Firebat
Terran Flamethrower Infantry
The firebat was a terran close-quarters infantry trooper armed with arm-mounted flamethrowers, fielded from the Confederacy through the Dominion and drawn largely from resocialized criminals and pyromaniacs.
The firebat was a type of terran infantry specialized for close-quarters combat, an armored assault trooper armed with arm-mounted flamethrowers and attached to marine squads to clear enemies at short range. Fielded first by the Terran Confederacy and later by the Terran Dominion, the firebat was devastating in tight quarters and remained a fixture of terran infantry tactics into the Dominion era. (StarCraft; StarCraft: Speed of Darkness; StarCraft Field Manual)
Role and equipment#
Firebats were armored assault troopers, often attached to provide support for marine squads. Particularly devastating in close-quarters combat, they were typically armed with dual arm-mounted flamethrowers and wore heat-resistant, fireproof armor similar to a marine's but noticeably heavier. The vulnerable flame tanks were protected by a force field. Where it sat beside the marine, medic and marauder is easier to see in the full Terran unit roster. (StarCraft; StarCraft: Speed of Darkness; StarCraft Field Manual)
Firebats predated the Guild Wars and were fielded by the Confederate Marine Corps to help expand Confederate interests. During the Guild Wars, the experimental CMC-230 XF power armor was fitted with jet packs and issued to flamethrower infantry, earning the nickname "firebat" that attached to the troopers themselves. The jet pack system suffered reliability problems and was eventually scrapped, though a non-jump ground variant continued in production. During the Great War, Confederate firebats were equipped with wrist-mounted Perdition flamethrowers and CMC-660 combat suits, and after the Battle of Adena firebats adopted a leaner, more streamlined powered armor. (StarCraft: I, Mengsk; StarCraft II: Heaven's Devils; StarCraft; StarCraft: Soldiers)
Recruitment and service#
As with marines, many firebats were recruited or conscripted from "culturally challenged" persons, who underwent neural resocialization and received aggression inhibitor implants as part of training. Under the Confederacy they were infamous as high-risk, unstable individuals, and older personnel manuals recommended the exclusive use of resocs or pyromaniacs for firebat duty. (StarCraft; StarCraft Field Manual)
The Terran Dominion continued to use firebats after the fall of the Confederacy, and its personnel manuals claimed, against the unit's older reputation, that its firebats were "stable, reliable soldiers." (StarCraft Field Manual)
Frequently asked questions
- What is a firebat in StarCraft?
- The firebat was a type of terran infantry specialized for close-quarters combat, an armored assault trooper armed with arm-mounted flamethrowers and attached to marine squads to clear enemies at short range. It was fielded first by the Terran Confederacy and later by the Terran Dominion.
- Where did the name firebat come from?
- During the Guild Wars, the experimental CMC-230 XF power armor was fitted with jet packs and issued to flamethrower infantry, earning the nickname firebat that attached to the troopers themselves. The jet pack system suffered reliability problems and was eventually scrapped, though a non-jump ground variant continued in production.
- Why were firebats considered unstable?
- Under the Confederacy, firebats were infamous as high-risk, unstable individuals, and older personnel manuals recommended using only resocialized criminals or pyromaniacs for the job.
- Who served as firebats?
- As with marines, many firebats were recruited or conscripted from culturally challenged persons who underwent neural resocialization and received aggression inhibitor implants. Older Confederate manuals recommended using only resocialized criminals or pyromaniacs for firebat duty.
- Did the Dominion keep using firebats?
- Yes. The Dominion continued to use firebats after the fall of the Confederacy, claiming in its manuals that its firebats were stable, reliable soldiers.
Gallery
Images via StarCraft Wiki
Sources
- GameStarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
- BookStarCraft Field Manual, Rick Barba, Insight Editions, 2015
- BookStarCraft: Speed of Darkness, Tracy Hickman, Pocket Books, 2002
- BookStarCraft: I, Mengsk, Graham McNeill, Pocket Star, 2008
- BookStarCraft II: Heaven's Devils, William C. Dietz, Gallery Books, 2010
- ComicStarCraft: Soldiers, Jody Houser and Andrew Robinson (w), Miguel Sepulveda (a), Dark Horse Comics, 2019
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Terran Marine
The marine was the foundational infantry unit of the terran nations of the Koprulu sector, an armored soldier in a powered combat suit who formed the bulk of most front-line forces from the Confederacy through the Dominion.
