Medivac (Heart of the Swarm)

This article covers the now superseded Heart of the Swarm multiplayer version of this unit. For other versions see Medivac (Legacy of the Void), Medivac (Wings of Liberty) and Medivac (Wings of Liberty Campaign).

[e][h] Medivac

Unit Information

Type:

Air Unit

Description:

Terran air transport ship. Can also heal biological units.

Built From:

Starport

Cost:

 100  100  42  2

Hotkey:

D

Unit stats

Defense:

150 1 (+1)

Attributes:

Armored, Mechanical

Energy:

50 (+25) / 200

Sight:

11

Speed:

2.5

Note: All time-related values are expressed assuming Normal speed, as they were before LotV. See Game Speed.

Description

A dual purpose Dropship and Healer (3 Health per second) and can be produced right away from the Starport with the Ignite Afterburners ability ready right away. Ignite Afterburners increases the Medivacs movement speed to 4.25 (faster than a Mutalisk and equal to a Phoenix, for a quick escape or running past anti-air units and defense.

As part of the Marines, Marauders, and Hellbats unit composition, the Medivac will heal units Stimpack damage fairly quickly but takes much longer to heal low health units, make attacks quick and brief to not wear through the energy too quickly. Dropping from Medivacs is only possible if you can retreat quickly

The Medivac can drop numbers of Marines and Marauders and then support them with heals to make the drop even more dangerous. They can also move Siege Tanks, Hellions and Thors allowing for many options for harassment, be it shelling a base from a cliff or dropping Hellions into a mineral line to deal large economic damage. Oddly Vikings in Assault Mode can also be loaded into a Medivac, though this is rarely done.

AI Related

Medivac AI handles attack commands differently than a standard combat unit. When given an order to patrol, force fire or attack-move (by themselves or in a group with other units) they will stop to heal any damaged infantry in their proximity. They will also stay close to any infantry actively attacking an enemy unit/building, regardless of whether those infantry need healing or not. Their Heal autocast skill is treated as the Medivac's 'attack', and its targets of choice are infantry that are damaged or in combat. When all infantry are dead, or stop attacking the enemy, the Medivac will remember its last ordered position and move there. Give them a move command, or take Heal off of autocast, and a Medivac will go directly to any location ordered.

Note - StarCraft II combat AI has assigned Medivacs the same priority for attack as any other "standard" unit, resulting in distance being the only factor for target selection. This can be beneficial as it diverts fire from your army, but detrimental in the case of drops, as hostile units will not switch to unloaded units until their first choice is either dead or out of range; your army can be left stranded if the Medivac is not micromanaged effectively.

Abilities

Heal

Caster: Medivac 1 per 3 HP Range: 4 Hotkey: E The Medivac automatically (or on order) heals a close-by friendly biological unit.

This comes out to about 9 hp/s (in game time) or 13.5 hp/s (in real time). The minimum required energy to start the healing process is 5, in order for an EMP Round or Feedback to have a slightly longer lasting effect.

This spell also works on friendly biological units in team games. This is particularly effective with a Zerg ally as all Zerg units are biological meaning that medivacs will automatically heal injured Zerg units.

Load

Hotkey: L The Medivac has a cargo space of 8.

Ignite Afterburners

Cooldown: 20 Hotkey: B Speed boost that increases Medivac's movement speed and acceleration to 4.25 for 8 seconds.

Upgrades

These upgrades are available from the Starport's Tech Lab.

Caduceus Reactor

100 100 80 Hotkey: A Researched from: Tech Lab Increases the Medivac's starting energy by 25.

Competitive Usage

General

Medivacs can be used tactically to get Tanks to places they wouldn't be able to reach otherwise. A good example of a map that benefits from heavy Medivac usage is Kulas Ravine, which features cliffs overlooking many important positions. Prudently placed and timed drops when combined with the healing capabilities of the Medivac can be extremely powerful in all match-ups.

Vs. Protoss

Just like in TvZ, Medivacs are brought with a Terran bio army to provide healing support. They are also frequently used to drop the Protoss and snipe important infrastructure (Nexus, probes, pylons, tech structures). They are also used in TvP for Hellion/Hellbat drops.

Vs. Terran

Medivacs can serve a similar role to Dropships from BW, but their usage has decreased. Since most Terran armies now contain some component of anti-air such as Vikings or Thors, Medivacs are now much more likely to get sniped and can be hunted down easier, so they're not used as much to transport the slow moving Tanks around.

Vs. Zerg

Medivacs are usually combined with a Terran army in order to provide healing support for the Marines in the Marine-Widow Mine style that is popular in TvZ. Aside from that, they can also be used to drop units, typically Hellbats, in the opponent's base.

Other

• When acting as a shuttle, the Medivac - like all transporter units - can unload 1 unit per second, independent of size.

Gallery

Quotes

Quotes
Built	Selected	Annoyed	Move	Attack	Under Attack	Healing
Ready for dust-off.	Waitin' on you. Pickin' up or droppin' off? Talk to me. Now what? Where's the emergency? Ready for pickup? Life-flight's here.	I normally don't give rides to strangers. Be sure to wipe your feet at the door. Hurry up! What, are you missin' a leg or someth... Oh. Attention passengers, the local time... doesn't matter, since you'll all be dead soon anyway. We're hit! We're hit! WE'RE ALL GONNA' DIE! WE'RE.. Haha, just kidding, should have seen the looks on your faces. The weather outside is hostile, with a slight chance of fog of war. Uhh, why you boys all wearing red shirts, anyways? Welcome to the flying meat wagon. Walk it off! Welcome aboard, are you an organ donor? The power of Medivac compels you! Oh, suck it up! You act like you got both arms blown off.	In the pipe, five by five. I heard that. Load and clear. Will do, command. ETA, one minute. Inbound. Well, hallelujah. Acknowledged. Understood. Confirmed. On my way. Let's go. Heading out.	Who's gonna rescue me? Me? You sure? If you say so. -sighs- This should be quick. Oh, hell. Goin' in.	Somebody get me outta this mess!	Go into the light. I have exorcised the demons!

Medivac's quotes (video and sound) - YouTube video.

Patch Changes

Patch 1.1.2
Acceleration reduced from 2.315 to 2.25. Speed reduced from 2.75 to 2.5.

Balance Update #8
New ability: Emergency Thrusters Speed boost that increases movement speed and acceleration to 4.25 for 8 seconds. 20 second cooldown. The Medivac’s Caduceus Reactor upgrade at the Starport Tech Lab: Health restored per second from 9 to 15. Energy cost reduced from 3 health per 1 energy to 5 health per 1 energy. Cost increased from 100/100 and 80 seconds to 150/150 and 110 seconds.

Balance Update #9
The Medivac’s healing beam now changes color once the Caduceus Reactor upgrade is complete.

Balance Update #10
The Caduceus Reactor upgrade now requires a Fusion Core before research can begin.

Balance Update #11
Caduceus Reactor No longer improves the healing rate of Medivacs. Upgrade cost decreased from 150/150 and 110 seconds to 100/100 and 80 seconds. Emergency Thrusters ability renamed Ignite Afterburners.