Zeratul Co-op Guide | StarCraft 2

[@eedobee]

I love playing as Zeratul; the artifact collection replaces research, The vespene geysers, the limited buildings. All of this means less mucking about and more action!

[@ToxicSpilll]

Yep, Zeratul is just so broken in so many ways. Granted, his troops cost a fortune and losing one is a huge blow. I guess that's there to balance it out.

[@seabeast2438]

I gotta be honest... I've played zeratul for year's now, and not once, have I used the avatar of essence... cause you know, blue looked cool

[@bman6198]

@@seabeast2438 Same, Avatar of Form is just too cool looking.

[@ma2perdue]

So it's like every Zgame is a mini-rpg

[@bastionb-5634]

Heyho, I've played a little too much Zeratul so here's a little bit more information that I feel might help players that are trying to get more out of him. First up two small clarifications, Steadfast Reinforcements doesn’t reduce the cooldown, but instead increases the duration of the Calldowns (meaning your Voidrays will dish out more damage, and your avatars can shoot of more abilities). The other thing I wanted to clear up is that the tesseract matrix upgrade doesn’t double the health of your static defenses, instead, they have an ability that gives them a shield of 100 hp to block burst damage, which is doubled to 200 with the upgrade. Another thing I often see people miss is that Zeratul has another hidden ability; if you take damage, Zeratul will gain complete invincibility for 0.5 seconds. (Available every 5 seconds) This is a lifesaver against any type of burst damage. Because of this, if you have more than one blink, you can blink into detection range, shadow cleave some poor enemies, and blink back out while taking basically no damage. If you want to go really ham with this, the third prestige (Harold of the Void) makes Zeratul able to pick apart almost any fortified position without even needing an army (as he can do this maneuver about every 4 seconds). If you ever encounter the darkness mutator as Zeratul, don’t give up! While it sucks to stare at a black vision, you can still give yourself a hint to where the artifact is by taking a different unit and wildly clicking around on the minimap. Since the vision is a live-feed, you will see the movement marker, making you able to figure out where the Artifact is. While we're on the topic of Artifacts, if you ever have a lot of time and nothing better to do, go into dead of night and build a cage of buildings around the area to the top right of the sensor tower. Now, if set up right, every fragment after the first will spawn in this box. This allows you to… eventually… hit 103 Artifact fragments if using knowledge seeker. (Also don’t worry about the infested, at around 15 Fragments, if you have enough cannons, nothing can touch you). Btw, the shieldguards deflector shield ability can be set to auto cast, which makes you not have to micro… at all basically. If you ever face a mission/mutation that makes moving armies around the map a pain (like minesweeper), you can simply choose not to. A single Zeratul and an Army of cannons on a hotkey to port them in whenever needed is more than enough to clear most missions on brutal. For me personally I have my stuff set up like this: Mastery 1: (Depends on if P2 or P3, P2 takes unit AS, P3 Zeratul AS) Mastery 2: Artifact Spawn rate, earlier power spikes makes you lose less units, which snowballs even into the later stages. Mastery 3: Legion cost, saving 240 minerals on each call down goes a long way into having more cannons or more army. It also allows you to use the legion at the start of the game to clear your expo, making you able to get a second Nexus around 2 minutes. With Prestige’s it depends a lot on your playstyle, but if you have trouble surviving early, P3 is better, but if you have trouble winning endgame fights, take P2. That's all I can think off of the top of my head right now. Maybe I'll put more stuff here at some point if more comes to mind.

[@timothyjaquet3799]

Thank you! I've been trying to get better at him and this was a ton of help!

[@pulp0negr0]

