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"In creating Abathur, we wanted to provide a Commander for players who wanted to play Zerg without having to rely on a Hero unit being on the battlefield. Additionally, we wanted to ensure that we fulfilled the unique fantasy elements for which Abathur is so well-known. To do this, we’ve equipped Abathur with some very powerful abilities and upgrades that augment the strength of his units on the battlefield. In addition, we’ve added an entirely new Evolution mechanic that is available exclusively to Abathur. Through Evolution, Abathur can use the Biomass of fallen foes to spin new essences into his units to make them even more powerful. Thanks to this relentless pursuit of perfection, Abathur will give you access to the most powerful units you’ve ever used in Co-op Missions, and with them, you will wreak whatever havoc you deign necessary."

- Commander blurb(src)

Abathur is a playable commander in the Co-op Missions mode. As the evolution master of the zerg, Abathur has been constantly spinning new essences to chase an ever-changing vision of perfection. Unlike the other zerg heroes, he is not controllable in the field as a hero unit, but through his unique biomass evolutionary mechanics, he can mutate powerful zerg breeds to overwhelm enemies.

Abathur is available for purchase at $4.95 USD.[1]

Overview[]

"Outcome predicted: Untenable to oppose. Fear response: Appropriate."

- Abathur(src)

Info[]

  • Recommended for players of all skill levels
  • Evolve your army by collecting Biomass from fallen enemies
  • Morph powerful Brutalisk and Leviathan units

Mastery[]

Power Set 1
Toxic Nest Damage: +2% – +60%
Mend Healing Duration: +10% – +300%
Power Set 2
Symbiote Ability Improvement: +3.33% – +100%
Enemy Drops Double Biomass Chance: +1.5% – +45%
Power Set 3
Toxic Nest Maximum Charges and Cooldown: +1 – +30 charges, -1% – -30% cooldown
Structure Morph and Evolution Rate: -2% – -60%

Prestiges[]

Level 1 – Essence Hoarder
Advantage: Combat units can hold an additional 25 Biomass and have an additional 50% chance to drop their Biomass upon death.
Disadvantage: Ultimate Evolutions are unavailable.
Level 2 – Tunneling Horror
Advantage: Locusts have 50% increased attack range, movement speed, and duration. The Deep Tunnel upgrade no longer requires Hive, no longer requires vision, and can be used by Roaches and Ravagers.
Disadvantage: Combat units cost 25% more vespene gas.
Level 3 – The Limitless
Advantage: The number of Ultimate Evolutions is no longer limited to 3.
Disadvantage: Ultimate Evolutions requires 200 Biomass. Biomass is less powerful.

Calldown Abilities[]

Places a hidden explosive mine which spreads creep and damages enemies which walk on them. Can store up to 5 charges.

Usage
Hotkey X
Cooldown 20seconds
Mastery: -0.2seconds per Toxic Nest Maximum Charges and Cooldown mastery point. Down to a minimum 14 seconds
Notes

Mastery: +1 charge per Toxic Nest Maximum Charges and Cooldown: mastery point. Up to a maximum of 35 charges

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - Mend
Mend

Heal all allied units with a burst heal for 100 health and heals 5 health per second for 10 seconds. Affects units of all type including buildings.

Improved Mend: Mend can store up to 3 charges.

Usage
Duration 10seconds
Mastery: +1seconds per Mend Healing Duration mastery point. Up to a maximum 40 seconds
Cooldown 120seconds
30 (with Improved Mend) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.
ve

Upgrades[]

SC2 Abathur AC - VirulentNests
Virulent Nests

Enemies damaged by Toxic Nests drop 50% additional Biomass; also slow those enemies attack and movement speeds by 75% (20% for heroic units) for 5 seconds. Toxic Nests have a 50% chance to respawn on death.

Enemy Drops Double Biomass Chance Mastery: Enemies can drop double biomass with a chance of 1.5% per mastery point.

