Battlecruiser

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Battlecruiser
Race	Terran
Role	Heavy Command Ship
Statistics
Hit points	500
Energy	200
Size	Large
Production
Supply	6
Minerals	400
Gas	300
Build time	160
Produced at	Starport
Requires	Factory, Control Tower, Science Facility with attached Physics Lab
Hotkey	B
Combat
Ground Attack	25
Air Attack	25
Armor	3
Range	6 (10 Yamato)
Sight	11
Cooldown	30

The battlecruiser is the premier terran capital ship, deployed throughout the Koprulu Sector.

Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Classes 1.1.1 Leviathan-class 1.1.2 Behemoth-class 1.1.3 Hercules- and Minotaur-class 2 Game Unit 2.1 StarCraft 2.1.1 Abilities 2.1.2 Upgrades 2.1.3 Quotations 2.2 StarCraft: Ghost 2.3 StarCraft II 2.3.1 Attacks 2.3.2 Abilities 2.3.3 Development 3 Known Battlecruisers 3.1 Leviathan-class 3.2 Behemoth-class 3.3 Unknown classes 4 Known Battlecruiser Commanders 5 Images 6 Trivia 7 References

[edit] Overview

Battlecruisers were employed as far back as the Guild Wars when, prior to the development of the starfighter (specifically designed to combat capital ships), most space engagements were fought between capital ships and medium gunships. Despite this development, battlecruisers are still widely used. Many terran generals use battlecruisers as their command centers during long space campaigns.^[1] In almost any space engagement, battlecruisers and their fighter complements are among the most integral components.^[2]

Battlecruiser design and armament varies, though it is a given that all battlecruisers are equipped with laser weaponry and neosteel armor.^[3] Gravity accelerators are also found on all Battlecruisers.^[4]

[edit] Classes

Many battlecruiser classes exist. Known classes include;

[edit] Leviathan-class

The Leviathan-class battlecruiser is an uncommon battlecruiser class and although still operating at the dawn of the 26th century, had largely been supplanted by the Behemoth-class variant. The Leviathan-class is capable of traveling through warp space and features ports for transport craft, smaller craft linking into the ship via hydraulics. These ports are located perilously close to the bridge however, making a Leviathan vulnerable to any enemy boarding action.^[5]

[edit] Behemoth-class

The Behemoth-class battlecruiser was the most common battlecruiser class and represented the "standard" battlecruiser variant. The Behemoth variant is greatly advanced from its Leviathan-class predecessor, featuring the ability to operate within planetary atmospheres and even land on planets.^[6] It also features a total of four docking bays (as opposed to hydraulic entry points) which are equipped with force fields, allowing easy deployment of fighters without fear of decompression^[7] and greater resilience to enemy boarding actions.^[8] Like the Leviathan, it is capable of traveling through warp space.^[2]

Behemoth-class armor consists of the standard neosteel,^[1] along with force fields,^[4] while armament consists of multiple burst laser batteries and a complement of nuclear warheads.^[9] Despite the heavy arsenal, Behemoth armament is slightly constricted in that its laser batteries cannot fire at targets to the side^[4] and its warheads are reserved for orbital bombardment rather than space combat.^[6] A saving grace for the Behemoth-class exists in the form of the Yamato Cannon.

Fighters are an integral component to battlecruiser deployment and the Behemoth-class conforms to this, capable of deploying Wraiths and scoutships to engage the enemy.^[2] It also akin to a terran carrier, capable of housing hundreds of soldiers and hardware^[4] and maintaining dropships and shuttles for rapid deployment.^[2]

The Behemoth-class battlecruiser's primary weakness is its huge energy requirements and while the installation of a Colossus Reactor allows for increased energy storage, it is not a long term solution. Behemoths require access to Physics lab particle accelerators to power up their weapon systems. Should a fleet commander lose access to these accelerators, an entire Behemoth-class fleet can be crippled.^[10]

Despite its shortcomings, the Behemoth-class has proven to be an enduring design, keeping up to date with periodic upgrades while its hammerhead design had provided the basis for future classes. Although more advanced classes of battlecruiser have been developed,^[3] the Behemoth-class continues to remain in service.^[8]

[edit] Hercules- and Minotaur-class

The Hercules-class and Minotaur-class battlecruisers are two recently developed battlecruiser classes, based largely off their Behemoth-class predecessor. Additional laser batteries have been installed on these ships, allowing for a greater rate and amount of fire. The Yamato Cannon remains in use^[3] as well as the optional installation of Missile Barrage systems, giving these craft an armament capable of saturating the air with a lethal deluge of fire, ideal for destroying weak spacecraft.^[11] Like the Yamato Cannon, these craft need to build up a significant amount of energy before activating this weapon system.^[3][12]

