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"The optimization of weapons, armor, and ships is a phase-smith's highest calling, and Karax is one of the most precise engineers in the whole of the Khalai. He rose above his station in the protoss' worker caste to become a crucial asset in Artanis's war against Amon, earning the title of templar and causing Artanis to declare the end to the age of castes. As the Phase-smith responsible for restoring the Spear of Adun's systems, Karax is intimately familiar with the Arkship's suite of destructive weaponry. During his time with Artanis, Karax also recovered some of the Purifier-based weapon systems which you'll find in his Co-op Mission arsenal."

- Commander blurb(src)

Karax is a playable commander in the Co-op Missions, added in patch 3.1. He utilizes an array of advanced protoss weaponry and Purifier-type units to yield an army of robotic attackers, and has access to the Solar forge, which can be upgraded to enhance the Spear of Adun's abilities.

Overview[]

Info[]

  • Recommended for experienced players
  • Upgrade the Spear of Adun to dominate the battlefield from high orbit
  • Command an army of expensive but powerful Purifier robotic units

Mastery[]

Power Set 1
Combat Unit Life and Shield: +1% – +30%
Structure Health and Shield: +2% – +60%
Power Set 2
Reconstruction Beam Regen Speed: +3% – +90%
Chrono Overload Energy Regen: +3 – +90
Power Set 3
Chrono Boost efficiency: +1% – +30%
Spear of Adun starting and maximum energy: +3 – +90

Prestiges[]

Architect of War
Advantage: Repair Beam is 100% more effective and can target twice as many structures. Unity Barrier affects defensive structures and its cooldown is reduced by 75%. Chrono Boost, Chrono Wave, and Chrono Field affect defensive structures, increasing their rate of attack.
Disadvantage: Repair Beam may only target structures. Unity Barrier no longer affects units.
Templar Apparent
Advantage: Combat unit cost reduced by 40%.
Disadvantage: Photon Cannons and Khaydarin Monoliths are unavailable.
Solarite Celestial
Advantage: Orbital Strike and Solar Lance energy cost reduced by 40%. Solar Lance and Purifier Beam cooldowns reduced by 50%.
Disadvantage: Chrono Boost, Chrono Wave, and Chrono Field are unavailable.

Spear of Adun[]

Energy[]

Initial/maximum energy: 0/200 Energy
Energy regen/minute: 16
Mastery: +3/3 per Mastery point. Up to a maximum 90/290 Energy

Abilities[]

Calldown Abilities[]

OrbitalAssault SC2-LotV Icon1
Orbital Strike

Fires lasers onto the battlefield from orbit, each of them dealing 50 (100 vs Armored) area damage (radius 1.5).

Solarite Celestial: Reduces the Orbital Strike cost by 40%.

Usage
Cost 5 per shot Energy
3 per shot (with Solarite Celestial) Energy
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.
ve
SolarLance LotV Icon1
Solar Lance

Strafes the target area with 3 laser beams dealing 200 damage with each beam. A HUD is super-imposed over the user interface when selecting travels of impact.

Solarite Celestial: Reduces the Solar Lance cost by 40% and it's cooldown by 50%.

Usage
Cost 50 Energy
30 (with Solarite Celestial) Energy
Cooldown 120 seconds
60 (with Solarite Celestial) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available
ve
ChronoWave SC2-LotV Icon1
Chrono Wave

Increases production speed of all allied buildings t0 200% for 20 seconds.

Chrono Overload: Increases Chrono Wave production speed from 200% to 500%.

Chrono Overload Energy Regeneration Mastery: Chrono Wave restores 3 more Spear of Adun energy per mastery point for 20 seconds.

Architect of War: Chrono Wave affects defensive structures, increasing their attack speed.

Solarite Celestial: Chrono Wave are unavailable.

Usage
Duration 20 seconds
Cooldown 240 (Initial cooldown=300) seconds
Notes

Mastery: +3 restored energy per Chrono Overload Energy Regen mastery point. Up to a maximum +90 restored energy

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available
ve
Purifier Beam Ability Icon
Purifier Beam

Fires a beam that deals 750 (1500 vs Armored) damage (within a radius 3) over 15 seconds. The beam will auto-acquire targets with a speed 1.5 if not manually controlled. A HUD is super-imposed over the user interface when selecting point of impact.