Usage
Notes

Completed Toxic Nests are burrowed and thus escape normal attacks. If Toxic Nests are spawning or the enemy forces have detection, they can be targeted and attacked.
Mastery: +1.5% chance per Enemy Drops Double Biomass Chance mastery point. Up to a maximum +45% chance

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 3.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - ImprovedMend
Improved Mend

Mend can store up to 3 charges and its cooldown is reduced by 30 seconds.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 5.
ve

Army Composition[]

Units and Structures[]

Abathur has access to the following units and structures:

Icon Unit Details Production Damage
Queen Swarm Abathur Swarm Queen Support unit. Can use Spawn Creep Tumor and Rapid Transfusion.

Can attack ground and air units.

150 Minerals 50 Vespene gas 2 Control Vs Air: 9.00 DPS
Vs Ground: 8.00 DPS
Vs Ground Armored: 12.00 DPS
Roach Default Abathur

Roach Vile Abathur

Roach Assault unit. Regenerates life quickly while burrowed. Can morph into a Ravager.
Can attack ground units.

(Evolves to Vile roach strain at level 14. Can debilitate the enemy)

100 Minerals 2 Control 8.00 DPS
Ravager Default Abathur Ravager Ranged artillery. Can use Corrosive Bile.
Evolves from Roach.

Can attack ground units.

Roach cost

+25 Minerals +75 Vespene gas +1 Control
= 125 Minerals 75 Vespene gas 3 Control

10.00 DPS
Swarm Host Default Abathur Swarm Host Siege unit that attacks by spawning Locust minions. Can be upgraded to use Deep Tunnel.

Locusts can attack ground units.

200 Minerals 100 Vespene gas 3 Control 8.33 DPS per locust
Mutalisk Default Abathur Mutalisk Air unit. Bounces its shot to strike multiple targets. Can morph into a Guardian or Devourer.

Can attack ground and air units.

100 Minerals 100 Vespene gas 2 Control

Target foe:
Vs Light: 5.92 DPS

Including 5 bounces:
Vs Light: 14.47 DPS

Overseer Default Abathur Overseer Advanced aerial observer. Maintains the unit cap of the Overlord Overlord cost

(100 Minerals Provides 8 Control) +50 Minerals +50 Vespene gas 
= 150 Minerals 50 Vespene gas Provides 8 Control

Vs Air: N/A
Vs Ground: N/A
Guardian Abathur Guardian Long-range anti-ground flyer.
Evolves from Mutalisk.

Can attack ground units.

Mutalisk cost

+150 Minerals +200 Vespene gas 
= 250 Minerals 300 Vespene gas 2 Control

15.00 DPS
Devourer Abathur Devourer Powerful anti-air flyer. Can use Corrosive Acid.
Evolves from Mutalisk.

Can attack air units.

Mutalisk cost

+250 Minerals +150 Vespene gas 
= 350 Minerals 250 Vespene gas 2 Control

10.00 DPS
Vs Armored: 15.00 DPS
Viper Default Abathur Viper Aerospace assault caster. Able to manipulate battlefield conditions. Can use Parasitic Bomb, Consumption, Disabling Cloud, and Abduct abilities.
Can attack air units.

(Unlocks at level 8)

100 Minerals 200 Vespene gas 3 Control 6.67 DPS
Vs Armored: 10.00 DPS
Brutalisk Abathur Brutalisk Massive assault beast that dwarfs even the Ultralisk in size and strength. Evolves from ground units. Cannot have more than 3 at the same time.
Can attack ground and air units.

(Unlocks at level 2)

Requires 100 stacks of biomass, evolves from a ground combat unit.

Swarm Queen cost
= 150 Minerals 50 Vespene gas 2 Control

Roach cost
= 100 Minerals 2 Control

Ravager cost -1 Control
= 125 Minerals 75 Vespene gas 2 Control

Swarm Host cost
-1 Control
= 100 Minerals 75 Vespene gas 2 Control

Vs Air: 25.00 DPS

Vs Ground: 20.00 DPS

Leviathan Abathur Leviathan Summons a mighty flying Leviathan. Deals massive damage. Evolves from air units. Cannot have more than 3 at the same time.
Can attack ground and air units.

(Unlocks at level 2)

Requires 100 stacks of biomass, evolves from an air combat unit.

