3-Gate Robo Opener – Protoss vs Terran Strategy

I have crawled up to Diamond before I had switched to Zerg, basically because I used to play Protoss in Broodwar and I will always remain a Protoss warrior in my heart I'm afraid. Anyway, I've figured out a decent build which gives you decent possibilities for both offense and defense. Let's have a look, shall we?

Basic Numbers

Use no more than 2 Chrono boosts on Probes, save the rest for Warp Gate.

8 Pylon & scout right away
12 Gate
13 Gas
15 Pylon
16 Core (no Zealot, Stalker first)
Add two more Gates & 1 Zealot
Build two more Stalkers manually before Warp is done
Build Robo either before or after the warp, depends on scouting and your cash levels

These are the basics which remain the same for all variations. It strongly depends whether you're able to investigate your opponent's base, because his build will determine your further course of action. You can scout several basic things, such as:

fast Marauder push
quick Factory
fast expansion
Banshee

What Can We Do?

The good news is 3 Gate Robo can cause serious trouble to all of these builds. As you charge in with 7 units (ideally 5 Stalkers and 2 Zealots) & you're getting a Proxy Pylon ready, you will:

crush Marauders
seriously delay his expansion in case he's going for Hellions
in 90% of cases overrun his expansion*
will get through his block & kill him**

*Strongly depends on the (Shakuras Plateau isn't the best map for attacking fast expansions), but since you can build an Observer right away, you can still be a great pain in the ass.

**Even if he manages to research Cloak, you can again get a quick Observer and rape him nevertheless.

This build is also very safe against some strange 1 Rine 2 Marauders attacks or even the infamous Marine / SCV rush. The latter is much more troubling and you need to scout it in time, but since you've got enough Boosts, you can use them on Gateways rather than on the Warp.

Attack Wisely

However, I'm not telling you to go nuts, warp in countless units and let them perish in vain. It is all about good judgement and game experience – if it's obvious you won't brake his lines, feel free to stick to the initial 7 units only and throw down a Nexus (perhaps even two pieces) instead.

Should that be the case, you can poke around until Terran gets either Tanks or Concusive Shells. When that happens, fall back, leave Observer behind and focus on macro. You can always add Blink later to become a pain in the ass again, but too heavy losses might and most probably will result in an inevitable "roflstomp".

Last but not the least, if you end up doing the more economical version of this build, make sure to warp in enough Sentries (usually 2-3) to block his choke before you decide to retreat – just in case a huge stimmed armada wanted to run down and quickly end the game.

Conclusion

3 Gate Robo has proven to be the safest opening with the highest winning rate I had in PvT. Although it might take a while before you get the critical judgements & resource distribution right, it will make you immune to most early pressures and even if you won't break down enemy's FE, you still stand a decent chance of winning.

Thank you for reading!

About The Player
Ondrej Dyrka (aka Vogin) is a part of the SCV Rush Crew, a few youngsters from the Czech Republic dedicated to Starcraft 2 and all the wonders hidden beneath mere video game. Our motto is "Make your way to Masters" and since we're already there as a 2v2 team, you might want to check out our website SCV Rush for strategy guides, Game Diary section and much more!

Posted by Guest Strategist

Protoss vs. Terran Strategies – How To Beat Any Combination

Note: I will not be offering build orders as that is up to your personal liking.
Protoss vs Terran is one of the hardest obstacles a Protoss player will face. Terran barrack units literally counter all Protoss gate units. Therefore, most Protoss players will have a 25% win rate, with 25% winning rushers and noobs. So, in order to win, we must analyze their common strategies:

1. MMM

MMM is one of the most dangerous unit compositions a Protoss will have to face. Stimmed Marines and Marauders deal a huge amount of damage while the medivacs can heal and preserve the units. There is also a huge risk of drops as medivacs can carry units and harrass.

2. Marine-Tank

Marine-Tank combination is also very dangerous. Sieged tanks literally rip gateway units apart while Marines on stim kill the remainders of the sieged armies.

3. Thor rush

Thor rush is in the norm now and it is very common in higher leagues. The third comes out to play so fast, it devastates your gateway units and it kills them like an insecticide does to bugs. Also, Scvs can repair the Thor, making it one of the most powerful units that you will have to face.

So, how would a Protoss win against a Terran player?

There are certain builds of Protoss that win over certain builds of Terran. We will be analyzing the strategies and see how we can deal with the PvT threat.

To start things off, we must know that there are units that Protoss players will have to understand and to utilize in the field of gaming. The 6 most important units for Protoss in order of usefulness is: Colossus, High Templar, Immortal, Sentry, Stalkers, Zealots. I will explain the order and what they are used for.

Colossus

The colossus is the best unit against barrack units. They have a splash damage which totally devastate the Terran army, burning them to a crisp. They can be built fairly early (usually just in time for the MMM pushes). However, they cost 200 gas, which is very expensive if you are playing off one base.