Purifier Protocol: Increases the Purifier Beam's movement speed from 1.5 to 4.5 and deals 1000 (2000 vs Armored) damage (within a radius 3) over 20 seconds.

Solarite Celestial: Reduces the Purifier Beam cooldown by 50%.

Usage
Duration 15 seconds
20 (with Purifier Protocol) seconds
Cooldown Coolup: 450 seconds
Cooldown: 360 seconds
180 (with Solarite Celestial) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 10.
ve

Passive Abilities[]

ChronoField SC2-LotV Icon1
Chrono Field

Increases production speed of all friendly buildings by 15%.

Architect of War: Chrono Field affects defensive structures, increasing their attack speed.

Solarite Celestial: Chrono Field are unavailable.

Usage
Passive
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 2
ve
ReconstructionBeam LotV Icon1
Reconstruction Beam

The Spear of Adun automatically repairs up to three allied mechanical units and structures at a time. Restores 5 hit points per second on units and 10 hit points per second on structures.

Architect of War: Reconstruction Beam only repairs allied mechanical structures, but restores 20 hit points per second and repairs up to six targets.

Usage
Passive
Notes

Mastery: +0.15 (+0 with Architect of War) restored hp on unit and +0.3 (+0.6 with Architect of War) restored hp on structure per Reconstruction Beam Regen Speed mastery point. Up to a maximum 9.5 (0 with Architect of War) restored hp on unit and 19 (38 with Architect of War) restored hp on structure

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 7
ve

Upgrades[]

Researched[]

SolarEfficiency SC2-LotV Icon1
Solar Efficiency

The solar forge automatically generates additional energy for the Spear of Adun.
Level 1: 1 energy every 6 seconds
Level 2: 3 energy every 6 seconds
Level 3: 6 energy every 6 seconds

Acquisition
Purchased from Solar forge
Hotkey E
Level 1
Cost 100 Minerals 100 Vespene gas 90seconds
Level 2
Cost 150 Minerals 150 Vespene gas 120seconds
Required Twilight council
Level 3
Cost 200 Minerals 200 Vespene gas 180seconds
Required Fleet beacon/Robotics bay
ve
AdvancedRepair LotV Icon1
Advanced Repair Systems

Allows the Spear of Adun's Reconstruction Beam to affect 2 additional targets, increasing the maximum from 3 to 5.

Architect of War: Reconstruction Beam can affect 4 additional targets, increasing the maximum from 6 to 10.

Usage
Passive
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 8
Acquisition
Purchased from Solar forge
Hotkey R
Cost 150 Minerals 150 Vespene gas 90seconds
Required Cybernetics core
ve
PhaseDetonation LotV Icon1
Phase Detonation

Orbital Strike stuns targets struck by the blast.

Usage
Passive
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 12
Acquisition
Purchased from Solar forge
Hotkey B
Cost 150 Minerals 150 Vespene gas 120seconds
Required Twilight council
ve
SolarFlare LotV Icon1
Solar Flare

Solar Lance sets the ground on fire, dealing 15 damage a second to enemies over time in double the width of the initial impact zone.

Usage
Passive
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 12
Acquisition
Purchased from Solar forge
Hotkey A
Cost 150 Minerals 150 Vespene gas 120seconds
Required Twilight council
ve

Talents[]

OrbitalAssault SC2-LotV Icon1
Master Machinist

Karax's combat units gain 50% increased health, but cost 30% more. Orbital Strike has no attack count or cooldown, and only costs 5 energy to use.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available
ve
ChronoWave SC2-LotV Icon1
Spear of Adun: Chrono Overload

Chrono Wave now increases production speed of allied buildings by 500% for 20 seconds. Activate Chrono Wave from the top panel.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 5
ve
PurifierProtocol LotV Icon1
Spear of Adun: Purifier Protocol

Increases the Purifier Beam's movement speed by 200% and its duration by 5 seconds, for a total of 20 seconds. Activate Purifier Beam from the top panel.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 13
ve

Army Composition[]

Units and Structures[]

Karax has access to the following units and structures:

Icon Unit Details Production (considering

+30% increase)

Damage
Zealot Sentinel Karax Sentinel Powerful melee warrior. Can use Charge ability.
Can attack ground units.