Mutalisk cost
= 100 Minerals 100 Vespene gas 2 Control

Guardian cost
= 250 Minerals 300 Vespene gas 2 Control

Devourer cost
= 350 Minerals 250 Vespene gas 2 Control

Viper cost -1 Control
= 100 Minerals 200 Vespene gas 2 Control

Vs Air: 24.00 DPS

Vs Massive Air: 40.00 DPS
Vs Ground: 33.33 DPS

Spine Crawler Default Abathur Spine crawler Anti-ground mobile creep-bound defensive structure.

Can attack ground units.

Drone cost

(50 Minerals 1 Control)
+100 Minerals -1 Control
= 150 Minerals 

Vs Light: 13.51 DPS
Vs Armoured: 16.22 DPS
Spore Crawler Default Abathur Spore crawler Anti-air mobile creep-bound defensive structure.

Can attack air units.

Drone cost

(50 Minerals 1 Control)
+75 Minerals -1 Control
= 125 Minerals 

Vs Air 17.44 DPS
Nydus Network Default Abathur

Nydus Worm Default Abathur

Nydus network Structure which allows friendly ground units to instantly travel to any other Nydus Network or Nydus Worm owned by the player. Drone cost

(50 Minerals 1 Control) +150 Minerals +200 Vespene gas -1 Control
= 200 Minerals 200 Vespene gas 

Vs Air: N/A
Vs Ground: N/A

Talent Progression[]

Abathur acquires the following talents as he levels up.

SC2 Abathur AC - BiomassHarvester
Biomass Harvester

Abathur's units gain increased life, attack speed, and energy regeneration by collecting Biomass from fallen enemies.

  • Roaches do not cost vespene gas.
  • Larvae spawn at an increased rate.
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - UltimateEvolution
Ultimate Evolution

Unlocks the ability for ground units with 100 stacks of Biomass to evolve into Brutalisks. Air units with 100 stacks of Biomass evolve into Leviathans.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 2.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - VirulentNests
Virulent Nests

Enemies damaged by Toxic Nests drop 50% additional Biomass; also slow those enemies attack and movement speeds by 75% (20% for heroic units) for 5 seconds. Toxic Nests have a 50% chance to respawn on death.

Enemy Drops Double Biomass Chance Mastery: Enemies can drop double biomass with a chance of 1.5% per mastery point.

Usage
Notes

Completed Toxic Nests are burrowed and thus escape normal attacks. If Toxic Nests are spawning or the enemy forces have detection, they can be targeted and attacked.
Mastery: +1.5% chance per Enemy Drops Double Biomass Chance mastery point. Up to a maximum +45% chance

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 3.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - RoachWarrenUpgrades
Roach Warren Upgrade Cache

Unlocks the following upgrades at the Roach warren:
Roaches gain +3 armor when under 50% life.
• Increase the damage of Ravager's Corrosive Bile ability by 20.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 4.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - ImprovedMend
Improved Mend

Mend can store up to 3 charges and its cooldown is reduced by 30 seconds.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 5.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - EvolutionChamberUpgrades
Evolution Chamber Upgrade Cache

Unlocks the following upgrade at the Evolution chamber
• Allow Hatcheries, Lairs and Hives to birth two Swarm Queens simultaneously.
• Allow the Swarm Queen's Rapid Transfusion ability to heal biological and mechanical units.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 6.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - BiomassRecovery
Biomass Recovery

When killed, your units have a 50% chance to drop all their Biomass.

Essence Hoarder: Increases the Biomass Recovery chance from 50% to 100%.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 7.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - UnlockViper
New Unit: Viper

Flying caster. Able to manipulate battlefield conditions. Can use Parasitic Bomb, Consumption, Disabling Cloud, and Abduct abilities.

Can attack air units.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 8.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - InfestationPitUpgrades
Infestation Pit Upgrade Cache

Unlocks the following upgrades at the Infestation pit:
• Unlock the Swarm host's Deep Tunnel ability, which allows it to quickly burrow to a target location.
• Unlock the Viper's Paralytic Barbs ability, which increases the stun duration of Abduct.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 9.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - Symbiote
Symbiote

Brutalisks and Leviathans gain Symbiotes that follow them, attacking enemies and protecting their host with the Carapace ability.

