Starcraft II: A Dive into the New Protoss

Today marks the second day that I have been playing and messing around with the Starcraft II: Wings of Libery Beta Testing. As a result, I have decided to play each race intensely and bring you my results as the day comes to an end. Today just so happened to be the Protoss‘ lucky day, as I played many matches against computers and opponents as the mighty (and OP) Protoss. But before I start, I’ll tell you that I have a feeling this race is bound to get nerfed sometime soon. They just simply come off as way too OP since the older Starcraft days.

The first thing that I noticed while playing as the Protoss was the Gateway. There’s an upgrade for the gateway to turn into a Warp Gate, which shies away from the traditional queue and allows the player to “warp-purchase” a unit into any space that’s covered by the fields of a Pylon. Pretty tight huh? This comes in handy for a strategy that seems to be easily played with another Protoss unit that I will describe later on.

Next is the Stalker. I feel this is a simple recreation of the old Dragoon, except that it has a different skin and attack. Still a ranged unit, it doesn’t seem have as large a range as the old Dragoon, but I find this unit will come pretty handy during the beginning of games. One of my most favorite new additions to the Starcraft II game is the Sentry. This unit comes off as pretty OP to me. It has three abilities that allow it to serve a multitude of purposes, ranging from being a path blocking unit to being a semi-helpful shield. Use it right, and you’ve got yourself a great tool.

Now referring back to the Warp Gate mentioned before, the Robotics Facility produces a unit that can serve as a deadly combo if used right (with the appropriate micro-managing): the Warp Prism. This unit can transform into something that emits the same energy a Pylon does, meaning you can essentially move the unit anywhere on the map and have an energy field. Use this in combination with the Warp Gate and you’ve got yourself a portable unit spawner. OP right? The Robotics Facility also produces some other units, like the Colossus (a big laser shooting spider looking thing to say the least), but none other of great interest.

Something that caught my eye, however, when building from the Stargate was the Warp Ray unit. If it singles in on a certain unit, the ray that it is firing seems to get bigger. When targeting a single unit over time, the Warp Ray causes increased damage, and is noteworthy for attacking larger enemies (especially air ones). Another unit from this facility, the Carrier (nostalgic right?), now has a new kick-ass graphic improved looking skin, and the interceptors seem to fly out at a much quicker pace than they did back in classic Starcraft days. Last comes a unit called the Mothership. I think this unit is fantastic, but you can’t use it alone. Give it several units to work with: and it’s pretty much unstoppable. This unit almost seems like a hero unit from Warcraft III to me, except to an entirely new OP level if used right. Its first skill allows it to cloak anything you desire. Up next are two decent skills, Temporal Rift and Vortex, which if used with proper micro-managing, can turn the tide of battle. Lastly, the Mothership houses a skill called Worm Hole Transit, capable of allowing the Mothership to instantly transport to any friendly existing Protoss building. This is a big bonus to such an essential and powerful unit.

However, there’s still one major detail that all Starcraft players should keep in mind when choosing Protoss. You really need to be good at micromanaging in order to do awesome. With the proper micromanagement, you can fully utilize the capabilities of the Protoss Race. Good luck!