(Unlocks the Reconstruction research at level 4)

130 Minerals 2 Psi 13.33 DPS
Sentry Energizer Karax Energizer Robotic support unit. Can use Chrono Beam and Phasing Mode abilities.

Can attack ground and air units.

65 Minerals 130 Vespene gas 2 Psi 6.00 DPS
Immortal Default Karax Immortal Assault strider. Can use Barrier to absorb damage.

Can attack ground units.

325 Minerals 130 Vespene gas 4 Psi 13.79 DPS

Vs Armoured: 34.48 DPS

Colossus Default Karax

Colossus Purifier Karax

Colossus Battle strider with a powerful area attack. Can walk up and down cliffs.

Can attack ground units.
(Upgrades to Purifier Colossus variant at level 9. His attacks set fire to the ground, dealing extra damage to enemies over time.)

390 Minerals 260 Vespene gas 6 Psi Vs Air: N/A

Vs Ground: 18.18 DPS

Observer Default Karax Observer Flying spy. Cloak renders the unit invisible to enemies without detection. 25 Minerals 75 Vespene gas 1 Psi Vs Air: N/A

Vs Ground: N/A

Phoenix Mirage Karax Mirage Air superiority starfighter. Can use Graviton Beam and Phasing Armor abilities.

Can attack air units.

195 Minerals 130 Vespene gas 2 Psi 13 DPS

Vs Light: 22 DPS

Carrier Default Karax

Carrier Aiur Karax

Carrier Capital ship. Builds and launches Interceptors that attack enemy targets.

Can attack ground and air units.
(Upgrades to Aiur Carrier variant at level 14. Can be upgraded with Repair Drones that heal nearby mechanical units.)

455 Minerals 325 Vespene gas 6 Psi 3 DPS
Photon Cannon Default Karax Photon Cannon Primary defensive structure.

Can attack ground and air units.

150 Minerals  16 DPS
Khaydarin Monolith Default Karax Khaydarin Monolith Extremely powerful defensive structure. Has superior range and damage, but is very expensive and attacks slowly.

Can attack ground and air units.
(Unlocks at level 3)

300 Minerals 100 Vespene gas  33 DPS
Shield Battery Default Karax Shield Battery Restores shields to nearby friendly unts and structures. 100 Minerals  Vs Air: N/A

Vs Ground: N/A

Talent Progression[]

Karax acquires the following talents as he levels up.

OrbitalAssault SC2-LotV Icon1
Master Machinist

Karax's combat units gain 50% increased health, but cost 30% more. Orbital Strike has no attack count or cooldown, and only costs 5 energy to use.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available
ve
ChronoField SC2-LotV Icon1
Spear of Adun: Chrono Field

Increases production speed of all friendly buildings by 15%.

Passive ability.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 2
ve
KhaydarinMonolith SC2-LotV Icon1
New Unit: Khaydarin Monolith

Unlocks the khaydarin monolith for construction.

Extremely powerful defensive structure. Has superior range and damage, but is very expensive and attacks slowly.

Can attack ground and air units.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 3
ve
Karax TwilightCouncilUpgrades SC2-LotV Icon1
Twilight Council Upgrade Cache

Unlocks upgrades for the energizer and the shield battery at the twilight council.
• Allow energizers to temporarily take control of enemy mechanical units.
• Increase energy regeneration for energizers and shield batteries by 200%.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 4
ve
ChronoWave SC2-LotV Icon1
Spear of Adun: Chrono Overload

Chrono Wave now increases production speed of allied buildings by 500% for 20 seconds. Activate Chrono Wave from the top panel.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 5
ve
ForgeUpgrades SC2-LotV Icon1
Forge Upgrade Cache

Unlocks upgrade for defensive structures at the forge.
• Increase the range of photon cannons, khaydarin monoliths, and shield batteries by 2.
• Increase the attack speed of photon cannons and khaydarin monoliths by 25%.
• Allow shield batteries to grant structures a damage absorption barrier for 10 seconds that absorbs up to 100 damage.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 6
ve
ReconstructionBeam LotV Icon1
Spear of Adun: Reconstruction Beam

Friendly mechanical units and structures are automatically repaired over time. Up to 3 targets can be repaired at once.

