The AH/G-24 Banshee Tactical-Strike Aircraft^[1] is a terran air unit in StarCraft II.

OverviewEdit

DesignEdit

The Banshees were heavily optimized for its intended role. Armament was limited to air-to-ground Backlash rockets. The aircraft was powered by relatively low-thrust and inexpensive turbofans capable of operating only in an atmosphere,^[2] or allowing the aircraft to be dropped from orbit;^[3] the engines were incapable of attaining escape velocity.^[2] However, Banshees are outfitted with special propulsion systems only used in space.^[4]

The Banshee received cloaking devices after entering service with militias and guerilla forces. Salvaged cloaking devices from Wraiths allowed the Banshee to become an effective raider.^[2] By the Second Great War, the Dominion Armed Forces were equipping their Banshees with the DN51 cloak generator; at the time, the DN51 was such a sophisticated example of Dominion technology that special teams were deployed to recover them from crashed aircraft.^[1] Wolfe Industries developed an upgrade that embedded cross-spectrum, light dampening, materials into the hull; this enhanced the cloaking effect by allowing it to be maintained with less power.^[5]

Additional armament options were also developed. Kel-Morian Banshees were armed with rapid-firing projectile weaponry capable of striking aerial targets.^[6] By the Second Great War, Banshees could carry the Shockwave missile battery, which bombarded a longer linear area ahead of the aircraft, rather than just a smaller circular point as with the default Backlashes.^[5]

HistoryEdit

The Banshee was designed by Procyon Industries to meet requirements from the Terran Dominion for a dedicated ground attack aircraft^[7] for counter-insurgency operations.^[1] The Banshee was an entirely new design; adapting an existing design was unlikely to be satisfactory.^[2] After much experimentation,^[7] the Banshee was in use by the Dominion by 2502,^[8][9] and within the same year, the Kel-Morian Combine.^[6] It has proven very successful in service.^[2]

Initial deployment within the Dominion was disappointing. The aircraft was judged as too inflexible, and many were relegated to minor roles with backwater militias. Overtime, ease of interstellar deployment, the ability to deliver strikes over difficult terrain, and the addition of the cloaking device, led to more widespread deployment within the Dominion. The Banshee gained a reputation as a Dominion terror weapon due to collateral damage caused in urban combat. Guerilla and resistance forces also found the Banshee useful against the Dominion.^[2] Banshees were used as light-infantry support,^[7] and could operated with Vikings as air cavalry.^[10]

Despite its original purpose as a counter-insurgency weapon, the Banshee went on to be used against protoss, zerg, and terran front line forces.^[1]

Game UnitEdit

Banshee
Unit
Race	Terran
Role	Tactical strike aircraft
Armament	Backlash rockets
Properties
Maximum energy	200 (init. 50)
Energy regen/second	0.5625
Sight range	10
Production
Minerals	150
Gas	100
Supply	3
Build time	60
Produced from	Starport
Requires	Tech lab/tech reactor (attached)
Hotkey	E
Movement
Speed	2.75
Acceleration	3.25
Lateral acceleration	0
Deceleration	0
Collision radius	0.75
Protection
Hit points	140
Armor	0
Type	Air Mechanical
Armor type	Light
Backlash rockets
Damage	12
Attacks	2
Targets	Ground
Cooldown	1.25
Range	6
Upgrade/level	+1
Meta
Target priority	20
Kill score	700
Production score	350

Banshees can quickly destroy buildings, even powering through anti-air defenses, and are strong against heavy armored ground units like the siege tank, ultralisk, and colossus. Other races should deploy specialized anti-air units such as corruptors and phoenixes to keep them in check.^[11] Ground unit counters include marines, thors, hydralisks, stalkers equipped with blink, and high templar psionic storms.^[12]

In the Wings of Liberty single-player campaign, Banshees can be upgraded to fire their missiles in a straight line, doing splash damage to units in a line similar to the hellion or lurker. They can also be upgraded to consume half of the energy while cloaked, letting the Banshee remain cloaked longer.

