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[edit] Terran

[edit] GroundUnits

  • Space Construction Vehicle (SCV) – The Terran's peon, it is the toughest of the three workers. It is considered to be both Biological and Mechanical, which means that it can be affected by abilities that only affect machines (e.g. the Terran Ghost's Lockdown) and abilities that only affect living things (e.g. the Zerg Queen's Spawn Broodling).
  • Marine – A moderately armored infantry trooper, they are the only first-tier fighter that can attack air. They are among the most versatile units in the game, they can even be powerful in late game, so long as the proper upgrades are researched. Marines wield a C-16 "Impaler" Gauss rifle, which fires 8mm spikes at supersonic speeds. An upgrade replaces these with depleted Uranium shells, giving it further range.They have an attack range upgrade as well. Marines are among the most versatile units in the game; they can be useful even in the late game so long as upgrades are researched. They are one of two units that can use the Stim Packs ability.
  • Firebat – A more heavily armored assault trooper. It is equipped with a pair of plasma-based Perdition Flame Throwers that deal heavy splash damage. The splash does not hurt friendly units, but will damage allied units. It shares the Stim Pack ability of the Marine. Firebat are powerful against small-sized units, such as Zerglings, but against more heavily-armored units they are less effective.
    Stim Packs – A powerful pack of steroids, it temporarily doubles the moving and attack speed of the Marine and the Firebat once consumed. However, it comes with a sacrifice of ten health points since the steroids come with a variety of side effects. In StarCraft: Brood War, Medics can heal the lost health points while the benefit from Stim Packs is still active. Stim Packs has to be researched from the Academy.
  • Medic – The heavily armored Medic's purpose is to heal troops that have been wounded in battle. It has no attack, but can heal the health of friendly biological ground units (for Terrans, this includes Marines, Firebats, Ghosts, other Medics, and SCVs). It cannot heal allies. The Medic has 200 points of energy by default (can be upgraded to 250), and heals 2 health for every point of energy used.
    Optic Flare – Also known as Optical Flare, this spell shoots a grenade at a unit, permanently reducing its sight range to 1. In addition, if that unit is a detector, it loses all of its detection capabilities. Optic Flare must be researched at the Academy before it can be used.
    Restoration – This is the only spell that can remove a status ailment from a unit, whether friendly or not. It can cure the target (cannot target an area, only a unit) of Ensnare, Plague, Acid Spores, Lockdown, Blindness, or other similar abilities. It cannot cure area abilities such as Stasis Field or Disruption Web, and cannot cure permanent affects, such as Spawn Broodling. Like Optic Flare, this must also be researched from the Academy.
  • Ghost – This late-game Terran unit is lightly armored, wearing a white muscle suit and wielding a 25mm C-10 Canister rifle. The range of the rifle is superior to all small infantry units. However, due to their physical frailty, they are rarely used in combat, but rather for their powerful special abilities.
    Nuclear Strike and Cloaking – These two abilities are often used together. After a Nuke is built at the Terran Nuclear Silo (an Add-on to the Command Center), the Ghost can "spot" for a Nuclear Strike. When this happens, all players will get a "Nuclear Launch Detected" message, and a small red dot will appear at the sight of the launch. If the Ghost isn't destroyed before the missile falls (destroying the Ghost will successfully cancel the launch), the Nuke will fall onto the specified location, where it will do either 500 damage or ⅔ damage to any unit in the (very large) area of effect, depeding on which one is greater. Cloaking is almost always used to reduce the risk of detection. Nukes do not need to be researched, but Cloaking needs to be researched from the Covert Ops before it can be used.
    Lockdown – This powerful ability allows a Terran Ghost to temporarily halt one Mechanical or Robotic unit for quite a while. Like Stasis Field, the unit cannot be given orders, but unlike Stasis Field, the Locked unit can still be freely attacked. It is often used to lock Battlecruisers or other powerful units.
  • Vulture – This single-seat Terran Hoverbike is capable of launching Fragmentation Grenades at ground units. The Grenades only deal full damage to small units, but since they can be launched while the Vulture is moving, it is often used for hit-and-run units, usually against enemy workers, or just for its Spider Mine ability.
    Spider Mines – When researched, the Vulture can deploy three, and only three Spider Mines anywhere the Vulture can get to (i.e. must get to site to deploy). After about two seconds, the Mines burrow into the ground, where they are invisible to units without detectors. They provide a sight range of 3, and when an enemy unit walks into its sight range, it automatically unburrows and chases it, detonating on contact and dealing a large amount of splash damage.
  • Siege Tank – The heavily-armored Terran Siege Tank makes up a good part of the Terrans' attack force. It has a Mobile Artillery Cannon armed with Twin 80mm Cannons in "Tank" mode and a 120mm Arclite Shock Cannon in "Siege" mode (once it is researched). The Siege Tank is relatively powerful while in Tank mode, but researching Siege Mode produces a much more powerful unit.
    Siege Mode – Researched at the Machine Shop add-on of the Factory, it enables a Siege Tank to transform into Siege Mode. While in Siege Mode, the tanks are immensely powerful and possess a very long attack range (extending beyond its normal field of vision). However, the tanks cannot attack anything close to them while in Siege Mode and are immobile.
  • Goliath – Mech assault unit that can attack air and land units. It is equipped with twin 30mm Autocannons against ground troops, and Hellfire AA Scatter Missiles against air. The Charon Boosters upgrade makes it the longest-ranged Ground-to-Air attack in the game, and is equal to the range of the Guardian's Air-to-Ground attack.

