Rory Swann (Co-op Missions)

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	Character lore

"Swann is a mechanical master of all things Terran. With Swann, you’ll have access to unique and advanced weaponry, which you can use to wreak unspeakable mayhem across the battlefield. Beginning each game with a massive laser drill, Swann will be unable to construct a Barracks. Instead, Swann relies entirely upon his mechanical prowess, and once he’s constructed his army there is little that can stop him."

- Commander blurb^(src)

Rory SwannChief Engineer
Unit
Race	Terran
Affiliation	Terran Dominion Raynor's Raiders
Role	Armoured Warfare Emplacement Battery Strategic Defence
Miscellaneous
Notes	Strengths Late game dominance Strong static defense Enhanced vespene income Hercules give High mobility Siege Tanks durable and do heavy damage Weaknesses Slow ramp-up time Hard to rebuild army Low laser base damage

Rory Swann is a playable commander in the Co-op Missions mode of Legacy of the Void. His army composition is based around mechanical units (vehicles, starships, and turrets), improving their performance in battle and allowing him to build large numbers of them more quickly. He also has access to a Drakken laser drill which the player can control, and attack anything within the player's line of sight. He can also construct a variety of defensive turrets. All of his mechanical units are constructed 20% faster than normal, and his factories do not cost any vespene gas to construct.

As a downside, Swann is unable to build a barracks, and must rely on factory and starport units.

Overview

Info

• Recommended for experienced players
• Control a giant Drakken laser drill with destructive energy abilities
• Build an army of vehicles, spaceships, and turrets

Mastery

Power Set 1

Concentrated Beam Width and Damage: +2% – +60% (up to a maximum of 640 damage)

Combat Drop Duration and Health: +2% – +60% (up to a maximum of 96 sec, and 640 health)

Power Set 2

Immortality Protocol Cost and Cooldown Duration: -2% – -60%

Structure Health: +2% – +60%

Power Set 3

Vespene Drone Cost: -3% – -90% (down to a minimum of 10 )

Laser Drill Build Time, Upgrade Time, and Upgrade Cost : -1.5% – -45%

Calldown Abilities

Drakken Laser Drill

Attack with the drakken laser drill dealing 20 damage per second to target unit. Has unlimited range. Drill can be upgraded to increase damage.

Heavy Weapons Specialist: Deals 100% area damage within a range of 1.5, slows the enemy units by 70%, and locks onto target by 70% faster.

Usage
Cost 1 0.3 (with Heavy Weapons Specialist)

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available

v • e

Combat Drop

Calls down 4 A.R.E.S. war bots, stunning enemy ground units in the drop zone. The war bots are controllable and fight for 60 seconds.

Six for the Price of Four: increases the number of A.R.E.S. war bots from 4 to 6.

Payload Director: Increases the Combat Drop cooldown by 50%.

Usage
Duration 60 Mastery: +1.2 per Combat Drop Duration and Health mastery point. Up to a maximum 96 Cooldown 240 360 (Initial cooldown=240) (with Payload Director)

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 2

v • e

Concentrated Beam

Deals 400 damage to enemy units and structures in a line across the entire map.

Heavy Weapons Specialist: Concentrated Beam is unavailable.

Payload Director: Increases the Concentrated Beam cooldown by 50%.

Usage
Range 500 (length) 3 (width) Mastery: +0.06 width range per Concentrated Beam Width and Damage mastery point. Up to a maximum 4.8 width range Cooldown 180 270 (with Payload Director) Notes Mastery: +8 ability damage per Concentrated Beam Width and Damage mastery point. Up to a maximum 640 ability damage

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available

v • e

Pulse Cannon

Deals 600 damage to enemy units and structures in target area after a small delay.

Heavy Weapons Specialist: Pulse Cannon is unavailable.

Payload Director: Increases the Pulse Cannon cooldown by 50%.

