StarCraft2.com, Blizzard’s official StarCraft 2 website, has been updated with a new unit page for the Terran’s Thor. The page features a few spectacular action shots, new screenshots and an interesting backstory for this unit, which will make its first appearance in StarCraft 2.

Built By: SCV
Armament: “Thor’s Hammer” Particle Accelerators, 250mm Bombardment Cannon
Role: Ultimate Heavy-assault Mech

 

The Thor, the “Ultimate Heavy-assault Mech”, is a new unit in the StarCraft 2 universe. The Terran ground forces of StarCraft 1 lacked a late game, high tier unit capable of directly attacking the enemy while taking heavy damage. The Thor has been developed to fill that role and expand on it.

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When the Protoss Reaver was removed due to the introduction of the Colossus, which replaced the Reaver in its strategical role, many have questioned Blizzard’s decision for keeping the Siege Tank, a unit that appeared to be very similar to the Thor.

Despite the similarities, the Thor’s role is hardly identical to that of the Siege Tank. While both are capable of laying siege to enemy fortifications and forces, the Thor is different and superior in a few ways:

1) The Thor is a self-sufficient unit, able to stand its own against most threats. It is capable in both close combat and devastating long range attacks and even has anti-air weapons. It is incomparable to the Siege Tank, which is relatively vulnerable and more suited for a support role.

2) It is much more durable. Ironically, it “tanks” better than the Siege Tank – ideal for spearheading a push to enemy territory, taking the brunt of the damage while other units are free to attack.

3) Its “Artillery Barrage” attack deals a large amount of damage over a very short period of time. This makes the Thor able to take on enemy defenses head on: moving in range, unleashing its attack, and annihilating all threats before taking much damage.

It’s easy to see that the Thor has a different role than the Siege Tank. While the tank is a relatively static, long range unit, suited for defense or for a slow assault (the “tank push“) , the Thor is there for the Terrans to take to battle and face the enemy head on.

. . . Project Thor. The micro-spy images showed a huge bipedal war machine armed with two giant particle beams and a dorsal artillery battery that wouldn’t be out of place on a battleship. Most disturbing of all was the demonstration that this monster could be built from the ground up by ordinary construction vehicles in an astonishingly short time frame. The Umojan team reported back to Protectorate, thoroughly shaken by their findings and praying that some counter could be found for such a beast.

 

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A counter for the Thor would be any unit that could take advantage of its very slow turning speed. If the Thor can’t keep up with the radial speed of its attacker, it will not be able to harm it while taking damage itself.

The Thor is not built from any unit-producing building. Instead, it is manufactured on the field by an SCV. Since the Thor can not be transported in any way, this allows the Thor the mobility it would otherwise require.

The Thor is one of the new StarCraft 2 units which we believe have been influenced by other, older strategy games. Check out our article covering StarCraft 2’s influences.

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25 Comments to “New StarCraft 2 Terran Unit Page: The Thor”

1. Battlarmd — September 2, 2007 @ 8:15 pm
   

   In the *click for big* screen shot.

   is that a Reaver in the background on the top of the protoss base?

   beside that though.
   I was wondering, even modern Earth technology allows REAL long range bombardments, can this be put into SC2? Protoss can have particle beams that hits you through a space warp, terrans with artillery, and Zerg can have things similar to those fart-bugs in starship troopers, firing plasma for long range.

   cons: not too accurate, very slow to reload, and be defended with missle shields, and probably need a whole different tech direction.

   but will SURE show a lot of interesting new strats.
   which I feel right now, SC2 is TOO MUCH like SC1, it just need this ‘breakout’ from the old frame to be a ‘new game’.

2. Ken — September 2, 2007 @ 9:17 pm
   

   yes, i think thats a reaver. that was an old screenshot because the siege tank design is new now. and the thors here are too big. comparing it to the other screen shot, the thors are a little bit small.

3. Mercutio — September 2, 2007 @ 9:36 pm
   

   The Thor might also be balanced with the Siege Tank because it appears that Siege Tanks aren’t lmighty slayers to the degree they were in Starcraft I.

   If you replicate the ‘Siege Tanks versus Zealots’ and ‘Siege Tanks and bunkers versus Marines’ scenarios from the original demo video and the Blizzcon Terran demo video respectively using equivalent numbers of the units in question using Starcraft I, you’ll find that the Siege Tanks annihilate the units in question MUCH quicker while taking much less damage in Starcraft I than they appear to in SC2. This might be due to the fact that they’re not even into internal alpha yet, but it also might be due to the fact that they intend to ‘nerf’ the Siege Tank slightly so you’re more encouraged to bring out the Thor for REAL damage.

