Builds From: Factory
Armament: Twin 90mm Cannons (assault mode)
120mm Shock Cannon (siege mode)
Role: Armored Support and Mobile Artillery

The Crucio is the Dominion update of the immensely popular but aging Arclite siege tank. The Arclite was renowned throughout the Confederacy for its devastating firepower and stalwart emplacement/advance tactics. Originally designed to serve as a “final defense” security cannon, the siege tank adopted a two-stage configuration in its final form: a mobile assault mode and a deployed siege mode that brought its massive shock cannon to bear. The immense flexibility of an armored battle tank that could advance and then deploy itself as heavy artillery was a huge success, and the design was widely copied.

Although the Arclite was supremely effective in the artillery role, it suffered some shortcomings as a battle tank. It was a superb defensive unit, but in offensive operations it required substantial support to get to a forward emplacement. Enemies would often make strenuous efforts to get close to an emplaced siege tank battery so they could exploit its “deadzone.” If they were successful, this tactic usually meant destruction for the Arclites because even in assault mode the machines were too undergunned and poorly armored to fight off a determined close-range assault.

The Crucio has been designed for increased survivability with an enlarged, reinforced turret and hull. The new turret layout also features an upgraded assault-mode armament package so that the Crucio can fend for itself more successfully in an open battlefield. Force deployment costs for the Crucio have increased over the older Arclite, but the increased versatility of the powerful new siege tank more than compensates for the additional expense.

The crucio siege tank look similar to the old siege tank of the original Starcraft: Brood Wars. According to the description on the official Starcraft 2 website, it looks like the armor and close range firepower has been upgraded so that the Crucio can better defend against close range attacks, which was the original siege tank’s achilles heel. As before, it looks like the siege tank will be an excellent defensive and offensive weapon for a Terran player.

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