Usage
Cooldown 300 450 (with Payload Director)

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 4.

v • e

Upgrades

Six for the Price of Four

Increases the number of A.R.E.S. war bots called down by Combat Drop by 2, for a total of 6.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 14.

v • e

Army Composition

Units and Structures

Swann has access to the following units and structures:

Icon	Unit	Details	Production	Damage
	Hellion and Hellbat	Hellion: Fast scout. Has a flame attack that damages all enemy units in its line of fire. Can transform into a close range combat unit. Hellbat: Close range combat unit. Deals damage in a small frontal cone. Can transform into a fast scout unit. Can attack ground units.	100  2	Hellion Mode: 3 DPS Vs Light: 6 DPS Hellbat Mode: 9 DPS Vs Light: 15 DPS
	Goliath	Heavy-fire anti-air and ground support unit. Can attack ground and air units.	150  50  2	Vs Air: 11 DPS Vs Armored Air: 21 DPS Vs Ground: 12 DPS
	Siege Tank	Heavy tank. Can switch into Siege Mode to provide long-range artillery support. Can attack ground units.	150  125  3	Tank Mode: 14 DPS Vs Armoured: 24 DPS Siege Mode: 12 DPS Vs Armoured: 17 DPS
	Cyclone	Mobile assault drone. Can use Lock On to quickly fire while moving. Can attack ground and air units.	150  100  3	Normal Attack: 18.00 DPS
	Wraith	Highly mobile flying unit. Excellent at surgical strikes. Can attack ground and air units.	150  50  2	Vs Air: 8 DPS Vs Armored Air: 16 DPS Vs Ground: 8 DPS
	Science vessel	Detector: Aerial spellcaster support unit. Can use Irradiate and Nano-Repair abilities.	100  200  2
	Hercules	Massive transport ship. Can use Tactical Jump.	100  50  3
	Thor	Heavy breakthrough assault unit. Can attack ground and air units. (Unlocks at level 6. Can use 330m Barrage Cannon at level 7.)	300  200  5	Vs Air: 8 DPS Vs Light Air: 16 DPS Vs Ground: 47 DPS
	Perdition Turret	Automated anti-infantry defensive structure. Burrows when there are no enemies nearby. Can attack ground units. (Upgrades to Flaming Betty variant at level 3)	150   (75   Flaming Betty)	16 DPS Vs Light: 20 DPS
	Devastation Turret	Automated anti-ground defensive structure. Deals bonus damage to armored units. Attacks slow enemies. Can attack ground units. (Upgrades to Blaster Billy variant at level 3)	150	17 DPS Vs Armoured: 33 DPS
	Missile Turret	Detector: Automated anti-air defensive structure. Can attack air units. (Upgrades to Spinning Dizzy variant at level 3)	100	28 DPS

Talent Progression

Swann acquires the following talents as he levels up.

Vehicle Specialist

Swann builds SCV, vehicles and starships 20% faster than other Commanders. Factories and armories do not cost vespene gas.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available

v • e

Combat Drop

Calls down 4 A.R.E.S. war bots, stunning enemy ground units in the drop zone. The war bots are controllable and fight for 60 seconds.

Six for the Price of Four: increases the number of A.R.E.S. war bots from 4 to 6.

Payload Director: Increases the Combat Drop cooldown by 50%.

Usage
Duration 60 Mastery: +1.2 per Combat Drop Duration and Health mastery point. Up to a maximum 96 Cooldown 240 360 (Initial cooldown=240) (with Payload Director)

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 2

v • e

Betty and the Gang

Devastation turrets are renamed Blaster Billy and have +3 attack range, for a total of 9. Attacks now slow enemy movement speed by 30%.

Missile turrets are renamed Spinning Dizzy and have +75 life, for a total of 325. Attacks now deal area damage.

Perdition turrets are renamed Flaming Betty and cost 50% less minerals, down to 75 minerals.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 3.

v • e

Drakken Laser Drill: Pulse Cannon

The drakken laser drill can now be upgraded a second time, increasing its attack damage from 30 to 50.

