StarCraft/Characters/Units

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


The units of StarCraft.

For the characters, check the character page. Head this way for the StarCraft II characters.
For the units introduced in StarCraft II, go to the respective unit sheet.

Terrans

SCV

"SCV ready!"

The workhorse of the Terrans, they're used to gather resources and construct buildings, as well as repairing damaged structures and mechanical units.

  • Fun with Acronyms: Space Construction Vehicle.
  • Magic Tool: Their drill can do anything, including cutting apart minerals, constructing buildings, and repairing units. In the sequel in allied games they can repair Protoss units too.
  • This Is a Drill: Although their weapon is listed as "Fusion cutter", it is quite clearly this trope.
  • Worker Unit

Marine

"Jacked up and good to go!"

The main force of the Terran squad, they're not very impressive in the HP or power department but make up for it with good versatility for their cost. A comparitively small squad of Marines with Stimpacks and Medic support is a serious threat if the opponent isn't prepared for it.

  • Cannon Fodder
  • Cast from Hit Points: Stimpack, which costs 10 HP but doubles their movement and attack rates for a period of time.
  • Glass Cannon: Give them Stimpacks and get a decent sized group and they'll destroy anything in seconds. But they only have 40 HP so even with Medics they'll die if you so much as sneeze on them.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Get a combat shield in the sequel that boosts their HP by 10 in Starcraft II.
  • Power Armor
  • Restraining Bolt: Because most Marines are conscripted criminals, they undergo neural resocializing to erase their memories and former personalities, giving them nice fake memories and rendering them completely obedient.
  • Space Marine: Provide the page picture

Firebat

"Need a light?"

A bulkier infantry unit armed with wrist-mounted flamethrowers, they excel at fighting lightly armored small units but are helpless against armored enemies and air units.

Medic

"Please state the nature of your medical emergency!"

Introduced in Brood War, Medics can heal biological units, making the Terran infantry infinitely more useful by extending their longevity dramatically.

  • The Medic
    • Shoot the Medic First: In Starcraft II a new value assigned to units determines what targets the AI gives priority to killing. Medics get higher prioritiy than other infantry, meaning if it sees them the AI will try to kill them first.
  • Nanomachines: The official explanation for how their abilities work
  • Power Armor
  • Squishy Wizard: Averted, comparitively speaking—with 1 armor and 60 HP they're tied with the Firebat for having the best durability of the Terran infantry. Played straight in the sequel where they keep the same stats while everyone else got an HP boost.
  • Support Party Member

Ghost

"Somebody call for an exterminator?"

The Ghost's role in the Terran military depends on if you refer to the gameplay or the story. In the story they're the elite troops of the Terrans, covert assassins that demonstrate near-supernatural powers due to their incredible psychic abilities. In the game they're support troops that specializing in calling down nuclear bombardments and disabling enemies.

  • Awesome but Impractical: In the first game due to their position at the very top of the tech tree and the huge cost to train and upgrade them. Any decent opponent can also scout out your base, and the sight of a Covert Ops will immediately tip them off to build detector turrets around their base so they can see the Ghost coming.
    • Averted in the sequel where they're much lower on the tech tree, and out of the box without upgrades still make good supporters with Snipe and EMP Shot.
  • Cold Sniper
  • Crosshair Aware: Beware the blinking red dot if you see it in your base and find the source immediately![1]
  • Death From Above
  • Faceless Goons: To emphasize the fact that they have almost no humanity left, since they're subject to VERY heavy doses of brainwashing and implants.
  • Form-Fitting Wardrobe
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: As told above, according to the lore Ghosts are elite assassins capable of a variety of psychic abilities including mind-reading, astral projection, super-speed and reflexes, Hyper Awareness, and more. None of these abilities come into play in any game thus far, though Ghost would have included them in various capacities.
  • Invisibility Cloak
  • Psychic Powers
  • Restraining Bolt: Unlike the Marine theirs isn't just to keep them obedient, its to keep their powers in check.
  • Stealth Expert
  • Support Party Member
  • Telepathic Spacemen
  • You Nuke'Em

Vulture

"Alright, bring it on!"

