Zerg Totally Explained

Everything about The Zerg totally explained

The Zerg are an extraterrestrial race in the real-time strategy (RTS) games, StarCraft, and its sequel, StarCraft II. The species is insectoid in appearance, and composed of various warrior strains which act as combat units. The Zerg race as a whole is often referred to as "The Swarm." In-game, the Zerg have rapid build-times and inexpensive units, making them so well suited for rushing (or swarming, since they're an insectoid species) that the term zerg or zerging has entered gaming vocabulary as a synonym for the "rush" tactic.

Attributes and Gameplay

Typical Zerg strategies are characterized by speedy construction of a large number of units, with the aim of overwhelming the enemy through massing. Zerg units are much less expensive, more rapidly trained, made en masse, and easier to produce than their Terran and Protoss counterparts, but are correspondingly weaker in terms of the damage they can deal or withstand. Players may upgrade certain units by researching new "mutations", which augment their skills or alter the units purpose. For example, a light air unit can be mutated into a heavily-armed air unit, albeit with reduced movement capabilities.
A major trait that separates the Zerg from the other races of StarCraft is the way that they construct buildings. The Terrans build structures much like the way humans do today with building materials connected together, and the Protoss open a warp gate to transport it in from Aiur, their homeworld. The Zerg workers, however, actually become the buildings they construct. This is done by moving to the location of the building-to-be and then slowly "mutating" into a building. Zerg buildings are also living organisms, and must be constructed on an organic membrane called the "creep" in order to gain nourishment. Players can build special structures to extend the range of the creep, and thus expand their base.
In the StarCraft universe, the Zerg use entirely organic technology. All Zerg soldiers' and workers' equipment are parts of their bodies, and even their spaceships and buildings are organic and living. Their weapons are part of the physical make-up of the various warrior strains, and mainly consist of physical and chemical attacks. The Zerg have adapted themselves to survive in all types of environments and terrain types, such as volcanic, icy, earth-like, and even the vacuum of space. Since they don't use any artificial armour, they're more suceptible to attacks which utilize fire, electricity, or radiation.

History

The history of the Zerg in the StarCraft universe began when the ancestral Zerg species was discovered on the irradiated, unstable planet of Zerus by the ancient and mysterious Xel'Naga civilization, shortly after abandoning the Protoss on Aiur as a failure. The ancestral Zerg organisms were small and weak larva-like creatures, but they contained the "purity of essence" the Xel'Naga sought, being capable of surviving—even thriving—in a staggering variety of ecological conditions.
With the help of the Xel'Naga's proto-genetic manipulations, the Zerg survived the horrendous firestorms of their world, and thrived. They developed the ability to parasitically burrow themselves into the bodies of other species on Zerus. These bodies would be thereafter controlled by the Zerg, for their own purposes. The Zerg began to assimilate the genetic strains and processes of these host animals, allowing them to direct the evolution of their hosts at surprising speeds, making them far stronger than before.
Wary of the chaotic infighting that had enveloped the Protoss, the Xel'Naga created the Overmind, an enormous brain-like being, to bring order to the Zerg. At first, it was only a semi-sapient entity, created from the instincts and collective sentience of the Zerg, but it quickly evolved.

Expansion

Even though the Overmind had great psionic power, it didn't give orders directly to individual minions. It created large larva-like creatures known as the Cerebrates to give orders that could be micromanaged more effectively. However, even the Cerebrates themselves didn't command individual Zerg. The Cerebrates would give more specific versions of the Overmind's orders to Overlords and Queens, two more units further down in the hierarchy. These would command the individual Zerg soldiers, who would then carry out the orders of the Overmind and the Cerebrates.
   In order to continue finding new species to assimilate, the Zerg needed to leave Zerus, and travel to new worlds. Extending its senses into space, the Overmind discovered enormous space-faring organisms. It lured them to Zerus, using its psychic abilities, and assimilated them into the Swarm. Soon, all the Zerg had the ability to travel between worlds, with the aid of reinforced carapaces to counter the vacuum of space. The Xel'Naga considered this achievement a triumph; the Zerg had conquered their world, and were poised to do the same to others—all while still holding onto their purity of essence.
   The Overmind again extended itself further into space, becoming aware of the Xel'Naga fleet in orbit above Zerus. The Overmind then had its psionic link with the Xel'Naga severed, removing the Xel'Naga's way of knowing where the Overmind was, and what it was doing. The Overmind then sent its minions into space, attacking the unsuspecting Xel'Naga. The besieged Xel'Naga attempted to pull away from the planet, however, they were quickly overwhelmed, and the Zerg destroyed them in only a few hours. Most of the Xel'Naga were consumed by the Zerg, and the Overmind gained all their knowledge and insights. Having thousands of Xel'Naga brought into the Overmind made it even more psionically powerful than before. With the knowledge gained from the Xel'Naga, the Overmind was able to increase the level of sapience in many of the higher Zerg strains, while still keeping them fully under its control, ironically helping to achieve the goal of the Xel'Naga.
   The Overmind dissected the memories of the Xel'Naga experiments with the Protoss, learning both of their failures, successes, as well as the potentially great benefit of assimilating such a powerful race. The Zerg then devoted their energies to seeking out the Protoss, in the hope of absorbing them into the Swarm, uniting purity of form and of essence to complete themselves.

