The Quest for Uraj

Previous	Legacy of the Xel'Naga
Next	The Battle of Braxis
The Quest for Uraj
Conflict	Brood War
Date	August-September, 2500
Place	Braxis
Result	Uraj retrieved
Combatants
Fleet of the Matriarch
Fleet of the Matriarch
Terran Dominion
Terran Dominion
Commanders
Dark Prelate Zeratul The Executor Praetor Artanis Sarah Kerrigan
Dark Prelate Zeratul The Executor Praetor Artanis Sarah Kerrigan
Objectives	Bring Kerrigan to the Uraj crystal Kerrigan must survive
Heroes	Infested Kerrigan

The Quest for Uraj is the fourth protoss mission of Episode IV of StarCraft: Brood War.

History

Background

After destroying two cerebrates that had nested around the xel'naga temple on Shakuras, Sarah Kerrigan appeared on the temple grounds and parleyed with the protoss, claiming she had knowledge of a threat to all of them. There was a new Overmind growing on Char. The protoss were skeptical of this, but Kerrigan claimed that with the Overmind dead, she had been freed from its control and was now reformed. Judicator Aldaris refused to listen to Kerrigan and insisted she was not to be trusted, but when Matriarch Raszagal dismissed his concerns, he left the meeting in anger.

Kerrigan explained that after the death of the first Overmind, Daggoth took control of the Zerg Swarm and most of the other cerebrates, and had several cerebrates merge into a new Overmind. The creature was currently still in its infant state and could yet control the zerg, but Daggoth and the other cerebrates were doing so in its stead. The two cerebrates the dark templar had killed at the temple were two of Daggoth's cerebrates. Kerrigan believed the new Overmind would exert full control over the Zerg Swarm, including her, once it matured, and she wished to keep her new independence.

Dark Prelate Zeratul said that despite the threat posed by a new Overmind, the priority of the protoss now was securing Shakuras, not warring with the zerg. Kerrigan accepted this and offered her aid in finding the Uraj and Khalis crystals, reasoning that helping the protoss drive the zerg from Shakuras would still weaken Daggoth's forces. Raszagal encouraged the protoss to put aside their old hatred and accept Kerrigan as their ally. Praetor Artanis reluctantly accepted, and he, along with Kerrigan, Zeratul, and the Executor, made plans to shortly depart for Braxis, the location of the Uraj.

Walkthrough

The player's starting base is established in the destruction of a terran base the player begins the mission attacking. The player commands Kerrigan, three dragoons, and three reavers, as well as four probes. The player should begin warping in pylons and a nexus on the terrans are cleared out, and hold on constructing more scarabs for their reavers to conserve minerals. The terrans will not go active until the player either leaves the plateau or finishes their nexus. If the player wishes, they can cloak Kerrigan and move her south to attack a terran base with no detectors, allowing her to destroy several bunkers and other units in preparation for a later attack. Later in the map the terrans will have built a comsat station, so Kerrigan's cloak is much less useful.

The player's ability to build stargates and associated air units is disabled on this map, but all other aspects of the tech tree are enabled. The terrans attack with infantry, goliaths, siege tanks, and wraiths. Kerrigan and the player's reavers can easily hold the ramp into the player's base, and dragoons with a few photon cannons can fend off wraiths; later in the mission the terrans research cloaking, so the player will need detection. An army of zealots and dragoons can destroy the terran base to the south, and the player can use its resources to keep building their army larger and upgrade them fully.

The Uraj is located behind a massive terran base that covers much of the southern part of the map. The area is heavily reinforced with siege tanks, bunkers, and missile turrets, and without air units the player must rely on brute force and numbers to sweep the terrans. When the base is destroyed enough, the player can walk Kerrigan to the Uraj to win the mission.

A quick way to win the mission is to go the other way on the map. A terran base on the eastern side of the map is much more lightly defended than its western counterpart, and even the player's starting forces are enough to destroy it. After that, the player will need a shuttle. The shuttle can spot the high ground for the player's dragoons, allowing them to destroy missile turrets and clear the way for the player to ferry Kerrigan onto the cliff, directly on the northern edge of the terran base. From here the player can simply move Kerrigan to the Uraj to end the mission; the terran defenders around the crystal will not be able to kill her before she reaches it.

Starcraft Brood War - Protoss Mission 4 The Quest for Uraj

Notes

• The title screen for the mission states the protoss are already in orbit over Braxis; however, Artanis states at the end of the mission briefing they will depart for Braxis shortly. Given the presence of Aldaris and Raszagal in the mission briefing, it is likely the characters were still on Shakuras at the time, and the title screen was a developer oversight.