Speedy hoverbike units, they're armed with grenade launchers and make excellent scouts due to their low cost and very high speed. They can also lay Spider Mines to surprise and ambush unsuspecting armies.

Siege Tank

"Ready to roll out!"

One of the iconic units of the series, these are normal tanks complete with treads and turrets...until they switch into Siege Mode, where they become one of the most destructive forces in the game.

Goliath

"Goliath on-line."

Combat walkers, they're all-around solid units specializing as anti-air support.

Wraith

"Wraith awaiting launch orders."

The standard Terran starfighter, armed with missiles and lasers and protected by a personal cloaking field.

Science Vessel

"Explorer reporting!"

A Terran support vessel equipped with technology to study the Zerg and Protoss and weaponry to deal with them.

Dropship

"Can I take your order?"

Flying personal carriers used to ferry troops around.

  • Drop Ship: Duh.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Take one Dropship. Give it the Medic's Heal ability, thereby freeing up supply for more units since you don't need Medics and making your healer more durable and able to access injured troops more easily. Behold the Heal Bus Medivac.

Valkyrie

"Valkyrie prepared!"

A Terran starfighter introduced into the sector by the UED, they fire clusters of missiles are airborne enemies to decimate opposing fleets.

Battlecruiser

"Battlecruiser operational."

The Terran capital ships, massive flying vessels with a lot of firepower and costing a lot of resources. If there's an important Terran character in the single-player, they're either commanding a Battlecruiser or serve under someone who does.

  • The Alcoholic: In the sequel. "The Yamato is loaded and so am I..."
  • Awesome but Impractical: A big case here in the second game. By the time you muster up the tech and resources required to buidl them, you would no longer need them nor would you want them. Their speed is atrocious, they cost too much, they have an energy bar (Protoss bait) and worst of all, are mostly useful against units with low armor. Comparing them to Ultralisks and Colossi is laughable at best. On the other hand as in II they are much more resilient, and can fire multiple rounds, and in fleet they are nigh unstoppable.
  • Beam Spam: In the original game, Battlecruisers attacked slowly but did high damage. The sequel takes them the exact opposite direction, giving them low base damage but attacking very quickly, resulting in this trope.
  • Deflector Shields: Get Defense Matrix in the sequel
  • Frickin' Laser Beams
  • Gratuitous Russian: Averted, but the pilot still has a definite Russian accent.
  • Lovable Coward: Has shades in the sequel.
  • Macross Missile Massacre: Missile Pods in Starcraft II.
  • Splash Damage: Missile Pods again.
  • Units Not to Scale: In the lore they're basically flying cities. In-game they're certainly one of the largest units, but still not to scale and are smaller than some buildings.
  • Wave Motion Gun: The iconic Yamato Cannon.

Zerg

All units

Drone

The Zerg worker, in charge of gathering resources. Can lay down on creep to mutate into the Zerg structures.

  • Boring But Practical: Taken to an art form. Not only are they basically needed to build every structure of the Zerg, they are essential units for completing a few missions, such as the one where you have to transport the Chrysalis. You are even specifically reminded of both their practical utility and that it is very important not to waste your last Drone for building a structure by Daggoth.
  • Worker Unit

Zergling

The basic Zerg unit, a dinosaur-like creature arms with fangs and claws to tear apart anything they can.

  • Divergent Character Evolution: The Zergling upgrades into either the Raptor or the Swarmling in Starcraft II. Raptors leap in on prey at short distances to quickly close in, Swarmlings produce three from an egg rather than two.
  • Glass Cannon: A pack of Zerglings with their upgrades will tear apart anything in seconds, as long as the target doesn't fight back—at 35 HP they're the second-weakest units in the game.
  • Power Gives You Wings: When they get their speed upgrade in the sequel they sprout locust-like wings.

Hydralisk

The Zerg ranged fighter, tensing its muscles to snap out needle spines from its shoulder plates as fast as any bullet.

  • Ballistic Bone
  • Sinister Scythe: Has preying mantis-like arms with blades extending from them.
  • Ornamental Weapon: Their claws, which, despite being thoroughly displayed in cutscenes, are rendered useless in the original game: They always use their ranged attack. In the sequel, Hydralisks use them in melee combat as a purely cosmetic attack [2] with the same effective damage and upgrades as their ranged attack.

