Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy

A proxy refers to a pylon that is built near or inside of your enemy's base rather than in your own base. There are two ways to use this Starcraft 2 Protoss Strategy.

One way is to perform a rush with this technique. This is done by building your first or second Pylon right outside (or even inside) of your opponent's base. Then, proceed to build Gateways outside of the enemy's base. Pump out Zealots and send them in. Don't worry about teching up too much at your main base (getting gas or a Cybernetics Core) unless your initial rush fails.

This technique is pretty risky - talk about putting all of your proverbial eggs in the same basket. If the enemy slips a Reaper by to your main base, you are finished. It can be very effective though if pulled off with precise timing. I have included a video of this technique below.

The more common way to use a proxy Pylon is to build a Pylon outside of your enemy's base in a hidden location (such as up against the wall on the opposite side of their ramp). Once you research Warp Gate technology and convert your Gateways into Warp Gates, you can then warp in (i.e. build) units at this Pylon, right outside of your enemy's base.

This is very effective for a lot of reasons. One, you can surprise enemy expansions quite easily by warping in a few units to the pylon. You can also reinforce an attack quickly by building units at the enemy's base rather than building them at your own base and then marching the units across the field.

Another great way to do this is to camp out with your army just outside of your enemy's base and warp in more units as you prepare for an attack.

And finally, if you know the enemy's army is out of position (like if he is attacking you), you can warp in a few units at your pylon and then attack his base while it is undefended. For example, this Starcraft 2 Dark Templar Rush guide demonstrates how to use the proxy Pylon to rush Dark Templar to harass the enemy.

As a Protoss player, you will find that Protoss vs Terran match-ups are often the most difficult for you to counter. In particular the popular combo of Marines, Marauders, and Medivacs gives Protoss players a terrible time. Once Terran players add Siege Tanks, Vikings, and Ghosts to the mix, it gets even harder. Here is what you can do to defeat Terran players:

Tech quickly for a Robotics Facility. This is a key building to defeat Terran players. Here you will want to produce Immortals and Colossi, depending on what the enemy is getting.

Immortals are great versus mech (Thors and Siege Tanks) while Colossi are fantastic versus bio (any infantry). The composition of your enemy's army will determine how many of these you will get (more Immortals if they are heavy mech, more Colossi if they are heavy bio).

In addition to your Immortals and Colossi, you will need Stalkers, Sentries, and Zealots to support your mechanical units. The Colossus can't take much damage, so you need Protoss infantry to shield it while it does its job. Sentries help block in units with Force Field so they can't escape from the Colossi and the Guardian Shield reduces Marine damage significantly.

If the enemy is heavy on Marines, you will want to get a lot of Stalkers, Sentries, and Colossi. The Colossi will tear up the Marines, the Sentries will reduce their damage to near-nothing, and the Stalkers will protect the Colossi from air units and absorb damage for them.

If the enemy is heavy on Marauders, you will want to add some Zealots and Immortals to the mix. Marauders deal bonus damage to Colossi and Stalkers, which make Zealots much more hardy versus Marauders. Immortals do bonus damage to Marauders and will kill them very quickly.

If you need more Starcraft 2 strategies, be sure to check out this highly advanced Starcraft 2 Guide. Be sure to use this mixed unit approach when dealing with Terran players and you will find you will start winning many games.