Also unlocks the Pulse Cannon ability, which deals 600 damage to all enemy units and structures in the target area. Activate the Pulse Cannon ability from the top panel.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 4.

v • e

Vespene Harvester

Calls down an automated harvester that gathers extra vespene for you and your ally from any friendly vespene gathering structure.

Usage
Cost 100 Mastery: -3 per Vespene Drone Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 10

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 5.

v • e

New Unit: Thor

Allows Swann to build thors at the factory. Requires an attached tech lab and a armory.

Heavy assault mech.

Can attack ground and air units.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 6.

v • e

Factory Upgrade Cache

Unlocks additional upgrades for goliaths, cyclones, and thors on the factory tech lab.
• Allow goliaths to attack ground and air units simultaneously.
• Increase the damage of the cyclone's Lock On ability by 50%.
• Unlocks the thor's 330mm Barrage Cannon ability, which stuns and deals damage to enemies in a target area.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 7.

v • e

Advanced Construction

Multiple SCVs can build a structure, reducing its construction time by 60% per additional SCV. Repair has no resource cost.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 8.

v • e

Armory Upgrade Cache

Unlocks additional vehicle upgrades on the armory.
• Increase the attack range of all vehicle and ships by 1.
• Allow vehicles and ships to automatically heal themselves over time.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 9.

v • e

Tech Reactors

Combines tech lab and reactor add-ons, allowing two units of any type to be trained simultaneously.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 10

v • e

Engineering Bay Upgrade Cache

Unlocks additional structure upgrades on the engineering bay.
• Allow structures to automatically extinguish fires and repair themselves to 50% of their maximum life.
• Increase attack speed of all turrets by 25%.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 11.

v • e

Immortality Protocol

Allows destroyed thors and siege tanks to be rebuilt on the battlefield.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 12.

v • e

Starport Upgrade Cache

Unlocks additional upgrades for wraith and science vessel on the starport tech lab.
• Upgrade wraiths to evade 20% of incoming damage while cloaked.
• Unlock the science vessel's Defensive Matrix ability, which surrounds a target with a shield that absorbs 200 damage over 20 seconds.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 13.

v • e

Six for the Price of Four

Increases the number of A.R.E.S. war bots called down by Combat Drop by 2, for a total of 6.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 14.

v • e

Mechnical Know-how

Increases the life of Swann's SCV's, vehicles and starships by 20%.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Swann Level 15.

v • e

Strategies

Swann has access to a variety of Brood War and Starcraft II units; while he has many useful options, it is very upgrade heavy. Centered around building as many mechanical units as possible, Swann mixes up the old and the new with a variety of vespene gas-guzzling war-machines. Swann can construct factories without the need of a barracks or any vespene gas. To top it off, Swann also has access to the Drakken Laser Drill from the Wings of Liberty campaign after 300 seconds of build time.

Recommended masteries

Power Set 1: Concentrated Beam / Combat Drop

☀Concentrated Beam Width and Damage: +2% - 60% (minimum 400 damage; maximum 640 damage)

☀Combat Drop Duration and Life: +2%-60% (minimum 60s/400HP; maximum 96s/640HP)

A 19/11 split allows your Concentrated Beam to deal 552 damage, which is enough to one-shot the highest-HP standard unit in the game: the Battlecruiser. Combat Drop shores up Swann’s early game better and allows for your A.R.E.S. to tank more efficiently for your Siege Tanks in the mid- and late game.

Power Set 2: Immortality Protocol Cost and Build Time

☀Immortality Protocol Cost and Build Time: -2%-60%

Full points equates to more aggressive usage of siege tanks and thors. The ability to cheaply revive units is more important, especially because you then won’t be relying as much on your static defense on most maps. If you are only using goliaths on certain defensive maps and mutations, then Structure Health is probably a better choice.

