Starcraft 2 Phantoms of the Void Brutal & Achievements Guide

Starcraft 2 Campaign Guide --> Heart of the Swarm Campaign Guide --> Phantoms of the Void (you are here)

Phantoms of the Void is the third and final Skygeirr mission in the Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm campaign. In this particular mission, players do not get to control Kerrigan but rather must use Stukov as their primary hero unit while Kerrigan is engaged with Narud.

The objective of this mission is to use Stukov to deactivate a number of Xel'Naga temples around the map (done by defending the platform for 60 seconds) before Kerrigan gets overwhelmed. While there is no official timer, if the bar at the top of the screen runs out, you lose the mission. If you are short on time, it is ideal to wait as long as possible before securing each temple. This will give you more time to macro up and build units.

Phantoms of the Void - Kerrigan Levels

Completing Phantoms of the Void results in 4 Kerrigan levels. There are also 3 Kerrigan levels which can be earned by destroying the Xel'Naga Pylons marked at the locations below with orange circles:

You need to kill the structures around these pylons as well as part of the No-toss achievement.

Starcraft 2 Phantoms of the Void Achievement List

There are 4 achievements available for players to unlock during the Phantoms of the Void mission:

Phantoms of the Void: Unlocked by completing all mission objectives in the Phantoms of the Void mission (any difficulty).

Stukov Strikes Back: Unlocked by not letting Stukov die in the "Phantoms of the Void" mission (any difficulty). Just keep a few Ultralisks near Stukov and this is simple.

The Phantoms Menaced: Unlocked by killing 2 Hybrid within 20 seconds of one another (Normal difficulty or higher). This will happen automatically if you try to beat this mission on Hard or Brutal mode, as a lot of Hybrids will be attacking you at the same time as you close off the final few Xel'Naga temples.

No-toss: Unlocked by destroying all the Protoss buildings during this mission (Hard difficulty or higher). This is a tight timer, but it is still of course doable. Make sure you have the Twin Drones and Automated Extractors upgrades with Kerrigan so you can macro up faster.

No-toss Achievement Guide

If you are struggling with this achievement, you need to get comfortable with running out of time. You want to wait until the last possible second to cap each Xel'Naga Temple, because capping the first few very early does not seem to earn you any extra time.

Your strategy as a result should be to focus primarily on macro, building Drones expanding as soon as possible, and getting upgrades. Stukov and your starting units can cap the first Temple while you work on this.

Once you have expanded, you have two unit options: either about 12 Queens and the rest Broodlords, or 12 Queens and the rest Ultralisks. Both work very well as long as you get enough of them.

You want to get close to maxed out as possible before you go in on the main Protoss base to the east or north. When you do finally attack this base, make sure you manually are controlling Stukov and using him to pick off the Void Rays. They will tear your Ultralisks or Broodlords up, so you do not want to leave them undefended.

No-toss Achievement Video Guide

Phantoms of the Void Brutal Mode Guide

Phantoms of the Void may seem tough to beat on Brutal mode, but you have a lot more time than you would think to deactivate each temple. The key here is take your time when it comes to deactivating the first few temples, and using this time to expand, get a large number of Drones out, and macro up before taking out the final, more defended temples.

Below, you will find a step-by-step guide as well as a video walkthrough.

Step by Step Guide

• As soon as the mission starts, use Kerrigan and Stukov to clear the first event on the way to the expansion. Do not use your Hydralisks or Ultralisks, as you do not want them to die during this initial untimed portion of the mission.

• Once you get to your base, start adding Drones and gas. Use Automated Extractors and get the Extractors up right away.

• Use Stukov to clear the Protoss units near the expansion to the east. Expand here right away.

• Next, use Stukov to start clearing out the area around the first Xel'Naga Temple while you continue to macro up and saturated both expansions.

• Start getting upgrades for whatever unit you want to use during this mission.

• At about 4:00, take Stukov, your Ultralisks, and your starting Hydralisks and start capping the first temple.

• After you cap the first temple, start getting defense at the northwestern entrance to your base. I recommend about 8 Spine Crawlers, 4 Spore Crawlers, and 6 Queens.

• Keep getting upgrades, and start adding Ultralisks to your army. Use Stukov and your starting Ultralisks to clear towards the next Xel'Naga Temple.

• Stukov can slowly clear out around the second Platform by using his acid attack over and over again from a safe distance.

• Cap the second temple around the 9:00 mark.

• Start adding Queens to your army. You will want about 12 total.

• Keep adding Ultralisks and Queens and clear to the third Xel'Naga Temple.

• By around the 16:00 mark you should be maxed out. Take the fourth temple at this point.

• When you are capping the fourth temple, do not let your units get too far out of range. You need them to stay close to Stukov so you can use your acid attack and summon Infested Terrans. This is key for handling the air units.

• Re-max out and take out the remaining Pylons if you want the bonus levels.

• Cap the fourth temple.

• Clear to the fifth temple and re-max out. You can cap at around the 20:00 mark and have plenty of time leftover. Make sure you intercept the attack wave that Narud sends from the north before you cap the fifth temple, otherwise the Carriers and Archons may deal some damage to your base!

• Cap the fifth temple to end the mission.

Phantoms of the Void Brutal Mode Video Guide