Carrier

In the computer game StarCraft, the Protoss Carrier is the Protoss' heavy air unit.

It cannot attack on its own, but it produces light, fast robotic Interceptors, which attack using twin blasters. While one Interceptor is not much of a cause for concern among those being attacked, the Carrier's full complement of four Interceptors (upgraded to eight at the Fleet Beacon) make the Carrier a formidable weapon. The Interceptors are not capable of functioning independently of the Carrier; if the Carrier is destroyed its Interceptor complement will self-destruct.

The Carrier has very heavy armor and is faster than its Terran counterpart, the Battlecruiser. Its weapons system, which has a respectable effective range, is useful for destroying base defenses, especially fixed anti-air weapons (such as the Missile Turret or Spore Colony).

The Carrier must be warped in at a Protoss Stargate, but only after a Fleet Beacon has been built.

An internet fad exists relating to Protoss Carriers, saying that "Mass Carriers = Instant Win", in other words marshalling a large force of Carriers is a sure-fire way to win a game as the Protoss. This is not strictly true, as this strategy would take an excessive amount of resources and time to carry out, and a skilled player could repel the assault, or strike while the Carriers are being built and prepared. Regardless, an attack by several Carriers at once can be damaging if properly supported, and also intimidating due to the havoc that Carriers cause upon deploying their Interceptors.

In Ressurection IV, a Protoss ship that may be a carrier is seen firing an immensely powerful beam from its underside as a planetary bombardment weapon, burning the surface of Braxis. A Protoss vessel, possibly a Carrier, was also seen in the introduction cinematic for the original Starcraft game, obliterating a Terran salvage vessel with a similar weapon.

While such bombardments were used against Chau Sara, Mar Sara and Antiga Prime, it's not clear if Carriers fired upon those planets as well.

Rumors indicate that the weapon fired used by the carriers on those instances was planned to be included in the game as a counterpart to the Terran Battlecruiser's Yamato Cannon, but later, this idea was scrapped due to the power given to the Protoss in the form of Psionic Storm.