High Templar

Why is the High Templar, one of the least used units for Protoss, inside the top 6? First off, the High Templar have 2 amazingly useful skills against the bad boys of Terran: psionic storm destroys Marines and leave Marauders in the red so quickly, they wouldn't stand a chance if force fields were placed well.

Feedback is another amazingly useful skill. As Thors never use their ability much, they usually have full energy and a single feedback can leave a thor in the red.

Also, once your High Templar's energy is low, you can opt to combine another High Templar together to form an Archon. Archons are very dangerous and can absorb a huge amount of damage. They are also the best in absorbing siege hits as due to their body size, little to no splash will be damaging your other units.

Immortal

Immortals should form the backbones of your units simply because of their skills: they can be produced really, really fast (before warp research is done!) and these hardcore units have another ability which negates all damage to 10 as long as its shields remain. Also, it is the best counter for Marauders as they deal a massive damage of 50 against Marauders, with a nice +5 every weapon upgrade!

Sentry

Sentries are the best defensive units a Protoss has to offer. It has three of the most useful abilities in the game: Force field can block off units and even trap units. It can also block off your escape route or the ramp into your base against early rushes and buy you some time.

Guardian shield adds an additional +2 armor to the units inside the hemisphere, which is alot. A Zealot getting damaged by Marines for only 4 damage is very dangerous.

And the last ability, hallucination, produces free scouts and meatshields for your army. Hallucinate 5 colossus and the opponent might back out due to the sheer number of colossus!

Stalkers

Stalkers are great in the early game to harass the Terran, but there's where its usefulness ends. Although its great mobility and ability of blink is very great, it loses out to nearly everything Terran churns out mid-game: Marauders, Tanks, coaked Banshees, Thors, etc.

Zealots

Zealots are the best meatshield against any Terran forces as with their charge upgrade, zealots can easily surround your opponents and let your army do the rest of the work. However, they are not the unit you want in bulk. Zealots get kited (getting hit without hitting the opponent) so easily, your zealot army will dwindle within seconds.

After all these unit explanations, I hope you have an idea how to stop these Terran strategies. No? Fine, I'll explain phases of the game in detail so you all know what to do when dealing with pvt.

We split the game into 3 parts: early game, mid game, late game.

Early game

Early game is the phrase when its the prime time to scout the Terran. Nearly 99% of the time a Terran will wall up, denying your probe his scout. Therefore, in the early game, it would be the best to scout and see what he is up to.
First, look out for refineries in his base.

If he has any while your first pylon is still building, a Marauder rush is imminent. If no extractors were spotted, stay around longer and see if does build any. If he builds any much later, it would definitely be a MMM push. Also, learn to scout his base for buildings.

If 2 barracks were built at the same time, it rings an alarm to you that he will be going marine all in. However, if you see a real quick factory, trouble is brewing as he would most likely be going for a banshee rush and you might not expect it. If you see an armory going down in 3-5 minutes, he must be rushing for Thor.

The early game is usually where it decides if the Protoss can only hang in the game or totally dominate the game. It would also require the Protoss to have sharp senses and be always be on the lookout as in what the Terran will build.

Early MMM

Early MMM is the most painful build against all Protoss. One misclick or one mistake will instantly GG the Protoss. If you know an early MMM is coming, you have up till 3-4mins to kite and soften the Marauders. If Concussive shells upgrade is completed, stalker kites will be rendered ineffective. Therefore, a Protoss player must always build sentries. Those sentries are used to split the MMM in half and to make picking off Terran units easier.

Guardian shields are also a necessity to reduce the marauder and marine's dps. Once you chased the MMM death ball away, it is recommended to expand. Remember, those Terran unit counters never come cheap. A Colossus is 300 minerals and 200 gas, which is roughly equivalent to 2 sentries and 2 zealots.
Once your expansion is up, the game will transition into mid game. A Protoss must go defensive in the beginning and go offensive in the end in order to have a clean victory.

….. Part 2 coming up soon!

This strategy brought to you by…

Sean

Posted by Guest Strategist

Protoss vs Protoss Gateway Contain Into Void Ray Flank

This is a slightly different strategy than most. It concentrates on utilizing both skills in rushing and those with mid/later game. It is broken down into two stages: First, the initial rush, followed by a push through your opponent’s flank.

Start with the initial Protoss build order to gateway (make sure to scout and build at least 1 proxy as it is essential for this strategy to be effective), but instead of waiting until 18 supply for your second gateway, bring it in IMMEDIATELY after you bring in your first at 12 supply. As soon as the gateways are in, begin producing zealots (3-4 should be sufficient). At around 16-18 supply, order the cybernetics and an assimilator. As soon as the zealots are ready, send them to your opponent’s base.

