Mission 7: Drawing of the Web
Overview
Without the aid of a Spire, you must defend against ferocious Protoss attacks and muster all your forces to escort Samir Duran to beacons at five remote and heavily fortified Protoss regions around a winding map.
Possible Expansions
There is an undefended resource cache with regrettably few minerals just south of your starting position, on high ground accessible from a ramp to the west. Because it is in the corner of the map, defending the region is fairly straightforward. You will also find a large surplus of minerals on high ground north of your starting position, also accessible from a western ramp. Defending this position is more difficult, its entire northern border open to aerial strikes. You will also find an unoccupied resource node west of the southernmost beacon. Place a Hatchery there once you've secured the two resource caches near your base. You will need to expand to all three of these locations and defend them tactfully if you hope to accomplish this challenging mission. Of further note, you will find a Vespene Gas geyser at the northeast beacon, and a large surplus of minerals defended by a powerful Protoss garrison (which you'll have to destroy to reach the fourth and fifth beacons) near the southwest corner. Defending these positions will be difficult if you choose to expand to them.
Key Points
This mission is significantly tougher than any Zerg mission before it. Much of the challenge is that you cannot use Mutalisks, Guardians, Devourers, or Scourges in this scenario, any of which would have been very useful. You cannot research Ventral Sacs either, so your Overlords cannot ferry troops around the battlefield. Fortunately, you can build Nydus Canals, so at least you can move your units quickly between bases. You will have to repel incredible Protoss attacks over the course of this mission. Expect everything, including Dark Templars, Dark Archons, Carriers, Arbiters, High Templars, and Reavers. Arbiters will use Recall to pull their forces back if you gain the upper hand; Dark Archons will use Mind Control on your Queens, Overlords, and Ultralisks; Dark Templars will make short work of you if you do not have Overlords spotting every inch of your bases. And there is no good way to fight Reavers without air support. Try to use individual Zerglings to draw their fire while your Hydralisks attack and destroy them between shots. Later, when you have Ultralisks, you can attack Reavers head-on. Move your injured Ultralisks out of the action and let them heal up.
Although you will have plenty of resources, you will invariably lose legions of units fending off attacks. Huge clusters of Sunken and Spore Colonies are essential for defense, and support from Queens and Defilers is also very important. Remember that, especially early on, Samir Duran can use Lockdown against many of the more dangerous Protoss units. Keep plenty of Zerglings around, so that he can use Consume on them to keep his energy level optimal. Use caution before sending Duran into dangerous situations; and do not rely on his cloaking, because all Protoss territory on the map is teeming with Observers.
Next: The Mission 7 Walk-through
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