Power Set 3: Vespene Harvester Cost

☀Vespene Harvester Cost: -3%-90% (100 minerals down to a minimum of 10 minerals)

With full mastery points, Swann reduces his total Drone cost on all four initial bases from 800 Minerals to 80 Minerals. This equates to cost-savings of 720 minerals early game and 50% increased gas production than normal for upgrades; all extremely useful for economic openers. Vespene Harvester Cost decrease is the clear choice here as Swann usually needs his extra gas income asap. Being able to afford gas harvesters much earlier in the game is a big deal, as it allows Swann to ramp up his army earlier. Swann cannot depend on the laser drill to take out all attack waves and objectives consistently, and hence a stronger early-game army is more desirable.

Economy First

Swann economy takes longer than most commanders to get started. A trick to expand faster is to build a devastator turret next to the expansion rocks after construction of the first factory. The turret will quickly destroy the rocks, and can be salvaged for a full refund after a base has been established. Once Improved SCVs is unlocked, ten SCVs can make the time needed to construct an expansion command center, while also saturating it immediately afterwards. Vespene harvesters should be placed on all vespene geysers, including those of the player's ally. These drones grant vespene to both players, and can kickstart Swann's economy and allow for production of heavier vespene units while giving more resources to more vespene reliant heroes like Vorazun. Use Combat Drop liberally against large waves, and try to target its drop as upon impact it stuns all enemy units around it.

Power of the Sun

The Drakken Laser Drill is one of the most useful tools in Swann's army, and its abilities allow it to cripple most attack waves in one go. However, upgrades do take a long time on it, so it is worthwhile to get them started as early as possible. As such is it useful to have an armory made before the drill comes online. The drill will auto target any unit that comes out of the fog of war, but try to focus the drill on higher priority targets such as spellcasters or hybrids. It can also alleviate plenty of trouble if the polarity mutator is in play.

Set Back a Pretty Penny

Goliaths and Hellbats should be the core units of Swann's army. Goliath's superior anti-air range and flexible multi-lock upgrades are essential; it allows them to be a good source of damage for the army while staying back from the frontlines. The Hellbat's armor upgrade can put a buffer between the Swann's main army and the enemy forces. They excel against zerg armies, and are a good way to dump minerals if Swann begins to stockpile them while running low on gas. If possible, try to put out a pair of hellbats for early defense. While extremely effective once upgraded, Swann's hellbats are fairly fragile until their armor upgrades are researched. This can leave a Swann player stunned when their seemingly tough forces are destroyed.

Drop The Hammer

Siege tanks and thors are also powerful units, but become even more so when Immortality Protocol is unlocked and they can be reinforced on the frontlines instantly. Note that using Immortality Protocol, while cheaper and quicker than making a new unit, costs gas, so this does not mean that these units should be wasted carelessly. Siege tanks with their Maelstrom Shells become flexible against all kinds of targets, and on maps like Temple of the Past are key to holding off some of the larger attack waves. Know when to siege and when to stay mobile; never siege outside the effective-range and contribute minimal damage to a large battle. Thors are flexible, can absorb damage from enemy armies.

Get In My Hold

Swann's Hercules dropships are much cheaper than in Wings of Liberty, take up less supply, and can make tactical jumps. A few dropships can immediately ferry an entire army of thors and siege tanks past chokepoints and dump them instantly wherever they are needed. This is a useful skill to master, particularly on maps where Swann has to defend an objective. Swann's critical weakness in terms of late-game offense is his speed, his thor and siege tank based army is painfully slow to reach objectives, forcing him to rely on wraiths and hellions for an impromptu and fragile defense.

Science Hurts

Lastly, science vessels are one of the most essential units in Swann's arsenal. In addition to being Swann's detector unit, these ships can heal mechanical units for the cost of energy, but with Improved Nano-Repair they can repair indefinitely. This means that a group of four or five science vessels can keep an entire army going, putting them back up to maximum health between combat encounters fairly quickly. This also frees up the energy for the science vessel's other abilities, defensive matrix and irradiate, which can and should be used liberally.

Synergies

Protoss Commanders

Artanis grants Swann Guardian Shell, which has immense synergy for Swann's army in the mid to late game. In addition to keeping Swann's high cost units alive during heavy combat, Swann's science vessels mean that these units can be quickly recovered from the point of death. With siege tanks and thors, this gives them another backup in addition to Immortality Protocol. In addition, Artanis's army will usually consist of immortals, dragoons and sometimes tempests, which also benefit from Swann's ability to repair them.