At this point, you should be able to do a fair amount of damage. However, I have had some instances where they cannon protect, this is good. If they do, pull your zealots out and have them wait just outside of your opponent’s base. Right around this time, your cybernetics should be done. Research gateway and order a second assimilator. Chrono boost the crap out of it! When it is about halfway done, you need to do 2 things: order a second nexus at your natural expansion and order 2 more gateways.

As soon as the gateways/warpgate is done, begin warping stalkers into your proxy right outside your base. Do this 2 or 3 times to have a fair sized force. Move in. If you can overcome them, that’s game. If there are a ton of cannons, pull out again and warp in more stalkers. You want to make sure that they become supply blocked. Back at your main, order 2 stargates. Bring in another 2 waves of stalkers. When stargates are done, bring in void rays and have them gather next to your stalkers.

Continue until you have at least 4 void rays. Then fly around back of your opponent’s base and move in to their supply line, have your void rays continue producing and being sent to group with the others. Send your stalkers in. At this point, you should be attacking from both sides and overwhelming your enemy. Decimate your opponent’s base, if you hear nothing from them, attack move your forces all over the map to find out where they are hiding and finish them.

Happy hunting

This strategy brought to you by…

Bryan Ossa

Posted by Guest Strategist

Protoss 4-Gate Rush Basics

This is a common strategy that many Protoss players use in order to put some early push on their enemies. In many of the lower leagues and some higher up leagues, the push is so strong that you may win the game.

The key to this strategy is go have effective proxy pylons placed and very good macro/micro skills, as you will need them to keep resource and still be bringing in units for assaulting.

In order to have this strategy be most effective, it is imperative that warp gate is researched as quickly as you can pull it, as this is essential to maintain constant pressure on your opponent.

I have found that you can bring a gateway in as early as having 9 worker units, but it is usually safer to wait until you have 11 or 12.

(keep in mind that you want to have probes in production continually when you are doing this so you can keep pressure up, and also, if it fails, you are still able to keep building up for a later game assault)

The Build Order

The standard build order that I go for using is this:

7/10 Probe
8/10 Probe
9/10 Probe/Pylon
10/10 Probe
11/18 Probe
12/18 Probe/Gateway
13/18 Probe
14/18 Probe/Assimilator
15/18 Probe/Pylon (this pylon should be created somewhere close to your opponent as it will be your proxy)
16/18 Probe/Cybernetics
17/18 Probe
19/26 Zealot (Use your standard gateway so that you have some defense in case of a rush)
20/26 Probe
21/26 Probe/Begin research on warpgate
23/26 Stalker (standard gateway)
24/26 Probe
25/26 Probe/3 more Gateways/2 more Pylons (1 proxy near opponents base, make sure it is in a different location than your first so that if he finds 1, it's not the end of the world)

The 4-Gate Strategy

At this point, you can hang out until your gateways come in. When they are about halfway done, you will want to send the stalker and zealot that you have towards where you want to attack BUT DO NOT ATTACK YET!! Wait for the gateways to come in so that you can warpgate them and bring in several units quickly.

As soon as the gateways are in, transform them into warpgates and produce 4 stalkers at one of your proxies. Use the nexus' chrono boost to speed up the cooldown time so that you can warp in more units. Then, bring in another stalker and 3 more zealots. Make another pylon INSIDE YOUR MAIN BASE.

Once those units are in, send that battalion into your opponents base and do as much damage as you can. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE MORE UNITS SO YOU CAN KEEP THE PRESSURE UP IN CASE HE DESTROYS ALL YOUR UNITS! (This will probably happen when you take on a terran player). As you move in, send a probe in behind your combat units and bring in another proxy somewhere close, and if you can, inside your opponent's base. If it is inside, make sure that it is in their "dark zone" so that they don't take it out right away.

If this attack fails, you should have another legion waiting back at your proxy, bring in another set of units (include at least 1 sentry). Chrono boost the cooldown and bring in a 3rd set. At this point, you should have around 12 units for a second wave, send that in. Once you start doing damage, send all other units that you warp in to your opponent's base, that way, you units have reinforcements and your opponent gets a constant flow of pressure. At this point, you should have destroyed most of your opponent's army, so have half of your units target what is left and send the rest to kill their economy (he can't counter without resources Continue bringing in units until you are sure your opponent is done for.

If your second wave fails, you either attacked too late or your opponent was ready for you. Regardless, you should continue building up in your main base so that you can make another push later. (By this point, I usually have expanded and have at least 1 starport, 1 robotics so I can move in with stronger units shortly after)

FOR THIS RUSH TO BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE, YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR BATTALION ATTACKING SOMEWHERE AROUND THE 6:30 MINUTE MARK, the earlier, the better. If you find yourself only pushing around 8:30 or later, you are probably not going to be able to do as much damage as you had hoped for. I still recommend going for it because the attack may give you the opportunity to see how your opponent is building so that you know how to counter.

