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The Wraith appears in the ''[[StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty]]'' campaign as a "classic" unit. It is unlocked by playing the mission "[[Engine of Destruction]]", available after [[Rory Swann]] was able to procure them for [[Raynor's Raiders]].<ref name="WoL_EngineDestruction">Blizzard Entertainment. ''[[StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty]].'' (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: [[Wings of Liberty]], [[Engine of Destruction]] (in English). 2010-07-27.</ref> The Wraith can be upgraded to be built with an extra 100 energy, and a Displacement Field that allows the Wraith to avoid 20% of attacks when cloaked. |
The Wraith appears in the ''[[StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty]]'' campaign as a "classic" unit. It is unlocked by playing the mission "[[Engine of Destruction]]", available after [[Rory Swann]] was able to procure them for [[Raynor's Raiders]].<ref name="WoL_EngineDestruction">Blizzard Entertainment. ''[[StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty]].'' (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: [[Wings of Liberty]], [[Engine of Destruction]] (in English). 2010-07-27.</ref> The Wraith can be upgraded to be built with an extra 100 energy, and a Displacement Field that allows the Wraith to avoid 20% of attacks when cloaked. |
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| + | Compared against the viking, the wraith is much faster and can perform air-to-ground attacks as well as air-to-air attacks, but deals much less damage than the viking to airborne targets (although it has a faster rate of fire) and has much less range. Its air-to-ground attack also is much weaker than the viking's ground attack. The wraith also costs double the amount of vespene gas needed for a viking, but compensates for this by being able to cloak, which can make the wraith highly effective in dealing with stray capital ships that don't have detection. |
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| + | When compared to the banshee, the wraith pales in comparison in an air-to-ground role. The banshee's attack is faster, stronger, and has better range. Both have cloak, but the banshee costs less vespene gas (although it requires one more supply). The wraith, however, can defend itself against airborne enemies, and is faster than the banshee. |
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| + | Wraiths are strong against medivac dropships, banshees, battlecruisers, void rays, carriers, warp prisms, overlords, corruptors, and brood lords. They are weak against marines, goliaths, missile turrets, stalkers, photon cannons, hydralisks, and spore crawlers, while not being very effective against phoenixes and mutalisks, and being on par with vikings. |
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====Abilities==== |
====Abilities==== |
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Revision as of 18:12, 25 October 2010
- A Wraith pilot(src)
The Wraith is a terran space superiority fighter that has seen extensive use throughout the history of engagements in the Koprulu sector.
Overview
Wraiths on the attack
The Confederacy used the Wraith in 2485 at the beginning of the Guild Wars. These Wraiths had access to laser weapons.[1]
By 2499, the Wraith was still considered the newest in a line of space superiority fighters. Traditionally, most space battles had taken place between capital ships and smaller gunships. However, Tarsonian technicians found that small, dynamic high-speed fighters could repeatedly deal damage to large ships while evading most defensive battery attacks. They primarily use missiles for their air/space attacks[2] but could also use lasers for air/space targets. Against ground targets however, their lasers lacked punch.[1]
Known for their maneuverability,[3] piloting a Wraith was no small task however, and aspiring Colonial Fleet Wraith pilots already had to be certified combat pilots before gaining access to the new craft.[4] Wraith pilots were typically "lionized" in a manner similar to destroyer captains.[5]
Wraiths in flight
The Wraith's prominence diminished after the Brood War as the conflict revealed several critical weaknesses in terran anti-air capability and Wraith's design itself: combined Wraith/Valkyrie squadrons were an unwieldy combination against agile zerg airborne organisms.The Viking was developed as a more versatile anti-air craft, which could better fulfill the role Wraiths were originally intented for.[6] With the development of the AH/G-24 Banshee, the Wraith lost it's anti-ground role to the new dedicated ground support craft, equipped with Wraith cloaking systems to boot.[7]
Wraiths remained in service by the Dominion until at least 2503[8][9][10] and placed restrictions on the augmentations allowed on privately-owned Wraith fighters.[11] By 2504 they had gone out of service no longer part of the Dominion Armed Forces. However, the mercenary group Raynor's Raiders still has access to Wraith fighters.[12][13] and Dominion Wraith squadrons were memorialized through masonry.[14]
Wraiths are capable of both atmospheric and deep space flight,[15] can withstand entry through a planet's atmosphere[3] and are capable of travelling at super-sonic speeds.[1] It is generally a given that Wraiths will be attached to capital ships, as they lack the ability to make jumps through warp space.[11]
Variants
Quite a few variants of the Wraith exist.[7] Known variants include;
CF/A-17 Wraith
The CF/A-17 Wraith is the earliest known Wraith model, acting as the basis for all later variants. However, it has been supplanted by the CF/A-17G variant (see below). It is armed with Gemini Air-to-Air Missiles.[2]
CF/A-17G Wraith
CF/A-17G profile
The CF/A-17G Wraith is an upgraded version of its A-17 predecessor and for all intents and purposes, represents the 'standard' Wraith.[2] Its design was spurred by the lack of an effective terran air-to-ground unit below battlecruiser weight. As such, the G variant was designed featuring a 25mm burst laser in addition to Gemini missiles, for attacks against ground targets.[7]
The CF/A-17G also features other upgrades. Equipped with the latest in ECM and stealth technology,[16] the G variant features a built-in cloaking field which runs off the fighter's main power supply.[2] The CF/A-17G is also capable of hovering, and equipped with a computer system which, among other functions, can key in on heat signatures and is compatible with an energy shield.[15]
Wraiths with lasers were in use by 2485 (fighting at the first battle of the Guild Wars) and specifically identified by 2490.[1]
DF/A-19 Wraith
The DF/A-19 Wraith Mk2 is an upgraded version of the CF/A-17G, possessing greater resilience and more powerful weapons without the loss of speed. The DF/A-19 was used by the mercenary group, "Unholy" Tara's Stalkers.[17]
Game Unit
StarCraft
Unit profile
The Wraith is best against large-sized air targets.
