Campaign Gameplay
In StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, you will unleash the devastating power of Sarah Kerrigan and advance the evolution of the Swarm to terrifying new heights.
Queen of Her Brood

Kerrigan will be a playable unit in most missions of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. When the former Queen of Blades takes the field, she has multiple roles to choose from. Each role is called a Battle Focus and comes with a unique set of abilities. As the campaign progresses, new roles will unlock, and Kerrigan will acquire new abilities for existing roles. The Battle Focus you choose for Kerrigan in any given mission and the way you use her powers will have a major impact on how each mission plays out.

Gameplay Video
Unnatural Selection

Harder, better, faster, stronger: the Swarm never stops evolving, and in Heart of the Swarm, you decide how the zerg develop. Between missions, you'll be able to mutate your different zerg species. If you unlock enough mutations for a species, you can evolve that species into one of two different strains. For example, one zergling strain might evolve the ability to hatch more zerglings from the same egg, while the other could produce zerglings that can make short leaps forward to close into melee distance more quickly.

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Comments (1,553)

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Cosmicbrooks #330
Cosmicbrooks
5/12/2013
ya outdated.
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Flux #324
Flux
4/2/2013
The Battle Focus stuff mentioned is outdated, it wasn't in the game... a lot of these pages have outdated screenshots
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DUSTTWODUST #552
DUSTTWODUST
3/19/2013
I will see u in the game
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LegalAffairs #265
LegalAffairs
3/14/2013
I like the daft punk reference.
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Ender #628
Ender
3/14/2013
@LegalAffairs: ^.^
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nider #643
nider
3/24/2013
@LegalAffairs: There is a more subtle reference in the game, where Abathur talks about his function after you choose the hydra modification. :D The tempo of his speech and choice of words…
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cabose #181
cabose
3/11/2013
I hope they bring back the lurker like they did in sc wol but if they do it will only be in campaign :(
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JoshWin #535
JoshWin
3/10/2013
FOR THE SWARM!!!!!
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Vegeta #158
Vegeta
3/10/2013
Hell..its about time....
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Rabidsmurf #429
Rabidsmurf
3/11/2013
@Vegeta: +1
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Cosmicbrooks #330
Cosmicbrooks
5/12/2013
@Rabidsmurf: use the swarm. always
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MoistReaper #831
MoistReaper
3/10/2013
It's almost here
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ComingStorm #978
ComingStorm
3/8/2013
But tis looking cool sofar. When I use raptors, ill be all, like, KNAVE! I do AMBUSH THEE!
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ComingStorm #978
ComingStorm
3/8/2013
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah, um...how should I say this...? I, well, I like toss better than the swarm, so I will be using the editor A LOT so I can design Protoss missions to shatter the broods and bring glory TO THE XEL'NAGA!
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Shade #157
Shade
3/3/2013
GLORY to the queen of blades return i hope i get to kill raynor that would make my day :)!!!
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Alex #2752
Alex
3/2/2013
JUST SO EVERYBODY KNOWS I USE CHEAT CODES A LOT
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Alex #2752
Alex
3/2/2013
if u hate spoilers look away now........................................................... the queen of blades is returning
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Alex #2752
Alex
3/2/2013
in 10 days KERRIGAN WILL HAVE HER REVENGE
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Seanfall #147
Seanfall
2/25/2013
14 days left. And than THE SWARM SHALL RISE!
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this is gona be sick just another 30 days and its time to play
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Yuurei #136
Yuurei
2/2/2013
Heart of the Swarm is introducing a handful of new units (3ish I think) to each race in multiplayer, as well as several tweaks to each race. The campaign itself is likely to be 95% zerg, with maybe a couple terran or protoss thrown in like they did for the Sons of Liberty campaign. If you don't think you'll do the campaign, you'll have to decide if the new multiplayer units are worth it or not. Also the fact that the player base of non-HotS SCII is likely to drop. Not entirely sure how they plan on handling the division.
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Flux #324
Flux
4/2/2013
@Yuurei: U mean Wings of Liberty, not SONS, right?
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SCOTTIEBLAZE #120
SCOTTIEBLAZE
2/1/2013
im think hard about buying this. I have starcraft 2 but i have never played as zerg in anything. I play terran or sometimes protoss online. I enjoyed the campaign as well as terran. Would this expansion be worth getting even if i dont like playing as zerg. and is the campaign all zerg for heart of swarm??
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Legion #809
Legion
2/4/2013
@SCOTTIEBLAZE: Why not? You might find you like them. They were my least favorite in SC1, which I bought when it first came out, but then after playing them some, they quickly became my favorite by the time CS:BW came out, and I play them almost exclusively in league.

However, you are correct, there are no T or P campaign missions (known) for HOTS, there may be one or two like the crystal missions in WOL.

But, if that is a deal breaker for you, don't get it. If you love the story, and you want the new multiplayer units then you might as well get it.
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Livingvapour #426
Livingvapour
2/15/2013
@SCOTTIEBLAZE: Well my friend. You said you liked the story of wings of liberty yes? that fact alone would be enough to buy the next game wouldn't it? play the game through don't watch some guy beat it on youtube. If your bad/dont like zerg then thats what casual diffuculty is for in campagin. to lawl around and enjoy the story. and dont say eww casual mode who plays that screw you, cause thats a stupid reason not to buy the game and enjoy your time with the artwork
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Raynerd #215
Raynerd
1/26/2013
lol i already bought it
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Alex #2752
Alex
3/2/2013
@Raynerd: SO DID I
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Alex #2752
Alex
3/2/2013
@Raynerd: i got a special edition and a regular[special for me regular for my dad]
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Naxgulen #716
Naxgulen
3/7/2013
@Alex: It must be like, "Sorry dad but, I can't let people think you are as cool as me. That is why I didn't get you the digital deluxe version. Now I have all the new portraits and ultralisk skin and you appear as a normal player." lol
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Chrisco #843
Chrisco
1/15/2013
i want to play the beta so bad.... but i cant cuz i dont have enough money to go pre order it ... even though its like 5$....
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TheGeneral #329
TheGeneral
2/22/2013
@Chrisco: Same here. Not going to buy HOTS, economy being what it is.
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Alex #2752
Alex
3/2/2013
@Chrisco: u dont have to worry about the beta bcos theyve stopped the test
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NoahHenryLur #649
NoahHenryLur
1/11/2013
I have partially stopped playing for the story but mainly for the action.

I say this because of my memory troubles.
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ThatGuy #561
ThatGuy
1/10/2013
i want kerrigan to rip off mensgk's head.
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Alex #2752
Alex
3/2/2013
@ThatGuy: i want kerrigan to slowly and painfully PUSH HER BLADES THRU MENSKS BEATING HEART
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Starfall #169
Starfall
1/9/2013
sense i suck at online i play for story mainly
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Dylan #408
Dylan
1/22/2013
@Starfall: just practice ure macro vs bots and you'll get good. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy more fun online even tho campaign is sick
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smokey #366
smokey
12/22/2012
It's just like COD, you buy it for the story but you keep it for the multiplayer
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Zike #399
Zike
12/28/2012
@smokey: not really. i buy it for the story and very rarely, i go online.
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necromancer #341
necromancer
1/3/2013
@Zike: same