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.

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.

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.


From the Starcraft 2 Blog.