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Why Protoss have to die exactly?

Blogs > beetlelisk
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beetlelisk
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Poland2276 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-03-15 05:10:40
March 15 2013 02:47 GMT
#1
I opened the SC2 launcher and saw 8 links to news and articles on battle.net.
One of them was Cold Symmetry, a short story about Zealots.

[image loading]

I mostly skipped the first page to get right into action and read about Zeals and DTs having their bodies severed into pieces and dying.

When we play we don't see any blood coming from bodies of Zeals, DTs and HTs.
They kind of burn and vanish. I always imagined that as emergency teleport being triggered and units of those 3 types and pilots of Protoss air units being brought to safety somewhere, to heal their wounds and in worst cases prepare what's left of their bodies to move into Dragoon capsule in BW and Immortal capsule in SC2.

I don't mind bodies of Protoss being wounded, like Zeratul got his arm in WoL campaign.

[image loading]

I do mind them dying. About 70% of Protoss population died during fall of Aiur, they hardly reproduce now (do they reproduce at all?). 4 years was enough to revolutionize military of all 3 races but Protoss still remain a race at the verge of extinction.

I remember NonY noticing how the fuck stupid humans can move their buildings around but way more technically advanced race can't do this at all. This is especially seen in BW.
Command Center can make addons (BW) / enlarge into OC or PF (SC2) and fly.

[image loading]

Nexus costs the same, all it can do is produce Probes (and finally something more in SC2 - Chronoboost), but is actually warped from another planet and minerals not gas are used as source of energy for the warp? WTF! What are these resources used for?

If Nexus can be used in the campaign as power source, why can't it be used as a hub and a station for wounded Protoss, default teleport point which when it's needed teleports them away from combat zones?

[image loading]

The problem I have with Protoss dying is strengthened by the fact that the most numerous race - Zerg, breeds on the planets it attacks. Protoss have to travel light years and be warped, they can be extremely experienced and be hundreds of years old and then just die to creatures which were larvae the day (or seconds in game) before. And I'm really surprised Blizzard sees no problem, like in this short story:

Each of them but Teredal, the last zealot standing of the six who had disembarked, a team of seasoned warriors selected by the council for their experience against the zerg. They were to provide support, a pair of them to accompany each dark templar/stalker team as they scouted out zerg strongholds hidden within the chalky arroyos of Saalok. This mission was supposed to have been one of infiltration, marking priority fortifications for later strikes. With the warp stones removed from the aexilium’s armor, death here would be final.

So they do have warp stones? What were they removed for?

I would very much like to see Legacy of the Void touching and hopefully resolving this problem.
Maybe not as drastically as guys making Gears of Wars did with their concept of human breeding farms where pre puberty girls where treated in such a way they could get pregnant ASAP. And even such measures wouldn't have a chance to match Zerg breeding, that's why IMO some way of saving Protoss lives is needed.
Like emergency teleporting of units defeated in battle.

***
wwww
B.I.G.
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
3251 Posts
March 15 2013 03:39 GMT
#2
I always have felt like that story wise it is so utterly implausable that terrans would be even somewhat of a match for protoss. Zerg I understand with the mass reproducing and all but I really dont get how it makes sense that vastly underdeveloped humans can match the thousands of years older super race...
beetlelisk
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Poland2276 Posts
March 15 2013 03:49 GMT
#3
IMO Zerg is the numbers, Protoss technology and Terran numbers and technology combined.
I wouldn't call Terrans underdeveloped, just inferior in terms of technology.
wwww
EtherealDeath
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
United States8366 Posts
March 15 2013 04:05 GMT
#4
Because for Protoss, death is only the beginning.
Warlock40
Profile Joined September 2011
601 Posts
March 15 2013 04:36 GMT
#5
You know, this is a very good point and something I've always wondered. The Protoss really can't afford to sacrifice troops.
Skirmjan
Profile Joined October 2012
Italy190 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-03-15 04:53:19
March 15 2013 04:48 GMT
#6
You're right, in fact they dont die quite so easily.

They do have emergency teletrasportation, as this article on sc2 wikia shows (section "medical care, copy-pasted in spoilers)
+ Show Spoiler +
On the battlefield protoss warriors are known to fight with tremendous power and grace, but despite the chaos they inflict on their enemies they are capable of being mortally wounded. When a protoss nears death, their foes often bear witness to a startling flash of bright light as the protoss warrior seemingly disappears. Primitive races are known to quail in superstitious fear upon seeing this, but it is actually another aspect of protoss technology at work rather than any sort of supernatural feat.

Protoss armor is typically equipped with a complex teleportation mechanism that can detect when its wearer is grievously injured and automatically teleports the warrior to the nearest safe haven. This of course is dependent on the mechanism being fully functional, as there is the risk of being damaged during combat.