The Determinant

The Zerg didn't know the exact location of Aiur, homeworld of the Protoss, but they were able to travel towards it, adding new species such as the Mutalisk, Hydralisk, Guardian, and Zergling to the Swarm from various planetary genepools along the way.
   In the shadow of the Protoss lay the Koprulu Sector, a patch of space inhabited by the Terrans. This species had previously been discovered by Zerg deep space probes. Normally, the Zerg wouldn't be interested in such a weak species, but the Terrans exhibited a powerful psionic potential, which could assist the Zerg in battling the Protoss.
   The Zerg slowly made their way towards the Terran worlds, infesting multiple planets, and slowly evolving due to exposure to raw vespene gas. The journey lasted for sixty years, but eventually the massive, extended Zerg Swarm reached the outskirts of the Koprulu Sector. According to StarCraft: Uprising, the Zerg infested a number of Fringe Worlds upon their arrival. The Overmind first subtly infested the surface of the Terran Confederacy colony of Chau Sara with Hive Spores. Then, it sent its minions down to the surface, in order to infest the Terrans themselves. The Terrans were defeated, most of them assimilated or killed.
   The Zerg were surprised at the Terran response, and were defeated by a sudden attack by the Protoss, led by Executor Tassadar. The Overmind told its minions not to fight back in order to observe the Protoss attacking for the first time. The attack sterilized all life on the surface of Chau Sara, effectively ending the Zerg infestation.
   The Terrans couldn't warn their compatriots on other worlds, enabling the Zerg to infest Mar Sara virtually unopposed.

Plot advancement in StarCraft

Episode I The player doesn't control the Zerg during Episode I, instead fighting against them as a Confederate Colonial Magistrate for the Terrans. After Chau Sara is destroyed by the Protoss, the Zerg are discovered on the planet Mar Sara, killing or infesting its inhabitants and spreading Creep across its surface. Though the Zerg succeeded in claiming the planet, the Protoss fleet under the command of Executor Tassadar arrived and destroyed all life on it, including the Zerg. The Zerg's presence on Mar Sara and elsewhere is discovered by the player to have been the work of the Terran Confederacy, which used Psi Emitters to lure the Zerg to these worlds. Joining with a rebel organization, the Sons of Korhal, the player helps capture plans for building their own Psi Emitters and uses them to lure the Zerg into attacking Confederate worlds, first at Antiga Prime and then the Confederate capital world of Tarsonis. Billions of Zerg descended upon Tarsonis and overwhelmed planetary defenses, which had been weakened by the efforts of the Sons of Korhal. When Tassadar arrives to destroy the Zerg, the player is ordered by Arcturus Mengsk, leader of the Sons of Korhal, to attack the Protoss as well, in order to prevent them from eradicating the Zerg before they've finished off the remaining Confederates. During this process however an operative of the Sons of Korhal, Sarah Kerrigan, is taken hostage by the Zerg.