While your post is already useful, I have a few remarks about it : - To easily find fragments on any mission (not just a mutation involving Afraid of the Dark), you can move your buildings' rally points on the minimap during Zeratul's vision until they appear in the vision bubble ; then you just have to transport Zeratul near the according rally point. - Mastery 1 : Prestige 2 means less units than normal because they cost 25% more (which is a lot) ; and if you choose a cannon build, you won't have many combat units either. Anyway, Zeratul has to carry at least the early game until you have an actual army. In most (if not all) cases, choosing Zeratul AS is more efficient. - Mastery 2 : Artifact fragment spawn rate is not great if using Prestige 3 (2 fragments only and the CD between those two is not long). - Prestige choice : I think P0 (no Prestige) or P1 are safer for general play = playing random missions. P1 is perhaps even stronger than P0 because the impossibility for Zetatul to travel on the Void Seeker can be mitigated by using a Void Array instead (still fast enough) and the 15-second Super Cloak is almost like a Vorazun Time Stop = a free enemy base eradication every 3 minutes. P2 and P3 are more committed to late game and early game respectively ; and while a weaker early game (P2) is always detrimental, you still have to play the late game on many missions (Missed Opportunities, Malwarfare, Oblivion Express, Temple of the Past, Void Launch... And about every mission if the difficulty is challenging to you and/or your ally). On the other side, if preparing for a specific mission or mutation, you can choose between any Prestige (and masteries) according to the map and mutators. As you mentioned Minesweepers : P3 (apart from being OP for speedrunning on some maps) is strong against it, because tornadoes damage mines. The Avatar of Essence is strong against Avenger, because it applies a debuff to enemy units, etc.

[@sefyravelvetpaw8166]

My brother plays Zeratul and I like to play Karax often - Let me tell you, they go HARD together. ESPECIALLY if you combine their defenses. Khaydarin Monoliths with Tesseracts is stupid OP

[@thelatenightguard7763]

If you use Dark Archons to take control of an opponents drone or scv you can play all three factions at once and dominate your opponents

[@dzzenok4136]

sadly no, since you cannot build with the mind controlled units, would be dope though.

[@dtmeans8623]

hello toxic spill . i am a hardcore zerat player , playing only P2 , Not seeing problems so far , every game i collect 8-12 fragments without problems , with this prestige zeratul becomes a one man army , dealing 200+ DPS, and having 20+armor . If i'm defending with cannons they also get a huge buff as they shoot 60+damage , when i build army , i use only enforcers and abrogators , from 2 robo's = profit . Zeratul is a powerful and interesting commander , i like him a lot , i leveled 100+ levels with him only , so i knew what i'm saying ) i play brutal and + with pleasure , his only weaknesses are double edged and darkness mutators . great video bro

[@ToxicSpilll]

Thank you. It means the world to me that I made a video that a committed and passionate person that plays co-op ALOT enjoys! honestly, with all of the positive feedback, I think I will try to get Zeratul to that prestige now.

[@dtmeans8623]

@@ToxicSpilll thank you man , i really like your videos , i watched every single co-op guide you made ) some multiple times ) yet i started to play Mengsk leveling his prestiges now , and i'm so happy that soon you'll release a guide about him , maybe i'll find out something i didn't know ) great job man , see you soon)

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@dtmeans8623 Thank you, See you soon as well!

[@ZabijakPL]

Darkness mutator is not really a weakness for zera as you can seek fragments using rally points it's just annoying.

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@ZabijakPL is the map still reveal at the start with a darkness mutator as Zeratul?

[@chiragchandan9135]

Awesome video!!!!

[@bendystrawz2832]

I always loved spamming Ambushers with Blink cooldown reduction. They get 3 stacks of it each, so you can blink your whole army in (spawning a bunch of attacks for burst), then blink your whole army out (spawning _another_ bunch of attacks), basically eradicating anything nearby. Or you could triangle blink: blink in, blink to the side or in place, blink out; three bursts of damage. It obliterates things. Of course, thats my 4fun build. I usually just go Enforcers with cannon support. I use the Shade Projection (with reduced cooldown) to project into the front lines. The cannons keep their detection, too! So I don't have to build Watchers! Plus, the temporary cannons tank a lot of damage so my other forces can clean house. Although I'm not good enough with micro to spam Ambusher blinks _and_ shade project cannons at the same time, so I usually go one or the other. I almost always go Void Rays, sometimes Dark Archons for fun or against comps with good mind control targets; and then I pretty much always go Avatar of Essence, maybe Form against mass units like zerglings or infested maps. But yea, he's one of my favorite!

