Firebat

"Need a light?"

- Terran firebat

The firebat is a type of terran infantry specialized for close-quarters combat.

Overview
"Fire washes the skin off the bone and the sin off the soul. It cleans away the dirt. And my momma didn't raise herself no dirty boy."

- Franko Tildon, widely credited as the first firebat

Firebats are "armored assault troopers". Firebats are often attached to provide support for marine squads. They are typically armed with dual arm-mounted flame throwers and wear armor similar to those used by marines, except heavier and providing additional resistance to heat and flame.

During the Guild Wars, a few firebats wore experimental CMC-230 XF armor, equipped with jetpacks. The armor had reliability issues, however, and so was quickly phased out.

During the Great War, Confederate firebats were equipped with wrist mounted Perdition flamethrowers and CMC-660 combat suits. The vulnerable flame tanks are protected by containment fields. United Earth Directorate firebats were armed with the C-140 "Epyon" Plasma Incinerator Cannon. After the Brood War, the firebat arsenal was expanded to include napalm rockets.

As with marines, many firebats are recruited or conscripted from "culturally challenged" persons. Such individuals undergo "neural resocialization" and receive aggression inhibitor implants as part of their training. Firebats are almost exclusively composed of resocialized criminals and psychotic pyromaniacs. Still, volunteers are not unheard of: in the Confederate Marine Corps, an individual had to have a PEB (Preferred Experience Base) of at least three months combat experience to become a firebat.

StarCraft
The firebat's attack is optimized against groups of small-sized units, as it deals concussive splash damage. Firebats are most useful in the early game, as all of the base units for the three races are small. Supported by medics, firebats can stand up to zealots despite the large difference in health between them. With stims and medics, firebats can easily defeat swarms of zerglings.

The firebat's attack is ranged, but it still works under the 's Dark Swarm. The attack also deals full damage against protoss shields, regardless of the size of the unit.

Quotations

 * See: StarCraft Firebat Quotations

StarCraft: Ghost


In StarCraft: Ghost multiplayer, the firebat was equipped with flamethrowers. In addition, it launched laser-guided or manually guided napalm rockets. The rockets had greater range than the flamethrowers.

Firebats moved quite slowly, being outpaced by light infantry and marines.

In the Invasion Mode, a firebat cost three points.

StarCraft II
The firebat is available in the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty campaign. It is unlocked by playing the mission "The Evacuation", available after Rory Swann was able to procure them for Raynor's Raiders. The marauder replaced the firebat in multiplayer, because the firebat is effectively an alternative to the hellion.

When compared to the hellion, the firebat is tougher when given Juggernaut Plating (especially against zerglings and zealots), has a faster rate of fire, can load into bunkers, and can be paired with medics or medivac dropships, making it better defensively and giving it more staying power. The hellion, however, is far faster, has more range and deals more damage per shot (against light units), making it more powerful offensively. The two also have different armor properties, giving them different counters.

Firebats are strong against s, reapers, s, banelings, s, and s. They are weak against marauders, s, diamondbacks, stalkers, immortals, s, roaches, and s.

Quotations

 * See: StarCraft II Firebat Quotations

Development
The firebat was set to return in StarCraft II, but was canceled during development. They have been replaced in the most recent build by the marauder. It was found that their role overlapped with hellions.

Firebats were produced from a factory, as they had bigger, more powerful suits that gave them a greater ability to withstand enemy fire, which granted them more hit points. They could still fit into bunkers and could be healed by medics.

Firebats once had a "bearclaw nozzle" upgrade."

Specialist Firebats

 * Cerberus Firebats
 * Devil Dogs
 * Squad Leaders
 * UED Pyrotechnic Engineers

Known Firebats

 * Lieutenant Jack Frost
 * First Sergeant Gui Montag
 * Sergeant Bud Morris
 * Private First Class Fetu Koura-Abi
 * Private Ekart
 * Private Hank Harnack
 * Private Eugene Malik
 * Private Harper Utley
 * Private Wabowski
 * Billy Bob
 * Trevor Jacobs
 * Franko Tildon
 * Jimmy