Solar Core | Spear of Adun SC II: Legacy of the Void Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Artanis' flagship has eighteen abilities split into six groups and three systems. Changing ability and upgrading the system costs solarite which is obtained during the campaign. Two skills are passive, other four are active and among the latter you can find both combat and support ones.
There is no way to buy all most expensive skills. There is not enough solarite to gain during the campaign, even if you complete all side objectives. Because of that, you must select the abilities depending on the task. It is also not profitable to buy the most expensive abilities and ignore the other ones, mostly due to the great differences in costs. Cheaper abilities can also prove to be more useful than the expensive ones.
Deploy Pylon
Cost: 0 solarite
Energy cost: 75
Reload time: 60 seconds
Creates pylons in any place you see where a building can be placed. This skill can be useful in various ways. It can be used in the base when you lack supplies. It can be used on the battlefield when you want to move additional units. It can be used in a strategic location so that you can easily move additional forces there if needed. It can be also used in place where you want to immediately place new buildings and the regular summoning of a pylon takes too much time. It can fill the gaps in building's powering. It can distract the enemies, for example during the escape. In theory, the possibilities are limitless and depend only on your imagination. This skill can be useful in each mission.
Chrono Surge
Cost: 25 solarite
Energy cost: 75
Reload time: 60 seconds
For 20 seconds, selected building is researching or creating units 1000% faster. Application is obvious - use it on forge to develop better shields faster, on stargate to build the carrier faster, on nexus to quickly train the workers. This ability is useful during majority of the missions.
Warp in Reinforcements
Cost: 50 solarite
Energy cost: 75
Reload time: 60 seconds
Upgraded version of the deploy pylon which, in addition to the building, summons also 2 melee fighters and two ranged fighters. Has the exact same application as the previous skill, but it also reinforces your army. Thanks to that, it is more suitable to distract the enemy and to secure important locations. If you have the possibility to buy both of them, it is better to select the more expensive one. However, later in the game its price might prove to be too high.
Orbital Strike
Cost: 0 solarite
Energy cost: 50
Reload time: 60 seconds
Five missiles drop from the sky on the part of the map you see. They deal higher damage to armored targets. Very useful due to high precision, effective against large groups, resistant units and fortifications. It is wise to use it also as a defense measure in case of the lack of your own army. You won't win the war with it, but many times it will save your life. Worth taking.
Temporal Field
Cost: 25 solarite
Energy cost: 50
Reload time: 60 seconds
Creates three fields that slow down the heroes and completely stop all other units for 20 seconds. Stopped units can be attacked and skills work on them. In addition to that, each new unit that will enter the field will be stopped as well. Very useful during larger battles, attacks on enemy bases and when defending your own positions. Limits the numbers of enemy forces and increases the survival rate of your own units. Worth buying, especially if you are interested in two other offensive skills. The only disadvantage of this weapon is that, in difference to other two, it requires your units to be nearby to work. Otherwise, after 20 seconds since immobilizing, the enemy will still be a threat to you, while attacked by orbital strike or solar lance he will probably no longer be any threat.
Solar Lance
Cost: 50 solarite
Energy cost: 50
Reload time: 60 seconds
A better version of the orbital strike. Only three charges, but much greater area of range and damage. A priceless ability when protecting the base, attacking resistant targets and enemy groups. Buy it when you can and the orbital strike is too weak for you.
Nexus Overcharge
Cost: 0 solarite
Passive skill.
Allows the Nexus to attack. It can be useful on higher difficulty levels and in critical situations, when your defense lines are broken, but most of the time the enemy shouldn't get close to the nexus. It is better to select something more useful.
Orbital Assimilation
Cost: 25 solarite
Passive skill.
Refineries doesn't need probes to obtain gas. It allows you to spare 6, 9, sometimes even more probes. The saves won't be big, but will allow you to recruit few additional units. Additionally, protoss buildings don't require the presence of a worker, so you can order to build the refinery and immediately forget about it, which will spare you some micromanagement. This ability is much better than the previous one and because of that it is worth buying.
Warp Harmonization
Cost: 50 solarite
Passive skill.
Stargates and robotic facilities can use the warp technology and teleport units instead of producing them. It takes less time. Worth buying if you're using the warp gates and you prefer to summon units instead of building them. This ability will allow you to teleport all available units, making transportation of the army much easier. Don't buy this skill if you prefer traditional building.
Mass Recall
Cost: 0 solarite
Energy cost: 25
Reload time: 60 seconds
Teleports a group of units near the main nexus. Teleported units receive a shield that is active for 20 seconds. Useful in two situations - when you quickly need a defense of the main base and when the return of your army to the base will take too long. This ability is especially useful during missions when you need to destroy few objects scattered through the map. You start in the base, you go in one direction of the map while destroying everything in your way, then you return, replenish your forces and go in the other direction. This ability can be used in many ways, it is very useful.
