Follow us on Twitter @LiquipediaSC2 if you'd like to be kept up to date on all things StarCraft II!
Download the Liquipedia app here!Download the Liquipedia app to follow StarCraft II!Want personalized updates on StarCraft II esports? Download the Liquipedia app on iOS or Android to never miss your favorite tournaments and matches!
Campaign/Piercing the Shroud
From Liquipedia StarCraft 2 Wiki
< Campaign
Wings of Liberty
Piercing the Shroud
Mission Information
Mission Objective
Main:
- Investigate the Dominion Lab
- Destroy the Fusion Reactor
- Escape From The Facility
- Raynor Must Survive
Bonus:
- Find Protoss Relics (4)
- Kill the Brutalisk (Research)
Credits Earned:
125000
Research Points:
3 Zerg, 4 Protoss
Piercing the Shroud is a secret mission unlocked by destroying the Science Facility on the southeast island on the mission Media Blitz. This must be done before the missions on Char. The objective is to destroy a Mengsk research platform.
Primary Objectives[edit]
- Investigate the Dominion Lab.
- Destroy the Fusion Generator.
- Raynor must survive.
- Escape the facility.
This is a dungeon crawler mission. You start with Raynor, five Marines and two Medics. Initially Raynor has no special abilities but he can pick up weapons throughout the mission.
Completing this mission relies on the following strategies:
- Tank. Raynor can absorb the most damage so keep him at the front.
- Micro. Move back Marines as soon as they start taking damage.
- Lure. Don't engage a big group head-on. Move Raynor in, shoot one and pull back to your troops. Lure the enemy in small numbers to a kill zone.
- Overwhelm. At certain points your enemies will be fighting each other. Join in and keep both sides as weak as possible.
- Objectives. There are no prizes for saving pickups or finishing fast. Investigate the lab as slowly as you like using pickups whenever necessary.
- Reload. Save often and reload if you lose too many troops.
You should be able to complete the first half without losing any units.
At the console before the second lab you will have the option of unleashing 70 Zerglings, 20 Zealots, or 5 Ultralisks. 70 Zerglings is probably best. As they fight, move in to destroy two of the Sentry Turrets then dispatch the leftover units. The first Protoss relic is in the holding cell in this room.
Head northeast after the lab room and pick up the Plasma Rifle. Head southwest and use the Plasma Rifle on the Hel's Angel. Inch forward until you see the Siege Breaker (be patient, it patrols back and forth) and attack with the Plasma Rifle. You can easily clean up the rest with your troops.
The next console gives control of an ARES to help in the cargo bay however it is best saved for the Thor or Brutalisk later. Instead, create a kill zone near the console and lure with Raynor. Attack the first Siege Tank| with the Plasma Rifle and retreat to your troops. The enemy Mech will follow and clump up near a pillar for an easy grenade round. At the end of this fight you need two plasma rounds saved for the upcoming Thor. If you do choose to use the ARES here then first lure all the Bio you can. Equip it with anti-armor missiles and attack the Mech while attacking Bio with your troops. Try to make it to the Thor in the next room.
If you are saving the ARES for the Brutalisk or it died in the cargo bay then you are about to engage a Thor and some infantry. Lure the infantry until you have vision of the Thor. The Thor can one-shot your troops so keep them back and attack with two Plasma Rifles rounds. On higher difficulties, the Thor can even one-shot Raynor, instantly failing the mission. If you don't have the ARES or Plasma Rifle then be prepared for casualties.
The next console gives the following choice of reinforcements: 8 Marines, 4 Firebats, 3 Marauders, or 3 Marines and 3 Medics. Unless you have lost your Medics, the Marauders or 8 Marines are the better choices.
The next room has infantry and the optional Brutalisk. The ARES with anti-armor ammo will kill the Brutalisk. This will give you the Achievement and Feat Of Strength. All-purpose and anti-bio ammo leave the Brutalisk alive with about 25HP and 500HP respectively.
In the last room two Perdition Turrets pop-up in the entrance so first send Raynor to destroy them. The rest of the area offers only light resistance before you destroy the Fusion Generator.
You will now begin the second part of the mission where you are to escape the facility.
The Hybrid does not spawn in the reactor room so you will encounter only light resistance. After you have destroyed the second debris (moving back into the Brutalisk room) the Hybrid will start chasing you. The Hybrid is impenetrable to any attack. Run. Run and don't stop. Only pick up upgrades in your immediate path because the Hybrid will disappear and then you can come back. Save time on destructible debris with the Plasma Rifle or Grenades. Leave as many enemies behind you as possible because they will slow down the Hybrid. Use Chrono Rift when the Hybrid gets too close or at narrow ramps and chokes. The Chrono Rift slows down the Hybrid's movement. Place it just in front of him to maximise its effect. Keep running until Horner tells you the Hybrid has disappeared.