[edit] Air Units

  • CF/A-17 Wraith – Space Superiority Fighter produced at the Starport. It uses Burst Lasers (a smaller and weaker version of a laser battery) against Ground-based troops, and uses twin Gemini Missiles against air.During the Guild Wars, a lot of battles were fought with the Battlecruiser and the "Gunship". The Gunship has since been superseded by the Valkyrie Missile Frigate, and the Wraith is now the ship of choice when fighting Battlecruisers.
    Cloaking Field – Allows the Wraith to cloak itself, while using up energy. While Cloaked, it is invisible to normal units and can only be spotted by "Detectors".
  • Dropship – This is a flying transport that has no attack abilities. It is slightly faster than a normal Protoss Shuttle, but much slower than an upgraded one. It is also faster than upgraded Overlords. The Dropship can hold up to eight unit slots, with infantry taking up one, lighter metal units taking up two, and the rest taking up four. It cannot hold air units. The name of the ship, and many of its quotes, comes from the movie "Aliens".
  • Valkyrie – This heavily armored flying attack frigate fires Air-to-Air H.A.L.O missiles, with no ground attack. Its missiles are weak individually, but the missiles fire in four waves of two each, and have a rather large area of effect. They can decimate larger targets, but do not work well on lightly armored units. The splash damage from these missiles only affect air units and cannot hit ground-based troops.
  • Science Vessel – This Detector unit has no attack, but has a variety of powerful special abilities. It travels quite quickly, and its pilot has a striking voice similarity to Montgomery Burns.
    Defensive Matrix – This ability casts a protective shield around a unit. While this shield is on, the unit takes only 1 damage from any attack that it endures. However, the shield is not very durable, and dissipates rather quickly.
    Irradiate – A very powerful ability, Irradiate is the Terran equivalent of the Psionic Storm. It allows a Science Vessel to irradiate a unit, quickly draining its health. Any units near to or touching the radioactive unit take damage at a slightly lower rate. Irradiate reveals cloaked units until the end of the spell duration, but do not cause burrowed units to unburrow (though it still does damage).
    EMP Shockwave – This spell sends a missile at the target area. When the missile detonates, it creates a rather small shockwave. Although the shockwave doesn't do any damage, it drains all the Plasma Shields of a unit, and if Defensive Matrix is enabled, it disables it. In addition, it also drains the Energy (Mana) of units in the area of effect to zero.
  • Battlecruiser – Considered by many to be the most powerful Terran unit in the game, the Behemoth-class Battlecruiser is an immensely armored fighting machine. Even though its regular attack is quite weak for its cost, its Yamato Gun ability is incredibly powerful. It shares a striking appearance and voice similarity to Henry Gloval.
    Yamato Gun – Also known as Yamato Cannon, this powerful ability allows a Battlecruiser to, after a short charging time, inflict 260 points of damage onto any target unit or building. This damage is unaffected by armor. Often, this is one of the only reasons why Battlecruisers are used in a game.

[edit] Basic Buildings

The buildings of the Terran Confederacy have three major differences compared to buildings of the other races. The first major difference is that they can lift off and slowly hover to a new location. Lifted buildings are handy for Terran expansions, and if a building that is lifted off has any Add-Ons, they are left behind and can be captured by any Terran player by landing the appropriate building next to it.