Lurker

An evolution of the Hydralisk, they're defenseless above ground. But once burrowed they can unleash waves of spines along the ground to impale enemies from below.

Defiler

A specialized Zerg strain laying at the top of their tech tree, Defilers can support the swarm with the various toxins it can spew.

Ultralisk

A massive Zerg breed that looks like an elephant if it was designed by Satan, they cleave enemies apart with their Kaiser Blades.

  • Elite Mook: They're basically the Zerg's ground-based answer to the Battlecruiser and Carrier.
  • Herd-Hitting Attack: They deal Splash Damage when attacking in Starcraft II.
  • Lightning Bruiser: As befits the name, they hit hard and take a lot of damage, yet still move quite quickly. In Brood War, they are given a speed upgrade making them about as fast as zerglings, in Heart of the Swarm, they are given a burrow charge ability to quickly close with enemies.
  • Sharpened to a Single Atom
  • Sinister Scythe: The aforementioned Kaiser Blades.
  • Took a Level in Badass: As mentioned, in the sequel they now do Splash Damage, in addition to being immune to any ability that would incapacitate them and getting an HP buff. Fear them.
    • Also between the original game and Brood War, where they got upgrades for their armor and speed.
    • A variation on the Zealot's Charge ability shows in Heart of the Swarm. In it, the Ultralisk burrows while doing it.

Infested Terran

"Live for the Swarm!"

Have a Queen infect a Command Center and this is the result, a Zerg-controlled Terran that will sacrifice his life for the Overmind.

Overlord

A flying unit that provides the ability to control Zerg, any Zerg player should have far more of them than needed. They provide numerous other skills including detection and unit transport.

Mutalisk

The standard Zerg flier, they move fast and attack enemies by spewing Glave Wurms at them, which bounce off the intial target to harm nearby enemies as well.

  • Fragile Speedster: The next trope makes them deadly in the hands of a skilled player, but in a straight-up fight they're likely to get killed since like most Zerg they aren't very durable.
  • Hit and Run Tactics: They're infamous for this.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: in the first game at least, it is dangerous to leave them unsupervised, as the instant they see anything they can attack, they will hare off to do so. Even if it's, for instance, the entire enemy team.
  • Splash Damage

Scourge

Suicidal dive bombers, they sacrifice themselves to inflict heavy damage to enemy fleets.

Queen

The Zerg flying spellcaster, she supports the swarm with various delibitating abilities. The Queen of Starcraft II is listed with the Starcraft II units on that page since it is the Queen In Name Only.

Guardian

A massive and slow-moving unit evolved from the Mutalisk, they fire globs of acid to destroy grounded targets from out of conventional ranges.

  • Giant Enemy Crab: While most Zerg are insectoid or reptilian, the Guardian carries a crustacian vibe with it.
  • Glass Cannon: Long range. High damage. 150 HP.
  • Hollywood Acid
  • Mighty Glacier: It's a good thing the Mutalisk is speedy because the Guardian is as slow as can be. It's far better to fly your Mutalisks to the attack point and mutate them there.
  • Siege Engine: An airborne variation.

Devourer

Another strain derived from the Mutalisk, they launch corrosive acid at enemy fleets that eat away at them and slow them down.

  • Mighty Glacier: Not as slow as the Guardian but still much slower than the Mutalisk. Also much beefier with 250 HP to the Guardian's 150.
  • Splash Damage: A curious variation, while in Brood War the Terrans and Protoss got the Valkyrie and Corsair to add this to their fleets, the Mutalisk already did Splash Damage, it just wasn't that strong. Solution - the Devourer itself doesn't do splash damage, but when it attacks the target and nearby units are splashed with acid spores that cause them to take additional damage and attack slower, thereby powering up the Mutalisk.
  • Support Party Member: See above.

Protoss

All units

Probe

The Protoss gatherer, they collect resources and can place warp beacons to call in structures.

Zealot

"My life for Aiur!"

The Protoss base unit, stalwart warriors armed with two psi blades extending from their wrists as an emination of the Zealot's psionic powers.

