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1!![[center: [- [[Characters/{{Starcraft}} Main Index]] -]]] [[center: [- '''The Races''' -]]] [[center: [- [[Characters/StarcraftTerrans The Terrans]] | [[Characters/StarcraftZerg The Zerg]] | [[Characters/StarcraftProtoss The Protoss]] | [[Characters/StarcraftOther Other races]]-]]] [[center: [- '''Terrans Characters and Factions''' -]]] [[center: [- [[Characters/StarcraftRaynorsRaiders Raynor's Raiders]] | [[Characters/StarcraftTerranDominion Terran Dominion]] | [[Characters/StarcraftGhosts Ghost Corps]] | [[Characters/StarcraftOtherTerranFactions Other Factions]] | [[Characters/StarcraftIndependentTerrans Independent Terrans]] -]]] [[center: [- '''Zerg Characters and Factions''' -]]] [[center: [- [[Characters/StarcraftSarahKerrigan Sarah Kerrigan]] | [[Characters/StarcraftZergSwarm Zerg Swarm]] | [[Characters/StarcraftOtherZerg Other Zerg]] -]]] [[center: [- '''Protoss Characters and Factions''' -]]] [[center: [- [[Characters/StarcraftDaelaam The Daelaam]] | [[Characters/StarcraftProtossEmpire Protoss Empire]] | [[Characters/StarcraftNerazim The Nerazim]] | [[Characters/StarcraftTaldarim The Tal'darim]] -]]] [[center: [- [[Characters/StarcraftIICoOp Co-Op Commanders]] -]]]
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3[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terran_symbol_1477.jpg]]
4->''"We got tossed to the far end of the galaxy, dropped smack dab between two ugly alien armies, and we're not all dead yet? Tell me that don't say something about us."''
5
6In the 23rd century, Earth became united under a single government called the United Powers League. To curb overpopulation and limited resources, they enacted a campaign of genocide against "undesirable" humans, rounding up over 400 million people for extermination. A UPL scientist named Doran Routhe wished to investigate the feasibility of colonizing other planets, and secured 40,000 subjects that were given the slim hope of a new life on another planet. These 40,000 humans were placed in cryogenic sleep, loaded onto four supercarrier spacecraft, and sent towards the Gantris VI system, where a habitable planet had been detected. However, their computer systems malfunctioned and they went past their intended destination to arrive in the Koprulu Sector, some sixty thousand lightyears from Earth on the fringe of the Milky Way galaxy. Three of the ships landed safely on different habitable planets, and their inhabitants began the civilization called the Terrans.
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8The Terrans founded their own governments and continued to develop their warfare tactics, fighting among themselves as much as against the Zerg and Protoss. For the majority of their history in the sector, power was in the hands of the Terran Confederacy, but in 2500 they were overthrown by Arcturus Mengsk and the Sons of Korhal, who founded the Terran Dominion. Other prominent, separate Terran powers, include the Kel-Morian Combine, the Umojan Protectorate, and the Earth-based United Earth Directorate.
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11[[index]]
12* [[Characters/StarcraftRaynorsRaiders Raynor's Raiders]] [[note]]Jim Raynor, Matt Horner, the Magistrate, Tychus Findlay, Rory Swann, Egon Stetmann, Graven Hill.[[/note]]
13* [[Characters/StarcraftTerranDominion Terran Dominion]] [[note]]Arcturus Mengsk, Valerian Mengsk, Horace Warfield, Edmund Duke, Carolina Davis, Kate Lockwell, Donny Vermillion, Reigel, Corporal Faraday, Sandin Forst, Wes Carter, Jon Dyre, Stanley Burgess, Corbin Phash, Lt. Rosa Morales[[/note]]
14* [[Characters/StarcraftGhosts Ghost Corps]] [[note]]Nova, Gabriel Tosh, Kath Toom, Lio Travski, Aal Cistler, Malcon Kelerchian, Jackson Hauler, Devon Starke, Dylanna Okyl, Colin Phash, Kevin Bick, Sarco Angelini, Stone, Theodore Pierce.[[/note]]
15* [[Characters/StarcraftOtherTerranFactions Other Factions]] [[note]]the Confederate Lieutenant, Lester and Sarge, Magistrate Collins, Cerberus Squadron, Pollock Rimes, Lieutenant Rumm, Gerard [=DuGalle=], The Captain, Kel-Morian Combine, Umojan Protectorate, Moebius Foundation, Defenders of Man[[/note]]
16* [[Characters/StarcraftIndependentTerrans Independent Terrans]] [[note]]Ariel Hanson, Mira Han, Mike Liberty, Jake Ramsay, Rosemary Dahl, Starry Lace, Alan Schezar, Sergeant Hammer[[/note]]
17[[/index]]
18
19[[foldercontrol]]
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21[[folder:Race as a whole]]
22* AchievementsInIgnorance: Raynor speculates that Terrans continue to survive against the worst odds (terrible planets for colonization, lots of in-fighting, being caught between ScaryDogmaticAliens and TheSwarm, etc.) because they're just [[{{Determinator}} too dumb to give up]] or realize that they should've died off a long time ago.
23* ACommanderIsYou:
24** Numbers:
25*** Balanced (Infantry builds); Terrans have lesser numbers than Zerg but more than Protoss. To use base units as a key example, Marines cost 50 minerals apiece, take up one supply, and have 40 HP (compare with Zerglings and Zealots). In the sequel, Marines can have up to 55 HP, but lose 50% effectiveness on their stimpacks placing them somewhere between Zerglings and Zealots for damage-dealing and survivability. Terrans also have a second balanced playstyle that leans more towards Elitist that is called "Battle Mech" in the player community; Hellions, Cyclones, and Banshees are a staple of this tactic and are more durable than infantry, but not as durable as heavy mech units. They are however very effective at HitAndRunTactics and sniping key targets via Cyclones using Lock On.
26*** Elitist (Heavy Mech Builds); in mass-Factory strategies, Terrans fight in similar numbers to the Protoss with slow-moving but devastating firepower using [[SiegeEngines Siege Tanks]] supported by anti-personnele scout vehicles and/or anti-air vehicles, plus support craft from the Starport to further round out their capabilities. This became especially the case in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' with "land-battleship" Thors, and Crucio Siege Tanks. Crucio tanks are more potent than the previous model but costs an additional supply point and a bit more gas. Overall, Factory stratgeies can easily beat even the cost of a Protoss army per unit when accounting for the costs of Factories and repairs to your vehicles, but in exchange, these units can be very cost-efficient when managed correctly. The Battlecruiser was reimagined as mix of brute and guerilla in ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheVoid'' thanks to their high endurance and good weaponry but gaining the ability to "Tactical Jump" to anywhere on the map, either jumping into enemy territory by surpise [[note]]Players will hear a sparkle sound, warning them to look for a Cruiser about to exit warp.[[/note]] or sailing over to the enemy base by conventional means and warping out once the defenders arrive and critically damage the Cruiser. Indeed, late-game Terran Battlecruiser[=/=]Viking fleets are some of the most elitist formations around, and make short work of Protoss capital fleets due to their superior burst damage and ability to repair between fights.
27** Doctrine: Generalist/Guerilla/Ranger/Turtle.
28*** Generalist since Terran units tend to be versatile but have less special abilities compared to the other factions.
29*** Guerilla due to the Terrans having options for performing hit-and-run strikes against vital targets, especially in the sequel as of ''Legacy of the Void''. An individual Battlecruiser is one of the toughest units in melee matches, yet they can perform raids on mining bases with their laser battery that allows them to fire while moving, and can use Tactical Jump to arrive at their raid or use it to escape once the defenders prove overwhelming. Alternately, Banshee helicopters are another option that emphasizes agility and stealth over toughness, using their Cloaking Field to raid mining bases unimpeded until detection is brought in. Finally in the sequel, Terrans also have their next generation Ghosts, who are available early in the game; after your first Barracks, you can build a Ghost Academy and start building a Tech Lab on your Barracks and moments later, begin training Ghosts. Even before Ghosts having their Cloaking researched, they can use their Steady Targeting to snipe off key targets, and once their cloak is ready, you can send your Ghosts into unprotected bases to disrupt mining operations with the Ghosts' basic attacks. If the match goes into midgame, the Terran can become a major nusiance by sending Ghosts to Nuke targets, forcing the opponent to stay alert for where the Ghosts' targeting lasers appear to avoid heavy losses.
30*** Ranger since every single combat unit is effectively ranged, even though Firebats/Hellbats are technically classified as melee, their flamethrowers reach much further than true melee units like Zealots or Zerglings.
31*** Terran Turtling capabilities are top notch, with Siege Tanks providing long-range defense or offense, inexpensive Missile Turrets to protect you from air, and in the sequel, the ability to upgrade a baseline Command Center with a {{BFG}} & extra armor, turning it into a Planetary Fortress. To top it off, the Neosteel Armor upgrade gives every Terran structure +2 armor points, giving their structures unrivaled damage reduction.
32* ActionSurvivor: Between the HordeOfAlienLocusts and ScaryDogmaticAliens come a group of humans with little more than their know-how, ingenuity and a handful of psionically-inclined assassins. They can still take on the armies of either race and come out on top.
33* ApeShallNeverKillApe: The way Terrans avert this is one of the main reasons that the Protoss continue to not trust them. While Zerg and Protoss infighting are not unheard of, the former is rare and requires very specific conditions due to the Zerg's HiveMind, while the latter is something Protoss consider as intolerable and put great efforts in avoiding whenever they can. Terrans, meanwhile, not only fight each others on regular basis, but also tend to do it more often than facing the two alien races.
34* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores: A good portion of the Terran military are recruited convicts and many of the volunteers are ex-criminals like PrivateMilitaryContractors that were really good at their previous jobs.
35* ArtEvolution: Between the ''Brood War'' and ''Wings of Liberty'', Terran structures and units transitioned from looking rough and cobbled together to looking sleek and futuristic consistently. The Thor is emblematic of the Terran advances in technology, able to stand up to the heavyweight ground forces of the Protoss and Zerg, and deliver a withering barrage of particle cannon fire, and even perform the AntiAir duties of the retired Goliath. This is justified in-universe with the Terran Dominion supplanting the Terran Confederacy: the Confederacy's military was a mix of improvised tech developed during the Guild War, cutting-edge research, blueprints stolen from their enemies, and whatever the local colonial militia could supply them; the Dominion's government and military are more centralized, better funded, and had time between games to develop war machines designs to fill specific purposes, resulting in a more cohesive design philosophy across the board.
36* ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics: The use of the term "Reactor" to describe an upgrade that increases energy capacity. A more appropriate term would be either capacitor or cell/battery as those are more appropriate terms for denoting increased capacity. Continued in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' where a "reactor" is researched to simply allow select units to start with [[YouHaveResearchedBreathing extra energy charged up ahead of time]]. This was averted finally in the case of Medivacs, as the Caduceus Reactor upgrade was reintroduced and changed to double their rate of energy regeneration.
37* BadassNormal: They lack the Protoss' mastery of PsychicPowers and the Zerg's mutating abilities. They are the only playable race to have not been [[TouchedByVorlons involved in the Xel'Naga's experiments]]. They can still go toe-to-toe with both the Zerg and the Protoss.
38* BaseOnWheels: A key advantage Terrans have over the Zerg and Protoss is they can lift off production facilities into the air and (very slowly) move them around, landing them anywhere and going right back to work. This allows players to backdoor enemies by sneaking unit producing facilities into a hidden corner of their base, and to save such structures from an enemy army if they can evacuate fast enough.
39* BorrowingFromTheSisterSeries: The Neosteel Armor upgrade for structure armor appeared in concept in ''[[VideoGame/WarCraft Warcraft III]]'' as the Masonry series of upgrades for Human Alliance structures. While the Protoss alread had the ability to enhance the shield armor on their structures with the universal Plasma Shields upgrade, Neosteel Armor applies to the physical armor of structures, making it potentially more effective.
40* CivilWar: Terrans spend more time fighting each other than the Protoss or Zerg. [[CivilWarcraft This is reflected in gameplay.]]
41* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Terran Upgrades in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' use colorized icons that progess from green, to blue, to [[RedIsViolent red]] depending on upgrade level in addition to displaying the upgrade level for an attribute. Any upgrade icon with a red aura is at maximum effect.
42* DeathWorld: Many of the first Terrans ended up worlds wholly inhospitable to humans... and [[{{Determinator}} survived anyways]]. Nowadays the main reasons for voluntarily dwelling on such places are resources that worth a fortune off-world.
43* DeusExNukina:
44** When Terran forces need to absolutely, positively be sure that something is destroyed, their Battlecruisers' nuclear-powered Yamato Cannon and/or Nuclear Missiles will be deployed. Both weapons were initially at the top-tier of the Terran TechTree, and represent the most damaging weapons in the Terran arsenal and they're especially powerful in cutscenes. Battlecruisers remain a Tier-4 unit in ''II'' but are slightly easier to unlock as they no longer need a specific addon for the required T4 tech structure. ''Starcraft II'' scaled back nukes in power and brought them down to Tier-2, yet the Tactical Nuke remains the most devastating weapon in terms of instantaneous damage in melee multiplayer. Even the experimental Odin has the ability to store a high-yield nuke onboard that can utterly annihilate an entire base, but only as CutscenePowerToTheMax.
45** In the sequel, the top of the Terran TechTree is the Fusion Core, which replaces the Science Facility and the accompanying Physics Lab as the major tech requirement for building the aforementioned Battlecruisers. The Physics Lab in a sense became a universal add-on called the Tech Lab (it's very similar visually) and unlocks advanced units for a production structure and needs to be attached to a Starport to enable that structure to produce Battlecruisers once your Fusion Core is complete.
46* DualModeUnit: Terrans love these. Fighter jets and ATV's that become MiniMecha, tanks that unfold into howitzer emplacements, and buildings that can pack up and fly to new resource nodes.
47* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The humans of the Koprulu sector are descended from the 40,000 prisoners who were originally slated for termination through Project Purity but were saved by Doran Routhe who requisitioned them specifically for a colonization project to Gantris VI but ended up elsewhere due to a computer malfunction, eventually becoming the space rednecks that we know them as today. ''Sounds very similar to the British Empire when they originally created the United States and Australia as penal colonies.''
48* GlassCannon: Overall, Terran units tend to fall into this.
49** They are all ranged units (with the exception of the Firebat in the first game) and have very high base damage or attack very quickly (especially with Stimpack), but they are only slightly sturdier than the Zerg. That being said, the squishiness of Terran units is compensated by the fact they have ''much'' easier access to repairing [[note]][=SCVs=] in Melee maps, as well as Science Vessels in the second game in Campaign and Co-Op[[/note]] and healing[[note]]Medics in the first game (and the second game in Campaign and Co-op) and Medivacs in the second game's Melee maps[[/note]], compared to the Zerg (that have a slow HealingFactor, and its only quick healing option is using the Queen's Transfusion ability in the second game) and the Protoss (who get NO healing or repairing at all, entirely relying on Shield Batteries or their regenerating shields).
50** Heavy mech strategies [[{{Subverted}} subvert]] this, especially in the sequel. This composition consists of units that are very costly individually, but in exchange, you have durable units at your disposal like Crucio Siege Tanks, and Thors, and a nice selection of more mobile midrange units like Hellbats/Hellions and Cyclones, and Widow Mines to let you set traps. Factories also cost gas to build, unlike a Barracks army, and repairing units can also cost gas so you'll build fewer units in a match due to your overall gas expenses. In return however, this army offers high combat efficiency, allowing them units to kill many times their cost in the hands of a skilled player.
51* GoneHorriblyRight: They were part of a space colonization project that managed to establish themselves despite not being in their intended location.
52* HumansAdvanceSwiftly: As part of their adapatability, Terrans adapt to new technologies for new fields and systems much faster than the Protoss, by the time of the later parts of SC2, they've begun cracking technologies originally exclusive to the Protoss such as personal and vehicular shielding, which has gone from an imperfect experimental technology fielded only by Science Vessels to becoming retrofittable onto Battlecruisers to becoming personal-scale devices accessible to elite units.
53* HumansAreAverage: Terrans do in fact Zig-zag this trope. See ACommanderIsYou and JackOfAllStats for more details.
54* HumansAreBastards:
55** The Protoss hold this opinion of the Terrans; only a handful of humans have ever been able to forge significant alliances with the Protoss. Justified since all three major governments that have controlled them have been open about how they consider the Protoss their enemies [[FantasticRacism just because they're aliens]], and the number of major human characters to be genuinely good and non-hostile to Protoss in the whole franchise can be counted on one hand. In fact, until ''Starcraft II'', [[TheHero Raynor]] was pretty much the only human to be unambiguously good.
56** The terrans finally shed this image in ''Legacy of the Void'', [[spoiler: as Valerian is now emperor and eager to have the Dominion do good for the sector.]]
57* HumansAreFlawed: The Zerg don't hold a high opinion on humans or their potential. [[EvilutionaryBiologist Abathur]] in particular was ''relieved'' when Kerrigan told him to stop experimenting on Terrans, as he considered them to be a mess to work with (save for a few exceptions with high psychic potential).
58* HumansArePsychicInTheFuture: While nowhere near advanced in the domain as Protoss (who [[MageSpecies all are psychic]]), some Terrans have started developping psychic abilities and working to use them, primarily through the Ghost program. This becomes a major plot point in the first game, where it turns out Zerg are coming for them because their psychic potential makes them a neat LoopholeAbuse around their inability to assimilate Protoss.
59* HumansAreSpecial: [[AvertedTrope A notable aversion]]; Terrans are the only one of the three species to ''not'' have been [[TouchedByVorlons involved in the Xel'Naga's experiments]], and usually have no real significance in the galactic power plays of the Protoss and Zerg, only being used as pawns by one against the other. ''Wings of Liberty'' marks the first time the Terrans actually rose to be a positive influence on the sector by doing what the Protoss couldn't: [[spoiler:invade Char and de-infest Kerrigan, effectively breaking the strength of the Swarm]]. But even then, they had to use a Xel'naga artifact to do it, and [[spoiler:it was all possible thanks to Narud, a Xel'naga.]]
60* HumansAreWarriors: According to WordOfGod, this is the reason they are capable of standing against both Zerg and Protoss; since they have been constantly fighting each others for years, they have got really good at war.
61* HumansByAnyOtherName: All humans in the game are referred as "Terran", even though the humans that the Starcraft universe concerns itself with are completely separate from the Terran empire based around planet Earth.
62* HumansThroughAlienEyes:
63** To the Protoss, Terrans are a (largely) psionic-less and relatively primitive race that wouldn't be worth their attention... except for the fact that our numbers and our war-like nature make us a threat. Notably, they resist attempts at co-operation due to great mistrust ([[HumansAreBastards and not without reason]]) though they are curious as to how much potential Terrans have, seeing how far they've come in a short period of time and whether Terrans have the capacity to evolve into a psionic race.
64** To the Zerg, Terrans are a scrambling mess of a race [[note]] In ''Heart of the Swarm'' the more sympathetic Zerg express pity at how Terrans as individuals must be "all alone on the inside" without a HiveMind.[[/note]] that are useful only as pawns to be used against the Protoss. As of ''Starcraft II'' they seem to regard Terrans as not even worth that, due to their sentience and psionic potential either not surviving infestation or being too weakened by the process to make them effective. By now, the only reasons the Zerg fight the Terrans is because Kerrigan is leading them and hates the Dominion.
65* InformedAttribute: In-universe, everyone considers the Protoss so far more advanced than the Terrans, including the Terrans themselves, that they're like ants. In-gameplay, Terrans have no problem fighting the Protoss forces and can even bring down super-weapons like Colossi and Motherships with a few volleys from their anti-air fighters. It's also shown repeatedly in-story that Terrans are capable of reverse-engineering Protoss technology to a surprising extent; they've replicated their warp technology, their plasma shields, they have their own kind of personal cloaking, and in ''Starcraft II'' Terran [=SCVs=] can repair Protoss mechanical units without issue. They also have technology the Protoss don't possess, or at least don't utilize prominently, including nano-machines, self-repairing bio-mechanical steel, and various types of psionic weaponry that can interfere with the Zerg hive mind. This is given a HandWave that Terrans are known for being scrappy and adaptable while the Protoss suffer from CreativeSterility and abide by a religiously inspired code of ethics, which is why the former can seem on-par with the latter in some areas.
66* {{Irony}}: The Terrans are often noted at being the only playable race in the game that was not [[TouchedByVorlons influenced by the Xel'Naga in any way]]. [[spoiler:That is what the Xel'Naga are actually supposed to do with other species - [[AlienNonInterferenceClause nothing]]]].
67* JackOfAllStats: The Terrans are more expensive than the Zerg but less expensive than the Protoss, while their units are stronger than the Zerg but not as powerful as the Protoss. Between the ZergRush and the Protoss EliteArmy, the Terrans take their strength from their versatility, but the player must plan ahead and use their tools well.
68** While the Zerg need to build numerous different support structures that they can access as they evolve their Hatchery, and the Protoss tech tree splits into three off the Cybernetics Core, the Terran chain of production is linear through their three production structures; Barracks-Factory-Starport. Some build orders for them have the player quickly tech to a Starport in the name of flexibility, as from there either every unit is available or the structure needed to product it is, giving the player the freedom to choose a more dedicated tech path. ''Starcraft II'' further gives these three structures interchangeable add-ons that can alter which units they can build or allow two basic units to train simultaneously. Thus, a Terran can change their entire army composition in a few seconds by swapping their buildings around. However, while the Zerg and Protoss have at least some degree of overlap in their low and high-tier units both in where they build them and what upgrades they use, the Terran infantry from their Barracks is decidedly low-tier save for the Ghost, while most of their mechanical units are the high-tier, and army upgrades are split between infantry, ground mechanical, and aircraft (though the latter two's armor upgrades were merged over the course of balancing in the sequel). This means that while they ''can'' quickly switch their army composition, they need time and/or preparation to get momentum going on their new tech path so they can build more production structures and catch up in upgrades; the Terran player might shift from infantry to mech &/or air when the map has fewer expansions left that can be easily defended by the heavier, slow units, and make a push against the enemy.
69** Their Barracks infantry is more of a ZergRush playstyle, as they're cheap, easily massed, and very mobile, but without support from Medics or Medivacs they're very fragile, and they need upgrades and good micro to get the most out of them without losing them for nothing. On the other hand their mechanized forces from the Factory and Starport are the EliteArmy, with more staying power and don't need upgrades or micro as much to pull their weight, but are more expensive to produce, take up more supply, build slower, and the army has less mobility than infantry. ''Starcraft 2'' also allowed another middle-ground playstyle, "battle mech", which focuses on the Hellion, Cyclone, and Banshee: these units are cheaper and more mobile than the Terran's other mechanical units, but they don't have their power or durability either, thus they favor harassment to slow the opponent's economy and use their mobility to attack weak points in their infrastructure before retreating when the enemy army arrives.
70* LongRangeFighter: in terms of gameplay, this is one of the Terrans' hats. While the Tempest took from them the title of "Longest-ranged attack in the game," for most of the franchise's existence it belonged to the Siege Tank; and the Terrans ''overall'' have the largest preponderance of ranged attackers in the game; in fact, they're the only race to have a unit with an ArbitraryWeaponRange!
71* LostColony: Subverted. The Terrans are the descendants of "colonists" (in reality convicts, political dissidents, and other "undesirables") who, due to a freak accident, lost the coordinates of both their destination and Earth, ending up in the Koprulu Sector. It's revealed in ''Brood War'', however, that the UED knew about them and was generally content to monitor what was seen as a galactic backwater until they found out about the Zerg and Protoss. In any case, while the Terrans still remember their origins on Earth, they want ''nothing'' to do with it.
72* {{Magitek}}: While Terrans' understanding of {{Psychic Powers}} is lacking compared to that of the Protoss, they do have some technology that uses psy energy. The best known examples would be [[SpyCatsuit Hostile environment suits]] and other wargear used by [[SuperSoldier ghosts]].
73* MechanicallyUnusualClass: The only faction who starts out with a ranged attacker and techs up to a CQC unit, the only spellcaster with a basic attack (Ghosts, or Specters in the ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign mode depending on player choice), and the only faction with no build radius requirements for their structures. They are also the only faction with two distinct ground armies; Barracks and Factory units. Unlike the other two factions, these two ground forces don't share any upgrades, [[note]]With one notable exception, the Protoss Reaver does not benefit from Protoss Ground Weapons in ''Brood War'', requiring its own upgrade for a 25% boost in damage.[[/note]] so the Barracks is mainly used for support units when performing Factory build orders and vice versa when doing infantry builds. As of ''Heart of the Swarm'' and beyond, ground vehicles and air ships share the same armor upgrade unlike with Protoss and Zerg. They're also unique in that they have a "super weapon" of sorts in the form of a Nuclear Strike that no other faction can quite match for its raw instantaneous damage in gameplay; although Protoss orbital strike capabilities outclass Terran nukes in lore, these abilities can NOT be utilized in [[PvPBalanced competitive melee matches]].
74* MeetTheNewBoss: Ownership of individual planets and the government controlling them changes all the time. In the space of five years, the Confederacy was overthrown by the Dominion, which was overthrown by the UED, which was then defeated by the Zerg and control of their assets taken back by a weakened Dominion, and as of ''Heart'' [[spoiler:the capital world has been besieged and the emperor killed, to be replaced with his heir.]]
75* MildlyMilitary: Justified with Barracks troops due to many of the troops being resocialized convicts or having a more mild crime rap sheet. The Marines tend to be wise-guys, the Marauders really enjoy their grenades, and the Reapers couldn't even be resocialized and are especially trigger-happy. The Factory recruits tend to be enthusiastic but still disciplined, while the Starport crew tend to have a professional but relaxed disposition.
76* MoreDakka: They are the only faction to use conventional firearms, and the sound of their collective gunfire approaches this.
77* NoSell: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]; while they are not immune to being [[spoiler: corrupted by Amon]], their lack of a unifying link of conscience (akin to the Protoss' Khala) or a HiveMind (akin to the Zerg) means that Amon has to directly corrupt Terrans individual/group-at-a-time, unlike the Protoss or Zerg who are vulnerable to being corrupted as a whole should one be corrupted.
78* PluckyComicRelief: Compared to the two other races; Terrans have plenty of quirky, eccentric characters, and tend to have the most wacky antics and lines compared to the [[TheStoic more disciplined]], [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy patriotic]] Protoss or the [[HiveMind mostly non-individual]], [[TheSpeechless non-speaking]] Zerg. [[spoiler:Their [[ShooOutTheClowns extermination by the Hybrids]] in the BadFuture is used as a sign of how desperate the situation is.]]
79* ScrewDestiny: Terrans in general prove themselves to be a cosmic wild card. One that the Xel'Naga prophecies never really saw coming.
80* SerialEscalation: In ''Starcraft I'', the iconic Siege Tank was introduced and was a staple DualModeUnit, along with the ability of a select few buildings to lift-off. ''Starcraft II'' expanded the amount of dual-mode units by replacing the Vulture with the transforming Hellion/Hellbat, replacing the role of the Goliath and Wraith with the landable Viking, the new Thor eventually gaining two different AntiAir modes, and the new Liberator with its ability to switch weapons to a special anti-ground cannon. A new upgrade called "Smart Servos" was added allowing some transformable units (save the Siege Tank and Liberator) to switch modes even faster.