I hope this helps and that you can make use out of it. Again, it is a common strategy so you are probably going to have to make personal modifications so that it can suit your style and league gameplay.

This strategy brought to you by…

Bryan Ossa

Posted by Guest Strategist

Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Zerg Strategy – PvZ Strategies To Beat The Zerg

As the Protoss player in a PvZ game you're going to need to be prepared to survive against anything the Zerg player can throw against you. There are some general things you need to learn about the Zerg race in order to combat them effectively.

We're also going to take a look at some powerful Protoss vs Zerg strategies that you can use to get out to a good start and wear your Zerg opponent down to take the win.

General Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Zerg Strategy

As a Protoss player in Starcraft 2, you have the most powerful Tier 1 unit at your command, the Zealot. If you can get some early Zealots into the Zerg base you can potentially do a lot of damage to slow your opponent down. Zealots do a ton of damage against Zerglings and will kill them in just 3 hits. With good micro you can kill a lot of Zerglings with just a few Zealots, so use them to your advantage at the beginning of the game. Also note that with the +1 weapon upgrade your Zealots will 2-shot Zerglings, making them much more effective.

Creep is going to be one of your biggest enemies in longer Protoss vs Zerg games. Creep gives Zerg units a huge movement speed boost, allowing them to counter attack and reinforce their armies faster. To combat the spread of Creep, make an Observer at your Robotics Facility and fly it around with your army as you head to the Zerg base to kill any Creep Tumors you can. When you kill them the Creep will dissipate until they get more Creep Tumors or an Overlord to drop Creep from above.

Hydralisks are one of the biggest threats to your army since they do so much damage so fast. A lot of times they will have a row of Roaches in front of them to take the brunt of the damage as well. To combat this you can get Colossi, which will kill a Hydralisk in just 3 shots. Make sure you get the range upgrade and use Sentries to Force Field and keep the Zerg army where you want them. With the range upgrade Colossi can shoot from a range of 9 so use them to kite and take advantage of nearby cliffs to take out that Zerg ground army.

Mutalisks can also be a pain since they are so fast and your Stalkers don't do a lot of damage to them (since they are light units). If your opponent is using large groups of Mutalisks, throw down a Stargate or 2 and start making Phoenixes. Phoenixes do 20 damage per shot to Mutalisks and shoot pretty fast. They can also pick up ground units and take them out fast if you run out of air units to kill with them.

Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Zerg strategy – Sentries Into Colossi

As bizarre as this Protooss vs Zerg strategy sounds, it is extremely effective. The first thing you need to do is a standard Starcraft 2 Protoss build order in the beginning by getting a Gateway, Zealot, and Cybernetics Core. Then get both Gas geysers and start mining a lot of Vespene Gas (each Sentry costs a whopping 100 gas).

After your first Zealot, instead of warping in a Stalker next get a Sentry. This will get him out early and start building up his energy count. Add on 2 more Gateways when you can, research Warp Gate technology and keep building Zealots and Sentries to keep your resources spent.

When you have a decent force and a big mineral pile expand to your natural expansion and move your army out to protect it. Zealots and Sentries may not seem all that powerful, but Sentries can lay down Force Fields to either trap retreating units and kill them, or prevent them from getting closer. Having a lot of Sentries gives you great control of the battles that happen.

If they come at you with a ton of Zerglings, force field them into a narrow path so they can't get a surround on your units. If they come with Roaches, lay down some Force Fields right on them to split up the group and make them weaker. Since Zerg has shorter ranged units in the beginning this is an ideal Protoss vs Zerg strategy.

After you expand you need to scout your opponent so you know what he's doing. If he's going for a Spire and trying to get air control, start making Stalkers. If Zerg goes into a Roach & Hydralisk build tech up to Colossi. (don't forget to research the range upgrade!) Once you get 3 Colossi out you will 1-shot Hydralisks. Be sure to use your Sentries Force Fields to keep the Zerg units where you want them (out of range so your Colossi can shoot from afar).

SC 2 Protoss vs Zerg Strategy Overview

Overall the Protoss vs Zerg matchup can be rough. A good Zerg player can have the ability to totally out-macro you by expanding a lot and keeping map control. That's why it's so important to be aggressive when up against the Zerg.

If you just try to wait it out most of the time Zerg will expand a lot and build a ton of Drones giving them a huge economic advantage. If you let this happen you will simply get overwhelmed with sheer numbers in the later stages of the game.

It's very important to keep your macro up at all times. If you let your macro slip you can fall behind and won't have enough units to defend yourself in either the early, mid or late game. To learn how to macro more effectively check out this Starcraft 2 Macro Guide.