Every Terran Unit in StarCraft and StarCraft II, Explained
Every terran unit from StarCraft, Brood War and the three StarCraft II campaigns, sorted into infantry, vehicles and starships. Each entry covers who built it, what it was for and which games it appears in.
Battle of Adena: the ambush that poisoned the peace
The Battle of Adena was a three-way conflict fought after the One-Day War on the abandoned world of Adena, inside the demilitarized zone between the Terran Dominion and the Daelaam. Renegade Dominion forces looting a jorium stockpile sprang a trap laid by Broodmother Niadra, dragging Admiral Urun's protoss into a battle that killed him and wrecked relations between the two powers.
Great War: protoss against zerg over Aiur
The Great War was the first open fight between protoss and zerg, with the terrans caught between them. It ended over Aiur with the Overmind destroyed.
Guild Wars: Confederacy against the Combine
Fought across the late 2480s over the mineral wealth of the Koprulu sector. The Confederacy won, seized the mining guilds and ruled the next decade.
Terran Confederacy
The Terran Confederacy, also called the Confederacy of Man, was the dominant human government of the Koprulu sector before the Great War, ruled by the Old Families of Tarsonis and brought down by the zerg invasion and the Sons of Korhal rebellion.
Mentioned in8 entries
Barracks: mustering hall of terran infantry
The barracks housed and trained all terran infantry, a mobile structure that could cross great distances to reach new hot zones. Pitched by the Dominion as a safe and comfortable staging point, it was in truth a sterile warren of bunks, deployment ramps, and resocialization tanks that unnerved many of the recruits who lived inside it.
Bunker: fortified strongpoint of the terrans
The bunker was a low domed terran defensive structure, plated in paristeel or neosteel and pierced by weapon ports on every side. Soldiers called them battlefield coffins for their ubiquity and lack of amenities, yet the squat shelters anchored terran lines from the Confederacy through the wars of the Dominion.
CMC Powered Combat Suit
The CMC Powered Combat Suit was the standard armored exoskeleton of terran infantry across the Koprulu sector, an enclosed hardskin worn by marines and firebats of the Confederacy, the Terran Dominion, and the Kel-Morian Combine. Its successive models defined the appearance and survivability of the human foot soldier from the Guild Wars through the End War.
Confederate Armed Forces: military arm of the Terran Confederacy
The Confederate Armed Forces was the military of the Terran Confederacy, headquartered on Tarsonis and organized into squadrons of conscripts and resocialized criminals. It fought the Kel-Morian Combine in the Guild Wars, razed Korhal with nuclear weapons, and collapsed when the zerg overran Tarsonis.
Every Terran Unit in StarCraft and StarCraft II, Explained
Every terran unit from StarCraft, Brood War and the three StarCraft II campaigns, sorted into infantry, vehicles and starships. Each entry covers who built it, what it was for and which games it appears in.
Gui Montag: the Confederate firebat named for a Fahrenheit 451 fireman
Gui Montag was a Terran Confederacy firebat and a major of Omega Squadron's 28th. He survived the zerg invasion of Tarsonis in 2500 and resurfaced as a Terran Dominion soldier in StarCraft: Enslavers.
Jack Frost: firebat commander of Brontes IV
Lieutenant Jack Frost was a terran firebat and retired Confederate officer who was drawn back into service when the zerg and a wave of insurgencies engulfed Brontes IV. As leader of the New Dresdin Outlaws he fought the Fist of Redemption, a corrupt colonial government, and the Swarm itself before dying in a final act of defiance.
Marauder
The marauder was a terran heavy infantry unit developed by the Dominion to support marines against armored targets, an armored trooper firing Punisher grenades from twin arm-mounted launchers.
Get new articles in your inbox
No spam. New lore drops, canon conflicts, and deep dives only when they’re worth reading.
Some links on Lore Fortress are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.