81* SpaceWestern: The Terrans in general have a culture and overall aesthetic that are heavily influenced by the DeepSouth and WildWest. Cut off from Earth, the Terrans have had to make do and forge an existence for themselves. As a consequence, much of their technology is cobbled together and has a rough, industrial look to it, resulting in frontier saloons where soldiers in power armor go to drink.
82* SpannerInTheWorks: The Terrans' very existence in the Koprulu Sector not only throws a cosmic wrench in the Xel'naga prophecies [[spoiler:but ultimately proves to be Amon's undoing, no matter how much he and Narud/Duran try to factor them into their schemes.]]
83* StoneWall: While their combat style compared to the Zerg and Protoss is the balance between their extremes, when looked at on their own, Terrans are very defense oriented, and they're ''good'' at it.
84** Between both games they keep their trademark trio of Bunkers, Missile Turrets, and Siege Tanks; in the first game they have Spider Mines, while in the sequel they get Widow Mines, and the option to upgrade building armor (Neosteel Armor) to 1+2, the same as a barebones Battlecruiser. Expansions can be defended by Planetary Fortresses which already have a baseline 3 armor points but can also benefit from Neosteel Armor for a whopping 5 armor points; ScratchDamage type attacks will be severely reduced by the Fortress'es armor but the Fortress only has modest weaponry so be ready to reinforce them with your army.
85** The campaign further gives them Perdition Turrets and an assortment of building upgrades to make their Missile Turrets and Bunkers even better. However, as good as their static defenses are, they are indeed static: offensive Bunkers is generally considered a cheese strategy and slow to execute due to build times and the resource cost demanded.
86* ThemeNaming: Their cloaking units are all named after restless spirits -- Ghost, Spectre, Wraith, and Banshee. The exception is the Liberator, who can be equipped with cloaking in the ''Covert Ops'' campaign, but this is an optional add-on for it.
87* TheWarOfEarthlyAggression: On top of fighting each other even while fending off the Zerg and Protoss, the Terrans of the Koprulu Sector confronted an expeditionary force sent by the powerful UED. Even well into the events of ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', no one is really keen on facing them again.
88[[/folder]]
89
90!!Defensive and Supporting Structures
91[[folder:Bunker]]
92[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bunker_close.png]]
93->''"We can take cover in these Bunkers if things get a bit too dicey."''
94An enclosure designed to protect infantry from retaliation and let them fire their weapons out of ports in the walls. The Bunkers normally have no weapons of their own but outside of Melee matches, may be equipped with Shrike Turrets or reinfored further with a Zerg Carapace. Unlike other defenses, the Bunkers in ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' may be disassembled for at least a partial refund, and may have their capacity & armor improved with a Neosteel Armor in Melee matches. However, Bunkers have no TrueSight capability so you may want to build a Missile Turret(s) to support them.
95* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: Justified for game balance. Occupants are able to instantly change positions to fire on a new target on the opposite side of a Bunker, with no need to have infantry already at the correct firing ports.
96* AntiAir: Primarily from loading Marines, but Ghosts and Spectres may be used too.
97* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Units inside gain extra range to their attacks. The Projectile Accelerator upgrade would HandWave this, but it's not standard equipment on all Bunkers. Alternatively, this could be justified with the units inside being able to brace their guns on the firing ports and fire more stably, increasing their effective range, though it's still a little weird in the case of units like the Firebat.
98* BalanceBuff: In the second game, Marines and Marauders can use their Stimpacks while inside the Bunker. Outside of Melee, if Medics are available, this ability becomes incredibly powerful as the Medic can heal them while inside the Bunker, providing effectively unlimited uses of the ability as long as the Bunker survives, but in certain cases, only for Marines due to Marauders lacking Stimpacks in the campaign. Upgrading Bunker capacity means there are 6 slots instead of 4, meaning a medic cuts into a smaller percentage of your Bunker's firepower.
99* ConcealmentEqualsCover: Nobody inside of a bunker will take harm from weapons fire, the structure must be depleted of HitPoints before the units inside may be harmed.
100* DesignItYourselfEquipment: A Bunker's capabilities can be customized by mixing and matching infantry. In the ''VideoGame/WingsOfLiberty'' campaign, this can give Ghosts a nice boost, giving them [[SiegeEngines siege range]] if the Bunkers are upgraded with Projectile Accelerators & the Ghosts with Ocular Implants.
101* EasyLogistics: Again, infantry are able to immediately fire upon a target without accounting for where they are inside the Bunker.
102* SplashDamage: Capable of it in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'' using Firebats and in the ''VideoGame/WingsOfLiberty'' campaign using them as well. This was no longer possible in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' Melee matches due to the loss of the Firebat and Hellbats being unable to enter bunkers.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Comsat Station and Orbital Command]]
106[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sccomsatstation.jpg]]
107[[caption-width-right:350:Comsat Station]]
108[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sc2orbitalcommand.jpg]]
109[[caption-width-right:350:Orbital Command]]
110The Communication Satellite Station and Orbital Command both share the ability to reveal an area on the map for a moderate energy cost. The Orbital Command improves upon the [=ComSat=] by being fully integrated into a Command Center, allowing you to call down [=MULEs=] to help with mining minerals as well as repair duties, or call down additional supplies onto a Supply Depot (actually saving you 100 minerals for each supply drop). Orbital Commands can still lift off, unlike the separate [=ComSat=] add-on.
111* DefogOfWar: Both structures may scan areas of the battlefield to reveal what is concealed behind an area of the FogOfWar.
112* MundaneUtility: One of the most common strategies with the Orbital Commands is to build multiple beyond just what you need for your expansions, and replace much of your [=SCV=] mining force with [=MULEs=], lowering your supply consumption. This setup also gives you extra scanning capabilities for scouting and detection. The extra [=MULEs=] are also great to call down on the battlefield to repair damaged vehicles back to good-as-new and/or even as distractions to divert fire. Another niche is quickly reestablishing your supplies if your opponent has raided your Depots which lets you save space taken up by Supply Depots. If the above isn't mundane enough, they make nice flying scouts for Siege Tanks when recharging their depleted energy, or can be positioned to act as a sturdy wall to protect your defending units, in more desperate situations. This utility as a building scout is shared with all Terran production structures, especially the relatively inexpensive Barracks.
113* TrueSight: The scans you perform also counteract stealth effects, allowing you to have emergency detection.
114[[/folder]]
115
116[[folder:Missile Turret]]
117[[quoteright:261:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/turret_close.png]]
118An inexpensive yet effective surface-to-air missile tower. They are the least expensive anti-air structures compared to the Protoss and Zerg equivalents. Like all Terran structures, you can build them in any buildable space without any preplaced requirements, making it easy to build them out in the field to support your army.
119* AntiAir: Their primary role aside from their [[TrueSight detection]] ability.
120* DeathOfAThousandCuts: The Hellstorm Batteries upgrade gives the Missile Turret the ability to fire eight missiles at once, but they only deal 1 point of damage. It's useful for handling multiple units at once, but it's unlikely to kill on their own.
121* GlassCannon: ZigZagged, they're low on health by structure standards, but a light air target(s) will usually be shredded quickly by the structure(s) before they can be razed. Mutalisks were problematic in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'' due to the turret's damage typing dealing 1/2 damage, letting a swarm quickly scrap turrets 1-by-1. The turrets got buffed in the sequel, dealing full damage to all targets with a marginal {{nerf}} from being changed to fire two missiles in an attack instead of just one, making them even more deadly to general fliers. They require support against heavy siege fliers, however, who can quickly destroy the turrets with impunity, so be ready to reinforce with your army.
122* MacrossMissileMassacre: They already have a rapid cycling rate with the stock armaments, but may be upgraded in the ''VideoGame/WingsOfLiberty'' campaign with the Hellstorm Batteries to unleash a secondary cluster of missiles that can devastate light fliers.
123* SimpleYetAwesome: They're very efficient anti-air for their cost and inexpensive enough to consider out in the field as anti-air support for Siege Tanks. ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' gave them a boost, making them more expensive but much more dangerous to all fliers, in return. They're not as necessary on the battlefield in the sequel due to the Terran's now extensive anti-air capabilities, but back at the base, they're still key to repelling air raids. Plus, watching a MacrossMissileMassacre shoo away an air attack can be satisfying to watch.
124* TrueSight: Their relatively low cost makes them easy to afford when the enemy is attacking with cloaked units. Just be sure to have troops nearby for cloaked ground targets.
125[[/folder]]
126
127[[folder:Nuclear Silo and Ghost Academy]]
128[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scnuclearsilo.jpg]]
129[[caption-width-right:350:Nuclear Silo]]
130[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sc2ghostacademy.jpg]]
131[[caption-width-right:350:Ghost Academy]]
132
133The Terrans' main way of launching long-range missiles. The Nuclear Silo requires a Command Center to link up to which means you can't have a [=ComSat=] attached simultaneously, and a missile requires 200 minerals, 200 vespene, and 8 supply points to arm. ''Starcraft II'' changed things, removing the Covert Ops and replacing it with the Ghost Academy, and integrating a Nuclear Silo into each Academy, making it easier to construct multiple silos. Nukes are not as powerful as before but are half the cost, and don't require supply anymore, making them much less cost-prohibitive. In some adaptations like the ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign, the Ghost Academy will be called Shadow Ops if you chose to hire Spectres instead of Ghosts.
134* AntiStructure: Nukes have this feature especially lampshaded in ''Starcraft II'' with their "+200 to Structures" damage bonus. This feature makes one missile more likely to destroy clusters of defensive structures or act as a way to take our a large swathe of an opponent's Pylons or Supply Depots (if clustered), but only in the center of the SplashDamage radius. Nukes in ''Brood War'' are even more devastating, but cost so much more investment to obtain that they're more impractical.
135* AwesomeButImpractical: In the ''Starcraft I'' iteration, Nukes are at the top-tier of your TechTree, and require a lot of upfront preparation between unlocking Personal Cloaking for your Ghosts, arming a missile(s), and infiltrating a key target. However, a single nuke is unable destroy most buildings, and the opponent will probably guess that you're (most likely) targeting one of their mineral lines and pull away their workers. Nukes fare better against Protoss opponents, because you can use a Science Vessel to [=EMP=] a Nexus and destroy it with one nuke, but this is an even bigger upfront investment.
136* DifficultButAwesome: Became this in ''Starcraft II'' as far as doing actual damage with nukes. If you don't have an effective diversion, then nukes are unlikely to hit anything valuable and just serve to zone opponents out of an area (which is still useful, but will cost you resources that deal no damage). However, if you can create sufficient misdirection, then nukes can be used to hit a mineral line and wipe out workers stationed there, or even hit their army and cause major losses. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7fRMbMQVgk&t=1310s If you can pull off an army nuke,]] you can even snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
137* FixedDamageAttack: The ''Starcraft II''-flavor nukes will deal a fixed amount of damage: 300 to non-"Structures", or 500 to "Structures". They're weaker in damage potential than the old models, but no longer cost supply points to house in a silo, cost half a much resources and land much faster in the final stage.
138* MundaneUtility: Besides letting you build Ghosts and Nukes, Ghost Academies are one of the most durable structures available, making them great at choke points as a part of a wall-in next to a spare Barracks, Factory or Starport when one wants something more durable than Supply Depots.
139* NuclearOption: Gameplay-wise, feel free to arm and launch as many nukes as you can afford as these warheads lack fallout and don't irradiate their area of effect. Just make sure your allies and your own units aren't in the blast zone. In story, nukes were scaled down after the Confederacy played NukeEm against the planet Korhal with devastating results, handwaving why they're so heavily scaled down.
140* PercentDamageAttack: ''Starcraft I'' nukes will cause damage equivalent to 66% of a unit's hitpoints or 500 damage, which ever is greater. However, this value is affected by armor points on the target, which is how a full-health Terran Battlecruiser can survive with at least 3 hitpoints.
141* SplashDamage: Nukes deal less damage outside the central blast radius, so make sure to aim them accordingly to deal maximum damage to priority targets.
142* WeaponOfMassDestruction: As far as PlayerVSPlayer weapons go, nukes are able to take out an entire army like nothing else in the game. In ''Stacraft I'', the only mobile units who can withstand a nuke are the Battlecruiser and some campaign-mode heroes. In ''Starcraft II'', due to the smaller payload, high-end units like Thors, Battlecruisers, Ultralisks, Colossi, Carriers, and Motherships can withstand the full force of a nuke; anything else at center of the blast will be done for, but their chances of escaping intact increase outside the central blast radius. The main difficulty is tricking your opponent into wandering into the blast zone.
143* YouNukeEm: These enable you to command your Ghosts to launch nuclear strikes.
144[[/folder]]
145
146[[folder:Perdition Turret]]
147[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/perdition.jpg]]
148Exclusive to the ''Wings of Liberty Campaign'', these turrets have the ability to burrow and become invisible without enemy detection. They're best suited against melee infantry but can pop up and surprise units that normally out-range them. They are an alternative to the Planetary Fortress and you may only unlock one or the other.
149* AscendedExtra: They had earlier versions that existed in installation maps, and became buildable in the sequel.
150* KillItWithFire: Equipped with an enhanced version of Perdition Flamethrowers, scaled up for static defense use.
151* SimpleYetAwesome: They only require minerals to construct and are a welcome addition alongside Missile Turrets and Bunkers, covering against melee charges. They are also very small and easy to cram into smaller spaces and their flame jets can be so satisfying to watch. Even better, they can be used to fully block off entire entryways to your base and still enable you to move past them, as they retreat underground when not firing.
152* SplashDamage: Their flames deal damage to all units in a short straight line.
153[[/folder]]
154
155[[folder:Planetary Fortress]]
156[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/planetary_fortress.png]]
157The Ares Planetary Fortress was added in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' as an upgrade for the Command Center, mutually exclusive from the Oribital Command. A {{BFG}} is mounted on top of the Command Center to allow it to defend a base, but the sheer weight of this configuration means the structure can not lift off anymore. The Fortress has additional armor over the regular Command Center making it even more resilent. In the campaign, unlocking this prevents you from unlocking Perdition Turrets, and you may upgrade Orbital Commands to Fortresses as the Orbital Command option is a Hyperion Armory upgrade that replaces the baseline Command Center.
158* {{BFG}}: Their signature Twin-Ibex Cannons, dealing SplashDamage as well. The BFG appears to be nearly the same size as an entire Siege Tank!
159* FriendlyFireProof: Contrary to the Terran's history of using SplashDamage that can harm your own units, this structure does not harm friendlies. Justified as it would make the Fortress a liability if it could be tricked into harming your own workers.
160* LogicalWeakness: The sheer weight of Fortress renders its Atlas Boosters unable to lift-off the Fortress. This was mainly implemented to avert [[CheeseStrategy cheesing]] that might surface from having a colossal, repairable defense structure that can relocate.
161* MundaneUtility: They can fulfill additional functions beyond just protecting expansions. Planetary Fortresses can also be used to act as a walls at critical points, drawing fire while Siege Tanks and/or bunkers do the bulk of the damage to ground targets. This wall-like functionality can really come into play in the final ''Wings of Liberty'' mission "All In".
162* SplashDamage: In Melee matches, they have the distinction of being the only defensive structure that deals splash damage, making them especially effective against small melee attackers who cluster around the Fortress, and poorly-spread-out small ranged units; Hellbats aren't eligible to enter bunkers, unlike the cut Firebat unit they are a successor to in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', so the Bunker isn't capable of of splash damage in the sequel.
163* StoneWall: {{Exaggerated}}, their SplashDamage cannons are decent enough to hold off a small attacking force, but the rate of fire is relatively slow. They also have the extreme HitPoints of a Command Center and the same base armor as a Battlecruiser plus their armor increases with the Neosteel Armor (3+2). They're intended to be supported, as a proper army composition can overwhelm/outrange a lone Fortress, but they can buy you time to reinforce a mining base thanks to their armor and [=SCVs=] stopping harvesting to repair it. Outside of Melee maps, they can be incredibly effective walls, thanks to their immense hit points and high armor giving it great durability even when [=SCVs=] can't repair fast enough, and the Fortress's weapon means enemy units often target it, instead of the units behind it (more often than not Siege Tanks). As a bonus, they can ''build [=SCVs=]'' if you need more to fix them up, and like all structures, they can auto-repair-for-free to 50% with Fire Suppression System installed via the Hyperion Armory.
164[[/folder]]
165
166[[folder:Sensor Tower]]
167[[quoteright:231:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sensory_tower_close.png]]
168
169An innovation added in ''Starcraft II'', the sensor tower does not have any weapons of its own, but provides an EnemyDetectingRadar on your minimap that displays approaching enemies within a significant radius, even through the FogOfWar. However, the opponent can see the tower's presence on their mini-map and adjust accordingly. Unlike the Missile Turret, the Sensor Tower does ''not'' reveal cloaked units
170----
171* ArtificialStupidity: Not for the tower itself, but computer opponents won't plan their attacks around the presence of a sensor tower even though the tower is visible to opponents on their minimaps. In the ''VideoGame/WingsOfLiberty'' campaign, this makes the Sensor Tower a very reliable early warning for enemy attacks.
172* EnemyDetectingRadar: A double-edged sword, enemies within a large radius appear on your minimap as (!) blips, even through the FogOfWar, but the opponent is also aware that they're being detected and can plan around this.
173[[/folder]]
174
175!!Infantry units
176[[folder:Infantry as a whole]]
177* DrugsAreGood: Zigzagged. Stimpacks have a nasty side effect to draining the health of infantry who use it, but Medics or Medivacs can replenish that lost vitality and make units as good as new. The Terrans also have done battle against both Protoss and Zerg so the extra stimulation really helps in life-or-death battles. In universe however, Stimpacks have been noted for being used recreationally. Reapers also have an experimental Combat Drug that provides RegeneratingHealth with no ill effects, and the experimental Spectres with their Terazine dependence was considered a double-edged sword of pros and cons (but not to the extent that the Ghost Nova claimed) so Ghosts remained the standard.
178* HollywoodHealing: A lot of liberties are taken thanks to how effective medical units are. An infantry unit can tank many nasty weapons, but as long as they get to a Medic or Medivac, they will be as good as new even if their gear should logically be in shreds. There are variants of Stimpacks available that even ''heal'' instead of drain life, but only in co-op games and in the ''Nova Covert Ops'' campaign.
179* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Barracks units are heavily conscripted from resocialized hardened criminals and people who committed relatively minor offences (Marauders make up the latter). Firebats are made of recruits who tend to be [[{{Pyromaniac}} pyromaniacs,]] Ghosts have relatively mild personality quirks and only the occasional bit of AxCrazy here and there, while Medics are very professional. Reapers however could not be resocialized and have an InsanityImmunity.
180* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay: Ignoring the HollywoodHealing from medics, the Stimpacks affect infantry logically in melee. They provide faster movement and the ability to hold weapons steadier to deliver a faster rate of fire, but much like adrenaline, this can cause internal damage to the person from pushing their body past its limits and thus lower their capacity to take injury.
181[[/folder]]
182[[folder:SCV]]
183[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_SCV_3981.png]]
184->''"[=SCV=] good to go, Sir!"''\
185''"SCV ready!"''
186
187The workhorse of the Terrans, they're used to gather resources and construct buildings, as well as repairing damaged structures and mechanical units.
188----
189* ActionSurvivor: They're not designed for combat, but can still protect themselves despite their weak attack. They're notably the most durable of the worker units, 60 HP in the original game and 45 HP in the sequel compared to the Drones's 40 HP and the Probes's 20/20 HP and Shield. As a result, with maybe a couple marines to help out and/or conditional micro, it's possible for [=SCVs=] to fend off a Zergling rush.
190* BoringButPractical: Like every WorkerUnit. You're not getting anything done without them, so get used to spending plenty of minerals on them.
191* CaptainErsatz: They're basically enlarged versions of the Power-Loaders from ''Film/{{Aliens}}''.
192* CombatMedic: In the mechanical sense, they can repair vehicles and are often brought along for the steady HP restoration mid-combat (though it's not enough to save something under heavy fire).
193* DeadpanSnarker: The SCV is one of the sassiest Terran units, especially in the sequel. “My cow died last night, [[{{Pun}} so I don’t NEED your bull.]]”
194* EasyLogistics: Who needs things like resupply and repair pauses when you can have [=SCVs=] follow your army around and repair ''everything'' mechanical mid-combat? Even Thors and ''Battlecruisers''. While said Battlecruisers are ''midair''. In [=SC2=] onward, they can even repair Protoss mechanical units without concern of compatibility with their particular alloys, metals or unique electronics.
195* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Their drill can cut through hard minerals, and yet it does less damage than a marine's Gauss rifle.
196* LampshadeHanging: A possible response to commanding them to attack anything in [=StarCraft=] II is "What, you run out of marines?"
197* LegacyCharacter: [=SCVs=] are the workers that function the most like the Pesants/Peons of ''[[VideoGame/WarCraft Warcraft II]]''. They (and [=MULEs=]) have the unique ability to repair Terran structures and vehicles in melee matches [[labelnote:*]]''Starcraft II'' even upgraded this to include all Protoss mechanisms except for their structures.[[/labelnote]], and they are tied up while building a structure until it is finished. Like in ''Warcraft II'', they can build structures wherever there is buildable terrain without having to preplace a structure that enables a build radius.
198* MagicTool: 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. About the only thing it can't do is serve as decent weapon.
199* MiniMecha: [[UnitsNotToScale Despite appearing as tall as a Marine]]; that little glass window isn't the faceplate of the armor -- it's the ''cockpit'' of the mecha. It's still dwarfed by the [[HumongousMecha Thor]] though.
200* MrFixIt: They're able to fix anything mechanical, even Battlecruisers while they're in flight and in ''Starcraft II'' became capable of fixing Protoss technology too, but not their structures.
201* {{Nerf}}: Went from having 60 health in the original game to only 45 in the sequel, to discourage the classic CheeseStrategy of using them to tank for your marines in an early all-or-nothing rush.
202* PlugnPlayTechnology: SCV fusion welders are capable of servicing a wide variety of mechanical units. In ''II'', this includes Protoss vehicles and even ancient machines like the Colossus and Mothership which Terrans were unlikely to have studied physically beforehand.
203* RedShirt: Whichever unlucky SCV gets sent out to do some early scouting is liable to wind up as one of these if they encounter the enemy.
204* RidiculouslyFastConstruction: A single SCV can build huge buildings in usually little more than a minute, two minutes tops with the largest, the Command Center. Partially justified in both games since the animation implies the use of pre-fabricated parts, and in the sequel construction animations show a crane rig aiding the SCV in the work, but the little guy still builds structures much larger than it in lightning speed.
205* ThisIsADrill: Although their weapon is listed as "Fusion cutter", it is quite clearly this trope.
206* TokenMinority: in the original, the only black fellow in the entire Confederate Marine corps.
207* UnitsNotToScale: The design of the SCV's in-game sprites and models makes them about the same size as other Terran infantry, which may lead one to think the SCV is a bulky suit of construction-themed PoweredArmor and that glass panel in the front is the viewscreen. Actually, [=SCVs=] are MiniMecha much bigger than infantry, and that glass panel is the cockpit -- [[https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/File:TheFightin%27SceeVees_Cover1.jpg this is their actual size]].
208* WhatTheHellHero: All of the SCV’s quotes when ordered to attack in the sequel are a mix of this trope, ThisIsGonnaSuck, and FacingTheBulletsOneLiner. “THIS is your plan!?”
209* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Several of the SCV's StopPokingMe quotes in the first game state that the pilots aren't big fans of tight spaces.
210-->''"I told 'em I was claustrophobic! I gotta get outta here!"''
211* WorkerUnit: In Starcraft, [[CombatPragmatist there is no such thing as "just a worker unit"]]. Their sheer necessity for mining, constructing, and repairing makes them prime targets to harass or for back-line attacks.
212[[/folder]]
213
214[[folder:Marine]]
215[[quoteright:190:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Marine_754.png]]
216->''"You want a piece of me, boy?"''
217->''"Make way, comin' through."''
218
219The 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 comparatively small squad of Marines with Stimpacks and Medic support is a serious threat if the opponent isn't prepared for it.
220----
221* AbnormalAmmo: Their guns in [=SC1=] can be upgraded to fire depleted uranium slugs instead of steel spikes. This somehow increases their range, which is odd considering how dense, heavy and [[AbsurdlySharpBlade very]] [[MadeOfExplodium nasty]] depleted uranium shells are.
222* AntiAir: Not as specialised towards it as post-''Brood War'' Goliaths, but as the only basic infantry unit with ranged attacks (the Zerg Zergling and Protoss Zealot both being melee fighters), they are also the only ones who can attack air units.
223* ArbitraryGunPower: Their motorcycle-sized rifles look like they would easily be sized for rounds even larger than 12.7 mm [[labelnote:*]]An example of relatively large rifle round, also known as .50 BMG and suitable for anti-material duty.[[/labelnote]] and they're coil guns so those rounds really travel fast. However, they're actually weaker in-game per shot than the Ghost's human-portable sniper rifle when the need for the for a powered combat suit to even carry a Gauss Rifle means they should be even more powerful on a per shot basis. This is in the interest of PVPBalanced gameplay as Marines are a basic starting unit on the same tier as Zealots and Zerglings for the Protoss and Zerg respectively; they make up for the low damage per shot with Stimpack increasing their rate of fire to shower targets with a storm of bullets.
224* {{BFG}}: Their main weapon the Gauss Impaler rifle, which looks big even with their huge armor. ''It's as big as an unarmoured human being.''
225* BadassNormal: Just like the Terran as a whole, the Marines embody this trope. Facing two alien armies that are either genetically or technologically superior with nothing but their combat armor and their rifles, Marines will face down whatever comes their way and if need be, die pulling the trigger.
226* BodyArmorAsHitPoints: Their Combat Shield upgrade from ''Starcraft II'' doesn't actually function as a shield in any way, instead giving them 10 more hit points.
227* BoringYetPractical:
228** Not very exciting or impressive a unit on paper, but they form a necessary part of most mainstream strategies thanks to their low cost and build time, which makes them both easy to amass on short notice and an efficient way of defending or escorting other units which are more powerful but also more specialised.
229** The War Pigs are also the most basic ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign mercenary, and don't require hiring at the Hyperion Cantina, but the ability to summon them ''three times'', their ability to tank damage better than regular Marines, be healed by Medics, and also act as AntiAir make them great as part of your army or they can be kept in bunkers to act as a well-rounded base defense.
230* BoxedCrook: Standard procedure is to conscript criminals into the ranks and [[MindControl resocialize]] them into being obedient.
231* CannonFodder: PlayedForLaughs, even -- flavor text for the Medic in the ''Brood War'' manual mentions that with the Medic's support, the average life expectancy of a frontline Marine has risen to ''nine seconds''. Players can attest that in large late-game battles, that statistic is not an exaggeration.
232* CastFromHitPoints: Stimpack costs 10 HP but doubles their movement and attack rates for a period of time. However, if Medics are around, they can easily heal back the cost, with the number/energy of Medics as the only limit.
233* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: They're treated as a RedShirtArmy not long for the world once they get sent out, but in actual gameplay, a small group of Marines with good micro can be very dangerous in spite of their fragility. On the most famous professional ''Starcraft'' players, [=SlayerS_BoxeR=], is legendary for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2DNR57QvSY what he can do with marines]].
234* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Marines use a grenade launcher attachment on their assault rifles in cutscenes. In gameplay, it's not even a special ability ([[DummiedOut it was cut in Beta for being imbalanced]]). Similarly, ''SCII'' marines use a cutscene-only {{bayonet|ya}}, also cut for being imbalanced.
235* DiscardAndDraw: Between ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'' and ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', Stim-Packs went from doubling attack speed to a 1.5x multiplier. In exchange, Marines HitPoints increased to 45 up from 40 and they can further boost their HP to 55 with Combat Shields. This was beneficial in making Marines much more viable in all three match-ups.
236* DoNotRunWithAGun: {{Zigzagged}}. Terran Marines are programmed to play this trope straight: they either move or shoot, and never do both. However, by exploiting [[SomeDexterityRequired very rapid control inputs]], Marines can engage in "stutter-stepping" -- ordering the Marines to shoot (at which point they do all of their damage, even if the animation of their muzzle flares hasn't stopped), immediately ordering them to move in the desired drection, and then ordering them to shoot ''again'' when their refire cooldown has ended. [[MoreDakka Marines fire about 5 times every 3 seconds]], meaning that you're issuing those commands -- "Attack over here, move over there" -- on an 0.6-second cycle. Mastering this technique is a key step in developing professional levels of skill.
237* EliteMooks: Starcraft II has the Elite Marines, which have 150 HP and deal 9 damage, compared to the normal Marine's 45 HP and 6 damage. In addition to better armor and weapons, they also have Super Stimpacks, which not only further increases their move speed and rate of fire, but heals them for 2 HP per second. Each Elite Marine has an individual name upon selection, helping to make them stand out moreso than their less experienced counterparts.
238* GlassCannon: Give them Stimpacks and get a decent sized group and they'll destroy anything in seconds, and are the only basic ground unit that can attack air units. But they only have 40 HP (45 in the sequel) so even with Medics they'll withstand damage like tissue paper. The Combat Shield upgrade in the sequel downplays this weakness making it easier to pull them back from dying, in exchange for weaker Stimpacks. They're still more effective with Firebats/Marauders tanking blows for them, however.
239* LampshadeHanging: One of their StopPokingMe quotes:
240-->'''Marine:''' You ever notice that nobody ever comes ''back'' to the barracks?
241* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: The Combat Shield in ''Starcraft II'', which gives them 10 extra hit points.
242* MagneticWeapons: Their rifles are coilguns, which is how they can fire in space.
243* MascotMook: Used to represent the Terran faction in a lot of cases.
244* MoreDakka: Their rifles fire on full automatic. Expect to hear plenty of dakka when a sufficiently large group of them are in combat.
245* NonUniformUniform: In the original's cutscenes and the Codex, their suits are covered in slogans and decals. Apparently, nobody cares as long as you can tell their faction color. In the sequel, we see some who've put designs on their UV visor as well.
246* PowerArmor: Like all Terran infantry, the PowerArmor is designed to survive space vacuum first, [[BoxedCrook miniature prison]] second, and actual protection third. The result is that Marines' gauss rifles will tear straight through the glorified space suits and they don't fare any better against heavier weapons, though they work quite well against civilian weapons.
247* ProductionNickname: In the Alpha, they were called "Marauders."
248* RadioVoice: In SC1, they have crackling static for a split second before and after a quote.
249* RestrainingBolt: Because most Marines are conscripted criminals, they undergo neural resocializing to erase their memories and former personalities, giving them nice FakeMemories and rendering them completely obedient. Their suits are, basically, mobile prison cells that gives them the strength to carry [[{{BFG}} an assault rifle the size of a motorcycle]], with protection being a complete afterthought. According to the novels, their emergency cutoff switch shuts the suit down without ejecting the marine, rendering them immobile. Hell, they can't even get up from a fall by themselves.
250* SpaceMarine: Provide the page picture.
251* TookALevelInBadass: From ''Wings of Liberty'' on, Marines got their Stimpacks nerfed to a 50% attack haste down from 100% but in exchange, their got their base health increased from 40 to 45, and the player was able to purchase the Combat Shields upgrade to further boost this to 55. The net result was a boost to their viability in all matchups and considerable increase to their lifespan that more than made up for the Stimpack nerf. The addition of Marauders and Hellbats gave them the meat-shield support they needed if they are still at risk of dying. In the hands of a skilled player, Marines can defeat more enemies than their mineral cost would suggest. Additionally, the Protoss no longer have Reavers and Psionic Storm got nerfed, so Marines are no longer hard countered easily with essentially OneHitKill bursts of SplashDamage.
252[[/folder]]
253
254[[folder:Firebat]]
255[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Firebat_5963.png]]
256->''"Need a light?"''
257
258A bulkier infantry unit armed with wrist-mounted [[FireBreathingWeapon flamethrowers]], they excel at fighting lightly armored small units, making them ideal for fending off rushes of zerglings and zealots, but are helpless against armored enemies and air units.
259----
260* AntiInfantry: Always best used against large numbers of lightly-armoured units such as Zerglings.
261* ArmCannon: Their flamethrowers fire from their wrists.
262* AwesomeButImpractical:
263** In ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'', Firebats did almost three times as much damage as Marines and also dealt splash damage, and had higher HP and armor. However their melee range and terrible damage penalty against large units meant they were mostly useless against anything not a Zergling or Zealot. The sequel averted this thanks to rebalancing.
264** They're seen as this in-universe due to the pyromania and gas fumes that tend to end up afflicting even sane people, making them crazy and unstable as well as potentially a criminal with a violent history.
265* BalanceBuff: In the sequel, they have much higher HP and an upgrade for their armor, making them more effective meatshields to defend Marines than they were before.
266* BilingualBonus: In the Latin American Spanish translation of the second game, the Firebat is called Camazot. Camazotz was the Mayan bat god, and when adopted as a god by the K'iche' tribe, it became equivalent to their fire god. Combine both mythologies, and you get the [[{{Pun}} fire bat]] god.
267* BoxedCrook: Just like the Marine.
268* CastFromHitpoints: Shares the Marine's Stimpack.
269* CigarChomper: Had a great big one in the first game, due to the helmet being more like a Marine's.
270* DivergentCharacterEvolution:
271** With the introduction of Marauders, which are a better heavy damage unit all-around thanks to their ArmorPiercingAttack and ''Concussive Shells'' upgrade, the Firebat's armory upgrades develop them as tanks instead of damage-dealers -- their flamethrowers gain a 40% broader area-of-effect while their armour benefits from the appropriately-named [[TheJuggernaut Juggernaut Plating]], which upgrades their armor rating to 3, giving them the same base armour as a ''Battlecruiser''. Tellingly, during the mission 'Outbreak' which positions your initial troops near two choke points, the Firebats are in the front guarding the Marines and Medics.
272** They get one with the Hellion in the sequel. The Hellion is a FragileSpeedster, being quick and capable of dealing high damage in a straight line and run away before they are (easily destroyed); their Armory upgrades are exclusively oriented to dealing more damage or damaging on a wider area. The Firebat, on the other hand, is a MightyGlacier, meant to tank attacks from light units while the units they are protecting kill everything else; their Armory upgrades involve attacking on a wider area, or giving them much more base armor. The introduction of the Hellbat in ''Heart of the Swarm'' muddled waters a bit, however.
273* DrugsAreBad: By mainly their exposure to fumes from their poorly sealed fuel tanks, making many Firebats become pyromaniacs and very trigger happy.
274* FlamethrowerBackfire: Their death animation in the first game is the "disappears in a fireball with a despairing sceam" variant.
275* GlassCannon: In the first game. They have decent movement speed and deal a lot of damage against small units (further aided by their access to Stimpacks), but they attack at nearly melee range and they only have 10 more HP and 1 more base Armor than Marines. ''II'' changed them to more of a MightyGlacier unit due to the option to upgrade with Juggernaught Plating for +3 base armor on top of their increase of HP to 100.
276* HighlySpecificCounterplay: The original Firebat only deals full damage to light targets and has splash damage, however, this attribute is only applicable against Zergling swarms due to their small size and tendency to bunch up. In all their incarnations, they're meant to be supported by Marines and Medics/Medivacs, helping absorb damage and barbecuing light melee units with their flames.
277* KillItWithFire: Hint: they're called '''Fire'''bats, and they all tend to love fire as it is, before being recruited.
278* MightyGlacier: In the sequel. Their armor upgrades and higher HP makes them much more effective meat shields for Marines and Medics, the role they were intended for in the first game. They further trade in their damage penalty against large units for a damage buff to light ones, and in tandem with an upgrade for the range and radius of their flamethrowers, they're now effective melee troops. Still stuck being slow melee fighters, though.
279* MiniMecha: In the sequel, they take up two bunker slots each, the same as Marauders, and were originally going to be built from the Factory to represent the sheer bulk of their armor.
280* NoOSHACompliance: Lorewise, their leaky pilot's compartment makes their operator high on fuel fumes. This isn't just an occupational hazard, but also makes the soldiers loose cannons to fellow infantry from the negative health effects. Apparently, the engineers didn't think to make the fuel tanks & delivery systems more outboard from the armor. Their successor, the Hellbat corrected this design flaw.
281* PlasmaCannon: Their flamethrowers are plasma based, and act like you think a plasma gun would-it disperses after a few feet, making it necessary they get really close. Anything within that couple feet is in for a Bad Day(TM).
282* PowerArmor: Unlike Marine armor, Firebat suits have very thick plating designed for withstanding sustained fire -- useful for getting into melee range.
283* PsychoForHire: Even though both Marines and Firebats are mostly conscripted convicts, the majority of Firebats were convicted ''murderers'', with most of the rest being pyromaniacs.
284* {{Pyromaniac}}: According to flavor text, the operator compartment isn't properly sealed against the various gases and compounds used in their flamethrowers. Consequently, these gases leak into the compartment, and affect the Firebat's mind. Even sane conscripts tend to end up a little fire-happy after prolonged service.
285* SimpleYetAwesome: Verges into this in the sequel since they are lower in the tier rank, can be healed without cost unlike the Hellion or Predator[[note]]Without Science Vessels[[/note]] and can be garrisoned in a bunker, something incredibly useful given that most of the campaign is played defensively. Their short range also works to your advantage since this allows them to draw fire away from your fragile Marines while the latter deals the real damage.
286* SoundEffectBleep: In the sequel.
287-->'''Firebat:''' They do not know who they are (FWOOSH!)-ing with!
288* SplashDamage: A useful trait for facing Zerg.
289* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: While they're normally outclassed by going for a mech-based strategy or even just [[MoreDakka more marines]], Firebats are notable for being the only Terran unit capable of fully threatening Zerg units under the protection of a Defiler's Dark Swarm.
290* TookALevelInBadass: In the campaign, went from a niche (50 HP) anti-melee unit to an effective (100 HP) meat shield that could be fitted with Juggernaught Plating (1+2 armor); taken even further in ''Co-op Missions'', where Raynor's Hellbats can get an upgrade that doubles their health. Their flamethrowers weren't as effective as before but their considerable new durability would let them stay in battle much longer. In melee-mode, they were replaced with the Hellbat who could transform to and from their FragileSpeedster 4-wheeled Hellion mode.
291* VideogameFlamethrowersSuck: Theirs have low-range and a terrible damage penalty against larger enemies, in exchange for splash damage. This makes them terrible at fighting anything above Tier 1 units and workers.
292[[/folder]]
293
294[[folder:Medic]]
295[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/medic20.png]]
296->''"Prepped and ready!"''
297->''"The doctor is in."''
298
299Introduced in ''Starcraft: Brood War'', Medics can heal biological units, making the Terran infantry ''infinitely'' more useful by extending their longevity dramatically.
300----
301* CripplingOverspecialization: In ''Brood War'', Medics could use two other abilities besides healing -- ''Restore'', which saved the targeted unit from status debuffs such as the normally crippling [[TheTopicOfCancer Plague]] deployed by the Zerg Defiler, and ''Optic Flare'', which blinded the targeted unit and removed the ability (if they had it) to detect cloaked or burrowed units. In ''Starcraft II'', their only function is healing the nearest infantry unit to require medical attention. They can get armory upgrades to increase the speed and cost efficiency of their healing and allow them to be trained without the use of a Tech Lab, though, so it's not exactly a ''bad'' thing; it just greatly reduces their need and utility around machines. (Mechanical units could still get Plague and there was also the Terran Ghost's Lockdown ability...)
302* DeadlyDoctor: Not actually, but Medic attack quotes do exist and can be played if you attack a unit while selecting the Medic(s) from among a group of unts who ''are'' able to attack it. Presumably, if one were to give them an attack using the Map Editor, one could say they would be a more clear-cut example of this.
303* EasyLogistics: Medics are equipped to heal ''any'' biological unit, including Zerg and Protoss, just as easily as Terrans. Medics {{Lampshade}} this humorously with one of their StopPokingMe quotes in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII''.
304-->'''Medic:''' There's a Protoss here that needs mouth-to-m... uh. Well, mouth-to-something.
305* GameplayAndStorySegregation: For how allegedly inferior the Terrans are to the Zerg and Protoss, their medical technology appears to be very advanced as it can even heal non-Terrans with relative ease.
306* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: The Medic has noticeable blonde hair in her ''Starcraft II'' portrait and is generally the nicest unit (in terms of quotes) in the Terran arsenal.
307* TheIntern: In the sequel, particularly in her StopPokingMe quotes.
308-->'''Medic:''' Congratulations, you're my first patient -- ever!
309* TheMedic: The name is a hint -- Medics specialize in healing other units.
310* {{Nanomachines}}: The official explanation for how their abilities work.
311* NonActionGuy: Sort of -- she doesn't have a basic attack for self-defence, but can still wade into the same situations Marines, Firebats and Ghosts can without trouble to lend aid to units who need it.
312* PluckyGirl: Cheerful, intrepid and eager to help.
313* PowerArmor: Wears the CMC-405 light combat suit.
314* SerpentOfImmortality: In ''Brood War'', one of her unique upgrades was the ''Caduceus Reactor'' (+12 to starting Energy and +50 to overall Energy), which is an Ancient Greek symbol consisting of a staff with two serpents coiled around it viewed as a medicinal symbol. This symbol is also painted on her armour, as seen in the Medic portrait. The Medivac shares this symbol (largely because their portraits are basically the same apart from the [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience red and blue lighting in either]]) and used the same upgrade prior to ''Legacy of the Void''.
315* ShootTheMedicFirst: In ''[=StarCraft=] II'' a new value assigned to units determines what targets the AI gives priority to killing. Medics get higher priority than other infantry, meaning the AI will try to kill them first if it sees them.
316* SimpleYetAwesome: In the first game, Medics are highly effective {{Support Party Member}}s who can heal infantry, remove debuffs and remove the threat posed by mobile detectors. In the second their healing is their only selling point, but they're even more of a staple in any army becasue they're cheaper and more affordable than Medivacs.
317* SquishyWizard: Averted, comparatively 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, making only the Marine weaker than them, and only by 5 HP.
318* TheTease: In the first game she's quite the flirt, playfully offering to give the player a "physical" and a "sponge-bath" and asking the normally innocuous question, "Where does it hurt?" in [[DoubleEntendre the most not-so-innocuous manner possible]]. And in case you think she's an InnocentFanserviceGirl, her portrait's idle animation consists of her looking [[AsideGlance right at the player]] and ''winking''.
319[[/folder]]
320
321[[folder:Ghost]]
322[[quoteright:261:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Ghost_6936.png]]
323->''"Somebody call for an exterminator?"''\
324"Ghost reporting..."
325
326The 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 ''Starcraft I'' they're support troops that specialize in calling down nuclear bombardments and disabling mechanical units. In ''Starcraft II'', they're TruerToTheText, retaining their nuke targeting, but now specialized in sniping biological targets and using EMP Shots to drain caster energy and/or Protoss Plasma Shields.
327----
328* AchillesHeel: Ironically enough, they are very vulnerable to [[ManaBurn having their Energy drained]] by High Templar. Ghost vs Templar battles will usually be decided by the Ghost beating the Templar in a QuickDraw by casting EMP before the Templar can cast Feedback and vice versa, with the winner's army gaining an advantage.
329* AntiStructure: Nukes scale up in damage, the math depending on which itteration of nuke is being used. Nukes as of ''Brood War'' deal a minimum of 500 damage or 66% of a target's maximum health, whichever is greater, so they ''really'' soften up structures, and will take out most defensive batteries in one nuke. ''Starcraft II'' "Tactical Nukes" only deal a maximum of 500 damage and only to structures, but are half as costly to build and thus more spammable by Ghosts; they also one-shot most defensive structures in the center of blast.
330* ArmorPiercingAttack: Snipe is effective at devastating single heavily-armored biological targets. Steady Targeting is even more devastating, but requires time for the Ghost the steady their sights.
331* ArtisticLicenseEngineering: The Nuclear Missile delivers its payload with the rocket thrusters included, even in cases where the extra thrust would be unnecessary and terminal velocity or momentum would do the rest of the work delivering the ICBM. Also, there's little reason NOT to launch a nuke ''without'' the Ghost; while this is to prevent [[HandWave "outside tampering"]] with the missile, this is just here for balance restrictions as being able to nuke anywhere on the map would be harder to balance.
332* AwesomeButImpractical: In the first game, they're at the very top of the Terran tech tree, they require expensive upgrades to reach their full potential, and if you want to Nuke, you need to build a Nuclear Silo once the Ghost is enabled and then build a Nuke at it. By the time you have Ghosts properly prepared to go on missions, any half-decent opponent will have scouted your tech, seen the Covert Ops or Nuclear Silo letting them know exactly what's coming, and they'll be ready with detectors. The sequel averts this by making them much lower on the tech tree, requiring a Ghost Academy (which requires a Barracks), their only required upgrade is Cloak, and Nukes are built at the Ghost Academy; this all makes it much more viable (though still not without risk) to get Ghosts out early in the game and they'll have more to contribute to your army.
333* AxCrazy: Ghosts aren't exactly the most mentally stable Terran units, if certain quotes of theirs in ''II'' are any indication.
334* BadassBoast:
335-->'''Ghost:''' You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind.
336* BalanceBuff: The sequel gave them much lower tech requirements and gave them EMP shot out the door instead of needing it to be researched. This makes them much cheaper to train and easier to deploy.
337* {{BFG}}: The Ghost's [[SwissArmyWeapon all-in-one Cannister Rifle]] went from a basic attack that was only passable against light targets to one that hits twice as hard against light armor and is still a decent attack against everything else. Unlike most [=BFGs=], the rifle's ultimate attack isn't a super powerful shot, but a target painter for guiding nukes to targets for similar destructive effect. The Ghost may also spend some of their energy to steady their rifle and outright annihilate most Biological targets.
338* BloodKnight: Their typical response to being given an attack order in ''Starcraft II''?
339-->'''Ghost:''' Well, colour me happy!
340* BoomHeadshot: Their Snipe ability, especially if you kill a unit with it.
341* ColdSniper: Soft-spoken, grim and subtly unstable.
342* CrosshairAware: Beware the blinking red dot if you see it in your base and find the source '''''immediately'''''![[note]]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.[[/note]]
343* DeathFromAbove: Their Nukes fly in from the skies once the targeting sequence is complete.
344* DodgeTheBullet: According to ExpandedUniverse materials (''Starcraft Ghost: Spectres'' to be exact), they are capable of pulling this off. This may be the reason why in the second game they have twice the hit points of a marine while using lighter armour.
345* TheDreaded: It's notable that both the Protoss and Zerg can specifically detect the launch of nuclear weapons. This acute awareness of nuclear launches is a plot point in a ''Heart of the Swarm'' mission where Kerrigan is evicting General Warfield from Char and he desperately spams nukes. In melee-mode, nuke alerts are a balance restriction, because nukes can OneHitKill a wide variety of units with just a single missile. Indeed, one missile can annihilate a player's mineral line if they don't suspect a Ghost is targeting there.
346* ElectronicEyes: One of their upgrades in the original game involved removing their organic eyes with "superior" replacements, allowing them to call down nukes from out of its range. Though fairly common by the sequel, in the original the surgery was noted to be extremely painful.
347* {{EMP}}: Their Lockdown ability is explained as this, short-circuiting mechanical units to stun them. In the sequel they swap it out for the Science Vessel's EMP, draining the shields and energy of units in a radius.
348* FacelessGoons: To emphasize the fact that they have almost no humanity left, since they're subject to ''very'' heavy doses of brainwashing and implants. However, as Kerrigan demonstrated in ''Starcraft I'' Episode II, this tinkering can be reversed and may even lead to prodigious abilities being discovered.
349* FixedDamageAttack:
350** In ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', nukes were reworked, to always deal 500 points of damage to structures, and 300 to mobile units, [[ArmorPiercingAttack ignoring armor]]. This makes them weaker overall but each nuke costs half as much and no longer requires supply points to build. They're called Tactical Nukes in this incarnation. Likewise, their Snipe and Steady Targeting completely bypass armor values and will always deal their full damage.
351** Snipe or Steady Targeting are actually spells even though they involve Ghosts using their rifles. Armor points are completely ignored for the damage dealt. Some itterations of Snipe only deal full damage to Psionic targets, however, as a balance rule but Steady Targeting succeeded the former ultimately.
352* FormFittingWardrobe: Ghost suits are represented in the lore as tight {{Spy Catsuit}}s, which is why Ghosts have no armor rating.
353* GameplayAndStorySegregation: As told above, according to the lore Ghosts are elite assassins capable of a variety of psychic abilities including mind-reading, super-speed and reflexes, HyperAwareness, and more. None of these abilities come into play in any game thus far, though ''Ghost'' would have included them in various capacities.
354* GlassCannon: They move decently fast and pack a decent punch offensively, but are easily killed. This is subverted in the sequel where they now have 100 HitPoints instead of 45 and very few units deal bonus damage to them due to being neither Armored nor Light (They're Biological / Psionic) and having versatile abilities to defend themselves with. In both games, their ability to call in nukes allows them to deal more damage to an enemy base than any other non-campaign unit, but the Ghost is highly vulnerable until it lands as they can't move or use their rifle to attack enemies (it's busy painting the nuke target).
355* HitAndRunTactics: Players beware, as the Protoss Dark Templar rush can be emulated by the Terrans in ''Starcraft II'' thanks to the Ghost Academy being accessible early in a game. A trio of Ghosts can be trained from one Barracks in approximately the time it takes to research their cloak. If one can spare the energy, EMP even gives Ghosts countermeasures against some detection methods like Oracles or Orbital Commands. The danger gets higher once the Terran has a Factory to enable Nuke production.
356* InvisibilityCloak: Courtesy of their Personal Cloaking Device, which is psionically-powered.
357* JackOfAllStats: In ''Starcraft II'', Ghosts are very well rounded, with a good health pool of 100 hp, no glaring damage-type weaknesses, and are capable of taking on multiple tasks. On top of having good attack range and decent damage against targets that aren't light, they can use their energy to activate their invisibility cloak to use their skill set from relative safety, siege bases or zone away armies with Nukes, and snipe Biological targets of opportunity. Additionally, they can deploy EMP shots to decloak targets at least temporarily, drain energy so spell casters can't use abilities, and/or drain shields from Protoss targets. Each Ghost has a reasonable cost for their sheer versatility, at 150 minerals and 125 gas. Fully upgraded in Infantry Weapons, each basic attack is assured to be a 2-hit-kill against any worker unit, making a pair of Ghosts or more a menace to an unprotected mining base.
358* MageKiller: Their tool kit in ''Starcraft II'' is focused upon eliminating priority support targets from battle with their EMP Shot and Steady Targeting ability being well suited to this task. They can also cloak to attempt to avoid counter-attack from their targets, such as being hit by the High Templars' Feedback.
359* MagicKnight: The only non-hero spellcaster that can directly attack. In ''Starcraft II'', their rifle is optimal for light armor which makes two or more a worry if they sneak into a mineral line. Their Nuke attack effectively lets them channel a devastating spell that hits for colossal damage after the countdown is complete plus they can ManaBurn with their {{EMP}}, or "nuke" single biological targets by sniping. They could originally stun mechanical targets with Lockdown, use Cloak, and Nuke, but weren't typically ideal for their attack alone due to being at the top of the TechTree and being weak shooting anything that isn't lightly armored.
360* ManaBurn: {{EMP}} does this to Energy, effectively stopping special units from using their abilities.
361* MundaneUtility: In ''Starcraft II'', the Tactical Nuke can fill this role thanks their price getting slashed in half in exchange for a smaller payload. One of their uses is where nukes are targeted out in the battlefield to discourage an opponent from advancing, and another is using a nuclear strike to target an opponent's workers at a mineral line. In short, nukes can make a nice diversion due to retaining the ability to annihilate an entire group of units.
362* NoOntologicalInertia: If you kill a Ghost targeting a Nuclear Launch, the missile strike doesn't happen. Doesn't matter if it's within the last possible second and the nuke was visibly about to reach the ground, if the Ghost dies it'll just vanish.
363* NoSell: As far as damage penalties to their health goes, they are neither light nor armored, denying many units their damage bonuses. They are Biological and Psionic which makes them vulnerable to Protoss Archons, but Ghosts themselves are a potential counter to Archons due their EMP rounds and much longer attack range. The Biological attribute also makes Ghosts vulnerable to being sniped by opposing Ghosts and the Psionic attribute gives Ghosts a vulnerability to being disabled by Interference Matrix but thats about it as far as pronounced vulnerabilities go.
364* NukeEm: The result of giving psychologically unstable special ops access to nuclear missiles.
365-->'''Ghost:''' Whenever I see a world untouched by war, a world of innocence, a world of lush forests and clear rivers... I really just wanna ''nuke the crap out of it!''
366-->'''Ghost:''' Today's forecast is... extra bomby, slight chance of mushroom clouds.
367* ParodyProductPlacement: An in-universe company called Nuke Noodles has capitalized on the Ghosts' fame and has the tag line of "Call down the flavor." You get to see their ads on TV in the Hyperion Cantina periodically.
368* PercentDamageAttack: PlayedWith, in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'', a nuke deals a minimum of 500 points of damage or an amount equal to 66% of a unit's total health, whichever is greater in value. Armor points affect the final value, which is why an undamaged Battlecruiser will survive with at least 3 HitPoints.
369* PsychicPowers: Ghost candidates are born with them and they're honed to a deadly edge during training.
370* PsychoSerum: It's noted that the drugs that enhance Ghosts' psychic abilities are not... very good for their mental stability, though that's dealt with using brainwashing.
371* RestrainingBolt: Unlike the Marine theirs isn't just to keep them obedient, it's to keep their powers in check. The restraint can be removed by various methods, like using reverse-engineering as a figurative "bolt cutter" (Kerrigan did this by hacking into the Amerigo data banks), or by more risky methods line ingesting Terazine.
372* SimpleYetAwesome:
373** InUniverse, but only in comparison to the experimental spectres. They may not have the raw power of Spectres, but they don't need to "cheat" by dosing on Terrazine and thus won't need Jorium to curb the dangerous side-effects. Yet Ghosts can still become powerful in their own right, with Nova being one of the most powerful psionic operatives without Terrazine or Zerg infestation being a factor.
374** In the ''VideoGame/WingsOfLiberty'' campaign, Ghosts (as well as the mutually-exclusive Spectres) can become equipped to remain permanently cloaked once you engage their field. It might seem mundane, but makes Ghosts much less risky to use, and you have a permantely-cloaked scout to send out for exploration and/or nuking targets.
