Colossus

	This article is about the StarCraft II unit. You may be looking for:
	The Colossus short story Colossus reactor, the battlecruiser reactor

"There’s a terror I don’t need to tell you about however. It needs no introduction. It’s been slapped on every billboard and leaflet you've ever seen pertaining to the Protoss, and it is truly one of the most fearsome sights you could ever behold. The Colossus, standing at over 17 stories tall, is a skyscraper of destruction. We've gone and compiled a full report on all the data we've managed to gather on this fearsome tower of death, but honestly, all I feel after reading it is more afraid. Still, it is essential to understand our enemy, overcome any hesitation, and press forward."

- Radio Liberty^(src)

Colossus
Historical
Earliest sighting	Kalath Intercession
Latest sighting	2506
Decomissioned	Kalath Intercession (since reactivated)
Physical
Race	Protoss
Type	Armored walker
Propulsion	4 legs
Height	17 stories (approx. 170 feet/51.8 meters)
Armaments	Thermal lances
Political
Affiliation	Daelaam Purifiers
Personnel
Crew	Automated

The colossus is a massive protoss robotic walker. It is designed to destroy large numbers of weaker ground targets.

The plural of colossus is colossi.

Overview

A colossus

The colossus is an antiquated protoss construct dating back to the Kalath Intercession. It is feared for being a war machine, and some protoss believe they cannot be controlled and could turn against them.

Design

"Wanna know where to shoot? Anywhere. Crack the shields and shoot anything. They're top-heavy. Once they're damaged, they tip over quick."

- A Dominion marine^(src)

A pair of colossi

From a terran standpoint, the colossus is the ultimate terror weapon. Designed for pacification purposes, the colossus is a towering construct, striding across the battlefield on four all-terrain tall, slender legs which give it an extremely high level of mobility. The great height of the machine allows it to step up and down cliffs and other steep elevations with little difficulty, and gives it a dominating field of fire. The colossus's slender legs were designed to carry its massive weight with ease, while allowing for the traversal of rough terrain and steep elevations. Its towering four leg configuration has multiple gyro-stabilizers to keep the colossus stable while moving and firing, and also denies the enemy the advantage of higher ground. Most of the colossus's mass is located at the top of the construct; if sufficiently damaged, they can topple over quickly.

The Ihan-rii created colossi made of stone components held together by void energies emanated from repurposed xel'naga dynamos.

Armament

"The colossus is a war machine with no function except to destroy. I believe it can destroy the zerg utterly. And what then? What of the ongoing tension between the dark templar and the Aiur protoss? Will we survive as the Daelaam, one united people? Or will a thousand years of fear and hatred continue to separate us? How dangerous will this weapon be with those emotions running rampant?"

- Aldrion^(src)

Colossi in action

The heavily armored hull of the colossus carries two powerful thermal lances: one mounted on each side of its body. Complex focusing and targeting systems are used to pinpoint the continuous damage output of the thermal lances for optimal efficiency. The targeting system uses an AI, along with gravity-sensitive gyroscopes, to analyze target composition, and predict their movement patterns. This ensures the thermal lances' beams will sear a path of maximum destruction among enemy forces, cutting a fiery swathe of destruction through multiple enemies with each firing cycle. The targeting system is so precise that the colossus can fire its weapons point blank without risk of damaging itself.

The lances themselves fire beams of superheated plasma that quickly incinerate scores of enemy ground targets, able to reduce a group of marines to ashes in an instant. In essence, the colossus is the ultimate infantry killer. However, while powerful, colossi weapons present a design issue, as their range is somewhat limited. Khalai phase-smiths built an extended thermal lance with enhanced airflow that could operate at higher temperatures, increasing beam velocity and effective range without loss in power output.

Colossus and Viking in combat

The Dominion advises marines to find bunkers and call in air support when confronted by colossi. Alternately, it has suggested that soldiers could try rushing the colossus to get underneath its legs in order to evade its firing angles, but has conceded that even in such cases, soldiers may be crushed underneath the walker's legs.

Tal'darim Colossi

Tal'darim have unearthed a number of colossi, and sometimes even dare each other to disable an active colossus and commandeer it, which can result in greater firepower or a dead rival. Changes to their weapon systems resulted in the wrathwalker.

