The Protoss Probe is your basic resource gatherer for the Protoss. You automatically start with 5 Probes at the beginning of every game. Besides gathering your minerals and gas, Probes are also able to 'warp in' (build) the necessary Protoss buildings. They cost 50 minerals and take roughly 17 seconds to build from your Nexus.
Now, these guys have an ace up their sleeve compared to the other races gathering units. These Probes have shields, just like all Protoss, that make the Probe much more heavy duty. Their shields are also capable of regenerating, meaning that if you're about to lose a probe, simply send it running, wait for its shields to repair then send it back into the fight. Probes have 20 health and 20 shield hit points
How can I use them?
Lets start with the basic use of a Protoss Probe. Simply select one using your left mouse button, then right click on a patch of minerals. That probe will now automatically harvest from that mineral patch until it is depleted.
To build using a Probe, simply press the build button located on the lower left hand side of the screen. This will bring up another menu which will allow you to build certain building depending on your tech research and economy.
If you feel like using them offensively you can do that as well. Because they have the shields that we talked about earlier, this makes them a fantastic unit for early game harassing. As you scout your enemies base, be sure to try and sneak in an attack here and there. Not only will the annoy your opponent and possible cause them to make a mistake, but they'll also have to devote time and resources to having to deal with your strong, shielded unit.
There are countless ways you can use a Probe to harass and defend, check out Shockz Starcraft 2 guide for more advanced tutorials on how to use Protoss Probes to their full efficiency.
