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"Executor, I shall test the mettle of these humans by scouting ahead of your ships, and finding a way through this blockade!"

- Praetor Artanis(src)

The Battle of Braxis is the fifth protoss mission of Episode IV of StarCraft: Brood War.

History[]

Background[]

After retrieving the Uraj from the surface of Braxis, the protoss prepared to set out to retrieve the Khalis. However, they were halted in orbit by a large number of terran vessels with a profile unlike any the protoss had encountered before. The fleet's flagship identified itself as the Aleksander and hailed the protoss. The contacting officer, Alexei Stukov, introduced himself as the admiral of the United Earth Directorate, which had come to the sector to take control of the Terran Dominion and its colonies. As the protoss had openly attacked terran troops in their expedition to Braxis, Stukov ordered them to power down their ships and allow the UED to take custody of their ships and their spoils from the planet.

Dark Prelate Zeratul was surprised to see a terran fleet from Earth, and knew of the planet from Jim Raynor's stories.[1] Praetor Artanis boasted the terrans were nothing before the protoss, who had slain the Overmind, but Zeratul reminded him that they did so with the help of terrans.[2]

Artanis conceded the point, and volunteered to lead a strike force to test the strength of the UED and break the blockade they had formed.

The UED blockade consisted of dozens of missile turrets built across an orbital platform, with numerous UED forces stationed there as a garrison. Artanis and his handful of warriors were able to destroy one of the power generators powering the turrets, but needed more forces to destroy the more heavily guarded generators. With reinforcements from Zeratul, Artanis led the protoss in destroying all of the generators, shutting down the blockade's turrets and allowing the protoss to leave Braxis.[1]

Walkthrough[]

The player begins with a small force of protoss commanded by Artanis in a powerful scout. The player should load their dragoons in one of their shuttles and fly it to the platform directly north of the starting position. The dragoons can destroy two missile turrets on high ground here, allowing the shuttle to ferry them onto the high ground. Further down this area the dragoons can fire on the power generator from high ground. When the generator is destroyed, a number of missile turrets power down and grant the player vision, and the player receives more units. For the rest of the mission, the player is able to attack the generators in any order; this is just one strategy. Note that regardless of what order the generators are destroyed, the player will receive the same reinforcements in the same order.

The player should now move all their units to the east. To the north-east the dragoons can destroy four missile turrets, allowing the player's dark templar to destroy two bunkers behind them. A third bunker beyond them is close enough to missile turrets that the dark templar will be revealed. Instead the player can micro their dragoons, scouts, and Artanis, to destroy the bunker in a frontal attack. With the bunker gone the dragoons can destroy the missile turrets in the area, then be ferried to high ground on the north. From here the player can destroy another power generator; a bunker near it may need to be destroyed first in the same manner as the last one.

With this area's missile turrets deactivated, the player can use their dark templar to destroy the bunkers and siege tanks in the area. The next target is the generator in the middle of the map. The player's ground forces can destroy the turrets surrounding the generator, allowing scouts or dragoons via a shuttle to slip in and destroy it. The player's next reinforcements include reavers and high templar.

The fourth generator is very heavily defended. Ghosts on small platforms on high ground will lockdown the player's mechanical forces, the area is surrounded by spider mines, and siege tanks and goliaths guard the generator platform itself. The player should destroy the turrets on the surrounding platform, allowing them to bring in an observer to spot the spider mines so that dragoons may destroy them. A high templar can then cast psionic storm on the nearby ghost to kill it. The player can now fly their scouts and Artanis in and whittle down the siege tanks, microing away to avoid too much fire from the goliaths. Once the siege tanks are destroyed the player has more freedom to continue destroying the minefield and the ghosts, and bring their forces in to destroy the goliaths and the generator.

The final generator is far to the north-west. The player's last wave of reinforcements includes an arbiter. The player now has the sheer numbers to brute force their way to victory; cluster all offensive units together, and bring all air units to the far northern edge of the map. Moving west, the corsairs can use disruption web to nullify the terran ground defenses, and the arbiter can simply fly into the generator area and recall all the player's forces here for the final assault.

Whatever order the player chooses to destroy the generators, when all five are gone, the mission ends.

Starcraft_Brood_War_-_Protoss_Mission_5_The_Battle_of_Braxis

Starcraft Brood War - Protoss Mission 5 The Battle of Braxis

Notes[]

  • There are 174 missile turrets across the entire map.
  • When Stukov accused the Protoss of attacking Terran troops on their expedition on Braxis, he presumably refers to the Terran plateau base that was cleared so the Protoss could establish their own base in that area.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Battle of Braxis (in English). 1998.
  2. Artanis: "Have faith, Zeratul! You almost sound as if you fear these humans. What are they to such as we? Was it not we who defeated the dreaded Overmind?"
    Zeratul: "Yes, Artanis. We did vanquish the Overmind. But we did so with the help of humans. Do not be so quick to underestimate them."
    StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Level/area: The Battle of Braxis (in English). 1998.
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