Usage
Notes

Damage: 20
Mastery: +0.66 attack damage per Symbiote Ability Improvement mastery point. Up to a maximum 40 attack damage
Cooldown: 1
Range: 6
Carapace ability: when the Ultimate Evolution is taking damage, Symbiotes create a Carapace that can absorb 200 damage.
Mastery: +6.66 absorbed damage per Symbiote Ability Improvement mastery point. Up to a maximum of 400 absorbed damage
Carapace duration: 8seconds
Carapace cooldown: 20seconds

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 10.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - SpireUpgrades
Spire Upgrade Cache

Unlocks the following upgrades at the Spire and Greater spire:
• Increase the Guardian attack range.
• Enable the Devourer's attacks to deal area damage.
• Upgrade the Mutalisk's attacks to deal 100% bonus damage to armored units.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 11.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - MutagenicPotential
Mutagenic Potential

Ravager, Guardian, Devourer morph times and resource costs are reduced by 50%.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 12.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - LocustInjection
Locust Injection

Enemy units have a chance to spawn friendly Locusts upon death.

Usage
Notes

Also apply to enemies killed by Abathur ally.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 13.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - UnlockVileRoach
Roach Evolution: Vile

Upgrades Abathur's Roaches to the Vile Strain.

Assault unit. Regenerates life quickly while burrowed. Attacks debilitate the target, slowing its attack and movement speeds.

Can attack ground units.

Usage
Notes

Replace default skin Icon Zerg Roach to vile strain IconVileStrain

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 14.
ve
SC2 Abathur AC - BioticLeech
Biotic Leech

Abathur's units heal themselves for 1% of the damage they deal per stack of Biomass they possess.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Abathur level 15.
ve

Strategies[]

Abathur is very different for commanders used to playing other zerg commanders. Zerg strategies usually emphasize churning out large numbers of fast, cheap, disposable units to overwhelm the enemy with numbers. But Abathur's units tend to be big, slow to produce and move, and massively powerful, giving him more in common with protoss commanders than zerg. As enemies die they will drop biomass that Abathur's units collect, giving them stat bonuses and eventually evolving them into powerful specialized strains. This makes Abathur's late-game army extremely powerful as they accrue biomass throughout the mission, but he has a smaller and more expensive army than other zerg to the high costs of his units.

An important consideration when looking at Abathur for any mission is that not all enemies drop biomass. Infested enemies like those found on Dead of Night and Miner Evacuation, void enemies like those encountered on Scythe of Amon, and broodlings, do not drop biomass. Enemies spawned by Mutator effects may also not drop biomass. This can make Abathur less appealing on these missions, since the primary opposition will be from foes that do not yield biomass, and he may struggle to accrue enough to empower his army.

Mastery Strategies[]

Power Set 1: Toxic Nest Damage.

  • Toxic Nest Damage (+2% to +60%)
Full points translates into 200 splash damage and better healing through Biotic Leech. Biomass is a critical resource in ensuring maximum efficiency with Toxic Nests, as well as makes his mines more effective.

Power Set 2: Symbiote Ability Improvement Mastery.

  • Symbiote Ability Damage and absorption: (+3.33% to 100%)
Symbiote Ability Improvement benefits both the Stab and Shell abilities of the Symbiotes that are attached to your Ultimate Evolutions, massively increasing their damage output (40 damage instead of 20) and damage mitigation ability (creating a 8 sec duration 400 HP shield instead of 200hp every 20s). Symbiotes are a crucial part in allowing your six Ultimate Evolutions to act as an entire army on their own, capable of ravaging entire bases even without support. While the DPS of their base attacks are hardly impressive, they are greatly enhanced by the Symbiote Stab ability.

note: the Double Biomass mastery is suitable if not relying on ultimate evolutions, or if attempting to get ultimate evolutions faster.