375* SlapOnTheWristNuke: The nuke they summon has a relatively small area of effect. However, it will destroy most units outright. It's much weaker in the sequel, but still can cause havoc if used correctly. In the original sense of the trope, the area that gets nuked is still usable and non-radioactive soon afterwards. Justified in universe as a measure to lower collateral damage.
376* TheSneakyGuy[=/=]StealthExpert: Thanks to said cloak. Unless an enemy has TrueSight, they stay cloaked as long as their Energy meter lets them.
377* TelepathicSpacemen: A special division of the Terrans with psychic powers.
378* TookALevelInBadass: In ''II'', the Ghost became a much more versatile unit, trading their weapon's weakness against any armor stronger than light for passable damage against all targets but with bonus damage against light armor. (A baseline of 10 (+10 VS Light). ) On top of that, their sniping skills were brought front and center, allowing them to spend energy perform Steady Targeting and deliver a whopping 170 unresistable damage to a Biological target. They also traded their Mechanical-only Lockdown for a more versatile EMP Round that removes up to 100 shields and energy on ''any'' target, and got an increase of hitpoints to 100 from 45. They now require more resources and twice the supply but are generally well worth it if you use their abilities well.
379* YouNukeEm: Ghosts aren't known for their subtlety in dealing with larger problems.
380* YouHaveResearchedBreathing: A very pronounced example until the sequel revamp. Originally, despite being elite psionic assassins, they started with no special abilities and only had a weak attack that was only decent against workers and light armor. Only after research could they cast Lockdown or cloak up. ''Wings of Liberty'' and its derivatives give Ghosts an {{EMP}} and an actual sniping ability right out of the gate, and only their cloak requires research. (In campaign mode, Ghosts start with cloaking as well.)
381* YourHeadAsplode: The typical result of a Ghost using Snipe on a target and presumably Steady Targeting as well.
382[[/folder]]
383
384[[folder:Marauder]]
385[[quoteright:249:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Marauder_7080.jpg]]
386->''"Kaboom, baby!"''
387->''"It's about to get heavy!"''
388
389Adapted from the Firebat suit, Marauders act as support troops for infantry. Their armament is a pair of wrist-mounted grenade launchers that slow down enemies on impact.
390----
391* ArmCannon: They attack with wrist-mounted grenade launchers.
392* AntiArmor: Their grenade launchers do extra damage against armored enemies and structures, at the cost of reduced effectiveness against lightly armored units.
393* TheBigGuy: Among the Terran infantry units, the Marauder is the biggest and the loudest troop type.
394* BoisterousBruiser: Big, loud, and always ready to fight. You can really hear it in their lines.
395--> "Ka-BOOM, baby!"
396--> "Let's have a BLAST!"
397* BoxedCrook: Flavor text happily lets you know that 47% of Marauders have not served jail time, and ''only'' 23% have been accused of murder! The joke is they're a comparative improvement to Marines, Reapers and Firebats, who are a definite vast majority of {{Boxed Crook}}s with the latter also adding a likelihood of pyromania into the mix.
398* CallBack: In development their models were originally designed for the next generation Firebats. In story, their redesign into the Maruader is noted by the Terrans heavily modifying the Firebat armor schematic for their new Marauder units.
399* CasanovaWannabe: The Marauder’s StopPokingMe lines point to him being a compulsive flirt.
400* CastFromHitpoints: Stimpacks grant a burst of movement speed and fire rate, but they cause 20 points of damage because DrugsAreBad.
401* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: After the Firebat got the axe from multiplayer during development of ''Wings of Liberty'', their unit model was modified to use for the Marauder. World lore for them explains that the Marauders use a suit of PoweredArmor that is the same basic suit of armor as what Firebats use, but has been heavily modified.
402* GentleGiant: Downplayed. The armor marauders use makes them bigger than other infantry and flavor text for them in ''Wings of Liberty'' says that only 53% of them have served jail time and most haven't even been accused of murder, in comparison to most terran infantry being {{BoxedCrook}}s.
403* GlowingMechanicalEyes: Thanks to their PoweredArmor.
404* GrenadeLauncher: What's mounted on each ArmCannon.
405* GrenadeSpam: Pretty much what they're meant to do. Build a few Marauders, pop Stimpacks, and watch things explode.
406* GunsAkimbo: Alternates between grenade launchers in ''Wings of Liberty'' and ''Heart of the Swarm'', fires both simultaneously in ''Legacy of the Void''.
407* HandicappedBadass: Played for laughs.
408--> "Yeah, I got all five fingers! Three on this hand, two on the other one!"
409* HeavilyArmoredMook: Unlike Marines, Reapers, and Ghosts, Marauder armor is built to withstand damage on the frontline. In-game, this is reflected in their armor type, allowing them to soak up light attacks but be vulnerable to AntiArmor.
410* IncomingHam: When he exits the Barracks, he sometimes shouts, "KABOOM baby!"
411* LightningBruiser: They move fairly fast, pack a punch, and have a good amount of HP. Then, you get them their Stimpacks and Concussive Shells, increasing their movement and firing rates and giving any unit they attack a penalty to movement and firing rates.
412* MagneticWeapons: The "Magrail Munitions" upgrade in the ''Covert Ops'' DLC gives them a railgun as a SecondaryFire.
413* MobileFactory: The K12 autoloader assembly acts as one, efficiently granting Marauder BottomlessMagazines.
414* MookLieutenant: During the ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign one can be observed -- in "Piercing the Shroud" -- ordering his troops to not let Raynor's Raiders into the lab they've arrived at to infiltrate.
415* NoOSHACompliance: The reason for Kinetic Foam was because soldiers were sustaining injuries or dying from the kinetic impacts on their suits, almost defeating the point of the armor. With this innovation, their HitPoints are boosted to 125 from 100, making the suit even sturdier than some Factory machines, and on par with a Goliath. In melee, this HP increase is standard and seamless.
416* PaletteSwap: After the Firebat got the cut, the Marauder was given a recolored and modified texture of their model.
417* PoweredArmor: Wear modified Firebat armor with grenade launchers in place of flamethrowers. Like Firebats before them, they can take a much harder beating than Marine armor and still survive.
418* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The main reason their suit is an evolution of the Firebat suit is because the Firebat was deemed under-performing in multiplayer melee during beta playtesting, so it was replaced by the Marauder as a different heavy infantry unit to support Marines. Thus, in story, the Firebats were phased out and their gear was redesigned for an AntiArmor role. ''Heart of the Swarm'' reintroduced the Firebat as the Hellbat mode for the Hellion ATV.
419* SimpleYetAwesome: They produce almost as quickly as Marines, and move as fast as them too. A simple force of Marines and Marauders is easy to set up and all set against most air and armor threats.
420* ShoutOut:
421** They're named for the Mobile Infantry's PoweredArmor from ''Literature/StarshipTroopers''.
422** Marauder was a working title for the Marine unit in the original ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft|I}}''.
423* SoulBrotha: Talks with a deep baritone voice and tosses a lot of slang and enthusiastic boasting.
424* StatusEffects: Concussive Shells slow non-massive units.
425* StuffBlowingUp: What tends to happen when Marauders get busy. The units themselves are plenty happy with their work.
426* SupportPartyMember: In the single-player campaign of ''Wings of Liberty'', they can't use Stimpacks like they can in melee play, shuffling them into this role -- they can't move as fast as Marines and have overall inferior DPS, but can absorb a lot more punishment, can better focus down armored enemies, and the slowing effect of their grenades is still here and is area-of-effect now. You'll still want several Marauders accompanying your infantry, but they aren't the powerhouses they are in melee.
427[[/folder]]
428
429[[folder:Reaper]]
430[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Reaper_2699.png]]
431->''"The Grim Reaper has arrived..."''
432
433Reapers are speedy base raiders armed with handguns and explosives, and equipped with jetpacks that let them leap up and down cliffs to quickly infiltrate enemy lines.
434----
435* AntiStructure: In their original ''Wings of Liberty'' configuration, they were able to hurl explosive packs at buildings, but this proved to be difficult to balance so this attack was eventually dropped. This got lampshaded in the Starcraft Field Manual with the Marine author mentioning that Reapers are rarely allowed to carry explosives anymore due to the questionable sanity of the Reaper recruits.
436* BalanceBuff: In ''Heart of the Swarm'', they got Combat Drugs that let them regenerate health when not under fire. In ''Legacy of the Void'' they gained [=KD8=] charges, that explode after a short delay, dealing damage and [[BlownAcrossTheRoom knocking back nearby units]]. They can also be built without the need of a Tech Lab, giving them a clearer niche as a very early-game worker line harasser.
437* BilingualBonus: In the latin american spanish translation, the Reaper is called Yum-Kimil, which was the mayan god of death - keeping with the "god of death" ThemeNaming.
438* BoxedCrook: The Dominion's Reapers are one of the few units that are entirely composed of convicted murderers. They are promised freedom after two years of service. Thus far, none have lasted more than six months.
439* CannonFodder: In-universe, the convicts that become Reapers are even more of this than Marines, since they're murderers deliberately being given suicide missions. In melee, they're barely stronger than Combat-Shield-Marines, and used for hit-and-run attacks until the opponent fortifies their home fronts.
440* CrutchCharacter: As heavy harass units, most of their value is found earlier on by hampering the enemy's economy. HitAndRunTactics only work so many times before smart opponents will just build rear-line defenses, making such tactics suicidal. They also tend to not find their way into Terran ground armies due to Marines having better damage and the ability to shoot up. This was acknowledged in ''Heart of the Swarm'' by giving them at least some of the Nitro Pack speed boost innately, removing their AntiStructure attack and eventually replacing that with the defensive [=KD8=] charges. This emphasizes their role as a fast and agile early-game scout unit that is seldom useful late game if you somehow need a quick recon unit on short notice.
441* DifficultButAwesome: Given their FragileSpeedster and GlassCannon traits, a player must be very good at micromanaging hit-and-run attacks for Reapers to be worth using. Their campaign variant is also this to a lesser extent, since they can outrun your Marines, Marauders and Medics but can have their range boosted to let them hang back behind Marines slightly, and deal extra damage to light armor (excellent for anti-Zerg levels). They can optionally be upgraded with D8 delayed explosives to act similar to a [[SquishyWizard support spell caster]] of sorts.
442* DemolitionsExpert: Prior to ''Heart of the Swarm'', Reapers chucked D8 charges at things, which made for surprisingly devastating damage to buildings. ''Legacy of the Void'' gave them [=KD8=] charges, an activated ability that damages and knocks back everything caught in the blast.
443* DualWielding: They use double-pistols. The Icehouse short story indicates they have to achieve a 75% hit-rate on the range with one pistol before they begin training with two.
444* DungeonBypass: The whole point of the jetpack is to let them jump up and down cliffs, letting them bypass the bottleneck that each base uses as its entry point.
445* {{Emoticon}}: Their demo charges are named "[=D8=] Charges", which looks like a horrified face. They were upgraded to "[=KD8=] Cluster Bombs" after being UnCancelled in ''[=LotV=],'' which is that same upset face plus an explosion.
446* ExpressiveMask: [[DownplayedTrope It’s very subtle,]] but if you look at the Reaper’s animated portrait, his goggles actually change shape like eyebrows or eyelids.
447* FragileSpeedster: Besides the fact they're innately quick, their ability to jump up and down cliffs lets them escape pursuers that way as well. However, they're very fragile. Since ''Heart of the Swarm'', their damage rate was nerfed and they lost their structure bombs, but they could heal themselves outside of combat, and push away attackers with their [=KD8=] charges.
448* GlassCannon: In the ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign, The damage and rate of fire of their bombs makes them on par with the Siege Tank at building demolition. They also get two armory upgrades, one to raise their damage output against light armor, the other to plant time bombs on the ground that hit very hard in a certain radius. They eventually lost this status and become ''only'' a FragileSpeedster, but no longer required a Tech Lab to produce, which gave them a clear early-game-scouting and harassment niche.
449* GradualRegeneration: How their self-healing works.
450* GrenadeSpam: Their [=KD8=] charges have a short cooldown and don't require energy.
451* GunsAkimbo: Wield dual pistols.
452* HandCannon: They carry dual Gauss Pistols which are very effective against light targets but they're only this effective in ''Wings of Liberty''; later expansions took away this advantage, just making their pistols a decent bonus for a fast scouting unit. The Icehouse story describes their fierce recoil as being barely manageable even with their suits (accordingly tearing the shooting range to shreds and [[TrainingFromHell causing several trainees to be shot from their fellow inmates]]). Unusually for video game pistols, the base damage of their rounds are portrayed as having only 66% of the punch of Gauss Rifle shells (before upgrades) just as many real life rifles outclass even magnum pistol rounds.
453* HandWave: The explanation for why they lost their AntiStructure bombs in ''Heart of the Swarm'' is that the Dominion decided that giving explosives to recruits too psychotic to Resocialize was a bad idea. This is presumably why their melee-mode variant could never use the [=D8=] charges as a special ability.
454* HealThyself: As of ''Heart of the Swarm'', their combat drugs let them regenerate health when not under fire.
455* HitAndRunTactics: The only effective way to use Reapers is this way, quickly jumping cliffs, harassing the enemy's mineral line, then getting the hell out once they draw attention (being rather poor at head-on fights). Rinse and repeat.
456* IncrediblyObviousBomb: Blinking lights? Check. Beeping noise? Check.
457* InsanityImmunity: Reapers tend to be made up of the criminals who are so crazy that even ''[[{{Brainwashed}} neural resocialization]]'' doesn't fix them.
458* JetPack: What lets them move so fast for infantry and [[JumpJetPack hop ledges at will.]]
459* {{Knockback}}: [=KD8=] Charges push units caught in the blast for a small distance, disrupting their actions for about one second. The effect deals very little damage.
460* MadBomber: While not all the time, Reapers tend to be equipped with some form of explosives; ''Wings of Liberty'' has G-4 Cluster Bombs, ''Legacy of the Void'' gives them [[{{Knockback}} defensive [=KD8=] charges]], and ''Nova Covert Ops'' introduces them equipped with [[ActionBomb Spider Mines]]. The unnamed Marine in the Starcraft Field Manual lampshades this:
461--> '''Marine's Footnotes:''' "They don't let them carry the bombs much these days. Something about how giving bombs to the guys too crazy to resoc was a bad idea."
462* MeaningfulName: [=KD8=] bombs take down buildings very fast. [=D8=] is also an emoticon for shock or dismay, with the "K" providing a bomb blast.
463* OvershadowedByAwesome: The Reaper struggled to stand out in ''Wings of Liberty'' due to its cost and it competing with [[SimpleYetAwesome Marines and Marauders]]. In ''Heart of the Swarm'' and ''Legacy of the Void'' Reapers got some abilities that improve their HitAndRunTactics capabilities, giving Reapers a more clear niche.
464* {{Nerf}}: Used to do huge damage against buildings in ''Wings of Liberty''.
465* RecursiveAmmo: G-4 Clusterbomb they use in campaign.
466* SecondaryFire: How D8 charges work in ''Wings of Liberty''.
467* SplashDamage: G-4 Clusterbomb in campaign and [=KD8=] charges in ''Legacy of the Void''
468* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: In the ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign, the usefulness of the Reaper drops off hard after two early missions. Reapers are useful on their introduction mission, "The Devil's Playground," because their cliff-jumping ability allows them to grab the many resource pick-ups that are spread out around the map up cliff elevations. They're also the best strategy on "Breakout" because their basic bomb throwing attack against buildings is incredible for taking down the level's many infested structures. After that though, cliff-jumping very rarely pops up again, and building destruction gets better alternatives higher up the tech-tree, such as Siege Tanks.
469* ThrowDownTheBomblet: D8 charges in ''Wings of Liberty'', [=KD8=] charges in ''Legacy of the Void''.
470* TrainingFromHell: The Icehouse short story elaborates on Reaper training in the Dominion, which is brutally harsh and unsurprisingly only gets around 10-15% of its recruits becoming surviving graduates - recruits sleep at arbitrary times and amounts (usually insufficient), are constantly surveilled, fed a variety of porridges laced with many different chemicals in batches that are far from unlikely to prove poisonous (some of one trainee's vital organs even turned to slush), have to prove themselves worthwhile for medical treatment, and naturally are rigorously trained physically all day as well before later receiving extremely-dangerous live weapons and equipment training...all to culminate in them consuming aggression-inducing chemicals laced in their food and suddenly having large robotic cats and zerg sicced on them while they have to run to the armories to be able to properly fight back. Fortunately, Valerian Mengsk would later replace the Reaper corps' regime with something more humane.
471** Considering how the trainees are generally criminal dregs that couldn't be resocialized, there's the implication that Reaper training is really more intended to kill the miscreants undergoing it while any surviving to actually become Reapers are probably more a useful side-effect. Accordingly, the warden running the program himself clearly thought that the Reaper program could yield far better gains from receiving a higher-standard of recruits rather than implicitly killing a bunch of crooks and seeing who gets left.
472* UriahGambit: While not outright stated, Reapers tend to be sent on suicidal missions so the Dominion doesn't have to deal with them anymore, and that's [[TrainingFromHell if their training doesn't leave them dead already]]. They technically have a mandatory service of 2 years, but very few live past ''6 months'', let alone survive long enough to be discharged. Presumably, some of them may have defected to factions like Mira's Marauders, as the multiplayer skins show that she has Reapers of her own.
473[[/folder]]
474
475[[folder:Spectre]]
476[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Spectre_2108.png]]
477->''"I have awakened..."''
478
479Advanced Ghosts, Spectres are even deadlier assassins than their counterparts, but are also more unstable. At least, that's the Dominion propaganda; they can potentially be crazier, but the real problem is that they can't be controlled the way Ghosts can.
480----
481* ArmorPiercingAttack: Unlike the Ghost, who has a bonus damage against light units; this is also highlighted by their upgradeable ability ''Psionic Lash'', which is essentially an infantry version of the '''Yamato Cannon'''.
482* AwesomeButImpractical: Seen as this by Nova and several people InUniverse. Their powers are impressive with the ability to unleash a devastating burst of energy that can deal heavy damage, and they are arguably on par with Protoss psionics. However, exposure to Terrazine (which they consume to keep their heightened powers) has unpleasant side effects that require regular Jorium doses to regulate or else they risk going psychotic.
483* AxCrazy: Subverted; some people believe this to be true of them, but others (most notably Dr. Hanson) find out that there's little to no evidence of Spectres being more prone to psychotic behavior than anybody else. The terrazine that they take ''is'' addictive, however, and ''can'' result in insanity (although, again, not necessarily the psycho kind) if not taken in regulated doses and/or taken with jorium (which can dull the side effects).
484* DivergentCharacterEvolution: Ghosts turn their psionic powers towards stealth, infiltration and sabotage. Spectres are what Ghosts would be if they utilised more obvious and visible abilities.
485* DodgeTheBullet: According to ExpandedUniverse materials(Starcraft Ghost: Spectres to be exact), they are capable of pulling this off.
486* EliteMooks: They are this compared to Ghosts, being more powerful than them.
487* FacelessGoons: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. They wear fully concealing masks, like the Ghosts... but only when they activate their InvisibilityCloak. Otherwise, the superior half of their face is unconcealed and visible.
488* FantasticDrug: Terrazine grants Spectres their signature abilities, but it is highly addictive and needs jorium as an antidote for its unpleasant side-efects. It's a mixed bag of pros and cons.
489* {{Foil}}: To the Ghost, naturally. They occupy the same position on the tech tree, and are both cloaked operatives that can call down nuclear strikes. But Ghosts have a damage bonus against Light units, while Spectres have a bonus against Armored, and the Ghost's Snipe casts quickly and for low energy to do mediocre damage, while the Spectre's Psionic Lash requires a lot of energy and takes a few seconds to charge up but does heavy damage. While the Ghost lacks its EMP Round ability in the campaign, the Spectre's Ultra Sonic Pulse acts as a parallel to it, being an ability to disable enemies in an area of effect. On the non-playable front, the Ghosts are mostly fought against under the Dominion's employ in ''Wings of Liberty'' and ''Heart of the Swarm'', while the Spectres replace them in the Moebius Corps in ''Legacy of the Void''.
490* GlassCannon: They can also call down Nuclear Missiles like Ghosts, but have the unique Psionic Lash that can hit a unit for 200 points of non-reductible damage. However, they are weaker than Ghosts, and will be killed even faster if detected. Their basic attack has shorter range than an upgraded Ghost so they're more likely to be in danger if they must use it.
491* InvisibilityCloak: Like the Ghost, they have psionically-powered personal cloaking devices.
492* MagicKnight: An AntiArmor armed spell caster with the devastating Psionic Lash spell. They can also stun a cluster of units.
493* OvershadowedByAwesome: ZigZagged; in a regular campaign playthrough, there aren't pressing situations that call for the uses of Ghosts or Spectres with your typical army. However, insertion of Spectres at key points via Oribital Strike can be a cornerstone of {{Speedrunning}} competitions, thanks to their ability to nuke key targets as well as soften them up with Psionic Lashes. Ultrasonic Pulse can also come in handy for stunning a group of enemies to lock them out of a fight for a moment.
494* PsychicPowers: Even stronger than the Ghost's thanks to the more intense experiments.
495* PsychoPrototype: They're ''[[SubvertedTrope not]]'': they don't have [[RestrainingBolt implants]] or brainwashing, and little details (look FacelessGoons above) show they're more human than the Ghosts. The only Spectres that do play this straight are those enthralled by Amon's hybrids in the Moebius Corps.
496* RedEyesTakeWarning: Their visors are red to the Ghost's green, and they're far more dangerous.
497* SuperSoldier: Even compared to the Ghosts, who are also this.
498* SupportPartyMember: While useful on their own, they have an ability called ''Ultrasonic Pulse'', which is an AOE stun with a respectable radius, making them really useful against Melee units, like the zealot, and fragile or slow attacking ranged units like the Void Ray (in fact, if you chain it right, you can keep a group of Void rays from ever getting their rays charged).
499* TelepathicSpacemen: Like the Ghost, but more emphasis on stun attacks and a single, high-damaging attack.
500* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: According to the novelizations, specters must regularly consume terrazine to keep their heightened powers. It can cause hallucinations, visions, fits of rage, and other assorted problems, and it is as addictive as some recreational drugs in real life, and thus you can take too much of it regularly and these problems intensify. As a result, it is recommended that they take jorium alongside the terrazine, and consume the terrazine in regulated doses.
501* YouNukeEm: Since they replace the Ghost in the campaign if you choose them, they have their ability to call down nuclear strikes.
502[[/folder]]
503
504[[folder:Trooper]]
505[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trooper.png]]
506
507Lightly armored soldiers serving as the backbone of the Defenders of Man forces.
508----
509* AntiAir: Similarly to the Marines, Troopers are basic soldiers who can attack flying targets
510* {{BFG}}: Their carbines are smaller than the Marine's C-14 rifles, but still very big.
511* CannonFodder: Even worse than Marines, as the Troopers fulfill the same function, but use lighter gear that's implied to be less advanced. They clearly are not going to last long.
512* EvilCounterpart: To the Marines. While there is nothing inherently evil in the concept of Troopers, the only faction shown to be using them so far are the [[FakeUltimateHero Defenders of Man]], whereas Marines serve as a symbol of the Dominion militia.
513* FacelessGoons: While parts of their faces are visible, the majority (including eyes, mouth and nose) is covered by a combination of a visor and a gasmask, qualifying them for this trope.
514* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Lorewise they are using light armor and carbines compared to Marines wearing PowerArmor and wielding heavy rifles, and thus they should be weaker then Marines. In the gameplay, however, they both have exactly the same stats. The only difference is the Trooper lacks the Marine's shield and Stimpack upgrades.
515* MoreDakka: Carbines their weapons may be, but they are still fully capable of shooting full auto.
516* PowerArmour: Notably [[AvertedTrope averted]]. They are the first Terran combat unit to not be equipped with one.
517[[/folder]]
518
519[[folder:Herc]]
520->''"Let's get cracking."''
521
522Terran infantry units equipped for space drilling and construction, deployed as improvised troops against the Zerg. Their heavy welding armor makes them immune to the acidic explosions of Banelings.
523----
524* ADayInTheLimelight: They get their time to shine in ''Covert Ops''.
525* CallBack: They're built from a unique structure, the Herc Compound. ''Way'' back in development for ''Wings of Liberty'', this is how the Reaper would be trained. The Herc Compound even uses the same model as the development Merc Compound the Reaper trained from.
526* DemotedToExtra: They were intended to be a new unit in multiplayer for ''Legacy of the Void'', but got the axe. They return in ''Covert Ops'' where they can be built in one mission.
527* GrapplingHookGun: They can latch onto enemy units and pull themselves towards it.
528* NoSell: Thanks to their heavy duty armor, the acidic explosions of Banelings has no effect on them.
529* SupportPartyMember: They're not your main damage dealers, but are made to tank the explosive bursts of Banelings and Infested Terrans that would otherwise liquefy your much squishier infantry.
530* ThisIsADrill: Their main weapon is a combination drill-arm/welding gun.
531* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: Their main purpose is to be a melee infantry unit that can tank Baneling explosions and be a meatshield for Zergling rushes, but they aren't good for much else.
532[[/folder]]
533
534!!Mechanical forces
535[[folder:Mechanical forces as a whole]]
536* BloodKnight: The vehicle crews of the Terrans love their toys and their jobs. The Cyclone driver really takes it to another level, and gets rather upset if you [[StopPokingMe repeated click him]] instead of commanding him to go "kill something". The Thor pilots especially love when enemies fight them.
537* CoolestClubEver: According to the Dominion Field Manual, The Factory has "first-class quarters" and boasts reinforced neosteel walls, making a Marine owner of a Manual jealous:
538--> '''Marine owner's note''': What??? Why do they get all the good stuff??? Why can't we have those too??
539* EliteArmy: The Terran version of this is building heavy mech units out of multiple Factories, as opposed to biological units from the Barracks. This army is very slow moving and even ''more'' expensive compared with the Protoss paradigm, but Siege Tanks supported by mech walkers and/or anti-infantry scouts will be a formidable force for any opponent to battle in a straight fight. ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' further boosted the variety of units available from the Factory and eventually changed vehicle armor upgrades to also effect ships (and vice versa), encouraging Terran players to work Starport units into their compositions. This makes it reasonably easy to add even Battlecruisers to heavy mech force, should your income allow.
540* JackOfAllTrades: Factory play has a flexibility to it where you can play a MightyGlacier game around [[EliteArmy Thors and Siege Tanks]], or play the more mobile but more frail "battle mech" that focuses on Cyclones, Hellions and Banshees (from Starports). Because these compositions share vehicle stat upgrades and the Banshee just needs "Ship Weapons", switching between the two paradigms can be done smoothly while your Tech Labs research the needed technologies simultaneously.
541* MightyGlacier: Factory strategies can lean towards this style of play and can cost a premium in terms average cost per unit. In the sequel, Siege Tanks and Thors offer respectable bulk and impressive firepower but move across the map ''slowly''. As a result, it becomes crucial to avoid being caught out of position when building a composition around these two units. Bringing repair-[=SCVs=] or [=MULEs=] along for the battle can stretch the life of these units even further.[[/folder]]
542
543[[folder:Vulture]]
544[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Vulture_5247.png]]
545->''"Alright, bring it on!"''