Posted by Taerix

Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Terran Strategy Guide – Beat The Humans

In Starcraft 2, Protoss vs Terran matches can be very frustrating because of the units and abilities Terran has that absolutely demolish Protoss. It's important to learn about these potential weaknesses in your Protoss armor so you can identify when they will be used against you and know what to do to defend yourself and put the game back in your favor.

I'm going to explain some general Protoss vs Terran strategy ideas then take a look at two specific strategies that you can use to put the humans in their place. If you're a Terran player, then feel free to check out this Starcraft 2 Terran vs Protoss strategy guide.

General Protoss vs Terran Strategy

When fighting the Terrans as Protoss there are a few things you're going to have to look out for no matter which strategy you plan on using. An aggressive Terran player will likely send either an early Reaper or an early Marauder to your base. This can be tricky since Reapers are good at killing Zealots and Marauders are good at killing Stalkers.

Since Marauders can be in your base earlier than Reapers, it's a good idea to get a Zealot before you get your first Stalker in Protoss vs Terran. This way you'll be protected if a Marauder gets to your base very early. There will be a small window where you could get a Reaper in your base, but you should be able to chase it around with your Zealot and a couple Probes until your Stalker gets out and you can finish off the Reaper.

As a Protoss player, your Probes are the most powerful worker units in the game. You should use them at the beginning of the game to harass the Terran SCVs. Since SCVs have to manually build their structures you can run up to the SCV building his first Barracks and attack move near it to attack it. You'll be able to do some damage to it and it will force Terran to bring up another SCV or 2 to fight you off. This is a great Protoss vs Terran strategy and is very annoying to deal with as a Terran player.

Fight the SCV's until your shields are down, then retreat and let them recharge (it doesn't take long). When your shields are back to full, go attack an SCV that is damaged and try to take it out. Keep doing this as long as you can and you're sure to get into your opponent's head.

Fast Dark Templar Protoss vs Terran Strategy

As you know, Protoss has access to the dreaded Dark Templar. These permanently cloaked units do a ton of damage and can devastate a Terran army if they aren't prepared for it. It will take a few minutes to get up the tech tree and access Dark Templar, so you'll need to stall any early Terran attacks that come at you. A great way to do this is get some Sentries to Force Field your ramp and split the army to help you fight it. Go here to learn more about this Starcraft 2 Protoss build order.

You're also going to need a lot of Vespene Gas so get your second Assimilator early. Terran players will be actively trying to scout your base and figure out what you're doing, so you should hide your Dark Shrine off in a corner somewhere they aren't likely to scan. Another option is to send a Probe to some obscure location out of your base on the map to make it very unlikely to be spotted. You want this to be a surprise attack so don't let him know what you're up to.

Be sure to research Warp Gate technology while you're teching up and place a proxy Pylon somewhere on the map near your opponent's base so you can warp in your Dark Templar and get them attacking as fast as possible. When attacking split your Dark Templar up so one scan from the Orbital Command won't reveal them all. If the Terran player walled off, send one Dark Templar up at a time so he has to waste his scans.

If he has no detection, this type of strategy can result in a quick win. But if Terran does have detection this strategy can easily transition into a mid-to-late game strategy that is very effective.

Most Terran players will go pretty heavy infantry against Protoss players. If your Dark Templar don't win you the game outright, you can transition easily into High Templars and Zealots with Charge. You already have all the structures required, you just need to build a Templar Archives and research Charge at the Twilight Council.

Don't forget about your Dark Templar in the late game either. If Terran doesn't have Ravens traveling with his army, you can send your Dark Templar in with your Zealots and do some massive damage before he even knows there's DT's in there. One quick scan will likely kill them quite fast, but in most cases they will do plenty of damage to make it worth it.

Dark Templar are also great units to harass expansions with and take out areas that have no detection built in. Since you already have the tech for them you should use them when you can.

Protoss vs Terran Strategy: 2 Warpgate Robotics Facility Opening

This is a very solid strategy to use when up against a Terran opponent. First get out a Gateway, Cybernetics Core, Gateway, then a Robotics Facility. Get an early Zealot and a Sentry to Force Field your ramp if you're under early pressure. As soon as your Robotics Facility gets done, make an Observer. This will give you a great amount of intel about what your opponent is doing so you can react accordingly.

Once you have your Observer out move it through the attack paths that your opponent would take and over into his base to see what he's doing. He won't have any detection yet, and if he really wants to kill your Observer he will have to waste a Scan, which costs him roughly 260 minerals. By having your Observer in his base you'll know when he's moving out and can have the freedom to move around and take Xel'Naga watchtowers as you please.

Depending what you see with the Observer will be what route you take. If you see a lot of Barracks down and Marines coming out, throw down a Robotics Bay so you can get Colossi. When he notices you're going Colossi he's likely to make a lot of Marauders. You can counter this by building a Twilight Council, researching Zealot leg speed and making lots of Zealots to deal with his Marauders.