History

"Ah, I have heard tale of the mighty colossi-scaling cliffs, besieging enemies from afar."

- Fenix^(src)

The colossus is unique in that it was created purely as a war machine, in contrast to most protoss automatons which were mainly created for industrial and/or resource gathering purposes. This trait made it a candidate for the arsenal of the Purifier program, and colossi developed for the Purifiers were considered the ultimate purification machines. Its full destructive power was demonstrated by the mass slaughter carried out against the kalathi, appalling the protoss. As such, the Conclave outlawed the manufacture of colossi, and existing machines were deactivated before being sealed away. Some were sent to distant asteroids and uninhabited moons. Others were stored on Aiur, some underwater, awaiting a reactivation signal. They weren't reactivated in time for the war on Aiur because it would take too long.

The war against the zerg, however, prompted the return of the colossi to the protoss arsenal. In 2503, the protoss began collecting them using coordinates collected from a preserver, despite misgivings.

A Wrathwalker (Tal'darim colossus)

Over time, many colossi were found and unearthed by Tal'darim who sought superior firepower. Lower ranking ascendants often dare one another to disable and commandeer an active colossus. If one succeeds, the Tal'darim gain a powerful war machine. If not, a rival ascendant has been eliminated.

During the Second Great War, the Tal'darim deployed colossi on worlds such as Xil and Atrias. Several of their colossi were refitted with charged pulse blasters to eliminate priority targets, and renamed as wrathwalkers.

In 2504, Dark Prelate Zeratul traveled to Aiur and reactivated some colossi as part of a mission to study the body of the deceased Overmind. Later that year the Tal'darim used them as well in their defense of a xel'naga temple on Xil.

By 2505, the Terran Dominion was aware of the colossi's use by the Daelaam. Field reports referred to the colossus as "a walking skyscraper of destruction" and "the tower of death." The colossus has since become synonymous with the protoss by the citizens of the Terran Dominion.

In 2506 colossi were deployed in the Reclamation of Aiur to clear out the warp conduits of zerg forces. Later in the End War they were used to aid in deactivating the shield around Cybros. Colossi developed by the Purifier program were later added to the Daelaam arsenal, employing more destructive incendiary weaponry than their Khalai counterparts. Purifiers continued to modify their colossi, streamlining its design while increasing its armaments.

In the aftermath of the End War, selected colossi that served in the conflict were redesigned in a more traditionalist style to better resemble ancient protoss war machines as a sign of veneration.

Game Unit

Colossus
Unit
Race	Protoss
Affiliation	Purifiers Amon's Forces (Co-op Missions)
Role	Robotic Siege Strider
Armament	Thermal Lances
Properties
Transportcapacity	8
Sight	10
Production
Minerals	300 390 (Co-op Missions Karax) 240 (Co-op Missions Fenix)
Gas	200 260 (Co-op Missions Karax) 160 (Co-op Missions Fenix)
Psi	6
Build time	54 75 (Co-op Missions)
Produced from	Robotics facility
Requires	Robotics bay
Hotkey	C
Movement
Speed	3.15 (Versus) 2.25 (Co-op)
Acceleration	1000
Lateral acceleration	46.0625
Deceleration	0
Collision radius	1
Protection
Shields	150 Mastery: +1.5 per Combat Unit Life and Shield mastery point. Up to a maximum 195 (Co-op Karax)
Shieldregen/second	2
Hit points	200 300 (Co-op Karax) Mastery: +3 per Combat Unit Life and Shield mastery point. Up to a maximum 390 (Co-op Karax)
Armor	1
Type	Ground Mechanical Massive
Armor type	Armored
Thermal Lances
Damage	10 (+5 vs light) (range 1.25 on left and right of target) 15 (20 with Fire Beam) (range 1.25 on left and right of target) (Co-op Karax) 15 (range 1.25 on left and right of target) (Co-op Fenix)
Attacks	2
Targets	Ground
Cooldown	1.07 (Versus) 1.65 (2.2 with Fire Beam) (Co-op Karax) 1.65 (Co-op Fenix)
Range	7 (9 with Extended Thermal Lance) (Versus) 6 (9 with Extended Thermal Lance) (Co-op)
Upgrade/level	+1 (+1 vs light) +2 (Co-op)
Meta
Targetpriority	20
Kill score	1600
Productionscore	800
Miscellaneous
Notes	Can step up and down elevations

Protoss colossus

Colossi are siege units relatively weak for their cost; necessitating the protection of front line ground and air support. They are designed for an anti-light armor role, strong against marines, zealots, hydralisks and zerglings; weak against thors, immortals, ultralisks; and extremely vulnerable to anti-air viking, phoenix, and corruptor.