So most of the time, protoss infantrymen never really die in the battlefield, they just get teleported to safety as you were theorycrafting, and it is almost assured that also the pilots usually survive (if the teleport fits on an infantry suit, you surely can place it in a aircraft or capital ship)...
However sometimes things either go wrong, or the misfortunate warrior is felled by an incredibly powerful blow (direct hit tank shot, yamato cannon, stuff like that) and the protoss ends up badly injured on the other side (and sometimes probably even already dead), which provides the maimed pilots for the dragoons/immortals/stalkers/anyfuturekindofwheelchair...
Still, casualty/maim rate amongts beaten protoss is probably very low, perhaps <5% of frontline troops, AND you must also factor in that the "ingame stats" are heavily nerfed in comparison to their "lore" stats, as in several small stories and other lore stuff is stated that the average zealot can only be defeated by "dozens of zerglings", and not just 4 as his ingame, balance restricted version...


Sources of the article in wikia:+ Show Spoiler +

none other than " Karune" in 2007-01-22, the StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 26. Original text here stored on starcraft wikia Q&A Batch 26
Is it worrying that i actually remember that part from the Q&A after 6 years? :D


As to how the Terrans match to the Protoss, the answer is that before the Zerg invasion of Aiur, they totally didn't, if you check the lore, the terrans don't have a single major/minor victory or anything against the P before that time, as the only time the protoss left the field was due to their unwillingness to kill terran weaklings (Tassadar's)

After that time, both protoss and zerg fell considerably in their power, allowing some sort of fair confrontation between the three (also remember the arrival of the small UED force, which brought several advanced terran technology in the koprulu sector, and also dealt pretty heavy blows to both of the xel-naga made races... C.Metzen also said in a interview that the UED tech is far more advanced than the K-sect terrans)

Besides the numbers, you have to remember that terrans use a different kind of tech, one very... how to say that? "material?" both in literal sense, using tons of metal and big structures and stuff in their technology, and philosophical sense, as they pollute and over-harvest their planets, caring little of the long term damage they might inflict in their struggle for survival, while pretty much all protoss technology is so much more based on energy manipulation instead of equipment construction, and they also are both very green in their usage of planetary resources and very conservative regarding technology advancements and even morality, which is a... very nasty handicap combo in a total war situation.

BW Queen of Blades: You Protoss are all so headstrong and predictable. You are your own worst enemies


PS: now i'm quite curious as to why those zeas and dts removed their warp stones, was it to be undetected? Were they too far from a safe teleport zone and just removed dead weight? no time to read that short novel atm T_T

PS2: they do reproduce, just slowly, so much so that the xel naga made an artifact to speed their population growth (WTF??!) as i found out in their main article in wikia
beetlelisk
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Poland2276 Posts
March 15 2013 05:38 GMT
#7
On March 15 2013 13:48 Skirmjan wrote:
You're right, in fact they dont die quite so easily.

They do have emergency teletrasportation, as this article on sc2 wikia shows (section "medical care, copy-pasted in spoilers)
+ Show Spoiler +
On the battlefield protoss warriors are known to fight with tremendous power and grace, but despite the chaos they inflict on their enemies they are capable of being mortally wounded. When a protoss nears death, their foes often bear witness to a startling flash of bright light as the protoss warrior seemingly disappears. Primitive races are known to quail in superstitious fear upon seeing this, but it is actually another aspect of protoss technology at work rather than any sort of supernatural feat.

Protoss armor is typically equipped with a complex teleportation mechanism that can detect when its wearer is grievously injured and automatically teleports the warrior to the nearest safe haven. This of course is dependent on the mechanism being fully functional, as there is the risk of being damaged during combat.


So most of the time, protoss infantrymen never really die in the battlefield, they just get teleported to safety as you were theorycrafting, and it is almost assured that also the pilots usually survive (if the teleport fits on an infantry suit, you surely can place it in a aircraft or capital ship)...
However sometimes things either go wrong, or the misfortunate warrior is felled by an incredibly powerful blow (direct hit tank shot, yamato cannon, stuff like that) and the protoss ends up badly injured on the other side (and sometimes probably even already dead), which provides the maimed pilots for the dragoons/immortals/stalkers/anyfuturekindofwheelchair...
Still, casualty/maim rate amongts beaten protoss is probably very low, perhaps <5% of frontline troops, AND you must also factor in that the "ingame stats" are heavily nerfed in comparison to their "lore" stats, as in several small stories and other lore stuff is stated that the average zealot can only be defeated by "dozens of zerglings", and not just 4 as his ingame, balance restricted version...

Oh man, that's the shit! :D Thank God
Stalkers are the essence of DTs closed in cybernetic body afaik though


Sources of the article in wikia:+ Show Spoiler +

none other than " Karune" in 2007-01-22, the StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 26. Original text here stored on starcraft wikia Q&A Batch 26
Is it worrying that i actually remember that part from the Q&A after 6 years? :D


Dude no, you are just a true fan of the SC universe

As to how the Terrans match to the Protoss, the answer is that before the Zerg invasion of Aiur, they totally didn't, if you check the lore, the terrans don't have a single major/minor victory or anything against the P before that time, as the only time the protoss left the field was due to their unwillingness to kill terran weaklings (Tassadar's)


Yeah, I remember that from SC1 campaigns. Tassadar was touched by humans trying to defend themselves and decided to give them the chance to do so and burn their worlds only after they fail.

