Starcraft 2 Beta New Protoss Unit Spotlight: Colossus

The Protoss Colossus is a new massive ground unit introduced in Starcraft 2. It is capable of doing lots of damage quickly to groups of small units, but it has a big weakness that limits its usability in many situations.

The Basics

You have to build a Robotics Facility and a Robotics Bay in order to build the Colossus. Each Colossus costs 300 minerals, 200 vespene gas, and 6 psi. The Colossus is classified as an Armored Mechanical Massive unit, and has 200 hit points, 150 shields, 1 armor, and a Move Speed of Normal. The Colossus has the Cliff Walk ability, which lets it walk up and down cliffs. This can be good at times, but it can also divide up your army if you aren't careful. Colossi are vulnerable to many things, so it is not a good idea for them to go in alone.

The Colossus attacks with its Thermal Lances, which do 2 attacks of 15 damage at a range of 6, with a Weapon Speed of Slow. The Thermal Lances also do splash damage, making them very effective against small units with low hit points, like Marines and Zerglings. It only takes a few Colossi to quickly wipe out large numbers of these small units.

Available Upgrades For The Colossus

The Extended Thermal Lance is a very important upgrade to get for the Colossus. It increases the range from 6 to 9, which lets the Colossus stay much farther out of harm's way. If you are planning to use the Colossus in any capacity, then this upgrade should be researched as soon as your Robotics Bay finishes building.

There are 3 available upgrades that the Colossus can benefit from at the Forge. Each Ground Weapons upgrade adds 2 damage to Thermal Lances (thus making it 4 extra damage because of the 2 attacks), each Ground Armor upgrade adds 1 regular armor, and each Plasma Shields upgrade adds 1 armor to the Colossus's shields.

Colossus Strengths

The Colossus is very strong when your opponent is using large numbers of low hit point units, including Marines, Zerglings, Zealots, Hydralisks, etc. They can also be used to quickly wipe out your opponent's workers if you can get your Colossi into his base.

Colossus Weaknesses

The Colossus is great at doing lots of damage, but it also happens to have the biggest vulnerability in the game. It can be attacked by anti-ground AND anti-air attacks. This gives the Colossus the dubious distinction of being the only unit in the game that can be attacked by every other attacking unit and structure in the game. The Colossus is especially vulnerable to flying units, as it can only attack things on the ground. Vikings, Void Rays, and Corrupters are especially good against the Colossus because of their bonus damage against Armored and Massive.

Best Uses Of The Protoss Colossus

The Colossus is best used on the back lines of your attacking force, out of range of as many of the enemy's units as possible. Since every offensive unit in the game can attack the Colossus, smart opponents will try to quickly focus fire your Colossi to take them out of the battle. You must do your best to keep them protected so that they can do their impressive damage.