The Devil's Playground Brutal Guide

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The Devil's Playground was the first mission to actually challenge me in order to complete it in Brutal mode. However, with some outside the box thinking, this mission can definitely be done.

While there are a lot of ways to write this The Devil's Playground Brutal Guide, I found that there was one approach that was very straight-forward and can be easily translated into a strategy guide such as this.

There are two ways to do this, the "Fast Way" and the "Long Way". The fast way involves training virtually nothing except for a few extra SCVs and then using the free Reapers you get to collect a bunch of resource pellets before the computer even attacks your base.

While this only takes 5-9 minutes of game time to execute, it requires a LOT of practice and excellent micro. It is useful as an alternate way to beat the mission and to cut down on your recorded time, most players will find that they have to re-try this method 10+ times before they actually successfully perform it. This process can be frustrating and not really save any time in the long run.

The "Long Way" takes 30+ minutes to do, but it is extremely easy to implement. You just pretend the constraints on the mission do not exist and you build a big army and kill the Zerg player rather than worrying about minerals. Once you've killed the Zerg player (or at least the majority of their bases), getting 8000 minerals is a breeze.

Long Way Strategy Overview

Basically, I have found that by far the easiest way to for anyone to complete this mission, even if you are still not a master of the game, is to simply forget the mineral count and kill the Zerg player.

You are given a lot of free Reapers in this fight, which you can use along with some units you will train yourself to kill off the Zerg player. There are resource pellets all over the map, especially in the Zerg's various bases. By killing them, you can easily collect the vast majority of the minerals.

With the Zerg player dead, collecting the rest of the minerals is easy.

The Devil's Playground Brutal Guide - Step by Step

By following the principle of simply killing the enemy, and not even worrying about resources, this mission gets a lot easier. Here is how it works:

• Start off by training about 3 extra SCVs, building a Tech Lab, and training 2 medics. Harvest minerals at the nodes in the back of your base.

• When given the option, save Tosh's men in the north. Bring 2 Medics with you. Be sure not to just grab the Command Center but also grab the 4 Reapers just east of the Command Center.

• Ignore the Command Center and the SCVs you pick up for now.

• Bring the 8 Reapers and Medics back to your base. Start training Marines at your main.

• Build 4 Bunkers, all up very tight against your buildings. Load all 4 of these bunkers with Marines. This does take some time, so keep training them and building Supply Depots as needed.

• Save the game.

• Head south, and pick up all the resource pellets you see. Head to the southernmost part of the map, just to the right of the Brutalisk area with your 8 Reapers. Follow this east along the south perimeter.

• There will be a spot where you can jump up the back of the Zerg base with your Reapers. You can jump up to that spot and rescue 3 more Reapers. When you rescue the Reapers, have all the Reapers jump back up to the high ground and kill most of the Zerg units from up high (you cannot be hit here).

• If you lose more than 2 Reapers during this attack, go back and heal up.

• Finish off the miniature Zerg base there with your Reapers. Send any hurt Reapers back to your base to get healed up.

• By killing this base and picking up all the resource pellets, you will earn a lot more resources.

• At this point, you will want to start building an army. Use the Mercenary building to get the War Pigs and the Elite Marauders (if you purchased that upgrade), and train a few more Medics. A good army size will be the 12 Reapers you rescued already in addition to 4 Medics, 12 Marines, and any Mercenary Marauders you pick up.

• Take your Reapers to the Brutalisk and attack it, then run away. While it is out of its Lair, you should be able to swoop in and grab all the resource pellets and then run away.

• Your army of SCVs and will automatically repair each other and the Bunkers in your base filled with Marines. This is your defense.

• Once you have your army filled out, go kill the Zerg base. Hit the east-side base first; there are a few Reapers you can save by heading up the initial Zerg Ramp and a few more in the easternmost base. This itself will unlock the Reaper Man achievement.

• Save the game.

• Kill off both Zerg bases. When you approach the main Lair at this Zerg base, be careful of Banelings. Send in a few Marauders to finish off the base so no Banelings unburrow and wipe out all your units. Load the game from the save point if this happens.

• Next, march all your units north and finish off the final Zerg base. Collect all the resource pellets.

The Devil's Playground Brutal Video Guide - The Long Way

Here is a video guide demonstrating how to beat this mission by getting a decent sized army and spending a lot of minerals as advocated in the "Long Way" guide:

Part 1

Part 2

The Devil's Playground Brutal Video Guide - Speed Run

As mentioned earlier, you can beat this mission very quickly by building no additional buildings and instead using your Reapers to collect the resource packs you need. Here is a video guide demonstrating how to do it, as you have to see it to understand it:

The Devil's Playground Brutal Guide Conclusion

Once you finish off the last Zerg base, you will no longer be attacked. Now you can mine the last few resources you need at your leisure (should not be much). You can also Salvage all the Bunkers you built to get your resource investment back.