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StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Game » consists of 10 releases. First released on Jul 27, 2010

The first chapter in the StarCraft II trilogy focuses on the struggles of the Terran race, as seen through the eyes of Commander Jim Raynor, leader of the rebel group Raynor's Raiders.

Which is better to upgrade (Protoss): Atck, Def, Shld?

#1 Posted by sreya92 (193 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Personally I'd think def but what about y'all?

#2 Edited by Zyte (177 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Attack. 
As Protoss, upgrading Attack is always the best, no matter what race your opponent play.
It is especially important to upgrade Attack +1 quickly when facing Zerg. (Since Zealots will kill Zerglings in 2 hits, instead of 3 without the upgrade etc.)

#3 Posted by Joru (311 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Attack is what people usually go for first, unless they are doing some interesting upgrade-centric tactic. Shield is something you very rarely see, usually only in long macro games.

#4 Edited by Ben_H (2729 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago
@Zyte said: 

Attack. As Protoss, upgrading Attack is always the best, no matter what race your opponent play.It is especially important to upgrade Attack +1 quickly when facing Zerg. (Since Zealots will kill Zerglings in 2 hits, instead of 3 without the upgrade etc.)

Not necessarily.  Armour is far more beneficial against Terran in the early stages than attack until the lategame when high tech, aoe units are out, hence why you see many pros having 1 attack/2-3 armour upgrades in the midgame before getting more attack upgrades and higher tech units.  Armour upgrades negate bio incredibly well, especially for zealots, which when combined with charge make them terrifying against marine/marauder compositions when trapped by forcefields  or confined spaces because the zealots take much longer to die and cause a significantly larger amount of damage.  The upgrade makes a much more noticeable difference against marines than marauders though since they rely on fast shots of small damage compared to the marauder's slower shot that inflicts more damage.
 
Against zerg, attack is more beneficial until the lategame, where you should optimally be getting armour upgrades anyway.  In the current trend for Protoss (IE: all of the stupid 2-base all-in crap with 5-7 gateways), attack upgrades are an integral part to the build working. 
 
Shield upgrades are useless, especially against ghost-using Terrans because if they EMP right you won't have shields anyway.  I only get shields once 3/3 is done and all other necessary tech is upgraded.
#5 Posted by Zyte (177 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago
@Ben_H said:
@Zyte said: 

Attack. As Protoss, upgrading Attack is always the best, no matter what race your opponent play.It is especially important to upgrade Attack +1 quickly when facing Zerg. (Since Zealots will kill Zerglings in 2 hits, instead of 3 without the upgrade etc.)

Not necessarily.  Armour is far more beneficial against Terran in the early stages than attack until the lategame when high tech, aoe units are out, hence why you see many pros having 1 attack/2-3 armour upgrades in the midgame before getting more attack upgrades and higher tech units.  Armour upgrades negate bio incredibly well, especially for zealots, which when combined with charge make them terrifying against marine/marauder compositions when trapped by forcefields  or confined spaces because the zealots take much longer to die and cause a significantly larger amount of damage.  
Aha, interesting. Thanks for catching me up with that.
#6 Posted by imsh_pl (3289 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

You should upgrade attack first against a zerg, that way your zealots 2 hit zerglings. However, against a terran opponent it's better to upgrade defense since your zealots stop being the primary damage dealers and their main reason is to be a meatshield for your stalkers.

#7 Edited by raiz265 (2229 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Armor vs Terran 
Attack vs Zerg 
 
That's the general rule of thumb I'd say
 
Shield comes after 3/3 most of the time 
I've seen some Protoss players go 1/1/1 upgrades though if they plan on going Archons lateron, but that's probably advanced 
 
 
Most badass way is going double forge and going attack and armor at the same time of course, but that's quite the investment in the early/midgame which makes you quite prone to timing attacks

#8 Posted by Thule (688 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

It depends.

It's all dependant on which race you're facing and what kind of build you're trying to do. What raiz said is the general rule of thumb, because the armor upgrade versus Terran reduces marine damage by alot and the attack upgrade versus Zerg allows your zealots to kill zerglings in 2 hits rather than 3. However, it's not set in stone. If you've got a plan that allows you to use the other upgrade more effectively then there's nothing stopping you from doing so.

#9 Posted by awesomatic (28 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

My current upgrade scheme (however im only gold lvl):
 
1 Forge 2/0/0 vs Zerg (sentry expand/sentry fake expand)
2 Forge 2/2/0 vs Terran (2-3 base timing push with chargelot/templars/archons)
1 Forge 1/1/0 vs Protoss (Only after initial aggression e.g. 4gate/3gate blink/2gate immortals)

#10 Posted by haffy (637 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

I'm pretty sure it's worth getting shield upgrades instead of armour if your concentrating on blink stalkers in a build. But I think attack still takes priority. 

#11 Posted by Wunder_ (1159 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

SHIELDDDD or Air weapons

#12 Posted by Aus_azn (2223 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

I only play P when randoming, and I'll usually go for attack first. Or...
 
@Wunder_ said:

SHIELDDDD or Air weapons

  If I am massing...
#13 Posted by imsh_pl (3289 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago
@Aus_azn said:

I only play P when randoming, and I'll usually go for attack first. Or...
 

@Wunder_

said:

SHIELDDDD or Air weapons

  If I am massing...
I lost my shit when he sang 'yesterday was Void Rays'.
#14 Posted by baldgye (723 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

how I roll
 
armour vs T
attack vs Z
 and then vs P it depends how you're playing it, if you have alot of zelots, go for attack, if you have alot of stalkers probally best for armour
 
 
I becasue I watch how the pro's do it never bother with sheilds untill I've gotten 3/3 in armour and attack

#15 Posted by csl316 (4909 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@imsh_pl said:

You should upgrade attack first against a zerg, that way your zealots 2 hit zerglings. However, against a terran opponent it's better to upgrade defense since your zealots stop being the primary damage dealers and their main reason is to be a meatshield for your stalkers.

Yes, I figured this was the general consensus, too.

#16 Posted by Pibo47 (3165 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago
@imsh_pl said:
@Aus_azn said:

I only play P when randoming, and I'll usually go for attack first. Or...
 

@Wunder_

said:

SHIELDDDD or Air weapons

  If I am massing...
I lost my shit when he sang 'yesterday was Void Rays'.
Thats when i had to stop watching. I fucking lost it and fell outta my chair!
#17 Edited by SJSchmidt93 (4841 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Armor vs Terran bio 
Attack vs Terran Mech 
Attack vs Zerg 
Attack vs Protoss (even though finding time to fit these in is very hard) 
 
Shield can be quite good if you're archon heavy, but generally don't get it until 3/3.

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