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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The content may be significantly out of date as StarCraft II experiences a new build weekly and may change substantially as more information becomes available.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.
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The colossus is a tall protoss robotic unit that appears in StarCraft II. It is designed to destroy large numbers of weaker opponents.
The plural of colossus is colossi.[9]
Overview
The colossus is an antiquated protoss war machine, dating back to the Kalath Intercession. It is unique in that it was created purely as a war machine, in contrast to most protoss automatons which are mainly created for industrial and/or resource gathering purposes. Such a trait was demonstrated by the mass slaughter carried out against the kalathi, appalling the protoss. As such, the Conclave outlawed the manufacture of colossi, and existing machines were deactivated before being sealed away in distant asteroids and uninhabited moons. The war against the zerg, however, has prompted the protoss to reinstate the colossus as part of their arsenal.[10]
The colossus is a towering construct, striding across the battlefield on four tall, slender legs which give it an extremely high level of mobility. The great height of the machine allows it to step up and down cliffs and other steep elevations with little difficulty, and gives it a dominating field of fire. The heavily armored hull of the Colossus carries two powerful thermal lances: one mounted on each side of its body. Complex focusing and targeting systems are used to pinpoint the continuous damage output of the thermal lances for optimal efficiency. A colossus' beam cuts a fiery swathe of destruction through multiple enemies with each firing cycle.[10]
Game Unit
The colossus can be transported by the warp prism, which transforms it and other transported units into energy.[11] A warp prism can carry two colossi.[2]
Height and Climbing
The colossus appears to step over ledges due to StarCraft II's inverse kinematics (IK) system.[12] It can step over friendly units.[13] It cannot step over obstacles or Force Fields.[14] It can only climb one cliff tier[15] and only cross shallow water, however.[16]
A colossus is tall enough to see the tops of cliffs, enabling it to climb them without a spotter.[17][15]
The colossus' height enables anti-air attacks, such as those of the missile turret, to strike it (even though it is a ground unit).[18] Blizzard has confirmed that this is because the colossus is so tall that it counts as both a ground and air unit for the purpose of what attacks are able to hit it.[19] If an attacking enemy unit (such as the Thor) which can attack both ground and air units attacks a Colossus, it will use whichever attack is stronger against the colossus.[20]
Attacks
The colossus' attacks only strike ground units.[21]
The colossus' attack appeared (as of June 2008) as a sweeping attack, with the animation taking about a second to complete. The appearance does not reflect the nature of the attack; all targets take damage simultaneously.[7][22]
The colossus attacks in a linear area horizontal to where the colossus is facing, enabling a fine degree of control.[23][24][13]
The attack does linear splash damage which is very effective against groups of units such as marines and zealots.[25] Against terrans, it's safer to use colossi rather than high templar psionic storms as ghosts counter the high templar. Against zerg, the colossus is very effective against hydralisks which have become more dangerous with roach support.[13]
The attack is ineffective against buildings.[2]
As of January 2009 the colossus' cooldown was worsened since BlizzCon 2008, along with an increase in damage.[26]
The beams do not have a "blind spot" and can strike enemies right next to the colossus.[27]
Colossi beams cannot be stopped by a mothership's Time Bomb ability.[28]
Upgrades
Development
Colossus attacking roaches
The colossus' attack used to be a sweeping beam which would destroy one unit, then sweep to another unit and destroy it, continually destroying weaker enemy units. However, the attack could only damage one unit at a time.[21] The attack was later changed to a "spray" of beams capable of targeting five units.[32] The attack has more recently changed to resemble the original sweeping animation, but continuing to inflict splash damage.[7]
The colossus used to have an ability to enhanced its shields:
This ability was absent from the World Wide Invitational 2008 build.[29]
References/External links
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-04-04. Protoss Unit Information. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-05-10.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Blizzcon Video Archive (Sonkie vs Yellow). Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-10-19.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 StarCraft Source. Accessed on 2007-12-16
- ↑ StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-04-04. WWI 08 Coverage - Protoss Units. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-06-22.
- ↑ Browder, Dustin and Shadowie. 2009-05-01. Fan Site Q&A #3 - SC2Pod. SC2pod. Accessed 2009-05-01.
- ↑ Yup, though the damage has since been reduced to 40 per attack wave. This is enough to one shot Marines, so it is quite dominating against Marine/Medivac combos. Having 2 or 3 Colossi together will decimate groups of Marines, Zerglings, Hydralisks. Nonetheless, focus firing Colossi with +armor damage type units will bring them down pretty quickly. Karune. 2009-04-28. Has the Colossus changed in recent builds? Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-04-28.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Phreak. 2008-07-07. StarCraft II - Blizzard Worldwide Invitational Version. Blogspot (Blog). Accessed 2008-07-09.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 GearvOsh. 2008-10-14. Community Q&A [Batch 1]. StarCraft II Armory. Accessed 2008-10-14.
- ↑ Colossi? Colossus's? Colossice?
I want to know so that when I crush you with my Coloss___ I can laugh ahahhahahaha.
Colossi, officially ;) Karune, Ylleks. 2009-01-28. What's the plural of Colossus? Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion. Accessed 2009-01-28.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 2007-06-28. Colossus. StarCraft II Features at Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-07-01.
- ↑ Karune. 2007-09-20. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 14. StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2007-09-21.
