Battlecruiser

The Battlecruiser is the premier Terran capital ship, deployed throughout the Koprulu Sector.

Overview
Battlecruisers were employed as far back as the Guild Wars when, prior to the development of the starfighter (specifically designed to combat capital ships), most space engagements were fought between capital ships and medium Gunships. Despite this development, Battlecruisers are still widely used. Many Terran Generals use Battlecruisers as their command centers during long space campaigns. In almost any space engagement, Battlecruisers and their fighter complements are among the most integral complements.

Battlecruiser design and armament varies, though it is a given that all Battlecruisers are equipped with laser weaponry and NeoSteel armor. Gravity Accelerators are also found on all Battlecruisers.

Classes
Many Battlecruiser classes exist. Known classes include;

Leviathan-class
The Leviathan-class Battlecruiser is an uncommon Battlecruiser class and although still operating at the dawn of the 26th century, had largely been supplanted by the Behemoth-class variant. The Leviathan-class is capable of travelling through warp space and features ports for transport craft, smaller craft linking into the ship via hydraulics. These ports are located perilously close to the bridge however, making a Leviathan vulnerable to any enemy boarding action.

Behemoth-class
The Behemoth-class Battlecruiser was the most common Battlecruiser class and represented the 'standard' Battlecruiser variant. The Behemoth variant is greatly advanced from its Leviathan-class predecessor, featuring the ability to operate with planetary atmospheres and even land on planets. It also features a total of four docking bays (as opposed to hydraulic entry points) which are equipped with force fields, allowing easy deployment of fighters without fear of decompression and greater resiliance to enemy boarding actions. Like the Leviathan, it is capable of travelling through warp space.

Behemoth-class armor consists of the standard NeoSteel, along with energy shields, while armament consists of multiple burst laser batteries and a complement of nuclear warheads. Despite the heavy arsenal, Behemoth armament is slightly constricted in that its laser batteries can only fire on targets within line of sight (eg. can't fire to the side) and its warheads are reserved for orbital bombardment rather than space combat. A saving grace for the Behemoth-class exists in the form of the Yamato Cannon.

Fighters are an integral component to Battlecruiser deployment and the Behemoth-class conforms to this, capable of deploying Wraiths and Scoutships to engage the enemy. It also akin to a carrier, capable of housing hundreds of soldiers and hardware and maintaining Dropships and Shuttles for rapid deployment.

The Behemoth-class Battlecruiser's primary weakness is its huge energy requirements and while the installation of a Colossus Reactor allows for increased energy storage, it is not a long term solution. Behemoths require access to Physics Lab particle accelerators to power up their weapon systems. Should a fleet commander lose access to these accelerators, an entire Behemoth-class fleet can be crippled.

Despite its shortcomings, the Behemoth-class has proven to be an enduring design, keeping up to date with periodic upgrades while its hammerhead design had provided the basis for future classes. Although more advanced classes of Battlecruiser have been developed, the Behemoth-class continues to remain in service.



Hercules- and Minotaur-class
The Hercules-class and Minotaur-class Battlecruisers are two recently developed Battlecruiser classes, based largely off their Behemoth-class predecessor. Additional laser batteries have been installed on these ships, allowing for a greater rate and ammount of fire. The Yamato Cannon remains in use as well as the optional installation of Plasma Torpedo systems, giving these craft an armament capable of saturating a target area with a lethal deluge of fire, ideal for breaking up oncoming attack waves or ravaging a defensive position. Like the Yamato Cannon, these craft need to build up a significant amount of energy before activating this weapon system.

StarCraft
The Behemoth-class battlecruiser has a staggering 500 hit points; no other standard game unit tops this margin. The devastating ATA/ATS laser batteries can inflict 25 base points of normal damage to air or ground targets. It is important to note that the Terran Battlecruiser is the only non-hero unit in the game able to withstand a nuclear strike (it will survive with HP equal to its armor rating). It is also notable to state that (in groups) the battlecruiser is practically the only capital ship class unit immune to the zerg scourge (the battlecruiser's base damage can kill a scourge in one shot). With the Yamato Gun, it can one-shot most defenses and units.

There are several effective counters against Battlecruisers: Terran players can utilize massed Goliaths or the Lockdown ability of their Ghost units in order to quickly neutralize a Battlecruiser fleet. Abilities such as Psionic Storm, Feedback, and Plague are also devastating against Battlecruiser fleets, especially those not escorted by Science Vessels capable of casting EMP Shockwave against enemy spell-casters. Zerg Scourge are cheap to build, but rarely effective against large Battlecruiser groups, even en-masse. Protoss Scout fighters can also swarm a Battlecruiser in groups or with support; their missiles stronger than laser batteries of the Battlecruiser. Wraith squads are also capable of wasting Battlecruiser fleets rather quickly due to their heavy damage, especially if cloaked. Devourers are useful counters with its corrosive acid but are vulnerable to the Yamato Cannon. Mass groups of Hydralisks can quickly overwhelm Battlecruiser fleets, especially if used in combination with Devourers and/or Defilers. The slow speed of the Battlecruiser also makes it difficult to disengage if a battle makes a turn for the worst, or to extract a damaged ship for repair.

Abilities

 * Yamato Gun
 * Cost: 100 0 100
 * Researched at: Physics Lab
 * Energy Cost: 150
 * Damage: 260
 * A powerful weapon that focuses a nuclear explosion into a beam using magnetic fields.

Upgrades

 * Ship Weapons
 * Ship Plating
 * Colossus Reactor
 * Cost: 150 0 150
 * Upgraded at: Physics Lab
 * Increases maximum Battlecruiser energy by 50.

Quotations

 * See: StarCraft Quotations

StarCraft: Ghost
In StarCraft: Ghost, the Battlecruiser acts as a support unit to Nova. Through targeting, the player is able to call down a Yamato Cannon strike, capable of obliterating an entire structure.

StarCraft II
The default weaponry of the battlecruiser is no longer a single powerful attack. Instead it will fire multiple laser bolts, each inflicting 8 damage.

The battlecruiser types depicted in StarCraft II are the Hercules- and Minotaur-class.

Abilities
The battlecruiser will have the choice of being upgraded with either the Yamato Cannon or the Plasma Torpedo attack, but not both. Once one has been chosen, the battlecruiser may not switch. The upgrade will visually change the unit model allowing players to easily determine which upgrade has been chosen.


 * Yamato Cannon
 * Analogous to StarCraft's "Yamato Gun".
 * Adds a large central gun to the bow. Prior to firing, the 'head' splits apart, and the 'neck' recoils when the weapon is fired.
 * Plasma Torpedo
 * An area-of-effect weapon effective against weak swarming units (like Marines and Zerglings).
 * Adds multiple small barrels to the front of the ship's hammerhead.

Leviathan-class

 * Merrimack (converted prison ship)
 * Thunder Child

Behemoth-class

 * Bismarck
 * Gray Tiger
 * Huey Long
 * Hyperion
 * Iron Fist
 * Jackson V
 * Napoleon
 * Norad II
 * Norad III
 * Ragnorak
 * Theodore G. Bilbo

Unknown classes

 * Aleksander
 * Kimeran Juggernaut

Known Battlecruiser Commanders

 * Admiral Gerard DuGalle
 * General Edmund Duke
 * General Arcturus Mengsk
 * Captain Bolshev
 * Captain Buzan
 * Captain Robert Mason
 * Captain Jim Raynor
 * Captain Elias Tudbury
 * Commander Hale
 * Commander Haley
 * El Kang the Quixotic

Trivia
The Yamato Gun is a reference to the title ship of Space Battleship Yamato and its wave motion gun.