546
547Speedy 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.
548----
549* AdaptationalNiceGuy: They are noticeably nicer to you in ''Starcraft II'', and don't shout at you anymore. As it turns out, the Dominion doesn't use Vulture bikes in their standard army anymore, so their riders have moved on to mercenary work which may have something to due with it.
550* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: Not as much as the typical portrayal, but the pilot does quote stock biker phrases in ''Starcraft II''.
551-->'''Vulture:''' Born to be wild.\
552'''Vulture:''' Live fast and die young!
553* TheAllegedCar: Seen as this InUniverse. Jim Raynor views the Vulture bike as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdb484SNtgM#t=258 classic piece of engineering]], but Rory Swann counters that it explodes when the AntiGravity fails and its battery secretes radioactive waste when it leaks.
554* BadassBiker: The pilot is surly, speedy and ready for a fight any time.
555* CoolBike: Zigzagged. As noted above, while Raynor thinks it's this trope, the Vulture has a history of mechanical failures and sloppy design that make them hazardous to operate.
556-->'''Swann:''' But hey, who cares if it's a "classic", right?
557* CripplingOverspecialization:
558** The bike's Fragmentation Grenades are very damaging against light targets, but most other units (such as heavily-armored units) will take only mild damage from the grenades. Albeit, in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'' they still deal full damage to Protoss Shields and Defensive Matrices, making them a cheap counter to the high-shields Archons.
559** In contrast to the Grenades, the original Spider Mines are extremely potent against heavy armor and still respectable against light units, but the mines are completely unable to damage structures, even with their SplashDamage.
560* DeadpanSnarker: Possibly even a SourSupporter.
561* DifficultButAwesome: As gameplay units they tend to be almost nonexistant without micromanagement or a nightmare in the hands of an experienced player; they're super fast, but their attack damage per unit isn't all that good and making use of Spider Mines to their fullest potential takes a bit of practise. Still, good micro allows them to be used for effective HitAndRunTactics, and Spider Mines can be useful defences for early expansions into enemy territory before you set up Bunkers and Missile Turrets. Used right, they're a massive annoyance for the enemy, who must sweep well-traveled roads for mines or suffer terrible losses.
562* FragileSpeedster: They can outrun almost every other unit, and remove the "almost" from the sentence once you upgrade their speed. Good thing, because most of those other units will kill them in a straight-up fight.
563* FranchiseKiller: An in-universe example. In Starcraft II, the Spider Mines FlavorText mentions a holomovie series that ended after "Spider Mines IV: Death from Below", which featured sentient Spider Mines turning against their creators.
564* FriendlyFireproof: PlayedWith. InUniverse, Marines are untrustworthy of the Spider Mines' target detection systems, fearing they are not able to reliably recognize a friend or foe. While in terms of gameplay this is not the case (Spider Mines will never pursue friendly targets), the SplashDamage from their explosion can damage friendly units. Zealots or Zerglings can easily draw attention from a Spider Mine [[HoistByHisOwnPetard and make it blow up in the middle of Terran lines]], causing more damage to them than to their intended target.
565* GlassCannon: {{Exaggerated}} with their Spider Mines. They are units in and of themselves that can not move once you plant them. The mine deals a catastrophic 125 damage to large (armored essentially) targets, is still servicable against lightly armored targets, and has a good SplashDamage range. However the mine is destroyed by its own payload, and if detected, the mines have a paltry 20 HitPoints and can be destroyed with ease by ranged attackers.
566* GrenadeLauncher: Their weaponry is a pair of grenade launches mounted on their bikes.
567* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Spider mines are notorious among marines for their poor tracking systems. If close range units attack you, the mines will blow them up as well as your units. The lore says there has been several movies in universe about Spider Mines gaining sentience and going on a rampage.
568* MilitaryMaverick: Goes with the BadassBiker persona.
569* MookMaker: One of their upgrades in the sequel allows them to create more Spider mines; of course, you pay 15 minerals for each new mine, but it enables you to create a true mine field without having to create too many vultures.
570* NecessaryDrawback: The Spider Mines' inability to harm structures was implemented because of how broken it would be for a group of 75-minerals-each Vultures to each lay down three mines that each deal 125 damage each. This is enough damage to kill a Protoss Nexus in 13 quick consecutive mines and would be devastating for a unit that only requires minerals to build. Worker units are also unable to directly set off mines for similar balance reasons, nor are any of the Protoss Archons (they hover instead to walking).
571* NoOshaCompliance: When a major system fails on a Vulture, the results can be fatal for the rider. If not that, then a toxic waste leak might give the operator radiation poisoning.
572* ParentheticalSwearing:
573-->'''Vulture rider:''' I read you, ''sir''.
574* SeeTheInvisible: Their Spider Mines can target cloaked ground units without the aid of a Detector, but it does not reveal them. As a result, they can act as an extra defense against cloaked unit infiltration.
575* SplashDamage: Their Spider Mines, in the sequel, one of the upgrades gives them a higher damage output and a bigger range.
576* SuperPersistentMissile: Once a Spider Mine locks onto a target that comes in range, it'll leap up and chase it until it can explode on them.
577[[/folder]]
578
579[[folder:Siege Tank]]
580[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/siegetank18.png]]
581->''"Ready to roll out!"''
582
583One of the iconic units of the series, these are normal tanks complete with treads and turrets...until they switch into Siege Mode, [[AnchoredAttackStance clamping down retractable legs]] and raising their turrets to the sky to bombard enemies from range with powerful cannon blasts.
584----
585* AchillesHeel: Capable of blowing most things on the grounds to smithereens before they get close... but send some air units and watch those Siege Tanks go back to tread mode and haul ass. Or exploit their ArbitraryWeaponRange with melee units.
586* AnchoredAttackStance: The TropeCodifier in video games, to the point where a significant proportion of them refer to such a stance as "Siege Mode", range increase or not.
587* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In the sequel, improved AI prevents groups of Siege Tanks from overkilling units -- that is to say, all 10 of your tanks won't fire to kill one Zergling, only one will (making it harder to exploit the reload time).
588* ArbitraryWeaponRange: Of 2, which is the same range as the Firebat's flamethrower, for reference.
589* TheArtifact: Siege tanks in the sequel ''always'' turn to face the bottom right, then turn their turret around 180 degrees to the top left while transforming into siege mode, exactly mirroring their classic sprite-based ancestors, the turn in question imitating how the original Arclite tanks had their siege cannons mounted on the "back" of the turret relative to the tank mode cannons. Notably, no other unit with an immobile alternate mode does this, either directly facing the angle of their overwatch area or just transforming at whatever angle they were pointing when ordered to do so.
590* BalanceBuff: In ''Wings of Liberty''-era multiplayer, tanks could not use siege mode until it was researched at a tech lab. In balance update #11 during ''Heart of the Swarm'', this requirement was removed, making tanks more capable right out the gate. ''Legacy of the Void'' gave them a health boost to 175 up from 160, buffed their maximum burst damage back to ''Brood War'' stats, and reduced their Siege Mode damage penalty to non-armored targets.
591* BoisterousBruiser: The man loves his job.
592-->'''Siege Tank pilot:''' This'll be a blast!\
593'''Siege Tank pilot:''' It's BOOM time!
594* DualModeUnit: Can switch between a stationary artillery unit and a mobile battle tank. While Siege Mode has splash damage and a massive attack range, Tank Mode has a much faster fire rate and thus better single-target DPS.
595* FriendlyFireproof: Averted. Your units can and will get caught in the splash damage if they're standing too close to the impact. One of the upgrades in the sequel reduces damage to friendly units by 75%. In story, Marines don't get along with Siege Tank crews well due to friendly fire incidents from their trigger-happiness, so when on leave, crews tend to stick together away from Marines.
596* GlassCannon: They can kill pretty much any non-air force, but being unable to move and unable to fire at targets too close means they're very easy to kill. Ironically, they can be their own worst enemies when enemies exploit their ability to take friendly fire. They don't have that much HP and Armor either, so if you manage to get past their ArbitraryWeaponRange, they are pretty much dead. This was {{Downplayed}} in ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheVoid'' where they got a boost to their defenses and their damage rate became even better than their ''Starcraft I'' settings to encourage more frequent Factory play from Terrans.
597* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Their high power and SplashDamage can be turned back on an opponent through the use of melee units, thereby ensuring their units will take just as much damage as yours, if not more. In the sequel, the campaign allows an upgrade that makes the shells more guided in order to steer them away from allied units.
598* InstantDeathRadius: You do ''not'' want to wander into its Siege Mode's firing range. If you're a Zealot, however, you can [[FlashStep charge]] into it to exploit the ArbitraryWeaponRange.
599* {{Irony}}: "Got no patience for sittin' around!" *switches to Siege Mode where he does exactly that*
600* LampshadeHanging: One of its StopPokingMe quotes addresses its minimum range issues in Siege Mode:
601-->'''Siege Tank:''' Why don't you walk about thirty yards out and stand still for me?
602* LargeHam: One of the hammiest in the game.
603* MascotMook: They're an emblem of Terran's ground forces, and one of the most immediately recognizable units of the Terrans. It helps that they boast the longest ground range [[labelnote:*]]Protoss Tempests only have them beat in terms their air-to-air range of 14 vs 13 in Siege Mode. Tempests have a range of 10 when engaging ground targets.[[/labelnote]] in the entire game, and there was rarely a matchup in ''Brood War'' where they were not built.
604* {{Nerf}}: Zigzagged. Siege Tanks suffered a severe nerf early in Wings of Liberty when their damage in siege mode was reduced from a flat 60 damage to only dealing 35, increased to 15 versus armored targets, making it much weaker than either it's earlier incarnation kept in the ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign, or the cheaper, yet still more powerful Brood War version. This was mostly rectified in ''Legacy of the Void'', when they were re-buffed in response to being near-entirely unused in favor of the much more powerful and easier to use Liberator, now doing 40 damage, with a bonus of 30 against armored targets, finally rivaling their ''Brood War'' incarnation's performance. They are still more pricey than in ''Brood War'' but compensate with better health at 175 up from 160 and a considerably faster rate of fire than the ''BW'' trim.
605* NoIndoorVoice: The Siege Tank driver tries his darndest to make sure he's heard over the engine roar.
606* OvershadowedByAwesome: The Siege Tank is a perfectly serviceable anti-armor assault unit in Tank Mode (and in ''Starcraft 2'', they have a higher DPS in tank mode), but it's their Siege Mode that makes them so effective and beloved. Acknowledged from ''Heart of the Swarm'' onwards, where Siege Mode does not have to be researched beforehand.
607* PimpedOutCar: According to lore, an early operator of the Crucio Siege Tank series (The one in ''Starcraft II'') managed to install a surround-sound system to his tank. Then reality hit hard: the operator didn't hear the "fall back" order, and got surrounded by enemy forces.
608* PowerUpLetdown: The Crucio Siege Tank was marketed, both in-game and out, as an improvement over the earlier Arclite, most notably greatly improving the tank's survivability and performance in tank mode. In reality, it was slightly more expensive in terms of gas and ''50%'' more in terms of supply for barely any benefit, and due to an overenthusiastic nerf early into Wings of Liberty, was significantly weaker as a siege weapon than the earlier Arclite until late into Legacy of the Void, which also markedly increased their health and reverted their maximum shot-per-shot damage to what it was in ''Brood War'' to really make them an upgrade. This buff on top of ''Heart of the Swarm'' making tanks start with Siege Mode unlocked by default meant Siege Tanks saw more use in regular gameplay.
609* {{Pun}}: The pilot has a few good ones.
610-->'''Siege Tank Pilot:''' I never ''tread'' lightly!\
611'''Siege Tank Pilot:''' I'll give it my ''best shot!''
612* PurposelyOverpowered: The ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign units are able to become long-range terrors that the PvPBalanced units can only dream of. They deal up to 75 damage before armor deductions, and can be upgraded to deal +40 damage to their primary target. Siege Breakers are even more dangerous models, dealing up to 115 +40 to their primary. For reference, Ultralisks have 500 hitpoints and are essentially the toughest buildable Zerg ground unit, and won't last long against a column of tanks' Shock Cannons. The only real threat are Protoss Immortals with their Hardened Shields, but a squad a Marines will cover that weakness easily.
613* ''Music/RideOfTheValkyries:'' Sings it as a StopPokingMe quote.
614* SiegeEngines: A Siege Tank's ''real'' strength comes from its ability to either bombard static defenses from well outside retaliatory range or to act as static defenses themselves. Park a group of them outside an enemy base to deny ground unit movement; just watch out for inevitable aerial attacks.
615* SplashDamage: Combined with their massive range, its what makes them so deadly. When given the order to move units tend to bunch up and don't spread out to fight until they see an enemy, and few are the units with attack ranges equal to their sight range. Thus odds are they'll still be bunched up and moving in when the Siege Tank opens fire on them, and that splash damage will do more than enough damage to make up for the slow rate of fire.
616* TanksButNoTanks: Zigzagged, they do indeed have a tank mode, but their major draw is their Siege Mode which provides an artillery cannon. The Thor is more oriented towards a tank-like assault thanks to its heavier chasis and anti-air gear and it's best to keep Siege Tanks behind Thors and frontline units instead.
617* TankGoodness: Big heavy tanks with the power to blast small armies of infantry units to bits, and the range to neutralize defensive structures without being attacked by them.
618* TransformingMecha: Not quite a mecha, but the way it transitions from vehicle to stationary turret has the transformation part.
619* ViolationOfCommonSense: A Siege Tank in Tank Mode occupies four slots in a Medivac. In Siege Mode, they are visibly carried underneath the Medivac, occupying all eight slots. This one can be rationalized by Siege Mode being less space-efficient than Tank Mode due to all the gear it has sticking out.
620* WhatTheHellHero: Marines tend to have low opinions of Siege Tank crews to the point that crews make a point of avoiding shore leave near Marines since they'd likely want likely want piece of them.
621* TheWorfEffect: In campaign modes, the easiest way to show how powerful a unit is seems to be to effortlessly destroy a Siege Tank.
622* YouDontLookLikeYou: The cutscene ''The Ambush'' shows them as jerry-rigged tractors with cannons mounted over the cabins.
623* YouHaveResearchedBreathing: Despite being dubbed Siege Tanks, it wasn't until ''Heart of the Swarm'' that Siege Mode was given to tanks as standard-issue without having to research it.
624[[/folder]]
625
626[[folder:Goliath]]
627[[quoteright:193:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Goliath_6378.png]]
628->''"Goliath on-line."''
629
630Combat walkers, they're all-around solid units specializing in anti-air support.
631----
632* AntiAir: From ''Brood War'' onwards, the Goliath's air attack is much more powerful than its ground attack, and it gained a unique upgrade that greatly boosted its air attack range.
633* BalanceBuff:
634** From the base game to ''Brood War'', they got an upgrade to boost the range of their air attack, and a buff to their damage.
635** In the sequel, they get an upgrade to attack ground and air units simultaneously, making them good all-around troops.
636* ChickenWalker: As per {{Expy}}, it has these legs.
637* TheComicallySerious: The pilot carries a sense of professionalism while regularly saying several acronyms with a straight face.
638* CreatorCameo: In the sequel, the pilot's portrait is based on Blizzard artist Brian Sousa, Spartan Company's portrait on Dustin Browder.
639* CutscenePowerToTheMax: The cutscene goliath has a chin-mounted PlasmaCannon.
640* DangerDeadpan: Not quite as deadpan as the Wraith pilot though. Even when taking fire in ''Starcraft II'', Goliath pilot's will just matter-of-factly report "Assistance required."
641* DavidVersusGoliath: In the first game, Goliaths deal the most damage to large-sized air units; in the second game they deal double damage to armoured units. Either way, this allows a team of Goliaths to take on such giants as [[TheBattlestar Battlecruisers]] and Carriers and come out on top. Their name just adds a layer of {{irony}} to this.
642* {{Expy}}: Of the [[Franchise/RoboCop ED-209]]. It even name drops ED in a StopPokingMe quote.
643* FunWithAcronyms: Likes to list off several as StopPokingMe quotes.
644* GasMaskMooks: In ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'' the pilot's helmet greatly resembles a gas mask.
645* JackOfAllStats[=/=]MasterOfNone: In the original game. The Goliath has all-around decent HP, cost and damage output. However, it's outclassed by most other units; Siege Tanks have siege capabilities and did high single-hit burst damage, Marines have superior DPS due to their Stimpacks, and Wraiths have comparable anti-air capabilities coupled with cloaking and flight for greater speed and mobility. This is why ''Brood War'' gave the Goliath's air attack a damage buff and a researchable range increase, to gave the Goliath a niche use -- long-range anti-air -- that another unit wasn't already better at.
646* LightningBruiser: In the ''Wings Of Liberty'' single-player campaign. In tandem with buffs to their damage on both fronts, the Goliath's armory upgrades provide an increase to the range of both their ground and air attacks -- their air attacks can now go even ''further'' than before -- and allow them to attack ground and air enemies simultaneously, making them very effective against mixed armies. In tandem with their relatively low position on the tech tree and early availability in the game, Goliaths can be very useful units. The main drawback is that they don't do too well against lightly armoured units so a Mutalisk Swarm or a crowd of light infantry could fight them at an advantage.
647* MoCapMecha[=/=]MechaExpansionPack: According to the fluff, it's a bigger, badder suit of combat armor that plugs into a marine's power suit, and he walks normally to pilot it.
648* MoreDakka: Their primary armament is a brace of automatic cannons, and a missile launcher similar to the one on Turrets. In the sequel, merc goliaths have [[GatlingGood miniguns]].
649* PhallicWeapon: Cutscenes in the original ''Starcraft'' depict them with a single oversized gatling cannon mounted in their crotch. Their in-game model looks considerably different, though, with their autocannons mounted on their upper torso together with their missile racks.
650* SimpleYetAwesome. A formula for success: build a mixed army of Siege Tanks and Goliaths; deploy Siege Tanks in Siege Mode and place Goliaths nearby; watch the fireworks as they dominate both the land and the air.
651* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Originally, they could launch their missiles at ground targets, and had a nose-mounted flamethrower in addition to the autocannons. This was decided to be too much dakka for one unit to carry on its own, so the flamethrower became the Firebat.
652[[/folder]]
653
654[[folder:Hellion/Hellbat]]
655[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Hellion_4418.png]]
656->''"Ready to raise some hell!"''
657->''"Hellbat comin' through."''
658
659Fast-moving land rovers armed with flamethrowers, they deal damage to clumps of enemies and excel at fighting light units. ''Heart of the Swarm'' turns them into TransformingMecha; "Hellbat" mode makes them a walking unit with higher HP and a slightly-stronger, shorter-ranged flamethrower. They can switch back and forth at any time.
660----
661* AerosolFlamethrower: This effect is especially noticible with Hellion where the flame behaves in a similar fashion to a SlowLaser. The flamable material burns up quickly without leaving behind a fire hazard for units.
662* BalanceBuff: Hellions in ''Heart of the Swarm'' became TransformingMecha, letting them become Hellbats. While Hellions are FragileSpeedster units meant for base raiding, Hellbats are MightyGlacier units better for prolonged combat, giving the Terrans an answer to Zergling and Zealot hordes.
663* BoringButPractical:
664** The addition of Hellbat transformation gives these units a longer lifespan: Hellbats are still useful long past the point where the Hellion form would have been phased out. (Of course, this removes them from the list of throwaway units, making it a bigger deal to lose one.)
665** They are also this in-universe compared with Vultures. A quad buggy might not seem as cool as Vulture with its hover tech and Ion Thrusters, but a traditional 4-wheeler with internal combustion engine won't explode when an Ion Thruster seizes up and doesn't cause a radiation hazard from a containment failure in the nuclear components, as Rory Swann notes when Raynor defends this "classic" piece of engineering. This design even saw an upgrade in ''Heart of the Swarm'' allowing it to transform into what is essentially a replacement for the old Firebats.
666* CompositeCharacter: Of the vulture and firebat from the first game, both of which are absent from [=SC2=]'s multiplayer.
667* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: If the Hellion or Hellbat is emitting a blue flame, they are equipped with the Infernal Preigniter technology. In the ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign, this upgrade is in the Hyperion Armory as Thermite Filaments.
668* CrutchCharacter: Hellions used to be this before Hellbats were introduced, since they were used for HitAndRunTactics until enemy bases were walled off, which is when Reaper or Medivac/Marine HitAndRunTactics can bypass the base entrance. Since they can't break through fortification themselves, they needed Marauder/Siege Tank help and by that point, you don't even need Hellions anymore.
669* DivergentCharacterEvolution:
670** While the Hellion is basically a replacement for the Vulture and Firebat, in the single-player campaign the Hellion's upgrades focus on enhancing its splash damage capabilities, while the Vulture's focus on enhancing its Spider Mines and Firebats focus on being meatshields for your infantry.
671** As for the Hellion itself, it's a FragileSpeedster normally with low HP but high speed, becomes a GlassCannon as well with Infernal Pre-Igniter to boost its damage, and in ''Heart of the Swarm'' can transform into the Hellbat, which has higher HP but low speed.
672* DualModeUnit: A scout and base raider, or a short-ranged frontline walker.
673* FireBreathingWeapon: Of the AerosolFlamethrower type.
674* FragileSpeedster: As far as vehicles go, Hellions are much faster than Siege Tanks or Thors but more fragile.
675* HighlySpecificCounterplay: Not as severe as the Firebat thanks to their ability to switch between HitAndRunTactics and a frontline tanking. They're excellent for harassing mining operations and "holding up pikes" against light-melee charges.
676* HitAndRunTactics: How to harass with Hellions: drive into enemy base as fast as possible, torch worker units, then get out before heavy opposition comes. Repeat until base defenses make this no longer feasible.
677* KillItWithFire: And very good at it too.
678* MightyGlacier: Hellbats lose a lot of the speed of a Hellion and it attacks at nearly melee range, but it gains 45 HP from the transformation, gains the Biological trait (enabling Hellbats to be healed by Medivacs), and gains significantly more damage.
679* OvershadowedByAwesome: WordOfGod admitted they fell victim to this trope via the Firebat in the single-player campaigns. The Firebat is a slow but bulky unit with greater durability, while the Hellion is a fast but fragile hit-and-run raider. They're balanced on paper, but much of the campaign focuses on defense instead of offense, so the Hellion's strengths weren't of much use when compared to the superior tanking abilities of the Firebat.
680* SplashDamage: Linear splash in Hellion form, and a wide cone splash in Hellbat form.
681* TransformingMecha: Added in ''Heart of the Swarm'', from a rapid-moving car to a slower-moving but more durable combat walker.
682* UnusualWeaponMounting: Well, unusual for a {{Mecha}}. The Hellbat's flamer is mounted in a turret on top of it.
683* VideoGameFlamethrowersSuck: The reason they replace the Firebat both in a meta sense and in-universe is because they ''avert'' this trope. They still only get the full damage bonus benefits of their flamethrowers when attacking smaller units and thus are not optimal for larger enemies, but their high speed, the range of their attack, and their ability to kite enemies make them very dangerous hit-and-run raiders, especially if a couple get into your base and head for your worker lines.
684* ViolationOfCommonSense:
685** Hellbats can be healed by Medivacs. Hellions cannot. Odd because the Hellion is more fragile than a Marauder and the latter is a healable MiniMecha, so you'd expect healing to be no problem.
686** Hellbats take 4 slots in a transport, Hellions take 2. This one makes marginally more sense given how much bigger the Hellbat is when unfolded, but it can still be annoying when loading troops.
687[[/folder]]
688
689[[folder:Thor]]
690[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Thor_1884.png]]
691->''"Thor is here!"''
692
693A massive heavy artillery walker, it specializes in anti-air missile barrages but has enough firepower to hold its own against ground forces as well. Memorably speaks like a [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger certain Austrian bodybuilder who became Governor of California]].
694----
695* AchillesHeel: They're tough for a Terran unit, have powerful [[BackpackCannon backpack cannons]] that can switch modes for multiple AntiAir types, but their anti-ground attack may only target one target at a time and has no SplashDamage for dealing with swarms. If a Thor is caught on its own, then they are ironically weak to being swarmed by basic infantry who are not heavily impaired by the Thor's low armor values. Sure, the Thor will likely kill a few of said units but they're much less costly than the Thor [=(300M/200V)=].
696* AGodAmI: PlayedForLaughs -- whoever is piloting it is definitely having fun with the unit's name.
697-->"I am a thunder god!" \
698"Hammer of the gods!"
699* TheAhnold: Complete with many {{Shout Out}}s to his famous lines, including "[[Franchise/{{Terminator}} I'll be back]]", "[[Film/{{Predator}} Stick around]]", and "[[Film/TotalRecall1990 Sue me, dickhead]]". It's StopPokingMe quotes list off longer quotes from ''[[Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982 Conan The Barbarian]]'' and ''Film/TrueLies''.
700* AntiAir: Javelin missile launchers excel at shredding clusters of light air units. ''VideoGame/HeartOfTheSwarm'' gave them a "High-Impact Mode" suitable for heavy armor, like Battlecruisers or Carriers, and giving them firepower to stand toe-to-toe with Broodlords.
701* ArmCannon: Literally. His arms are outfitted with four 220 mm cannons.
702* ArmoredButFrail: {{Inverted}}, they have a respectable health pool for soaking up heavy hits, but have only 1 native armor point so ScratchDamage attacks will pose a major threat if they get swarmed by basic infantry (Marine, Zealot, Zergling). They have less emphasis on pure survival, and more on damage throughput and a little mobility.
703* AwesomeButImpractical: Totally {{subverted}}, they're alright by their lonesome, but they truly shine with proper support while they spearhead an attack. Combine them with Siege Tanks and Hellbats to provide cover against melee charges and you have what's called the Terran death ball. Their anti-air payloads give them comprehensive coverage against priority aerial targets. InUniverse, they were made as a cheaper alternative to the Odin, which is deffinitely this trope.
704* BackpackCannon: Four of them. In ''Wings of Liberty'' they can swing forward to become {{Shoulder Cannon}}s during its artillery barrage. In ''Heart of the Swarm'', they're reconfigured for AntiAir duty against single targets.
705* {{BFG}}s: The four 250mm cannons on its back and the "Thor's Hammer" cannons on its arms. The campaign allows for those back guns to be upgraded to [[AreaOfEffect 330mm cannons]] which gives them a blast radius in the vein of the Odin's version of this weapon, but less powerful. In ''Heart of the Swarm'', these 250mm cannons were repurposed into an alternative AntiAir system optimal for single targets and also well suited for Massive ships and Zerg.
706* BringIt: One of the "under attack" quotes.
707--> "Ya, come and ''fight'' me! Hahahahahahaaaa!
708* DeathFromAbove: In ''Wings of Liberty'' he can use its back-mounted 250mm cannons to rain down a heavy artillery barrage.
709* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: The Immortality Protocol upgrade in the campaign gives Thors the ability to repair themselves after being wrecked, allowing them to re-enter the fight good as new.
710* DualModeUnit:
711** From ''Heart of the Swarm'' onwards it can switch between two AntiAir modes - one deals SplashDamage and is to be used against clusters of frail air units, and the second one is a strong single-target attack to be used against individual fliers and to besiege capital ships.