If you see him teching up fast to Tanks or Thors, simply build Immortals out of your Robotics Facility to support your Gateway units. It's important to know that your main army will be made out of your Gateways, so when you expand make sure you have Warp Gate Technology and a lot of Warp Gates to bring units out onto the battlefield. By having your Observer in the Terran base you can see what he's teching to and then support your main army accordingly with your Robotics Facility and other buildings.

SC 2 Protoss vs Terran Strategy – Final Thoughts

Observers are a great asset that you have against your Terran opponents. Many Terran players never get any sort of detection unless they're forced to, so if you get a couple Observers it's very likely that they will live all game long and help you out a ton.

Another great Protoss vs Terran strategy is to send a Probe out and throw down some Pylons in weird places on the map. You'll need the supply anyway, so it's not a waste of minerals. The big bonus here is that you'll have all sorts of areas where you can warp in units and reinforce your army.

Along with sneaky tactics and solid strategies you need to have great macro to beat the best Terran players. This means expanding often and making lots and lots of Probes. You also need to be sure to have many unit-producing structures to spend all that money you're getting from your excellent macro. To learn how to macro effectively, check out my Starcraft 2 Macro Guide.

Posted by Taerix

Protoss vs Protoss Strategy – How To Win The SC 2 Mirror Match

Like all mirror matches, the Protoss vs Protoss matchup makes for some pretty strange games. Since both players have the exact same units available to them, it's more of a battle of strategy & tactics than unit counters. Here's some Protoss vs Protoss strategies that you can use to out-wit your opponent and win the game. Because of the early pressure that can come, it's common to avoid expanding and play on just one base for awhile.

Protoss vs Protoss Strategy – 4 Warpgate Push

In every matchup, the 4 warpgate push is extremely powerful in the hands of a skilled player. It will allow you to push your opponent relatively early with a big force of Gateway units. The basis of this build is to research the Warp Gate technology so you can put a Pylon close to the enemy base. This lets you warp in Gateway units (Stalker, Sentry, Zealot) 4 at a time right next to his base to reinforce your army & keep up the pressure.

The basis of this Protoss vs Protoss strategy is to do the usual Starcraft 2 Protoss build order (9 Pylon, 12 Gateway), then add on your Assimilator and Cybernetics Core. Start researching Warp Gate tech right when the Cybernetics Core is done and then add on Gateways as you can afford them. Keep in mind that you should always be making Probes and combat units to keep your money low.

Starcraft 2 PvP Strat – 2 Gateway Zealot + Collosus Push

Another Protoss vs Protoss strategy is to create 2 Gateways and only make Zealots out of them. Save your gas to put down a Robotics Facility, Robotics Bay, and get Colossi. Don't move out until you have the range upgrade for the Colossus done, so they can sit back and fire without being in danger of getting taken down.

As you move out to attack, throw down an expansion. If you don't win outright, you'll be in a very good position to attack with more units later on since you'll have more income. Once your expansion is up, make more Gateways and constantly produce units for your next attack.

Protoss vs Protoss Strategy – 2 Gateway Phoenix Harassment

If you're getting Warpgate pushed or your opponent is getting Colossi, a Protoss vs Protoss strategy you can use is to get a Gateway, a Stargate, then another Gateway. As soon as your Stargate is up, then start making Phoenix. Once your first Phoenix is out, send it over to your opponent's base and fly it around to get a good look at what he's up to. The speed of the Phoenix will keep them out of trouble, and you should be able to scout everything in the enemy base.

Having a few Phoenix in your army will do a couple things for you. First of all, it will pin your opponent back in his base. If he's planning a big 4 Warpgate push against you, here's what you do: As soon as he moves out you can sneak in with your Phoenix's and start picking off his workers. This will force him to retreat to try and kill your Phoenix's or make him go practically all in against you. At that point simply retreat your Phoenix back to your base to help defend against the attack.

If your opponent is going Colossus against you then your Phoenix will practically guarantee you a win since you'll be able to pick off his Colossi and overpower his smaller Gateway force.

Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Protoss Strategy Action Plan

Give these Protoss vs Protoss strategies a try and see how they work for you. I would suggest starting with one and practicing it for awhile to get a feel for how it plays and how to execute it most effectively. Depending on your playstyle you may find one easier or better suited to you, so go with it.

As well as having good strategies to beat your opponents you will also need to master your macro game. Macro is basically your ability to create a good economy and make a lot of units while you control your army.

Be sure to sign up and read this Starcraft 2 Macro Guide that will give you 3 simple steps to master your Macro game so you always have a bigger army than your opponent. Then implement these Protoss vs Protoss strategies to conquer your opponents and move up the Starcraft 2 Ladder.