The second difference is that they can be repaired. Unlike Protoss buildings, which can only recharge shields (usually amounting to half their total vitality) and Zerg buildings, which heal slowly over time, Terran SCVs can repair their buildings at a much faster rate than they repair their units. They can even repair a lifted-off building, but this requires an SCV to be almost directly under it. This gives them a major advantage over other races in terms of defense as they can simply repair their defensive structures when they are under attack. As with units, Repair costs resources.

  • Command Center – Constructs SCVs and serves as a drop-off point for resources (minerals and vespene gas). Also contributes 10 to the supply limit. If it is damaged below half of its hit points, it can be infested by a Zerg Queen. Once infected, it is controlled by the infecter Zerg team, and can be lifted off and flown, as a normal Command Centre would be able to. Instead of creating SCVs, however, it makes "Infested Terrans", which are suicide units that do 500 splash damage. The Infested Command Center becomes a biological structure, heals over time, no longer burns down, and can no longer be repaired.
    • ComSat Station add-on – Scans anywhere on the map for several seconds, using 50 energy. Reveals all enemy units (even cloaked or burrowed) and buildings. It is an efficient and risk-free way of scouting out an enemy base (requires Academy). Note that using the ComSat scan causes a small visual effect at the site of the scan, alerting the affected players that the scan took place.
    • Nuclear Missile Silo add-on – Produces and launches nuclear missiles (200 Minerals and 200 Gas; 8 Supply). Requires the Covert Ops add-on for the Science Facility.
  • Supply Depot – Contributes 8 to the supply limit, with a maximum of 200 (each unit takes up a certain amount of supply points). Supply Depots are the main reason that Terran bases are mostly cluttered. As they are needed for supply, they are constructed in great numbers. However, unlike Zerg overlords (which are units and take up no space) and Protoss Pylons (which are also needed for powering structures, and are more compact than Supply Depots), Supply Depots make effective walls and can be used as barriers or to channel enemy units into a kill box. They take up by far the most space of any main supply-providing units or structures.
  • Refinery – Allows the harvesting of Vespene gas by SCVs. The SCV which builds the refinery will automatically start harvesting from it.
  • Barracks – Trains Marines, Firebats, Ghosts, and (in Brood War) Medics. (Medics, Firebats require Academy, Ghosts require Academy, Science Facility and Covert Ops add on).
  • Academy – Provides upgrades for infantry and the ability to train Firebats and Medics (upgrades include Stim Packs for Marines and Firebats, range upgrade for Marine, Restoration, Optical Flare, and energy upgrade for Medic) (requires Barracks).
  • Bunker – Has no attack of its own, but can house up to four infantry units (Marine, Firebat, Ghost, Medic, or SCV). Units inside sustain no damage, and are free to return fire. Marines also receive a slight range increase, that, combined with U-238 Shells, puts them on equal range footing with upgraded Protoss Dragoons (requires Barracks).
  • Engineering Bay – Provides three levels of armor and weapons upgrades for Barracks units and SCVs (SCV weapon is not upgraded but its armor is). Also is needed to build missile turrets.
  • Missile Turret – Provides automated surface-to-air attack - includes detector. It is often necessary, in Brood War, to back them up with upgraded Goliaths, as their range is not sufficient to attack Guardians (Missile Turrets have a range of 7 matrix squares, while Guardians have a range of 8).

[edit] AdvancedBuildings

  • Factory – Constructs Vultures, Siege Tanks, and Goliaths (requires Armory).
    • Machine Shop add-on – Required to produce siege tanks. Provides upgrades for mechanized ground units (Spider Mines and speed upgrade for Vulture, siege mode for Siege Tanks, and the Goliath air range upgrade (Brood War only)).
  • Armory – Allows for three levels of weapon and armor upgrades for Factory and Starport units and is also required for Goliaths and Valkyries (requires Factory).
  • Starport – Constructs Wraiths, Dropships, Battlecruisers, Science Vessels, and Valkyries (requires Factory).
    • Control Tower add-on – Required for Dropships, Battlecruisers, Science vessels, and Valkyries. Allows for upgrades to the Wraith (cloaking ability and energy upgrade).
  • Science Facility – Allows for the construction of and upgrades to Terran Science Vessels (EMP shockwave, Irradiate, and energy upgrade) (also required for second and third level armor and weapons upgrades at Engineering Bay and Armory) (requires Starport).
    • Physics Lab add-on – Allows production of Battlecruisers and provides upgrades for them (Yamato Cannon and energy upgrade)
    • Covert Ops add-on – Allows production of and provides upgrades for Ghosts (sight upgrade, lockdown, cloaking, and energy upgrade)

