Rory Swann (Co-op Missions)

"Swann is a mechanical master of all things Terran. With Swann, you’ll have access to unique and advanced weaponry, which you can use to wreak unspeakable mayhem across the battlefield. Beginning each game with a massive laser drill, Swann will be unable to construct a Barracks. Instead, Swann relies entirely upon his mechanical prowess, and once he’s constructed his army there is little that can stop him."

- Commander blurb

Rory Swann appears as a selectable commander in the Co-op Missions mode of Legacy of the Void. His army composition is based around mechanical units (vehicles, starships, and turrets), improving their performance in battle and allowing him to build large numbers of them more quickly. He also has access to a Drakken laser drill which the player can control, and attack anything within the player's line of sight. He can also construct a variety of defensive turrets. All of his mechanical units are constructed 20% faster than normal, and his factories do not cost any vespene gas to construct.

As a downside, Swann is unable to build a barracks, and must rely on factory and starport units.

Info

 * Recommended for experienced players
 * Control a giant Drakken laser drill with destructive energy abilities
 * Build an army of vehicles, spaceships, and turrets

Mastery

 * Power Set 1
 * Concentrated Beam Width and Damage: +2% – 60% (up to a maximum of 640 damage)
 * Combat Drop Duration and Health: +2% – 60% (up to a maximum of 96s, and 640 health)


 * Power Set 2
 * Immortality Protocol Cost and Cooldown Duration: -2% – 60%
 * Structure Health: +2% – 60%


 * Power Set 3
 * Vespene Drone Cost: -3% – 90% (down to a minimum of 10 0)
 * Laser Drill-Production Time: -2s – 60s

Units
Swann has access to the following units and structures:

Talents
Swann acquires the following talents as he levels up.

Strategies
Swann has access to a variety of Brood War and Starcraft II units; while he has many useful options, it is very upgrade heavy. Centered around building as many mechanical units as possible, Swann mixes up the old and the new with a variety of vespene gas-guzzling war-machines. Swann can construct factories without the need of a barracks or any vespene gas. To top it off, Swann also has access to the Drakken Laser Drill from the Wings of Liberty campaign after 300 seconds of build time.

Power Set 1: Concentrated Beam Width and Damage
 * Recommended masteries:
 * Full points allows Laser Drill to one-shot Battlecruisers!

Power Set 2: Immortality Protocol Cost and Cooldown Duration
 * Full points equates to more aggressive usage of Siege Tanks and Thors; if you are only using goliaths, then Structure Health is probably a better choice.

Power Set 3: Vespene Drone Cost
 * Full points equates to cost-savings of 720 minerals early game and 50% increased gas production than normal for upgrades; all extremely useful for economic openers.

Economy First
Swann economy takes longer then most commanders to get started. A trick to expand faster is to build a devastator turret next to the expansion rocks after construction of the first factory. The turret will quickly destroy the rocks, and can be salvaged for a full refund after a base has been established. Once Improved SCVs is unlocked, ten SCVs can make the time needed to construct an expansion command center, while also saturating it immediately afterwards. Vespene hunters should be placed on all vespene geysers, including those of the player's ally. These drones grant vespene to both players, and can kickstart Swann's economy and allow for production of heavier vespene units while giving more resources to more vespene reliant heroes like Vorazun. Use Combat Drop liberally against large waves, and try to target its drop as upon impact it stuns all enemy units around it.

Power of the Sun
The Drakken Laser Drill is one of the most useful tools in Swann's army, and its abilities allow it to cripple most attack waves in one go. However, upgrades do take a long time on it, so it is worthwhile to get them started as early as possible. As such is it useful to have an armory made before the drill comes online. The drill will auto target any unit that comes out of the fog of war, but try to focus the drill on higher priority targets such as spellcasters or hybrids.

Gas Guzzlers
Goliaths and Hellbats should be the core units of Swann's army. Goliath's superior anti-air range and flexible multi-lock upgrades are essential; it allows them to be a good source of damage for the army while staying back from the frontlines. Hellbats armor upgrade can put a buffer between the Swann's main army and the enemy forces. They excel against zerg armies, and are a good way to dump minerals if Swann begins to stockpile them while running low on gas. If possible, try to put out a pair of hellbats for early defense.