[edit] Game Unit

[edit] StarCraft

The Behemoth-class battlecruiser has a staggering 500 hit points; no other standard game unit tops this margin. The devastating ATA/ATS laser batteries can inflict 25 base points of normal damage to air or ground targets. It is important to note that the Terran battlecruiser is the only non-hero unit in the game able to withstand a nuclear strike (as nukes do 500 damage, it will survive with HP equal to its armor rating). It is also notable to state that (in groups) the battlecruiser is practically the only capital ship class unit immune to the zerg scourge (the battlecruiser's base damage can kill a scourge in one shot). With the Yamato Gun, it can one-shot most defenses and units.

There are several effective counters against battlecruisers: terran players can utilize massed Goliaths or the Lockdown ability of their Ghost units in order to quickly neutralize a battlecruiser fleet. Abilities such as Psionic Storm, Feedback, and Plague are also devastating against battlecruiser fleets, especially those not escorted by science vessels capable of casting EMP Shockwave against enemy spell-casters. Protoss Scout fighters can also swarm a battlecruiser in groups or with support; their missiles stronger than laser batteries of the battlecruiser. Wraith squads are also capable of wasting battlecruiser fleets rather quickly due to their heavy damage, especially if cloaked. Devourers are useful counters with its corrosive acid but are vulnerable to the Yamato Cannon. Mass groups of hydralisks can quickly overwhelm battlecruiser fleets, especially if used in combination with Devourers and/or Defilers. The slow speed of the Battlecruiser also makes it difficult to disengage if a battle makes a turn for the worst, or to extract a damaged ship for repair.

[edit] Abilities

• Yamato Gun
  • Cost: 100 100
  • Researched at: Physics Lab
  • Energy Cost: 150
  • Damage: 260 (explosive)
  • Range: 10
  • A powerful weapon that focuses a nuclear explosion into a beam using magnetic fields.

[edit] Upgrades

• Ship Weapons
• Ship Plating
• Colossus Reactor
  • Cost: 150 150
  • Upgraded at: Physics Lab
  • Increases maximum battlecruiser energy by 50.

[edit] Quotations

See: StarCraft Quotations

[edit] StarCraft: Ghost

This article or section contains information about StarCraft: Ghost. The content may be significantly out of date. Please do not add speculation to this article, and remember to cite a published source for details.

In StarCraft: Ghost, the battlecruiser acted as a support unit for Nova. Through targeting, the player could call down a Yamato Cannon strike that dealt damage to all objects in an area.^[13]

[edit] StarCraft II

This article or section contains information about a StarCraft II unit or structure. The content may be significantly out of date as StarCraft II experiences a new build weekly and may change substantially as more information becomes available. Please do not add speculation to this article, and remember to cite a published source for details.

Battlecruiser
Race	Terran
Role	Capital ship
Statistics
Hit points	500[14][15]
Energy	200[14]
Type	Armored, flying.[14]
Production
Supply	6[16]
Minerals	400[16]
Gas	300[16]
Build time	90[14]
Produced at	Starport
Requires	Deep Space Relay
Combat
Ground Attack	8 (x8 attacks)[15]
Air Attack	8 (x8 attacks)[15]
Armor	3[14]

The battlecruiser types depicted in StarCraft II are the Hercules- and Minotaur-class.^[3]

[edit] Attacks

The default weaponry of the battlecruiser is no longer a single powerful attack. Instead it will fire multiple laser bolts,^[17][18] each inflicting 8 damage.^[15] This attack can only target one unit,^[11] but once a target is dead, the rest of the blasts immediately move to the next target,^[18] thus wasting no attack on any target.

Battlecruisers can destroy enemy structures in only a few volleys.^[19]

[edit] Abilities

The battlecruiser will have the choice of being upgraded with either the Yamato Cannon or the Missile Barrage attack, but not both. Once one has been chosen, the battlecruiser may not switch.^[20][21] The ability has no additional resource cost.^[21] The upgrade will visually change the unit model allowing players to easily determine which upgrade has been chosen.^[22]

• Yamato Cannon: Analogous to StarCraft's "Yamato Gun". Adds a large central gun to the bow. Prior to firing, the 'head' splits apart, and the 'neck' recoils when the weapon is fired. This ability requires a certain amount of energy.^[3]
• Missile Barrage: An area-of-effect anti-aircraft weapon which gains bonus damage against lightly-armored targets.^[11] It does not damage friendly units.^[23] This ability costs a certain amount of energy.^[12]

Each version of the battlecruiser is treated as a different unit for UI purposes; double clicking on a Yamato-equipped battlecruiser will select all such battlecruisers but will not select battlecruisers with the Missile Barrage upgrade.^[24][25]

[edit] Development

The battlecruiser has undergone some changes in development, such as replacing its Plasma Torpedo ability with a Missile Barrage ability.^[11]

• Plasma Torpedoes: An area-of-effect air-to-ground weapon which was effective against weak swarming units (like Marines and Zerglings).^[26] It did damage over time.^[21] Added multiple small barrels to the front of the ship's hammerhead.

