Maelstrom
Maelstrom has the same area of effect as the Zerg Queen's Ensnare ability, and freezes all predominantly organic units in the area for a short while. Organic units include all Zerg, as well as Terran infantry. Frozen units are entirely vulnerable, unlike those affected by the Arbiter's Stasis Field, so you must take the opportunity to attack them as fiercely as you can. Maelstrom is theoretically very powerful; a flock of Mutalisks caught under its effects will all perish to a Psionic Storm follow-up. You can also use Maelstrom defensively, for example if a pack of your Dragoons or Reavers are being swarmed by Zerglings; the Zerglings would freeze in place, but because Dragoons and Reavers aren't organic, they would not be affected. Still, in practice, you'll find that Maelstrom may prove difficult to employ. You may not have the time to use this ability against an experienced opponent.
Mind Control
Mind Control is the most potent Dark Archon ability. The targeted enemy unit becomes a permanent addition to your forces, until its death. However, using the ability drains the Dark Archon's shields completely, leaving it vulnerable. And because a Dark Archon is more expensive than virtually any other unit, you must be cautious with the ability, and generally use it only in close vicinity to a Shield Battery. Units captured by Mind Control bring with them all researched technology. For example, a fully upgraded Battlecruiser armed with the Yamato gun will retain all its researched enhancements if controlled.
This is all the more useful against an enemy Protoss opponent, because stolen upgrades are absolute; for instance, if you use Mind Control on a fully upgraded Arbiter, you will obtain the Stasis Field and Recall abilities not just for that Arbiter, but for any Arbiters you construct thereafter. But the most devastating application of Mind Control must certainly be against enemy transports, whose contents will also take your side. Thus you could theoretically use Mind Control on an enemy Protoss Shuttle carrying two Dark Archons, and all three units would then be yours. Another application of Mind Control, while impractical, is compelling: You can use the ability on an enemy Terran SCV or Zerg Drone, thereby making their entire technology trees available to you from the ground up. This process would obviously be time- and resource-intensive, but nonetheless plausible.
In the end, Dark Archons are most suitable as a counter to more expensive units, like Carriers and Battlecruisers. Even so, you need many of them working together, because your opponent is unlikely to send Carriers or Battlecruisers in short supply. Therefore, unless you have good reason to believe your enemy will send these sorts of forces in great numbers, you are advised to use discretion before merging your Dark Templars into these specialized psychics.
The Protoss Units, continued
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