Turanic Raiders

The Turanic Raiders are a race of nomadic pirates that attack ships throughout the galaxy in the Sierra computer game Homeworld (1999).

Analysis
The true origins of the Turanic Raiders is unknown, but their first raids began in the Turan sector, hence their name. Most of their forces are believed to operate from a number of large outposts. The total number of these outposts are unknown, and none have ever been captured.

Ships

Battle Carrier: The "Lord" class Attack Carrier is a heavily armored and heavily armed carrier-class vessel. Like the carriers of the Kushan and the Taiidan, it is capable of building vessels up to frigate-class. The Battle Carrier features a pair of forward-facing ion cannons, allowing it to engage capital ships. It also has many mass drivers located along its hull. Against common belief, the Turanic Battle Carrier has very high weapon coverage, and should only be engaged by nothing less than a large contingent of capital ships. The Battle Carrier's narrow launch bay makes it difficult for it to launch and receive strike craft, especially while turning.

Fighter: The first hostile vessel encountered by the Kushan on their return to Hiigara, the "Bandit" class Interceptor is the most numerous attack craft used by the Turanic Raiders. Though dated, the Raiders have so far managed to keep these notorious fighters on par with the Interceptors of other races. Armed with a single mass driver, it is slower, but more heavily armored than other types of interceptors, not to mention their impressive fuel capacity. Their common tactic of hiding behind asteroids before attacking has earned them the nickname "Rock Rats".

Standard Corvette: The "Thief" class corvette is the Raider's standard assault and boarding craft. Using technology given by the Taiidani, the Thief grapples its target and begins overriding the target's systems. Alternatively, the larger back section holds a contingent of Turanic marines. They are capable of holographically mimicking other vessels, making it easy for them to ambush potential targets. They are armed with two mass-driver turrets.

Missile Corvette: "Brigand" class Missile Corvettes are among the deadliest vessels used by the Raiders. Armed with a pair of missile launchers on the sides of its chassis, Missile Corvettes are powerful, well rounded assault corvettes. They are heavily armored, and as a result, comparatively slow. The slow speed of the Brigand's missiles make them better at engaging corvettes and larger targets.

Ion Array Frigate: The "Dagger" class Ion Array Frigate is the prime capital ship used by the Turanic Raiders. The Ion Array Frigate is named because of its distinctive magnetic web array. The Frigate utilizes the magnetic array to enhance the beam when it fires. This results in an incredibly powerful beam without draining much of the Frigate's power reserves, allowing the frigate to recharge and fire again quickly. The array folds in when the Frigate is in transit, preventing any damage that might occur when it does hard turns. A variation of the Dagger, called the Assassin, is capable of cloaking.

Turanic Outpost: The Turanic Raiders operate from a number of large stationary outposts scattered across the galaxy. Not much is known about these massive shipyard-like structures, since all that were attacked chose self destruction over capture. While they are not mobile, the Turanic Raiders are able to tow these large structures through naturally occurring slip gates.

One particular outpost was encountered in the Kyori Sector by Kiith Somtaaw during the war against the Beast. This Outpost housed starcharts that the Somtaaw believed could be used to track down the Beast ship-of-origin, the Naggarok. Somtaaw attacked this outpost, which eventually stood down and transferred the chart data over to the Somtaaw.

*Note: Observation of the Turanic Outpost shows that they had a number of gimbal turrets. However, no scripted weapons are provided to the Outpost.

*They also have large, old-fashioned mines, which they used in an attempt to trap the Somtaaw research ship, Clee-San, in a Cataclysm mission.

Tactics
As with most types of space pirates, the Raiders rely mostly upon ambush and surprise. The Raiders often attack in large numbers, and will often try to steal enemy ships using clever and underhanded tactics such as flanking an escort ship from behind or distracting a frigate with fighters as "Thief" corvettes slip in from behind. Or they may even disguise themselves as motionless asteroids, which make it unsafe to collect resources without an escort. In order to successfully capture a ship, Turanic Raider attack wings will rely highly on their enemies weak points or unprotected flanks as does any other race, though to the Raiders it serves as a bonus for successfully capturing a ship. Very rarely will their engagements come in full force from the front, unless they have a large force behind them. Using tactics such as these are a common way of life for Raider pilots, they do this in order to preserve their ships and protect their race, as pirates they must steal to survive.

Source
All information is discerned from information stated in the Homeworld manuals, as well as many ingame events.

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See Also

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