Battlecruiser (StarCraft)

Behemoth-class Battlecruiser
Affiliation		Terran
Hit Points		500
Rank		Commodore
Cost	400 minerals	300 gas	6 supply
Armor	3 (upgrade +3)	Energy	200 (upgrade +50)
Ground Attack	ATS Laser Battery: 25 (upgrade +9)	Air Attack	ATA Laser Battery: 25 (upgrade +9)
Producer	Starport	Build Time	160 seconds
Upgrades	Ship Weapons (+9 weaponry)	Abilities	Yamato Cannon (150 )
	Ship Plating (+3 armor)
	Colossus Reactor (+50 )

The Terran Behemoth-class Battlecruiser is a combat capital starship in the computer game StarCraft. It is the Terran counterpart to the Protoss Carrier. Its forerunner was the Leviathan-class battlecruiser, and a possible relative may by the Mammoth-class carrier. They are normally commanded by Captains or Commodores. Behemoth-class battlecruisers were the backbones of the Terran Confederacy, the following Sons of Korhal, and finally of the United Earth Directorate Expiditionary Fleet from Earth.

Battlecruisers in

Battlecruisers played a pivotal role in the StarCraft storyline and campaigns: Behemoth-class vessels often served as mobile command centers for Terran factions and fleets. For example, the Hyperion and Norad were utilized in earlier intra-Terran conflicts: earlier space conflict during the Guild Wars took place between Battlecruisers and medium gunships, before the Wraith fighter was developed. A Battlecruiser being attacked by Protoss Interceptors is shown within the final cinematic of the original Terran campaign, and an allied Battlecruiser accompanying several Carriers can be seen in an in-game cinematic in the original Protoss campaign.

It is unclear whether the Battlecruiser can carry smaller vessels within it. According to , this is the case, and the cinematics indicate this, albeit indirectly. In-game, however, they do not carry other vessels. In , it is stated that the Behemoth-class battlecruisers carry two squadrons (two dozen) Wraith-class starfighters and thousands of ground troopers, which means that they presumably also carry several squadrons of dropships.

The United Earth Directorate has several battle fleets that had legions of Behemoth-class battlecruisers. After Episode V, Iron Fist, in , they were able to control the Zerg Overmind and the whole Zerg Swarm, with the exception of Infested Kerrigan, Queen of Blades. However, their Char defense fleet had a phalanx of battlecruisers in groups of four, and over twenty were in orbit, and four were seen in the clouds directly over the Zerg Overmind.

Known Battlecruisers

Hyperion: A Confederate ship captured by the Sons of Korhal. Stolen by and currently in the service of Raynor's Raiders.

Norad II: General Duke's command ship and flagship of Alpha Squadron, later the Terran Dominion. It was upgraded into the Norad III.

Norad III: Replaced the Norad II as the Flagship of the Terran Dominion. It was one of the most powerful Battlecruisers ever built, it was shot down over Korhal by Infested Kerrigan.

Aleksander: The United Earth Directorate Flagship, piloted by Gerard DuGalle. It is assumed to be shot down with the rest of the U.E.D. fleet upon their retreat to Earth.

Leviathan: Capital ship of Arcturus Mengsk after command of the Hyperion is turned over to Jim Raynor. It was slated to be found in a lost mission that was never included in the game. However, when composing a mission briefing in the Starcraft Campaign Editor, Mengsk is still listed as piloting a Battlecruiser. (it is debatable is the Leviathan is a Behemoth-class or a Leviathan-class)

Kimeran Juggernaut: Base of the Kimeran Pirates. Shot down by the infested Terran Alexi Stukov in the Blizzard Map of the Week Mercenaries II. The ship only appears if the 3-player version of the mission is played, otherwise, the Juggernaut does not appear. This ship also picks up the Kimeran Pirates at the end of the single-player mission Deception.

Huey Long: Terran Confederacy battlecruiser send to reinforce the Norad II in the beginning of the Zerg invasion.

Jackson V: Terran Confederacy battlecruiser send to reinforce the Norad II in the beginning of the Zerg invasion.

Ragornak: Anonymous Terran Confederacy battlecruiser.

Merrimack: Dilapated Leviathan-class battlecruiser in service to the Terran Confederacy as a prison ship over Mar Sara. Jim Raynor and his militia were arrested in the wastelands of Mar Sara by Alpha Squadron and taken to the Merrimack. A Sons of Korhal strike team took over the ship and rescued Jim Raynor under the general command of the reporter-turned-patriot Mike Liberty.

Game unit

Two fleets of Battlecruisers face off.

In-game, Battlecruisers have 500 hit points, require 400 mineral and 300 Vespene gas units to be built, cost 6 supply (meaning they almost need their own Supply Depot), and come with level 3 default armor. However, Battlecruisers are slow. Upgrades are effective, as each weapons upgrade adds three damage to the default 25-damage laser batteries. Battlecruisers are the only standard units capable of surviving a direct nuclear strike. The name Yamato is a reference to the classic anime series Space Battleship Yamato, and the title starship's massive and powerful wave motion gun.

The Captain of each Battlecruiser sports a hat and speaks with an accent that is strongly reminicient of Robotech's Captain Henry J. Gloval.

The Terran Battlecruiser is one of the most advanced Terran units, sharing the top of the Terran technology tree with the Ghost and Nuclear Missile; it requires a Physics Lab addition to the Terran Science Facility in order to be built. It is also revealed in the Brood War Terran campaign that the Battlecruiser requires the Physics Lab to power up its weaponry (although it is possible to command Battlecruisers without controlling a Physics Lab. The Labs are only needed to build the Battlecruisers).

The Battlecruiser is capable of both air-to-air and air-to-ground attack with its heavy laser batteries. It is well-protected with NeoSteel armor, serving as a command and peacekeeping vessel for Terran Colonial and succeeding authorities. The upgraded Battlecruisers have a powerful siege weapon, the Yamato Cannon, capable of taking out ground defenses and heavy air units by using an intense magnetic field to focus a nuclear explosion into a cohesive energy burst. Unit rank is Commodore, which is odd because this is ranked higher than commander[ the player].

Thanks to the combination of hard-hitting firepower (especially when upgraded), ruggedness, and the powerful Yamato Gun, the Battlecruiser is among a few units that can take on the Protoss Carrier toe-to-toe.

In-Game

"Shields up! Weapons online!"

"Not equipped with shields? Well then, buckle up!"

"We are getting WAY behind schedule."

"I really have to go...number one." (From )

"Make it happen." (From )

References

• [StarCraft homepage at Blizzard Entertainment]
• [Battle.net StarCraft Compendium]
• Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.
• Neilson, Micky. StarCraft: Uprising. New York and Toronto, Ontario: Pocket Books, 2000. ISBN B00005AS12 (eBook only)

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