Power Set 3: 10/20 split

  • Toxic Nest Maximum Charges and Cooldown (+1 to +30; -1% to -30%)
  • Structure Morph and Evolution Rate: (-2% to -60%)
Both masteries are viable. A 10/20 split in favor of the Structure Morph and Evolution Rate mastery is suitable in most scenarios. (60% is not that necessary since resources cannot keep up with such rapid upgrades.) The main purpose of the Toxic Nest Maximum Charges and Cooldown mastery is at the start of the game, where Toxic Nests are first being deployed rapidly.
Structure Morph and Evolution Rate mastery provides a significant boost in economy and ramp-up time, due to the faster morph times of Spine Crawlers and Hatcheries. Importantly, it also lowers the morph time of Toxic Nests, which leads to more effective Toxic Nest bombing when it comes to clearing out defending enemy units.

Prestige Strategies[]

Essence Hoarder removes the ability of Abathur's army to evolve into their ultimate evolutions, but they can hold additional biomass and have an extra chance to drop their biomass when they die. This hurts Abathur's early-game presence, since he will not be able to rush out a brutalisk and he will have few units that have not had time to accrue biomass. However, the increased chance to drop their biomass means that biomass will not be wasted when units fall, and Abathur can pick up the biomass again with another unit. This prestige overall means Abathur plays a bit more like a traditional zerg commander, with his army becoming more disposable but more easily maxing out their power by picking up the biomass of their slain predecessors. In the lategame Abathur's army will be as powerful as ever with multiple units laden with biomass, but it will take time to get there and he must be more cautious in the early game. Increased usage of Toxic Nests to farm biomass quicker and easier is crucial, as is using them more offensively to help his army defeat enemies.

Tunneling Horror focuses Abathur on his ground army at the detriment of his air army. The increased vespene cost of his higher-tier units makes them difficult to mass and replace, particularly his air units. The reduction in capacity to field aerial zerg is off-set by the improved mobility of his ground forces. The Deep Tunnel ability makes Abathur extremely mobile and able to instantly move across the map to intercept enemies, retreat from battle, reinforce an ally, and move to objective points. The increased gas cost affects all his units, so the player must be more choosy about deciding to evolve roaches into ravagers. When using swarm hosts, the player must be more cautious with them due to their higher vespene costs, but the increased utility of their locusts will make swarm hosts much more powerful at seiging enemy positions and distracting enemies from attacking more valuable units.

The Limitless is the mechanical opposite of Essence Hoarder, but ends up functioning similarly - Abathur's early game army will be weakened but in the late game he will be very powerful. He must also be more cautious about losing units, since if they do not drop their biomass it is a great loss. The player must be more aggressive with Toxic Nests early on to build up more biomass to begin mutating their ultimate evolutions, and know where they can find pre-placed enemies that can easily be baited into Toxic Nests. On missions with heavy enemy opposition, this prestige allows Abathur to create an unstoppable army of brutalisks and leviathans in the lategame that will crush almost any enemy force. However, if the mission is one with a minimized enemy presence, or where the primary opposition comes from enemies that do not drop biomass, Abathur will struggle worse than usual.


Readying the Brutalisk[]

Abathur has a slow startup initially; as soon as he gets the first brutalisk, he is set for the rest of the mission. Abathur's main selling point is that he can ramp-up into the undisputed best potential army, in terms of sheer strength and durability, in the game. How good he is on any given mutators-map entirely depends on how fast he gets there. Unfortunately, there are many mutators that inhibit Abathur early on by preventing toxic nests from achieving their full potential. And regardless of mutators, Toxic Nests are useless against air threats so Abathur is rather vulnerable to early air rushes.

In the early game, relying on toxic nests for defense is a crucial step towards getting a strong start in production. From level 3, Virulent Nests doubles the biomass from units killed by toxic nests, so Abathur wants to lure enemies into his nests whenever possible. Once the foe is dead, a single roach or mutalisk should be sent to collect all the biomass, with the goal of getting the first brutalisk or leviathan quickly. One brutalisk is better than several slightly-buffed roaches.