Posted by Taerix

Starcraft 2 Protoss Build Orders – Best Early Game Protoss Strategy

As a Protoss player it's very important to get a strong start at the beginning of the game so you can wear your opponent down and win the game later. Memorizing a proven Starcraft 2 Protoss build order will help you get your economy up fast and help you take the lead early.

If you just jump into a game of Starcraft 2, pick Protoss, then start building things, it's very likely that you won't make the most out of your Minerals or your time to get an army up fast enough to defend and/or attack your enemy.

For this reason, Professional Protoss players have been trying and testing different build orders that work the best to give them the biggest early advantage as possible. As a fellow Protoss player, all you need to do is watch what they've been doing and repeat it for yourself. That's exactly why I created this page, to show you what the Pros are doing so you can get off to a killer early start then transition into the Starcraft 2 Protoss strategy of your choice.

When you're reading the Protoss build orders below, you will see a line that looks like this "9/10 Pylon." This basically just means that when your population hits 9/10, then you should build a Pylon. All the numbers that seem to be missing in between indicate that you should build a Probe at your Nexus until your population reaches that number.

Standard Protoss Build Order – 2 Gateway Opening

This build order is the standard that every Protoss player should know before you move onto more advanced strategies like rushes and early expands. Memorize this build order by using a build order tester or just consistenly playing games on Battle.net.

9/10 Pylon
12/18 Gateway
15/18 Assimilator
16/18 Pylon
17/26 Cybernetics Core
18/26 Assimilator
20/26 Gateway
21/26 Pylon
21/26 Research Warp Gate Technology

From here you can do about anything you want. Build another Gateway and a Robotics Facility for a push or add 2 more Gateways to your base for a 4 Gate push (very effective as a Protoss vs Terran strategy). You'll have Warp Gate Technology soon too, so be sure to spread your Pylons out around the map (preferably out of sight) so you can warp in units wherever you need them most.

Protoss Gateway & Forge Fast Expand Build Order

If you're looking to expand quickly to get that second income coming in quickly, then this build is for you. However, this build is fairly limited to certain maps. Basically what you're going to do is make an almost full wall at the choke point going into your natural expansion with a Gateway and Forge. Then fill in the gaps with your Zealots so no enemy units can get through. This works best as a Protoss vs Zerg strategy since they don't have any ranged units for awhile. You won't be getting any Assimilator for awhile, you want to rack up as many minerals as you can to get that expansion down.

Here's the build order:

9/10 Pylon
12/18 Gateway
15/18 Forge
16/18 Pylon
18/26 Nexus

As soon as the Nexus gets done, transfer half your workers to your new base and start making Probes from both Nexi. As long as you can survive you will soon have a huge economic advantage over your opponent. Having 2 bases will help you support more Gateways and create more units to beat your opponent in the mid game.

Protoss Build Order – The Dark Templar Rush

This early game build order will help you get Dark Templars out on the battlefield extremely quickly. These cloaked killers will be able to get inside your opponent's base and decimate his worker line unless he can get detection out quickly. This is an especially good Protoss vs Protoss strategy and also good against Zerg since they both need higher tech to get their first detectors.

It's a good idea to build your second Pylon somewhere that's hard to find so you can hide your Dark Shrine. Place your third Pylon out on the battlefield close to your opponent's base so you can warp in your Dark Templars and quickly get into his base.

9/10 Pylon
12/18 Gateway
14/18 Assimilator
17/18 Pylon
18/26 Cybernetics Core
20/26 Assimilator
20/26 Stalker (for early defense)
20/26 Twilight Council
21/26 Research Warp Gate Technology
23/26 Pylon
23/32 Gateway
24/32 Dark Shrine
25/32 Gateway

Because this build goes so long it may vary a bit from game to game depending on what your opponent is up to. If he attacks you early, then you will need to slow down a bit and build some units for defense. Once your Warp Gate Research is done, transform your Gateways so you can warp in units. When your Dark Shrine finishes, warp in 3 Dark Templar at your proxy Pylon close to your opponent's base. Then move them up and into his mineral line. DT's kill workers in 1 hit, so you'll be able to do some massive damage to his economy if you can pull it off, maybe even win the game.

What's Else Do You Need To Know About Starcraft 2 Protoss Build Orders

Obviously there's more to the game than just the beginning few minutes where build orders are useful. The game will progress dynamically, and pretty much every game is different so they are very hard to predict. It will be up to you to transition into the mid-game and late-game strategies that work best against the opponent you are facing.

To keep things under control as you emerge from the early game and can't do a strict build order anymore, you'll need to have good macro. Macro is your ability to control your base, mine resources, and produce units effectively. If you want to learn how to macro effectively, I created a really simple guide that you can follow. It's 3 simple steps for you to focus on one at a time. As you master all 3 you'll start winning more games guaranteed.