Karax synergizes perfectly when paired with Swann, due to both commanders' focus on mechanical units and potent defense capabilities. Karax's powerful anti-ground forces with the immortal and colossus are well complemented by Swann's powerful anti-air goliath and thor. Both commanders also have units that excel against priority targets: cyclones, and immortals upgraded with shadow cannon. Swann's science vessels and Karax's carriers can repair mechanical units, and both can combine their static defenses together for more versatility; energizers can also be added for even more effectiveness since they can speed up static as well as army units. Karax is incredibly gas starved, and Swann goes a long way to alleviate this. This is the only way to obtain a true army of powerful units for Karax. Karax's passive heal of mechanical units comes in extremely handy in the early game; Swann's units are as strong as they are slow, making it more difficult for Swann to retreat in battle. Karax's reconstruction beam ability is particularly useful in this case. If all else fails and both players suffer great losses in battle, Karax can help both players recreate their armies faster than anyone else.

Vorazun greatly benefits from Swann's vespene harvester. In addition, well placed dark pylons can shield Swann's heavier back-line units such as siege tanks, and in the higher levels can give them a substantial damage increase. Mass-produced upgraded wraiths should also be prudent for the same reason. Vorazun can also use Black Hole to set enemy armies up for Swann's powerful calldown abilities, as well as his siege tanks and the science vessel's irradiate.

Alarak is an effective teammate for Swann. Both have access to transports, the war prism and Hercules, making them highly mobile. Goliaths and thors provide a powerful anti-air support to supplement Alarak's ground-focused army. Science vessels and SCVs can repair Alarak's powerful robotic units. Swann's vespene harvesters are invaluable; allowing Alarak to upgrade and train his ascendants in large numbers.

Fenix is an excellent teammate for Swann. Many of Fenix's units are heavy on gas in spite of their cost reduction, so having a boost to economy will help Fenix's army hit its population cap faster. The largest benefit Swann adds to Fenix's arsenal is science vessels, as all of his army is mechanical and has no self heal. This allows his normally squishy army to be more durable. Fenix's suits, legionaries and Kaldalis can also serve as a buffer for Swann's mech line, and Swann can also serve to help Fenix's lack of reliable anti-air with goliaths. However, both armies take a long while to replace, so a bad engagement could mean both commanders fall too far behind to recover.

Terran Commanders

Raynor's army is perfectly functional without any aid from Swann's units, and vice-versa. However, one strategy that works to maximize efficiency is for Raynor to focus on an air army of banshees and vikings, as Swann's air game is weak, but he has a stronger ground game with hellbats, siege tanks, and thors. With such a strategy Swann can also use his science vessels to support Raynor's aerial forces. Swann also can provide Raynor with unattached tech reactors, accelerating his production of advanced units such as marauders and battlecruisers.

Nova can benefit a great deal from Swann's vespene harvesters, but otherwise her unit quality is far superior to Swann's (with the exception of Swann having thors and cyclones). Science Vessels can help keep Nova's mechanized units alive while not requiring her to make ravens, and Swann's static defenses easily compensate for Nova's poor defensive structures. Tech reactors don't help Nova's production, as her unit calldowns are cooldown-based. Additionally, Swann's laser drill can work in tandem with Nova as she dismantles enemy bases.

Han and Horner have amazing synergy with Swann. Swann has access to vespene extractors, allowing the gas heavy late game fleet of Han and Horner to get out built quicker. Science vessels can also repair many of their more expensive mechanical units as well as beefier frontline hellbats. Han and Horner meanwhile can screen for siege tank likes with their expendable armies (and slow or apply fear effects to advancing enemies), give them more damage to targets with their Theia ravens, and provide vision for the laser drill with their strike fighters, which can constantly damage structures while the laser drill provides extra support. Swann players that go heavy goliath allow Han and Horner to focus less on anti-air. Swann also has powerful defensive turrets to help hold positions while Han and Horner push.