Passive ability.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 7
ve
SolarForgeUpgrades1 LotV Icon1
Solar Forge Upgrade Cache 1

Unlocks upgrades for the Spear of Adun at the solar forge.
• Allow Reconstruction Beam to affect one addtional target, for a total of 4.
• Solar Efficiency level 3.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 8
ve
RoboticsBayUpgrades LotV Icon1
Robotics Bay Upgrade Cache

Upgrades colossus to purifier colossus and unlocks the following upgrades at the robotics bay.
• Unlock the immortal's Shadow Cannon ability, which deals 320 damage to an enemy ground or air unit.
• Enable the colossus's attacks to set fire to the ground for additional damage over time.

Usage
Notes

Replace default skin Icon Protoss Colossus to Purifier variant IconKaraxPurifierColossus

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 9
ve
PurifierBeam LotV Icon1
Spear of Adun: Purifier Beam

Unlocks the Purifier Beam ability which fires a beam that deals 750 (1500 vs Armored) damage over 15 seconds. Activate Purifier Beam from the top panel.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 10
ve
KhalaiIngenuity LotV Icon1
Khalai Ingenuity
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 11
ve
SolarForgeUpgrades2 LotV Icon1
Solar Forge Upgrade Cache 2

Unlocks upgrades for the Spear of Adun at the solar forge.
• Enable Orbital Strike to stun enemies in the target area.
• Enable Solar Lance to set fire to the ground for additional damage over time.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 12
ve
PurifierProtocol LotV Icon1
Spear of Adun: Purifier Protocol

Increases the Purifier Beam's movement speed by 200% and its duration by 5 seconds, for a total of 20 seconds. Activate Purifier Beam from the top panel.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 13
ve
FleetBeaconUpgrades LotV Icon1
Fleet Beacon Upgrade Cache

Upgrades carrier to aiur carrier and unlocks the following upgrades at the fleet beacon.
• Allow mirages to become temporarily invulnerable after taking damage.
• Allow carriers to automatically repair nearby mechanical units.

Usage
Notes

Replace default skin Icon Protoss Carrier to Aiur variant IconDaelaamCarrier

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 14
ve
UnityBarrier LotV Icon1
Unity Barrier

All friendly units gain a barrier that will block an attack or spell that deals at least 20 damage. This barrier is gained upon the unit's creation and can only be gained once every 240 seconds.

Architect of War: Unity Barrier can affect allied defensive structures and its cooldown is reduced by 75%, but it can no longer affect allied units.

Usage
Passive
Duration 10 seconds
Cooldown 240 seconds
60 (with Architect of War) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 15
ve

Strategies[]

All of Karax's combat units have a 30% increase in their resource costs, but fully upgraded they are very effective, moreover they have more health than the same units fielded by other commanders. He is overall more of a support commander, using his chrono abilities to improve production times for him and his allies, building static defenses to defend points of control, and utilizing the Spear of Adun's powerful bombardment abilities for close air support and artillery to attack from afar. However, he is still perfectly capable of fielding a powerful army if required although it can be expensive and slow to do so while Karax is turtling up. If Templar Apparent is in play though, cranking out armies can be easily and cheaply done in short order, playing an offensive role. Only problem is Karax's units suffer from a lack of mobility, making mobilising from point to point a little more tedious, especially when defending positions without the support of cannons and monoliths, but they are generally durable enough to hold their own.

Mastery Strategies[]

Power Set 1: Viable depending on the Prestige

☀Combat Unit Life and Shields (+1% - +30%)
Combat Unit Life and Shields are the obvious choice when playing as a Templar Apparent. Makes your cheaper armies much more durable even on top of its inate base HP bonus that Karax's troops have, since the Photon Cannons and Khaydarin Monoliths are not available to the faction.
Structure Life and Shields will be the viable choice when playing on any prestige except Templar Apparent. It allows cannons (240 shield + 240 hp total) to survive one Yamato cannon shot from Terrans. Its is useful when you plan to play extremely defensively and rely on static defense and turtling as your primary strategy, which can be viable on defensive maps and certain mutations.

