Overview
The Terran Battlecruiser (often abbreviated to BC) is the flagship of the Terran fleet. Despite introduction of anti-capital ship starfighters such as the Wraith, the Battlecruiser continues to play an important role in Terran space faring operations. Capable of carrying a contingent of fighters and heavily armed with several laser batteries, the Battlecruiser is a potent threat to all who oppose the Terrans.
StarCraft
Behemoth-class BattlecuriserThe Battlecruiser initially had several different abilities including a Plasma Barrage, Missile Pods and Defensive Matrix. The Plasma Barrage was removed because the Terrans had too much ground, splash damage abilities. The other two abilities were removed during play testing, which revealed that Yamato Cannon remained the primary ability that players chose to save up for. The Defense Matrix and Missile Pods appear in campaign. Battlecruisers have been subjected to three balance changes so far to encourage their usage. The Behemoth class Battlecruiser was the standard Battlecruiser during the Brood War. Armed with laser batteries, nuclear warheads, neosteel plating, forcefields, and the powerful Yamato Cannon, the Behemoth is an enduring design that remains in service despite introduction of more advanced classes of Battlecruisers.
| Behemoth-Class Battlecruiser | STATS |
|---|
| Race | Terran |
| Type | Flying-mechanical-large |
| Role | Heavy command flagship |
| Armament | Burst laser batteries, Yamato gun |
| Protection | Neosteel |
| Resources | 400 minerals, 300 gas |
| Supply | 6 units |
| Build time | 160 sec |
| Hit points | 500 |
| Armor | 3 (+1 per Ship Plating upgrade) |
| Energy | 200 |
| Attack (ground/air) | 25 (Lasers) (+3 per Ship Weapons upgrade), 260 (Yamato Gun) |
| Cool down | 30 |
| Attack range | 6 (Lasers), 10 (Yamato Gun) |
| Sight range | 11 |
| Movement speed | Slow |
| Built at | Starport |
| Required | Control Tower (attachment), Science Facility with Physics Lab (attachment) |
| Hotkey | B |
| Build dialogue | "Battlecruiser operational" |
| Upgrade | Cost | Research Time | Energy | Effect |
|---|
| Yamato Gun | 100 min 100 gas | 120s | 150 | Fires the Yamato Gun, dealing 260 damage to target |
| Colossus Reactor | 150 min 150 gas | 166s | N/A | Increases max energy from 200 to 250
Increases starting energy from 50 to 62.5 |
Tactics
The Battlecruiser is rarely seen in higher levels of play due to its extreme cost and build time. It is however, a very useful unit should the Terran commander decide to pursue it. Battlecruisers are typically built to end stalemates as their Yamato Cannon can kill most units in a single hit. They are most commonly seen in Terran mirror matches to break Siege Tank stalemates and to force the construction of Goliaths. Battlecruisers are rarely seen against Zerg and Protoss. Against the Zerg, Battlecruisers are vulnerable to both of the Defiler’s abilities as well as Scourge. Against Protoss, they can be used as counters to Carriers on certain maps thanks to their Yamato Cannon. However the prevalence of Dragoons makes Battlecruisers very hard to field. Like Carriers, Battlecruisers are incredibly vulnerable to spells such as Psionic Storm, Mind Control, Feedback and Lockdown.
Battlecruisers are commonly referred to as Cattlebruisers after the Korean player Firebathero used a Battlecruiser to Yamato Cannon an Ultralisk.
StarCraft: Ghost
Battlecruiser from StarCraft: GhostThe Battlecruiser was featured as a support unit in Starcraft Ghost. Nova can call orbital bombardments from allied Battlecruisers and some levels take place inside a Battlecruiser.
StarCraft II
The new Minotaur-class BattlecruiserThe Minotaur class Battlecruiser is the latest Battlecruiser in service with the Terran Dominion. Based off the venerable Behemoth, the Minotaur is even larger than the Behemoth and is equipped with more laser batteries to increase its firepower. It is also armed with the new Class V Yamato Cannon. It is highly adaptable, capable of carrying missile pods and defensive matrix systems.
| Minotaur-Clas Battlecruiser | STATS |
|---|
| Race | Terran |
| Type | Flying-mechanical, massive, armored |
| Role | Powerful warship |
| Armament | ATA laser batteries (air), ATS laser batteries (ground), Yamato Cannon |
| Protection | Neosteel |
| Resources | 400 minerals, 300 gas |
| Supply | 6 |
| Build time | 90 sec |
| Hit points | 550 |
| Armor | 3 (+ 1 per Ship Armor upgrade) |
| Energy | 200 |
| Regeneration per second | 0.5625 |
| Attack (ground) | 8 (+1 per Ship Weapons upgrade), 300 (Yamato Cannon) |
| Attack (air) | 6 (+1 per Ship Weapons upgrade), 300 (Yamato Cannon) |
| Cool down | 0.225 sec (Laser batteries), 3 sec (Yamato Cannon) |
| Attack range | 6 (Laser batteries), 10 (Yamato Cannon) |
| Sight range | 12 |
| Movement speed | 1.875 |
| Built at | Starport |
| Required | Tech Lab (attachment), Fusion Core |
| Hotkey | B |
| Build dialogue | "Who called in the fleet?" |
| Multiplayer Upgrade | Cost | Research Time | Energy | Effect |
|---|
| Weapon Refit | 150 min 150 gas | 60s | 125 | Equips the Yamato Cannon on all Battlcruisers |
| Behemoth Reactor | 150 min 150 gas | 80s | N/A | Increases starting energy from 50 to 75 |
| Campaign Upgrade | Cost | Energy | Effect |
|---|
| Missile Pod | $140,000 | 125 | Fires a volley of missiles at target area, dealing 40 splash damage (+50 vs light) against air units |
| Defensive Matrix | $150,000 | 100 | Creates a Shield that absorbs 200 damage. |
Tactics
The Battlecruiser is even more powerful in Starcraft II thanks to its new laser batteries. Its new attack is a constant laser barrage as opposed to the single fire laser of the Behemoth. Though the lasers deal less damage, the Minotaur has a much higher damage per second. However it is still slow and expensive and as such, it serves a similar role as it did in Brood War. New dedicated anti-air units such as the Viking and Corruptor, pose a significant threat to the Battlecruiser.
In addition to being an effective late game unit in Terran mirror matches, the Battlecruiser is also useful against the Protoss as they have no direct counter to the Battlecruiser. Feedback and Psionic Storm can deal significant damage but not enough to kill the ship. Void Rays must charge up before they deal significant damage to Battlecruisers and can be taken out quickly with Yamato Cannon. Large amounts of Blink Stalkers can be threatening but they can also be negated with the Raven's point defense drones or ground support. Phoenixes must severely outnumber Battlecruisers before they pose a significant threat and like Stalkers, it is negated by point defense drones. Battlecruisers are both faster and more heavily armed than the Protoss Carrier.
Development
Battlecruiser with Defensive MatrixThe Battlecruiser initially had several different abilities including a Plasma Barrage, Missile Pods and Defensive Matrix. The Plasma Barrage was removed because the Terrans had too much ground, splash damage abilities. The other two abilities were removed during play testing, which revealed that Yamato Cannon remained the primary ability that players chose to save up for. The Defense Matrix and Missile Pods appear in campaign. Battlecruisers have been subjected to three balance changes so far to encourage their usage.
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