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"A newly created Zerg Queen. Highly intelligent, inexperienced, and eager to please Kerrigan by following her every command to the letter. Has a motherly demeanor to her brood."

- Character description(src)

Niadra is a zerg broodmother.

Biography[]

Heart of the Swarm[]

"Listen carefully. This ship contains many dangers. Follow my commands and hide in the shadows. You will consume and grow. Infest this ship and kill every last protoss onboard."

- Kerrigan to Niadra(src)

Niadra was created by Sarah Kerrigan when she battled the protoss on Kaldir. Although she succeeded in preventing them from contacting the Golden Armada, one of the protoss ships attempted to flee from the planet and travel to Shakuras. To prevent them from surviving, Kerrigan placed a parasitic larva within the captured protoss colonist Lasarra and dropped the psionic veil that prevented her from being warped back to her people.

Niadra SC2-HotS Game4

Niadra, newly born

After being teleported to the ship, Lasarra tried to warn the Templar but died as the parasitic larva erupted from her body. Shortly afterwards, it began infesting the local animals kept onboard by the protoss and hid within the ventilation shafts where it found a safe location to mature into a queen. Kerrigan gave her the name "Niadra" and tasked her with eliminating all the protoss on board the ship. As she and her growing brood moved through the ship destroying the protoss, Niadra herself continued to evolve and grow her powers by consuming the specimens in the ship.

Niadra SC2-HotS Game3

Niadra on the ship's bridge

After destroying the ship's warp drive and escape pods, Niadra and her minions stormed the bridge and killed the last of the protoss on board. She then attempted to contact Kerrigan to inform her of this, but received no response. With few other options, Niadra decided to continue the Queen of Blades' last directives: to survive, grow her brood, and destroy the protoss, until the day came when her queen needed her again.[2]

Shadow Wars[]

"I remember you well, o' Queen of Blades. I remember the purpose you gave me. I took a protoss ship in your name. I slew everyone onboard. And I never heard your voice again. But your purpose remains, o' queen. As long as any protoss remain, I will hunt them."

- Niadra(src)

Niadra ShadowWars Comic1

Niadra and her brood on Adena

Niadra never heard Kerrigan's voice again, but the directives she gave her remained, so she vowed that as long as any protoss live, she would hunt them. Eventually, she took her brood to an abandoned terran base on the planet Adena, hoping to lure terrans there to expand her brood to fight the protoss. A renegade Terran Dominion group landed on the planet, and Niadra sprung her trap, attacking their marines and placing a larva in their commander, hoping to infest their battlecruiser. The larva was successful in getting in their dropship, but the transport was shot down by Admiral Urun of the Daelaam in orbit. Niadra instead turned her attention to a psionic terran in the squad named Elms, who she saw as a powerful tool for her brood. Niadra sent her broods to retrieve her.[3]

UrunNiadra SC-ShadowWars Comic1

Niadra confronts Urun

She gave orders to her broods, but Elms was able to pick up on the psionic communications and move her forces accordingly to counter them. Her broods were pushed back when Urun arrived on the surface with a large number of protoss forces, but they amassed for a counterattack[4]. Pushing through the protoss and terran lines, Niadra soon came face to face with Urun and his forces[5]. Urun and the protoss resisted, but were eventually killed by Niadra. The broodmother then turned her brood upon Elms and her escaping terran forces[6]. The terrans reached a dropship, but Niadra's brood surrounded the craft. Niadra mocked her foes, and assaulted Elms telepathically. Nevertheless, the terrans were able to escape in their craft, leaving Niadra to plan a new means of obtaining a telepath.[7]

Game Unit[]

A Niadra portrait is available in StarCraft II for those who purchase a Season 1 War Chest.[8]

Larval Form[]

Niadra's larval form is used briefly. She has no form of offense in this form and must hide to avoid conflict until she can grow to her broodmother form.

Unlike a typical larva, this one has controllable movement and can survive without the creep.

Abilities[]

SC2Queen Icon
Grow

Niadra enters a cocoon and grows to the next stage of her evolution.

Usage
Hotkey G
Cost 6 seconds
Notes

Requires a variable amount of biomass to use.

ve
SC2ParasiticInvasion
Parasitic Invasion

Leap inside neutral critters and take control of them.

Usage
Hotkey Q
Range 4
ve
Consume(Viper) SC2-HotS Icon
Consume Host

Consume a unit infested by Parasitic Invasion, killing it and gaining biomass.

