The devourer is a zerg anti-air flyer.
Overview
Devourers are an evolution of the mutalisk.[1] In use by early 2500 during the Great War,[2] devourers spit a venom of corrosive acid at aerial targets that can eat through the reinforced armor plating of terran and protoss capital ships. A single spit of venom may splash over multiple targets.[1] The acid spores in the venom may hinder the fighting ability of the target.[3]
Devourers continue(d) to be used after the Brood War.[4]
The Terran Dominion studied their remains at the Valhalla installation.[5]
Game Unit
StarCraft
Devourers are the anti-air aspect of the mutalisk. They are slower than mutalisks but faster and more resilient than guardians.
The devourer's attack has the additional effect of attaching "acid spores" to anything it hits. A unit affected by spores will be revealed (if cloaked), have its attack speed slowed by 1/8 per spore, and take 1 point of additional damage from every attack for every spore attached. A maximum of 9 spores may affect a target at any one time. Spores will disappear after a period of time.
The fast firing and bouncing attack of mutalisks benefit greatly from the acid spores. Against a group of targets splashed with 9 spores a single mutalisk can deal 18 damage on its first attack instead of the normal 9 damage, this also applies to the mutalisk's second and third attack which makes it effective take out high armor targets faster, like battlecruisers and carriers, and able to go toe to toe with area-of-effect anti-air units like corsairs and Valkyries.
Devourers have a very slow rate of fire, and the attack travels slowly. If a devourer moves before the glob of acid strikes, the glob disappears. The devourer's slow speed and rate of fire also makes it vulnerable to hit-and-run attacks from groups of scouts and wraiths.
Production
Upgrades
StarCraft II
Wings of Liberty
In StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, devourer samples are present in the mission Engine of Destruction as optional research subjects.[5]
Heart of the Swarm
Dustin Browder considers it unlikely that devourers will appear in the campaign of Heart of the Swarm. Partly because it's not "cool" enough in his mind, partly because there is little use for air-to-air units in the campaign.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Underwood, Peter, Chris Metzen and Bill Roper. StarCraft: Brood War (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.
- ↑ Rosenberg, Aaron (May 23, 2006). StarCraft: Queen of Blades. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0-7434-7133-6.
- ↑ Devourer. StarCraft Compendium. Accessed on 2008-02-07
- ↑ Dayton, Cameron. "Broken Wide." (March 5, 2010). Blizzard Entertainment. Broken Wide Accessed 2010-03-05.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Engine of Destruction (in English). 2010-07-27.
- ↑ 2011-05-31, May 2011 HoTS Fansite Interview. StarCraft Legacy, accessed on 2011-05-31