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The Protoss Conclave - Units and Stuctures

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STARCRAFT
  Race Overview
    Terran
    Zerg
    Protoss Units
    Protoss Structures
      Basic
      Advanced
  General Strategies
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  Contents

Go to GameSpot's Guide to Broodwar

Zealot

Strengths:
Inexpensive; hardy; powerful in groups
Weaknesses:
Short range; cannot attack flying units; slow to produce
Arrogant, fearless, loyal, vicious, and deadly - all these words describe the Protoss Zealots, the young psychic warriors who stand tall and proud as the Protoss first line of defense. Zealots can easily slay most any enemy in single battle with their wrist-mounted Psi Blades. Moving them adjacent to that enemy may prove a problem, however, for the Zealots cannot attack from long range. For this reason, they are defenseless against flying units and must be supported by Scouts or Dragoons to be most effective. The power of the Zealot is appropriately costly - each such warrior costs fully twice as much as the basic Terran or Zerg infantry and takes considerably longer to train. Producing several Zealots as quickly as possible must therefore be a priority for any Protoss commander. Zealots remain useful all throughout a battle, even when more expensive forces become available and should compose the brunt of all your military efforts.

Hit/Shield Points/Size 80/80/small
Time to Build 40
Cost (minerals/Vespene Gas/PSI) 100/0/2
Weapon/Strength Psi Blades 16, +2 per upgrade
Armor/Strength Protoss Armor 1, +1 per upgrade
Plasma Shields 0, +1 per upgrade

Zealots are susceptible to hit-and-run tactics because of their limited range and fairly slow speed. Tilt the odds in your favor by upgrading them with Leg Enhancements from the Citadel of Adun, which makes them frightfully fast moving. And make certain to constantly improve their weapons by upgrading correspondingly at the Forge, and only pursue armor and shield upgrades afterward.

Zealots are fairly large and cannot fit through small spaces as easily as Terran Marines or Zerg Zerglings, so make sure to leave them room to maneuver around and defend your base. Support them with Shield Batteries and the occasional Photon Cannon.

In spite of their power, Zealots are often used inefficiently. An inept Protoss commander's instinct tells him to order all Zealots in a large group to attack one target at a time. However, since Zealots must be adjacent to the enemy to strike, many will be trapped behind their brethren, unable to engage in combat. For this reason, the wise commander knows to issue Zealots a general attack command and let instinct and training take over from there. Accomplish this by selecting your Zealots, choosing the Attack command by pressing A, and left-clicking an area behind your targets. The Zealots will then rush forward and attack the closest available enemy, spreading themselves out as appropriate.