[edit] Zerg

[edit] GroundUnits

  • Test Edit to see if space has effect!
  • Larva (Core Genus: Original Zerg Strain)— The larvae are tiny units spawned from a Hatchery, Lair, or Hive which carry the genetic makeup required for every Zerg unit (except for Broodlings and Infested Terran; see below) One larva is created every 20 seconds, and each Hatchery can only have three at the same time. Although the larvae have relatively low hit points and their movement cannot be controlled, they have an extremely thick carapace which absorbs most damage, making them difficult to kill. When ordered to morph into a unit, they transform into an egg until the units hatch. Eggs are nearly impervious to attack as they have high hit points (200) and an extremely thick carapace (reduces damage by 10; this makes eggs next to invincible to units like Zergling, Hydralisk, and Marines). Usually, only one unit is hatched from a single egg, but in the case of Zerglings and Scourge, their genetic simplicity allows two to hatch from each egg. Larvae die instantly if they are separated from the creep (although this requires its mother Hatchery, Lair or Hive to have been destroyed first).
  • Drone (Core Genus: Gashyrr Wasp) — The Drone is a worker, equivalent to the Terran SCV and the Protoss Probe. It is used to gather resources, and morph into (not build) other buildings. This means that once a drone has been mutated into a building, it is lost permanently. The only exception is when the player cancels a metamorphosis in progress, in which case the drone is recovered. It has a weak attack which cannot be upgraded.
  • Zergling (Core Genus: ZZ'gashi Dune-runners) — The Zergling is the bread and butter of any Zerg ground attack force. Weaker than the Terran Marine (unless upgraded), they are melee attackers using close-range combat. Despite their fragility, a Zergling can often kill a Marine and have about 1-10 HP remaining if gets a first strike close to the Marine; otherwise, the ranged attack of the Marine would allow it to attack Zerglings while they are running towards him and therefore provide the Marine with the advantage. While the Zergling seems to be a relatively weak and ineffective unit, it is very cheap and has a high damage output- fully upgraded, a single zergling has a higher damage output than any unit in the game. It can be upgraded with attack power, carapace durability, movement speed and a significant increase in attack speed. A single upgraded (2 attack, 1 carapace, speed and attack speed) zergling can defeat an unupgraded goliath, from maximum range and with hitpoints to spare. Regardless of upgrades, however, they remain ineffective against Terran Firebats in most engagements- while small numbers of firebats will defeat small numbers of zerglings, large numbers of marines are much more effective against large numbers of zerglings, as often observed in the popular "Fastest" maps. Because of their genetic simplicity, two Zerglings hatch from each egg. Zerglings require a Spawning Pool for their production.
  • Hydralisk (Core Genus: Slothien) — Hydralisks are ranged attackers and the only Zerg ground units that can attack air units. Movement and attack range upgrades are available at the Hydralisk Den, the structure that enables the production of Hydralisks. They are one of the most commonly built units because of their attack versatility; they are one of the two Zerg units able to attack both air and ground units (the other is the Mutalisk).
    • Lurker (Core Genus: Hydralisk) — The Lurker is a ranged attacker that morphs from the Hydralisk. Lurkers must burrow to attack, but are invisible to opponents when burrowed and not in the presence of enemy detectors. Their attack has a linear splash damage that does not decrease with distance or position, making them especially powerful when massed (their range and splash acts as a formidable force multiplier). Lurkers consume twice as many control points as Hydralisks, and are popular for supporting an offensive or for dropping into enemy resource fields to kill worker units. Lurkers require the evolution of the "Lurker Aspect" from the hydralisk den. (Brood War only)
  • Defiler (Core Genus: Unknown) — The Defiler is a caster with no standard attack. Defilers have 3 types of special abilities: Consume, Dark Swarm and Plague. Dark Swarm is the only inherent special ability; the others must be researched before use. However, it is by far the most popular ability, as it provides much-needed cover for zerglings and hydralisks (which vastly improves their anti-air capabilities). An upgrade for more energy points is also available. Requires Defiler Mound for its production.
  • Ultralisk (Core Genus: Brontolith) — The Ultralisk is an expensive and powerful heavy melee unit. While their physical attack is relatively weak for their cost and size (as an Ultralisk costs eight times as many Minerals as a Zergling but has only four times the native attack power), they have 400 HP and with armor upgrades, they can be very hard to kill, which makes them commonly used as "meat shields" to draw enemy fire. Ultralisks cannot use the Burrow ability. Additional armor upgrades and movement speed upgrades for the Ultralisk are available in Brood War.
  • Broodling — The Broodling is a special unit; see "Spawn Broodling" in Special Attacks and Abilities above. Broodlings are created by the death of an organic land unit affected by a Zerg Queen's Spawn Broodling special ability. All broodlings have an energy bar that gradually depletes; they die regardless of health when this energy bar runs out.
  • Infested Terran (Core Genus: Terran) — The Infested Terran is a special unit (see "Queen" below). Is manufactured from an infested Terran Command Center. It is a kamikaze unit that has attack power with a damage equivalent to that of a Terran nuke, but with a much smaller area of effect. Infested Terrans are rarely used due to their relatively difficult production requirements (e.g. successfully capturing a damaged enemy Command Center) and their vulnerability; Infested Terrans are often killed before reaching their targets.

