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A zealot
Zealots are a type of protoss warrior.
Overview
(src)
A zealot during the Discord
Zealots are lower-ranked Templar who have yet to reach the upper levels of the Khala.[1] They form the backbone of the protoss military,[2] and have been utilized since before the Discord.[3] At least some, if not all Khalai zealots are members of the Zealot Order. Zealots honor the moon Saalok as their order's symbol, which they call the Zealous Round.[4] Zealots can operate in platoons[5] and legions.[6] During the Great War, many zealots demonstrated their fearlessness by going without head armor, a practice that has since been discontinued.[7]
The Tal'darim also employ zealots.[8][9] As the lowest ranking links in the Chain of Ascension, they are the ones most eager to prove themselves.
Ihan-rii zealots are fanatic believers in the xel'naga, believing that one day they would ascend to eternal godhood.
After the End War, many zealots took part in the artistic celebration of the Golden Age of Expansion, changing their armor to the more ornate style of the era.[7]
Training
A zealot during the Great War
Each zealot is trained for decades in hand-to-hand combat, tactics, pain tolerance and martial discipline. Zealots are taught to hate their enemies with a white hot passion and to hunt them down without mercy,[1] even in the face of their own deaths.[10] Through the path of the Khala, zealots learn to hone their innate battle rage to a fine edge,[11] though they can invoke a near-berserker rage when in battle if need be.[12] Zealots undergo rigorous training and trials before receiving their power suits. Those that distinguish themselves in battle receive complex leg augmentations that enhance their speed, mobility, and endurance.[6] Zealots are forbidden from using alien tissue and weaponry in combat, as a means to prevent foreign infections.[4]
In the days of the Golden Age of Expansion, attempts were made to train zealots to wield more ethereal psionic powers like their high templar brethren. However, at the behest of Grand Preserver Rohana, these attempts were halted, in favor of keeping the more traditional and focused split between the two classes of Templar warriors.[13]
The shame of the fall of Aiur drove the zealots to intensify physical training.[1] This includes duels at the end of their training, which appears to have the potential to be shortened.[14]
Tactics
A zealot during the Second Great War
All protoss have a degree of psionic power, and zealots use theirs exclusively for battle. Zealots have a limited form of precognition; they may predict enemy movements, strike with deadly accuracy, and dodge attacks.[1] Leg augmentations enhance movement speed; zealots may catch an enemy offguard with brutal charges.[6] After the Brood War, some zealots developed the ability to turn their body into pure energy for a few microseconds; the resulting lighting-fast speed allows them to strike suddenly against an enemy that thinks they are out of range.[1]
Zealots are armed with psionic blades channelled through the forearm units of their power suits.[12] The Khalai's refinement of the focusers in these units allow the psi-blades to increase in power as a zealot's rage increases in battle.[6] The blades may tear through armored structures and vehicles.[15] Zealots use their psionic powers, with the aid of cybernetic implants, to surround themselves with plasma shields.[11]
A zealot of the current day
The zealots' mastery of their emotions mean they can fight longer, harder, and better than their adversaries.[6] A handful of zealots can easily control an entire colony of lesser species,[15] and they have shown themselves to be capable of tearing through armored structures and vehicles alike.[16]
The protoss population has diminished due to conflict, and great lengths are taken to minimize zealot casualties.[6] A severely injured zealot may be transported off the battlefield upon the moment of defeat using a device named a warp stone in order to be recovered.[4] Those too critically injured are often transformed into a dragoon or an immortal.[17]
Game Unit
StarCraft
- For StarCraft gameplay information see: Zealot.
- For StarCraft in-game quotations see: StarCraft Zealot Quotations.
StarCraft: Ghost
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This article or section contains information about StarCraft: Ghost, which has been declared non-canon. Elements may be taken as 'flavor lore' however.
The content may be significantly out of date. Please do not add speculation to this article, and remember to cite a published source for details. |
A charging zealot
- For StarCraft: Ghost in-game quotations see: StarCraft: Ghost Zealot Quotations.
Zealots appeared as enemies to Nova in StarCraft: Ghost. They appeared identical to their portrayal in StarCraft.
StarCraft II
- For StarCraft II gameplay information see: Zealot.
- For StarCraft II in-game quotations see: StarCraft II Zealot Quotations.
Heroes of the Storm
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The following section contains information from Heroes of the Storm and is not canon to StarCraft continuity
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A Blizzard DotA zealot
Zealots appeared in early builds of Heroes of the Storm.[18]
Known Zealots
A zealot on the prowl
- Akam
- Argus
- Bratalix
- Darsiris
- Edullon
- Fenix (later transplanted into a dragoon)
- Golarath
- Kaldalis
- Kaldalis (Purifier legionnaire)
- Khastiana (later transplanted into an immortal)
- Leredar
- Martul
- Minos the Malevolent (mercenary leader)
- Ruom (later became infested)
- Selendis
- Teredal
- Thuras
- Turavis
- Urun
- Xulata
- Zenish (Tal'darim)
- Zyrkhan (mercenary leader)
Specialists
A zealot's visage
- Aiur zealot (Khalai)
- Centurion (Nerazim)
- Legionnaire (Purifier)
- Sentinel (Purifier)
Notes
A zealot in Ready Player One
- According to Bob Fitch, the design of the zealot was based off the alien from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but made "bigger and meaner."[19]
- Historically, the term "zealot" means one who is zealous on behalf of God.
- A zealot bottlecap figure produced by Kotobukiya is available.[20]
- A zealot figurine was made after the launch of StarCraft.[21]
- A zealot appears as a cameo in the film Ready Player One, in the background of one of the shots.
- Sangheili zealots appear in the Halo universe. Like in StarCraft, they wear golden armor and carry energy blades. In Halo Infinite, the zealot tip in the loading screen is titled "My Life for Hire;" a reference to the zealot's "My life for Aiur" line.
References
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