Tychus has only moderate synergy with Swann due to him not requiring immense amounts of vespene gas for his upgrades and outlaws, and his forces having only one mechanical unit. However, Swann can cover for one of Tychus' weaknesses - static defense, allowing Tychus to focus his minerals on upgrading his gang. Tychus, on the other hand, can compensate for Swann's slow early-game by being able to attack early on.

Zerg Commanders

Vespene harvesters are a boon to ultralisk and mutalisk production for Kerrigan and baneling production for Zagara. It is efficient for Swann to focus on a powerful ground army while Kerrigan/Zagara gets an air force to support them. Kerrigan's Nydus Worms can also help out with Swann's poor mobility.

Abathur is another good choice for Swann. Vespene harvesters allow Abathur to gain much needed gas for later game units and high tier research. Many of Swann's units have high range, which allows Abathur's shorter ranged, high health ground army to create a buffer between the enemy and high priority targets. Abathur's Swarm Queens can also be upgraded to heal mechanical units in the Evolution Chamber on high levels, and Swann's Science Vessels can cast Defensive Matrix on Abathur's already durable front line units, allowing both armies to be virtually indestructible.

Stukov does not benefit from Swann's vespene drones in a major way, but Stukov's forces complement Swann's forces very well. Swann can provide a more expensive siege line while Stukov's disposable waves of infested create a buffer zone, protecting Swann's units and keeping the enemies in the area of maximum damage for his siege tanks. Swann's science vessels can heal Stukov's mechanical army. In addition, on defensive maps infested bunkers and the infest structure ability allow for aid on Swann's siege tanks and turrets even from long distances. Swann's drill meanwhile can be used to clear the way for infested waves that are struggling to break through a defensive line.

Dehaka and Swann are deceptively strong together. One of Dehaka's major issues in the later game is gas consumption with his army, a problem Swann and his vespene drones help mitigate. This also allows Dehaka to potentially transition into an air combination, something usually hard without suffering midgame. Swann also has a long ranged army with high damage that suffers in melee, while Dehaka has a low to mid-range army with heavy armored melee units. This allows Swann to deal heavy damage with goliaths and siege tanks while Dehaka does the brunt of the fighting. In addition, with how early Dehaka comes out, he can keep the first attack wave at bay without Swann having to use his ARES warbot calldown.

Quotations

See: Rory Swann Commander Quotations

Achievements

Gameplay

Combat Ready
Points	10
Criteria	Kill 25 units with Swann's Combat Drop before they expire on Hard difficulty.
Edit

Drop 'Em Dead
Points	10
Criteria	Kill 250 units with Swann's Combat Drop.
Edit

The Power of the Sun at Your Fingertips
Points	10
Criteria	Deal 20,000 damage in a single mission with Swann's Drakken Laser Drill on Hard difficulty.
Edit

Smooth Operator
Points	10
Criteria	Harvest 100,000 Vespene Gas for your ally with Rory Swann's Vespene Harvester.
Edit

Awaken the Bear
Points	20
Criteria	Complete all the Commander Swann archivements.
Rewards	Swann portrait
Edit

Levels

Swann: Level 5
Points	10
Criteria	Reach level 5 with Rory Swann.
Edit

Swann: Level 10
Points	10
Criteria	Reach level 10 with Rory Swann.
Edit

Swann: Level 15
Points	10
Criteria	Reach level 15 with Rory Swann.
Edit

Development

Data in the Galaxy Editor points to Swann having access to diamondbacks at some point in development.

Early in Swann's design, ideas were proposed for him to pick up "scrap" as a resource across the map that would drop from enemy mechanical units and his units, allowing him to upgrade his units.

Trivia

• In Patch 3.15, Swann was given his own unique interface, giving it a "rougher" mechanical terran look.

References

Blizzard Entertainment. Co-op Missions. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Rory Swann (in English). 2018.

External Links

• TeamLiquid Co-op Commander Guide: Swann