Leviathan
the capital ship of the Swarm
The leviathan was a massive airborne zerg breed that served as the Swarm's equivalent of a capital ship. Measured at around eleven kilometers long and capable of deep-space and warp travel, it became Sarah Kerrigan's mobile base of operations after her return to the zerg.
The leviathan was a massive airborne zerg breed that served as the Swarm's equivalent of a capital ship. Classified as a class-10 zerg flyer, it was the largest creature in Terran Dominion records, larger even than a mothership though dwarfed by a xel'naga arkship. The leviathan was capable of deep-space travel and of landing on planets, and after her return to the zerg, Sarah Kerrigan made one her mobile base of operations, flying it from world to world at her direction. (StarCraft Field Manual; StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)
Form and capabilities#
The leviathan was the zerg equivalent of a capital ship, classified as a class-10 zerg flyer and the largest creature recorded by the Terran Dominion. It was larger than a mothership, though dwarfed by a xel'naga arkship, and measurements taken by the Dominion placed the leviathan at around eleven kilometers in length. It could store tens of thousands of zerg strains within its internal cavities. The leviathan was capable of deep-space travel, could land on planets, and could pass through warp space. Sacs could be dropped from a leviathan to the surface below. Because of its sheer size, conventional sensors were unable to penetrate deep enough to map the leviathan's interior, and the internal tunnels were without illumination, though many of the chambers within held light of their own. (StarCraft Field Manual; StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft: Evolution; StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)
A leviathan was typically armed with a daunting array of bio-weapons. Giant, hollow tentacles resembling those of a spine crawler could grab smaller craft or puncture the hulls of larger ships and insert zerg boarding parties. Most leviathans could launch bile swarms at their enemies and discharge powerful bio-plasmid charges that dealt devastating damage. Cocoons birthed within the leviathan were capable of mutating into mutalisks and brood lords, allowing the creature to generate its own escort. Leviathans rarely, if ever, traveled alone. (StarCraft Field Manual; StarCraft: Evolution)
History#
Leviathans were once space-borne creatures, infested by the zerg and turned into living armored carriers. The Swarm used them in war as early as the Fall of Aiur, and at least one was present at Char during the Second Great War. When Sarah Kerrigan was deinfested, zerg broods aboard leviathans had been on their way to her, and these broods were scattered or destroyed in the aftermath. Upon her return to the Swarm, Kerrigan made a leviathan her new base of operations, flying it from planet to planet and landing it where she directed. (StarCraft: Evolution; Mothership; StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)
During the Swarm's invasion of Korhal, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk ordered all Dominion troops across the Koprulu sector to return to the capital world. A number of leviathans under the command of Broodmother Kilysa formed a blockade to prevent the Dominion fleet from entering the system. Leviathans were also used by Kerrigan when the Swarm entered the Void through Ulnar in the final stages of the End War. Years later, feral leviathans were lured to Tyrador IX by psi-emitters deployed by the Defenders of Man, and by 2511 the leviathan remained a core part of the Swarm's stellar arsenal. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops; StarCraft: Evolution)
Frequently asked questions
- What is a leviathan in StarCraft?
- The leviathan was a massive airborne zerg breed that served as the Swarm's equivalent of a capital ship. Classified as a class-10 zerg flyer and measured by the Terran Dominion at around eleven kilometers in length, it was the largest creature in Dominion records and has been described as moon sized.
- What can a leviathan do?
- The leviathan could travel through deep space and warp space, and land on planets. It could store tens of thousands of zerg strains within its body, and could birth mutalisks and brood lords from cocoons inside itself to generate its own escort.
- How is a leviathan armed?
- A leviathan was typically armed with giant hollow tentacles that could grab smaller craft or puncture the hulls of larger ships to insert boarding parties. Most could also launch bile swarms and discharge powerful bio-plasmid charges that dealt devastating damage.
- Where did leviathans come from?
- Leviathans were once space-borne creatures that the zerg infested and turned into living armored carriers. The Swarm used them in war as early as the Fall of Aiur, and they remained a core part of the Swarm's stellar arsenal by 2511.
- How did Sarah Kerrigan use a leviathan?
- After her return to the Swarm, Kerrigan made a leviathan her new base of operations, flying it from planet to planet and landing it where she directed. She also used leviathans when the Swarm entered the Void through Ulnar in the final stages of the End War.
Gallery
Images via StarCraft Wiki
Sources
- BookMothership, Brian Kindregan, short story, Blizzard Entertainment, 2010
- GameStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard Entertainment, 2010
- GameStarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard Entertainment, 2013
- GameStarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, Blizzard Entertainment, 2015
- BookStarCraft Field Manual, Rick Barba, Insight Editions, 2015
- GameStarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops, Blizzard Entertainment, 2016
- BookStarCraft: Evolution, Timothy Zahn, 2016
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Broodmother
Broodmothers were powerful, intelligent queens created by the Queen of Blades to replace the cerebrates, tasked with guarding and leading the broods of the Zerg Swarm. Independent enough to survive their creator's fall, they fragmented the Swarm when Kerrigan was deinfested and warred among themselves for control.
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Sarah Kerrigan was a psychic terran who began as a Confederate ghost, rose to be second-in-command of the Sons of Korhal, and after Arcturus Mengsk abandoned her on Tarsonis was captured and infested by the Zerg Swarm to become the Queen of Blades.
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Broodmother
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Every Zerg Unit in StarCraft and StarCraft II, Explained
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