Extractor

An extractor

The zerg extractor is essentially a giant organ that sits atop a vespene geyser and packages the vespene gas into small fleshy sacs that can be easily carried by zerg drones to a nearby hatchery for absorption. Through this structure, the zerg convert raw vespene into a form that is more beneficial for their organic systems. The refined gas it produces becomes a necessity in the later evolutions of the zerg breeds. As the extractor lives off gas itself, it does not need to be built on an area already covered in creep.

Game Structure

StarCraft

Extractor
Structure
Race	Zerg
Role	Extract Vespene gas
Production
Minerals	50
Build time	40
Evolves from	Drone
Requires	Hatchery
Protection
Hit points	750
Armor	1

Drones may still retrieve gas from a depleted geyser, but the yield will be greatly reduced (to 2 per trip).

StarCraft II

Extractor
Structure
Race	Zerg
Role	Extract Vespene gas
Production
Minerals	25
Build time	30
Evolves from	Drone
Hotkey	E
Protection
Hit points	500
Armor	1
Type	Armored Biological Structure

The extractor appears in StarCraft II. It functions almost identically to its predecessor. The extractor no longer yields any gas when it is depleted.

Development

The extractor went through only a couple revisions before being finalized. The first rendition was simply a adaptation of the original game's artwork to 3D. The main flaw of this first design was the complexity of the different shapes and colors, it looked too busy and was too visually distracting. The final revision simplified the building's distinct elements and unified the Extractor with the rest of the zerg structures.

Heart of the Swarm Campaign

In Heart of the Swarm, there is a Kerrigan ability that turns them into an Automated Extractor. It is a tier 3 ability that makes it so that it doesn't require drones to mine vespene gas. There is also a tier 5 ability, Vespene Efficiency, that increases the vespene gas harvesting efficiency by 25%. Both of these abilities are passive.

References

Zerg Units and Structures of StarCraft/Brood War v • e

Ground units Larva Drone Zergling Hydralisk Lurker (BW) Defiler Ultralisk Air units Overlord Mutalisk Guardian Scourge Queen Devourer (BW) Infestation units Broodling Infested terran Transition units Egg Lurker egg Cocoon Basic buildings Hatchery Extractor Evolution chamber Spawning pool Hydralisk den Advanced buildings Lair Hive Spire Greater spire Queen's nest Nydus canal Defiler mound Ultralisk cavern Infested command center Defenses Creep Creep colony Spore colony Sunken colony Scrapped Fungal colony Mutation chamber Mutation pit Nydus pit Scoria

Zerg Units and Structures of StarCraft II v • e

Versus units and structures Terrestrial units Larva Drone Zergling Baneling Roach Ravager (LotV) Hydralisk Lurker (LotV) Infestor Ultralisk Queen Swarm host (HotS) Aerospace units Overlord Overseer Mutalisk Brood lord Corruptor Viper (HotS) Spawned units Broodling Changeling Infested terran Locust (HotS) Basic buildings Hatchery Creep tumor Extractor Evolution chamber Spawning pool Baneling nest Roach warren Automated defenses Spine crawler Spore crawler Advanced buildings Lair Hive Infestation pit Spire Greater spire Hydralisk den Lurker den Nydus network Nydus worm Ultralisk cavern Transition units Baneling cocoon Broodmother cocoon Brood lord cocoon Egg Impaler cocoon Infested swarm egg Lurker cocoon Overseer cocoon Ravager cocoon Ultralisk chrysalis Others Creep Campaign and Co-op Missions units and structures Terrestrial units Aberration Blightbringer Brutalisk Defiler Impaler cocoon Infested colonist Infested diamondback Infested marine Infested trooper Infested medic Infested SCV Infested siege tank Omegalisk Pygalisk Pygalisk cocoon Swarmling Volatile infested Aeropsace units Guardian Leviathan Sac Scourge Swarm guardian Infested banshee Infested liberator Buildings Impaler den Infested terran buildings Infested command center Toxic nest Virophage Automated defenses Bile launcher Impaler colony Scourge cannon Spore cannon Sunken colony Infested bunker Infested missile turret Variant units Zergling Strains Raptor Swarmling Baneling Strains Hunter Splitter Baneling spawn Roach Strains Corpser Roachling Vile Queen Strains Aiur queen Broodmother Swarm queen Hydralisk Strains Hunter Killer Impaler Lurker Ultralisk Strains Noxious Stank Torrasque Swarm host Strains Carrion Creeper Locust Strains Flying locust Mutalisk Strains Brood lord Viper Guardian Strains Swarm guardian Canceled Zerg Units and Structures of StarCraft II v • e Scrapped Removed Units Behemoth chrysalis Bone wasp Cobra Dracolisk Fiend Fury Gigalisk Gorgeling Huge queen Incubus Infested protoss Klurken Large queen Larval queen Leech Lilev coccoon Magnasaur Magnathar Mantalisk Mantis Miasmalisk Morphalisk Nihilisk Primalisk Prowler Scavenger Siegeling Spore host Swarm Swarm guardian Swarm larva Terrorling Trichinella Removed Buildings Broodling nest Creep colony Creep tower Infested protoss buildings Nydus destroyer Nydus warren Shrieker Spore colony Swarm clutch Swarm infestation Underfiend