Dragoon

The dragoon is a ranged protoss walker that gives a second life to Templar warriors too gravely wounded to fight on foot. A zealot crippled in battle could volunteer to continue serving by being transplanted into the four-legged dragoon exoskeleton, where the warrior's preserved body and undimmed psionic mastery direct the machine's weapons. Among the most famous dragoons was Fenix, whose ruined body was placed into a dragoon shell after he fell at Antioch.

A second life for the fallen#

The dragoon exists to preserve the protoss' most valuable resource: its warriors. A zealot crippled in combat could volunteer to continue serving by being transplanted into a dragoon exoskeleton, a four-legged walker that carried the warrior's preserved body into battle once more. This was an honored tradition, allowing a Templar whose body had failed to lend their undiminished skill and psionic mastery to the defense of the Protoss Empire. The most celebrated example was Fenix, the praetor who fell defending the province of Antioch during the zerg invasion of Aiur and whose ruined body was recovered and placed within a dragoon shell, where the persona behind the machine remained visible to those who knew him.

Role on the battlefield#

Dragoons serve primarily as mobile ranged units, providing fire support and anti-air defense for protoss armies. Where the melee zealots take the brunt of fighting enemy ground forces, the dragoon stands back and brings its weapons to bear on targets the zealots cannot reach, particularly aerial threats. Its large frame and deliberate gait make it slower and more vulnerable to swarms of smaller foes than the nimble zealot, but its reach and firepower made it a mainstay of protoss forces throughout the Great War and the Brood War. The dragoon's heavy frame occupies a substantial portion of the transport capacity of a protoss shuttle.

Decline and succession#

The honored tradition of the dragoon was broken by the fall of Aiur, when the shrine dedicated to dragoon creation was infested by the zerg. The protoss could no longer produce new dragoons in the old way. Following the Brood War, crippled Templar were transplanted into the new immortal exoskeletons instead, and the remaining dragoons were themselves transformed into immortals to preserve their venerable occupants. The immortal carried the thematic spirit of the dragoon forward, housing some of the most skilled and revered warriors of the protoss military within a more advanced and durable shell.