The science vessel may be unlocked in campaign mode for 20 protoss research points. It is an alternative to the raven, and unlocking one prevents the other from being used.[1] The science vessel has limited offensive capability in comparison to the raven, but its repair ability makes it an invaluable asset for army compositions comprised of mechanical units, drastically increasing their staying power and lessening the need to keep SCVs close to the front lines for repairs.
We have created a unique version of the science vessel that can perform hull repairs on friendly mechanical units. This version of the science vessel can also irradiate individual targets and detect cloaked and burrowed enemy units.
Irradiates a single target, causing damage over time to target and any nearby units for 30 seconds. Irradiate does not damage mechanical units, but nearby biological units will take damage from an Irradiated mechanical unit.
Affected units cannot Cloak.
Armor upgrades increase health of affected units by 5% per level.[1]
We have created a new lightweight alloy called vanadium. Vanadium diffuses weapon impacts much more efficiently than traditional armor plating, and it better preserves the life of our units. Now each of the armor upgrades in the armory and engineering bay increases unit life by 5% in addition to increasing armor.
Increase starting energy of all units by 100. Increase maximum energy of all units by 100.[2]
This reactor has a larger energy reserve on startup and can hold a much larger charge. Now our specialist units can use their abilities the moment they hit the battlefield, and they can store more energy when idle for long periods of time. All "Specialists units" use energy: such as the medic, ghost, spectre, thor, wraith, banshee, raven, science vessel and battlecruiser.
Damaged mechanical units recover hit points when out of combat, at a rate of 0.6015 each second.[2]
Our ship and vehicle hulls are now made from a material called Regenerative Bio-Steel. This material uses internal nanobots to slowly repair any damage the hull sustains. While this regeneration process is much slower than conventional SCV repairs, it can be the difference between life and death if no SCVs are available.
In the campaign, the science vessel also has two unused abilities that essentially make it the terran version of the protossarbiter: Cloaking Field and Transwarp. The science vessel was also upgradable with the Plasma Weaponry upgrade from the Hyperion's armory, which gave it a weapon. Transwarp remains as only a button within the editor, but Cloaking Field is a complete ability. Plasma Weaponry remains only as an upgrade, as no actual weapon was made for it.
