StarCraft II FAQ

[Craig]

I thought we should keep a sticky thread up top here for us to keep all of our facts straight with regards to the game as news is released.

Obviously as the game is new we don't have much to post just yet but I encourage everyone to contribute any information they can with regards to the game.

Any links you can provide to your news/rumors would be appreciated.

[Dukefrukem]

• STORY:
  
• Starcraft II's single-player campaign will feature an all-new story that takes place four years after the events of the last Starcraft product, the Brood War expansion pack
• Brood War featured campaigns with epic battles fought among the series' three main factions: the underhanded human Terrans, the swarming Zerg aliens, and the ancient and mysterious Protoss.
• Each of the three factions were led by key characters, such as military officer Jim Raynor of the Terrans, Kerrigan (a former Terran soldier who later became "infested" by the Zerg to become one of that faction's most powerful champions), and Zeratul, a Protoss "dark templar" who, after suffering a series of tragic betrayals, eventually assumed leadership for his race
• Over the course of the single-player game, you'll explore new worlds associated with the story, such as the new Protoss world of Bel'Shir, an abandoned religious retreat that has fallen into ruin after a Zerg invasion, and the deep-space Terran base of Braxis Alpha, a craggy world covered in spots by industrial sprawl.
  
  GAMEPLAY
  
• Starcraft II will have no "selection limit"--that is, you'll be able to click and drag your mouse to select an unlimited number of your own armies to control.
• The sequel is confirmed to feature only the original three playable races from the previous games: the Protoss, the Zerg, and the Terrans; there will be no fourth race, not even the Zerg/Protoss hybrid that appeared in a mission in Brood War
• The game will also apparently offer variable play speeds (such as "slow," "normal," and "fast"), similar to the options in Warcraft III, and at its fastest, it should play about as quickly as any competitive match of the original Starcraft
  
  FEATURES
  
• Blizzard has also revealed the protoss stalker, a medium-power ground unit that can attack both grounded and airborne enemies and can use its "blink" ability to instantly transport itself to any spot on the map to which you have line of sight.
• In addition, the protoss colossus has also been revealed--this powerful and huge unit resembles a "protoss version" of the gigantic alien walkers from the recent War of the Worlds motion picture remake--a metallic walker studded with glowing aqua-colored beacons. The colossus will be one of the units with the new ability to mantle over terrain with differing heights simply by ascending or descending with its long, spidery legs
• The protoss will also have a new flying unit, the flying "warprey" ship, whose powerful, concentrated laser weapon deals successively more damage the longer it fires upon the same target.
• The final new protoss unit revealed at the event is the mothership, the protoss' most powerful and presumably also the most expensive and time-consuming unit to commission. When completely "built," the mothership actually "warps in" out of thin air from a series of pale-blue, cubical light patterns that divide and shift to reveal the superpowerful unit. Pardo has stated that "the protoss can only have one [mothership]," but this exceptionally powerful unit has two devastating abilities that should make the rarity and the (presumed) expense worthwhile. The mothership can generate a localized black hole that seems to completely destroy any enemies that get caught within it by sucking them into oblivion. It also possesses a "planet cracker" ability, which lets the mothership rain a stream of multiple laser beams onto any target below it, dealing a devastating amount of damage. Yet in addition to these new units, the protoss will also have new structures, like the phase prism, which lets them "warp-in" (instantly transport units into the vicinity of this structure)--a powerful new ability that could prove to be a cornerstone of this faction's strategies.
  
  Starcraft II Preview - What We Know So Far - PC News at GameSpot
  
  
  
  

[FuzzyLogik]

Don't forget that the Protoss mothership can also create some sort of "field" around it that slows down anything within it.. missles.. all that stuff. looked pretty cool.

[Dukefrukem]

Zealot: Zealots are the standard infantry unit of the Protoss from starcraft. Still equipped with a pair of glowing psionic blades for melee combat, the zealot will now charge the enemy to close distance with ranged units quicker than before.

Stalker: Stalkers are a new type of dark dragoon. Theyre fast moving and lightly armored with a powerful anti-air and anti-infantry weapon, but their secret weapon is there blink ability that will allow them to teleport anywhere in visual range in an instant.