Evolved to Handle Anything[]

If there's an enemy unit, Abathur has the counter-unit for it. Abathur has incredible utility and can snowball into an extremely powerful late-game commander with proper army-management. His unique unit loadout equips him with a variety of anti-air options including ravagers, swarm queens, mutalisks, devourers, and vipers which can all become more powerful as they accrue biomass, or even morph into terrifying units like the leviathan or brutalisk.

Besides the early-game weakness, Abathur suffers a large mobility weakness. He is the only commander without an immediate calldown, so he'll have trouble dealing with attacks on the other side of the map. Good map presence, with deep tunneling brutalisks and swarm hosts, is essential. This enables his army to respond instantly to threats; but often time is not enough.

Adaptability of the Zerg Onslaught[]

Abathur can build any army composition you want and win no matter what wave you're facing. Double larva production makes tech switching easy. Though mutalisk-based compositions are clearly the best in terms of sheer firepower, it's not always the best choice. In truth, all of Abathur's units are viable.

Abathur's endless pursuit of perfection causes his units to become stronger as they acquire the essence of fallen foes. When playing as Abathur, any time his forces or those of an ally slay a unit, that unit will drop its biomass onto the battlefield. This biomass can be collected by Abathur's units, and as they accrue more biomass they will change in both physical appearance and strength.

Commanding the Evolution Master[]

No queen injections and creep anywhere at the press of a button means the only real problem is deciding which units get biomass. Treat Toxic Nests like burrowed Banelings, so try to use a unit to kite enemy attack waves into the Toxic Nests, as they give additional biomass.

Abathur's army requires micro only for the Vipers, Ravagers, and collecting biomass; otherwise, you can A-click your way through. If you are aiming for a ground-based army, try to collect all the biomass on one roach at the beginning to fast-track a brutalisk. Set up a line of Toxic Nests at the ramp of your base, and use the Roach to lure the first enemy attack wave into the Toxic Nests. This is not enough to get a Brutalisk, but the Roach usually evolves soon after the first wave. It may be frustrating to get this at first. Abathur has lots of different options and potential strategies, so use this to your advantage. Adapt your build to the enemy composition.

A Lot of Pepper to Bring It Down[]

Abathur's units just stop dying once they get enough biomass, unless targeted by extreme amounts of enemy fire. Swarm Queens and Toxic Nests provide solid base defence without need for many, or any, automated defensive structures. Toxic nests can be used to augment defences around the map or provide vision for allies. Excellent sustainment and damage mitigation with comes with Swarm Queens, Mend and Blinding Cloud. Siege capabilities come with swarm hosts and guardians.

As the game continues, the total amount of biomass in Abathur's army can grow exponentially, but only if his troops stay alive. In the early game, Abathur's Mend ability is his main source of healing. Later, Swarm Queens take over as the "medics" of his army. Brutalisks and Leviathans have so many hit points they barely notice Mend.

The Mightiest Breeds of the Swarm[]

There are three main army compositions when playing Abathur: ground, air, or both.

A murder of Mutalisks, Devourers/Guardians, and Leviathans is quite strong. Mutalisks have high DPS and partial splash damage. Devourers or Guardians can be produced to counter enemy compositions. Leviathans are flying tanks and are just all around fun to play with.

Roaches, Ravagers, Swarm Queens, and Brutalisks are also very good. Once prepared They provide an extremely durable army that can endure hybrid assaults.

If any unit manages to acquire 100 biomass, it will be transformed into an ultimate evolution of its former self. In this instance, ground units will evolve into brutalisks with substantial health pools and a ground-based cleave attack, while air units will transform into leviathans to wreak havoc on everything they touch. As Abathur's commander level increases, these units can become more powerful, even gaining a symbiote to help attack enemies while protecting their host with a damage absorbing carapace.

Synergies[]

Protoss Commanders[]

Artanis is an excellent teammate for Abathur. Shield Overcharge and Guardian Shell will make Abathur units live little longer, decreasing the chances of a unit losing its biomass, especially in the early game. Artanis can also make up for Abathur's early lack of anti-air with Dragoons. Abathur's Mend can also benefit damaged Protoss units saved by Guardian Shell, by healing their regular health.

