Swarm host

The swarm host is a zerg strain in StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm.

Game Unit
The swarm host can burrow without the upgrade. Classified as a siege unit, it endlessly spawns waves of locusts while burrowed: each wave consists of two locusts, and these are produced every 25 seconds. The locusts last 15 seconds (25 with an upgrade). This allows the zerg to better besiege entrenched enemy positions. These locusts hatch from eggs. They are produced via the hotkey "C". Swarm hosts cannot attack directly.

Development

 * Main article: Infestor/Development

The swarm host was expected to be available in the campaign and map editor of StarCraft II. As the swarm host is now, it could have been an aerial unit, but it eventually became a ground one. The idea behind its current design was to give zerg players their own siege unit, but make sure it functioned in a different manner to the siege tank or colossus.

The swarm host's current form was to give the zerg a new aesthetic, something to distinguish the unit from the usual claws and teeth that other zerg units possess.

"Egg monster" and "digester" are terms used for the swarm host in the beta files of Heart of the Swarm.

Variant Strains

 * Carrion
 * Creeper