Dragoon

"I have returned..."

A Protoss walker unit consisting of a robotic shell driven by the body of a wounded Protoss warrior contained within, they fire phase disruptors to attack.

High Templar

"Khassar Detemplari..."

Protoss mystics that have foregone traiditional combat training to hone their psionic abilities. They can manifest illusions and call down storms of psychic energy.

Dark Templar

"Adun Toridas..."

Long ago, the Dark Templar rejected the Khala and so were branded traitors and outcasts, banished from Aiur. Reunited with their brethren in Brood War, they have learned to channel the energies of the Void to render themselves invisible.

Reaver

A Protoss robot equipped with on-board manufacturing facilities used to construct bombs called Scarabs. They move slowly but can decimate enemies.

Archon

"The merging is complete..."

The pinnacle of Protoss psionic power, formed by two High Templar sacrificing their bodies to manifest as an orb of pure energy. They can decimate enemies with bolts of energy.

Dark Archon

"We are as one..."

An ancient secret long forbidden to the Dark Templar for the sheer danger of it, the Dark Archon is formed by the dark energy of two Dark Templar merging together.

  • Awesome but Impractical: With Mind Control its possible to sieze an enemy worker, at which point you can build up that race's entire tech tree and construct their units. But given the time to do so and the difficulty in getting that worker...
  • Brainwashed: Mind Control.
  • Cast From Lifespan: Same as the original Archon.
  • Dangerous Forbidden Technique
  • Godzilla Threshold: In the lore, they were finally allowed to be born when Aldaris rebelled and lead a Protoss force headed by Archons against the Dark Templar. None of the involved parties were particularly joyous that their war had come to this, which is why by Stacraft II the Dark Archon's creation is outlawed again.
    • Still it seems that with the renew conflict and the prophecy discovered by Zeratul, the Dark Templar either learned from the Khalai how to create normal Archons or the simply allowed the cretion of new Dark Archons but for gameplay reasons they apear as normal Archons.
  • Power Floats
  • Pure Energy
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Red everything.

Scout

"Teleport successful"

The Protoss aircraft and the backbone of their fleet, they launch anti-matter missiles at aerial foes and photon blasters at ground targes.

Corsair

"It is a good day to die!"

Spacecraft designed by the Dark Templar, they move fast and launch neutral flares from their hull to rapidly attack enemies.

Shuttle

The Protoss transport, a simple carrier vessel that has the distinction of being the fastest transport of the races with its speed upgrade.

Observer

A small flying drone armed with a cloaking field, it acts as a spy and escort, detecting invisible and burrowed units and watching points of interest.

  • Boring but Practical: They don't do anything except act as dectors, but their low cost, fast build time and decent movement rate makes it easy to deploy a couple. Their cloaking ability meanwhile makes them the ideal scout, able to slip into an opponent's base and see what they're doing without being caught, and they can be sent out in numbers to watch points of interest for opposing armies on the move or expansions under construction.
  • Invisibility Cloak
  • Spy Bot
  • True Sight

Carrier

"Carrier has arrived."

The Protoss flagship, though they aren't armed with weapons of their own their hangar bays house swarms of small robotic drones called Interceptors that can be launched to fight for it.

Arbiter

Support vessels piloted by members of the Judicator Caste, they act as anchors in reality for time-space rifts that render nearby allies invisible.

  • Awesome but Impractical: As with the Ghost higher up the page, they're very powerful fully upgraded but lie at the top of the tech tree and require a large investment of time and resources to deploy.
  • Energy Ball
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: Their pilots, as members of the Judicator Caste, outrank you (the Executor).
    • According to Word of God, when Aiur fell the Judicator Caste was wiped out and the Arbiters abandoned. They're still around in multiple missions in Brood War.
  • Invisibility Cloak
  1. ↑ Nuke strikes appear to the opponent as a blinking red dot calling out the target. You've got about 10 seconds after being given an audio warning to find the dot, then find and kill the ghost targeting it before the missile hits. Fail, and you're in for a very bad day.
  2. ↑ Well, besides being unaffected by Point Defense Drones.
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