[edit] Known Battlecruisers

[edit] Leviathan-class

• Merrimack (converted prison ship)
• Thunder Child

[edit] Behemoth-class

• Bismarck
• Gray Tiger
• Huey Long
• Hyperion
• Iron Fist
• Jackson V
• Napoleon
• Norad II
• Norad III
• Ragnorak
• Theodore G. Bilbo

[edit] Unknown classes

• Aleksander
• Kimera
• Kimeran Juggernaut

[edit] Known Battlecruiser Commanders

• Admiral Gerard DuGalle
• General Edmund Duke
• General Arcturus Mengsk
• Captain Bolshev
• Captain Buzan
• Captain Robert Mason
• Captain Jim Raynor
• Captain Elias Tudbury
• Commander Hale
• Commander Haley
• El Kang the Quixotic

[edit] Images

StarCraft I battlecruiser artwork

StarCraft I battlecruiser profile

StarCraft II battlecruiser profile

Early render of the battlecruiser in StarCraft II

[edit] Trivia

The Yamato Gun is a reference to the title ship of Space Battleship Yamato and its wave motion gun.

[edit] References

Terran Units and Structures of StarCraft/Brood War
Ground units	SCV · Marine · Firebat · Vulture · Siege tank · Goliath · Medic · Ghost
Air units	Valkyrie · Wraith · Battlecruiser · Science vessel · Dropship
Basic buildings	Command center (ComSat station · Nuclear silo) · Supply depot · Engineering bay · Barracks · Refinery · Missile turret · Academy · Bunker
Advanced buildings	Factory (Machine shop) · Armory · Starport (Control tower) · Science facility (Physics lab · Covert ops)
Other	Nuclear missile · Spider mines

Terran Units of StarCraft: Ghost
Infantry	PC Units — Light infantry · Marine · Firebat · Ghost — Other Units — Engineer/Scientist · SCV
Land Vehicles	PC Vehicles — Stinger · Vulture · Siege tank — Other Vehicles — Goliath · Seeker droid
Air Units	PC Vehicles — Grizzly — Other Vehicles — Assault dropship · Battlecruiser · Science vessel
Experimental Units	Brain spectre · Spectre

Terran Units and Structures of StarCraft II
Infantry	SCV · Marine · Reaper · Marauder · Ghost
Land Vehicles	Jackal · Siege tank · Thor
Air Units	Viking · Medivac dropship · Banshee · Nomad · Battlecruiser
Basic Buildings	Command center · Refinery · Supply depot · Barracks · Engineering bay
Automated Defenses	Auto-turret · Missile turret · Spider mines
Support Buildings	Surveillance station · Planetary fortress · Radar tower · Bunker · Tech lab · Nuclear reactor
Advanced Buildings	Factory · Merc haven · Armory · Starport · Deep space relay · Ghost academy
Other	Nuclear missile
Removed Units	Cobra · Drop pod · Firebat · Medic · Mine drone · Predator
Removed Buildings	Munitions depot · Sensor tower · Shadow ops · Star base

Terran Starship Classifications
Atmospheric Craft	Drop pod - AH/G-24 Banshee - Shuttle
Material Transport Craft	Cargo ship (Giant-class) - Space-hauler - Freighter - Recovery vessel
Personnel Transport Craft	Puddle-jumper - Orbital spacecraft - Shuttle - Quantradyne APOD-33 dropship • Assault dropship • Medivac Dropship
Starfighters	CF/A-17 Wraith • DF/A-19 Wraith Mk2 - Predator
Transforming Fighters	Wyrm - Viking
Support Ships	Utility vehicle - Science vessel • Elite science vessel • Kang science station - Scoutship - TF-620 Nomad
Light Warships	Gunship - Valkyrie - Class 4 Interceptor - Frigate
Battlecruisers	Leviathan-class - Behemoth-class - Hercules-class - Minotaur-class
Heavy Transport	Mammoth-class - Supercarrier