by Matt Bird

Created on: July 19, 2009   Last Updated: May 25, 2012

The self-appointed protectors of the galaxy, the Protoss have a single mission: destroy the Zerg. And they'll do it even if it means disposing of one or two races who might be caught in their path. It's all for the good of existence, right?

Much more advanced than the Terrans, the Protoss use their technological superiority to dominate the playing field. They use high-power energy weapons in conjunction with shields to keep their warriors, drones and even buildings safe, making Protoss encampments nigh-impregnable and Protoss armies nigh-unstoppable.

Which isn't to say that the Protoss themselves are weak. A warrior race, they often fight hand-to-hand, using powerful psionic blades to conquer enemies. They're the most durable of the three races and can rip apart Zerg with little damage to themselves, even if they're using sheer force of muscles to do it. The Protoss are honorable and proud, and all too willing to kick your butt to prove it.

Protoss building efforts are surprisingly prolific. Using their teleportation technology they pull buildings in from the Protoss home world, allowing probes to create multiple gates at a time. This allows defensive emplacements to appear rapidly, so long as the player has the money to build them and energy Pylons to build near. The Protoss themselves aren't as prolific, however; their troops, despite being powerful, are both expensive and slow to create, thus limiting their effectiveness down to a level that the other two races can match.

As with Terran and Zerg the Protoss can either opt to go for a land attack or an air attack (or a combination of both, though using just one is generally more effective). On land the Protoss start out with the powerful Zealots, the strongest beginning units and game stoppers if they're massed in a rush. Beyond that they have the game-making Dragoons which can shoot far and hit both land and air units, making them an incredible threat that's hard to push back in large numbers. The Protoss also have a secret threat in the Dark Templars, which hit extremely hard and are invisible without detection.

In the air the Protoss can easily dominate with their hardy Scouts or, more importantly, fleets of Carriers. Capable of turning out dozens of drone ships, Carriers are self-contained floating armies that overwhelm enemies via sheer number and win through confusion. Watching a swarm of drones attack a base makes it difficult for a force defending a base to get rid of the Carriers since they'll concentrate on the drones without outside orders. More, the Carriers can replace drones that are destroyed very quickly.

Needless to say the Protoss are a force to be reckoned with. They take a long time to build up, but if given that time they can devastate other armies with little effort and look awesome in the process.

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