Starcraft: Why won't the Protoss and Humans ally more often?

[Zixinus]

This has been bugging me a while and I've recently finished Starcraft: Broodwar. While Broodwar can be summed up as "Some people go out and wipe the Zerg's ass, but Kerrigan survives by tricking allot of people whom she afterwards kills."

The Zerg is a very obvious treat, and it is an enemy that both the Protoss and Humans share. The only time an union was done was under duress or in a very desperate situation. Why won't both factions realize that the combined economics and sheer fire-power will be able to annihilate the Zerg.

[Molyneux]

It's been awhile since I played the game, but I think it comes down to the human leadership being idiots, and the Protoss being standoffish, superior alien idiots.

Rather similar to the problem of zombie attack scenarios, really.

[Shinova]

Because Blizzard loves their retarded, overly xenophobic humans who have no shred of self-preservation and common sense.


More seriously, both humans and Protoss were probably overconfident and believed they could handle both Zerg and the other guy at the same time.

[Darth Smiley]

A couple of reasons:

In General:
1) Humans are greedy, shortsighted bastards
2) Protoss are ethnocentric, tradition-bound, and occasionally xenophobic.

Specific Details:
1) Mengsk, the leader of the Dominion forces is an maniac who is dead set on his own power. One memorable quote "I will not be stopped. Not by you, or the Confederates, or the Protoss, or anyone. I will rule this sector or see it burnt to ashes around me! If you try to get in my way...". His willingness to sacrifice anyone and anything to further that goal comes back to haunt him in the form of Kerrigan (if you have not done so, play through, or at least read about, the original starcraft campaign).
2) The UED leaders were so convinced of their own superiority that they thought they could engage the Zerg AFTER first conquering the local humans (of course, conquering the local humans was probably a necessary first step anyway to have a supply base and recruit pool). The fact that they were infiltrated and influenced by Duran probably helped.
3) The protoss, when they first began their campaign against the Zerg in no way explained their actions or tried to enlist human support, in some cases burning a Zerg-Infested world before the humans had even realized that it was infested. From the human point of view, it appeared as if the protoss simply appeared out of nowhere and glassed an innocent planet.
4) Human leaders, on multiple occasions attempted to use the Zerg against their rivals, and in doing so engaged the Protoss, without attempting to communicate. From the Protoss point of view, the Terrans appeared to be aiding the Swarm.

Remember that the humans in this sector are descended from a colony ship full of prisoners, and thus more likely to be greedy and shortsighted. Everyone is too busy looking out for number one, so as long as they think they personally can get away with it, they'll do anything with barely a thought about the consequences. Note that in the end they do get together, it's just too late to be any good.

[FA Xerrik]

Additionally, there is no lost love between the Protoss and the Terrans. Early encounters between the two races, if I recall correctly, usually involved the Protoss slaughtering Terran forces en masse. I think for the two to engage in a genuine alliance would require a massive stretching of SoD, since in-universe the two powers detest each other. After all, why would you ally with a known-threat against a still unknown threat. I think it made more sense for the two to seek a limited alliance, in the way we saw Raynor and Artanis ally, once the true threat of Kerrigan was revealed. The Conclave is obviously a stiff-necked bunch of overbearing codgers, and Mengsk appears to be prideful to the point of mania. The two official governments would have no reason to expect aid from the other.

[FA Xerrik]

Ah, Smiley beat me to it

[Zixinus]

Yes but by the end of Broodwar, almost all parties involved had their ass handed to them by the Zerg. Again. Doesn't that make them gain a little perspective?

[Lord Revan]

well Mensk is more or less totally insane and the Protoss are arrogant beond reason too not to mention that there's "old wounds" which haven't or haven't been allowed to heal and are causing strife between the Terrans and Protoss.

they should have gained perpective but like fundies they prefer their illusions over the thruth, this is actually not atypical in Blizzard games.


If you've noticed that in Warcraft the Alliance and the Horde are in a cold(ish) war state dispite the Scourge and Burning Legion being as much a threat as the Zerg if not more so, the reasons are more or less the same.

[White Haven]

The Zerg are the Tyranids, the Protoss are the Eldar, and the Terrans blizzard WANTS to be the Imperium, even when there's no reason for them to be. That last little bit is the sticking point.

[Balrog]

Remember, Mengsk is still in charge of the Dominion, and with the Protoss many are still of the old-fashion variety; Raynor and his Raiders were seen as an oddity Tassadar picked up and mainly worked with his friends when he went kamikaze.

[Cykeisme]

If I recall correctly, the game begins with the Protoss glassing a heavily populated human colony world, just to wipe out a nascent Zerg infestation. Considering the events that occur later, a Zerg invasion in such early stages can be stopped through conventional military action that doesn't involve wiping out the 'umies.
Needless to say, they got off on the wrong foot.

Terran-Protoss relations certainly seems to be heavily inspired by Imperium-Eldar dynamic. They only just so happen to work together when it serves both their individual interests, and will stab the other in the back of that course of action turns out to be beneficial.

However, I agree.. StarCraft Terrans behaving like such hardasses makes absolutely no sense, when they didn't have to endure the confuckulations of mankind during the Age of Strife in the 40k universe.
Also, the Protoss are hardly as bitchy as the Eldar too (the whole "death of a million humans to save a single Eldar life is worth it" sort of mentality).