Height and Climbing

The colossus appears to step over ledges due to StarCraft II's inverse kinematics (IK) system. It can climb ledges only one level at a time and is blocked by taller cliffs. It can also step over smaller friendly units, but not other colossi or obstacles. Like other massive units, the colossus can collapse a Force Field simply by being ordered to move through it.

A colossus is tall enough to see the tops of cliffs, enabling it to climb them and fire upon the high ground without a spotter.

The colossus' height enables anti-air attacks, such as those of the missile turret, to strike it (even though it is a ground unit). Blizzard has confirmed that this is because the colossus is so tall that it counts as both a ground and air unit for the purpose of what attacks are able to hit it. If an attacking enemy unit (such as the thor) which can attack both ground and air units attacks a colossus, it will use whichever attack is stronger against the colossus.

Attacks

The colossus attacks only ground units.

The attack animation is a sweeping beam, with the animation taking about a second to complete. All targets continue to take damage simultaneously. The attack always strikes a linear area perpendicular to the direction the colossus is facing. This allows for a fine degree of control.

The attack does linear splash damage which is very effective against groups of units such as marines and zealots. It is safer to use colossi against terrans rather than psionic storms, since ghosts counter high templar. Against zerg, colossi are very effective against hydralisks which have become more dangerous with roach support.

The beams do not have a "blind spot" and can strike enemies right next to the colossus.

Versus

Upgrades and Abilities

Cliff Walk

The Colossus can walk up and down cliffs.

Usage
Passive

v • e

Extended Thermal Lance

Increases the range of the colossus' attack from 7 to 9.

Acquisition
Purchased from Robotics bay Hotkey E Cost 150 150 100

v • e

Ground Weapons

• +1 damage for zealots，sentrys and high templars
• +1 base damage and +1 bonus damage for stalkers，colossus and adepts
• +2 base damage and +3 bonus damage for immortals
• +3 base damage and +1 bonus damage for archons
• +5 damage for dark templars

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey G Level 1 Cost 100 100 121.6 Level 2 Cost 150 150 144.6 Required Twilight council Level 3 Cost 200 200 167.9 Required Twilight council

v • e

Ground Armor

Increases the armor of protoss ground units.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey A Level 1 Cost 100 100 121.6 Level 2 Cost 150 150 144.6 Required Twilight council Level 3 Cost 200 200 167.9 Required Twilight council

v • e

Plasma Shields

• +1 armor to shields per level.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey S Level 1 Cost 150 150 121.6 Level 2 Cost 200 200 144.6 Required Twilight council Level 3 Cost 250 250 167.9 Required Twilight council

v • e

Wings of Liberty

Colossi are usable in the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty protoss mini-campaign, available after the "Echoes of the Future" mission, Zeratul finding some on Aiur.

Legacy of the Void

In the single-player campaign of Legacy of the Void, the colossus is avaiable after the mission "Unsealing the Past," and is one of three robotic siege units the player may use, the others being the reaver and wrathwalker. The colossus has the passive ability Fire Beam, which sets the ground hit by its attacks on fire, dealing 100 damage over 5 seconds to enemies nearby. This makes the colossus more potent than ever against masses of enemies. They deal heavy damage over time with this ability, in contrast to the reaver and wrathwalker having higher base damage but lower attack speed.

Co-op Missions

Karax and Fenix can build colossi in Co-op Missions. Additional upgrades for them are unlocked when Karax reaches Level 9.

Karax Upgrades and Abilities

Cliff Walk

The Colossus can walk up and down cliffs.