Power Set 2: Both options are equally viable.

☀Repair Beam Healing Rate: (+3% - +90%)
☀Chrono Wave Energy Generation (+3 - +90)
Chrono Wave Energy Generation allows you to save resources on Solar Efficiency upgrades, and the superior choice for a mass Carrier composition. A static defense build can better afford the gas for Solar Efficiency upgrades, making the Chrono Wave Energy Generation less of a relative improvement.
Repair Beam Healing Rate equates to better healing for both tower defence and army-based strategy. Sentinels and Mirages are much tougher; static defenses have better chances to withstand enemy attacks, indirectly increasing the ability to survive under certain mutations.

Power Set 3: Initial and Maximum Spear of Adun Energy

☀Initial and Maximum Spear of Adun Energy: (+3 - +90)
Initial and Maximum Spear of Adun Energy allows for -immediate- expansion; significantly increases Karax’s early game power. This energy can be spent in many different ways, but most notably giving Karax the fastest possible expansion of any commander on all maps. Should you research multiple Solar Efficiency upgrades, being able to store an extra 90 energy can allow you more freedom to bank your energy, and can provide you with extra burst damage which you will need in the late game.
Chrono Boost Efficiency has niche uses and is made redundant by Chrono Wave.

Prestige Strategies[]

Architect of War focuses Karax on his turrets but compromises his ability to field an army or support his ally. The player's strategy must be entirely reconsidered thusly; on defensive maps Karax can excel, while on offensive maps he must offensively cannon rush his enemies since his army will be more vulnerable without Repair Beam. This is not as great an issue if Karax is relying on carriers, but other army compositions will need healing support from allies, if available. On maps where defensive play or offensive cannon rushing are not viable strategies and Karax must field an army, this prestige is a hindrance. However, if such play is possible, Karax can be terrifically effective, especially on defensive maps. Chrono Wave becomes a terrific boon to Karax's turrets, rapidly boosting their fire rate to rip through enemies, and he can apply Chrono Boost to an individual turret to speed up its attack speed. This also means Karax will need fewer turrets in the early game to hold off enemies, and he can more comfortable focus on building up his economy and upgrades.

Templar Apparent is the polar opposite of Architect of War - it cancels out Karax's innate penalty on the cost of combat units but deprives him of his turrets, meaning he has a stronger and large army but no defensive options. Since the penalty to his combat units cancelled out and even makes units a healthy 22% cheaper than their base values, players can use more "traditional" Protoss builds and armies for Karax. With their own innate health bonus and his first mastery redistributed to Combat Unit Life and Shields, his army will be among the most durable and one of the most powerful of all commanders in Co-op, and with Repair Beam and Carriers for support, they can survive prolonged frontline engagements. However, the loss of photon cannons and khaydarin monoliths is deceptively severe; Karax will have no detection without observers and his army's poor mobility means he must rely on his calldowns to defeat enemy attacks coming from a direction he cannot quickly intercept them. Some Terran enemies will try to call down nukes, needing observers in surveillance mode at the chokepoints to his base to watch for ghosts and take them out with Orbital Strike. In all, massing armies for defensive maps is the only option but offensive maps can be made easier due to Templar Apparent able to take full advantage of much higher pushing potential.

Solarite Celestial focuses Karax on offensive calldowns but deprives him of Chrono abilities. This means he takes much longer to build momentum, since he cannot speed up the research rate of the many upgrades he needs to reach his full potential. However, he can be much more liberal in usage of his call down abilities, and rely on them to make up for the loss in efficiency of his turrets or army. In the late game with an upgraded Spear of Adun, Karax's poor army mobility will not be a great concern, as he can more use his calldowns to more efficiently take care of enemy attack waves from afar. Since his third mastery's Chrono Boost efficiency has no effect now, it can be redistributed into increasing the Spear of Adun's starting and maximum energy, giving Karax even more ability to spam his calldowns on enemies even in the early game. The increased Spear of Adun energy at the start of the mission, coupled with the lowered energy costs and cooldowns of his calldowns, also allows the option to use this extra energy to quickly clear out rocks and enemies for an early expansion.