[Zixinus]

What's this bit about the colonists being mainly being criminals?

[CaptainChewbacca]

What's this bit about the colonists being mainly being criminals?

From the Starcraft manual.

Its like Space Australia.

[Schuyler Colfax]

Why won't both factions realize that the combined economics and sheer fire-power will be able to annihilate the Zerg.

Because the game wouldn't be fun then.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Well, crap, can someone fix that url?

[Cykeisme]

I suppose the fact that their ancestors are exiled murderers and pirates may sort of justify it.
Still, how many generations has it been since their original colonies were founded?

I'm tempted to crack a joke about Australians, but that would be completely uncalled for

[Darth Ruinus]

Still, how many generations has it been since their original colonies were founded?

Probably quite a few, seeing as how they have had quite a few wars since they settled the sector, and have actually built up huge cities (isnt Tarsonis a euconopolis?)

[Ford Prefect]

(isnt Tarsonis a euconopolis?)

No. We go there and we can see dirt. And grass. And trees.

And the Terrans have only been in the Koprulu Sector for, as I recall, a really short period of time, comparitively. A century or less, but I can't find the manual to confirm. The UPL had the time to change into the UED because the generation ships sent out by that rich scientist guy spent eight odd years in warp before dropping out.

[NeoGoomba]

This is rather off topic but as good a place as any to ask (and yes I'm 10 years behind the times), but why the hell did the UED have the exact same shit as the Confederacy (other than game mechanics)?

[DPDarkPrimus]

This is rather off topic but as good a place as any to ask (and yes I'm 10 years behind the times), but why the hell did the UED have the exact same shit as the Confederacy (other than game mechanics)?

Stagnation of tech. The Terrans in the Koprulu Sector didn't have the ability to innovate and the UED probably didn't have any especially notable advances made in their arsenal.

[avatarxprime]

This is rather off topic but as good a place as any to ask (and yes I'm 10 years behind the times), but why the hell did the UED have the exact same shit as the Confederacy (other than game mechanics)?

Stagnation of tech. The Terrans in the Koprulu Sector didn't have the ability to innovate and the UED probably didn't have any especially notable advances made in their arsenal.

I thought that was the point of the "battlecruise heist" mission. The UED was simply using Terran tech so they could blend in, like the openning movie for Brood War.

[ArmorPierce]

This is rather off topic but as good a place as any to ask (and yes I'm 10 years behind the times), but why the hell did the UED have the exact same shit as the Confederacy (other than game mechanics)?

Stagnation of tech. The Terrans in the Koprulu Sector didn't have the ability to innovate and the UED probably didn't have any especially notable advances made in their arsenal.

Considering that they increased propulsion technology significantly that don't make that much sense. What took the original colonists, what was it, 60 years? The UED was able to travel in 1-2 years if my memory is correct. Not to mention it would be pretty bad if a band of stranded criminals were able to so easily mimic the technology of an already set up civilized world with probably several colonies already.

[DPDarkPrimus]

I don't have my manuals right now, so I can't look up the canonical reasons, if any were given in there, but avatar's suggestion makes more sense.

[Guardsman Bass]

Keep in mind that, as mentioned, the Protoss were no friends of the Terrans; once it became clear that the Zerg were infesting Terran worlds.The Conclave actually sent Tassadar to burn any human worlds where the infestation popped up, which he did in the case of Chau Sara, Mar Sara, and (I believe) Antiga Prime. When Tassadar balked at this, they declared him a traitor to be hunted down and brought on trial (in fact, your character, the "executor", is Tassadar's replacement). The greater Protoss concern throughout the first game was containment; they didn't particularly care whether or not humans were killed along with the Zerg.

At the same time, the Terrans (aside from Raynor) had no contact at all with the Protoss throughout the first game aside from the Protoss burning their worlds and a belated effort by Tassadar to stamp out the Zerg on Tarsonis. That doesn't encourage a friendly disposition on the part of the Terrans towards the Protoss, although supposedly the Umojans wanted to make contact with them. That's not to mention that they were too busy fighting a civil war in which Mengsk was all-too-willing to use the Zerg as a weapon against the Confederacy, to the point of actually fighting against the Protoss trying to stop the Zerg in order to allow the Zerg to further devastate Tarsonis.

In Brood War, the Protoss are too busy trying to get away from the Zerg and rebuild their civilization on Shakuras to really involve themselves in the politics of the Koprulu Sector (aside from Fenix's faction, which doesn't include the Dark Templar and has a lot to do with his friendship with Raynor) until they either get blackmailed into it (like Zeratul and the Dark Templar) or when Kerrigan becomes too much of a threat.

At the same time, the Terrans are involved in yet another intra-species war. Why should the Protoss give a shit, particularly if they are dealing with their own problems? They didn't, really, until the UED took control of the Zerg, which they found to be threatening.

[Guardsman Bass]

This is rather off topic but as good a place as any to ask (and yes I'm 10 years behind the times), but why the hell did the UED have the exact same shit as the Confederacy (other than game mechanics)?

To be fair, the UED did bring a number of new units and materials, although nothing revolutionary in terms of technology.

But you also need to keep one other thing in mind; they've essentially stolen a lot of the materials and and even troops (remember that neural resocialization brainwashing they can do?) that they are using against Mengsk and later Kerrigan's coalition. Remember the Dylarian Shipyards missions, where they stole an entire fleet of battlecruisers?