- ↑ Stapleton, Dan. "StarCraft II." PC Gamer Magazine 164 (August 2007): 20-30.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Colossus is Tier 3. He has a very powerful attack that strikes in a line relative to his position. He is a vital weapon against Terran infantry and Hydralisks which have become more of a threat when being protected by Roaches. Against Terrans you can go High Templar to deal with infantry, but Ghosts can really ruin that. Colossus is a safer choice.
The original attack is not coming back. The old beam was just "more damage." Simple, but not fun. The current Colossus weapon encourages micro since it really matters who you shoot and the angle you shoot them from. Fortunately since the Colossus can step up and down cliffs and over friendly units he can move to the optimal position if you are fast enough. The biggest problem he has right now is with Neural Parasite on the Infestor. It's really giving the Colossus a hard time. We are working on that today. Cavez. 2009-05-15. Regarding the most honourable Colossus. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-05-16.
- ↑
Reapers and Colossi are not able to jump/walk over over buildings, destructibles, or special abilities such as the force field ability. Karune. 2009-03-23. Can Reapers jump over building? Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forums. Accessed 2009-03-23.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 What he said. ;)
Colossus can have a vision of the upper ground just like the air units, while Reaper can't as a ground unit.
Colossi and Reapers can't climb up a cliff of 2 level at one time. Cydra. 2009-02-17. Cliff Climber Vision. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-02-18.
- ↑ The Colossi, like other ground units, will be able to move through shallow waters only. In this screenshot, it shows experimentation of having Colossi move through slightly deeper waters, but there are no plans at the moment to make the Colossi traverse all water terrains. Karune. 2009-01-28. Karune: about the Colossus. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-01-28.
- ↑
The Colossus will be able to see on top of cliffs, allowing it to climb up without a 'spotter.' Karune. 2008-02-13. Terran Medic Abilites. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forums. Accessed 2008-02-13.
- ↑ 2007-05-19. Cinematic Trailer. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-08-12.
- ↑ Karune. 2007-07-23. StarCraft II Q&A - Karune Briefings. StarCraft II General Discussion Forums. Accessed 2007-09-06.
- ↑ Karune, StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-04-04. StarCraft: Legacy StarCraft II Exclusive Q&A with Karune. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-05-18.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 2007-05-19. Gameplay Trailer. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-08-12.
- ↑ The artists are still working with what would look best on the Colossus. In the latest build, many have seen that there is a beam sweeping from one side to another as the current visual.
Please also note that this is temporary art still, and even though that beam does seem to sweep randomly, it is actually doing instant damage to the whole line rather than what the visual implies, which is doing damage from one side to the other. Karune. 2008-09-09. Is the Colossus's dual-beam back? Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-09-09.
- ↑
The Colossus always attacks in a linear area horizontal to where the Colossus is facing. This does take a little more coordination than a Hellion or Lurker, but will no doubt still be possible at a high skill level of play. Karune. 2009-04-28. Has the Colossus changed in recent builds? (post 7) Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-04-28.
- ↑ Even though the beam is currently shown visually in various ways, the damage is done to all units in that straight line at the same time instantly. That line will always be based on the position you are attacking from, so in that way there is a lot of control as how to use the Colossus. Karune. 2008-10-20. Karune: Colossus. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-10-20.
- ↑ Karune. 2008-02-08. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 29. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-02-08.
- ↑ The Colossus in the latest round of balance has had it's damage increased, with its attack speed decreased a bit, giving it some more burst. With a couple of these on the field, it is quite effective at decimating armies of light armor units. Karune. 2009-01-28. colossus attack. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-01-28.
- ↑ It does not currently have any blind spots. On a side note, we are working to buff up the Colossus a bit more to have more burst attack (more attack damage but slower attack speed). Previously, in order for the Colossus to be very effective, a Protoss player would need several of them on the field attacking at the same time. This change should make the Colossus more effective with smaller numbers. Karune. 2009-02-03. Does the Colossus have a blind spot? Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-02-03.
- ↑ Karune. 2007-11-12. Chat with Karune about the Screenshots. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2007-11-12.
- ↑ 29.00 29.01 29.02 29.03 29.04 29.05 29.06 29.07 29.08 29.09 29.10 29.11 29.12 29.13 29.14 29.15 29.16 29.17 29.18 29.19 29.20 29.21 29.22 29.23 29.24 29.25 29.26 29.27 29.28 29.29 29.30 29.31 29.32 29.33 29.34 29.35 29.36 29.37 29.38 29.39 29.40 29.41 29.42 29.43 StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-04-04. Zerg & Protoss Upgrades. SCLegacy. Accessed 2009-06-18
- ↑ Zetaras Xal'Kurat. 2008-10-17. BlizzCon 2008: Changes to StarCraft 2. SC2 Blog. Accessed 2008-10-17.
- ↑ Dustin Browder, Robert Simpson, Matt Cooper, David Kim. 2008-12-19. Battle Report (1). Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-12-19.
- ↑ Karune. 2008-02-14. colossus question. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-02-14.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 2008-03-28. More Starcraft 2 eye candy - Protoss interface closeups. StarFeeder. Accessed 2008-03-29.
- ↑ Zetaras Xal'Kurat. 2008-03-16. StarCraft 2 Korean and Chinese Build Summary. SC2 Blog. Accessed 2008-03-18.
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