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"Spore crawlers can detect my presence! I should stun them with my Void Prison."

The Spore crawler is a mobile zerg anti-air defensive structure. It was evolved as a replacement for the spore colony,[1] in use by 2501. Its properties were well known to terrans at the time.[2]

Terran research of this strain inspired the creation of the shrike turret.[3]

Game Unit[]

SporeCrawler SC2 DevGame2

A spore crawler attacking

Spore crawlers can move, but can only plant themselves on creep. Their mobility is significantly reduced when they are not on creep, however.

Abilities[]

This unit or structure can detect cloaked, burrowed, duplicated and hallucination enemies.

ve
SC2 Root-Uproot
Root/Uproot

Crawlers can uproot themselves from the creep and move about, but can only plant themselves back onto the creep. They move much more quickly on the creep than off it.

Usage
Hotkey R
Cost 1 (uproot), 4 (root) seconds
ve

Strategies[]

Players will want to spread creep onto the map to create more space for their crawlers.[4] Their mobility allows players to simply relocate the crawlers depending on the situation, and as such, they could build them in lesser numbers without weakening the defenses. Like the spine crawler, spore crawlers slowly die if rooted in ground not covered with creep. They can, however, survive indefinitely without creep so long as they are uprooted.

Development[]

The following section contains information from a previous version of StarCraft II which is no longer valid.
SporeCrawler Concept Game

Spore crawler concept art

The concept of mobile defenses in StarCraft II began with the phase cannons, but was transferred to spine and spore crawlers when the phase cannon proved to be unbalanced in testing.[5] Prior to this, crawlers were stationary structures. They underwent a visual re-design late in the game's development cycle.[6]

Crawlers used to lose armor and hit points while uprooted.[7] They had 300 HP (100 when uprooted) and had a movement speed of 2.25, or 1 off creep.[8]

StarCraft II beta patch 7 decreased the cost of spore crawlers from 100 to 75, and Patch 11 increased their root time from 6 to 12. Patch 1.3.3 reverted it to 6 seconds. Balance Update 6 in the Heart of the Swarm beta changed the evolution chamber requirement to spawning pool, and Balance Update 13 increased their damage from 15 to 15 (+15 vs. Biological). The Patch 2.0.8 Balance Update increased their damage again to 15 (+30 vs. Biological). The Patch 2.5.2 Balance Update in the Legacy of the Void beta reverted their damage. The Patch 3.3.2 Balance Update decreased their root time to 4.

Variants[]

Images[]

References[]

  1. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. Collections Tab: Skins. October 17, 2016
  2. Gerrold, David (w), Fernando Heinz Furukawa (p, i). StarCraft: Ghost Academy: Volume 3 (paperback binding). Tokyopop, March 8, 2011. ISBN 978-1427-81614-6.
  3. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Zerg research (in English). 2010.
  4. Pardo, Rob and Zetaras Xal'Kurat. 2008-06-29. WorldWide Invitational 2008: Pictures, Presentations, Videos (StarCraft II Panel: Evolving Design) SC2 Blog. Accessed 2008-06-30.
  5. 2011, SC2: Protoss Photon Cannon. Deviantart, accessed on 2011-02-20
  6. 2010, SC2: Zerg Crawlers. Deviantart, accessed on 2011-07-01
  7. StarCraft Legacy staff. 2008-07-16. StarCraft: Legacy Internal Q&A. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2008-07-17.
  8. Zetaras Xal'Kurat. 2008-07-16. Q&A 41: Corruption Debuff, Zerg Defenses, Unit Dance Moves. SC2 Blog.
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