Viking

The Viking is a Terran unit with the ability to transform between a ground unit ("Walker mode") and an air unit ("Fighter mode").

Overview
The Brood War revealed weaknesses in Terran anti-air capability. Wraith combat fighters and Valkyrie missile frigates proved to be an unwieldy combination against agile Zerg airborne organisms. In addition, ground-based anti-air support from Goliath assault walkers was too limited in its mobility: all too often airborne attackers would simply move out of the Goliath's range.

In the aftermath of the war, Terran weapon technicians proposed a radical new concept to resolve both of these problems. Based heavily on the transformation design of the Siege Tank, the Viking was designed to be the ultimate anti-air and ground-support weapon system. With the ability to change its combat role from an assault walker to an air-superiority fighter, the Viking can switch smoothly to fulfill tactical needs in a developing battle.

While the Viking's versatility is its greatest asset, it is also one of its drawbacks. Few pilots are able to handle both combat modes and the majority of Viking pilots are killed in their first battle. Those who survive however, become amongst the most skilled pilots.

Game Unit


The Viking is produced from the Starport (a change from previous builds).x It is upgraded as an air vehicle.

Ground Mode
In the walker mode the Viking has low armor, leaving it vulnerable to powerful ground units such as Siege Tanks. The walker mode is armed with twin gatling cannons. it can only attack ground units (a change from previous builds). It can take advantage of the reactor.

Air Mode
When in this mode the Viking has an extremely powerful anti-air attack (MT50 Lanzer Torpedoes) designed to destroy capital ships but does not have the ability to attack ground units. In this mode, it has superior mobility and base-raiding capabilities.

Development
Karune stated that its ground mode could attack both ground and air units but that ability underwent balance testing and has since been removed.

Quotes

 * Main article: StarCraft Quotations

StarCraft: Heavy Armor
The Viking featured in the StarCraft: Frontline short story, StarCraft: Frontline: Heavy Armor.

Known Viking pilots

 * Captain John Dyre
 * Carter

Trivia
Vikings may be named for the old Blizzard Entertainment game The Lost Vikings or just simply from historical Vikings.