Phoenix – Protoss Unit

September 1st, 2009

Phoenix patrols are used to sweep the borders of Protoss territory, replacing the ancient scouts and corsairs as one of the main advanced aerial attack units available. A fast and valuable unit, it is capable of inflicting massive damage on its adversaries. A spaceship designed for air combat, it has a short ranged and quick firing energy weapon. This Ion Blaster can also be used on ground targets, but will be less effective than on other air units.

A Phoenix uses its Anti-Gravity ability to dislodge and lift buildings and ground units into the air. This formidable weapon disables their movement and power to attack, making them vulnerable to air assaults. A weapon like this gives the Phoenix the opportunity to destroy ground units – one Phoenix suspends the land unit, while the others attack it.

Some large ground units like Thor can’t be lifted, but smaller units like a Zerg Queen or a Terran Siege Tank can be pulled up in this way. Anti-Gravity uses 4 energy points per second and renders the Phoenix immobile while being used. Should the unit be surrounded, the impressive Power Overload ability means that it can unleash a great amount of energy that attacks all air units in the vicinity. This makes it a powerful weapon against barrages of small enemy vessels. Unfortunately it’s virtually useless against capital vessels.

An important – though mildly negative – aspect of this ability is that the Phoenix shuts down after the overload. During this time it is susceptible to attack and has poor defenses, so you might want to send it into battle with ground forces as backup. The Phoenix needs about five seconds to recover, so timing and precision is vital.

Be sure not to overload all of your fleet in one go. If the enemy happens to retreat past your disabled fleet, they will all be destroyed. With Air Armor, Air Weapons and Plasma Shields upgrades, what’s not to love about this advanced air unit?