Get the Macro Mastery Guide here.

Posted by Taerix

Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy – Basic Overview

The Protoss in Starcraft 2 is a race of aliens that have far superior technology to anything humans have ever seen. They have the ability to warp in units from distant planets, and protect themselves with shields.

There is a wide range of units at your disposal as a Protoss player, from the lowly Zealot to the towering Colossus to the almighty Mothership. This site is focused entirely on Starcraft 2 Protoss strategy ideas and tactics to help you win shielded warriors.

General Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy

Each unit is unique and has a different role to fill during the game, it's important to learn all you can about the units you have under control and how they match up against enemy armies.

Protoss buildings can only be built in the power grid of a nearby Pylon. Pylons are also the means that the Protoss use to supply their army with enough Psi energy to support them all. Building Pylons is important in every Starcraft 2 Protoss strategy so you can make more units and keep expanding your army. You should also build your Pylons in a strategic pattern so no building is powered by just one Pylon. If you don't, then all an enemy has to do is take out that Pylon and your building will become inoperable.

All Protoss units are protected by shields, you'll see it as the little blue bar above the green if you have unit health being displayed. Once the shields get taken out, they will start taking permanent damage. If you back out of combat before your unit dies, it will quickly regain it's shield and be ready for battle once again.

Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy – Buildings & Units

Your main army will be made from the Gateways. You can research the Warp Gate upgrade and transform them into Warpgates to warp in units anywhere you have a power field (created by either a Pylon or a Warp Prism).

Building advanced tech structures like the Twilight Council and Dark Templar Shrine or Templar Archives gives you access to the 2 kinds of Templar, which are also warped in at the Warp Gates. They cost a lot of Vespene Gas so it's important to expand and mine a lot of it. Templar are very important in some of the most powerful Starcraft 2 Protoss strategies.

The Robotics Facility creates heavy support units like the Colossus and Immortal to support your main force. Stargates will provide you with air support and lead to the Mothership (built at your Nexus), that is extremely powerful.

In order to get the most out of your buildings and create as many units as possible in the beginning of your games, you'll need some strong Protoss build orders. I created a page that reveals 3 of the best that you can find here: Starcraft 2 Protoss build orders

Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy – What To Do In Different Matchups

If you focus only on getting better with Protoss, then you'll need to learn the best Starcraft 2 Protoss strategy for each matchup that you can end up in. This means learning how to fight against the Terrans, Zerg, and even other Protoss players.

Each matchup is different since the races are so varied. They all have different units that are good against different strategies. While this is one of the most fun parts of Starcraft 2, it can be challenging to know what to do in each circumstance.

That's why I created a strategy page for each matchup that you can check out below:

Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy Overview

No matter what race you decide to play in Starcraft 2, one of the strategies or skills that is most important for you to win games is to learn how to macro effectively. Good macro means you can properly control the big aspects of your base like unit production, expanding, and gathering resources.

As a Protoss player you have access to a very strong macro ability called Chrono Boost, which you can cast at your Nexus. This allows you to speed up unit production and tech research and using it is very important in every Protoss strategy.

To learn more about macro, check out this Starcraft 2 macro guide.

All in all the Protoss are extremely fun to play and offer a wide variety of available strategies. To learn more, sign up for the RSS feeds to get notified when another Starcraft 2 Protoss strategy is posted. Until then, have fun!

Posted by Taerix

Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategies

Free Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategies & Tactics To Help You Win

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Protoss 4-Gate Rush – Apply Massive Early Pressure

Protoss 4-Gate Rush Basics

The Build Order

The 4-Gate Strategy

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General Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Zerg Strategy

Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Zerg strategy – Sentries Into Colossi

SC 2 Protoss vs Zerg Strategy Overview

Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Terran Strategy Guide – Beat The Humans

General Protoss vs Terran Strategy

Fast Dark Templar Protoss vs Terran Strategy

Protoss vs Terran Strategy: 2 Warpgate Robotics Facility Opening

SC 2 Protoss vs Terran Strategy – Final Thoughts

Protoss vs Protoss Strategy – How To Win The SC 2 Mirror Match

Protoss vs Protoss Strategy – 4 Warpgate Push

Starcraft 2 PvP Strat – 2 Gateway Zealot + Collosus Push

Protoss vs Protoss Strategy – 2 Gateway Phoenix Harassment

Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Protoss Strategy Action Plan

Starcraft 2 Protoss Build Orders – Best Early Game Protoss Strategy

Standard Protoss Build Order – 2 Gateway Opening

Protoss Gateway & Forge Fast Expand Build Order

Protoss Build Order – The Dark Templar Rush

What's Else Do You Need To Know About Starcraft 2 Protoss Build Orders

Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy – Basic Overview

General Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy

Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy – Buildings & Units

Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy – What To Do In Different Matchups

Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy Overview

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