The Grand Design[]

The solar forge provides bonus energy to the Spear of Adun, which powers many of Karax's abilities. The first upgrade at the forge will increase the amount of bonus energy supplied, enabling Karax to use the powerful abilities which the Spear of Adun provides more often. Chrono wave is an incredibly powerful ability. Before using it, consider informing one's fellow player of the intention to use it. This will allow them to start upgrades, queue units, and generally ensure that both of you receive the massive benefits that the ability is capable of providing. Orbital strike can provide quick support to one's ally.

Intricate Machinery[]

Use the Energizers to "mind control" Terran/Protoss mechanical units, particularly expensive units such as carriers or battlecruisers. Create a mixed force of Immortals/Carriers to supplement Sentinels/Photon Cannons with the remaining minerals. However, the Energizer's ability is useless against Zerg and this can especially be a problem when the Zerg enemy is primarily airborne or when facing volatile enemies such as Banelings.

My Expertise Is Yours[]

Karax's strength is about researching technology, aiding partners with spells and deploying static defense: you have the strongest hero powers by far and the strongest static defense by a significant margin. The drawback is that his standing army is pitifully small. Even when only investing in spells and carriers, for example, you'll only have 8~10 carriers at the end of the game; and the strong feeling that Karax was carried by his ally. Because his units cost 30% more, you shouldn't play Karax like you play any other hero. The first 10 minutes of the game, Karax only has "token defense force"; only at the 15 minute mark will production "ramp up".

We are all Templar[]

Despite Karax's slow ramp up while levelling(offset by the recent buffs to his unit costs), he can be a truly terrifying fighting force with masteries. His zealot variant, the sentinels, can revive themselves and is effectively two zealots for the price of one. His energizers have the ability to take control of powerful enemy mechs and increase friendly units' attack speeds. His immortals' shadow cannon ability can deal impressive damage to single targets from extremely long range, including aerial targets. With army cost reduction mastery and precise Orbital Strikes, Karax's army is extremely cost efficient and powerful.

Chronoboost Activated[]

Karax's passive Chronoboost on his Nexus' is slightly stronger than that of other Protoss commanders, and can help saturate your economy earlier with probes. Once done, you should immediately focus it on your production structures or upgrades, maximizing their effect earlier by pushing late-game abilities into the mid-game. Not only is this helpful for your army, but it can further strengthen your ally. If Karax is going to play defensively, you can offset your partner's lack of pushing power by helping chronoboost their structures for faster units or better upgrades, allowing a number of long-time production units to be shortened by up to a third of their actual production time. Building additional Nexus' (if economy allows) can help further increase the number of Chronoboost's you have available. Additionally, you can help cover their base in defenses that can also be chrono-boosted, allowing them to spend far more time on offense. This can help effectively build their army to its maximum supply in short order, and possibly tear down any targets in little time thanks to their earlier upgrades.

Designating Targets[]

A key aspect of Karax mastery is the usage of his Spear of Adun orbital strike ability and its synergies with Karax's army. Orbital strikes take time to land, so it is important to lead your shots against moving enemy waves. To maximize the damage of orbital strikes, aim for clumped armoured enemies, such as air units over structures, or units forced to group up while turning or crossing chokes, for the bonus damage to apply. Against certain enemy compositions, it is advisable to research the orbital strike stun upgrade: when attacking into fortified enemy positions, target dangerous enemies like capital ships and spellcasters to stop them from firing; when against an incoming air attack wave, time your shots so that you can stun the front of the attack wave, allow the back of the wave to get close to the already stunned parts of the wave, then fire to stun and damage even more units as they clump up. It is also important to not pointlessly spam your shots against single targets: your units and static defenses will do fine against those. Knowing how many shots it takes kill different units will also help you efficiently use your orbital strikes: spam clicking against a battlecruiser fleet is pointless when six well-placed shots can stun and destroy them anyway. In addition, you can also combo orbital strikes with your other units: normally it takes three shots to kill a brood lord or a void ray, but with an immortal shadow cannon, one shot is enough; sentinels act as good tanks, but more importantly, they aggro enemy units and force them to stay close, allowing you to target them easily.

