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Dark Templar
Unit
Race	Protoss
Role	Stealth Close Combat Trooper
Armament	Warp blade
Properties
Size	Small
Transport slots	2
Sight range	7
Production
Minerals	125
Gas	100
Psi	2
Build time	50
Produced from	Gateway
Requires	Templar archives
Hotkey	K
Movement
Speed	5
Protection
Shields	40
Hit points	80
Armor	1
Combat
Ground attack	40
Cooldown	30
Attack range	1 (melee)

Dark templar are protoss stealth infantry. They were present as special units in the original StarCraft and could be built in the expansion.

Game UnitEdit

Dark templar are represented as permanently cloaked infantry with extremely powerful attacks.

Dark templar are permanently cloaked, like observers, and their effectiveness is heavily dependent on it. If the enemy has adequate detection capabilities it is more efficient to attack with predominantly zealots. Although zealots deal significantly less damage, they are more likely to survive the charge and last long enough to make a difference (as well as being much less expensive).

Dark templar used powerful warp blades, based on modified psi blade technology.^[1]

The single-blade design was originally intended for Zeratul's character only, but due to time constraints, the same unit design was used for all dark templar.^[2]

StarCraftEdit

Main article: Dark templar (hero)

Dark templar could not be created in the original StarCraft. They were given to players as special units at the start of two protoss campaign missions (and acted as enemies in one zerg campaign mission). They had slightly different stats from the Brood War version, and could not create dark archons.

In Brood War, dark templar were buildable units (statistics apply to Brood War units). They were frequently used in rushes against terran, in which the attacking player tried to destroy their opponent before they could develop adequate detection. They are sometimes fondly referred to as "dt"s.

StrategyEdit

Dark templar are both great harass units and great deterrents.

Dark templar can deter an attacker who doesn't have ready detection. In Protoss vs. Protoss, sniping the enemy's observers will force the enemy to retreat before even one dark templar. In Protoss vs. Zerg, keeping overlords away from the battlefield makes dark templar unstoppable. This naturally leads to the corsair/dark templar strategy, which dominated the pro leagues in 2007.

Dark templar are also fantastic harassers because they can kill probes or drones in one hit. Units that are killed in one hit do not send a "You are under attack!" warning to the opponent, which means a dark templar can frequently destroy a distracted opponent's economy without the opponent ever knowing what happened. Dark templar are thus one of the units protoss turns to get back in the game unless an opponent is prepared.

To get them into the opponent's base, shuttles are a frequent companion of dark templar. Shuttles can bypass frontal detection and base defenses and put dark templar right near the mineral lines, forcing the opponent to defend multiple fronts. It's not uncommon to see shuttles with even 4 dark templars or a few dark templar and zealots strike a base late in the game, hoping to eliminate the detection before help arrives.

Dark templar are frequently paired with an arbiter build against terrans, since they force the terran army to waste ComSat sweeps to detect them and thus have none left when the arbiters arrive.

Dark templar may be spotted by their visual distortion, and distinguished from observers by the unit's pathing, but detectors are needed to effectively attack them. Having a forge or engineering bay before dark templar appear allows photon cannon or missile turrets to be placed as required. It is difficult to build both the detector and the prerequisite building in time to meet a sudden appearance of dark templar.

MatchupsEdit

Dark templar rely on stealth to compensate for having less health than zealots. Mixing dark templar with a larger force may mask their presence and attacks.

AbilitiesEdit

Permanent Cloaking Notes This unit is permanently cloaked. They cannot be seen or directly attacked by enemy forces, unless they have detector support.

Dark Archon Warp Usage Units 2 dark templar Activation/ Build Time 20 Notes Two dark templar can sacrifice themselves, transforming into a dark archon.

UpgradesEdit

Ground Weapons Researched at Forge Hotkey W Properties Level Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Minerals 100 150 200 Gas 100 150 200 Research time 266 298 330 Required Templar archives Notes +2 cumulative bonus per attack per level for zealots and dragoons. +3 cumulative bonus per attack per level for dark templar and archons.	Ground Armor Researched at Forge Hotkey A Properties Level Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Minerals 100 175 250 Gas 100 175 250 Research time 266 298 330 Required Templar archives Notes +1 bonus to armor per level for probes, zealots, dragoons, reavers, high templar, dark templar, archons, and dark archons.
Plasma Shields Researched at Forge Hotkey S Properties Level Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Minerals 200 300 400 Gas 200 300 400 Research time 266 298 330 Required Cybernetics core Notes +1 armor bonus to shields per level for all units and structures.

In the Pro LeaguesEdit

Dark templars have had a long and varied history, alternatively seen as too expensive, too useless, to units of finesse and manipulation.

• Bisu repopularized the dark templar in 2007 with his Protoss vs. Zerg "Bisu Build", which focused on getting dark templars in large numbers alongside corsairs to drive away the overlords. While rare by 2008, he is still known for using dark templar drops to devastating effect.

QuotationsEdit

See: StarCraft Dark Templar Quotations

ReferencesEdit