So I just ground out P1.
P2 is intriguing (unlimited artifacts / units 25% more expensive),
but I have to wonder if the trade off is worth it as Zeratuls units are already so expensive.
Also until hitting level 15/90 for the artifact spawn mastery how often are you even going to have time to get more than maybe a fourth fragment anyway?
The commander guide points out that cannons aren’t more expensive, so I guess it could be a meme-y cannon build or niche play for long maps.
Curious to hear anyone’s thoughts who has the prestige.
edit: For instance if you do get a 4th fragment is the power boost even noticeable?
Thanks community!
For standard brutal it is just not worth it since much fewer troops for the critical early game is painful while late game already was not an issue for Zeratul.
It can be huge for some mutations as the +1 armor and shield armor are great against mass infested for example and you get +10% base damage by artifact.
On the other hand Zeratul P3 is absurdly strong and not just in some map. Zeratul is great even in late game to slow and hurt whole waves while able to solo plenty early on. For standard brutal I think it is the strongest prestige overall.
Well, I guess opinions are divided on the matter, there are some players that like to rush games as much as possible, and there are those who like to get a powerful deathball and then just a-move. So first it depends which category you fall in.
Outside of the short maps (VT, RtK, L&L) I think it’s a useful prestige to have. On most 20-ish minute games you end up with full supply anyway, so why not boost that army more? On a regular map, with artifact mastery, you should get ~7-9 artifacts, depends how much attention you pay (on Mist Opportunities I got 13, but that’s the longest fixed-ending-time map). Yes, it can be argued that at point X you have only 4 stalkers with this instead of 5, and that’s actually a decrease in power until you get enough artifacts, which is only midgame, and his units are already strong, blah blah, overkill, blah blah blah.
Anyway, I like it, his units get really really strong (immos with 120 dmg vs light air and pushback…). And one thing that almost nobody seems to mention about this prestige is that it also boosts up Zeratul quite a bit. You get increased shields, damage and shadow cleave damage, which is quite nice. You can tank (and destroy) a late wave with Zeratul alone, while using his army to take care of the objective on the other side of the map.
Edit: Oh, forgot to mention, his probes also benefit from artifacts, so in theory, if you want to go for some late-game probe army, you can do that. Probes with 8 armor and plasma shield and 13 dmg are nothing to laugh at
Good stuff. So I will probably take the XP hit and do hard + non-random / long maps with p2 for fun. Then swap for random brutal p0/1 to mix things up when I’m getting impatient for that next level. thanks davsik
Just play cannons. It’s actually that easy. The tax doesn’t apply to them, and they scale up with the upgrades. It also isn’t meme-y at all. I’ve done it on maps like Temple of the Past and Oblivion Express. They’re very strong with this prestige, regardless of the nerfs they took.
While P2 might not be optimal Zeratul, I think it’s a lot more fun then P3. You can only spam whirlwinds for so long before it gets old. Stacking as many artifacts as you can, on the other hand…
Fun fact, artifact boosts affect your probes, including their attack damage. There’s something oddly fun about probes that hit for 14 damage and have 9 armor.
Alongside P2 doing very well for his cannons, it’s also not half bad for his Ambushers either. Big trick is to keep your units back for a little longer than normal, if they don’t die then the cost is pretty negligible.
Assuming one is good at finding the fragments and has the mastery assigned for it, it shouldn’t be far past the 10 minute mark that you start to benefit from the 4th artifact, with another upgrade roughly every 2 minutes thereafter. (Zeratul spawns at the 4 minute mark, with mastery there’s a 2 minute cooldown between artifacts.)
It’s not his best prestige for general use per se, but there’s nothing wrong with it either.
The ultimate P2 “meme fun” is on DoN, holding out for as long as you can with cannons before destroying all 151 infesting buildings in a single day with nothing but 100 supply worth of precursors. Definitely not worth the effort beyond flexing on Amon, but it could be fun nonetheless.
P2 really emphasizes on his defense since cannons now get even more op. However, your legions are also getting stronger too.
I generally get to 5th artifact in late game as P2 when i am leveling him up. It’s nice seeing his Zealot no-sell marine attack lol. Voidray become deathray and DA is just DA.
I enjoy both but p3 clearly pushes quicker and faster comparatively. P2 clearly benefits in the longer run. It’s just a strategy and gameplay difference. If you do standard brutal and push for speed, then going P2 will just hinder the progress and that speed. If you do mutations more, then P3 will start falling short the longer you drag the mission out. It’s just tid for tad.
With P0/P1, I make classic armies.
But with P2, I only make stalkers (and a few shield rechargers), then enjoy use the blink beams.
I don’t know if the blink beams are upgrading more slowly than main attacks or not at all, but still the total power of this army is impressive and keep getting stronger as you send Zeratul on his little trips to dig artifacts.
from testing, apparently the shade from ambusher blink actually scales slower than its main weapon, with it doing a lesser and lesser percentage of the main attack with each artifact
It gains +1 damage per upgrade, whereas the Ambusher itself gains +3 (+1 vs. Armoured) per upgrade. This takes it further and further away from the paper ‘50% weapon damage’ as you level up, as it’s not really 50% of whatever the weapon damage is: instead it’s 13 (+1/level), to the Ambusher’s 26 (+10 vs Armoured) (+3/level +1 vs Armoured/level).
Touche. Any tips? I normally wait for cannons until floating minerals. Whenever I tried cannons-only from the start inevitably, eventually the cannons are dormant at just the wrong time. Like I wipe a base with shade cannons and feel smart until the attack wave spawns and uh-oh they wipe sleeping cannons. So would prolly need to get better at timing attack waves. Thanks