Synergies[]

Terran Commanders[]

Raynor synergizes only decently with Karax; Raynor can produce multiple barracks to quickly rebuild his army and thus won't be helped as much by Chrono Wave. Reconstruction Beam may not affect Raynor's infantry, but it can help his mechanized units and bunkers, the latter of which normally have survivability issues at higher difficulties. Vikings and marines can help Karax compensate for his lackluster anti-air capabilities until carriers can be built.

Swann synergizes perfectly when paired with Karax, due to both commanders' focus on mechanical units as well as turtling defensively. Karax's powerful anti-ground forces with the immortal and colossus are well complemented by Swann's powerful anti-air goliath and thor. Swann's science vessels and Karax's carriers can repair mechanical units, and both can combine their static defenses together for more versatility. Karax is incredibly gas starved, and Swann goes a long way to alleviate this. This is the only way to obtain a true army of powerful units for Karax. Karax's passive heal of mechanical units comes in extremely handy in the early game; Swann's units are as strong as they are slow, making it more difficult for Swann to retreat in battle. Karax's reconstruction beam ability is particularly useful in this case, as with the prestige ability Templar Apparent to help Karax churn big armies to alleviate Swann's relatively slow buildup of his armies. If all else fails and both players suffer great losses in battle, Karax can help both players recreate their armies faster than anyone else.

Nova is an effective teammate for Karax. Her lack of defensive systems is covered by Karax's strong statics, while Nova can handle bases and attack points on her own. Since Chrono-Boost and Chrono-Wave quickens not only her research time but also the cooldown of her facilities, Nova gets a great advantage of quickly replacing units if needed and also being more "selectable" with which kinds of units she want.

Han and Horner work amazingly well with Karax. Han and Horner lack any true reliable defensive structures on maps like “Temple of the Past” and “Dead of Night,” having to rely on widow mines and mag mines. Karax can cover for this, and meanwhile their mag mines can provide extra support for Karax's defenses, hitting targets while they're tied up dealing with his photon cannons. Reconstruction Beam also is a powerful boon to Han and Horner, as it gives their assault galleons a reliable heal while increasing the repair rate of their more powerful Horner units. Strike fighters also can reveal areas in the fog of war, allowing Karax to them hit targets with his orbital abilities. Chronoboost is a massive boon to Han and Horner, who have a lot of research that is of great benefit to their armies. Han and Horner can field a big army with heavy pushing potential, and their larger units gain a lot of benefit from energizers. Karax's Aiur carriers can bolster the already impressive tanking potential of Horner's fleet as well as somewhat increasing the survivability of hellions and widow mines. When combined with drone hangar assault galleons they can deal a significant amount of damage from out of enemy range.

Tychus has reasonable synergy with Karax. While he can't take advantage of Chrono Wave as his research and training times are nonexistent for the most part, the power of the Heaven's Devils helps offset Karax's slow ramp-up time. In return, Karax covers for Tychus's weak defensive abilities and can provide covering fire for the Devils with the Spear of Adun's calldowns, while buffing them with Energizers.

Zerg Commanders[]

Kerrigan has access to mutalisks and ultralisks; units that take a long time to create, and would benefit greatly from Karax's chrono-boost ability. Kerrigan's Assimilation Aura, though not as effective as Swann's Vespene Drones, when used properly can also help to Karax getting gas starved less often.

Zagara already creates units quickly due to her relentless swarmer trait, but she can still benefit from Chrono Wave for research and upgrades. Unity Barrier can make her frail units slightly more durable, and Karax can cover for Zagara's lackluster base defenses. Zagara's Baneling Nest can be chrono boosted to allow for more free banelings.

Abathur has some ability synergies with Karax, 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.

Stukov works well with Karax, and can be extremely powerful particularly on defensive maps. When pushing forward, the two can create small "checkpoints" of structures as Stukov moves his production buildings up and Karax covers them with defensive structures. Stukov's infest structure synergizes well with the amount of defenses Karax has, and Chrono Wave can boost the speed of long upgrades for Stukov such as the infestation levels. Both Karax and Stukov have powerful global cooldowns, with Karax's more consistent orbital strike and solar lance abilities allowing Stukov to save his Apocalisk and Aleksander for more important engagements.