After that time, both protoss and zerg fell considerably in their power, allowing some sort of fair confrontation between the three (also remember the arrival of the small UED force, which brought several advanced terran technology in the koprulu sector, and also dealt pretty heavy blows to both of the xel-naga made races... C.Metzen also said in a interview that the UED tech is far more advanced than the K-sect terrans)

Besides the numbers, you have to remember that terrans use a different kind of tech, one very... how to say that? "material?" both in literal sense, using tons of metal and big structures and stuff in their technology, and philosophical sense, as they pollute and over-harvest their planets, caring little of the long term damage they might inflict in their struggle for survival, while pretty much all protoss technology is so much more based on energy manipulation instead of equipment construction, and they also are both very green in their usage of planetary resources and very conservative regarding technology advancements and even morality, which is a... very nasty handicap combo in a total war situation.

Show nested quote +
BW Queen of Blades: You Protoss are all so headstrong and predictable. You are your own worst enemies


PS: now i'm quite curious as to why those zeas and dts removed their warp stones, was it to be undetected? Were they too far from a safe teleport zone and just removed dead weight? no time to read that short novel atm T_T

PS2: they do reproduce, just slowly, so much so that the xel naga made an artifact to speed their population growth (WTF??!) as i found out in their main article in wikia

@PS well story tells they didn't use cloaked ship because they didn't worry about being detected so I guess it was removing the dead weight... damn T____T

@PS2 oh wow ^_^

Thank you for your insight I only read like 2 SC books and 1 short story fully so all I know about the lore is from SC + BW + WoL campaigns
wwww
Targe
Profile Blog Joined February 2012
United Kingdom14103 Posts
March 15 2013 09:15 GMT
#8
On March 15 2013 12:39 B.I.G. wrote:
I always have felt like that story wise it is so utterly implausable that terrans would be even somewhat of a match for protoss. Zerg I understand with the mass reproducing and all but I really dont get how it makes sense that vastly underdeveloped humans can match the thousands of years older super race...


I like to believe it's due to the raw strength of the human race, they are desperate to survive so they do, like they manage in 40k.
11/5/14 CATACLYSM | The South West's worst Falco main
hooahah
Profile Joined October 2011
3752 Posts
March 15 2013 10:30 GMT
#9
It's because if the Protoss dominated due to their advanced technology, SC would make for a very boring and short story.

The Zerg and the Terrans fought, Protoss came and killed everyone, the end.
beetlelisk
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Poland2276 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-03-15 10:40:46
March 15 2013 10:39 GMT
#10
On March 15 2013 19:30 hooahah wrote:
It's because if the Protoss dominated due to their advanced technology, SC would make for a very boring and short story.

The Zerg and the Terrans fought, Protoss came and killed everyone, the end.

The blog isn't named "why Protoss haven't owned shit yet (giggling)".
The point is, so far I was getting impression they literally die in battle and there isn't many of them so they should be getting extinct around time LotV ends but that was clarified by Skirmjan.
wwww
hooahah
Profile Joined October 2011
3752 Posts
March 15 2013 10:47 GMT
#11
I was talking more about "why protoss aren't winning"

definitely good to know about the emergency teleportation though, makes me feel better when I suicide-rush zealots on remote expansions :D
beetlelisk
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Poland2276 Posts
March 15 2013 10:57 GMT
#12
Damn yeah, once I play Protoss I also will be able to say "I fucking LOVE & CHERISH my units even when I send them on suicide missions" but I'm getting a feeling that sort of missions won't happen much, I will want to spam speedy Prisms and evacuate my psionic bitches.
wwww
Marti
Profile Joined August 2011
552 Posts
March 15 2013 12:25 GMT
#13
On March 15 2013 13:48 Skirmjan wrote:wall of text

Dropping the knowledge bomb !
As for this :
On March 15 2013 12:39 B.I.G. wrote:
I always have felt like that story wise it is so utterly implausable that terrans would be even somewhat of a match for protoss. Zerg I understand with the mass reproducing and all but I really dont get how it makes sense that vastly underdeveloped humans can match the thousands of years older super race...

terrans rely on raw badassery to win
#adun giveafuck - - - "Did this guy just randomly finger me?" - Sayle
Herper
Profile Joined January 2011
501 Posts
March 15 2013 15:16 GMT
#14
well it was shown they had colonies during the HotS campaign, so it wouldn't be far fetched to say they don't reproduce a lot. With dominion practically gone and kerrigan focusing on amon. Protoss are set to make a return
Tobberoth
Profile Joined August 2010
Sweden6375 Posts
March 15 2013 15:19 GMT
#15
How a standard game of TvP would unfold if you follow the lore logically: Terran builds command center, Protoss glasses the planet from orbit. Protoss wins, GG, next game.

It's a game, sometimes you need some suspension of disbelief. Terrans don't really have a chance against Protoss if protoss actually wants to fight, but it would be a pretty boring game if Protoss always won, so you just have to make up some ridiculous reason yourself.
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