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GameSpot's Guide to Starcraft

Mission 3: Ruins of Tarsonis

Overview
You must move Lt. Duran to the Psi Disrupter north of his starting position, but not before you build up enough forces to nullify the four Zerg broods in the area by destroying their Hives. Each Hive is highly vulnerable to a particular kind of attack.

Possible Expansions
There is an unoccupied resource node across a hill just southwest of your starting position, which your ground units can access by moving up the ramp in the southeast corner of your base, then west along the ridge. That expansion should be taken once the original base is sufficiently defended.

Key Points
As soon as you destroy a Zerg Hive, its entire brood turns docile and will no longer cause you any trouble. Each Zerg Hive is quirky in its own right. The one to your immediate east is close enough to a ridge to be vulnerable to Siege Tanks. The one to your northwest is vulnerable to a fleet of Wraiths, since only two Spore Colonies defend it if from the south. The brood further north is virtually impenetrable by a ground assault, but has next to nothing in the way of air defense. And the brood to the northeast is the opposite, with dozens of Spore Colonies but next to nothing to defend it against the likes of your Marines and other ground forces. It is easiest to destroy the Hives in the order above.

Siege Tanks supported by Goliaths can deal with the Hive to your east.

Walk-through
Build up your base. Fortunately, you already have strategically positioned Bunkers that will help fend off Zerglings and worse. You'll want a lot of Marines and Goliaths on this mission, and be sure to upgrade them as frequently as possible. As soon as you can, build several Siege Tanks and research Siege Tech. You can move them up the southeast ramp and north along that ridge, where they can rain destruction on the eastern Hive. Make sure to defend them with plenty of Goliaths or Marines and a few Medics, because the Zerg won't take kindly to the gesture and will counter with Mutalisks and anything else available. You should be able to eliminate this first Hive quickly, at which point you'll have enough breathing room to expand to the southwestern resource node. Defend that with a Bunker and a Missile Turret, and once resources are rolling in, prepare a couple of Starports and begin building Wraiths. Meanwhile, continue to build more Marines and Goliaths.

With little to no ground defenses, the northeastern Hive is very vulnerable to Goliaths and Marines.

Once you've assembled a dozen Wraiths and upgraded their weapons, you can send them against the northwestern Hive. Group them against the two Spore Colonies along the southern border of the Hive's plateau, and once they're gone, concentrate on eliminating any Hydralisks and Mutalisks nearby, after which you can deal with the Hive. If it gets too hot, pull your Wraiths back for repairs, but if you persevere, that second Hive should fall with little trouble.

Your Wraiths shouldn't even stop for repairs once they're through; fly them north to the next Hive, and note that it has no means of dealing with your air force aside from the occasional Hydralisk. You should be able to destroy the Hive there easily.

Now mobilize all your Marines and Goliaths. A couple dozen Marines and half a dozen Goliaths should more than do the trick. Move them all the way north, and storm the northeastern Zerg base. Beware the occasional Guardian and Mutalisk, but you shouldn't have any trouble punching through the base straight to the Hive. Destroy it, at which point the lieutenant can safely make his way to the Psi Disrupter to accomplish the mission.

Next: Mission 4: Assault on Korhal
 

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