712** The Blackhammer variant used by Arcturus Mengsk in ''Co-op Missions'' essentially functions as a reverse Liberator, being able to convert from the usual Thor armaments into an immobile but deadly anti-air turret that bombards air units in its killzone with a flurry of missiles.
713* EliteMooks: They're the Terran's heavy-ground answer to the Protoss Colossus and the Zerg Ultralisk, specializing in being a good all-round unit that acts as heavy WalkingTank and anti-air platform.
714* GunsAkimbo: How he uses his [[ArmCannon arm cannons]]
715* HumongousMecha: At one point in development it was built by the SCV out in the field because it was ''too'' big to be built in a Factory. When the Thor was moved into the Factory its model was scaled down a bit, but it's still huge.
716* IdiosyncraticMechaStorage: When picked up by a Medivac, the Thor folds up into a cube and is transported underneath.
717* IncomingHam: ''"Thor is here!"''
718* {{Irony}}: The Thor is meant to be an anti-air unit. In the campaign, the Thor's SuperPrototype Odin is specifically stated to have weak anti-air capabilities. Justified because the Thor is a heavily modified Odin chassis by Raynor's Raiders.
719* LargeHam: When you're impersonating ''Ah''nold, what can you expect?
720* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
721-->''"Hurry up and fix me, you idiot!"'' (when under attack)\
722''"I am here! Click me!"'' (StopPokingMe)
723* LogicalWeakness: A huge walking battleship-tank like the Thor is bound to have problems with melee and ranged infantry swarming their blind spots and their [=BFG=] cannons may be great against priority targets, but can't necessarily deal with multiple infantry targets fast enough. This is why it's a very good idea to give them support to cover their weaknesses, such as Hellbats to cover them against melee charges and Siege Tanks for long-range support.
724* MacrossMissileMassacre: Their Javelin Missiles use quantity over quality and work best against light fliers, however they are very inefficient against heavy fliers and capital ships, so it is advised to switch over to High-Impact Payload for such AntiArmor-AntiAir duties.
725* MeaningfulName: In Norse Mythology, Thor is the son of Odin. In the campaign, the Thor was designed as a scaled down version of the Odin.
726* {{Metalhead}}: "I am [[HeavyMetal heavy metal]]!" Indeed. Pretty awesome if you imagine him blazing it at [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale 11 volume]] as he lays waste to all before him.
727* MightyGlacier: Huge offensive power, not very impressive movement.
728* MilitaryMashupMachine: A Goliath crossed with a Siege Tank, scaled up and built out of the same neosteel found on Battlecruisers. Think of it as a battleship with legs.
729* MookLieutenant: They can take on this role, acting as commander in Terran armies, as seen and heard in ''Heart of the Swarm'' where one Thor pilot berates one of this troops for exclaiming that "[The Zerg are] everywhere!, to which he replies "Then ''shoot'' everywhere!".
730* MoreDakka: Its special ability in ''Wings of Liberty'' is to call down an artillery barrage in the form of its backpack cannons bombarding enemies. It deals a whopping 500 damage, nothing short of the toughest units will survive that. And in the campaign, its 250mm cannons can be upgraded into ''330mm cannons'', giving its artillery barrage area-of-effect damage.
731* MultipleChoicePast: The Thor is a walking mass of {{Continuity Snarl}}s in this department.
732** In the lore it is said that the [[HufflepuffHouse Umojan Protectorate]] discovered it in development on Korhal, while the campaign says the Odin, the Thor's SuperPrototype, was built by the Dominion on Valhalla. When asked a question in regards to this Blizzard admitted they goofed on that one. It's since been given a HandWave that the mech the Umojans saw was the Odin, which was moved from Korhal to Valhalla after the Dominion found out the Korhal facility had been compromised.
733** However this does not explain the ''Frontline'' graphic novels showing a Thor used for field work in 2502, two years before ''Starcraft II'' in 2504 and one year before the Umojan infiltration in 2503; once again Blizzard admitted they messed up and blamed poor communication between the ''Frontline'' writers and the game developers.
734** Finally, in the campaign Swann reverse-engineers the Thor from the Odin, but that leaves one wondering how the Dominion developed the exact same unit independently. After playing "Media Blitz" where you unlock the Thor, you encounter a Dominion Thor in the mission "Piercing the Shroud" as if the Thor was already about to enter into mass production. If you perform the mission "Breakout" for Tosh before learning about the Odin, you can encounter a pair of Thors guarding the final approach to the prison, and it's just an UnusuallyUninterestingSight with no comments.
735* RayGun: The Thor's main guns are the Thor's Hammer particle beams built into its arms, in gameplay though the Thor's arm cannons appear no different than the cannons on other Terran vehicles. Regardless, these weapons can definitely hit hard against ground units.
736* ShoutOut: The Thor is like a spin on [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquer Command and Conquer's Mammoth Tank]] as a massive unit with twin cannons and anti-air missiles. It functions like a heavy tank to help spearhead frontal assaults much like the Mammoth. It acts like a heavier equivalent to the Siege Tank's Tank Mode as well.
737* SplashDamage: With its anti-air barrage, which is designed to chew up clumped light units like Mutalisks.
738* SwissArmyWeapon: Of the three heavy walkers in the game, unlike the Protoss Colossus or Zerg Ultralisk, the Thor is the most flexible, having [=BFG=] cannons for priority ground targets, and two different anti-air payloads to deal with both Mutalisk swarms (mainly) and individual, general fliers. In the ''Wings of Liberty'' configuration, they have devastating ground to ground cannons that require energy instead of the secondary anti-air cannons that later replaced the former.
739* TopHeavyGuy: A HumongousMecha example. Most of the Thor's bulk is concentrated into its top half, where the cockpit is located, similar to an exagerated body-builder's physique. Its legs, on the other hand, are comparatively small.
740[[/folder]]
741
742[[folder:Widow Mine]]
743[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/widow_mine_6714.png]]
744A new ''[=HotS=]'' unit in the Terran arsenal, the Widow Mine is manufactured from the Factory, ordered out to a new location and told to bury itself and await prey. They act as tiny missile factories, shooting their explosive payload at whatever swings by whilst remaining in hiding.
745----
746* ArtifactTitle: As noted below, they used to be mines. They are now a missile-launching Area Denial Weapon.
747* GlassCannon: Less extreme than Spider Mines. Their missiles pack a colossal punch but they're rendered immobile like with Siege Tanks if you want to arm them. If detected, they only have a modest 90 [=HP=] to protect themselves and once their missiles are fired, they have a lengthy cooldown and the mine is helpless in terms of fighting back.
748* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: You only have a second and a half to aim Widow Mines, so many times you have to let the Widow Mine pick a target by itself. A melee unit can be sent in as SchmuckBait and activate the mine prematurely, even drawing the explosion onto the owner's army. Watch this [[http://youtu.be/kxI7qzVYzOE?t=10m35s Bronze-League Heroes]] cast by Creator/HuskyStarcraft to see a Protoss player use his enemy's mines against him.
749* MechaMooks: It's a little robot dude that shoots missiles up your enemy's taints.
750* MobileFactory: It creates its missiles on site.
751* NonIndicativeName: They're effectively turrets, or to be pedantic, an Area Denial Weapons System, which are slightly different from mines. (They ''used'' to be actual self-destructing mines until the current balance changes.)
752* ProperlyParanoid: Zerg players beware; you are no longer the only army that can keep buried units potentially anywhere that are ready to ambush!
753* SentryGun: Sentry Missile Launchers, to be more precise.
754* SplashDamage: Their missiles can blow up a small area of units, though this can be worked around by sending a few sacrificial decoys in then charging the real attack force through before the Widow Mine can re-arm.
755* TakingYouWithMe: They ''used'' to be self-destructing bombs before this was changed.
756[[/folder]]
757
758[[folder:Cyclone]]
759[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cyclone_1.jpg]]
760-> ''"Optics online, let's go kill something!"''
761
762A mobile mini-tank unit, it fires missiles to attack while on the move.
763----
764* AntiArmor: Mag-Field Accelerator doubled its damage against armored targets when it was present. In the current balance model, Cyclones do an approximately 27% better rate of damage against Armored units.
765* AxCrazy: They sound like they'd get along with Diamondback drivers as they have a similar pitch to their voice and are even more enthusiastic over the opportunity to kill something than their Diamondback predecessor. In fact, they'll get annoyed and angry if you [[StopPokingMe keep clicking them]] as they so badly want your blessing to go kill/destroy. One of their attack affirmations ("Annnd, here... we... go.") makes a nod to [[Film/TheDarkKnight Heath Ledger's Joker]].
766* BalanceBuff: Like the unit it replaces in multiplayer, the Diamondback, the Cyclone had the issue of not having anything to make it stand out other than its gimmick, as it's far too expensive and fragile to be useful past early game anti-air and harassment. Patch 3.8 reworked the Cyclone completely, made it more durable, and reduced its cost, to give it a more defined niche as a frontline anti-armor unit for mech compositions. Finally, 4.7.1 reverted their health back to pre-3.8 and redesigned them towards being a JackOfAllStats with high damage potential when using the Lock-On mode correctly. Cyclone play became much more common with this configuration.
767* BloodKnight: They must get moderately close to a unit to lock on and start kiting but they love (or at least don't mind) getting into harm's way and especially rellish the chance to "kill something".
768* DoNotRunWithAGun: The first Terran unit in the whole multiplayer game that averted this trope as a selling point; then the Battlecruiser and Protoss Phoenix gained this aversion too.
769* HairTriggerTemper: Downplayed; while their representative pilot is taking anger management courses to avert this trope, if you insist on [[StopPokingMe poking them]], they'll start losing their cool culminating in their punchline.
770--> ''"[sigh] (to self) Don't let 'em get to you, man... just pushing your buttons."''
771--> ''"WILL YOU QUIT DOING THAT?!"''
772* InterpretativeCharacter: The Cyclone has always held onto the concept of a self-propelled missile launcher that can fire while moving, but its precise role ranged from a CrutchCharacter to a staple of the "battle mech" composition and places in between. It has swiched from being a unit requiring a Tech Lab back to elligible for production from a Reactor-Factory and thus easier to mass produce in the early game. Their health has been as high as 180 hitpoints down to a more average 110 with the cost reduced to compensate.
773* JackOfAllStats: The Cyclone somewhat replaces the Goliath as the mid-grade attack-everything unit from the Factory. Their stats are well balanced with good HitPoints and a missile system that can engage both ground and air targets. Their Lock-On ability lets them continue to fire on a target outside of their normal attack range (6 tiles + up to 3 "leash range"), but their range is still not as high as a Siege Tank's. Their cost was eventually reduced to a modest 125/50, 2 supply points, and their Tech Lab requirement was removed so they can now use the Reactor addon to be produced two at a time from a single factory. [[note]] Hurricane Thrusters were added to any Tech Lab attacted to a factory, so you'll still need one Tech Lab temporarily to upgrade Cyclones' movement speed. [[/note]] In this more fragile and least expensive configuration, they are akin to more fragile and potentially quicker Protoss Dragoons with the same engagement range of 6, a better rate of damage, and the ability to [[DoNotRunWithAGun fire on the move]].
774* MacrossMissileMassacre: It lives and breathes this trope. It can fire Typhoon Missiles slighter faster than two per game second.
775* MilitaryMashupMachine: A miniture tank with a form of Missile Turret on board and fitted with a Lock On missile system.
776* RealLifeWritesThePlot:
777** The Cyclones' StopPokingMe dialogue has a line about their superiority to the retired Diamondbacks, which references how the Diamondback was retired in Starcraft II beta playtesting.
778-->''"Oh, this will drive ''circles'' around a Diamondback. I guarantee it."''
779** Their dislike of being called a Cyclops seems to be a similar case as well.
780-->''"It's a cyclone... not a cyclops, alright?"''
781-->''"I don't ''care'' that it has one eye!"''
782* TankGoodness: A small, mobile tank for taking down priority targets in a barrage of missiles.
783[[/folder]]
784
785[[folder:Diamondback]]
786[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Diamondback_6530.png]]
787->''"What needs killing?"''
788
789Originally developed by the Confederacy, they can attack on the move with railgun turrets. They were discovered inactive in the ruins of Tarsonis and pressed into service by the Dominion and Raynor's Raiders.
790----
791* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: With Hyperion Armory upgrades, they are more durable than the average Terran unit and have a respectable attack range but their role as generalist anti-armor unit gets heavily overshadowed by other units. Siege Tanks have superior range and lower cost and use one less supply point; Thors cost more but are also much more durable and provide powerful anti-ground fire that isn't negated by armor types and provide anti-air support as well; finally, Marauders can perform their anti-armor role at a significantly lower price. Their [[DoNotRunWithAGun "fire on the move"]] feature comes into play for chasing the train on their debut mission, but isn't a huge factor in the overall campaign.
792* ArmorPiercingAttack: They deal double damage against armored enemies.
793* CoolButInefficient: The Diamondback is fast, has the ability to fire on the move, has good hitpoints, and has a strong anti-armor attack. The only real drawback is that Blizzard seem to have had a hard time deciding exactly what they wanted the Diamondback to be outside of its debut level. It has no obvious weaknesses to speak of, but no obvious strengths either, and is rather costly at 150/150 and 4 supply. Presumably the Cyclone modelled after it was designed with this in mind, since Blizzard seemingly took the Diamondback's potential for kiting and ran with it.
794* DoNotRunWithAGun: Its entire purpose is to avert this trope.
795* LightningBruiser: High attack, respectable defences and it moves at a fair clip. Can't attack air units, though, so bear that in mind when designating it a task.
796* SoftSpokenSadist: The Diamondback Pilot isn't particularly hammy, but it's clear he enjoys his job far too much.
797-->'''Diamondback Pilot:''' ''[upon being given an attack order]'' Bring a shovel... for the burial!
798* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: All units in the campaign are introduced in missions tailored to their strengths, and the Diamondback is the same; it moves fast, can attack while moving, and deals double damage to armored units, and it features in a mission where you have to chase down and destroy fast-moving, armored trains. However, most campaign missions are geared towards playing defensively while using small strike forces to hit objectives, two things the Diamondback is not so good at, so it'll probably see little use after its introduction.
799[[/folder]]
800
801[[folder:Predator]]
802
803A robotic fighter, it unleashes a field of electricity whenever it attacks, heavily damaging nearby units.
804----
805* AnimalMecha: They're robotic panthers that use auras of electricity to fight.
806* CoolButInefficient: It rips apart melee ground units with ease thanks to its electric splash damage ability, but is otherwise fairly forgettable since the Terrans already have the Firebat and Perdition Turret for dealing with Zergling swarms. Plus, it costs 100M/100V, which is steep for its niche role. It does at least have the ability to accompany mech armies and Shield against melee if you're focusing solely on Factory & Starport forces thanks to being repairable by Science Vessels, and they can even enter bunkers but that's about it. Not to mention general player consensus points to the Hercules being a much more useful option.
807* PantheraAwesome: Designed after the big cat.
808* ShockAndAwe: They use bursts of electrical energy to kill.
809* SplashDamage: They deal it with their electrical fields.
810[[/folder]]
811
812[[folder:Warhound]]
813[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warhound_sc2small_2984.jpg]]
814->''"Tin can's ready to roll!"''
815
816A medium assault mech, the Warhound was originally intended to become one of the terrans’ new units in Heart of The Swarm multiplayer. However, it was ultimately banned from multiplayer due to balance issues, and remained only in the campaign. However, ''Legacy of the Void'' revived the Warhound's AntiVehicle concept and passed the idea onto the Viking's ground mode to give it a clear niche that it lacked before.
817----
818* AntiVehicle: What they were supposed to be.
819* AprilFoolsDay: On the 1st of April 2013 Warhound returned to the multiplayer in all of its glory...as a reskin for {{Worker Unit}}s for all 3 races
820* {{EMP}} : Haywire missiles.
821* ExclusiveEnemyEquipment: The player never gets a chance to build Warhounds, and can only gain use of them through mind-control (Infestors in ''Heart of the Swarm'', Dark Archons in ''Legacy of the Void'', or Nova in ''Nova: Covert Ops''), barring the ''highly'' customized one driven around by [[HeroUnit Sirius]].
822* {{Irony}}: Warhounds were intended to provide a counter to siege tank lines in [=TvT=]. In actual game however siege tanks were among the very few ground units cost-effective vs Warhounds.
823* JackOfAllStats: They are faster than any other terran unit except for [[FragileSpeedster Hellions and Reapers]], tougher than any other terran unit except for [[SuperToughness Thors and Battlecruisers]] and have pretty high DPS, further increased by an ability vs mechanical.
824* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Their left arm looks like something in between a small shield and a power fist.
825* MacrossMissileMassacre: Haywire missiles are a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] example- there are “merely” 10 or so missiles fired per use.
826* MagneticWeapons: Their main weapon is a railgun.
827* SecondaryFire: Just like Roaches and Hydralisks, Warhounds have a hidden melee animation.
828* ShieldBash / PowerFist: The way their cosmetic melee animation works.
829[[/folder]]
830
831!!Aerial forces
832[[folder:Aerial forces as a whole]]
833* BewareTheNiceOnes: The aerial forces make a lot MildlyMilitary banter, but make no mistake, these pilots and crew are ready and waiting to deliver DeathFromAbove. Backstory has it that a Medivac pilot killed a Marine after being tired of having their ship called a Healbus and had to go in for resocialization.
834* CoolestClubEver: The Marine writer of the Dominion Field Manual is already envious of the amenities that the Factory crews have but the Starport crews have it even better.
835--> '''Marine owner's note''': The rocket jockeys get a '''lounge'''. With '''cold beer'''. I hate you, Dominion.
836* EliteArmy: Battlecruisers are the core unit in such a composition, especially in ''Starcraft II''. A fleet of Battlecruisers and Vikings is a formidable airforce between the Viking's [[AntiAir Lanzer Torpedos]] and the Cruisers' [[WaveMotionGun Yamato Cannons]]. Liberators are another elite unit with a respectable health pool, a powerful anti-ground mode, and an AntiAir mode for dealing the clusters of light air units.
837[[/folder]]
838[[folder:Wraith]]
839[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Wraith_5099.png]]
840->''"Wraith awaiting launch orders."''
841
842The standard Terran starfighter, armed with missiles and lasers and protected by a personal cloaking field.
843----
844* CloakingDevice: Can be equipped with an optional cloaking system.
845* CoolStarship: Fast and maneuverable armed with lasers and missiles.
846* DangerDeadpan: In ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', they remain remarkably calm even when they come under attack while you're focusing on another part of the map.
847--> '''Wraith pilot''': ''(under attack)'' Whoa, they're all over me!
848* FragileSpeedster: Very quick but quickly blasted out of the sky when the opponent can fire on them. This is why their Cloaking Field is so vital to getting good usage out of them. The sequel notices this and offers two unique upgrades to enhance their cloaking, one of which allows them to potentially dodge incoming fire while cloaked.
849* ForceAndFinesse: The Finesse to the Viking's Force in the sequel, when you can build both in the campaign. Wraiths can cloak, attack both air and ground units without having to transform, and requires a Tech Lab to build (which means that until/unless you get Tech Reactor, a Starport can only build one at a time). Their upgrades focus on improving their cloak, such as allowing them to dodge incoming fire while cloaked and giving them more starting energy.
850* EnergyWeapon: Their ground attack is a short laser blast.
851* InvisibilityCloak: They have cloaking just like the ghost.
852* JackOfAllStats: In ''Starcraft II'', it serves this role between the Banshee (dedicated air-to-ground) and the Viking (dedicated air-to-air), since the Wraith can attack both ground and aerial targets. While these two are better than the Wraith in their dedicated roles, the Wraith still has a niche for its versatility, and the potential to accompany Banshees instead of Vikings as air superiority in circumstances where you'd want an entirely cloaked air force.
853* SpaceFighter: They're perfectly able to operate in space or on the ground.
854[[/folder]]
855
856[[folder:Science Vessel]]
857[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Science_Vessel_9042.png]]
858->''"Explorer reporting!"''
859
860A Terran support vessel equipped with technology to study the Zerg and Protoss and weaponry to deal with them.
861----
862* BadassLabcoat: In the sequel their pilots wear one in their unit portrait.
863* BoringYetPractical: In the sequel, this is why they're generally chosen over Ravens. Although you fight Zerg most of the time, it's not really about Irradiate, and the Detector function is kind of standard. Nano-repair is the real draw -- it's ''that'' useful to have Nano-repair, which heals mechanical units the same way Medics heal biological units for no mineral or vespene cost, that alone is reason enough to pick the Science Vessel over the Raven.
864* DeflectorShields: Their Defensive Matrix.
865* {{EMP}}: One of their abilities in the first game, which was given to the Ghost in the sequel.
866* ForgottenPhlebotinum: The Science Vessel's first generation Defensive Matrix ability seems to have been retconned as of ''Starcraft II'' to a device that only Battlecruisers or elite special forces units can activate on themselves and there's no mention of the ability of a Science Vessel to grant this shield to any unit except the casting unit itself. This was done presumably for gameplay balance sake. Averted in Co-op Mode, as both enemy Science Vessels and Swann's own have Defensive Matrix.
867* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
868** Science Vessels are basically space stations and are appropriately huge, and an entire mission takes place inside of one. In-game they're not much bigger than any other mechanical unit and smaller than most buildings.
869** In the unreleased ''Starcraft: Ghost'' game this was to be averted: Nova wouldn't be able to see the Science Vessel, but could call upon it to irradiate an enemy, lauch an EMP or scan an enemy to display its strengths and weaknesses.
870* HerdHittingAttack: Irradiate covers a unit in a cloud of radiological fog that damages any biological units. Since all zerg units are biological, Irradiate is very powerful against them, especially if the zerg has left all their Overlords in a small cluster.
871* MythologyGag[=/=]ShoutOut: The Science Vessel's pilot/representative is voiced by a Creator/HarryShearer soundalike in the first game, giving lines such as "Excellent!" a very [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Mr. Burns]] vibe. In ''II'', Creator/RobinAtkinDownes provides the Vessel with a more sinister voice.
872* {{Nanomachines}}: Their Nano-Repair in the sequel.
873* NonActionGuy: No attack to defend itself, and its abilities only do so much, but subverted with the "Eraser" strategy. Have two science vessels cast Defensive Matrix and Irradiate on each other. Then drive them into the middle of a Zerg or Terran mineral line. Fun ensues.
874* NonHealthDamage: The EMP destroys all energy (even on biological units) but deals no damage. It also reduces [[AntiArmor Protoss shields to zero]].
875* RaceLift: Has a black guy portrait in SC:Remastered.
876* SupportPartyMember: They are not frontline fighters and are best used by firing off the appropriate abilities and then retreating to safety.
877* TrueSight: They can detect cloaked and burrowed units.
878* UnitsNotToScale: See above under GameplayAndStorySegregation. To add to it, a Battlecruiser is bigger than the science vessel in gameplay, even though the Science Vessel is bigger in Lore. Particularly egregiously, as a counterpart to the Raven, the Science Vessel is classified as ''Light'' in Starcraft II, as opposed to being a Large unit in the original.
879[[/folder]]
880
881[[folder:Dropship]]
882[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Dropship_6136.png]]
883->''"Can I take your order?"''
884
885Flying personal carriers used to ferry troops around.
886----
887* BalanceBuff: The reason the Medivac exists; it made Dropships more useful and made Medics more mobile and durable at the same time.
888* BoringButPractical: Like all transports, all it does is move units around, but it's an invaluable part of strategy.
889* DefenselessTransports: The Dropship is a dedicated transport with no attack and weak armor.
890* DropShip: Taken straight after the ''Alien'' TropeNamer; they carry troops around the map.
891* FlatCharacter: Function-wise, they are one of the most bare-bones transport units compared with the faster (upgraded) Protoss Shuttle, and the Zerg Overlord with their TrueSight and durability. They were replaced by Medivac Dropships in the sequel who have the same drop capabilities, but also take over the Medics' healing duties, and have Afterburners for a temporary burst of speed.
892* TheSmurfettePrinciple: They were the only female standard unit in the pre-''Brood War'' Terran roster and indeed the entire original game (the only other female unit was Kerrigan, a hero), before ''Brood War'' added the Medic and Valkyrie.
893[[/folder]]
894
895[[folder:Valkyrie]]
896[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Valkyrie_4891.png]]
897->''"Valkyrie prepared!"''
898
899A Terran frigate introduced into the sector by the [=UED=]. Piloted by women with thick German accents, they fire clusters of missiles are airborne enemies to decimate opposing fleets.
900----
901* CripplingOverspecialization: Their method of attack is to do 6 damage a shot while also doing splash damage at a rapid-fire pace over a large area. Unfortunately, Terran and Protoss ships typically had armor that made the Valkyrie's attacks deal much less damage. Even against the Zerg, the Wraith and Goliath were almost as effective due to their lower cost and tech tree placement, and more versatile since the Valkyrie couldn't attack ground units. Still, they were a much-needed solution for countering Mutalisk swarms, and are ideally suited for chasing down transports since they move quickly and transports generally have very weak armour.
902* DeathOfAThousandCuts: They only do 6 damage a shot, but they fire so many rockets out at a time that it adds up quickly.
903* GameBreakingBug: The first game has a bug in which certain units would not fire projectiles if there are too many objects in the map. The Valkyrie is greatly affected by this bug because [[MacrossMissileMassacre they fire several missiles at once]] and because they were intended to be used to counter massed Mutalisks. Thus, Valkyries are prone to not being nearly as effective as they should be.
904* GratuitousGerman: "Of course, mein Herr!"/"Achtung!"
905* MacrossMissileMassacre: Their missiles turn and weave through the air to impact. It's implied this is deliberate by design, to give them their splash damage by having the missiles hit over a large area.
906* ObviousRulePatch: For countering mass Mutalisk. Once the ability to stack air units was discovered by players, a large number of mutas would be downright unstoppable since the opponent couldn't target any one mutalisk to focus down. Thus, the Terrans received this unit as a way to counter such strategies. ''Starcraft II'' made the marine cost-effective against mutas, as well as adding an anti-air splash attack to the new Thor unit, eliminating much of the need for the Valkyrie unit to exist, which is why they only appear in ''Brood War''. Even in ''Brood War'' the Valkyrie still saw limited use in pro gaming due to Science Vessels' Irradiate damaging stacked mutalisks and being usable against ground targets too, but the unit saw a resurgence for use in mech play against the Zerg.
907* PutOnABus: They put in no appearance in ''Starcraft II''. Air units named Valkyries appear in a single ''Heart of the Swarm'' mission, but they look and behave totally different and appear to be a separate unit.
908* SplashDamage: Their key strength -- they tear up clumped units.
909* TheTease: Towards the player, albeit to a much lesser extent than the Medic.
910* TheWorfEffect: Their introduction in the campaign in ''Brood War'' is to pit seven of them against a Mutalisk swarm that outnumbers them more than 2:1. The Valkyries win with usually five or six ships still flying.
911[[/folder]]
912
913[[folder:Viking]]
914[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sc2_viking_959.png]]
915->''"Ready to plunder."''
916
917An air-superiority assault fighter that can change into a ground-based walker to help out its allies in the dirt, especially with their AntiVehicle [[GatlingGood miniguns]].
918----
919* ADayInTheLimelight: A Viking takes the center stage as the eponymous unit of ''Lost Viking'', the arcade shooter in the ''Hyperion's'' cantina.