Usage
Passive

v • e

Extended Thermal Lance

Increases the attack range of the colossus by 3.

Usage
Passive

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.

Acquisition
Purchased from Robotics bay Hotkey E Cost 100 100 90

v • e

Fire Beam

The colossus attacks set fire to the ground, dealing 150 damage to enemy units that touch the flames over 5 seconds.

Passive: Increases the attack damage from 15 to 20.

Usage
Passive

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Karax Level 9

Acquisition
Purchased from Robotics bay Hotkey A Cost 100 100 120

v • e

Protoss Ground Weapons

Increases the attack damage of protoss ground units.

Usage
Passive

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey G Level 1 Cost 100 100 160 Effect Damage: 17 (basic) 22 (with Fire Beam) Level 2 Cost 150 150 190 Required Twilight council Effect Damage: 19 (basic) 24 (with Fire Beam) Level 3 Cost 200 200 220 Required Twilight council Effect Damage: 21 (basic) 26 (with Fire Beam)

v • e

Protoss Ground Armor

Increases the armor of protoss ground units.

Usage
Passive

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey A Level 1 Cost 100 100 160 Effect Armor: 2 Level 2 Cost 150 150 190 Required Twilight council Effect Armor: 3 Level 3 Cost 200 200 220 Required Twilight council Effect Armor: 4

v • e

Protoss Plasma Shields

Increases the shield armor of all protoss units and structures.

Usage
Passive

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey A Level 1 Cost 100 100 160 Effect Shield armor: 1 Level 2 Cost 175 175 190 Required Twilight council Effect Shield armor: 2 Level 3 Cost 250 250 220 Required Twilight council Effect Shield armor: 3

v • e

Fenix Upgrades and Abilities

Cliff Walk

The Colossus can walk up and down cliffs.

Usage
Passive

v • e

Extended Thermal Lance

Increases the attack range of the colossus by 3.

Usage
Passive

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.

Acquisition
Purchased from Robotics bay Hotkey E Cost 100 100 90

v • e

Download Warbringer's A.I. Personality

Ready Warbringer's A.I. Personality for download into any available Colossus shell.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Fenix Level 8

Acquisition
Purchased from Purifier conclave Hotkey C Cost 100 50 60 Required Robotics bay

v • e

Protoss Ground Weapons

Increases the attack damage of protoss ground units.

Usage
Passive

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey G Level 1 Cost 100 100 160 Effect Damage: 17 Level 2 Cost 150 150 190 Required Twilight council Effect Damage: 19 Level 3 Cost 200 200 220 Required Twilight council Effect Damage: 21

v • e

Protoss Ground Armor

Increases the armor of protoss ground units.

Usage
Passive

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey A Level 1 Cost 100 100 160 Effect Armor: 2 Level 2 Cost 150 150 190 Required Twilight council Effect Armor: 3 Level 3 Cost 200 200 220 Required Twilight council Effect Armor: 4

v • e

Protoss Plasma Shields

Increases the shield armor of all protoss units and structures.

Usage
Passive

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey A Level 1 Cost 100 100 160 Effect Shield armor: 1 Level 2 Cost 175 175 190 Required Twilight council Effect Shield armor: 2 Level 3 Cost 250 250 220 Required Twilight council Effect Shield armor: 3

v • e

Known Colossi

• Warbringer

Variants

• Wrathwalker (Tal'darim)

Notes

• When colossi attack from a cliff, they can still be targeted by ranged units below them, unlike other ranged attackers such as the stalker.

• Air units have been noted to fly through colossi, their height being ignored by game mechanics in this sense. Blizzard does not intend to change this, as shrinking the air unit would look bad and shrinking the colossus would make its ability to walk up cliffs less believable.

• A purifier skin for the colossus is available for those who purchase the digital deluxe or collector's edition of Legacy of the Void.

• A Tal'darim skin for the colossus can be unlocked by winning two games in StarCraft II in any of the following modes: Training, Versus A.I., Unranked, Ranked, or Tournaments.

• The Story so Far prelude of Legacy of the Void erroneously shows colossi being active during the Great War.

• A skater dress prominently featuring a colossus is available for purchase on the Battle.net store.

