Dragoon

"I have returned"

- Dragoon pilot^(src)

A dragoon

The dragoon is a type of protoss quadrupedal assault walker. Following the Brood War they were succeeded by the immortal.

Overview

A dragoon

Dragoon pilots were generally grievously wounded veteran templars retrieved from the battlefield. On occasion able templar would become pilots.

Selected protoss were transplanted into the exoskeleton's core. By the time of the Great War the core was a fluid container and the pilot was submerged within. Catastrophic damage frequently resulted in the tank being breached and the contents spilling out. The pilot's mind interfaced directly with the machine through mysterious essence translators with the use of the Khala. The end result was that pilots controlled their exoskeletons as a natural extension of their bodies.

A dragoon's phase disruptor

The dragoon's phase disruptor fired antimatter bolts sheathed in psychically charged fields. A similar weapon was used by the photon cannon. The quadrupedal walker moved efficiently over unstable terrain.

A sacred shrine on Aiur was dedicated to the creation and maintenance of dragoons. The pilots were honored in protoss society but their status sometimes marked them as outsiders. The loss of the shrine after the Great War made it difficult to create new dragoons. In the interim the surviving dragoons were upgraded into immortals to preserve their numbers.

A dragoon launches an ambush

The dragoon interested other parties beyond the Khalai. The Dark Templar stalker was inspired by the dragoon. As with other protoss technology, terran groups conducted research into the mechanics of the dragoon. The Kimeran Pirates stole (among other things) a data file titled "Utilizing Dragoon Technology For Human Reconstruction" from a Confederate remnant installation following the Brood War.

Game Unit

StarCraft

Dragoon
Unit
Race	Protoss
Role	Ranged Ground Unit
Armament	Phase disruptor
Properties
Size	Large
Transport slots	4
Sight	8
Production
Minerals	125
Gas	50
Psi	2
Build time	50
Produced from	Gateway
Requires	Cybernetics core
Hotkey	D
Movement
Speed	5.25
Protection
Shields	80
Hit points	100
Armor	1
Combat
Ground attack	20
Air attack	20
Cooldown	30
Attack range	4 (6 with Singularity Charge)

File:Dragoon SC1 Game2.png|thumb|left|Unit wireframe]] Dragoons serve primarily as mobile anti-air defense. It is more economical to have zealots take the brunt of fighting enemy ground units whenever possible. Compared to zealots, the dragoon fires slower and has an attack optimized against only large-sized units. The relationship is similar to that between marines and goliaths. Due to their large size and somewhat slower movement to the zealot, dragoons are fairly vulnerable to groups of smaller units such as massed zerglings and hydralisks. Despite this, many players utilize dragoons as far as a late game due to their important usage as anti-air defense and support fire.

Each dragoon occupies four out of the eight slots on a shuttle.

Upgrades

Singularity Charge

• Increases dragoon attack range by 2 (from 4 to 6)

Acquisition
Purchased from Cybernetics core Hotkey S Cost 150 150 166

Plasma Shields

• +1 armor bonus to shields per level for all units and structures.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey S Level 1 Cost 200 200 267 Level 2 Cost 300 300 300 Required Cybernetics core Level 3 Cost 400 400 333 Required Cybernetics core

v • e

Ground Armor

• +1 bonus to armor per level for probes, zealots, dragoons, reavers, high templar, dark templar, archons, and dark archons.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey A Level 1 Cost 100 100 267 Level 2 Cost 175 175 300 Required Templar archives Level 3 Cost 250 250 333 Required Templar archives

v • e

Ground Weapons

• +2 cumulative bonus per attack per level for zealots and dragoons.
• +3 cumulative bonus per attack per level for dark templar and archons.

Acquisition
Purchased from Forge Hotkey W Level 1 Cost 100 100 267 Level 2 Cost 150 150 300 Required Templar archives Level 3 Cost 200 200 333 Required Templar archives

Quotations

See: StarCraft Dragoon Quotations

Development

Dragoon concept art

Dragoons possessed an appearance in the StarCraft alpha identical to their end appearance. However, they were armed with fusion cannons instead of phase disruptors. During this period, they were called "Templar."

StarCraft: Ghost

Nova hides from a Dragoon

Dragoons appear in StarCraft: Ghost but no changes from their original portrayal have been seen, apart from a slightly more stocky appearance.

StarCraft II

The dragoon in StarCraft II

Dragoons are no longer in the game. Their role in the protoss tech tree has been filled by stalkers, while lore-wise the immortals are upgraded dragoons. Dragoons were intended to be in the map editor but were not included at game release.

Known Dragoons

A dragoon pilot

• Demioch
• Eredas
• Fenix
• Sinar
• Taldarin

Specialists

• Dragoon Heroes
• Dragoons of Malice
• Elite Dragoons

Trivia

During the age of early modern warfare, Dragoons were soldiers who were deployed on horseback but fought on foot.

References

Protoss Units and Structures of StarCraft/Brood War v • e

Ground units Probe Zealot Dragoon Reaver High templar Archon Dark templar (BW) Dark archon (BW) Air units Shuttle Scout Arbiter Carrier Interceptor Observer Corsair (BW) Basic buildings Nexus Assimilator Pylon Gateway Forge Shield battery Cybernetics core Photon cannon Advanced buildings Robotics facility Stargate Citadel of Adun Robotics support bay Fleet beacon Templar archives Observatory Arbiter tribunal Canceled buildings Maintenance bay

Protoss Units and Structures of StarCraft: Ghost v • e
Ground Probe Zealot Dragoon High templar Dark templar Purifier/Vindicator Air Scout Shuttle Observer Carrier Buildings Photon cannon