[@stefanali4619]

bro i started playing zeretal last week and loving him...thanks for these videos very inciteful for potential buys or no buys lol ont he heroes keep up the good work

[@Tom6-t8c]

0:08 yes the xel naga artifact was a great character and its my favourite coop commander

[@Ryecatcher-fl9rq]

Love Zeratul, but I have to say that the telbrus leigon is the best of the pack. They can tank for your units later game, since you don't want to have to rebuild your army, and are available over and over again. The other leigons just die. Yes, they do damage, but 800 for a meat shield is way better than 800 for damage, since you already do so much with zeratul's base units.

[@Arcadopocalypse]

I like my Zeratul just as I like my Swann -- strong defense with a small but strong and versatile group of specialized units to complement my ally (who is most likely playing Tychus or Karax. Every time. Send hel...). So void rays and Purity of Essence to provide strong buffs and pushing power and monoliths and projections for defensive purposes (but I strongly believe that using photon cannons this way greatly undermines their usability... so there may be occasional offensive holograms)

[@markhu2966]

Btw One thing I disagree with ToxicSpill here is the way he thinks about expanding with Zeratul, while I do agree he is capable of clearing out expansions the Void ray Legion can be called before Zeratul even spawns in the game, hence you are able to expand faster even before you can control Zeratul, and since using that 800 minerals is worth it (or less if you decreased the cost of Legion)

[@ToxicSpilll]

To each their own then, I like having troops early then expansions. Then again there really is no right answer to this one.

[@azur7362]

paying 800 minerals to clear rocks? thats an 1200 mineral expansion instead of waiting a bit for zeratul and spending the minerals on other things, you sure thats worth it?

[@thetaminus2334]

@@azur7362 sped for expensive army

[@RealShuraalex]

@@azur7362 Early game on difficulties higher than brutal the expense is definitely worth it. It slows you slightly in the beginning but don't forget you can (and should) use the legion on your ally's rocks as well, which ultimately is well worth the expense.

[@eckee]

I guess this will be my second main after Dehaka. Seems simple enough. Now I need to find a simple terran commander

[@NostreborGaming]

You didn't mention about p3 zeratul or herald of the void that every shadow cleave spawns a tornado that could deal damage and slow enemy units. That is the reason why shadow cleave cooldown reduced by 5 secs on each collected artifact fragment.

[@ToxicSpilll]

Shit yeah, the tornado... Its always something

[@newyorkdeveloper]

@@ToxicSpilll You also didn't mentioned your preference.

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@newyorkdeveloper for the prestige or mastery may I ask.

[@newyorkdeveloper]

@@ToxicSpilll For prestige choice. All of zeratul’s abilities you explained really well, then you would mention your personal preference. I’m curious what your preference is for prestige ?

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@newyorkdeveloper I forget the name off the top of my head. But the one where you can collect unlimited amounts of artifacts. Your troops become so broken it is ridiculous.

[@oldoptimus]

I'd go for the monolith, protoss are usually well rounded on offense and when they reach a certain point it's just a death ball, steadfast reinforcements and the avatar of form, that one can dish some amount of damage by itself and manage large amount of small enemies, or wreck havoc with enemies with shields. Something you really need with the strongest hybrids that have shields and can cast psyonic storms.

[@ToxicSpilll]

Solid choice and reasoning though.

[@oldoptimus]

@@ToxicSpilll thank you, most protoss commanders except karax and alarak have only the photon cannons as defense. These although not bad aren't as good. So, having more effective static defenses makes you as protoss, capable of making more focus on the fight and not having to send zeratul back and forth between the base and the front line to defend yourself.

[@williamantworth5862]

When searching for artifacts set a way point on the minimap constantly while looking at his reveal. You'll find artifacts super quick.

[@ToxicSpilll]

I do that sometimes, not as much as I should though.

[@wongdeep]

That's an excellent idea.

[@williamantworth5862]

Yeah dude I used to spend forever looking for them was so frustrating takes no time at all now

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@williamantworth5862 Nice

[@yolesgogame8251]

for the infested maps or against zerg you can just blink into the most congregated mass and then use shadow cleave and then basically everything is dead

[@yolesgogame8251]

this and enforcers + void arrays are pretty overpowered

[@PsyrenXY]

Telbrus Legion: infested maps only (DoN/MEvac) Sur'dath Legion: massive air escorts (OE/VL with battlecruisers/tempests) Zoraya: EVERYTHING else and breaks rocks crazy fast

[@kasothronos4434]

Oh also I usually like choosing these powers: Void suppression in offence maps. Monoliths for defense. The reinforcements after this video, or Tesseract matrix on defense. And Purity of form cause he's deadlier than a nuke

[@ToxicSpilll]

Solid build indeed, what Legion do you use?

