Burrow is a zerg ability used to conceal themselves underground. Ground breeds vibrate billions of tiny muscles at a low frequency; this breaks up earth, rock, and vegetation allowing the creature to "swim" through the ground at near running speeds.^[1]

Burrowing has led to the deaths of countless terran soldiers. Terrans were able to mimic this lethality with the Perdition turret.^[2]

StarCraftEdit

Burrow
Acquisition Minerals 100 Gas 100 Evolution time 80 Evolved at Hatchery/Lair/Hive Hotkey B	Usage Hotkey U
Notes
Many zerg ground units may burrow, rendering themselves invisible but incapable of moving or attacking.

Unlike other units, lurkers may burrow without the ability being researched.

StarCraft IIEdit

Burrow
Acquisition Minerals 100 Gas 100 Evolution time 100 Evolved at Hatchery/Lair/Hive Requires Lair Hatchery (HotS only) Hotkey B	Usage Activation/ Build Time 2 seconds to burrow, 1 second to unburrow Hotkey R
Notes
Many zerg ground units may burrow, become invisible and may be revealed primarily by detectors, and may not move or attack. Exceptions are the roach, who may move while burrowed, the infestor, who may move and cast Infested Terran,[3] and the baneling which can detonate while burrowed. Some units can unburrow via autocast, causing them to emerge and attack when an enemy moves into range. The ability is not smartcast.
Edit

When zerg units burrow in StarCraft II, the player controlling them can see part of them "sticking out of the ground", making it easier to identify them. However, they remain invisible to enemy units without detection.

Burrowed units are treated as a different unit type for UI tab selection purposes, unlike some other status effects.

Roaches and infestors can move while burrowed. Moving while burrowed produces a distortion similar to cloaking. Infestors can also spawn infested marines while burrowed. Ultralisks gained the ability to burrow.

Some critters can also burrow, like the lava crab.^[4]

TerransEdit

In StarCraft II, the supply depot has a burrowing ability, allowing it to sink into the ground so that units can pass over it. However, this ability does not prevent it from being seen. Similarly, the Perdition turret retracts automatically, when not in combat.^[2]

Heart of the Swarm DevelopmentEdit

During the development of the Heart of the Swarm, several units have gained burrow related abilities. Banelings gained a hive upgrade that allows them to move while burrowed. Ultralisks gained an ability that allows them dash underground into the heart of enemy forces.^[5]

NotesEdit

The visual effects of burrowing are limited as more fancy animations would take more time and thus lead to balance issues.^[6]

ReferencesEdit