Karax has some ability synergies with Abathur, as his Chrono Wave can boost his research and production which is essential to Abathur's army strength. Toxic nests work well with Karax's static defenses, and the Spear of Adun's orbital bombardment abilities can help cover Abathur from air units in the early game.

Vorazun has very little synergy with Abathur. Having said that, Vorazun's black hole ability can trap enemies for the area of effect damage done by many of Abathur's mid to late game units. Emergency Recall also works on burrowed units, so a well timed burrow can save some of the more expensive ground units Abathur uses. Abathur's Mend can also heal recalled Dark Templars, returning them to a healthy state.

Alarak is a debatable teammate for Abathur. Abathur tends to have a small durable army of short-ranged units, while Alarak favors large expandable armies for Empower Me and likewise must rely on short-ranged supplicants. Further empowerment is possible with large groups of locusts. Swarm queens can empower Alarak while also using Rapid Transfusion to heal Alarak and his Ascendants instead of sacrificing Supplicants. Alarak is anti-ground army oriented, so Abathur must compensate with an effective anti-air army. However, because of Alarak's insane damage output, it should be relatively easy for Abathur to harvest biomass.

Fenix and Abathur have mediocre synergy. Both take a long while to mass up their armies to a critical point and dominate the late game. Fenix's power in the early game can aid Abathur should his toxic mines be unable to clear initial enemy waves. Mend is useful for Fenix, and allows his army to take tougher engagements without as many casualties. This also allows for Fenix's suits to be healed without switching out the one that is deployed. Conservators are also invaluable for Abathur, shielding his more fragile units.

Terran Commanders[]

Jim Raynor has some synergy with Abathur. Abathur's Mend ability can aid in large engagements when used alongside Raynor's medics. Raynor's marines can also cover Abathur's lack of early game anti-air. In mid-late game, Abathur's high-health units and high area of effect damage goes well with heavy infantry support from Raynor.

Rory Swann is another good choice for Abathur. Vespene harvesters allow Abathur to gain much needed gas for later game units and high tier research. Many of Swann's units have high range, which allows Abathur's shorter ranged, high health ground army to create a buffer between the enemy and high priority targets like siege tanks.

Nova has decent synergy with Abathur, with his Mend and Swarm Queens providing excellent healing for her army. Abathur's very tanky units can absorb damage for Nova's forces, allowing her to make use of longer-ranged units like ghosts and siege tanks. Nova also compensates for Abathur's lack of destructive abilities via her nukes and sabotage drones.

Han and Horner and Abathur have some synergy. Mend is beneficial to make Han's fragile yet expendable mercenary army more durable in a fight. Abathur has a power spike in the late game similar to Han and Horner with powerful air units, but Abathur's queens can heal the damage on the stronger Han and Horner units like assault galleons.

Zerg Commanders[]

Kerrigan and Zagara may spawn a queen capable of injecting Abathur's base for him, which will give him early-game resources to help Abathur expand.

Sarah Kerrigan works well with Abathur. Kerrigan herself can cover the early game with little assistance from Abathur. Kerrigan can also be used to lure units into Abathur's Toxic Nests for extra biomass. This allows Abathur to spend resources on teching up rather than focusing on early game defense. Kerrigan's Assimilation Aura allows Abathur to gain a large resource boost. Malignant Creep can benefit the overall speed and performance of Abathur's army, and allow him to respond to threats faster. In late game, Abathur can provide a frontline army while Kerrigan and her army supports from behind. Omega worms make up for Abathur's lack of mobility and allow him to transport his army across the map in seconds. It's also noteworthy that Abathur can also make Omega worms when paired with Kerrigan, allowing for both commanders to cover the map with creep and instant transportation.

Zagara works fairly well with Abathur. Zagara's fast start can shield Abathur's early weakness, and her cheaper units can work as expendable shields for Abathur's army when it is collecting biomass. In addition to this, Mass Frenzy can increase the speed of Abathur's slow units, allowing him to use his Brutalisks much more effectively. In return, Abathur will need to produce air units to shield Zagara's forces, and his upgraded heavy units will serve as shields for Zagara's quick but fragile army when fighting the hybrid.