Dehaka and Karax have situational synergy. On defensive maps like “Temple of the Past” and “Dead of Night”, Karax can cover for Dehaka's lack of reliable defensive structures while Dehaka pushes out for other objectives. Meanwhile, Karax can cover for Dehaka with his offensive calldowns. However, Karax's repair beam does not benefit Dehaka as he has no mechanical units, and on maps that rely heavily on pushing Karax is unable to reliably support Dehaka in the mid game.

Protoss Commanders[]

Artanis synergizes well with Karax. Reconstruction beam can heal units saved by Guardian Shell stacked with Unity Barrier as well as backing both armies with his repair-drone equipped carriers, making both players' units nigh-unkillable. Karax's plentiful energy on the Spear of Adun means Artanis can save gas on expensive Protoss artillery and use his strong basic units (immortal, archon, dragoon, phoenix), and Chrono Wave can ensure both players are well-upgraded (particularly on weapons and shields).

Vorazun benefits from Chrono Wave if she is building an air force or rebuilding an army, as dark templars and dark archons have a long cooldown on warp gates. She also benefits from Chrono Wave in her tech, as she needs to research many upgrades to reach full power. Her Vortex can also bunch up the enemy for Karax's Orbital Strikes and Solar Lances. Her Dark Pylon can also cloak Karax's defensive structures, making them much more effective.

Alarak is a moderately effective teammate for Karax. While Alarak is geared towards overwhelming offense, Karax favors impenetrable defense. Thus Alarak can focus his attention on attacking the enemy while Karax defends their bases and uses his calldown abilities to focus down stronger units Alarak may have trouble with. Reconstruction Beam is invaluable to support Alarak's fragile wrathwalkers and vanguards, and carriers with repair drones makes a powerful army combined with Alarak's robotic forces. The player can use Alarak's Structure Overcharge to power up Karax's defenses even further when faced with an overwhelming enemy force.

Fenix is a very effective teammate for Karax. As all of Fenix's units are mechanical, he benefits greatly from reconstruction beam, allowing his entire army to be more durable. Fenix also lacks defensive options while Karax lacks offensive options, making the two good on push-pull maps. Fenix can also defend early using his heroes while Karax establishes a defensive line, allowing Fenix to hit a critical mass. The only downside is both heroes are not the best at pushing, though Fenix gains a lot of push potential with Karax's heal and shield batteries, and Karax will have to be on top of supporting Fenix with his Spear of Adun abilities in order to get past some of the tougher fortifications without Fenix taking too much damage.

Quotations[]

See: Karax Commander Quotations

Achievements[]

Gameplay[]

CoopKarax SC2-LotV AchieveIcon1 Tower Defense
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Kill 1,000 enemy units with Karax's defensive structures.

Edit
CoopKarax SC2-LotV AchieveIcon2 Fast Friends
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Use Chrono Wave to speed up the training of 500 of your ally's units.

Edit
CoopKarax SC2-LotV AchieveIcon3 Scorched Earth
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Kill 200 enemy units with Karax's Solar Lance in a single mission on Hard difficulty.

Edit
CoopKarax SC2-LotV AchieveIcon4 Target Purified
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Kill 50 enemy units with a single strike of Karax's Purifier Beam on Hard difficulty.

Edit
CoopKarax SC2-LotV AchieveIconMaster Master Phase-Smith
Points

20 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete all the Commander Karax achievements.

Rewards
KaraxCoop SC2 Portrait1 Karax portrait
Edit

Levels[]

Co-opExplore SC2AchiveImage Professional Protoss
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 5 with Hierarch Artanis, Matriarch Vorazun or Phase-Smith Karax in Co-op Missions.

Rewards
Coop5Protoss DecalSC2 Coop Award: Level 5 decal
Edit
CoopLevel SC2-LotV AchieveIconKarax1 Karax: Level 5
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 5 with Karax.

Edit
CoopLevel SC2-LotV AchieveIconKarax2 Karax: Level 10
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 10 with Karax.

Edit
CoopLevel SC2-LotV AchieveIconKarax3 Karax: Level 15
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 15 with Karax.

Edit

Development[]

Data in the Galaxy Map Editor point to Karax being able to use sentries at some point in development, but these were likely replaced by energizers in the final game.[1]

References[]

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

  1. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void Map Editor. (Activision Blizzard) (in English). November 10, 2015

External Links[]

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