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A Sinister Turn is a Wings of Liberty mission. It is told as a flashback of Zeratul's actions, viewed by Jim Raynor through the ihan crystal.

History[]

Background[]

After much searching, Zeratul discovered the fragments of a prophecy foretelling the end of the xel'naga cycle on Ulaan. The meaning was unclear to him, but he believed the preservers of Zhakul would be able to interpret the prophecy. Aboard Void Seeker, the prelate journeyed to that forbidden archive world to find them.[1]

Darker forces were already at work on Zhakul. A hybrid destroyer, Maar, had imprisoned the three preservers Zeratul sought and was leeching their energies. It had also subverted some protoss facilities and left others abandoned. When Zeratul arrived he found the planet "strangely silent."[2]

Freeing the Preservers[]

The prelate reactivated an unpowered base and began to investigate. He only sensed the spirits of the three preservers were imprisoned, but not the hybrid Maar's presence or activities. After a time, the Zhakul Guardians, appearing to have been corrupted, attacked Zeratul's Warband. When the hybrid appeared, freeing the preservers took on an even more urgent nature.[2]

The hybrid demonstrated remarkable regenerative abilities. When defeated in the field it restored itself with the preservers' energies. Zeratul finally overcame it by freeing the preservers.[2]

Aftermath[]

Main article: campaign quotations

The preserver triumvirate examined the fragments. The clarification provided prompted Zeratul to depart in search of the Overmind on Aiur.[2]

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Raynor's Assessment[]

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Raynor encountered a hybrid previously at a secret Dominion laboratory at Castanar[3], and experiencing Zeratul's encounter through an ihan crystal put the threat in perspective. The rebel was concerned that even the protoss had difficulty combating the hybrid.[note 1][4]

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Although Raynor experienced Maar's power second hand, he deduced it was a protoss/zerg hybrid and recognized the threat it posed.[note 2][4]

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The next article in this series is Echoes of the Future.

Walkthrough[]

The starting base has two ramp entrances. A few photon cannons are enough to fend off enemy protoss; the real danger is from the hybrid Maar who attacks regularly from either direction. Advance warning is given of Maar's impending attacks, and its location is tracked on the mini-map. Maar perpetually respawns in the south-east corner shortly after it is killed; it gains up to an additional 200 shields and HP with every respawn. It has the ability to temporarily stun units in an area, blink, and can levitate a unit to disable and damage it.

Erect more gateways and quickly secure the robotics facility to the west to unlock immortals. The dark shrine and templar archives to the east are protected by the eastern enemy base. The eastern enemy base may be cleared for an expansion with a relatively small force of zealots and stalkers. The western enemy base is harder with its archons and high templar.

High templar are quite useful against Maar with their Feedback ability, which makes it significantly easier to take him down; of course, they can also be melded into Archons. Dark templar are not as useful against the hybrid since Maar is a detector, but they deal high damage and can deal with the normal protoss attack waves as they will normally lack detection, making them very useful for base defense. Once the dark shrine is taken, switching zealot production to dark templar as the primary melee unit is a common strategy, but be sure to always have a few stalkers to deal with air units.

Build a large army to assault the south-east base. Attack shortly after killing Maar, and aim to conclude the attack before it can respawn. Have the stalkers support the zealots by Blinking forward and targeting enemy air units. Ensure to build up a substantial force before moving out to avoid being weathered down by constant waves, and if necessary take the base to the east (where the templar archives is) to claim more resources.

On Hard and Brutal difficulties void rays appear more often as well as the occasional carrier. Bring additional stalkers to compensate.

Videos[]

Achievements[]

ASinisterTurn SC2 Icon1 A Sinister Turn
Points

15 (Prophecy Mission) Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete all mission objectives

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OutForJustice SC2 Icon1 Out for Justice
Points

10 (Prophecy Mission) Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Kill all enemy protoss on Normal difficulty

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MaarkedForDeath SC2 Icon1 Maar-ked for Death
Points

10 (Prophecy Mission) Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete the mission on Hard difficulty in less than 25 minutes.

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10tAnniversary SC2Portrait The Way of the Nerazim
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Kill 30 enemy units or structures with Dark Templar in the "A Sinister Turn" mission on Normal difficulty.

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Notes[]

  1. Conversation with Matt Horner after StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty mission, "A Sinister Turn".
  2. Conversation with Matt Horner after StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty mission, "A Sinister Turn".
  • While it'd be expected that the corrupted protoss used the Hybrid Honors decal, the Zhakul protoss utilize the Templar Caste insignia. The abandoned structures that Zeratul's force powered up during this mission also carried this decal, which was particularly visible in the abandoned robotics facility. This could mean that the Zhakul Guardians belonged to the Templar Caste before Maar's arrival.
  • In the "Dark Templar Saga," it was stated that Zamara was the last preserver the Daelaam potentially had access to in 2503, as the rest had slowly been killed off. This is contradicted by the existence of the three preservers in this mission.

References[]

  1. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Whispers of Doom (in English). 2010-07-27.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, A Sinister Turn (in English). 2010-07-27.
  3. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Piercing the Shroud (in English). 2010-07-27.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Matt Horner (in English). 2010.
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