Gates of Hell is a StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty mission.[1]
History
Dangerous Game
In preparation for the assault on Char, Prince Valerian Mengsk not only acquired the components to a xel'naga artifact, but also took nearly half of the Dominion fleet as well. The prince was acting parallel to Emperor Arcturus Mengsk, and neglected to share all the details with his father. Only upon reaching Char did Valerian reveal his intentions to Arcturus: to defeat the Queen of Blades and prove himself a worthy successor.[2]
The emperor was pleasantly surprised by his son's initiative and daring, but doubted whether Valerian had the experience to succeed. On the other hand, Arcturus was unpleasantly surprised to find Valerian had entered into an alliance with Jim Raynor, and Raynor's Raiders. Nonetheless, it was too late for the emperor to recall the expedition.[2]
The Battle
Gaining a Foothold
The initial landing was a near disaster. Most battlegroups were destroyed before reaching the surface, and those that survived were badly scattered. The chaos was aggravated by communication difficulties between ground units and higher command.[1]
Jim Raynor took command of his sector and rallied terran forces in reach in order to have a chance to assault the zerg, as terran casualties escalated both in the ground and in orbit. Several Dominion units, continuing to land by drop pod, were rescued by Raynor's Raiders from the zerg and attached themselves to the rebels in the absence of orders.[1]
Card To Play
As Jim Raynor pulled in troops to secure a perimeter, General Horace Warfield crash landed nearby aboard the battlecruiser Helios. The crew dug in as the zerg pressed in.
The Raiders sortied to relieve the beleaguered battlecruiser. They made it just as the zerg were overrunning the survivors. Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay personally rescued a wounded General Warfield.[3]
Aftermath
The terran had their foothold, but at heavy cost. A push on the main hive was urgently needed before their strength was depleted against the numerically superior zerg.[4]
Conversations after Mission
- Main article: campaign quotations
The next article in this series is Belly of the Beast. |
The next article in this series is Shatter the Sky. |
Gameplay
Supply depots are not required for this mission. Over the course of the mission, drop pod "reinforcements" with increasingly powerful units arrive across the map. They become part of the player's army when player units move to their position. The reinforcements may be destroyed by the zerg if not rescued fast enough. Pods continue dropping after Warfield arrives. The final four pods drop in pairs, each arriving at a different location. When one of the pairs is rescued, the other is automatically attacked, forcing the player to divide the rescue team into two. Rescuing the early pods can help toward reaching the first army-building objective, and bring in production structures.
There are spore cannons scattered around the map. Destroying these yield additional resources.
Destroying the three nydus worms near Warfield's crashed battlecruiser is the final objective.
Achievements
Gates of Hell | |
Points | |
Criteria |
Complete the mission |
The Big Bang Cannon | |
Points | |
Criteria |
Destroy all spore cannons on Normal difficulty |
Notes | |
The spore cannons may be identified by the large green blobs they hurl into the sky and off the screen. Most may be found while picking up the drop pods. |
Dominion Roundup | |
Points | |
Criteria |
Rescue 10 Drop-Pods of Dominion Troops on Hard difficulty |
Notes | |
The first 6 pods arrive individually and may be picked up. The last 4 drop in pairs. Reaching one pod causes a large zerg force to move in and destroy the other. Thus, both pods must be rescued simultaneously. |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Gates of Hell (in English). 2010-07-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Cinematic: Dangerous Games. (in English). 2010.
- ↑ Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Cinematic: Card To Play. (in English). 2010.
- ↑ Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Tychus Findlay (in English). 2010.