Images

Skins

Early Tal'darim colossus (Heart of the Swarm single-player campaign)

Tal'darim colossus

Forged colossus skin

Purifier colossus skin (multiplayer and Legacy of the Void single-player campaign) and Collectors Edition colossus

Purifier colossus (Co-op Missions)

Purifier colossus (Versus)

Golden Age colossus

Ihan-rii colossus

Portraits

Tal'darim colossus skin portrait

Purifier colossus portrait (Co-op Missions)

Purifier colossus portrait (Campaign and War chest)

Golden Age colossus portrait

Ihan-rii colossus portrait

References

Protoss Units and Structures of StarCraft II v • e

Versus units and structures Infantry Probe Zealot Adept (LotV) High templar Dark templar Archon Land mechanized Stalker Immortal Sentry Colossus Disruptor (LotV) Air units Warp prism Observer Phoenix Void ray Oracle (HotS) Carrier Interceptor Tempest (HotS) Mothership Basic buildings Nexus Assimilator Gateway (Warp gate) Forge Cybernetics core Automated defenses Photon cannon Pylon Shield battery (LotV) Stasis ward (LotV) Advanced buildings Twilight council Dark shrine Templar archives Robotics facility Robotics bay Stargate Fleet beacon Campaign and Co-op Missions units and structures Units Conservator Legionnaire Interdictor Instigator Scout Shadow guard Slayer Star relic Stone guardian Supplicant Void templar War prism Xel'naga ambusher Xel'naga abrogator Xel'naga enforcer Xel'naga precursor Xel'naga shieldguard Xel'naga void array Xel'naga watcher Buildings Alarak's beacon Ancient assimilator Ancient nexus Artifact reserve Ascendant archives Constructs bay Constructs facility Core forge Core matrix Death council Monolith Null circuit Obelisk Psi-link spire Purifier conclave Shield projector Solar forge Void shrine Warp drive Xel'naga passageway Zenith stone Zeratul's beacon Automated defenses Dark pylon Khaydarin monolith Tesseract cannon Tesseract monolith Variant units Melee Warrior Zealot (Aiur) Centurion (Nerazim) Sentinel (Purifier) Ranged Warrior Adept (Purifier) Dragoon (Aiur) Stalker (Nerazim) Cloaked Warrior Avenger (Aiur) Blood Hunter (Tal'darim) Dark templar (Nerazim) Psionic Warrior Ascendant (Tal'darim) Dark archon (Nerazim) High templar (Aiur) Robotic Assault Annihilator (Nerazim) Immortal (Aiur) Vanguard (Tal'darim) Robotic Support Energizer (Purifier) Havoc (Tal'darim) Sentry (Aiur) Robotic Siege Colossus (Purifier) Reaver (Aiur) Wrathwalker (Tal'darim) Starfighter Corsair (Nerazim) Mirage (Purifier) Phoenix (Aiur) Capital Ship Carrier (Aiur) Tal'darim Mothership Tempest (Purifier) Assault Ship Arbiter (Aiur) Destroyer (Tal'darim) Void ray (Nerazim) Canceled Protoss Units and Structures of StarCraft II v • e Scrapped Removed units Arachnipod Defender Escort Mega archon Protoss artillery Purifier scout Replicant Signifier Skylord Skytalon Soul hunter/purifier Soul reaver Shadow archon Shaman Shuriken Stasis orb Tornado Twilight archon Void star Removed buildings Eye of Adun Observatory Phase cannon War beacon War shrine Warp beacon

Purifiers v • e

Characters Aldrion Ashredar Aurana Cipion Clolarion Damius Garudion Kaldalis Mojo Olaeria Probius Purifier warden Talandar Taldarin Talis Warbringer Concepts Purifier Rebellion Locations Cybros Structures Purifier conclave Purifier data core Suppression tower Units Adept Aurana's transport Carrier Colossus Conservator (sentry) Cybros arbiter Disruptor Energizer (sentry) Instigator (stalker) Interdictor (interceptor) Immortal Mirage (phoenix) Legionnaire (zealot) Observer Praetor armor Sentinel (zealot) Solarite dragoon Tempest