[@blutwirbel3180]

@@ToxicSpilll I'll be honest I use telbrus a lot, but! He's fun af and actually more useful than one might think. He's not as good as zeraya alone but with you troops he can be deadly af. I never use dark archon because they're lame and they don't really know how to use their abilities

[@thekingnerd6639]

I use the blink one because I use mostly dt, if I can get 30 dt, or a maxed out army with 40 workers, one usage of blink with all of them does 1500 damage.

[@killerCake7]

These are great they deserve so much more views. Also pls do one on mengsk

[@ToxicSpilll]

I will be doing one on Mengsk as soon as the Statmann one is done

[@UgandanSonic]

Zoriya's monolith reinfircement Blue avatar really great on passively defending mine and my ally's mains and expansions

[@whipitup2393]

Happy birthday toxic spill!!!! Sending a shot out to our fav KZbinr

[@ToxicSpilll]

thank you!

[@noaimzz2247]

I have to say: I don't think the Zealots are bad. Ich think they are good thanks and unlike the Archons they are melee units so they are attacked more likely. They can also hit multiple enemies. Every time I used the void rays they died pretty quickly.

[@pedronobrega5457]

1º - zoraia legions 2º - tesserac artifact (the best hability of zeratul togher with dt shadow strike) 3º - tesserac matrix (coold down teseerac towers and cannons) 4º - avatar of essence (offcourse) I promiss you -- try this technic ... 1º - possition your trops at range of dts shadow strike ... 2º - summom two tesserac towers ... 3º - wait for the towsers to stun enemys 4º - shadow strike at the same time the trops are stuned == they dont even have the change to shot one single shot == all death .. and tesserac matrix allows me to figth in 4,10, places at the same time (depending of the number of cannons ), normally i end with 40 cannons ... so i can be on 40 diferent places at the same time ..

[@ToxicSpilll]

I'll have to try that strategy and build. Do you use it to move it around the map creating little defensive points?

[@pedronobrega5457]

@@ToxicSpilll well ... there is a reason why i dont call them 'defense towers\cannons' ... Because i use them more times on the '''attack''' that on '''defense''' ... so they for me are not defense towers, because i use them to stun enemys before use the shadow strike == instant death .. (yes we can teleport them anywhere in the map where we have vision) .. . ONE EXAMPLE: 1º - i see on the mini map one attack wave on the way .. 2º - i possition my trops in half way .. 3º - i summon 2 tesserac towers .. 4º - i wait for tesserac stuns enemys before shadow strike with my dt's while they are stunned. . Also i see people use KARAX for connons rush ... loool if they know what zeratul can do with is tesseract\cannons they will have changed from karax to zeratul for sure ;)

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@pedronobrega5457 Intresting

[@Tech-PriestDakka]

Ah Zeratul, the min rpg gameplay but he isn't "A Hero Commander" he is "Zeratul with units attached to him" I feel hes a bit rushed. He tends to get boring because all your units are not just super version or elite versions of there base units, they feel like god versions of the said units. Yeah taking losses really hurts you but thats the same for every commander to some degree. You can protoss ball really soon and only really need to mirco Zeratul and you can get a profound push on any missions. You have a VERY powerful attack force and a very good defensive options in the same package. I just wish he had more or could find more cube parts without me having to level up the commander completely 2 times for other reasons. Zeratul is still badass tho.

[@ToxicSpilll]

Agreed

[@grayzone9020]

The only thing that I could wish for this was if you could have passive buffs for Your allies getting buffs if you're zerg.Or protoss ally co op commander is with you and sharing benefits

[@OmegaChaosis]

I generally go tesseract monolith and the shade projection cooldown

[@ToxicSpilll]

Only for defensive maps?

[@OmegaChaosis]

@@ToxicSpilll nope, I honestly like the shade projection thing, being able to move my canons is cool. Also since watching your karax video I almost exclusively just build canon outposts as karax for my attack wave

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@OmegaChaosis Cannon Outposts are quite powerful.

