"I got something new for ya, Cowboy ! Marauders - the latest word in big badda boom hardware." - Rory Swann(src)

The marauder is a terran infantry unit in StarCraft II. It replaced the firebat in multiplayer during development.[1]

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Overview Edit

Primarily a support unit[2] for marines[3] against heavy ground targets,[4] the marauder arose from post-Brood War studies by the Dominion Armed Forces, showing a greater need of combat units better able to defeat zerg carapaces. To meet this requirement, the 5-4 Armored Infantry Suit[5] was developed from the firebat's CMC-660 and equipped with two Quad K12 "Punisher" grenade launchers on each arm.[2] The suit's grenade auto-loader is stocked with components that allow it to manufacture and load hundreds of standard Punisher grenades.[5] By 2503,[6][7][8] marauders were being fielded.[9]

The troops manning the suits are quite different to their firebat counterparts. As of 2504, 47% have never been to jail, and only 23% have ever been accused of murder.[5] Marauder fatalities were commonplace prior to the implementation of kinetic foam into their suits, which allowed them to survive impacts that had previously killed operators, even while leaving the suit unharmed.[10]

A more powerful version of the CMC-660s used by marauders was approved for field testing, and any marauder who volunteered were compensated with credits.[11]

The Dominion Special Forces surveyed marauders on how to improve their hardware, and the resounding answer was to increase the size of their guns. This feedback was taken into account when creating a Special Forces variant of the marauder's armor. Marauders of the Knights of Tyrador meanwhile have suits that weigh twice as much as the standard suit, and extra hydraulics and exhaust were added to their suits to compensate.

Marauders make up some of the original crew of Mira's Marauders. It has been speculated that these marauders are either extremely loyal compared to other mercenaries, or Mira just has exceptionally compelling blackmail on them.

The Umojan Protectorate also has access to marauders, which are equipped with more advanced suits than their counterparts.[11]

Game Unit Edit

StarCraft II Edit

The marauder can only attack ground targets. Its attack is more powerful against armored units; it may slow units, except for massive units.

The marauder is an early-game support unit, useful for supporting marines by slowing fast melee units. It is effective against armored units, like the roach.[12] They are also powerful against stalkers, and, to a lesser extent, siege tanks, immortals, ultralisks and thors.[13] Marauders can destroy buildings very quickly. The marauder is vulnerable to zealots,[14] marines, and zerglings. As a general rule, a player battling zerg should build fewer marauders than usual, while against the protoss, marauders are effective, though work well with medivac dropships as a "commando force" when battling the former.[15]

Marauders without medivac support are not ideal for attacking photon cannons.

Versus Edit

Upgrades and Abilities

Concussive Shells Marauder attacks slow the movement speed of non-massive enemy units by 50%. Only affects one target at a time. Usage Duration 1.07 Acquisition Purchased from Tech lab attached to barracks Hotkey G Cost 50 50 43

StimPack Enables affected infantry to attack and move 50% more quickly. Usage Hotkey T Cost 10 (marines) / 20 (marauders) HP Duration 11 Acquisition Purchased from Tech lab attached to barracks Hotkey T Cost 100 100 100

Infantry Weapons +1 base damage for marines.

+1 base damage and +1 bonus damage for marauders , ghosts, and spectres.

, ghosts, and spectres. +1 pistol base damage and +4 D-8 charge base damage for reapers. Acquisition Purchased from Engineering bay Hotkey E Level 1 Cost 100 100 114 Level 2 Cost 175 175 136 Required Armory Level 3 Cost 250 250 157 Required Armory

Wings of Liberty Edit

Marauders are unlocked by playing the mission "Smash and Grab," available after Rory Swann was able to procure them for Raynor's Raiders.[16]

In the Wings of Liberty campaign, marauders cannot use stimpacks.

A variant of the marauder appears in the mission "The Great Train Robbery," designated as a Dominion kill team. They deal slightly more damage than normal marauders and have a unique color scheme, but are otherwise identical to the normal marauder.

Upgrades and Abilities

Concussive Shells The marauder's attack slows non-massive ground units in target area. Concussive Shells actually form a gravitational warp when they detonate. This warp not only damages the target, but it also slows the movement speed of all nearby units to a crawl for a short period of time. Concussive Shells make marauders a great support unit against melee units, in addition to their traditional role of destroying armored targets.[17] Campaign Acquisition Wings of Liberty Acquired from Hyperion armory for $70,000

Kinetic Foam Marauders gain +25 hp. Marauder armor can survive crushing impacts, but the same cannot always be said for the soldier inside. To help solve the problem, Wolfe Industries offers a Kinetic Foam undersuit that protects the soldier from the violent impacts the armor takes. Surely the lives of your marauders are worth the small investment required to outfit them with kinetic foam.[17] Campaign Acquisition Wings of Liberty Acquired from Hyperion armory for $90,000

Ultra Capacitors Attack upgrades improve attack cooldown of affected units by 5% per level.[18] These self-replicating ultra capacitors reduce the reload time of weapons and systems. Now each of the weapon upgrades at the armory and engineering bay increases attack speed by 5% in addition to increasing damage. Campaign Acquisition Wings of Liberty Acquired from Hyperion laboratory for 5 protoss research points

Vanadium Plating Armor upgrades increase health of affected units by 5% per level.[18] We have created a new lightweight alloy called vanadium. Vanadium diffuses weapon impacts much more efficiently than traditional armor plating, and it better preserves the life of our units. Now each of the armor upgrades in the armory and engineering bay increases unit life by 5% in addition to increasing armor. Campaign Acquisition Wings of Liberty Acquired from Hyperion laboratory for 5 protoss research points

Nova Covert Ops Edit

In Nova Covert Ops, marauders can equip one of various provided upgrades and abilities for each mission.