   As far as the Thor itself goes, that thing looks like its a pain in the ASS to get anywhere quickly, and can probably be owned in the face by Battlecruisers or Warp Rays with little effort. ‘Course, you get one close enough to a town center…

4. Asker — September 3, 2007 @ 3:48 am
   

   “While both are capable of laying siege to enemy fortifications and forces, the Thor is different and superior in a few ways:”

   I’m guessing reaver fans to counter:

   “While both are capable of >, the Colossus is ALSO different and > in a few ways:”

5. whiteknight — September 3, 2007 @ 6:49 am
   

   let turn the reaver into

   butterfly ^-^

   what will happen if i mass only thor unit ?

   will terran completely rule the late game ?

6. Mercutio — September 3, 2007 @ 8:38 am
   

   If you mass only Thors, a couple Mutalisks, warp rays, or banshees will fly in and annihilate them. Hell, the Immortal can probably really do a number on the Thor, what with its hard shield and all.

7. whiteknight — September 3, 2007 @ 9:29 am
   

   but thor can shoot air isn’t it ?

   ahh agree with immortal

   i just forget his shield

8. Battlardm — September 3, 2007 @ 5:57 pm
   

   The problem is with around 30 marines
   and a thor.

   no spell unit can get close enough.
   and everything else will get shoot down.

   But Balance is not an issue, Blizz is good at that.

   But yes, Colossus and Reaver have some similarities, but from what we see, Reaver still better at defending a choke point as it’s 125 per hit can take down heavy armor units along with small ones.. while Colossus is much more like.. a zergling zapper.

9. Mercutio — September 3, 2007 @ 9:05 pm
   

   I don’t believe the Thor can shoot air, no.

   @Battlardm – Yeah, I’m not worried about balance. I imagine something similar to WC3 will happen; the game will drop, creative people will find unbalanced strategies, Blizzard will tinker with it to nerf them. Gradually the unbalanced stuff will get more and more esoteric and only be able to be pulled off by extremely high-end competitive players with crazy micro skills, and balance changes will be things like ‘High Templars Warp Storm now has two pixels less radius’ or ‘Zergling now has two more HP’ that leave most people going ‘uh… okay.’

   IMO, it was a mistake for Blizzard to say ‘we axed the Reaver because the Colossus fulfills its intended tactical role.’ That’s just going to spawn months and months of people saying ‘nuh-uh! You’re wrong, and here’s why! And since you’re wrong that means you should put Reaver back in!’ They should have just said ‘the way Protoss design is going, there really isn’t going to be a role for the Reaver anymore, so we got rid of it.’ That’s more or less what they’ve said about the Firebat, and while there’s been outcry about that, not nearly as much.

   The Colossus will probably be death on toast not just to Zerglings, but to Hydralisks as well, who (if they’re anything like they were in SC1) will swarm in numbers only slightly smaller than the Zerglings.

10. Ken — September 3, 2007 @ 9:56 pm
    

    Quoting Mercutio:
    “I don’t believe the Thor can shoot air, no.”

    It was official on Batch 10 of Karune’s Q&A that Thors can attack air units, but rather weak because of slow fire rate. They would definitely need support on that. Here’s is the exact question:

    “3) Can the Thor defend itself against air units well?”

    Karune’s Answer:
    “The Thor unit can attack air units, although it has a relatively slow rate of fire. It is always still better to escort your Thor units with additional support units.”

11. Mercutio — September 3, 2007 @ 10:58 pm
    

    Well, I’m an idiot then. Thanks Ken. >.

12. Battlarmd — September 4, 2007 @ 12:02 am
    

    Thanks Ken. helpful info. Can colossus shot air then?
    it should right? if it is tall enough to be hit by air units and it’s guns are mounted on the head….. air units should be closer then land… be very silly if it doesn’t

    I am SO looking forward to see what else the protoss has.
    There has GOTTA be a few protoss units that is yet to show itself. I sure hope there’s more then one type of Archon… the name ‘Twilight Archon’ doesn’t do as well as just.. Archon too.

    Terrans looks awesome so far though.

13. Ken — September 4, 2007 @ 1:19 am
    

    ABOUT THE COLOSSI
    Right now, I’m not very excited to use the Colossus. They are twice as expensive as reavers yet they are only powerful againsts small units, no anti-air but can be hit by air, cannot be transported, their attack doesn’t do too much on armored and they look too fragile.

14. Mercutio — September 4, 2007 @ 2:41 am
    

    The Colossus seem like they basically do one thing; hard counter small swarming units. And NOTHING else.

    We’re probably going to need to wait until we see more of the Zerg before we have an better idea of just how useful the Colossus will be, but as of right now it seems like it won’t be a big thing against the Terrans, against whom the Warp Ray (for punking Thors and Battlecruisers) Immortals (for weathering the Terran heavy firepower and shooting back) will probably be your big sluggers.

15. Asker — September 4, 2007 @ 4:00 am
    

    Can the units shoot/hit/cut the legs of Collosi to topple it down? .. hmmm .. are such things possible?
    here’s a list of things that I am imagining that SC2s new engine can probably allow:
    - Flying units can ‘ram’ / collide with tne collosus for a suicidal attack …
    - Huge explosions (ie. command center exploding?) can push nearby small units like marines (and maybe stun for a few seconds) .. and maybe damage them also …
    - Units can be ‘pushed’ off ridges/cliffs and fall down into oblivion :p ..
    - Marines can slide down ramps for increased speed :p … (if the debris can slide down then maybe the marines can :p ) .. and maybe not just marines but vehicles also :p ..