Shield Overcharge
Cost: 50 solarite
Energy cost: 50
Reload time: 180 seconds
All allied units and buildings receive shield with 200 resistance points that is active for 20 seconds. This ability is very useful both during the defense and the attack, but it reveals its full potential during missions when you have allies, for example during the Salvation. It will not only allow you to strengthen your army, but your allies as well. It might be crucial during harder battles. Worth picking if the mass teleportation using the mass recall doesn't interest you.
Deploy Fenix
Cost: 100 solarite
Energy cost: 0
Reload time: 180 seconds
Fenix deals massive damage in the place where it lands. For 30 seconds it will attack all enemy infantry units it will face and it will be using abilities. It will disappear once the time ends or it dies. It is a quite useful ability that summons a very strong unit, able to fight for long time, kill many enemies, focus attention on it and even single handedly change the outcome of the bottle. However, Fenix is not able to attack aerial targets and it cannot be controlled. It might be a good defense of the base or a backup for a hard attack, but the stronger and larger the enemy army, the less useful this ability is, even despite the fact that it is able to instantly regenerate its damaged shield. In general, it is a very good, strong and resistant unit, which can be used in many ways, but its greatest disadvantage is its price. You can buy this ability if two others don't suit you, but make sure that you will be using it frequently. Otherwise, invest the solarite into something more useful.
Matrix Overload
Cost: 0 solarite
Passive skill.
Units receive movement speed and attack bonus in the range of the pylons and for 15 seconds after leaving the range. It is useless in missions that require mobility and attacking. In missions that focus on defense it is more than useful - especially since it works on all units, including allies. All you need to do is construct a pylon nearby. Take it blindly.
Guardian Shell
Cost: 50 solarite
Passive skill.
Before dying, unit becomes invincible for 5 seconds. After using, the ability must reload for 60 seconds. Counts separately for each your unit and, sadly, doesn't work on your allies. In theory a very useful ability, in practice it is hard to use it effectively. Usually, units are grouped in tight groups during the game. The more of them, the harder it is to find a specific one in the crowd, not to mention making sure that it will be evacuated. In addition to that, battles are usually quick, chaotic and full of graphic effects which additionally make it harder to find specific units. The fact that a unit will survive thanks to this skill will be mostly a matter of luck. It also doesn't work on allies, which makes it less useful than the previous one. In other words, it is hard to determine the worth of this skill, which means you can resign from buying it. Unless you really want your units to survive, but it is hard to tell whether you will notice any difference.
Reconstruction Beam
Cost: 100 solarite
Passive skill.
Spear of Adun repairs units and buildings. Up to 3 units and/or buildings can be repaired simultaneously. The basic disadvantage of this ability is the exclusion of some units, such as high templars and two of three types of zealots. This ability also becomes much less useful if you're using carriers and their repair drones. In many other situations it can prove to be very useful, especially since you have no other way to repair your mechanic units and buildings. It isn't mandatory, but might be useful during many situations. Sadly, it is very expensive, so if you don't need it very much, then pick something else.
Purifier Beam
Cost: 0 solarite
Energy cost: 0
Reload time: 300 seconds
For 15 seconds, an energy beam coming from the Spear of Adun hits the ground. It deals high damage, two times greater to armored targets. If the target is destroyed, the beam will automatically find another one. It has long reload time, but is very effective in eliminating large groups of units, resistant enemies and fortifications. Worth taking, especially if you cannot afford other skills.
Time Stop
Cost: 50 solarite
Energy cost: 0
Reload time: 300 seconds
All enemy units and buildings on the map become inactive for 20 seconds. During that time they can be attacked. One of the best abilities in the game, it can be useful in every circumstances - when attacking, escaping, defending the base, assaulting an important target. Especially useful during missions with allies. Definitely worth buying.
Solar Bombardment
Cost: 100 solarite
Energy cost: 0
Reload time: 300 seconds
Throws 200 missiles on the marked territory for 15 seconds. A single bullet doesn't deal high damage, but it's the numbers that count. It is also better suited for attacking armored targets. Excellent against targets that cannot move, such as fortifications or to be used in narrow passages. Sadly, it is an expensive ability which will block access for you to many other ones. You can buy it if you really don't know what to do with the solarite you gathered, but in general it is better to buy one of two other abilities. Purifier beam might be weaker as a strictly offensive skill, but he can also deal great damage and is much, much cheaper.
Starting Supply
Cost: 5 solarite per point, up to 20.
Increases the starting supplies. 5 points seems like not much, but it allows building five workers or two zealots without the need of placing another pylon and with 20 point you can save even 400 minerals, which equals eight zealots or nexus. It can be useful, but you don't have to necessarily increase it to maximum level, especially if other skills and systems are available.
Construction Time
Cost: 5 solarite per point, up to 20.
Speeds up building's construction. This system is very useful during defensive missions that require you to quickly construct and rebuilt turrets. It is slightly less useful during other missions. Especially the ones without time limit, as sooner or later you will construct all buildings you need in them. Worth buying when you're trying to set a new time record of completing a level.
Shield Recharge
Cost: 5 solarite per point, up to 20.
A mandatory system for every commander. Increases survival rate of units and reduces the consumption of shield batteries. Especially useful in missions that focus on defense, as enemy attacks become more frequent and stronger.