Wraith

Template:Unitbox The Wraith is a Terran space-superiority fighter.

History

Circa 2499, the Wraith was the newest in a line of space superiority fighters. Traditionally, most space battles had taken place between capital ships and smaller gunships. However, Confederate technicians found that small, dynamic high-speed fighters could repeatedly deal damage to large ships while evading most defensive battery attacks. Piloting a Wraith was no small task however, and aspring Colonial Fleet Wraith pilots already had to be certified combat pilots before gaining access to the new craft.

The Wraith's prominence diminished slightly after the Brood War however, the conflict revealing critical weaknesses in Terran anti-air capability, among which was the fact that Wraith/Valkyrie combinations proved to be an unwieldy combination against agile Zerg airborne organisms. Coupled with the similar problems faced by the Goliath, the Viking was developed, which could better fulfill the needs of a developing battle. Another blow came with the development of the AH/G-24 Banshee, a craft designed to take over the Wraith's air-to-ground role, installed with salvaged Wraith cloaking fields to boot.

Despite the advances in technology, Wraith squadrons are still maintained by the Terran Dominion The Dominion has placed restrictions on the augmentations allowed on Wraith fighters.

Wraiths are capable of both atmospheric and deep space flight. It is generally a given that Wraiths will be attatched to capital ships, as they lack the ability to make jumps through warp space.

Variants

Quite a few variants of the Wraith exist. 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 suplanted by the CF/A-17G variant (see below). It is armed with Gemini Air-to-Air Missiles.

CF/A-17G Wraith

The CF/A-17G Wraith is an upgraded version of its A-17 predecessor and for all intents and purposes, represents the 'standard' Wraith. 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 lasers in addition to Gemini Missiles, the belly mounted laser used for attacks against ground targets.

The CF/A-17G also features other upgrades. Equipped with the latest in ECM and stealth technology, the G variant features a built-in cloaking field which runs off the fighter's main power supply. The CF/A-17G is also capable of hovering, a computer system which, among other functions, can key in on heat signatures and is compatible with an energy shield.

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.

Game Unit

StarCraft

File:SC1 Wraith.jpg

The Wraith in StarCraft I

The Wraith is geared mainly toward the anti-air role. The cloak makes the Wraith good against all air targets, even though its explosive damage is technically lacking against small- and medium-sized units. With the Apollo Reactor, a Wraith can remained cloaked for over 3.5 minutes, more than enough time to turn back carriers or battlecruisers, as long as enemy detectors are accounted for first. Wraiths are useful for harassing poorly defended expansions, where their relatively weak ground attack can pick off workers. Their ground attack should not be recommended for full-out attacks on large numbers of enemy units unless the enemy has no anti-air capability. Wraiths are also useful for providing escort to withdrawing Battlecruisers heading to repair and guarding traveling Dropships. Easy counters against Wraiths are Goliaths, Missile Turrets, Photon Cannons, Scouts and virtually any anti-air unit that can deal large damage in only small groups or so.

Abilities

• Cloaking Field
  • Cost: 150 150 Template:Tergas
  • Researched at: Control Tower
  • Energy Cost: 25 to cloak (+1 per second to remain cloaked)
  • Allows the Wraith to cloak. Virtually useless if spotted by a detector.

Upgrades

• Ship Weapons
• Ship Plating
• Apollo Reactor
  • Cost: 200 200 Template:Tergas
  • Upgraded at: Control Tower
  • Increases maximum Wraith energy by 50.

Quotations

See: Wraith Quotations

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 will appear in StarCraft II as a "classic" unit.

Known Units

• Red Squadron (possible)
• Wraith Squadron Bravo

Known Pilots

• Colonel Tom Kazansky
• Lieutenant Sela Brock
• Lieutenant Charlie Vane
• Corporal Dunsil
• Harley

Images

Wraith portrait in StarCraft.

Wraiths on the attack.

Trivia

During development, the Wraith was known as the Phoenix. The name has been adopted by a StarCraft II Protoss unit.

References

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

Infantry SCV Marine Firebat Medic (BW) Ghost Ground vehicles Vulture Goliath Siege tank Air units Wraith Dropship Valkyrie (BW) Science vessel Battlecruiser Basic buildings Command center ComSat station Nuclear silo Supply depot Engineering bay Barracks Refinery Missile turret Academy Bunker Advanced buildings Factory Machine shop Armory Starport Control tower Science facility Physics lab Covert ops Other Nuclear missile Spider mine Scrapped units Cargo ship Merc biker Mercenary gunship Raider Spysat Scrapped buildings Cantina Dry docks Power station Repair bay Star base