Drop The Hammer
Siege tanks and thors are also powerful units, but become even more so when Immortality Protocol is unlocked and they can be reinforced on the frontlines instantly. Note that using Immortality Protocol, while cheaper and quicker than making a new unit, costs gas, so this does not mean that these units should be wasted carelessly. Siege tanks with their Maelstrom Shells become flexible against all kinds of targets, and on maps like Temple of the Past are key to holding off some of the larger attack waves. Know when to siege and when to stay mobile; never siege outside the effective-range and contribute minimal damage to a large battle. Thors are flexible, can absorb damage from enemy armies.

Get In My Hold
Swann's Hercules dropships are much cheaper than in Wings of Liberty, take up less supply, and can make tactical jumps. A few dropships can immediately ferry an entire army of thors, deployed siege tanks and goliaths past chokepoints and dump them instantly wherever they are needed.

Science Hurts
Lastly, science vessels are one of the most essential units in Swann's arsenal. In addition to being Swann's detector unit, these ships can heal mechanical units for the cost of energy, but with Improved Nano-Repair they can repair indefinitely. This means that a group of four or five science vessels can keep an entire army going, putting them back up to maximum health between combat encounters fairly quickly. This also frees up the energy for the science vessel's other abilities, defensive matrix and irradiate, which can and should be used liberally.

Protoss Commanders
Karax synergizes perfectly when paired with Swann, due to both commanders' focus on mechanical units. Karax's powerful anti-ground forces with the immortal and colossus are well complemented by Swann's powerful anti-air goliath and thor. Swann's science vessels and Karax's carriers can repair mechanical units, and both can combine their static defenses together for more versatility. Karax is incredibly gas starved, and Swann goes a long way to alleviate this. This is the only way to obtain a true army of powerful units for Karax. Karax's passive heal of mechanical units comes in extremely handy in the early game; Swann's units are as strong as they are slow, making it more difficult for Swann to retreat in battle. Karax's reconstruction beam ability is particularly useful in this case. If all else fails and both players suffer great losses in battle, Karax can help both players recreate their armies faster than anyone else.

Vorazun greatly benefits from Swann's vespene harvester. In addition, well placed dark pylons can shield Swann's heavier back-line units such as siege tanks, and in the higher levels can give them a substantial damage increase. Vorazun can also use Black Hole to set enemy armies up for Swann's powerful calldown abilities, as well as his siege tanks and the science vessel's irradiate.

Artanis grants Swann Guardian Shell, which has immense synergy for Swann's army in the mid to late game. In addition to keeping Swann's high cost units alive during heavy combat, Swann's science vessels mean that these units can be quickly recovered from the point of death. With siege tanks and thors, this gives them another backup in addition to Immortality Protocol. In addition, Artanis's army will usually consist of immortals, dragoons and sometimes tempests, which also benefit from Swann's ability to repair them.

Terran Commanders
Raynor's army is perfectly functional without any aid from Swann's units, and vice-versa. However, one strategy that works to maximize efficiency is for Raynor to focus on an air army of banshees and vikings, as Swann's air game is weak, but he has a stronger ground game with hellbats, siege tanks, and thors. With such a strategy Swann can also use his science vessels to support Raynor's aerial forces. Swann also can provide Raynor with unattached tech reactors, accelerating his production of advanced units such as marauders and battlecruisers.

Zerg Commanders
Vespene harvesters are a boon to ultralisk and mutalisk production for Kerrigan and baneling production for Zagara. It is efficient for Swann to focus on a powerful ground army while Kerrigan/Zagara gets an air force to support them. Kerrigan's Nydus Worms can also help out with Swann's poor mobility.

Abathur is another good choice for Swann. Vespene harvesters allow Abathur to gain much needed gas for later game units and high tier research. Many of Swann's units have high range, which allows Abathur's shorter ranged, high health ground army to create a buffer between the enemy and high priority targets. Abathur's Swarm Queens can also be upgraded to heal mechanical units in the Evolution Chamber on high levels, and Swann's Science Vessels can cast Defensive Matrix on Abathur's already durable front line units, allowing both armies to be virtually indestructible.