Battlecruiser (StarCraft)
The Terran 'Behemoth'-class Battlecruiser is a fictional combat starship in the computer game Starcraft.
The Battlecruiser is capable of both air-to-air and air-to-ground attack with its heavy laser batteries. It is well-protected with NeoSteel armor and serves mostly as a command and peacekeeping vessel for Terran Colonial authorities. As well, it features a powerful siege weapon, the Yamato Cannon, capable of taking out ground defenses and heavy air units with impunity. The Yamato Cannon utilizes an intense magnetic field to focus a nuclear explosion into a cohesive energy beam.
Battlecruisers played a pivotal role in the Starcraft storyline and campaigns: Behemoth-class vessels often served as mobile command centers for Terran factions and fleets (for example, the Hyperion and Norad series of battlecruisers), and were utilized in intra-Terran conflicts: it is implied that earlier space conflict during the Guild Wars took place between Battlecruisers and medium gunships, before the Wraith fighter was developed. Curiously, Battlecruisers were never shown in action against Protoss Carriers within cinematics, although an allied Battlecruiser accompanying several Carriers can be seen in an in-game cinematic in the original Protoss campaign.
The Terran Battlecruiser is perhaps the most advanced Terran unit, sharing the top of the Terran technology tree with the Ghost and Nuclear Missile; it requires a Physics Lab addition to the Terran Science Facility in order to be built. It is also revealed in the Brood War Terran campaign that the Battlecruiser requires the Physics Lab to power up its weaponry.
In-game, Battlecruisers feature 500 hit points, require 400 minerals and 300 Vespene Gas units to be built, and come with level 3 default armor. Upgrades are effective, as each weapons upgrade adds three damage to the default 25-damage laser batteries. Battlecruisers are one of the few units capable of surviving a direct nuclear strike. Despite their immense size and power, there exist several effective counters against Battlecruisers: Terran players can utilize massed Goliaths or the Lockdown ability of their Ghost units in order to quickly neutralize a Battlecruiser fleet. Abilities such as Psionic Storm and Plague are also devastating against Battlecruiser fleets, especially those not escorted by Science Vessels capable of casting EMP Shockwave against enemy spell-casters. Zerg Scourge are cheap to build, but rarely effective against large battlecruiser groups, even en-masse.