This is partially a repost and an extrapolation of already posted ideas (previously appearing in the "5 Suggestions to Improve SC 2" thread), partially an attempt to look at the how's and why's of these ideas and Zerg gameplay in general. People have been complaining about the Infestor for quite some time, with Disease and Spawn Infested Terran coming under heavy criticism and much scrutiny, so here's a suggestion of mine for a different couple of abilities to go together with Neural Parasite, thoughts and musings following.
Toxic Creep: the Infestor gains an ability to generate a trail of toxic "creep" while moving underground. The creep would not only cause steady continuous damage (of around 5 HP per second) to the enemy units on it, but would slow the movement of any non hovering vehicles as well. The Toxic Creep would dissipate after 5 minutes or so, it would not affect your troops but will hurt any enemy Zerg.
Notes:
-Toxic creep would be unbuildable, nor would it boost the movement of Zerg units on it.
-Distinguishing between yours and your enemy's toxic creep would be done through a team coloured vein pattern in the creep's texture.
-The Zerg have no other abilities that specifically target Heavy Metal, and this is also a rather appropriate way for the Zerg to hamper the enemy's mobility, Infantry will not suffer from any slowing effect but would be more affected by the damage dealt having overall less HP.
Infest: An ability to temporarily infest Bunkers, Missile Turrets, Spine and Spore Crawlers and Radar Towers, making them unable to attack and detect for a set amount of time (around 45 seconds).
Notes:
-The disruption of detection isn't as useful for the Zerg themselves as for potential Terran or Protoss allies in team games.
-It would fit well with the aggressive and harassing nature of the Zerg, allowing them among other things to more effectively breach Terran defensive perimeters.
-The infestation would be signified by a graphic of writhing tentacles twining around the structure.
-Units inside an infested bunker would not be able to leave as long as the infestation lasts.
-Infestation obviously won't be a channelled ability.
General notes (why these particular abilities):
-The Zerg overall tend to have more "saboteur" type spellcasters than either the Protoss or Terran, in and out quickly and preferably unnoticed, the abilities themselves serve to weaken or hamper the enemy without much brute-force, direct-damage, single blow effects (Spawn Broodling being the only exception) and tend to affect groups of units (Dark Swarm, Plague, Ensnare). The spellcaster itself is always an aid to the army, a tool to augment and be used alongside the hordes of Zerglings and Hydralisks dealing the the main bulk of the damage. Ground control in the widest sense of the word is important, the Zerg are perhaps more than any other race dependent on a shifting and fluid frontline, with blockades and out-thrusts appearing in every conceivable place, often unpredictably (Spine and Spore Crawlers have a good reason to be mobile), thus an ability like toxic creep would prove very handy, not only in quickly and spontaneously hampering the advance of the enemy but in shepherding them exactly where you'd want them to be, helping shape a malleable line of defense. Infest on the other hand will help Zerg breach defensive lines, something they need much more than did the Protoss in BW with Disruption Web, thus the Infestor becomes a crucial unit in controlling frontlines. Furthermore, both Toxic Creep and Infest would play to the Infestor's strength of moving while burrowed, allowing the player to sneak upon enemy defenses and perhaps do such things as lay a patch of toxic creep right across the enemy's economy line, so versatility is inherent. And finally, these seem to me like fun and interesting abilities to use.