One the greatest advantages of this pairing in the late game is size: most of Zagara's units are small and speedy enough to dart around Abathur's massive units, allowing her to maintain a steady DPS output to aid him in battle.

Stukov gives Abathur infinite creep, allowing for a passive speed boost for Abathur's forces. However, both struggle in the early game, as both need time to get a powerful army mobilized. Swarm Queens and Infested Terrans may be needed to provide early anti-air. Once their armies do get mobilized however, they are a force to be reckoned with. Stukov's disposable forces can screen for Abathur's more valuable forces, and Stukov can take costly trades while leaving behind biomass for Abathur to augment his forces with.

Dehaka and Abathur are a powerful combination if coordinated correctly. While both have similar weak points in their game, Abathur's mend ability in the early game can allow a well-controlled Dehaka to clear out the initial enemies around his base, also allowing Dehaka to level up earlier. In the late game, Abathur's queens can be a massive boon to Dehaka, and in the case both players go air units Dehaka can make a flight of highly durable mutalisks that shred through masses of air units to cover for Abathur's guardians. Abathur's mines also help provide a consistent defense while Dehaka can call down the primal pack leaders to provide cover for Abathur's mid game.

Quotations[]

See: Abathur Commander Quotations

Achievements[]

Gameplay[]

Toxicity SC2AchiveImage Toxicity
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Deal 25,000 damage with Toxic Nests on Hard difficulty in Co-op Missions.

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Morphology SC2AchiveImage Morphology
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Morph 50 Ravagers, Devourers or Guardians in a single mission on Hard difficulty.

Edit
BigGame SC2AchiveImage Big Game
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Deal 500,000 damage with Brutalisks or Leviathans in Co-op Missions.

Edit
Symbiosis SC2AchiveImage Symbiosis
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Heal 50,000 life on allied units in Co-op Missions.

Edit
EvoMaster SC2AchiveImage Evolution Master
Points

20 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete all the Commander Abathur achievements.

Rewards
AbathurCoop SC2 Portrait1 Abathur portrait
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Levels[]

Abathur5 SC2AchiveImage Abathur: Level 5
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 5 with Evolution Master Abathur in Co-op Missions.

Edit
Abathur10 SC2AchiveImage Abathur: Level 10
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 10 with Evolution Master Abathur in Co-op Missions.

Edit
Abathur15 SC2AchiveImage Abathur: Level 15
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 15 with Evolution Master Abathur in Co-op Missions.

Edit

Development[]

During development, the team considered numerous different ways to make Abathur an evolution-focused commander. At one time he could have unit upgrades that went up to 10, allowing for roaches with 14 attack range and mutalisks with 500 HP. At another point biomass was a third resource exclusive to him that players would earn and spend. His Symbiote was originally a support unit that could be moved to different units to support them as it can in Heroes of the Storm where Abathur has a similar ability, but this was deemed too confusing to keep track of in large armies. There was also the option for him to have both vile and corpser-strain roaches at once.[2]

Data in the map editor suggests that Abathur would have had the evolution pit as a unique structure, similar to Karax and the solar forge. The evolution pit would have researched upgrades to Abathur's toxic nests, locusts, and the symbiote mechanic. At some point in development, only roaches could evolve into brutalisks, and mutalisks into leviathans.[3]

A number of ideas were scrapped for Abathur, and he was a particularly difficult commander for the Co-op Missions team to design. Cut ideas include upgrades to individual units that could be repeated, with an example given of increasing roach range slowly up to massive ranges of over 15. Other ideas included critters spawning across the map, and the collection of biomass would be done through killing those critters.[4]

References[]

Blizzard Entertainment. Co-op Missions. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Abathur (in English). 2018.

  1. Blizzard Entertainment. Commander: Abathur. Battle.Net. Accessed 2016-05-23.
  2. 2016-05-13, Reddit Co-op Staff AMA. Reddit, accessed on 2016-05-15
  3. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void Map Editor. (Activision Blizzard) (in English). March 12, 2013
  4. 2017-08-28, StarCraft 2: DEVELOPER INTERVIEW!. Youtube.com, accessed on 2018-08-20

External Links[]

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