Dragoon
Walker of the Crippled Templar
The dragoon is a protoss four-legged walker that gives a second life to Templar too gravely wounded to fight on foot. The crippled warrior is transplanted into the exoskeleton, where their psionic mastery directs its ranged phase disruptors.
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. (StarCraft)
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. (StarCraft; StarCraft Field Manual)
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. (StarCraft; StarCraft: Brood War)
Decline and succession#
The honored tradition of the dragoon was broken by the fall of Aiur to the zerg. No new dragoons have been built since. The newer immortal took the dragoon's place after the Brood War, housing some of the most skilled and venerable warriors of the protoss military within one of the most advanced shells the protoss have ever built. (StarCraft Field Manual)
Frequently asked questions
- What is a dragoon in StarCraft?
- The dragoon is a ranged protoss four-legged walker that gives a second life to Templar warriors too gravely wounded to fight on foot. A crippled warrior is transplanted into the exoskeleton, where their preserved body and undimmed psionic mastery direct the machine's weapons.
- Who pilots a dragoon?
- A zealot crippled in combat could volunteer to continue serving by being transplanted into a dragoon exoskeleton. This was an honored tradition that let a Templar whose body had failed lend their skill and psionic mastery to the defense of the Protoss Empire.
- What is the role of the dragoon 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 ground fighting, the dragoon stands back and brings its weapons to bear on targets the zealots cannot reach, particularly aerial threats.
- Who was Fenix as a dragoon?
- Fenix was the most celebrated example of a dragoon. He was the praetor who fell defending the province of Antioch during the zerg invasion of Aiur, and his ruined body was recovered and placed within a dragoon shell.
- Why were dragoons replaced by immortals?
- The tradition of the dragoon was broken by the fall of Aiur to the zerg, and no new dragoons have been built since. After the Brood War the newer immortal took its place, housing some of the most skilled and venerable warriors of the protoss military.
Gallery
Images via StarCraft Wiki
Sources
- GameStarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
- GameStarCraft: Brood War, Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
- BookStarCraft Field Manual, Rick Barba, Insight Editions, 2015
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Immortal
The immortal is an advanced protoss cybernetic war machine that succeeded the dragoon, housing some of the most revered and venerable warriors of the protoss military. Consecrated in the name of Adun, immortals are protected by hardened shields and a dying breed.
Zealot
Zealots are the lower-ranked Templar who form the backbone of the protoss military. Trained for decades in martial discipline and armed with psionic blades, they have served since before the Discord and are forbidden from using alien tissue or weaponry in combat.
Every Protoss Unit in StarCraft and StarCraft II, Explained
Every protoss warrior, war machine and starship from StarCraft, Brood War and the three StarCraft II games. Each entry covers who fights in it or builds it, how it fights, what it did in the story and which games it appears in, plus the Nerazim, Tal'darim and Purifier versions from Legacy of the Void.
Aiur
Aiur was the homeworld of the protoss, a verdant world on the galactic fringe engineered by the Xel'Naga and seat of the Protoss Empire. It was overrun by the zerg in 2500 and reclaimed by the Daelaam after the defeat of Amon.
Brood War: Kerrigan's war for the Swarm
The Brood War was a zerg civil war between Kerrigan and the cerebrate Daggoth over who would succeed the Overmind. The UED invaded from Earth at the same time.
Fenix: the zealot reborn as a dragoon
Fenix fell at Antioch and was rebuilt inside a dragoon shell. Kerrigan killed him on Korhal, and he was later replicated as the purifier Talandar.
Mentioned in6 entries
Cybernetics Core: forge that bound protoss spirits to steel
The cybernetics core was a protoss support structure famed for blending machinery with biological beings and psionics. Its essence translators bonded the spirits of fallen warriors to the exoskeletons of dragoons and other walkers, while its auto-fabricators and field systems gave protoss commanders the means to wage war against far larger armies.
Every Protoss Unit in StarCraft and StarCraft II, Explained
Every protoss warrior, war machine and starship from StarCraft, Brood War and the three StarCraft II games. Each entry covers who fights in it or builds it, how it fights, what it did in the story and which games it appears in, plus the Nerazim, Tal'darim and Purifier versions from Legacy of the Void.
Immortal
The immortal is an advanced protoss cybernetic war machine that succeeded the dragoon, housing some of the most revered and venerable warriors of the protoss military. Consecrated in the name of Adun, immortals are protected by hardened shields and a dying breed.
Stalker
The stalker is a Nerazim cybernetic war machine, a metal body animated by the shadow-essence of a Dark Templar warrior. Developed after the fall of Aiur, it can teleport across the battlefield and tears its targets apart with Void energy.
Taldarin
Taldarin was an ancient protoss praetor and a personal friend of the hero Adun. Mortally injured long ago and preserved in stasis, he became the first warrior ever transferred into a dragoon shell so that he could continue to fight the enemies of the protoss.
Zealot
Zealots are the lower-ranked Templar who form the backbone of the protoss military. Trained for decades in martial discipline and armed with psionic blades, they have served since before the Discord and are forbidden from using alien tissue or weaponry in combat.
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