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[edit] Air Units

  • Overlord (Core Genus: Gargantis Proximae) — The Overlord is a Control provider, detector, and (when upgraded) transport unit. The Overlord's function as a Control provider is much like the Supply-providing function of Terran Supply Depots. Although initially very slow-moving, an upgrade available at the Lair increases the Overlord's speed. An Overlord's sight range can also be upgraded. An evolution available at the lair gives the Overlord the ability to transport up to eight unit slots (each unit takes up a different number of slots; zerglings, broodlings, and drones take up one slot, hydralisks and defilers take up two, and ultralisks and lurkers take up four). Overlords are capable of detecting cloaked and burrowed units, but they cannot attack. Players often keep Overlords in large quantities patrolling areas of bases in order to prevent cloaked units from entering undetected. The Overlord is the only standard unit in the game that does not require support points (e.g. Terran Supply, Zerg Control, Protoss Psi) to be sustained.
  • Scourge (Core Genus: Unknown) — Scourges are small, blind kamikaze fliers able to attack air units. They accomplish their suicide attack through a plasma metamorphosis. Like the Zergling, the DNA of the Scourge is so simple that two are hatched from every egg. Scourges are effective against Protoss Carriers, Terran Wraiths, Zerg Mutalisks, and Zerg Guardians, but they aren't very effective against Terran Battlecruisers as they can be killed by Battlecruisers in one shot. A Spire is required to produce Scourges.
  • Mutalisk (Core Genus: Mantis Screamer) — The Mutalisk is a short distance air attacker. Its "glaive wurm" attack missiles bounce to adjacent enemy tagets three times for reduced damage in each successive hit. Mutalisks move at about the same speed as Wraiths. Mutalisks can evolve into Devourers (Brood War only) or Guardians. A Spire is required to produce Mutalisks. When in swarms, Mutalisks can be quite effective attackers. They are useful for destroying workers. Mutalisks have "light"-type armor (the Scourge is the only other air unit with this trait), so heavier "explosive"-type attacks are less effective against them. Due to Mutalisks' low durability, however, their "light" armor is of little significance.
    • Guardian (Core Genus: Mutalisk) — Guardians are long-range air to ground attackers. Guardians are the evolved form of the Mutalisks. The Guardian's long-ranged attack is capable of destroying air defences without fear of retaliation, as no defense buildings can match its range. The Guardians speed is also a known disadvantage(besides the air-to-ground disadvantage noted earlier), for wraiths or other fast flying units can easily destroy groups of Guardian in a matter of seconds. The Guardians do considerable damage without upgrades (When compare to their unevolved form [Mutalisk]). A Greater Spire is required to produce Guardians.
    • Devourer (Core Genus: Mutalisk) — Devourers are heavy support air attackers that can only attack air units. While Devourers have a very slow rate of fire, their attack is incredibly devastating when supported by other air unts. Devourer attacks inflict "acid spores" on enemies; for each acid spore that a unit is hit with (up to 9), its firing rate is slowed and the unit takes additional damage from all attacks until the spores wear off. Acid spores also reveal cloaked units, making it difficult for enemy Wraiths to retreat after an engagement. Devourers also morph from Mutalisks, but they move much faster than Guardians. Devourers are more suited for dealing with large airborne units since their firing rate is very slow. A Greater Spire is required to produce Devourers. (Brood War only)
  • Queen (Core Genus: Arachnis Brood-Keeper) — The Queen is an air caster unit with no standard attack. Queens have four types of special abilities: Parasite (inherent special ability); Ensnare; Spawn Broodling; and Infest Command Center, which allows a Queen to infest a heavily damaged (less than 1/2 health) Terran Command Center and transform it to an Infested Terran factory. A Queen's Nest is required to produce Queens.