920* AntiAir: Their flier mode is one of the most potent air-to-air forces in game, replacing the aging Wraith and Valkyrie units. Their missiles have considerable range and are especially powerful against armored targets while still useful against lighter ones. As a bonus, unlike the Valkyrie, they may land and engage ground targets, and are especially good against mechanized units (vehicles and robots essentially) .
921* AntiVehicle: ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheVoid'' gave their walker mode a bonus against mechanical units to provide added incentive to use said mode once their AntiAir is no longer necessary. Essentially, foot soldiers and Zerg don't count as mechanical, but robots and vehicles are fair game.
922* BalanceBuff: Again, ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheVoid'' gave them a significant bonus against mechanical units when on the ground, boosting them from only 12 to "12 (+8 versus mechanical)". Upgrades provide an additional +1 against mechanical units on top of +1 against everything. This makes them dangerous against Terran or Protoss Workers, being able to 2-shot either when fully upgraded (assuming equal upgrades between players). Now they are a decent alternative to Banshees or Liberators if you have nothing else available to harass workers or machines, making them NotCompletelyUseless once their air superiority is no longer necessary. This AntiVehicle specialty makes them a spiritual successor of sorts to the cut Warhound unit.
923* BorrowingFromTheSisterSeries: Vikings are similar in function to ''[[VideoGame/WarCraft Warcraft III]]'' Gargoyles, delivering devastating AntiAir and having the ability to land. The difference is landing is necessary to attack ground targets as they can not do it from the air, and they attack air from extreme range instead of melee. Like Gargoyles, they don't last long against concentrated anti-air fire.
924* CripplingOverspecialization: Their major weaknesses is that they must change modes based on if you want to engage air or ground targets. Their ground mode is isn't a major strength unless they are battling vehicles.
925* ForceAndFinesse: The Force to the Wraith's Finesse, when you can build both in the campaign. Vikings can be built in pairs due to not needing the Tech Lab add-on, in addition to having more powerful, longer-ranged anti-air weaponry. Viking upgrades focus on improving their firepower, such as allowing their air-to-air missiles to do SplashDamage and improving their missile and cannon range.
926* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Lore for the series considers the Viking one of the greatest feats of engineering that humanity has ever produced, with unmatched versatility and the firepower to excel in both ground and aerial engagements. In general, they're talked up as a MasterOfAll OneManArmy. In practice, they're just swift air superiority fighters who, if they don't have anything to shoot in the air, can convert into slow, clunky ground walkers, and they had mediocre stats either way until their ground form was buffed for an AntiVehicle niche.
927* GatlingGood: When in ground-walker mode.
928* IsThisThingStillOn:
929-->"By air or by land, all shall fall by my hand!... Wait, d-did I say that out loud?"
930* JackOfAllStats: Much like the unit it replaces, the Goliath, it's best as an anti-air unit but is also an effective ground support unit and does good damage for its cost. It's also a good base raider and has high versatility, given that it can be an air or ground unit and thus can transform to dodge enemy fire and adapt to whatever force the enemy is using. ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheVoid'' helped give their ground mode a clear AntiVehicle niche and thus made them a more formidable raider against Terran and Protoss wokers.
931* MasterOfNone: Do not make the mistake of thinking them the answer to all your problems; for one thing, they're not particularly durable. They have only ground-to-ground and air-to-air weapons, forcing them to expose themselves to return fire[[note]]There are only ''three'' units a Viking can attack without that unit shooting back: Banshees, Brood Lords and Colossi--and Colossi can shoot back if you are TooDumbToLive and decide to land.[[/note]] and becoming in the process the second-most-vulnerable unit in the game. And transforming isn't exactly quick, so they can easily be destroyed during the process. This is partly why their walker mode was given a damage boost against mechanical targets in Legacy of the Void, helping give this mode a clear function. The Banshee still retains its niche as the dedicated ATG guerilla effective against any type of armor.
932* MilitaryMashupMachine: When a goliath and a wraith love each other very much, or they get drunk. Being they're called Vikings, they're also a successor of sorts to their relative, the Valkyrie frigate.
933* MundaneUtility: The ability to switch between air and ground modes at will makes the Viking perfect for grabbing bonus objectives and resource pickups in the campaign. In melee matches, the ground mode can simply provide a way to allow Vikings to fight along side your ground forces, especially in ''Legacy of the Void'' against mechanical targets.
934* NinjaPirateRobotZombie: The Hel's Angels give us a TransformingMecha with a mercenary pirate raider inside.
935* NoOSHACompliance: Stated in lore to be difficult to master due to the possibility of being killed from the transformation systems. It takes a lot of training for most pilots to be able to properly and efficiently control a Viking in both its modes, and a lot of them die trying to master the vehicle.
936* {{Pirate}}: Again, the Hel's Angels Vikings are pirates for hire.
937* RapePillageAndBurn: They like to allude to this in their quotes.
938* SimpleYetAwesome: Its aircraft mode is less flashy than its MiniMecha ground form, but a group of Vikings supporting your forces can give you air superiority over air units that a cluster of Marines can't handle.
939* SplashDamage: One of its purchaseable upgrades in the campaign.
940* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The Lanzer Torpedos are suspiciously similar in stats to the Protoss Scout's Anti-Matter Missiles making the Viking essentially a more economical and practical version of said Scout thanks to costing just above half the resources (150M/75V vs 275M/125V for the retired [=SC1=] Scout) and having around twice the missile range. The ''VideoGame/WingsOfLiberty'' campaign even has a Ripwave Missiles upgrade for them that employs anti-matter to give it SplashDamage.
941* TransformationIsAFreeAction: Averted. Switching from air to ground, or the opposite, takes a few seconds, giving his enemies time to destroy it before transformation is complete.
942* TransformingMecha: From air-to-air fighter-jet to ground-to-ground combat walker.
943* UselessUsefulSpell:
944** A GatlingGood ground-walker might seem like a good idea to bolster your ground units, but they were so fragile that you were better off sticking to their fighter-mode unless truly desperate (or certain of victory). One saying amongst the Starcraft community was "It's GG for ''somebody'' when a Terran player actually lands his Vikings." This was why they gained bonus damage to mechanical units in an effort of make their ground mode worth using, and an unconditional boost to their HitPoints, giving their ground mode added utility.
945** Early gameplay videos for the sequel, and their debut mission in ''Wings of Liberty'' made a big deal out of the Vikings being base raiders, able to land to slip by an opponent's anti-air defenses and attack, then lift off to flee when losing. In reality, the Viking's transformation was far too slow to reliably avoid anti-air fire, far too slow to escape if being attacked, and they were outclassed as raiders by Banshees, who have higher damage output, can cloak, and don't need to transform to attack and escape. Corrected with a BalanceBuff giving them a hefty boost against mechanical units when on the ground, which actually makes them dangerous to Terran or Protoss workers, letting them effectively punish poorly defended expansions in these match-ups.
946* ViolationOfCommonSense: For balance reasons, they may not fire their missiles in ground walker mode even though their rocket pods are still exposed. Conversely, their Gattling guns are not usable in flier mode (they're tucked away), when mounting them at a fixed postion would let them contribute to air-to-air firepower (again, for balance sake).
947* YinYangBomb: Their Ripwave Missile enhancements use antimatter to deal SplashDamage around a small radius, making Vikings devastating against clusters of fliers like Mutalisks. Curiously, their Lanzer Torpedos share the same statistics as Protoss Scout Antimatter Missiles against armored targets, but there isn't any canon about a connection between the two.
948[[/folder]]
949
950[[folder:Banshee]]
951[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Banshee_5684.png]]
952->''"Engines screaming."''
953
954A Terran bombardment craft equipped with a cloaking field, it fires barrages of missiles at ground targets, but can't attack air units.
955----
956* AchillesHeel: A Banshee rush or diversionary force can be spotted by anything with TrueSight. This goes double for enemy Terran Missile Turrets and Protoss Photon Cannons, which can spot Banshees ''and'' shoot them down.
957* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Despite in-game lore stating explicitly that they can't operate in space (which you'd expect from a rotary-wing aircraft), they can still be deployed on maps using the Space tileset, like Daybreak and Antiga Shipyard. WordOfGod states that some Banshees were fitted with propulsors for space operations.
958* CloakingDevice: They inherit the Wraith's cloaking technology and put it to better use in terms of the air-to-surface role. In the ''Brood War'' era, the Wraith's cloaking was usually rendered irrelevant due to a weak air-to-surface attack, or stealth air-to-air comming into play too late in the match when detection is [[UselessUsefulSpell easily available.]]
959* CoolPlane: An attack chopper with potent [=ATS=] missiles and an optional cloaking field. With these flying machines, Terrans have their own spin on the Protoss Dark Templar rush. Hyperflight Rotors make them very quick.
960* CrutchCharacter: Banshees are sometimes rushed as an unusual tactic, but this only works if an opponent hasn't scouted enough to see it coming ''and'' has no stealth-detection methods. A player who falls victim to a Banshee rush usually learns their lesson quickly. Outside of rushes, the Banshee sees application as a high-mobility accompaniment to battle mech strategies [[note]]A composition of Hellions, Cyclones and Banshees.[[/note]] as they can be upgraded Hyperflight Rotors to better flee from danger or make hit-and-run attacks and Cyclones can cover their inability to fight air-to-air.
961* DeathFromAbove: Banshees are the main Terran air-to-ground attacker.
962* DontExplainTheJoke: One of its StopPokingMe quotes:
963-->"''In space,'' everybody ''can hear me scream... Get it? 'Cause I'm a Banshee?''"
964* FutureCopter: Uses a twin-turbofan design to achieve lift, and acts as the Terran's helicopter gunship for surgical attacks against valuable ground targets.
965* GameplayAndStorySegregation: One of the pieces of backstory notes that the Banshee was made partly as an economical sucessor to the Wraith (taking an anti-ground-only role) and not fitted for space travel, yet they have the exact same cost as the ''Brood War'' Wraith and can still be used on the space platform tileset due to being able to use "propulsors".
966* GlassCannon: Zigzagged, 140 HP isn't abysmally low, but anti-air specialists are still dangerous for them and they lack native armor points to soften the damage they receive. Hyperflight Rotors help their survival by letting them also be a FragileSpeedster and more easily flee from danger.
967* InvisibilityCloak: Inherits the Wraith's cloaking field. The campaign states the Dominion sends out recovery teams every time a Banshee crashes to prevent it from falling into their enemies' hands.
968* LogicalWeakness: A flier who's missile pods are angled for optimum delivery to ground targets will naturally have difficulty engaging other fliers. Also, helicopters are mainly designed for lower-altitude flights so it's natural that ATA units will have an advantage fighting them, considering said units are also worthy of space travel.
969* MacrossMissileMassacre: An unusual variant in that the Banshee is an air-to-ground unit, so it fires multiple homing missiles at a point on the ground.
970* MsFanservice: The Banshee pilot's quite a looker and wears a [[LatexSpacesuit skin-tight bodysuit]], with [[MaleGaze particular emphasis on the bust]].
971* OnlyInItForTheMoney: The Duskwings used to work for the Dominion, but defected to the mercenery stage when they reazlied they could get better money selling their services as mercenaries. When playing on Brutal, even the Dominion employs their services on occasion, oddly enough.
972* OvershadowedByAwesome: Downplayed, as the Banshee was a perfectly viable base harassment chopper in throughout ''Starcraft II'' and has a very good attack power against ground and can cloak. It started competing with the Battlecruiser when the latter gained the Tactical Jump ability to enable it to safely retreat from an unfavorable battle or teleport in for a sudden strike. The Battlecruiser's role as a durable but slow base raider rather than a fragile but quick attack chopper led to the Battlecruiser seeing more frequent play. The Battlecruiser is also equipped with weak air-to-air batteries to fend off mild airborne attacks. Additionally, the Viking's ground assault mode was buffed tremendously against Mechanical targets, making it potent against most Protoss and Terrans units as well as their worker units. Banshees still find a niche for being lower on the TechTree than Battlecruisers and having the perk of cloaking research to punish opponents who are falling behind on bringing out detectors.
973* ShoutOut: It is very similar to the "Aerospatiale SA-2 Samson" from ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' as well as many a FutureCopter in general. ''Avatar'' also has the Ikran Mountain Banshees with this helicopter of course being called a Banshee and having a similar role of attacking ground targets with all-purpose missiles.
974* SplashDamage: Used to deal it at all times, but now it only appears in the single-player campaign.
975[[/folder]]
976
977[[folder:Raven]]
978[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Raven_4797.png]]
979->''"Raven on-line."''
980
981A support craft piloted by an onboard AI and equipped with on-board construction facilities that allow it to manufacture machines for various purposes in combat. It replaces the Science Vessel as the Terran's mobile detector/support flier.
982----
983* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: To an almost painful extent.
984-->'''Raven:''' This-ve-ssel-will-com-ply.
985* AIIsACrapshoot: Subverted, but also parodied. The sophistication of the AI housed inside has prompted a number of people in-universe to raise concerns about this becoming an issue, but so far there have been no recorded incidents to back this up. In its StopPokingMe quotes, however, it makes references to [[Film/{{TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey}} HAL-9000]] and [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} GLaDOS]], two AIs who ''did'' end up going rogue.
986* AmbiguouslyHuman: A robotic voice is heard whenever a Raven is spawned or issued commands, but the unit portrait shows what appears to be a standard Terran piloting it, with no visual indication he's a robot.
987* BasementDweller: The camera angle and lighting in the unit portrait make the pilot look like one sitting at a computer in a dark room.
988* BeamOWar: The Point Defense Drone, deployed by the Raven, uses a small laser blast to shoot down enemy projectiles. This can include ''other'' energy projectiles, such as those fired by protoss weaponry.
989* BenevolentAI
990* CleverCrows: A spacecraft piloted by an intelligent AI program with functions and combat tools designed for smart and/or cunning combat decisions bearing the name of a crow's cousin. Like the animal family, it has the ability to make tools on the fly, primarily sentry turrets and drones. It even has a unique upgrade called Corvid Reactor.
991** CreepyCrows: An unfortunate effect of the Raven's all too robotic voice.
992* CoolStarship: The most advanced terran spacecrafts ever built.
993* DamageIncreasingDebuff: The Anti-Armor Missile reduces armor of enemy units in a small radius, increasing the damage they take. It also prevents Protoss units from regenerating their shields.
994* DroneDeployer: His entire MO.
995** ShootTheBullet: Point Defense Drone.
996*** BeamSpam
997*** PointDefenseless: Doesn't work against some types of attacks and becomes useless after it runs out of energy.
998** SuperPersistentMissile: Seeker Missile.
999*** CrosshairAware: Highlights its target.
1000*** HoistByHisOwnPetard: A smart opponent can use it to damage or destroy its owner's units.
1001*** HyperspeedEscape: It can be evaded by moving out of its range before it finishes locking on target.
1002*** MissileLockOn: It stays immobile for four seconds after launch to lock on target.
1003*** PainfullySlowProjectile: Used to be this in ''Wings of Liberty''.
1004*** SplashDamage
1005** TheTurretmaster: Auto-Turret.
1006*** SentryGun
1007* {{EMP}}: The Interference Matrix ability works on a fairly similar principle to an EMP blast, disabling the target mechanical or psionic unit for 8 seconds. Interestingly, it can pause Archons in the process of merging.
1008* InterpretativeCharacter: The Raven seems to get a new ability set in each appearance and major gameplay patch. The only real constant is that it's a SquishyWizard UAV that can be used for surveillance, and can deploy drones, missiles, and turrets whose exact properties vary on a whim - and even that doesn't apply to Matt Horner's Theia Ravens in Co-op Missions.
1009* MobileFactory: Utilizes {{Nanotechnology}} to assemble everything it deploys.
1010* OvershadowedByAwesome: Ironically, the same unit it replaced in multiplayer often winds up replacing it back in the campaign. While the Raven's abilities ''can'' be useful, ultimately it's a grab-bag of niche uses [[DifficultButAwesome that requires precision to use properly and effectively]]. Meanwhile, the Science Vessel comes with the ability to repair mechanical units the same way a Medic heals biological ones, which is much simpler to use and makes a largely Factory/Starport-based army build viable in ways the Raven just can't.
1011* TrueSight: Can detect burrowed and cloaked units.
1012[[/folder]]
1013
1014[[folder:Medivac]]
1015[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/medivac.png]]
1016->''"Ready for dust-off."''
1017
1018The Dropship of the old armada has been equipped with the Medic's healing abilities to allow it to heal troops on the move more efficiently.
1019----
1020* ArtificialGravity: Can pick up or deploy units without landing via gravity tube.
1021* BerserkButton: A Medivac pilot once killed two Marines due to them repeatedly calling the Medivac a "Heal Bus". This was one of the few times a ''Medic'' of all people had to be resocialized.
1022* BlackComedy: Yup.
1023-->''Hurry up! What, are you missing a leg or something? ({{Beat}}) Oh.'' \
1024''Attention passengers, the local time... doesn't matter because you'll all be dead soon anyway.'' \
1025''Welcome aboard. Are you an organ donor?''
1026* CompositeCharacter: They're a combination of Medics and Dropships from the first installment.
1027* DivergentCharacterEvolution: With Medics in the campaign. The Medic's armory upgrades a) allow her to heal infantry at a faster rate for less energy, and b) upgrade her to a basic unit so she can be built at a Barracks without a Tech Lab, allowing the player to mass-produce Medics with a Reactor together with Marines. The Medivac is already a basic unit, but her armory upgrades allow her to a) heal two units at once (although each unit drains energy) and b) unload troops at the same speed as the Hercules, see further down the page.
1028* DrJerk: The pilot is definitely more sarcastic and irritable than her ground counterpart, even before you reach her StopPokingMe point.
1029* DropShip: In-universe, they used to be ''called'' this before being upgraded with on-board medical systems. In game, they act as a combination of this and TheMedic.
1030* EasyLogistics: Not only can they also easily heal Protoss and Zerg biological units like the Medic, they can do it with a beam while ''hovering the the air''.
1031* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Has similar advanced medical technology to the Medic. Again, this tech is advanced enough to easily treat Zerg or Protoss patients in contrast to how allegedly inferior Terran tech is to Protoss tech.
1032* InSeriesNickname: They're called "heal buses" by Marines. Some pilots don't take kindly to it -- to the point it's mentioned in ''Wings of Liberty'' that one Medivac pilot killed several Marines for using the term. Said Medic got resocialized like a typical Marine.
1033* LampshadeHanging: "Uh, why are you boys all wearing [[RedShirt red shirts]] anyway?"
1034* MagicFromTechnology: Not really[[note]]Its healing consists of auto-sutures, pain suppressants, [[{{Nanotechnology}} nanomachines]] and growth stimulators.[[/note]], but the pilot sure has fun with this trope.
1035--> ''The power of Medivac compels you!''
1036* TheMedic: Takes over this role from the ground unit from the first game.
1037* NitroBoost: Afterburners can provide temporary speed boost.
1038* PaletteSwap: The Medivac's unit portrait is the infantry Medic's with red lighting instead of blue, and the ship itself is a reskin of the NPC dropships seen throughout the campaigns.
1039* ShootTheMedicFirst: If an enemy Medivac drops a raiding party of Marines and Marauders, destroy the ''Medivac'' first for this reason (and to deny them an easy evac when things get too hot).
1040* SimpleYetAwesome: The can't fight, but they're necessary for any kind of tactical insertion of Marines and Marauders and they're extremely useful for keeping infantry balls alive. They also have the added avantage of being able to hover above infantry out of the way, a feature the Medic lacks.
1041* SupportPartyMember: They bring transportation and healing capabilities but zero firepower.
1042* UndersideRide: How it transports Thors and Siege tanks in siege mode.
1043* UnitsNotToScale: In ''Wings of Liberty'' they were somehow able to carry Thors, though only one each. ''Heart of the Swarm'' added a custom animation where the Thor folds up into a (rough) box and is towed around beneath the Medivac.
1044* ViolationOfCommonSense: [[TransformingMecha Hellbats]] can be healed but Hellions cannot. This one can cause head-scratching as a Hellion is more fragile than a Marauder so healing would still be useful for the driver due to their presumably infantry-like armor.
1045[[/folder]]
1046
1047[[folder:Hercules]]
1048[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Hercules_5500.png]]
1049->"''Aye, laddie!''"
1050
1051A massive dropship crewed by men with thick Scottish accents, it can single-handedly carry an entire army into battle, having enough room to carry more than three times as many troops as a Medivac. In the ''Wings of Liberty'' campaign, it's explained they're converted cargo freighters. Like the Battlecruiser, they require a Fusion Core to construct, and are nearly as well protected, but ''much'' faster.
1052----
1053* BalanceBuff: Swann gets them in Co-op Mode in ''Legacy of the Void'', and since they're his main dropships, they got a heavy cost reduction from the campaign to make them more practical.
1054* BoringYetPractical: It does nothing except transporting units, but it is a ''very'' good transport. A single one can carry a squad into battle, two or three can carry your entire army, and they have huge HP and armor to survive anti-air fire as they disembark their cargo, which they do in moments thanks to their passive ability that greatly speeds up the drop rate of units inside. If not for Medivacs being able to heal and not requiring a Fusion Core, there'd be little reason to use them over the Hercules.
1055* BraveScot: The pilot has a Scottish accent as thick as a haggis, and is ultimately both of these tropes. He also happens to be a FieryRedhead.
1056* DifficultButAwesome: They lie at the very top of the tech tree, with the same tech requirements as Battlecruisers, so just getting to them needs a lot of time and resources, at which point building them takes time and resources. However, once they're out they're very effective transports.
1057* EscapePod: Units inside survive to be deployed (with some damage) should the Hercules be destroyed.
1058* StoneWall: 500 HP and 3 armor, and while not among the fastest units, it moves as a decent clip, so unless you run it into a half-dozen anti-air turrets, its cargo units ''will'' get to their destination.
1059* {{Teleportation}}: In Co-op Mode in ''Legacy of the Void'', they can use Warp Jump to teleport anywhere on the map, letting the player's forces reinforce a position instantly.
1060* ViolentGlaswegian: PlayedForLaughs; when taking fire off screen, they threaten in a subdued tone to "kill you" if they die.
1061[[/folder]]
1062
1063[[folder:Liberator]]
1064[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/liberator_in_fighter_mode.png]]
1065->''"Liberation is at hand."''
1066
1067The Terrans' new air unit for ''Legacy of the Void'', the Liberator is an air-to-air SplashDamage frigate similar to the Valkyrie that can shift into an anti-ground mode to unleash its powerful Concord Cannon.
1068----
1069* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The Concord Cannon with all three sylables starting with a C.
1070* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: In-universe. The Dominion's Liberator gunships were inspired by the UED's Valkyrie frigates, which also specialized in air-to-air splash damage.
1071* ArtisticLicensePhysics: A surprising subversion. Unlike most attacking units, it cannot pivot with lightning reflexes and just attack anything without hesitation. It must actually have its shelling zone manually coordinated, like with real-life artillery.
1072* {{BFG}}: Their signature cannon hits like a Siege Tank shock cannon and it does full damage to all armor types except for Structure (which it can't target at all).
1073* CompositeCharacter: Combines the Valkyrie's aerial splash damage with the Siege Tank's siege attacks for ground units, with the ability to switch between anti-air and anti-ground like the Viking. It also shares the ability to be built with the Reactor add-on like the Viking. Unlike the Viking, the Liberator is better against ground than air unless dealing with swarms of light fliers.
1074* CoolStarship: A frigate that has utility for dealing with light fliers (typically Mutalisks), but can "siege up" into an area-denial mode that really packs a punch against individual targets that enters the Liberation Zone and makes a handy way to shut down resource-mining operations as well.
1075* CripplingOverspecialization: Its air-to-ground Concord Cannon is second to none, but it's not able to target structures in Melee and thus toggle the InstantWinCondition (unless your opponent quits) nor can they fight back against aerial targets in their [=ATG=] mode. Also, if one can bypass its killzone the Liberator is as good as dead. Lampshaded in one of the StopPokingMe quotes:
1076--> ''If there's a piece of ground you want secure, my Liberator can handle it. Anywhere around it? You're kind of on you own.''
1077* CrosshairAware: Both friends and foes can see the Liberator's killzone as a dotted circle. While deploying its cannon, the killzone is initially marked by a very visible team-colored crosshair that screams "don't stand here".
1078* DualModeUnit: A mobile missile battery or [[AnchoredAttackStance a stationary artillery platform]].
1079* EffectiveKnockoff: In lore, the Liberator was imitated by different Terran factions, including the Umojan Protectorate who managed to improve upon the design, and mercenaries who didn't build any perse but as a whole managed to acquire a limited quanity for their fleets. They are generally just as effective if not better than the Dominion-spec models.
1080* {{Foil}}: To the Viking, as a transforming flier who needs to switch modes to attack ground or vice versa. Both can be trained in tandem with each other or another Libertor or Medivac (using a Starport with a Reactor), and while the Viking is typically superior against air, the Liberator has superior power against ground units.
1081* HerdHittingAttack: Their missiles chew up clumped air units.
1082* MechanicallyUnusualClass: They are very unusual in that unlike regular units with a standard attack radius, the Liberator projects its anti-ground radius to a select point as a "Liberation Zone". This is a balance restriction because their Concord Cannon deals incredible damage and fires moderately fast. The opponent also sees the liberation zone on the battlefield.
1083* NecessaryDrawback: The killzone mechanic from a balance perspective as simply allowing the ship to attack ground targets would make their weaponry way too powerful and even obsolete Siege Tanks. Same thing with allowing them to even attack structures because their DPS is colossal, and buildings can not dodge out of the killzone. This enforces their role as a ground-area-denial craft -- similar to Widow Mines, but without stealth (melee) -- and anti-light-flier craft. Yet despite all these drawbacks, they are still very effective gunships throughout a match, can even be trained two-simultaneously from a Reactored Starport, and see frequent play in melee.
1084* PatrioticFervor: Their weapons -- the Lexington Rockets and Concord Cannon -- are named after UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution, delivers freedom through said weapons, quotes ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice''... About as 'Murican as it can get without a stars-and-stripes paint job.
1085* PurposefullyOverpowered: The Liberator has an absolutely ''ridiculous'' damage output in it's Defender mode, combined with superior range to the Siege Tank on an airborne unit that also acted as a soft counter to Mutalisks in it's fighter mode. This was all to make high-level play more "exciting" and micro-oriented than the strategic positional style of Terran mechanical armies. Backlash over this led to the Liberator being nerfed repeatedly and the Siege Tank being buffed to take it's place back as the Lynchpin unit.
1086* SiegeEngines: Provides an aerial alternative to the Siege Tank for a long-range ground attacker, as long as you don't mind not being able to hit buildings. They can, however, do the next best thing by aiming their cannons at a mineral line and shutting down the opponent's economy by one-shotting any worker that tries to gather resources.
1087* RememberTheNewGuy: They were added in ''Legacy of the Void'' as gunships developed by Dominion, despite the fact that in previous two games Dominion went through two separate zerg invasions and multiple lesser conflicts, with Liberators nowhere to be seen. Presumably, they only went into major mass production during the ''Legacy of the Void'' storyline.
1088* ViolationOfCommonSense: Liberators are not allowed to fire their cannon upon buildings. There is no story explanation for why this is so, aside from their function being to "liberate" an area of ground. (Nova's Liberators in Covert Ops and Co-op Missions ''can'' attack buildings, but [[YouHaveResearchedBreathing require an upgrade to do so]].) This isn't a new balance mechanic however. Spider Mines were never allowed to attack buildings, nor were some spells (you may not Irradiate Zerg structures).