[@zkring6450]

Good shit!

[@haiduyle6186]

this video is pretty meme and i love it :)

[@ToxicSpilll]

I'm very happy that you enjoyed the video!

[@markhu2966]

By the way I may be late for this but this was my experience with each Prestige I did with Zeratul. On P0 I usually went with Mass Ambusher build, although I won't use them until I find the 2nd fragment since as was told by Toxicspill they are quite fragile, until then I use Zeratul to push or solve obejctives. Hence for early game I prefer to increase Zeratul's attack speed to be a more early versatile Hero, for Loadout I go for Void ray Legion, High templar legion works really good in dead of night so I recommend for using that once,as for the Archon Legion.... ughhh I don't really know I don't use that much.1st Fragment abillity I use is the Void suppresion crystal, 2nd fragment abillity is always the Blink passive since I go for mass Ambusher build and lastly third fragment is the Avatar of Essence (although Avatar of form if you do Dead of night for it's AoE abillity) On P1 It's usually the same as P0 the only difference is Zeratul's Void seeker abillity, since it becomes more of an assault abillity instead of traveling, it might take more time to get the fragment although I find that usually fine since the maps are usually not too big. The loadout is basically the same Void ray Legion,Supression Crystal, Passive Blink and Avatar of Essence On P2 is where the difference comes, since Knowledge seeker has a pretty interesting disadvantage (that being the 25% cost on combat units and Toxicspill is not wrong saying that they are expensive) So to negate that effect you are mostly obliged to build Cannons here. To be honest with Knowledge seeker you have an infinite amount of updates makes Zeratul pretty overpowered in the Long missions. The difference on loadout is on 1st fragment I use the Monolith always since it helps pushing with my mass cannon build, 2nd fragment is Cannon passive since it helps my cannon's Shade projection abillity to spam more, and 3rd fragment is Avatar of Form, but in my opinion Avatar of Essence works just as much. On P3 The big difference here is Zeratul Himself. He jus ugghh... becomes a one-man army, a Machoo-man, well anyways due to the disadvantage of only gathering 2 fragments Zeratul becomes a tiny bit weak to handle big attacks, but damn his Shadow cleave abillity spam makes it worth it for that handicap. With the Tornado he can pull off he can yeet almost any attack wave that comes against your base, and also gathering 2 fragments only is really good if you plan for short games, you lamost don't need to make an army anymore, I recommend spaming Legion and push with your ally. For loadouts I recommend Void Ray Legion, Suppression Crystal, Steadfast Reinforcement and Avatar of Form/Essence.

[@markhu2966]

Also do excuse me on the typos I did, I just typed whatever I had in mind while thinking about Zeratul's unique assets

[@ToxicSpilll]

Damn...

[@o_austria_w1004]

I just wish that they would add more coop commanders. There is still potential with characters like Tosh, Selendis, Urun, Overmind (if possible in some ways) Great explaining of Zeratul

[@ToxicSpilll]

As much as I would love all of those commanders to be added. Blizzard hasn't added more content since Mengsk unfortunately...

[@o_austria_w1004]

@@ToxicSpilll Blizzard doesn't care about Starcraft 2 that much anymore. Some people worked on new co-op commanders and they are interesting. Problems with making a discord server? I ask because it has been 2 weeks

[@_yiggy]

They said in the post in December that we won't be getting any more commanders period.

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@o_austria_w1004 I'm making the art for it. Yes, I should have been up already. The server is very low on my priority list as I normally don't use discord that much.

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@_yiggy Damn...

[@survey9728]

I wish they used someone other than Zeratul for this coop commander, I want extra lore for other Protoss.

[@beafraidofinsectattack]

your intro is so funny lol "watafoc-"

[@victorcaldera249]

with p2 there are only 100 extra artifacts but most games will not last long enough to get them all unless you and your ally draw it out

[@ToxicSpilll]

Yeah, it sounds like a great ability but it really doesn't get much use in the real world.

[@entarochrist3927]

103** artifacts. ;)

[@entarochrist3927]

The only mission that lasts that long is Dead of Night. ;)

[@divicarpe1844]

Or the rakshir one.

