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The Essence of Eternity is the second mission in the Into the Void Epilogue campaign of Legacy of the Void.

History[]

Background[]

"Amon's shadow will devour all. Kerrigan, may the last of my essence give you the power you need."

- Ouros(src)

Ouros began to channel his essence into Sarah Kerrigan in order to complete her transformation into a xel'naga. However, this process would leave her exposed to Amon. Commander Jim Raynor was put in charge of coordinating her defense while she channeled Ouros's power, with Broodmother Zagara and Hierarch Artanis aiding her.[1]

Mission[]

"They're assaulting our base from the other side. These bastards don't let up do they?"

"Why would they? Tenacity is advantageous in war."

"That isn't what I- Ah hell nevermind."

- Commander Jim Raynor and Broodmother Zagara(src)

As Kerrigan channeled Ouros's power, she was assaulted by void thrashers. She was able to use her newfound power to annihilate them, but such a power would stall her transfer. Kerrigan's allies set up defensive positions around her, while shadows of the Void came in from all directions. Raynor was forced to send forces to reinforce them before they fell. More void thrashers were summoned to assault Kerrigan, but were quickly dispatched.

Raynor held his position, and Kerrigan managed to channel the power, sending a blast that destroyed the shadows of the void in the area. Kerrigan ordered Zagara to take control of the Zerg Swarm, and to remember the lessons she had taught her.[1]

Cycle's End[]

"With the last of our essence, a new eternity dawns. The Infinite Cycles have come to their end."

- Ouros' last words(src)

Ouros departed the last of his essence to Kerrigan, stating the Infinite Cycle had now ended, and died. With the last of the xel'naga essence, Kerrigan changed form into that of a flaming angel, brimming with power. She sent a vision to Raynor, saying that the moments they had together would always be with her, but that they had to go. Raynor told her to finish this fight, and Kerrigan flew off to face Amon.[2]

Walkthrough[]

In this mission, the player spawns as the terran in the center, and has defenses on the western approach. Allies hold the east and southern approaches, but in limited numbers. The goal is to defend Kerrigan for 1,260 seconds (21 minutes), and to keep allied forces alive as long as possible in order to use them as a buffer. Kerrigan can be used in a similar fashion to the Drakken laser drill from The Dig which includes slowing down her evolution as she uses it, but given the larger number of enemies it is recommended that she only be used for very high priority targets. First priority should be taking the expansion west of the starting base, in order to get the extra resources needed for a defense.

Wings of Liberty campaign units are available, and as such mercenaries should be called down whenever possible. Every single mercenary unit is available. The units and structures have the following upgrades from the campaign:

Even on a normal difficulty level you will find that on their own your two NPC allies are programmed to have novice level AI commanders and do NOT build well defensively, so you will need to send them a great deal of help in order to get the shown bonus objectives of not letting your ally bases die. Siege tanks, missile turrets, and planetary fortresses should defend the terran and protoss bases, while siege tanks and a mobile force should defend the zerg base. The ledges around Raynor's main base are also good places to park siege tanks and turrets to help protect the surrounding bases. Structures cannot be built on the creep, but they will provide a stronger defense, and as Zagara will respawn when slain she does not need as much defense until later in the mission. Artanis will come back to full health upon taking fatal damage due to his resurgence ability, but if killed a second time while resurgence is on cooldown he will not respawn. This will usually happen early in the mission, especially on higher difficulties, and as such the protoss base is the more vulnerable. Defending the protoss and zerg is just as important as defending Raynor's western expansion, as Kerrigan becomes much more vulnerable if the Void forces get through them.

Use Kerrigan to take out void thrashers, void rifts, or high priority targets like brood lords that outrange static defenses. Try to avoid overusing it, as the last pushes are brutal and can come down to seconds.

Generally speaking, bunkers will prove awkward to manage and replace, and on harder difficulties they are basically useless against the swarms of enemies that attack you due to their insufficient durability. It is better to make walls with planetary fortresses with siege tanks and SCVs behind them and lots of nearby missile turrets. That said, empty bunkers can still be somewhat spammed early on to buy time while you prepare stronger defenses, as the enemy will still attack them due to their Shrike turret. Even supply depots can be used as a spammable decoy if need be thanks to their instant calldown. Vikings should also be used for anti-air defense (and killing colossi), as missile turrets will be regularly torn apart by enemy ground forces.

One unit that can prove particularly useful in this mission is the spectre. The enemies that attack you will have no detectors, and since the spectres have access to permanent cloaking, they can fire without fear of direct retaliation (only needing to worry about splash damage). A force of spectres can prove highly effective at helping to defend Zagara's base, especially if you use their Psionic Lash attack on heavier targets.

If there is need for extra vespene gas, allies' extractors and assimilators can be destroyed and automated refineries can be built in their place. As the AI does not actually need to mine resources, this will not inhibit their ability to build.

If trying for the Purity of Purpose achievement, note that as long as Kerrigan's beam does not kill an enemy unit, it does not count against the limit. Therefore, her beam can be used to soften a target, leaving it nearly dead and letting other units finish it off. This can be very tricky to manage, however, due to her beam's sheer damage. Ideally, the beam should only be used to deal with void thrashers only.

Starcraft_2_ESSENCE_OF_ETERNITY_-_Brutal_Guide_-_Praise_The_Sun!

Starcraft 2 ESSENCE OF ETERNITY - Brutal Guide - Praise The Sun!

Achievements[]

TheEssenceOfEternity SC2-LotV AchieveIcon1 The Essence of Eternity
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete the “The Essence of Eternity” mission in the Legacy of the Void campaign.

Edit
TheEssenceOfEternity SC2-LotV AchieveIcon3 Praise the Sun!
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Kill 60 enemy units with Kerrigan’s Celestial Beam in “The Essence of Eternity” mission on Normal difficulty.

Notes

The achievement name is a reference to the action role playing game Dark Souls.

Edit
TheEssenceOfEternity SC2-LotV AchieveIcon2 Xel'naga Lifeguard
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete "The Essence of Eternity" mission without allowing Kerrigan’s life to drop below 1500.

Edit
EssenceOfEternity SC2-LotV MasteryAchieveIcon Purity of Purpose
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete the "The Essence of Eternity" mission while killing no more than 15 enemy units with Kerrigan’s Celestial Beam on Hard difficulty.

Edit
Legacy10 SC2AchiveImage Time is Money
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Collect 18 resource pickups in the "Essence of Eternity" mission within 3 minutes on Normal difficulty.

Edit

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Into the Void, The Essence of Eternity (in English). 2015-11-10.
  2. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Cinematic: Cycle's End. (in English). 2015.
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