Immortal: A new type of heavy dragoon, the Immortals will be equipped with a shield that activates only when hit by heavy weapons like Siege Tanks, making them excellent for assaulting heavily defended positions but weak against raiding parties with light weapons.

Observer: The invisible flying eyes of the Protoss are back. We can confirm they'll be in the game, but further details are shrouded in secrecy.

Colossus: True to its name, the Colossus is an enormous four-legged walker that rakes the ground with a heavy beam weapon. They will be extremely effective against small swarming units like Zerglings or Marines -their beams target one unit at a time, and instantly sweep to a new target when the first is destroyed. Using their long legs, they can step up and down ledges with ease.

Phoenix: When its standard fighter weapon won't do the job, the Phoenix will be able to activate its overload ability to damage all enemy air units nearby, which also disables the Phoenix itself for a few moments. If the overload doesnt demolish the enemy you'll be a sitting duck.

Phase Prism: .The new Phase Prism will act as both a troop transport and a mobile power pylon allowing you to restore functionality to a base when your pylons are destroyed by raiders or when you build away from your base. Combined with the warp-in tech,you'll be able to use them to create and army anywhere on the map.

Warp Ray: These flying weapons inflict additional damage the longer they fire on a single target as they bring as they bring more beams online, which will make them extremely powerful against large targets like Battle Cruisers and structures. Their focused fire makes them vulnerable against small anti-air units like Marines.

High Templar: The High Templar is back and he'll bring his powerful psionic storm area attack with him. But hes gotten a handy new power, he'll be able to create a force field to trap enemy units temporarily or create barriers. Blizzard testing has revealed some extremely effective bottlenecks tactics using him. The ability to say you cant go there anymore will be very powerful.

Dark Templar: Just like in the first game the Dark Templar is a stealth unit that wreaks havoc to any force foolish enough to leave home without a detector. Any new special abilities have yet to be revealed.

Twilight Archon: Blizzard hasn't exactly worked out what its doing with the Twilight Archon in terms of his powers. But the team promises that he will be just as powerful as he was in starcraft 1.

Tempest: The Tempest is a dark carrier with a disc fighter and a strong shield that activates when attacked from the ground. It will have no defense whatsoever against air units.

Soul Hunter: Soul Hunters are anti infantry units that float around on hover boards and suck the souls out of enemies. The more souls they consume the more powerful they get, going from firing one beam at a time to three. Theyll be effective against organic units but practically useless against robotic units like the Protoss own reaver.

Reaver: The armored slug like Reaver artillery is as nasty as ever. While we didnt see any upgrades abilities, we witnessed a new version of the old Reaver drop attack (putting one right in the middle of an enemy resource collectors and watching the fireworks) when combined with the Pase Prism.

Phase Cannon: This stationary base defense is no longer stationary. The Phase Cannon can now convert into energy form and relocate and redeploy as long as you stay in a pylon power range. But if the pylon is destroyed while the cannon is in energy form it'll go poof.

Star Relic: When it comes to casting spells the Star Relic makes the High Templar look like an armature. It'll be able to create a cloak field that will conceal even buildings, and fire a fusion beam that slowly damages a target until it dies -and when it dies itll explode and cause damage to everything around it. Remember the larger the target the bigger the boom.

Mothership: At the top of the tech tree you'll find the Mothership. It comes equipped with a time bomb field that stops incoming projectiles, matrix style, in mid air. When the field shuts off, all missiles will fall harmlessly to the ground. Like any good mothership, it'll be able to fire devastating Planet Cracker beam straight down to annihilate ground units below. Finally it will be able to generate a mini nlack hole to suck enemy air units into oblivion. Theres nothing quite like watching a fleet of enemies battlecruisers circle the drain!

[silentsentinel]

[Fish111]

Wow this is exciting. I sucked ass at the original sc, and i enjoyed every minute of the campaign, and online play as well.

[Trivium Nate]

Fooking sweet I cant wait for this game

[Unnamed One1]

is it just me or all the new units Protoss, or are those just the ones they've released info on?

[Guntizzle]

nah, thats just all thats released so far, look around and you can find some info on new units from other races