[edit] Basic Buildings

Zerg structures are unique in two major ways. First, Zerg structures are alive and heal over time, just as Zerg units do, and bleed when injured. Also, all Zerg structures except for the Hatchery and Extractor (which is restricted to construction over Vespene geysers) must be built on a thick, organic material known as the "creep." Creep Colonies are needed to extend the creep to allow the manifestation of other Zerg structures. When a Creep Colony, Sunken Colony, Spore Colony, Hatchery, Lair, or Hive is destroyed, all corresponding creep retreats except for a tiny area around remaining structures. Larvae eventually die when not sustained by the creep. Structures of other races may not be built on the creep, but will not be destroyed when overrun by it. Creep does not discriminate between players — any Zerg player can build on any player's creep.

  • Hatchery – spawns larvae from which to morph Zerg units (up to three). Also allows the Burrow evolution, which allow all ground units (except for the ultralisk and broodling) to burrow into the ground at will. Only Zerg building without any building constraints, and also expands the creep further. Provides a single point of control.
  • Spawning Pool – allows for the construction of Zerglings at the Hatchery. Contains upgrades for the movement speed and (once a Hive is constructed) Zergling attack speed. Requires Hatchery.
  • Extractor – built over a Vespene Geyser, this building allows Zerg Drones to harvest Vespene gas.
  • Evolution Chamber – provides three levels of upgrades for ground unit melee and missile attack power, as well as armor (attack power of Drone is not upgraded).
  • Creep Colony (Creep Production Organ) – expands the Creep. Can be upgraded to Spore or Sunken Colony.
    • Sunken Colony – stationary defensive structure capable of attacking ground units by using a subterranean tentacle to attack. Requires Spawning Pool.One of the strongest ground defense structures in the game.
    • Spore Colony – stationary defensive structure capable of attacking air units with rapid-fire spores. Can detect cloaked and burrowed units. More resilient than other defences. Requires Evolution Chamber.
  • Hydralisk Den – allows for the morphing of Hydralisks. Contains speed and attack range upgrades for the hydralisk, as well as the "Lurker Aspect" (Brood War only; requires Lair), which allows for the morphing of lurkers. Requires Spawning Pool.

[edit] Advanced Buildings

  • Lair – upgrade of Hatchery. Required for second level of Evolution Chamber upgrades, some advanced structures, and the Lurker Aspect at the Hydralisk Den. Carries over all abilities of a Hatchery, but with increased hit points. Also allows for the sight range and speed upgrades for the Overlord, as well as the transporting evolution. Requires Spawning Pool.
    • Hive – upgrade of Lair. Retains all the abilities of a Lair, as well as allowing for the third-level armor and weapon upgrades at the Spire, Greater Spire, and Evolution Chamber and the rest of the structures (and the attack speed upgrade for zerglings at the Spawning Pool). Requires Queen's Nest.
  • Spire – grants ability to morph Mutalisks and Scourge. Also contains upgrades to armor and attack power for air units (attack power of Scourge is not upgraded). Requires Lair.
    • Greater Spire – evolution of the Spire. Required for morphing of guardians and devourers. Requires Hive. Carries all abilities of a Spire.
  • Queen's Nest – required for morphing of Queens. Allows evolution of ensnare and spawn broodling ability for Queens, as well as an energy upgrade. Required for Hive.
  • Defiler Mound – allows for morphing of Defilers, as well as the Plague and Consume evolutions and an energy upgrade. Requires Hive.
  • Ultralisk Cavern – allows for morphing of Ultralisks, as well as (in Brood War), speed and armor upgrades for the Ultralisk. Requires Hive.
  • Nydus Canal – ability to instantly transport ground units from one location to another (and back). The "exit" location can only be constructed on creep. Requires Hive.
  • Infested Command Center – A special building that comes from a queen. When a Terran Command Center falls beneath half HP, a queen can infest it. Produces the Infested Terran. (Note: A Queen, if it is near enough to the damaged Command Center, will automatically infest it.)

