Goliath

The goliath was a bipedal combat walker fielded by the terran nations of the Koprulu sector, armed with twin autocannons for ground targets and Hellfire missiles for aircraft. Standing tall enough to dominate a battlefield yet compact enough to be carried two at a time aboard a dropship, the goliath gave terran ground forces a versatile platform that could repel both infantry and capital ship fleets. It saw service under the Terran Confederacy, the Sons of Korhal and later the Terran Dominion. (StarCraft; StarCraft II: Flashpoint)

Design and role#

The goliath was capable of firing on both ground and air targets, which made it one of the more adaptable machines in a terran army. It was best suited to an anti-air role, particularly against large airborne targets, and in sufficient numbers goliaths could repel entire capital ship fleets. Their ground attack was serviceable but less impressive for the resources they demanded, trading raw firepower for additional range and staying power. The walker was large, yet only occupied two slots aboard a dropship, allowing forces to redeploy them quickly. (StarCraft)

The standard model carried twin autocannons paired with Hellfire missiles, a loadout that let a single walker switch between suppressing infantry and downing aircraft without changing position. (StarCraft)

Service history#

Upgraded goliath models became a point of contention during the rebellion against the Confederacy. After the fall of Antiga Prime, the Confederacy put resources into a new generation of upgraded walkers and stored the plans in a technical hub under the moon of the gas giant G-2275. With Arcturus Mengsk's approval, a Sons of Korhal team that included Sarah Kerrigan and Jim Raynor raided the hub and made off with the plans, and the rebels folded the designs into their own arsenal. (StarCraft II: Flashpoint)

The goliath continued in service under the Terran Dominion. The Bulwark Company was a special goliath unit of the Dominion Armed Forces, serving in Mengsk's Royal Guard, and during Kerrigan's later invasion of Korhal these elite walkers formed part of the capital's defense. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)

The Cerberus variant#

The Cerberus Program fielded an upgraded version known as the Cerberus goliath. It functioned much like the standard model, carrying the same twin autocannons and Hellfire missiles, but the amount of damage it could deliver and absorb was far superior to the base design. The Cerberus Program continued to make use of goliaths, maintaining the walker as a frontline asset where standard models would have been outmatched. (StarCraft; StarCraft (comic series))