Recommended Mission Order for Wings of Liberty

[Ulkesh]

So I did like the Wings of Liberty Campaign but think it could have been better. As many pointed out (even blizz) I think the Campaign Design around a very flexible mission structure was one of the biggest mistakes. It's hard to build a dramatic story that way in a RTS.

So I was wondering if you guys have an opinion if there is an "optimal" mission order. And I mean optimal in terms of story and dramatic experience (and not in terms of gameplay like: Play The Dig early because it gets you Siege Tanks and you can easier get achievements). My suggestion:

Mission 01 - Liberation Day
Mission 02 - Outlaws
Mission 03 - Zero Hour
Mission 04 - Smash and Grab
Mission 05 - Evacuation
Mission 06 - Outbreak
Mission 07 - The Devil's Playground
Mission 08 - Welcome to the Jungle
Mission 09 - Safe Haven (canon Version according to collector's edition)
Mission 10 - The Dig

Mission 11 - Whispers of Doom
Mission 12 - A Sinister Turn
Mission 13 - Echoes of the Future
Mission 14 - In Utter Darkness

Mission 15 - Breakout (canon Version according to collector's edition)
Mission 16 - The Great Train Robbery
Mission 17 - Cutthroat
Mission 18 - Engine of Destruction
Mission 19 - Media Blitz
Mission 20 - Piercing the Shroud (Secret Mission)
Mission 21 - The Moebius Factor
Mission 22 - Supernova
Mission 23 - Maw of the Void
Mission 24 - The Gates of Hell // Belly of the Beast (not sure here, but leaning towars BotB since it has direct character story)
Mission 25 - Shatter the Sky
Mission 26 - All In

I'm not sure if the four Zeratul mission shouldn't be played right after the secret mission "Piercing the Shroud". Raynor discovers the hybrid and then has a motivation to try out the crystal Zeratul gave him...

Any thoughts and sugesstions about the mission order?

[Eivind]

About the Zeratul missions: Blizzard made it so that if play them first, Raynor refers to Maar after Piercing the Shroud, saying something like, "It was like one of those things Zeratul fought". So the order there is optional, I guess.

Is there a specific reasoning behind the ordering? I've seen someone do it before, though they tried to base it on logic. For example, the Agria mission has to be done right away as it's a distress call.

[Karass]

I'm sure that story-wise:

Evacuation appears to be right after Mar Sara, because Raynor would surely help Agria colonists first. Then Outbreak, then Smash and Grab and then The Devil's Playground.

Breakout is definetly before Media Blitz, because by the time of it Raiders clearly didn't make a huge progress against Mengsk like they did in Media Blitz.

Zeratul missions are clealy right after The Dig, because I'm sure that Raynor won't hesiate to see memories from the crystal.

Safe Haven should be after Breakout, because there is an important plotpoint when Ariel reveals that Nova lied and Spectres are not psychotic

Supernova is after all other mission, then goes Maw of the Void and then Char missions.

[DestinyOpfa]

Now... Anyone mind telling me the fastest Mission Order to get to the Final Mission?
The quickest way possible, I want to get under 8 Hours for cheese(Achievement)

[Eivind]

DestinyOpfa, to get to Char, you need to do all the Tychus missions (Smash and Grab, The Dig, The Moebius Factor, Supernova, and Maw of the Void). In other words: anytime you can, play one of those. If you can't, it's because certain missions require a certain amount of previously missions completed. So if there isn't any Tychus mission to choose from, pick the mission that you think you can complete the fastest. Eventually, new Tychus missions will appear, and you can play them.

[Ulkesh]

About the Zeratul missions: Blizzard made it so that if play them first, Raynor refers to Maar after Piercing the Shroud, saying something like, "It was like one of those things Zeratul fought". So the order there is optional, I guess.

Is there a specific reasoning behind the ordering? I've seen someone do it before, though they tried to base it on logic. For example, the Agria mission has to be done right away as it's a distress call.

First point sounds reasonable.
I just ordered thematical missions together and tried to get a good storytelling experience. Some Mission trigger Cutscenes like "Queen of blades". And they should be played early on in terms of dramaturgy. As i I said it's a bit hard to explain, but i feel the free mission selection gave away a lot of the potential for dramatic character interaction.

I'm sure that story-wise:
Safe Haven should be after Breakout, because there is an important plotpoint when Ariel reveals that Nova lied and Spectres are not psychotic

This is a very good point! Actually I never played it that way so I never got that plotpoint. Ariel was always gone very quickly and didn't have much to do. This is also an excellent point that proves what I above said.


Mission 01 - Liberation Day
Mission 02 - Outlaws
Mission 03 - Zero Hour
Mission 04 - Evacuation
Mission 05 - Outbreak
Mission 06 - Smash and Grab
Mission 07 - The Devil's Playground
Mission 08 - Welcome to the Jungle
Mission 09 - The Dig

Mission 10 - Whispers of Doom
Mission 11 - A Sinister Turn
Mission 12 - Echoes of the Future
Mission 13 - In Utter Darkness

Mission 14 - Breakout (canon Version according to collector's edition)
Mission 15 - Safe Haven (canon Version according to collector's edition)
Mission 16 - The Great Train Robbery
Mission 17 - Cutthroat
Mission 18 - Engine of Destruction
Mission 19 - Media Blitz
Mission 20 - Piercing the Shroud (Secret Mission)
Mission 21 - The Moebius Factor
Mission 22 - Supernova
Mission 23 - Maw of the Void
Mission 24 - The Gates of Hell // Belly of the Beast (not sure here, but leaning towars BotB since it has direct character story)
Mission 25 - Shatter the Sky
Mission 26 - All In

[Gradius]

Moebius Factor is also a distress call mission.

[PhanttoM]

Safe Haven should IMO be the very last one to complete before heading to char - This way you get to hear Ariel's comments on all the previous missions.