There is a trick to help you survive the Hybrid easily til it first disappears. When you see the 2nd Chrono Rift boost, behind a pile of debris, guarded by the 2 marines and 2 medics, skip them, dont kill them (make sure the 2 medics survive). As the hybrid comes, it will be busy trying to kill those enemies but the medics will easily outheal the damage done by the Hybrid. You have time til the enemy medics run out of energy. If you want, you can come back to pick up the boost after the Hybrid disappears.
Alternatively if you have the stabilizer maedpacks upgrade for the medic, you didn't lose any medics and you chose the 3 marine + 3 medics reinforcements, you can leave 2 medics at the debris that block the hybrid when it spawns - make sure you spread the medics away from each other - this gives you ample time to slowly work through the map - when the healing medic runs out of energy get the medics to swap places.
The Hybrid's disappearance gives you time to heal and search. Go back for any pickups you missed during the chase.
Continuing with the escape you will go up a ramp and encounter lots of Pygmalisk eggs. Destroy the eggs and any Pygmalisks that spawn (they are very weak) but prepare for an Ultralisk to spawn from the top left of the room. Tank with Raynor and use the last of your special ammo.
Leaving that area you will encounter a small group of Dominion units. As you move past them the Hybrid will reappear on the previous ramp. Ignore it, and any other units you come across, and run straight for the transport. Use Chrono Rift at chokes and the Zerg/Dominion battle you encounter.
Video Walkthrough (Brutal)[edit]
The ARES was not used to kill the Brutalisk here but you can do.
Sidequests[edit]
- Find the 4 Protoss Relics.
- 4 Protoss relics can be obtained for 1 research point each. The first one can be found by destroying the Holding Cell in the 2nd lab room. The second one can be found in the same room as the Brutalisk. The final two can be found during the escape portion of the mission. The third one is found in an area near where you see Protoss and Zerg units fighting. The fourth one is found in plain sight as you continue through the mission.
- Kill the Brutalisk.
- There is a Brutalisk in the room before the Fusion Generator. It is easiest to kill it with the ARES from earlier in the mission. When you get to the Brutalisk equip the ARES with the Anti-Armor missiles and drive it up to the Brutalisk's location. Release the Brutalisk and the ARES will easily kill it. Keep all your other units out of the way.
Without the ARES you can kite the Brutalisk with whatever troops you have. Use the Plasma Rifle as much as possible and keep your Medics safe.
Alternatively, it is possible to micro a single unit, such as a Marauder or Raynor, and kill the Brutalisk by running around one of the pillars in the center of the room and quickly turning around to shoot. The concussive shell upgrade does not affect massive units. This method is slow, but it preserves your special ammunition should you need it.
Another option is to lure the Brutalisk into the next room. First blow up the door and leave a Marine close to the Brutalisk. When it's released stim the Marine and run into the next room. The Brutalisk will chase and attack the forces in the next room, clearing out the majority before dying.
Achievements[edit]
- Complete the bonus objective to obtain this achievement.
- Part 1
- 1. Grenade after Lab 1.
- 2. Research in Lab 2 unit containment.
- 3. Plasma Rifle behind the door after Lab 2 (this one is easy to miss).
- 4. Plasma Rifle near the ARES beacon.
- 5. Grenade in the vehicle room.
- 6-8. Grenade, Plasma Rifle and Research in Brutalisk room.
- Part 2
- 9. Plasma Rifle in the Hybrid containment room.
- 10. Chrono Rift before the Hybrid chase begins.
- 11. Grenade where the Hybrid chase starts.
- 12. Chrono Rift behind wreckage after the ARES.
- 13. Research near T/Z battle.
- 14. Chrono Rift in a room to the north.
- 15. Research before the ramp and to the left.
- 16. Grenade right before the Hybrid disappears.
- 17. Chrono Rift by 2 Marines where the Hybrid comes back.
Getting this achievement is simple, even on brutal difficulty. All of the Part 1 pickups are easy to find if you are meticulous in searching. It becomes "hard" during the escape if you are scrambling to find pickups while avoiding the Hybrid and other enemy forces in the area. To make it easy, get the first Chrono Rift (easy pickup) for slowing the Hybrid and run past everything until it disappears. Then go back to get the pickups you missed.
Count to Three, No More, No Less
Feat of Strength[edit]
Monster Mash
- Brutal Guide
-
Secrets[edit]
At the second drop-off point where you get reinforcements walk north. Follow the rocky cliff along the outside of the building until you can go no further. Across the gap you can see a Murloc Marine trying to fire a gun but failing to do so and falling over. The Tauren Outhouse from Zero Hour will also zoom past.