Episode II

For Episode II the player commands Zerg forces in the role of a new Cerebrate formed by the Overmind. This young Cerebrate has at first only one task: to safeguard a Chrysalis containing Sarah Kerrigan, who is being infested inside. The Zerg on Tarsonis clean up the remaining Terran and Protoss forces before transferring to the volcanic planet Char.
   On Char, the creature within the Chrysalis matures and begins sending out interstellar psychic calls that are picked up by the Terrans and Protoss. The player defends the Chrysalis first from forces of the newly-formed Terran Dominion, then from Terran rebels known as Raynor's Raiders, led by Jim Raynor. It is during battle with Raynor that the Chrysalis hatches, and Sarah Kerrigan exits as a powerful Zerg. She orders that Raynor be spared on account of their relationship pre-infestation, and the player is given the new task of assisting Kerrigan in unlocking her full potential. Using her powers, Kerrigan detects the presence of Protoss forces on Char under the command of Executor Tassadar and attacks their base, though through trickery the real Tassadar escapes with the remainder of his forces.
   After the battle, the Cerebrate Daggoth informs Kerrigan that Zasz, one of the cerebrates, had been killed by the leader of the Dark Templar, Zeratul. It is revealed to the player that, because the Dark Templar use similar cosmic energies as the Zerg, Zasz's death has become permanent, and as a result when the overmind attempts to revive Zasz, the Overmind is rendered stunned. Daggoth orders the player to annihilate Zasz's Garm Brood, as it has gone mad, rampaging chaotically across Char with the death of its leader. The Garm Brood is annihilated and the Zerg refocus their attacks against the main Protoss base, though the Protoss leaders manage to evade capture. During this the Overmind awakens and, having managed to locate the Protoss homeworld by linking with the mind of Zeratul as he killed Zasz, orders the invasion of Aiur, bringing the player with him and leaving Kerrigan to finish off the rest of the Protoss.
   When the Zerg invade Aiur, they're met with stiff Protoss resistance but overcome them through overwhelming numbers. The player is ordered by the Overmind to capture Khaydarin Crystals so that it can use their energies to be made manifest on the planet. In the climax of Episode II, the Zerg assault a major Protoss Temple, destroy it, and place a Khaydarin Crystal where it stood, allowing the the Overmind to plant itself on Aiur at this location.

Episode III

During Episode III the player commands Protoss forces as Executor Artanis and the Zerg resume being antagonists. On Aiur the Protoss are able to win a number of battles against the Zerg, however their inability to kill Zerg Cerebrates, and thereby weaken the Overmind's control of the Swarm, hinders their successes. Meanwhile, Tassadar, Jim Raynor, Zeratul and their forces manage to evade Kerrigan and escape Char with help from the player. Their arrival on Aiur however precipitates a civil war among the Protoss, between those who support Tassadar and those who see him as a heretic for working with the Dark Templar. Assisted by the player, Tassadar's forces are victorious, and with help from the Dark Templar launch a counterattack that kills two of the Zerg's Cerebrates. The Cerebrates' deaths open a hole in the Overmind's defenses, and the player, Tassadar, Raynor and Zeratul launch a final assault that results in Tassadar's ultimate sacrifice in order to destroy the Overmind. With the death of the Overmind the Zerg are rendered leaderless and revert back their animalistic tendencies, left to rampage across the surface of Aiur. Episode III and StarCraft end, and the plot continues on to StarCraft: Brood War.

Plot advancement in

Episode IV At the start of the game the player is put in the role of leading the Protoss survivors. After the death of the Overmind at the hands of Tassadar, the Zerg on Aiur run amok and continue to rampage across the planet. A number of Protoss survivors lead by Zeratul, Artanis and the player manage to escape the onslaught through a Protoss Warp Gate leading to the Dark Templar world of Shakuras. The Zerg however are able to follow the Protoss through the Warp Gate, and establish themselves on Shakuras, before it's disabled.
While on Shakuras, Kerrigan comes to the Protoss and reveals that, with the Overmind dead, she and the surviving Cerebrates have become independent agents. However, the majority of Cerebrates have rallied around Daggoth and are combining themselves to form a new Overmind on Char. The Protoss, however, are more concerned with eradicating the Zerg from Shakuras. Still, Kerrigan assists in retrieving two special crystals — Uraj and Khalis — that could activate the Xel'Naga Temple, the act of which would destroy the Zerg located on the planet.
While the crystals are being collected, a rebellion between the Protoss breaks out, between those that didn't wish to leave Aiur, led by Judicator Aldaris, and those that felt it was necessary for their survival, led by the player's character. Kerrigan doesn't get involved in this dispute, until she intervened by assassinating Aldaris before he could divulge Kerrigan's secret plan of using the Protoss to destroy Kerrigan's enemies. Because of the death of Aldaris, Zeratul banishes Kerrigan and her minions from Shakuras. The Zerg Broods then launch an all out attack on the Xel'Naga Temple and the remaining Protoss Forces, but fail, due to the Protoss successfully activating the Temple, wiping out all Zerg life on Shakuras.