Usage
Hotkey W
ve

Broodmother Forms[]

As a broodmother, Niadra is a ranged support attacker. She is unsuited to fight enemies alone, and must rely on other units to fight. Niadra is able to quickly breed zerg units to fight for her, and has a regeneration aura that rapidly heals nearby allies. As she continues to consume biomass and evolve, the control she provides and thus the army she can command increases, as does her HP.

Abilities[]

SC2Queen Icon
Grow

Niadra enters a cocoon and grows to the next stage of her evolution.

Usage
Hotkey G
Cost 6 seconds
Notes

Requires a variable amount of biomass to use.

ve
SC2ParasiticInvasion
Parasitic Invasion

Instantly kill critters and gain biomass. When used on a giant ursadon, takes control of it.

Usage
Hotkey Q
Range 4
ve
Consume(Viper) SC2-HotS Icon
Consume Host

Consume a unit infested by Parasitic Invasion, killing it and gaining biomass.

Usage
Hotkey W
ve

Many zerg ground units may burrow, becoming invisible and revealed primarily by detectors, and may not move or attack while burrowed.

Exceptions include:

  • Roach, which may move while burrowed
  • Lurker, which may attack while burrowed
  • Infestor, which may move while burrowed
  • Baneling, which can detonate while burrowed.

Some units can unburrow via autocast, causing them to emerge and attack when an enemy moves into range.

The ability is not smartcast.

Usage
Hotkey R
Cost 2 seconds to burrow, 1 second to unburrow seconds
Acquisition
Purchased from Hatchery/Lair/Hive
Hotkey B
Cost 100 Minerals 100 Vespene gas 71seconds
Required Lair (WoL)
Hatchery (HotS/LotV)
ve
SC2RegenerationAura
Regeneration Aura

Units in a radius around the caster gain +3 life regeneration per second. Also affects the caster.

Usage
Passive
Range 3 (Niadra)
7 (Stukov)
ve
Birth

Rapidly births zerg units from cocoons. The units which can be created depends on Niadra's level of evolution

Usage
Hotkey W (zergling), E (roach), D (hydralisk)
Cost 5 seconds
ve

Quotations[]

Niadra Evolution SC2-HotS Game1

Niadra's evolutions as she consumes biomass

See StarCraft II Niadra Quotations

Personality and Traits[]

Niadra SC2 Comic1

Niadra

Niadra is a competent strategist,[9] and is extremely loyal to Kerrigan, even without the Queen of Blades giving her direct orders[10]. To this end, she is fixated on wiping out the protoss, as it was the last directive that Kerrigan gave her[3]. She has a motherly demeanor to her brood[10]. She regards terrans as being a species driven by greed.[3]

Niadra's telepathy can be used over extended distances with non-zerg organisms. At least in the case of terrans, this can be used to generate pain via the psychic link.[7]

Notes[]

Niadra's evolution mechanic is reminiscent of scrapped developmental concepts for the queen in which it evolved through multiple stages. Her additional stages mirror the larval queen, large queen, and huge queen.

References[]

  1. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Credits. (in English). 2013.
  2. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Enemy Within (in English). 2013-03-12.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Watrous, Valerie (w), Manual, Garcia (i) and Sandra Molina (c). (July 19th, 2017). StarCraft II: Shadow Wars: Part 2. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Shadow Wars: Part 2 Accessed 2017-07-19.
  4. Watrous, Valerie (w), Manual, Garcia (i) and Sandra Molina (c). (September 13th, 2017). StarCraft II: Shadow Wars: Part 3. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Shadow Wars: Part 3 Accessed 2017-08-13.
  5. 2017-07-15. War Chests Page. Battle.net. Accessed 2017-07-15.
  6. Watrous, Valerie (w), Manual, Garcia (i) and Javir Mena (c). (January 5th, 2018). StarCraft II: Shadow Wars: Part 5. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Shadow Wars: Part 5 Accessed 2018-01-07.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Watrous, Valerie (w), Sepulveda, Miguel (i) and Javir Mena (c). (February 3rd, 2018). StarCraft II: Shadow Wars: Part 6. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Shadow Wars: Part 6 Accessed 2018-02-03.
  8. 2017-08-16, War Chest Phase 2 Unlocked. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2017-08-17
  9. 2017-12-10, BlizzCon 2017 StarCraft II: What’s Next Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2017-12-10
  10. 10.0 10.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Map Editor. (Activision Blizzard) (in English). March 12, 2013
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