[edit] Protoss

[edit] GroundUnits

Image:Zealot-protoss.gif
A Protoss Zealot, ready for battle.
  • Probe – Robotic builder unit. Unlike the Zerg Drone, the Probe is not consumed when building a building, and unlike the Terran SCV, it only needs to start the building process; the building will then finish warping in by itself. A Probe can build up a base very fast due to this.
  • Zealot – The basic first-tier Protoss attack force, they are armed with a pair of Psi-Blades (meaning that they use their Psionic power to activate them). Though the most expensive and time-consuming of all the basic attack units, they are the most hardy and powerful, too. A Zealot can match up to two Terran Marines or four Zerg Zerglings, both of which cost the same.
  • Dragoon – Dragoons are fallen Protoss warriors that have been placed in Dragoon exoskeletons so they may continue to serve Aiur. They fire "Phase Disruptors" (which are large bolts of plasma) at enemies. However, their attacks are less effective against smaller units with lighter armor, which makes them vulnerable to units like Zerglings. They are very large units, and sometimes have trouble maneuvering in smaller spaces.
  • Reaver – Robotic siege unit. This unit has the slowest movement speed in the game, but makes up for it in raw power. It launches robotic "Scarabs" that fly towards a target and explode upon impact. These scarabs also do massive splash damage, making them good for killing units in groups. Their catch is that they do not have unlimited ammunition; Scarabs must be built and only five (upgraded to 10) can be "stored" at a time. Also, the Scarabs cannot go over the water or over cliffs; they have to physically get to the target in order to attack it, which makes the attack melee.
  • High Templar – Primary "spell caster". These units do not have a physical attack (except for the hero unit Tassadar). Instead, they have useful Psionic attacks. Psionic storm, which deals high damage to all units in a small targeted area, and Hallucination, which creates two fake copies of a target unit that enemies cannot tell apart from the real thing, and disappear after a set amount of time. The copies do no damage, and in the case of the Carrier or Reaver, they are useless because they cannot build Interceptors and Scarabs respectively. Their purposes are to draw enemy fire away from real units and to perform reconnaissance.
    • Archon – Heavy assault unit. They are created when two High Templar merge together. They have a powerful short-ranged attack that deals splash damage, and a powerful shield that can withstand a large amount of damage. However, because of their extremely low hit points, they are incredibly vulnerable to the Terran Science Vessel's EMP attack, so much so as to make them generally unusable against Terran opponents. Archons do not activate Terran Vultures' Spider Mines (as they do not walk on the ground, but rather float over it), and they are immune to many ill effects, including Irradiate and Spawn Broodling.
  • Dark Templar – Tactical offensive unit. It is permanently cloaked, with no cloaking special ablility or energy points required. Opponents require detector units (e.g. Terran: Science Vessel, Missile Turret; Zerg: Overlord, Spore Colony; Protoss: Observer, Photon Cannon) to see it. Also, Terran AI will ComSat sweep in the direction of their dying men, which can make unexpecting Templars open to fire before the player can react. However, Terran AI do not ComSat sweep if the Dark Templars attack Terran SCV's and non-offensive buildings including empty Terran Bunkers. It has a very powerful melee attack but relatively low hit points and shields. An unprepared opponent can quickly be crippled by even a single Dark Templar, as it does 40 damage per "slash" of its blades.
    • Dark Archon – Secondary spell caster. It is created when two Dark Templar merge. It has no physical attack. It is perhaps best known for its Mind Control ability, a spell that allows a Protoss player to take control of an enemy unit at cost of 150 energy and all of the Dark Archon's shield points. The Dark Archon's other two spells are Feedback and Maelstrom. Maelstrom freezes all biological units in the radius of attack for a short period of time. Feedback can be used to damage and kill other energy-using units by converting their energy points into physical damage and using that damage against them. One tactic using the Dark Archon is to use the Mind Control ability on enemy builders to gain the ability to construct their structures and units, and thus create powerful combinations such as Terran Medics and Zealots.