[@Desertneo]

You forgot one very important point of Zeratul, he warps buildings like the protoss he is, but does not need pylons, not for energy field nor supply!

[@wolfyace5150]

id build him Karax just turret spam and just project them to the front lines when needed idk seems funny

[@ToxicSpilll]

Archon-like turrets? Who knew it could be that strong.

[@pikachun2160]

Legit first one to watch it. What a wonderful moment

[@ToxicSpilll]

An accomplishment of its own indeed!

[@Class1czz]

damn i know everything about zeratul already but this video is still entertaining like exploring new stuff

[@ToxicSpilll]

I'm glad you enjoyed the vid!

[@eduardhegyi]

first comment about fenix here BTW did you know fenix's name is actualy Talandar? Edit: i fixed his name

[@ToxicSpilll]

Talandar, yes. Yes, I did.

[@callumbowen6604]

had to hit you with a fact check. Talandar is the name given to the conscious that was once Fenix's but eventually became his own person. The real Fenix dies in the broodwar campaign at the hands of Kerrigan after already dying in the first campaign at the hands of some hyrdas.

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@callumbowen6604 I know, I was speaking by the commander's name in Co-op. I know that Fenix died to Hydras. Once he was resurrected as a dragoon, he was killed by Kerrigan.

[@fallenshaw5659]

And shows up in the origional game as well

[@ToxicSpilll]

Yes, he does. I didn't mention it due to this being StarCraft 2, not 1. But yes, you are right.

[@fallenshaw5659]

@@ToxicSpilll Love your guides btw, don't know why I didnt find you on youtube sooner. If you do one on menske, please tell people how to change their allys color if the ally plays him, as its the same as the enemys color on the mini map.

[@thewarlord3547]

Cant wait for Arcturus Mengsk he is my main.

[@ToxicSpilll]

after the video, I'm making for Stetmann right now, yes. I too cannot wait till I talk about the king of Casualties.

[@thewarlord3547]

@@ToxicSpilll Long live the Emperor!

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@thewarlord3547 Yikes might have to question your allegiances. All power to you I guess.

[@thewarlord3547]

@@ToxicSpilll Hey as long its the rest of the masses being sent to the front line, I'm happy, you just got to hope its not your turn to go into the meat grinder when you send all your troops to die just for a recon mission ;)

[@meilokienappel8254]

woow you are good

[@kingpomp1172]

The essence doesn't downgrade hybrids sadly

[@ToxicSpilll]

Can't have nice things, can we?

[@leszekd1871]

thanks ;)

[@ToxicSpilll]

welcome

[@xedmin8424]

Zeratul died for our sins

[@ToxicSpilll]

Yeah, R.I.P Zeratul

[@entarochrist3927]

Why does the name of the first prestige sound so much like a certain female character from the movies The Mummy and Mummy Returns?

[@ToxicSpilll]

Anak-sula moon (I think that's how you spell it). Now that you mention it it does sound like that name.

[@RandomPerson19234]

I have god strat with zeratul, spam the immortal things, yes I dont remember there names

[@pontusbergqvist171]

I mean not to be rude but I play Zeratul and I got little frustrated agenst that about expending. You should use void ray cause you get up the expanstion mush faster which will give you more money as the game is just based on time which means get expanstion earlier you get more money. Think like this if you get some workers at expanstion 1 min earlier then they mine for 1 min more in that game that give you more money in late game. That why you usally expend with those. Overall though good vidieo very entertaining just wrong about this about expanstions everything else you got right.

[@ToxicSpilll]

That's okay then if you prefer that way. I just can't find enough justification to spend 800 minerals on something I can do for free. I would rather spend those minerals on troops and structures more. Again, to each their own.

[@Thalmen]

@@ToxicSpilll agree, i use thoose 800 on an enforcer, produced same time as zeratul arrives. takes 2 sec to expand then, and you dont have the probes anyways to fully need to expand at once.

[@mcsun2628]

750 minerals and 300 gas 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@boorochester460]

Is it just me or does he feel weaker than he did a year ago?

[@ToxicSpilll]

Maybe, Blizzard has patched the game a small amount since then

[@ToxicSpilll]

@@boorochester460 Nope, but the game feels much different