Starcraft Protect Or Purify The Colony
Juvencio Parise
Select this mission and, after a cut scene we won't spoil, you have to choose between two sides in completing the mission. Choosing to protect the colony will give you the opportunity for zerg research while purifying the colony will net you protoss research. There may also be some moral dilemma here, but we're immune to that. We suggest making the choice that gives you the research you want. If you choose to protect the colony, follow with the walkthrough below. If you choose to purify the colony, go to the next page. See: Haven's Fall walkthrough.
Before we start, the gist: A protoss Purifier mothership is threatening to wipeout a handful of small outposts (the white dots) on the map. Before you can attack the Purifier, you need to destroy three protoss nexus stations spread around the map. The nexus stations appear on your map as markers, with one that's very close to your base to the east. As time passes, colonist outposts will be terrorized by small protoss fleets and the Purifier will slowly move between outposts and blow 'em up. One of the Achievements challenges you to save three colonist outposts, which requires destroying the Purifier fairly quickly.
Start quickly, training Marines, Medics and using your starport to build out Viking units. A quick note on the Vikings: While they're airborne, they will only attack air-based units. If you want them to attack grounded units, you have to land them on the ground (it's a command you can access when you have a Viking selected). Unfortunately while they're grounded, Vikings will not attack air units. Marines, naturally, will attack anything in range.
Be sure to also build out loads of SCVs and dedicate more than usual to collecting vespene gas. You'll need a lot of vespene to build out the Vikings. After you've built a couple of Vikings to add to your starting army, add a reactor to your starport, allowing you to build out two Vikings at once. It'll be a while before your resource collecting is up to supporting this but it'll be important soon enough.
When you've got a sizable crew, collect the lot and head for the nexus that's just east of your base. As you approach it, allow your Vikings to blast down the air enemies while your Marines target the ground guys. When the air enemies are destroyed, be ready to command the Vikings to drop to the ground and help out the Marines. Shoot anything that fights back first before bothering with the nexus. When enemies are gone, destroy the nexus and then return to base. Order SCVs to repair your damaged Vikings.
Expect more terror fleets to show up (at least two more) as you make progress. Keep building up your army with a massive group of SCVs gathering goods, your barracks pumping out Marines and Medics, and your starport generating Vikings as quickly as you can fund them. Always leave a handful of units at your base to play defense (building a couple of bunkers along the southern border of your base is a good idea) as scattered protoss units will show up on occasion to annoy you.
Naturally, you'll also want to work in the destruction of the other two nexus stations. The vast majority of the map is without any protoss presence, so you really only need to worry about getting into fights as you actually gear near the nexus stations. The bigger your army, the safer you'll be. When all three nexus stations are destroyed, the shields protecting the Purifier mothership will disappear.
Time to attack the Purifier, but be careful! If the Purifier is currently lording over an outpost, readying its attack, it's possible that your units will be caught in the attack. You can click on the Purifier for a status meter that counts down to its blast. If you've got plenty of time, move your army to the Purifier and open fire, otherwise wait it out. Almost immediately, the Purifier will open a warp portal that holds your units for about ten seconds. When you emerge from the portal (it happens automatically), unload your arsenal. The Purifier should be destroyed quite quickly with the help of a solid army.
Commander Jim Raynor contacted the protoss, but Selendis was sure that Haven had to be purified, and offered the commander the chance to purify the planet himself. Doctor Ariel Hanson was able to convince Raynor that she could develop a cure to the virus, making him oppose the protoss and protect the colonists.[3]
The protoss deployed a Purifier mothership to destroy the colony bases. The Raiders brought in Vikings but could not directly engage the purifier; the terrans did not have the weapons to penetrate the shield. However, the shield was generated by three nexus that were vulnerable to attack. Furthermore, the colonists evacuating from the outlying bases were attacked by protoss terror fleets.
