Valkyrie


 * This article concerns the missile frigate. For the specific dropship, see Valkyrie Vixen.

The Valkyrie missile frigate is a human-designed anti-fighter spacecraft.

Overview
The Valkyrie first appeared in the Koprulu Sector as part of the United Earth Directorate pacification force at the beginning of the Brood War. Equipped for both atmospheric and space flight, a Valkyrie can take substantial punishment from enemy fire before suffering any core systems failures.

Valkyries are equipped for ship-to-ship combat. To this end, they employ H.A.L.O. cluster rockets, firing the missiles in volleys of multiple projectiles, impacting with a large area of effect. The dispersal radius of its targeting system is designed to achieve maximum damage to not only its intended target, but also adjacent targets within the blast area.

In addition to its combat role, Valkyries also function as aerial transport. Up to thirty individuals can be seated in its rear section, in addition to the craft's pilot and co-pilot. Due to its VTOL abilities, deployment and extraction are carried out quickly and efficiently.

In the aftermath of the Brood War, Valkyries entered into the service of various Terran factions. However, the precedent for this was in question; the Brood War had revealed critical weaknesses in terran anti-air capability. Valkyrie and Wraith formations proved to be an unwieldy combination against agile zerg airborne organisms. With the shortcomings of ground to air support from the Goliath also made clear, research led to the development of the Viking; a more flexible craft which could take over the Valkyrie's air-to-air role.

Despite the advances in technology, Valkyries continue to be used by the Terran Dominion.

StarCraft
The Valkyrie fires rockets in salvos of eight. Each rocket has a base damage of 6 (explosive) and causes splash damage to enemy units within a 3x3 matrix around its detonation. The rate of fire overcomes the weakness of the damage type against small- and medium-sized targets. However, since target armor affects each rocket individually, high armor unit are particularly resistant to the Valkyrie. Valkyries are best used against tightly packed groups of low armor targets, similar to the Corsair.

A bug prevents the Valkyrie from attacking if there are too many units on the battlefield, limiting the Valkyrie's utility.

Quotations

 * See: Valkyrie Quotations

Development
A vehicle resembling the Valkyrie appeared in alpha and beta versions of StarCraft as a ground-attack bomber but never made it into the final version of StarCraft.

The Valkyrie's current model may have been influenced by text in the StarCraft manual. Before the development of the Wraith, space battles generally took place between medium-sized gunships and battlecruisers. The Wraith supplanted the gunships because they were agile enough to avoid laser battery fire.

The Valkyrie was later included in the expansion: StarCraft: Brood War. During development of the expansion they had an ability called "Afterburners", which gave them a very high speed for a limited time and cost energy. However, it was found that it was far too easy for Valkyries to fly into a zerg base and destroy all of its Overlords. To prevent the use of such a "cheesy" strategy, "Afterburners" was removed from the final release.

Known Valkyries

 * Anglia

Known Valkyrie Pilots

 * Captain Ansel
 * Lieutenant Commander Fleet

Trivia
Valkyries are minor female deities in Norse mythology tasked with selecting the victors of battle and choosing the brave amongst the slain for admission into Valhalla. Similar personalities play a major role in Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre, the second work in Der Ring des Nibelungen.