1089* TheWorkhorse: It quickly became one of the staples of Terran gameplay.
1090[[/folder]]
1091
1092[[folder:Battlecruiser]]
1093[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_Battlecruiser_4343.png]]
1094->''"Battlecruiser operational."''
1095->''"Who called in the fleet?"''
1096
1097The 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 Behemoth Class was the standard model featured during "Rebel Yell" and "The Iron Fist". After the ''Brood War'', the Minotaur Class succeeded it, and was later retrofitted with Tactical Jump and presumably fire-on-the-move capabilities as standard.
1098----
1099* TheAlcoholic: The captain, in the sequel.
1100-->'''Battlecruiser Captain:''' The Yamato is loaded, and so am I...\
1101'''Battlecruiser Captain:''' I have an announcement: I am drunk!
1102* AlcubierreDrive: Uses a take on this concept, as shown with The Hyperion. Space can be seen distorting at the destination before the warp effect ends. There is also no concept of mid-warp maneuverability.
1103* AwesomeButImpractical: In the first game. Battlecruisers attacked at a very slow rate with one shot per attack, so unless you mass-produced them for the use of their Yamato Cannon ability, they didn't live up to their mineral and vespene costs. Averted from ''Starcraft II'' onwards; although they are still most useful when produced in numbers for their Yamato Cannons, Battlecruisers now attack with firestorms of attritional lasers, so they can no longer be downed by massed ground units without dedicated Medivac support. ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheVoid'' further boosted the Cruiser's viability by giving them the [[{{Teleportation}} "Tactical Jump"]] to move to virtually any location at will; this made the Battlecruiser into an effective and durable base harassment tool that could teleport away once the enemy responded to the invader.
1104* BeamSpam: In the original game, Battlecruisers attacked slowly but did high damage (despite supposedly being armed with a battery of lasers). The sequel takes them the exact opposite direction, giving them low base damage but ''very'' high attack speed, resulting in this trope.
1105* CoolOldGuy: The captain in the Battlecruiser's portrait has white hair and his share of wrinkles but still kicks ass.
1106* CoolStarship: A flying fortress that surpasses the Protoss Carrier in hull density, and in campaign play, can even activate temporary DeflectorShields with an upgrade. Their signature Yamato Cannon can also give Protoss forces pause and they later gained a jump drive for surprise attacks or fleeing battle. Their presence can also be a menace to Zerg forces thanks to said jump drive. Unique models such as Jackson's Revenge, the Hyperion, and so on get extra coolness points for their aftermarket upgrades.
1107* DeflectorShields: You can give them the Science Vessel's Defense Matrix ability as an Armory upgrade in the ''Wings of Liberty'' Campaign.
1108* DoNotRunWithAGun: Became the second Terran unit to avert this trope when ''Legacy of the Void'' arrived, in order to reimagine the unit as a durable base raider with teleportation to appear ''anywhere'' on the map.
1109* ElectronicEye: The captain has one in ''Starcraft II'', among other enhancements.
1110* {{Expy}}: The unit portrait is one of Captain Henry Gloval from ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'', at least for 1 and Brood War.
1111* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: In terms of the Minotaur model's Tactical Jump as it allows Battlecruisers to emulate how they're used in cutscene movies such as one scene where the Hyperion uses it to escape from an overwhelming Zerg counterattack. The "fire on the move" feature also emulates what the Hyperion may do too.
1112* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
1113** Among other things, they're staffed by a considerable number of officers and have multiple batteries on board, but the melee Battlecruisers don't have this much firepower for balance sake. The Hyperion averts this in the third mission of ''Wings of Liberty'' (Zero Hour) by carpeting entire areas in LASER-fire, but the cruiser isn't under your control and it's a wonder Raynor doesn't call in the Hyperion a bit more often aside from the risk of losing their base of operations.
1114** The Hyperion demonstrates -- in the ''Heart of the Swarm'' campaign -- that Battlecruisers are capable of housing fighter craft, much like Protoss Carriers, but the melee Battlecruisers are not equipped with this feature, limited to Laser Batteries, a Yamato Cannon and a jump drive.
1115** They couldn't originally fire on the move like the Hyperion can in cutscenes, but ''Legacy of the Void'' added this feature to melee-mode Battlecruisers to boost their base harassment potential, and average DPS considerably.
1116* GratuitousRussian: Averted, but the pilot still has a definite Russian accent.
1117* HiddenDepths: Apparently, the captain plays ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''.
1118-->'''Battlecruiser Captain:''' Let's hurry up and finish this attack. It's raid night.
1119* IneffectualLoner: A single unsupported Battlecruiser isn't accomplishing much on its own (even with its Yamato Cannon). Either bring them in fleet or protect it with a lot of other units as it does it job leveling things.
1120* TheJuggernaut:
1121** The Gorgon-class Battlecruisers encountered in ''Heart Of The Swarm''. They cannot be damaged by any units or abilities (even from Kerrigan) and can only be destroyed by using a Scourge Nest, which releases an entire swarm of Scourges on them. And it's stated the nests have to release everything just to destroy one of them. By the point of ''Covert Ops'', armies have become strong enough that Gorgon-class Battlecruisers dropped from having NighInvulnerability to being "extremely difficult to take down", with 3000 HP and 6 base armor (twice the HP and armor of a Planetary Fortress, a dedicated StoneWall).
1122** The Hyperion to a lesser extent. It's a relatively ancient Battlecruiser but Raynor's Raiders modified it extensively, and its inefficiencies were corrected thanks to a Protoss crystal onboad to more than satisfy power demands and correct issues with older hardware (a convenient side effect of Egon studying the crystal).
1123* LogicalWeakness: Small, more maneuverable fighters (Wraiths) were created as a [[BattleshipRaid countermeasure against colossal capital ships]], so it's not a stretch similar units like Vikings, Void Rays, or Corruptors are the main counter to the lumbering Battlecruisers, much like you'll see in many SpaceOpera stories. This is even more apparent in ''II'' because their ATA Laser Batteries are weaker against any flying units.
1124* LovableCoward: If they come under attack when they are offscreen, they'll say either "It's a trap!" or "Abandon ship!"
1125* MacrossMissileMassacre: Missile Pods in ''[=StarCraft=] II''.
1126* MascotMook: In universe, if there's a significant Terran war effort, you can bet a fleet of Battlecruisers will be backing up ground forces and aerial vessels. If there is an important Terran leader on the battlefield, chances are they have a Battlecruiser as their command ship. Ironically in gameplay, it wasn't until ''Legacy of the Void'' that they finally shed their AwesomeButImpractical history thanks to Tactical Jump allowing them to teleport to virtually anywhere on a map.
1127* MadeOfIron: In ''[=StarCraft I=]'' they're the only unit able to survive a direct hit from a nuclear missile, having exactly as much HP as the missile does damage, along with 3 points of armor. Granted, unless you get them to an SCV quickly they won't last long after that. In ''[=StarCraft II=]'', they gained ''50'' hitpoints and retained their high armor points, and gained the ability to perform Tactical Jump and become immune to most damage sources while going to warp (they can't attack during this time though). In melee, only the Protoss Mothership has higher total health but the Battlecruiser beats it in base armor and physical health, lacks a UniquenessRule and can be rapidly repaired thanks to [=SCVs=] and [=MULEs=].
1128* MightyGlacier: Zig-zagged; With their high damage output a fleet of them can level a base and the army defending it... once they ''get'' there that is. Tactical Jump helps them work around their slow speed, but also comes with a pretty lengthy cooldown, forcing the player to use it judiciously.
1129* MilitaryMashupMachine: When you cross a heavy UsefulNotes/{{WorldWarII}} bomber with a battleship and give it space-worthiness, you might end up with something like one of the Terran Battlecruiser models.
1130* MinorInjuryOverreaction: A single little marine piddling away at the Battlecruiser with his rifle is enough to get the captain to order "Abandon Ship!"
1131* NinjaPirateRobotZombie: Jackson's Revenge has the lore of being a Pirate Battlecruiser, the cruiser itself dating back to the Terran Confederacy. It has gatling cannons to further add to its visual flair.
1132* NukeEm: According to fluff, the Yamato Cannon works by using a specialized reactor to focus a controlled nuclear detonation into a plasma blast.
1133* {{Pirate}}: Once again, Jackson's Revenge is a space-faring pirate ship.
1134* SiegeEngines:
1135** With the Yamato Cannon ability, that fires a single heavily-damaging projectile (from enough distance that anti-air defenses can't shoot them while charging), Battlecruisers can be used to whittle down defensive positions from afar.
1136** Less pronounced in ''Legacy of the Void'' as Yamato blasts no longer one-shot most defense structures (Missile Turrets ''will'' burn-down in seconds on their own, however) and the balance model is shifted towards use of Tactical Jump for guerilla tactics or cruisers leveraging their considerable durability to mow through a base after initial Yamato strikes; Tactical Jump helps here, allowing battered cruisers to escape home for repairs.
1137* SimpleYetAwesome: Unlike the smaller Battlecruisers, the Gorgons only have their basic guns. Their durability and firepower mean it's all they need.
1138* SlapOnTheWristNuke: The Yamato Blast, named after the ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'' WaveMotionGun, looks like it's ready to explode and deal major damage in a decent radius, but the energy bolt will only devastate one target, yet a unit standing right next to the affected unit will be completely unharmed. In ''Brood War'' the Yamato is classified as Explosive damage rather than Spell damage as in the sequel which isn't typically noticeable as most small or medium type targets don't have enough hitpoints to benefit from the damage penalty. However if one were to zap a brand-new Protoss Zealot, they'd survive with at least 1 hitpoint depending on Protoss armor upgrades.
1139* SlowLaser: Their laser batteries fire slower-than-light projectiles, which in turn count as projectile attacks that can be shot down by a point defense drone. Don't ask how that works.
1140* SpacePlane: Has the feel of a heavy bomber outfitted with Laser Batteries for machine gun nests. They can also be equipped with a Missile Barrage system in the ''VideoGame/WingsOfLiberty'' campaign, for AntiAir defense.
1141* ShoutOut: The Minotaur Class wouldn't look too out of place in a [[Franchise/StarTrek Klingon fleet]], with its UsedFuture appearance and loose bird-of-prey form, reminiscent of a Negh'var Class. The Yamato Cannon fits this philosophy as well; this weapon is named after a similar weapon from ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato''.
1142* SplashDamage: Missile Pods deal splash damage to air units.
1143* {{Teleportation}}: In ''Legacy of the Void'' they get a Warp Jump ability to instantly teleport across the map.
1144* UnitsNotToScale: In the lore they're basically flying city-sized [[TheBattlestar Battlestars]] armed with BeamSpam and MoreDakka to [[CutscenePowerToTheMax singlehandedly take on swarms of Zerg]]. In-game they're certainly one of the largest units, but still not to scale, did weaker damage (in ''[=StarCraft=] I'' they only fired a slow and single shot with high damage, in ''[=StarCraft=] II'' they had low base damage but attacking ''very'' quickly) and are smaller than some buildings.
1145* ViolationOfCommonSense: For no immediately apparent reason -- besides perhaps backstory in the manual -- some incarnations of the Battlecruiser have lower-power ATA Laser Batteries installed compared with their more powerful ATS Laser Batteries. Presumably, this represents the maneuverability of small aircraft lowering the efficiency of the Laser Batteries and them being less efficient against capital ships. This is implemented for melee-balance reasons primarily, serving as a subtle hint that one of their intended counters is AntiArmor fliers.
1146* WaveMotionGun: The iconic Yamato Cannon, inspired by [[Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato the anime that features the original Wave Motion Gun]]. It's slightly easier to list stuff that it won't kill outright than stuff that it will, and that list goes: "Archons, enemy Battlecruisers, Carriers, Colossi, Immortals, Motherships, Overseers (barely!), Tempests, Thors, Ultralisks, and Void Rays (barely!)"
1147[[/folder]]
1148
1149!!Special Terran units
1150[[folder:Terran Mercenaries]]
1151Terran mercenaries are based on regular Terran units, but are stronger and have better weaponry. However, you may only recruit so many per mission so they shouldn't be squandered.
1152* HeroUnit: A milder example than usual, as mercenaries are simply beefed up versions of units you build en mass.
1153* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Their ultimate aim is to make a living through their mercenary work and have few reservations about who's signing their checks.
1154* UndergroundMonkey: The Dominion at one point had an elite force that performed like mercenaries but were truly loyal to Mengsk until his defeat.
1155* UniquenessRule: Zigzagged, you can have multiple mercenaries but each type may only be hired a limited number of times on a mission per mission basis. The Jackson's Revenge plays this trope straight, as you are only allowed ''one'' of these souped-up Battlecruisers per mission, so make them count.
1156[[/folder]]
1157
1158[[folder:A.R.E.S.]]
1159[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_ARES_4658.png]]
1160
1161A warbot operated by Dominion forces, it has variable weapon systems. Raynor activates it to help with some guards during a raid on a Dominion facility.
1162----
1163* ArmorPiercingAttack: The T82 [[MacrossMissileMassacre Missile Pods]].
1164* {{BFG}}s: The standard 120mm cannon.
1165* BroughtDownToBadass: In Co-op mode, Swann can call down a force of them with his Combat Drop, and they're quite nerfed from the campaign where the A.R.E.S. had 2500 HP and higher attack power. But "nerf" is relative; their stats remain high and they're basically Thors with timed life.
1166* FunWithAcronyms: Though what the name stands for is unknown.
1167* HumongousMecha: It's just barely smaller than a Thor.
1168* KillItWithFire: The Napalm Burninator is a flamethrower.
1169* MightyGlacier: Very high offensive power but poor movement speed. The only thing stopping it from clearing the rest of the level is its timed life and [[spoiler:the Hybrid.]]
1170* OneManArmy: Has huge power and HP and can kill anything you pit it against. There's an objective for killing the Brutalisk with it in the level you find it in, and it's strong enough to do it if it hasn't been too heavily damaged beforehand.
1171* StanceSystem: When activated, Raynor/the player has to choose one of three weapons systems to activate -- an anti-personnel flamethrower (deals bonus damage to light enemies), anti-armor missile pods (deals bonus damage to armored enemies), or all-purpose cannons (no damage bonuses, but fires faster than the other two).
1172* TheWorfEffect: After seeing one of these things clear out a cargo bay full of enemies (and potentially, a ''Brutalisk'') with no difficulty, [[spoiler:the Hybrid]] takes on another warbot one-on-one and destroys it in under a minute.
1173* YouShallNotPass: A second one is sent against [[spoiler:the Hybrid]] as the Raiders flee the facility to buy them time to escape.
1174[[/folder]]
1175
1176[[folder:Warhawk]]
1177[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warhawk.png]]
1178
1179A Terran gunship employed by the Defenders of Man.
1180----
1181* CrosshairAware: Its missile target points are painted with large crosshairs, giving Nova time to avoid them.
1182* DesperationAttack: When low on HP in unveils its laser cannon and starts firing it rapidly.
1183* FinalBoss: Of "The Escape," the first level of the ''Covert Ops'' DLC.
1184* MacrossMissileMassacre: Fires missiles in spread patterns as its primary attack.
1185* WaveMotionGun: Boasts a huge, long-range laser cannon on its front.
1186[[/folder]]
1187
1188[[folder:The Odin]]
1189[[quoteright:287:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starcraft_-_Odin_201.png]]
1190-> ''"Ragna-rock-'n-roll!"''
1191
1192A prototype Thor, it was built by the Dominion and to be used as a demonstration of their firepower. It worked, when Raynor's Raiders took control of it to raid Korhal.
1193----
1194* ArmorPiercingAttack: It does bonus damage against buildings and it can gain one for his air attacks if you upgrade the vehicles weapons at the armory.
1195* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: This thing makes Thors look puny.
1196* AwesomeButImpractical: Which is why Thors are used instead of the Odin. The Raiders leave it behind on Korhal since it takes far too many resources to maintain and transport, [[spoiler: meaning the Dominion is able to repair it and send it against the Zerg and the Raiders during the invasion of Korhal]].
1197* {{BFG}}: Even bigger than the Thor's.
1198* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:You probably forgot about it once you finished ''Media Blitz''. Mengsk did not.]]
1199* TheDragon: [[spoiler:It guards the imperial palace on Korhal in ''Heart of the Swarm'', and is Mengsk's final gambit against Raynor and Kerrigan to stop them.]]
1200* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:In a sense, in ''Heart of the Swarm''. It's Mengsk's final gambit against Raynor and Kerrigan, and the worst is passed once you destroy it.]]
1201* {{Irony}}: The prototype of an AntiAir mecha is much better at dealing with ground units than with air ones. You can tell the designers skimped on this attribute by equipping it with the dated Hellfire Missiles that were standard on Goliaths.
1202* MoreDakka: Unlike the Thor which strikes a single target, its Barrage hits over an area of effect.
1203* MightyGlacier: Massive power...not so impressive movement speed.
1204* MythologyGag:
1205** Literally. The generic pilot for the Odin has a large white beard and mustache with an eyepatch over his left eye. In other words, the Odin's pilot looks like, well, Odin.
1206** The Odin uses the original Thor model, when it was so large it had to be built by [=SCVs=] instead of Factories.
1207* HumongousMecha: It's the size of a Command Center.
1208* NukeEm: It can carry high-yield nuclear missiles, as Tychus finds out in ''Engine of Destruction''. Tychus wastes no time letting it rip.
1209* OhCrap: This is [[spoiler:Raynor's]] reaction when it gets deployed against him.
1210* OneManArmy: 2500 HP, 80 damage attacks to ground units (With a small SplashDamage radius), 200 to buildings, 60 to air units, its weapons have a higher rate of fire than a Thor's, and it has a 75 energy area-of-effect artillery barrage that's powerful enough to destroy buildings. If you accompany it with Science Vessels and/or [=SCVs=] for repairs, it can scour the entire map all on its lonesome. The only other things in the entire trilogy that can rival its power is [[spoiler:Xel'naga Kerrigan]], who is a PhysicalGod, and the Leviathan, one of the most powerful Zerg breeds in existence. And in both cases it's still a very close fight.
1211* PurposelyOverpowered: In the player's hands, the Odin can really get a lot work done, and could clear a lot of missions with just some anti-air and repair support. You only get to control the Odin for one mission and Matt Horner already called in a huge amount of in-story favors just to lug this showpiece to Korhal so maintaining and lugging this money-pit machine around the galaxy was out of the question.
1212* SplashDamage: Its ground attack deals it in a small radius.
1213* SuperPrototype: Justified. The Odin is ''far'' more powerful than Thors, its one weakness being heavy anti-air opposition which a handful of escort ships can handle fine. The justification is that the Odin is much more expensive to maintain and quite difficult to transport due to its size, so mass production would be inefficient. As powerful as it is, the Odin is really just a showpiece.
1214* TacticalSuperweaponUnit: The two missions where you can use it amount to keeping it in good repair while Tychus takes it on a drunken, destructive joyride. [[spoiler:It even launches nukes.]] Sadly, it's too AwesomeButImpractical to take with you off of Korhal. [[spoiler:And then Mengsk uses it against you with it being no weaker.]]
1215* WhamLine: Not from the Odin itself, but from [[spoiler:Mengsk]].
1216-->"Remember this, Raynor? [[spoiler:It was nice of your criminal partner to leave it here for me.]]"
1217* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Odin would have come in handy on several missions after Media Blitz, including the final mission of the campaign. Why didn't you have it? [[spoiler: Because the Raiders had to abandon it on Korhal, where Mengsk got a hold of it and incorporated it into his army]]. See WhamLine above.
1218[[/folder]]
1219
1220[[folder:Archangel]]
1221
1222A huge transforming mech deployed by the Dominion during their siege of the Umojan facility, guarding the shuttle bay to prevent anyone (especially Raynor and Kerrigan) from escaping. Kerrigan is forced to battle it to reach Raynor's ship.
1223----
1224* FlunkyBoss: While it's in the air, it calls down drop-pods of marines to harass you.
1225* GatlingGood: Retains the Viking's gatling cannons on the ground.
1226* HumongousMecha: It's roughly the size of the Odin in-game, though UnitsNotToScale should be kept in mind.
1227* KingMook: To the Viking.
1228* MacrossMissileMassacre: On the ground, periodically designates an area of the boss arena and blows it sky high. In the air, strafes the arena in a straight line.
1229* MoreDakka: This thing's guns are a fair bit bigger than the standard.
1230* TransformingMecha: Ground-to-air, like the regular Viking, but designed as a boss mechanic instead of a unit ability.
1231* WarmUpBoss: It's there to get you used to the idea of fighting a boss enemy with Kerrigan, so when you fight the pack leaders on Zerus, you're familiar with the concept.
1232[[/folder]]
1233
1234[[folder:Gorgon]]
1235A class of Terran battlecruiser, Gorgons are substantially larger and more powerful than their predecessors, the Minotaur and Behemoth classes.
1236----
1237* AdvancingBossOfDoom: In "Fire in the Sky", a Gorgon will slowly move from Warfield's compound to Kerrigan's hive cluster, crushing anything in its way. The player has to awaken Scourge Nests to destroy the Gorgon, at which point Warfield deploys another and the cycle repeats.
1238* ContractualBossImmunity: The ones that appear in "Fire in the Sky" in ''Heart of the Swarm'' are invincible to normal attacks, forcing the player to use the Scourge Nests to bring them down.
1239* DeathFromAbove: Whenever they appear in missions, they fly high over enemies raining down a barrage of laser fire.
1240* DegradedBoss: From completely invincible enemies (except from massive amounts of Scourges sent at them) in ''Heart of the Swarm'', to merely a OneManArmy in ''Covert Ops''.
1241* MightyGlacier: They're powerful enough to bring down entire armies and have monstrous HP, but move very, very slowly.
1242* OneManArmy: A single Gorgon is enough to eradicate a substantial Zerg presence in the Bone Trench on Char. Kerrigan notes that they're so big, General Warfield would only be able to deploy one into the trench at a time; Zagara glumly notes that one is all he needs. In ''Covert Ops'', a Gorgon can strafe a line of enemies and wipe all of them out, opposition which will include multiple Stalkers, Void Rays, Carriers, Wrathwalkers and even a Mothership or two.
1243* TacticalSuperweaponUnit: Invulnerable to everything but Scourge nests, and even then, it takes releasing everything the nest have just to kill ''one'' Gorgon.
1244* WeaksauceWeakness: In ''Heart of the Swarm'', the otherwise invincible Gorgons are brought down by a single Scourge nest, though its stated that the nest have to release everything just to destroy one of them, necessitating the construction of multiple Scourge nests during the mission.
1245[[/folder]]
1246
1247[[folder:Xanthos]]
1248
1249An experimental Terran mech under development by the Dominion. It is seen in the last mission of ''Covert Ops'' where it serves as the FinalBoss of the campaign.
1250----
1251* AntiArmor: Its railgun deals double damage to armored units.
1252* ArmCannon: Its railgun and flamethrower are mounted on its arms.
1253* FinalBoss: Of the entire campaign; the subsequent sequence consists of four weakened Troopers, and then a ZeroEffortBoss killed in one attack.
1254* FinalExamBoss: All of its gimmicks are ones used by earlier enemies in the campaign.
1255* FlunkyBoss: Can deploy attack drones.
1256* KillItWithFire: Wields a flamethrower.
1257* TacticalSuperweaponUnit: A giant robot bristling with weaponry that takes a whole army to take down.
1258* TookALevelInBadass: As the mission continues it powers up more systems to be stronger with more weapons.
1259* TransformingMecha: [[spoiler:It can transform into a slower but mobile assault form with a thermal laser as its main weapon).]]
1260* UnitsNotToScale: The biggest offender. The loading screen reveals that it is an ''incredibly massive'' palace sized monstrosity of a mech, [[spoiler:and the final part of the level is even set inside of it]]. In-game, its size only made a marine look like an action figure.
1261[[/folder]]
1262
1263[[folder:Tauren Marine]]
1264[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tauren_marine.png]]
1265->''"Milked up and good to go!"''
1266
1267An April Fools joke made by Blizzard during the development of ''Wings of Liberty''. The "lore" is that the Terran Confederacy found [[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Azeroth]] on an expedition and, impressed by the physical prowess of the Tauren, convinced many of them to enlist in the Marine Corps.
1268----
1269* BayonetYa: Their rifles have curved energy blades mounted on the front.
1270* BrickJoke: An early EasterEgg in ''Wings of Liberty'' has the Tauren Marine run into an outhouse, which launches into space. In ''Legacy of the Void'', another EasterEgg has the outhouse land, and the Tauren emerges as a controllable unit.
1271* {{BFG}}: They wield 88mm Impala Rifles.
1272* {{Crossover}}: With the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' series.
1273* GuestStarPartyMember: ''Legacy of the Void'' has one join you for one mission as an EasterEgg.
1274* HurricaneOfPuns: Virtually every line they have is a cow pun.
1275* LightningBruiser: They move fast, have 10 armor, deal 24 damage, and have 250 HP ''with'' regeneration. In their release video, five of them effortlessly destroy a Terran base and four times their number in defending forces in under a minute.
1276* OneManArmy: Again; five of them destroy a base and its defenders in under a minute. With their stats, one could have done the job by itself, just not as quickly.
1277* OurMinotaursAreDifferent: They're bovine humanoids.
1278* PurposelyOverpowered: They're likely as strong as they are to make it clear they're not really going to be in the game, and to make their debut more impressive.
1279[[/folder]]
1280
1281[[folder:Terra-Tron]]
1282[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terra-tron_23.jpg]]
1283->''"Beware the Evil Terra-Tron!!! HE DOES NOT LIKE YOU!!!"''
1284
1285An April Fools joke made by Blizzard during the development of ''Wings of Liberty''. The "lore" is that it combines from the player's buildings to defend against enemies if you have no units left. It returned as the FinalBoss of the ''Lost Viking'' arcade game.
1286----
1287* ArmCannon: Made from a Ghost Academy.
1288* {{BFG}}: And as such, its cannon is ''huge''.
1289* BulletHell: The' 'Lost Viking'' game as a whole is this, but Terra-Tron takes it to a sadistic new level.
1290* ChainsawGood: Wields a buzzsaw blade on its left arm, formed from a Starport.
1291* CombiningMecha: It merges from various buildings to form a giant robot.
1292* DeadlyDisc: In the ''Lost Viking'' game, it flings its saw blade around the arena.
1293* EvilIsPetty: The above quote is the only reason given for why the Terra-Tron is trying to destroy your lost little Viking -- he doesn't like you.
1294* FinalBoss: Of ''Lost Viking''.
1295* HumongousMecha: It has Bunkers for feet and a Planetary Fortress for a head.
1296* JokeCharacter: One so obvious that even if it wasn't showcased on April 1st, no one could possibly think it was legit.
1297* SpeaksInShoutOuts: Every line it has is a reference to some sort of media involving robots. It quotes ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', ''Film/ShortCircuit'', ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', it has a voice like Optimus Prime, and was designed by Ron Volt, a reference to ''Anime/{{Voltron}}''.
1298* WaveMotionGun: Its arm cannon fires out a long, continuous laser beam, similar to the laser drill in the mission The Dig.

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