After the battle, Hanson left the Raiders to settle with the other colonists. Before leaving, Hanson asked Raynor if he would want to stay with her on Haven and "start over". Raynor declined, unwilling to give up the revolution. Hanson sealed her goodbye by kissing Raynor on the cheek and saying, "You're a good man, Jim Raynor."[4]
The main objective is to destroy the Purifier mothership. Its shields are invulnerable and may only be damaged after the three nexus are destroyed. The Purifier attacks the four outlying settlements before moving on to the fifth, beside which the Raiders have set up their base. After destroying the first settlement the Purifier sends small forces of carriers, void rays and scouts to attack the next targeted settlement and destroy their evacuation ship. Destroying the fliers and saving the colonists yields collectable resource palettes. The starting base is not attacked often. A few bunkers with siege tanks and missile turrets are sufficient for defense.
All the protoss bases use warp prisms to power their structures, and are vulnerable to the new unit for the mission - the Viking. Use two starports with reactors to build Vikings quickly, and possibly expand to the first protoss base for their resources. Goliaths are also useful for this mission, especially with multi-lock weapons systems, due to their high damage vs. air units, and massed can easily take down the Purifier.
The first and second bases may be attacked safely from ledges. Clear away enemy air units to restrict enemy vision. The second base may also have a colossus. The southern and last nexus is protected by carriers and archons, and on higher difficulties high templar. Use Vikings to draw the defenders out, then take out the warp prisms and land to destroy the final nexus. With all three nexuses destroyed the Purifer is rendered vulnerable.
The Purifier may use Vortex on unit concentrations, and warp-in reinforcements. Attack the Purifier with Vikings by following in its wake; this makes it easier to keep the Vikings out of range. Another strategy is to wait until the Purifier is powering up the purifying beam on the last base, and then hit it with eight or more vikings. The Purifier can not attack while it is charging, it is an easy kill. This also prevents the Purifier from attacking your base. In addition, if the Purifier is attacked from behind while it is moving it will not attack the Vikings and not teleport in reinforcements.
Spectres may be used to nuke the last nexus, and inflict significant damage on the Purifier with Psionic Lash. Spectres are less effective on Brutal difficulty as the Purifier becomes a detector.
Ariel Hanson had located a planet suitable for establishing a colony for the Agrian colonists. However, they were contacted by Selendis, who told Jim Raynor that several of the colonists were infested with zerg spores and they needed to be killed. Hanson asked Raynor to protect the colony and give her a chance to develop a cure for the infestation, but Raynor reluctantly agreed with Selendis and ordered her to withdraw, stating he would handle the matter himself. This was much to Hanson's dismay.[1]
Raynor attempted to kill only the infested colonists and save those who were still human. Specialized zerg structures on the planet were spreading the virus to the outlying colonies and needed to be destroyed before the colonists became infested. Using vikings to destroy the deadly zerg brood lords from the air, Raynor's men destroyed the zerg bases and freed many of the colonists from infestation.[1]
During the mission, Egon Stetmann reported that Dr. Hanson had locked herself in the lab on board Hyperion, desperate to discover a cure for the virus and give Raynor a reason to stop the attack. However, she stopped responding to entreaties, and when the mission was complete, Matt Horner reported that there was a "problem in the lab." Raynor entered fully armored and, discovering a spilled sample, had Horner lock the door. His worst fears were confirmed when he found that Hanson herself was infested, and she attacked him while taunting him for his lack of compassion. When she attacked Raynor, he incapacitated and killed her.[2] Selendis's forces, meanwhile, sent the Raiders a plaque to honor their efforts.[3]
There are three zerg bases and one infected settlement at the start of the game on the map. There are five uninfected settlements that will come under attack as the game progresses. Once infected, a settlement will spawn infected colonist and aberrations periodically until destroyed. The adjutant will announce any aberrations that have been spawned. It takes approximately 5 minutes (30 seconds longer on Casual and Normal difficulty) between each settlement infection. Each zerg base will shorten this time by 1 minute, so the player is advised to move quickly. The settlements are infected in a fixed repeating sequence:
Attacking zerg can be warded off with ease by building bunkers loaded with marines. Place the defenses on the cliffs near the top and bottom entrances leading into the starting location. Siege tanks may be necessary on hard difficulty and brutal, along with air defense. There are three caches of vespene gas available on the map, giving a total of 1200 units of gas:
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