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"My life for Aiur!"

- Protoss zealot(src)

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A zealot

Zealots are a type of protoss warrior.

Overview

"Peerless warriors on the battlefield, zealots undergo decades of intense training in order to perfect their combat skills. Their signature psi-blades are formed with their own psionic energy."

(src)

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A zealot during the Discord

Zealots are lower-ranked Templar who have yet to reach the upper levels of the Khala.[1] They form the backbone of the protoss military,[2] and have been utilized since before the Discord.[3] At least some, if not all Khalai zealots are members of the Zealot Order. Zealots honor the moon Saalok as their order's symbol, which they call the Zealous Round.[4] Zealots can operate in platoons[5] and legions.[6] During the Great War, many zealots demonstrated their fearlessness by going without head armor, a practice that has since been discontinued.[7]

The Tal'darim also employ zealots.[8][9] As the lowest ranking links in the Chain of Ascension, they are the ones most eager to prove themselves.

Ihan-rii zealots are fanatic believers in the xel'naga, believing that one day they would ascend to eternal godhood.

After the End War, many zealots took part in the artistic celebration of the Golden Age of Expansion, changing their armor to the more ornate style of the era.[7]

Training

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A zealot during the Great War

Each zealot is trained for decades in hand-to-hand combat, tactics, pain tolerance and martial discipline. Zealots are taught to hate their enemies with a white hot passion and to hunt them down without mercy,[1] even in the face of their own deaths.[10] Through the path of the Khala, zealots learn to hone their innate battle rage to a fine edge,[11] though they can invoke a near-berserker rage when in battle if need be.[12] Zealots undergo rigorous training and trials before receiving their power suits. Those that distinguish themselves in battle receive complex leg augmentations that enhance their speed, mobility, and endurance.[6] Zealots are forbidden from using alien tissue and weaponry in combat, as a means to prevent foreign infections.[4]

In the days of the Golden Age of Expansion, attempts were made to train zealots to wield more ethereal psionic powers like their high templar brethren. However, at the behest of Grand Preserver Rohana, these attempts were halted, in favor of keeping the more traditional and focused split between the two classes of Templar warriors.[13]

The shame of the fall of Aiur drove the zealots to intensify physical training.[1] This includes duels at the end of their training, which appears to have the potential to be shortened.[14]

Tactics

"Armed with dual psi-blades and inexhaustible courage, Zealots can take down the galaxy's most fearsome creatures...as long as those creatures are within arm’s reach."
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A zealot during the Second Great War

All protoss have a degree of psionic power, and zealots use theirs exclusively for battle. Zealots have a limited form of precognition; they may predict enemy movements, strike with deadly accuracy, and dodge attacks.[1] Leg augmentations enhance movement speed; zealots may catch an enemy offguard with brutal charges.[6] After the Brood War, some zealots developed the ability to turn their body into pure energy for a few microseconds; the resulting lighting-fast speed allows them to strike suddenly against an enemy that thinks they are out of range.[1]

Zealots are armed with psionic blades channelled through the forearm units of their power suits.[12] The Khalai's refinement of the focussers in these units allow the psi-blades to increase in power as a zealot's rage increases in battle.[6] The blades may tear through armored structures and vehicles.[15] Zealots use their psionic powers, with the aid of cybernetic implants, to surround themselves with plasma shields.[11]

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A zealot of the current day

The zealots' mastery of their emotions mean they can fight longer, harder, and better than their adversaries.[6] A handful of zealots can easily control an entire colony of lesser species,[15] and they have shown themselves to be capable of tearing through armored structures and vehicles alike.[16]

The protoss population has diminished due to conflict, and great lengths are taken to minimize zealot casualties.[6] A severely injured zealot may be transported off the battlefield upon the moment of defeat using a device named a warp stone in order to be recovered.[4] Those too critically injured are often transformed into a dragoon or an immortal.[17]

Game Unit

StarCraft

For StarCraft gameplay information see: Zealot.
For StarCraft in-game quotations see: StarCraft Zealot Quotations.

StarCraft: Ghost

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This article or section contains information about StarCraft: Ghost, which has been declared non-canon. Elements may be taken as 'flavor lore' however.
The content may be significantly out of date. Please do not add speculation to this article, and remember to cite a published source for details.
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A charging zealot

For StarCraft: Ghost in-game quotations see: StarCraft: Ghost Zealot Quotations.

Zealots appeared as enemies to Nova in StarCraft: Ghost. They appeared identical to their portrayal in StarCraft.

StarCraft II

For StarCraft II gameplay information see: Zealot.
For StarCraft II in-game quotations see: StarCraft II Zealot Quotations.

Heroes of the Storm

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The following section contains information from Heroes of the Storm and is not canon to StarCraft continuity
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A Blizzard DotA zealot

Zealots appeared in early builds of Heroes of the Storm.[18]

Known Zealots

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A zealot on the prowl

Specialists

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A zealot's visage

Notes

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A zealot in Ready Player One

  • According to Bob Fitch, the design of the zealot was based off the alien from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but made "bigger and meaner."[19]
  • Historically, the term "zealot" means one who is zealous on behalf of God.
  • A zealot bottlecap figure produced by Kotobukiya is available.[20]
  • A zealot figurine was made after the launch of StarCraft.[21]
  • A zealot appears as a cameo in the film Ready Player One, in the background of one of the shots.
  • Sangheili zealots appear in the Halo universe. Like in StarCraft, they wear golden armor and carry energy blades. In Halo Infinite, the zealot tip in the loading screen is titled "My Life for Hire;" a reference to the zealot's "My life for Aiur" line.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2007-06-28. Zealot. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-07-01.
  2. Races: Protoss. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2010-08-07.
  3. (September 25, 2015) Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void: Reclamation lore video (in English).
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Dayton, Cameron. "Cold Symmetry." (March 7, 2013). Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft Lore: Cold Symmetry. Accessed 2013-03-07.
  5. Todd, Hugh. "Lens of the Void." (April 25, 2013). Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft Lore: Lens of the Void. Accessed 2013-04-26.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 2014-10-30, Zealot Science. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2014-11-01.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. Collections Tab: Skins. July 19, 2017.
  8. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Whispers of Oblivion, Ghosts in the Fog (in English). 2015-07-15.
  9. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Whispers of Oblivion, Evil Awoken (in English). 2015-07-15.
  10. 2017-07-07, Unit Spotlight: Protoss. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2017-07-08.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Zealot. StarCraft Compendium. Accessed on 2008-01-11.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.
  13. Brooks, Robert. "It Will End in Fire." (Nov 3, 2015). Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft Lore: It Will End in Fire. Accessed 2015-11-03.
  14. Elder, Josh and Ramanda Kamarga. "Why We Fight." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 1. pp. 6–47. Tokyopop, August 1, 2008. ISBN 1427-80721-3.
  15. 15.0 15.1 StarCraft: Ghost-Units. Accessed on 2011-02-03.
  16. 1998, Consul Report: Templar Census. Droppages.com, accessed on 2020-03-17.
  17. Karune. 2007-01-22. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 26. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-01-22.
  18. 2014-05-21, Blizzard set out to make a StarCraft mod, and instead reinvented gaming's most popular genre. Polygon, accessed on 2014-05-22.
  19. 2021-08-19, Bob Fitch Twitter. Twitter.com, accessed on 2021-08-19.
  20. STARCRAFT 2 KOTOBUKIYA Protoss (Zealot) Bottle Cap Figure Collection Miniature, Amazon.com. Accessed on 2015-08-06.
  21. Starcraft Collection 1 Protoss Zealot , Amazon.com. Accessed on 2017-07-08.
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