With the Apollo Reactor a Wraith can remain cloaked for over 3.5 minutes.
The ground attack and cloak make Wraiths useful for harassing the workers of poorly defended expansions. They're also useful for picking out lone units scouting before the opposition can react. Wraiths, however, have a weak ground attack, are fairly fragile against most units, and easily damaged. While this is compensated with the cloaking ability, Wraiths are not very massable due to their cost.
Abilities
| Usage | ||||
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| Acquisition | ||||||
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Upgrades
- Increases the Wraith's energy by 50.
- Increases starting energy from 50 to 62.5.
| Acquisition | ||||||
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- +1 bonus to attack per level for Wraith ground attack and Valkyrie attack.
- +2 bonus to attack per level for Wraith air attack.
- +3 bonus to attack per level for battlecruiser attack.
| Acquisition | ||||||||||||||
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Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
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- +1 armor to Wraith, dropship, battlecruiser, science vessel, Valkyrie per level.
| Acquisition | ||||||||||||||
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Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
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Quotations
Development
StarCraft alpha Phoenix
During development, the Wraith was known as the Phoenix.[18] In the StarCraft alpha the craft had a different appearance[19] In the StarCraft beta, while the original name was retained, the craft had an appearance identical to its end successor.[20] Both versions of this craft had Gemini missiles.[19][20]
The name has since been adopted by a StarCraft II protoss unit.[21]
StarCraft II
The Wraith has been replaced by the Viking in the anti-air role, while the Banshee is far superior in the ground attack role and inherits the Wraith's cloaking ability.
The Wraith appears in the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty campaign as a "classic" unit. It is unlocked by playing the mission "Engine of Destruction", available after Rory Swann was able to procure them for Raynor's Raiders.[13] The Wraith can be upgraded to be built with an extra 100 energy, and a Displacement Field that allows the Wraith to avoid 20% of attacks when cloaked.
Compared against the viking, the wraith is much faster and can perform air-to-ground attacks as well as air-to-air attacks, but deals much less damage than the viking to airborne targets (although it has a faster rate of fire) and has much less range. Its air-to-ground attack also is much weaker than the viking's ground attack. The wraith also costs double the amount of vespene gas needed for a viking, but compensates for this by being able to cloak, which can make the wraith highly effective in dealing with stray capital ships that don't have detection.
When compared to the banshee, the wraith pales in comparison in an air-to-ground role. The banshee's attack is faster, stronger, and has better range. Both have cloak, but the banshee costs less vespene gas (although it requires one more supply). The wraith, however, can defend itself against airborne enemies, and is faster than the banshee.
Wraiths are strong against medivac dropships, banshees, battlecruisers, void rays, carriers, warp prisms, overlords, corruptors, and brood lords. They are weak against marines, goliaths, missile turrets, stalkers, photon cannons, hydralisks, and spore crawlers, while not being very effective against phoenixes and mutalisks, and being on par with vikings.
Abilities
Enables terran Wraiths to cloak.
| Usage | ||
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| Acquisition | ||||||
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Upgrades
- +1 damage for banshees and battlecruisers
- +1 air damage，+1 base ground damage and +1 bonus damage for vikings
- +1 air damage，+5 ground damage for liberators
| Acquisition | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
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Increases the armor of all terran air units.
| Acquisition | ||||||||||
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Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
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Wings of Liberty
Wraiths start with +100 energy.
These improved power cells provide the wraith with a large up-front energy reserve. This allows newly built wraiths to instantly engage in missions with heavy cloaking requirements, rather than having to wait for the reactor to build up a sufficient charge.
| Campaign Acquisition | ||
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Wraiths dodge 20% of attacks when cloaked but detected. Misses are indicated with an aura.[22]
ATVX has developed an improved cloaking field that can radically alter the course of incoming projectiles. Field tests have shown that roughly 20% of incoming hits will miss a detected wraith entirely if cloaking is still engaged.[23]
| Campaign Acquisition | ||
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Quotations
Known Units
Known Craft
Known Pilots
A Wraith pilot
- Colonel Tom Kazansky
- Lieutenant Sela Brock
- Lieutenant Charlie Vane
- Lieutenant Wang
- Corporal Dunsil
- Harley
- Lars Trakken
References
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