16. Chucky — September 4, 2007 @ 8:42 am
    

    Yeah. the colossus ‘looks’ good.

    but for now, the use is very limited on terrans. roger that.
    the cannot be transport part make it quite useless on Island maps.

    How about… Giving the Reaver’s sacrab to the colossus? and it can choose it’s mode of attack???

    either chuck down sacrabs for 15 mins each, or use their thermal lances?

    but no transport still suck.

17. milo — September 5, 2007 @ 3:12 am
    

    what i understand about

    replaced it in its strategical role

    is some thing like

    if i can build colossus i will never build reaver again

    if i can build thor i will never build siege tank again

    which stat you think is more true ?

18. Phil Alford — September 5, 2007 @ 8:39 am
    

    Am i the only one who is totally turned off by the art of the thor? I feel like it ruins the scale of the game. A huge machine of death and siege is cool, but since it looks so human it doesn’t feel as epic. Definitely doesn’t have the same feel as a battle cruiser. Not really a great unit concept, seems like it will only be good en masse. It really doesn’t seem to have a very broad strategic role, and I suspect that (like most really powerful expensive units) the thor will not see a lot of pro play.

19. zoo — September 9, 2007 @ 9:06 pm
    

    i think the thor looks and is pretty kickass. i mean (my opinion) it just looks so intemidating. as i see it now, terrans are like owning the ground, but air they are not so great at.

20. Dill — September 14, 2007 @ 9:25 am
    

    A colossus seems like it would be a threat against all ground units, not just swarming ones. The big swarm advantage it has is that it’s lasers can refocus on a new unit quickly, and waste little damage, but the lasers still have to be dealing a lot of damage for this to work as well as it does in the demonstrations. (Though it still doesn’t see at first glance to really replace the reaver. In balance terms, it may be that the combination of colossi, psionic storm, and archons works as a reaver replacement.)

    As for siege tanks and thors, they do seem different enough to be used in slightly different ways, the Thor barrage seems like it would require more micromanagement and would react slower than a siege mode tank would.

21. Zachie — September 17, 2007 @ 2:09 am
    

    Actually I am pretty damn sure the Collossus is awesome against heavy ground targets, too. You are paying for incredible mobility and damage against ANY ground units and it seems to hae Reaver-like range, so I bet it outranges static defense like turrets. There’s a video showing a Collossus pawnign a Thor but unfortunatly being annihilated by BCs above. The Collossus is nowhere near useless.
    Also, big and tough as the Thor is, remmebr it probably will end up costing about as much as 3 or 4 tanks, which if spread out can whip a Thor’s ass. Thors are for offense, tanks for defense. The Thor’s role, like the Immortal, is to break the insane tank power introduced in SC1.
    A big group of BCs and THors will annihilate huge forces of enemies ground or air…. if your noob enemy lets you get there.

22. Arbiters_pwn — October 29, 2007 @ 7:12 pm
    

    I think that the thor is a very cheap unit tht will ultimately be either cut, remodled much weaker(Mothership), or even combine with the siege tank. The first thing that needs to go is the anti-air attack. Tht was not originally there and definately will be cut.

    Bluntly let me just say that the Thor will not be put into the game as shown. I don’t care if it looks cool, blizzard made a mistake and by releasing details on this unit too soon will now have to deal with fans attacking them about why it had to be cut. If you look at the terrans they are already overpowered and need great cutting or adding to the protoss and zerg to keep up. The amazing thing about SC was how such completely different race building,unit, and abilities were mixed causing almost perfect balance. If they want SC2 to achieve that then this unit must be either cut or seriously nerfed to recreate that balance once again.

23. Ken — October 29, 2007 @ 8:48 pm
    

    Yeah you’re right, I think the Thor has too much HP, 900!?! I mena WTF is that?!?

    Thor should have lesser HP, much slower, more expensive, longer build-time and cannot attack air.

24. Zas — November 22, 2007 @ 8:14 am
    

    I Suggestu add transportion to the Thor becoz its so slow and ez to fire at i suggest it should be a groung transoportion so if ur carrying marines with medics they could heal inside the Thor ..in the meantime the THor Tanks the Base Until the marnies r full hp and rines could Ezily finsh the base off >> :] i also think the Thor should have somthin like it could teleport in to bases every 5 mins it could jump or somthin becoz if it gets into a Zerg / toss base ….. GG

25. Anonymous — January 25, 2009 @ 11:46 am
    

    Y would there be a huge walker?It would only bring more stress to the player to try and build 6or7 of the expensive things.If theyre not expensive,why go through all the troble of making somthing like that so powerful(if it is)that the player gets a feel an likes it,then it gets MCed(mind controled)