Drone
the zerg worker strain
The drone was the zerg worker strain, gathering resources and morphing its own body into the living structures of the Swarm. A single drone, descended from one surviving larva, could seed an entire reborn zerg colony.
The drone was the worker strain of the zerg, the labourer of the Swarm responsible for gathering resources and raising its structures. Unlike the worker units of other races, a drone did not build with tools but transformed its own body, morphing directly into whichever zerg structure was required. A protoss probe, by contrast, only plants a beacon and lets the building warp in, then goes back to mining. (StarCraft; StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty)
Role and biology#
The drone was among the first strains a hive could produce, morphed from a larva using the most basic genetic code available to any young colony. Its purpose was to sustain and expand the Swarm: it gathered the resources a brood needed and raised the structures from which the rest of the zerg were spawned. (StarCraft)
A drone did not assemble buildings from outside materials. Instead it mutated, reshaping its own body into the living structure it was creating. Once such a transformation was complete the drone was gone, unrecoverable, having become the structure itself. Only while a building was still forming could the process be halted and the drone recovered for other use. Like many zerg strains, the drone could also burrow, which let harvesting operations hide from raiders that lacked detection and resume their work the moment a threat had passed. (StarCraft; StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty)
The drone's place at the root of zerg expansion made it central to the Swarm's resilience. A single larva left behind could mutate into a drone, and that drone into a hatchery, and from that one structure an entire colony could be reborn. For this reason the Terran Dominion stressed obsessive thoroughness in zerg eradication operations, since overlooking even one specimen could undo the whole effort. (StarCraft Field Manual)
Frequently asked questions
- What is a zerg drone?
- The drone was the worker strain of the zerg, responsible for gathering resources and raising the Swarm's structures. It was one of the first strains a young colony could produce, morphed from a larva using the most basic genetic code available.
- How does a drone build zerg structures?
- A drone did not assemble buildings from outside materials or use tools. Instead it mutated, reshaping its own body directly into whichever living structure was required.
- Can a drone be recovered after it starts building?
- Only while a building was still forming could the process be halted and the drone recovered for other use. Once the transformation was complete the drone was gone and unrecoverable, having become the structure itself.
- Why is the zerg drone important to the Swarm's survival?
- A single larva left behind could mutate into a drone, that drone into a hatchery, and from that one structure an entire colony could be reborn. For this reason the Terran Dominion stressed obsessive thoroughness in zerg eradication, since overlooking even one specimen could undo the whole effort.
- Can a drone burrow?
- Like many zerg strains, the drone could burrow. This let harvesting operations hide from raiders that lacked detection and resume their work once a threat had passed.
Gallery
Images via StarCraft Wiki
Sources
- GameStarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
- GameStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard Entertainment, 2010
- 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
Larva
The larva was the base zerg unit from which all other strains and structures were born. Carrying the genetic code of the entire Swarm in its DNA, a single larva could pupate into any breed the hive required, and the first zerg the terrans ever encountered.
Zerg
The zerg are a ravenous collective of biologically advanced aliens who evolve by assimilating the essence of other species in pursuit of genetic perfection. Created by Amon's xel'naga on Zerus and bound to the Overmind, they grew into one of the three dominant powers of the galaxy.
Probe: the Protoss Worker Drone of StarCraft
The probe is the small robotic drone the protoss use to gather resources and warp in their buildings. It was built by the Khalai for worlds too dangerous for living workers, and it has served every protoss faction since the Second Age.
Hive: apex structure of the Zerg Swarm
The hive was the primary structure of the zerg and the final evolution of the hatchery, unlocking the last stages of the Swarm's development. Shielded by a dense exoskeleton and joined to the Overmind's full pool of knowledge, it gave the being that commanded it the power to loose the full fury of the zerg.
Kerrigan's Swarm: the Zerg Swarm under the Queen of Blades
Kerrigan's Swarm was the faction of the Zerg Swarm led by Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades, formed when the death of the Overmind split the leaderless zerg and Kerrigan seized control of the broods she would command through the Brood War, the Second Great War, and the war against Amon.
Terran Dominion
The Terran Dominion was the human empire founded by Arcturus Mengsk on the ruins of the Terran Confederacy, crowned from Korhal and ruled first through oppression and propaganda, then reformed under his son Valerian after the Second Great War.
Mentioned in4 entries
Every Zerg Unit in StarCraft and StarCraft II, Explained
Every zerg strain from StarCraft, Brood War and the three StarCraft II campaigns, from the zergling to the leviathan. Each entry covers the species it came from, what it does for the Swarm and where it turns up in the story.
Hatchery: foundational structure of every zerg colony
The hatchery was the living heart of every zerg colony, spreading creep, birthing larvae, and digesting minerals and vespene gas into nutrients for the Swarm. Grown from a single metamorphosed drone, it could mature into a lair and finally a hive, and the zerg defended it with fanatical zeal.
Hive: apex structure of the Zerg Swarm
The hive was the primary structure of the zerg and the final evolution of the hatchery, unlocking the last stages of the Swarm's development. Shielded by a dense exoskeleton and joined to the Overmind's full pool of knowledge, it gave the being that commanded it the power to loose the full fury of the zerg.
Larva
The larva was the base zerg unit from which all other strains and structures were born. Carrying the genetic code of the entire Swarm in its DNA, a single larva could pupate into any breed the hive required, and the first zerg the terrans ever encountered.
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