[edit] Air Units

Image:Protosscarrier.jpg
Protoss Carrier above an outpost.
  • Shuttle – Flying transport unit. After its speed is upgraded it is the fastest transport unit in the game. It can carry up to eight unit slots. (Each unit takes up a different number of slots; probes take up 1, zealots, dark templar, and high templar take up 2, and dragoons, archons, dark archons, and reavers take up 4.)
  • Observer – Aerial scouting detector unit. Observers are permanently cloaked and thus visible only to other detectors. Observers have no attacks or abilities, and have few hit points and shield points. The speed and sight range of Observers can be upgraded at the Observatory.
  • Scout – Heavy fighter craft. Its speed and sight range can be upgraded at the Fleet Beacon. The Scout is quite expensive for its power and is usually used for scouting, support, and hit-and-run raids rather than in conventional mass attacks. Its ground attack is poor and its air attack is most effective against capital ships.
  • Corsair – Light fighter. Possesses a rapid-fire low-damage splash attack usable only against air targets. It has a habit of chasing after any air unit even remotely close to it. The Corsair can cast Disruption Web, a spell that prevents all land units (friendly and otherwise) and defensive buildings within the web from firing. Units and buildings in the Disruption Web can be targeted for attacks and special abilities. The disruption field cannot be undone until the spell wears out. Corsair upgrades to abilities and energy points are available at the Fleet Beacon. (StarCraft: Brood War only)
    • The Corsair was developed by Dark Templar during their wandering exile from Aiur in order to protect their Xel'Naga freighter, and has since been adapted as an anti-Zerg weapon.
  • Carrier – Capital ship. The carrier attacks by launching robotic Interceptors, each of which is built inside the Carrier at the cost of 25 minerals. Carriers can initially hold and deploy four interceptors, but an upgrade at the Fleet Beacon can increase their capacity to eight. The Interceptors give the Carrier a very long range, similar to that of Reavers and Guardians. If a Carrier is destroyed in battle, any interceptors it commands are also destroyed (after a short delay during which those Interceptors may still attack). Enemy units' AI are programmed to focus on the interceptors rather than the Carrier itself, so opponents must often directly target the carrier with their units.
  • Arbiter – Flying spellcaster. All player-owned units in a certain radius around the Arbiter (except other Arbiters) become cloaked without cost. Arbiters can cast Stasis Field, which freezes all units in an area for a set (relatively very long) amount of time. Units frozen in stasis cannot be damaged, healed, regenerated or affected by any abilities at all. Arbiters can also cast Recall, an ability that transports a player's units in a targeted area to the vicinity of the arbiter almost instantaneously. Special ability and energy point upgrades can be purchased at the Arbiter Tribunal. The Arbiter does have an attack, but it has a poor firing speed and low damage making it an ineffective combat unit.

[edit] Basic Buildings

  • Nexus – Provides 9 Psi, resource depot, starting point of technology tree, produces Probes.
  • Pylon – Creates 8 Psi each, powers buildings.
  • Gateway – Summons infantry units.
  • Assimilator – Allows Probes to mine Vespene gas.
  • Forge – Provides upgrades for ground weapons, ground armor and plasma shields (which apply to all units and buildings).
  • Shield Battery – Structure that uses energy to rapidly recharge unit shields at the cost of 1 energy per 2 shield point.
  • Cybernetics Core – Provides upgrades for Protoss Dragoon attack range and spacecraft weapons and armour; required for Dragoon production and a prerequsite for all Advanced buildings.
  • Photon Cannon – All-purpose detector defensive structure; weaker than most defensive structures of other races. However, they are considered the best because they have the detector ability and can attack both land and air units. It is also worth noting that they deal full damage to any target, regardless of its size.

[edit] Advanced Buildings

  • Robotics Facility – Used to warp in the Protoss robotic units.
  • Robotics Support Bay – Required for production of the Reaver, and contains upgrades for the Shuttle and Reaver.
  • Observatory – Required for Observer production and contains upgrades for the Observer.
  • Stargate – Used to warp in the Protoss air combat units.
  • Fleet Beacon – Required for Carrier production, and contains upgrades for the Carrier, Scout, and Corsair.
  • Arbiter Tribunal – Required for Arbiter production and contains upgrades for the Arbiter
  • Citadel of Adun – Prerequisite for the Templar Archives, and contains a Zealot movement upgrade.
  • Templar Archives – Prerequisite for the Arbiter Tribunal, and required for warping in both High and Dark Templar (and subsequently, both types of Archon). Also contains upgrades for the High Templar and Dark Archon.
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