Episode V

During this episode the player assumes the role of a commander in the United Earth Directorate's expeditionary force under the command of Admiral Gerard DuGalle. The player first confronts the Zerg on Tarsonis, as several Broods are protecting a powerful psionic structure, known as the Psi Disrupter, which is able to disrupt the psionic communications between Zerg. The player is successful and about to destroy the Psi Disruptor, when soldiers acting under the orders of Vice Admiral Alexi Stukov inform them that that'll disassemble the structure instead.
The Zerg are again confronted when the UED chases a defeated Emperor Mengst to Aiur, who is allowed to escape when the Zerg overrun UED positions. This failure is thanks to the efforts of Samir Duran, a UED traitor secretly working for Kerrigan. When it's discovered Stukov secretly rebuilt the Psi Disrupter on Braxis, Duran almost succeeds in convincing DuGalle that Stukov is the traitor and the Disrupter needs to be destroyed, however his plans are foiled by the player. Using the rebuilt Psi Disruptor to throw the Swarm into disarray, the UED assaults the reborn Overmind on Char. The player is able to defeat the few Broods that still defend the Overmind and successfully capture it for UED use in pacifying the sector.

Episode VI

The player in Episode VI assumes the role of a Cerebrate that Kerrigan commandeers. The Queen of Blades, Duran and her small force are hiding on Tarsonis from the UED, whose Psi Disruptor is severly affecting Kerrigan's control of her Zerg. She makes contact with Jim Raynor, Fenix, and Emperor Mengsk, and offers them an alliance — either come together to defeat the UED or be subjugated by them. The Terrans and Protoss wearily agree, and using Mengsk's Psi Emitters the player is able to successfully destroy the Psi Disruptor. As "thanks" Kerrigan helped Mengsk take back his capital world Korhal from the UED.
   However, while her partners rested after the battle, Kerrigan launched a surprise attack against the Terrans and Protoss. Fenix and Edmund Duke are killed by the player in the resulting battle, and as her former allies swear revenge Kerrigan falls back to Tarsonis to rest. While on Tarsonis the UED assault the Queen of Blades using their enslaved Zerg, though the player is successful in repulsing their attack. Recovering from the attack, Kerrigan orders Duran to go to Shakuras and kidnap Matriarch Raszagal to further her plans.
   Exploiting a weakness in the Dark Templars' defenses, Duran succeeds, and an angry Zeratul contacts Kerrigan demanding Raszagal's release. Kerrigan agrees, on the condition that his Dark Templar help her in killing the Overmind. Zeratul accepts, and with their help the player is successful in assaulting the UED on Char and destroying the Overmind. Kerrigan "releases" Raszagal, however it's revealed that the elderly Matriarch had been mentally dominated by the Queen of Blades and wished to remain her slave. In anger Zeratul kills her and flees, and shortly after three separate fleets — one led by Mengsk, another by DuGalle and a third by Artanis — attempt to destroy Kerrigan, but are thwarted by the player.
   With the Terran Dominion in ruins, the expeditionary fleet of the UED destroyed, the Protoss homeworld still overrun and the survivors living on Shakuras sorely beaten, the Zerg became the dominant force of the Koprulu Sector.

Zerg Control

All Zerg are directly subject to the will of the Overmind, because of the hive mind of the Zerg. In fact, it's a biological impossibility for them to oppose its directives. Only Cerebrates and Kerrigan have sentience, and control individual armies—called Broods—using Overlords as Lieutenants to directly control the warriors and workers. The lesser Zerg minions are wholly dependent upon the Cerebrates and the Overlords for order. Should a Cerebrate die, its brood may run amok; the animalistic natures of individual Zerg emerge. When an Overlord dies, a Zerg player loses control points, and must create more Overlords to replace the loss. Without these control points, additional Zerg units can't be built until existing units die, or more Overlords are created. Even Zerg buildings are living organisms, and aren't built, but grown. They act as organs in the body of the Zerg Hive Cluster.
Though Zerg are incapable of disobeying their masters, their masters can change. When the Overmind died, the Cerebrates had freedom to do as they pleased. Though most of the Cerebrates themselves chose to remain loyal to Daggoth, but Kerrigan didn't and fought with the Cerebrates for control over the Zerg. However, the minions under each Cerebrate were completely loyal to it, and followed all orders—even to fight other Zerg.
Zerg broods are mostly named after Norse mythological monsters—Jormungand, Garm, and Surtur are examples. However, at least three broods have been named from another source. The Leviathan Brood was named after the Leviathan, a Hebrew mythological sea monster, the Tiamat Brood was named after the dragon, Tiamat, in Babylonian mythology, and the Grendel Brood was named after Grendel, the monster in the epic poem, Beowulf. Furthermore, the names of the Hydralisk, Mutalisk and Ultralisk, share a common terminal syllable with the name of the Basilisk, a fearsome reptile of legend.

Further Information

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