Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm Overview

Starcraft 2 Strategy Guide --> Heart of the Swarm Guide --> Overview (you are here)

In this article, I wanted to cover the basics of what we know about Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm. I will update this overview as more information is made publicly available.

Heart of the Swarm Campaign Overview

Right now, only details about the single player campaign have been released. Personally, I thought the original Starcraft 2 campaign was quite enjoyable, so I am looking forward to this section.

Heart of the Swarm Plot

**If you haven't played the original Starcraft 2 campaign, you may not want to read on, as there are some spoilers below.**

Heart of the Swarm picks up where the Terran campaign left off, with Kerrigan becoming de-infested. However, it turns out that perhaps she is not completely de-infested, as she still retains her powers.

It has been revealed that much of the storyline of Heart of the Swarm involves Kerrigan fighting to regain control of the Swarm (seems similar to the major plotline in Brood War) as well as fighting off Terran and Protoss aggressors.

Much of the universe is an enemy of the Zerg and is not willing to ally themselves with the Zerg just because Kerrigan has been cleansed, and likewise many Zerg advisors are still interested in destroying all enemies.

I am sure some of the plot of Heart of the Swarm will also involve advancing the Xel'naga storyline, which seems like it will be the recurrent theme of Starcraft 2.

Heart of the Swarm Gameplay - Campaign

In the single-player campaign, Heart of the Swarm is said to differ significantly from the original Starcraft 2 campaign by incorporating "light RPG elements". In particular, this involves having Kerrigan as a playable character who makes a major difference in fights.

Kerrigan levels up as you go through the campaigns and evolves new abilities that you can choose between, much like the talent tree of a character in WoW.

The idea is that Kerrigan will be a playable hero in nearly all (if not all) the Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm missions and her abilities will make a major difference on the battlefield.

Hero units were a big part of the original Starcraft and were for the most part notably absent from the Starcraft 2 campaign, so this is a major change.

Players will also be able to upgrade their units, similar to the way that players were able to upgrade units and get new technologies at the Armory and Research Lab in the original Starcraft 2 campaign.

The primary difference is that the units seem to change more drastically, given the Zerg's ability to evolve. One example was that the Baneling will be able to evolve into either the Splinterling or Gorgeling; the Splinterling will split into multiple small Banelings upon death, whereas the Gorgeling will provide the Zerg player resources when it blows up against buildings.

It is unlikely that either of these units will be available in online play but rather be exclusive to the campaign, much like the Diamondback was for Terran players in the original campaign.

Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm Overview Conclusion

More details will be added to this Heart of the Swarm overview as they are released, so be sure to keep an eye on our Heart of the Swarm guide for updates!