Immortal
Successor to the Dragoon
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.
The immortal is a protoss cybernetic war machine that succeeded the dragoon after the Brood War. Like the dragoon before it, the immortal houses a crippled Templar warrior, preserving some of the most skilled and venerable members of the protoss military within an advanced exoskeleton. Each immortal is consecrated in the name of Adun, the warrior who best understood the meaning of self-sacrifice. (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft II: Heaven's Devils)
From dragoon to immortal#
Immortals stem from dragoons. Historically, crippled veteran Templar could continue serving by being transplanted into dragoon exoskeletons. After the fall of Aiur to the zerg and the Brood War that followed, crippled Templar were transplanted into the new immortal exoskeletons instead, with the first in service by 2502. As a result the immortals house some of the most skilled and venerable warriors of the protoss military. Upon transplantation, each immortal is consecrated in the name of Adun, as he was the one who best understood the meaning of self-sacrifice. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft II: Heaven's Devils; StarCraft: Frontline Volume 1; StarCraft Field Manual)
The pilot within#
An immortal's pilot is a fallen hero whose remains are transplanted into the walker's robotic exoskeleton, and these warriors count among the most loyal the protoss field. The immortal is among the most advanced hardware the protoss have ever devised, a system that keeps a gravely wounded warrior alive and fighting long after their body would otherwise have failed. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft Field Manual)
Design and weaponry#
Immortals stand over twice as tall as a terran wearing CMC armor. They are outfitted with two twin phase disruptors as their primary attack, giving fire support to zealots against ground targets. The disruptors are deadliest against heavily armoured targets such as tanks and artillery, though immortals cannot engage aerial targets. (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft Field Manual)
Immortals are equipped with armor weave that mitigates impacts through energy dissipation. Their hardened shields blunted powerful impacts such as siege tank rounds, but they worked only against heavy hits, which left immortals more vulnerable to the smaller, repeated attacks of lesser foes. By 2505, immortal shields had been heavily reinforced, rendering the immortal invulnerable to enemy attack for short periods, though such shields proved impractical for mass production. (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft Field Manual)
A dying breed#
Immortals are a dying breed. By 2506, only the most revered heroes of the Templar were allowed to become immortals, owing to the resources required to produce them. In the aftermath of the End War, Purifiers began to re-purpose the shells of fallen immortals into fully automated combat walkers, while some fallen Templar elected to use ancient exoskeletons to show their dedication to the ideals that united the protoss in their times of trouble. The Ihan-rii created a variant of the immortal that served as a robotic sarcophagus for warriors who died honorably in battle, carrying their remains into war. Notable immortals include J'oh, the zealot Khastiana, who was transplanted into one, and the Purifier Taldarin. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft: Frontline Volume 1)
Frequently asked questions
- What is a protoss immortal?
- The immortal is a protoss cybernetic war machine that succeeded the dragoon after the Brood War. Like the dragoon before it, the immortal houses a crippled Templar warrior, preserving some of the most skilled and venerable members of the protoss military within an advanced exoskeleton.
- Who pilots an immortal?
- An immortal's pilot is a crippled, venerable Templar warrior. When revered protoss heroes fall, their remains are transplanted into the walker's exoskeleton so that they can keep fighting.
- How did the immortal replace the dragoon?
- Crippled veteran Templar had historically been transplanted into dragoon exoskeletons, but after the fall of Aiur and the Brood War they were transplanted into the new immortal exoskeletons instead, with the first in service by 2502.
- What weapons and defenses does an immortal have?
- Immortals are outfitted with two twin phase disruptors that give critical fire support against ground targets, and are deadly against heavily armoured targets, though they cannot engage aerial targets. They are protected by hardened shields that blunt powerful hits such as siege tank rounds.
- Why are immortals called a dying breed?
- Immortals are a dying breed because of the resources required to produce them, and by 2506 only the most revered heroes of the Templar were allowed to become them. Each immortal is consecrated in the name of Adun, the warrior who best understood the meaning of self-sacrifice.
Gallery
Images via StarCraft Wiki
Sources
- GameStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard Entertainment, 2010
- GameStarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, Blizzard Entertainment, 2015
- BookStarCraft II: Heaven's Devils, William C. Dietz, 2010 (timeline appendix)
- ComicStarCraft: Frontline Volume 1, "Why We Fight", Josh Elder (w), Ramanda Kamarga (a), Tokyopop, 2008
- BookStarCraft Field Manual, Rick Barba, Insight Editions, 2017
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Dragoon
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.
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.
2502: the year of quiet atrocities
2502 fell in the uneasy years between the Brood War and the Second Great War. The Terran Dominion hid a colonial massacre behind parade broadcasts, Emperor Mengsk buried the mother of his heir, a squad of outlaw commandos was sent to kill Jim Raynor, and secret programs built on stolen ghosts and captive protoss advanced in the dark.
Adun
Adun was a revered protoss executor of the Discord who secretly sheltered the rogue tribes the Conclave ordered him to execute. He burned away saving them as they were exiled, leaving no body behind, and passed into protoss legend as the Twilight Deliverer.
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.
Mentioned in5 entries
Dragoon
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.
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.
Ihan-rii: the protoss sect that slept for millennia and woke to reclaim Tyrador
The Ihan-rii are a fanatical protoss sect that split from their kindred millennia ago, worship the xel'naga as their ancestors, and returned from deep stasis to reclaim Arakyr, the world terrans call Tyrador IX.
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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