerrigan's order, there is no element of player choice or gameplay effect.[24]
Storyline
The story was intended to have a darker feel than Wings of Liberty, due to the zerg being the protagonists.[66] According to lead writer Brian T. Kindregan, the story was intended to be "a complete story of Sarah Kerrigan and the zerg," and have "its own satisfying ending."[110] He intended for the story to convey the zerg mindset and their code of ethics, though not so far to convey the idea that the zerg are simply misunderstood. Striking a balance between the "alienness" of zerg characters yet also making them relatable was another issue.[53]
More emphasis was placed on mission cutscenes than Wings of Liberty in regards to conveying backstory, such as information about the zerg.[63] Dustin Browder has acknowledged that Wings of Liberty suffered from a lack of clarity at times, that character motivations were vague and the story lacked central focus. In contrast, Heart of the Swarm was to keep its focus on Kerrigan much more and hopefully avoid those problems.[111]
Location-wise, Heart of the Swarm was intended to show more exotic locales than the ones featured in Wings of Liberty—no "farm areas" for instance. Ideas for locations include gas giants, frozen and hot worlds, places where the zerg were first formed and Dominion labs.[65]
As Heart of the Swarm neared, the online StarCraft short stories series became zerg-centric, focusing on zerg evolution.[112] Online zerg-focused stories such as In the Blood have been published.[113] An ongoing blog, Project Blackstone, was created to represent changes in-universe. Light was shed on zerg biology and the protoss.[112]
Cut Content
It was deemed unlikely that many characters from Wings of Liberty would return for Heart of the Swarm bar Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk.[63] It was stated that characters from StarCraft: Brood War would make appearances, with Samir Duran cited as one such possibility.[65]
Creatures could be collected for DNA from places such as Terran Dominion labs.[68] Creatures were collected from the Daelaam Ark[32] but not a Dominion lab.[24]
In very early versions of the story, Tychus Findlay was planned to return as an infested marine character, as a point of contact for Kerrigan. This would be a point of tension between Raynor and Kerrigan later in the story. However, this concept was scrapped and would pave the way for Izsha.[114]
Early versions of the story included a sub-plot where Kerrigan gained revenge on Abathur for his transformation of her into the Queen of Blades, and harsher treatment of Zagara in her instruction of tactics. Cut lines indicate that hybrids were set to have been encountered in a greater abundance than they were in the game's release version.[109]
In December 2010, a video was uploaded claiming to be the ending cinematic to the game. The video was a very early rendering of the video with a temporary sound track and a watermark for The Third Floor, a company known to have done some of the cinematic work for Wings of Liberty. Blizzard did not comment on the video as part of its general policy to "not comment on rumors or speculation".[115] The final version of Heart of the Swarm's ending cinematic bears multiple similarities in characterization and dialogue with the leaked cinematic. The cinematic was notably missing the Keystone, with it replaced by a chip drilled into the back of Kerrigan's neck implanted during her time as a ghost.[49]
Collector's Edition
The collector's edition
Heart of the Swarm features a Collector's Edition. It includes custom in-game content: a torrasque skin, 3 Swarm-infested portraits, 3 Swarm-infested decals, a baneling pet in World of Warcraft, and a Blade Wings & Banner sigil in Diablo III in honor of the Queen of Blades.
The product includes a Heart of the Swarm art book, a zerg rush mouse pad, a Behind the Scenes Blu-ray™ / DVD set and a Collector's Edition soundtrack.[116]
Heart of the Swarm Videos
Blizzard has uploaded a number of videos to demonstrate Heart of the Swarm.
Battle Reports
In addition, Blizzard hosted a series of Battle Reports in June 2012.[52][117]
| The next article in this series is StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. |
References
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