Upgrades and Abilities

Laser Targeting System Increases unit's vision by 2 and attack range by 1.

Super Stimpack Increases unit's attack and movement speeds by 50% for 15 seconds and heals unit for 60 HP. Can be set to autocast. Usage Hotkey T Duration 15 Cooldown 18 Campaign Acquisition Acquired from Save north-western outpost in "Sudden Strike."

Internal Tech Module Unit no longer needs an attached tech lab to be built by production facilities.

Magrail Munitions Equips unit with a secondary attack that deals 20 damage every 30 seconds. Usage Passive Campaign Acquisition Acquired from Destroy the Eradicators in "Night Terrors."

Concussive Shells Marauder attacks slow the movement speed of non-massive enemy units by 50%. Only affects one target at a time.

Co-op Missions Edit

Marauders appear in Co-op Missions on the Miner Evacuation map as part of the infested. These Marauders are identical to regular Marauders, except with a neural parasite attached to their model.

In Co-op Missions, marauders are able to be constructed by Jim Raynor. Nova Terra gains access to the advanced Marauder commando, with enhanced life, damage and abilities. Tychus Findlay can field an elite hero outlaw marauder named Rattlesnake. Arcturus Mengsk gains access to the elite Aegis Guard with enhanced life and damage.

Upgrades and Abilities

Stimpacks Increases marauder's movement speed by 50% and attack speed by 75% for 15 seconds. Can be set to autocast. Usage Hotkey T Cost 10 HP Duration 15 Campaign Acquisition Unlock Initially available.

Concussive Shells Marauder attacks slow the movement speed of non-massive enemy units by 50% within a radius of 2. Usage Passive Duration 1.5 Campaign Acquisition Unlock Initially available. Acquisition Purchased from Tech lab attached to barracks Hotkey G Cost 50

Mastery: -1 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 20

50

Mastery: -1 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 20

60

Mercenary Munitions Increases the attack speed of Raynor's combat units and calldowns by 15%. Campaign Acquisition Unlock Reach Raynor Level 15.

Terran Infantry Weapons Increases the attack damage of terran infantry. Usage Passive Campaign Acquisition Unlock Initially available. Acquisition Purchased from Engineering bay Hotkey E Level 1 Cost 100

Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40

100

Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40

160 Effect Damage: 11 (+11 vs Armored) Level 2 Cost 175

Mastery: -3.5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 70

175

Mastery: -3.5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 70

190 Effect Damage: 12 (+12 vs Armored) Level 3 Cost 250

Mastery: -5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 100

250

Mastery: -5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 100

220 Effect Damage: 13 (+13 vs Armored)

Terran Infantry Armor Increases the armor of terran infantry.



Vanadium Plating: Increases the life of terran infantry by 10% per level.



Backwater Marshall: The increase of life for terran infantry go up, from 10% per level to 20% per level. Usage Passive Campaign Acquisition Unlock Initially available. Acquisition Purchased from Engineering bay Hotkey A Level 1 Cost 100

Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40

100

Mastery: -2 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 40

160 Effect Hit points

Basic: 137.5

With Backwatter Marshall: 275

Armor: 2 Level 2 Cost 175

Mastery: -3.5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 70

175

Mastery: -3.5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 70

190 Effect Hit points

Basic: 150

With Backwatter Marshall: 300

Armor: 3 Level 3 Cost 250

Mastery: -5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 100

250

Mastery: -5 per Research Resource Cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 100

220 Effect Hit points

Basic: 162.5

With Backwatter Marshall: 325

Armor: 4

Quotations Edit

Development Edit

The following section contains information from a previous version of StarCraft II which is no longer valid.

The idea behind the marauder was to act as a sort of middleground between marines and vikings—mechanized infantry, yet not an actual mech.[19]

The marauder was originally equipped with dual concussion-grenade launchers which reduce a biological unit's speed immediately by a set percentage. A charging zealot would still move quickly after being struck by a grenade.[20]

Prior to StarCraft II beta patch #8, Concussion Grenades was an automatic upgrade. It later became a researched ability.[21]

The Kinetic Foam upgrade in the single player campaign was originally known as "Ablative Scales". The original design for the button was even completed but was never used in the final product.[22]

In Legacy of the Void, the marauder's attack was modified; it now deals 2 hits per attack instead of 1, but has the same DPS - this makes armor more effective against them. This was primarily meant to nerf marauders versus Protoss, but also makes the marauder much less effective against fully-upgraded ultralisks than in Heart of the Swarm.

Heroes of the Storm Edit

The following section contains information from Heroes of the Storm and is not canon to StarCraft continuity

Marauders appear as melee minion units on the maps Braxis Holdout and Warhead Junction in Heroes of the Storm.

A marauder skin for Muradin also appears in game, and references the Hammer Securities marauder mercenaries.[23]

Known Marauders Edit

Specialists Edit

Trivia Edit

The name "marauder" is a possible reference to the novel Starship Troopers, recalling the name of the Mobile Infantry's general-purpose heavy infantry suit.

In pre-release versions of StarCraft, the marine was known as the "marauder".[24]

Most in-universe sources regard the marauder as a support unit.[2][3] However, Radio Liberty referred to the marauder as a "foundational unit."[25]

Images Edit

Skins

Portraits