Reaver

The reaver is a protoss mobile siege construct, a piece of heavy ground artillery unlike any in the terran understanding of the term. It lobs no unguided shells and in fact mounts no weapon of its own at all. Instead it houses a micro-manufacturing plant, similar in principle to the carrier, that builds tiny robotic drones known as scarabs to be flung at the enemy. Ungainly though it looks, just one of these war constructs can level a colony in minutes, and the reaver evolved from a civilian manufacturing unit into one of the protoss' most feared instruments of destruction.

A weapon that builds its own ammunition#

The reaver is heavy ground artillery, but not artillery in the classic terran sense, for it does not lob unguided projectiles. Indeed it does not mount any weaponry at all. In place of a gun it houses a micro-manufacturing plant, much like the one aboard a carrier, which produces tiny robotic drones called scarabs. These scarabs are the reaver's true weapon, and their destructive output is out of all proportion to the machine's clumsy appearance: just one reaver can level a colony in minutes. Tube-like protrusions on the sides of the reaver's head give it the look of having eyes, but these are navigational aids rather than sensors of sight. The construct is limited in its own mobility and is consequently often carried into battle by protoss air units rather than crossing the field on its own.

From civilian tool to instrument of ruin#

The reaver did not begin as a weapon. It evolved from a civilian mobile manufacturing unit that was later militarized into a mobile artillery piece, a transformation driven by the protoss desire to lose fewer lives when assaulting enemy bases. The result was somewhat fittingly named, for reavers became renowned for leveling entire colonies in moments. After the close of the Brood War, the reaver fell into less frequent use, but it was never wholly retired. It remained part of the Daelaam's arsenal, kept on hand for the grim work of clearing out zerg hive clusters where overwhelming area destruction was called for.

Return during the End War#

A number of reavers came back into service during the End War, when Phase-smith Karax developed automated scarab production based on the star forge aboard the Spear of Adun. The construct saw use on both sides of that conflict. Reavers were deployed against the Daelaam by Amon in defense of the psionic matrix, only to be reclaimed by Karax, and they were turned against the Daelaam again by the corrupted Golden Armada as it defended the xel'naga Keystone, where they failed in their objective. Among the named reavers recorded in protoss history are the units Ragnarok VII and Warbringer.