Banshees bank on turns like some other air units.^[13]

AbilitiesEdit

Cloaking Field
Acquisition Minerals 200 Gas 200 Research time 110 Researched at Tech lab attached to starport Hotkey C	Usage Energy 25 (+0.9 per second) (+0.45 per second with Cross-Spectrum Dampeners - WoL-campaign only) Hotkey C (cloak), D (decloak)
Notes
Enables terran Banshees to cloak.
Edit

UpgradesEdit

Terran Ship Weapons
Researched at	Armory
Hotkey	S
Properties
Minerals 100 175 250 Gas 100 175 250 Research time 160 190 220
Notes
Increases the damage of terran air units.
Edit

Terran Ship Plating
Researched at	Armory
Hotkey	P
Properties
Minerals 150 225 300 Gas 150 225 300 Research time 160 190 220
Notes
Increases the armor of all terran air units.
Edit

Wings of LibertyEdit

Banshees are unlocked by playing the mission "Supernova".^[14] Their cloaking ability is automatically researched.

Shockwave Missile Battery
Campaign	Wings of Liberty
Cost	$110,000
Researched at	Hyperion armory
Notes
Banshees deal linear splash damage.[5]
Edit

Cross-Spectrum Dampeners
Campaign	Wings of Liberty
Cost	$80,000
Researched at	Hyperion armory
Notes
Doubles the amount of time Banshees can stay cloaked. Wolfe Industries offers a new model of Banshee that embeds light-dampening materials into the hull. This new hull material requires far less energy to conceal and makes it much easier for the Banshee to maintain cloak once initiated.[5]
Edit

Ultra Capacitors Campaign Wings of Liberty Cost 5 protoss research points Researched at Hyperion laboratory Notes Attack upgrades at the armory and engineering bay improved cooldown by 5% per level. Self-replicating ultra capacitors reduce the reload time of weapons and systems.[15] Edit

Vanadium Plating Campaign Wings of Liberty Cost 5 protoss research points Researched at Hyperion laboratory Notes Armor upgrades at the armory and engineering bay increase health by 5% per level. Vanadium better disperses weapon impacts than standard armor.[15] Edit

Cellular Reactor Campaign Wings of Liberty Cost 20 zerg research points Acquisition Researched at Hyperion laboratory Notes Increase starting energy of all units by 100. Increase maximum energy of all units by 100.[16] Edit

Regenerative Bio-Steel Campaign Wings of Liberty Cost 20 zerg research points Acquisition Researched at Hyperion laboratory Notes Damaged ships and vehicles recover hit points over time.[16] Edit

DevelopmentEdit

In the game engine as early as 2006,^[17] the Banshee was one of the first terran units conceived for StarCraft II, replacing the Wraith.^[18] It was made to be both similar and different to the Wraith, the key difference being the nature of their attack. As many cloak detector units are aerial, this would prevent the Banshee from attacking the units which presented the greatest threat to it. As such, the Banshee fulfills the role of a base raider of a "combined-arms" terran force.^[19] Visually, it hardly diverged from its original conception.^[18]

In early builds, the Banshee delivered an area of effect attack, which was removed March 2008.^[20] The area of effect attack returned in the single-player campaign in the final product.

In addition the Banshee had three unused upgrades; Cloaked Damage, Distortion Blasters and Distortion Thrusters. Distortion Blasters enabled the Banshee to deal 25% more damage, while Distortion Thrusters likewise increased the base movement speed and acceleration by 25%. Both upgrades took effect only while the Banshee remained cloaked. Cloaked Damage has no effect in-game as it remains incomplete.^[21]

The original portrait was female,^[22] but was replaced by a male as of April 2009.^[23] By June 2009, the portrait was female again^[24] but at some stage, switched back to being male.^[25] However, with the release of the StarCraft II beta, the portrait had again gone back to being female. In addition, a variant Banshee profile was available for players in the StarCraft II beta, used instead of the in-game one. The portrait was later updated.

QuotationsEdit

See: StarCraft II Banshee Quotations

Known SquadronsEdit

• Dusk Wings

NotesEdit

In in-game videos, the Banshee has been seen over space platforms. These platforms have gravity accelerators,^[26][27] which could sustain an artificial atmosphere of sorts and so explain how Banshees can operate there.

When cloaked the pilot's visor in the portrait slides down and covers the eyes. This also happens when the banshee flies under a friendly mothership, even if the cloak ability is not activated.

The Night Elf Banshee portrait is a StarCraft II Easter egg.

ReferencesEdit