Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm – Elite AI Guide

Welcome to Captain Rob’s guide to guaranteed victory over elite AI computer controlled forces! This guide will help you destroy that dreaded Elite AI every single time, no matter what map you are playing on. This guide is for the Protoss race only, Terran and Zerg players will have to wait until I perfect those races. By following these 3 simple steps I guarantee you will never lose a match against another computer opponent.

Step 1: Proton Cannons Are Your Best Friend!

During the first 10 minutes of the game the only things you will be spending minerals on are; Probes (workers), buildings, and Proton Cannons! First off, just start making Probes and keeping your food supply high enough by building Pylons when needed to support the 60 Probes you will have. Next you will want to make 2 Pylons, and then your Forge so you can start making your Proton Cannons. Yes, 60 Probes, because you will want to expand as soon as you have your defense setup. So depending on which map you are playing on, will depend on if you can setup your cannons to defend your immediate expansion. Be sure to put Pylons near the ramps to your expansion and place at least 7 or 8 Proton Cannons around that single Pylon by the ramp. Those cannons will hold off the initial attack and give you time to build your economy up so that you can start pumping out your Void Rays!

Step 2: Expand Your Horizons!

After setting up your defense with cannons, be sure you have at least 10 or so cannons defending that choke point; i.e. ramp. The next step is to start your expansion and keeping up with your supply demand by adding Pylons when needed. While your Nexus is building at the new expansion site, keep making Probes from your main base and set the rally point to your expansions’ minerals so they go straight there. This way, once that Nexus is finished the Probes are already mining. Also, make sure you have 24 probes on minerals and 3 probes for each assimilator (gas) for each base. Once you have your 2 bases running smoothly, create 4 Stargates at your main base.

Step 3: Time To Crush The Enemy!

Now that your base is secure and you have a strong economy, now is the time to start building the rays of death! Void Rays, they decimate anything and everything with superior speed. By having at least 10 Void Rays you can effectively destroy any army the computer throws at you. Although it is best to have more than 10 in a group it can still be done with just 10. Upgrading is also important; make sure you build a Templar’s Archive, Fleet Beacon, and a Cybernetics Core, 2 Cybernetic Cores if you want to upgrade your ship weapons faster at the cost of resources. Finally send your Void Rays out to destroy the enemy and claim victory!

I hope this helps any Protoss players out there having a difficult time trying to figure out how to win against the AI in Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm. If anyone has any strategies for Terran or Zerg please leave them in the comments!