StarCraft II 0.8.0.14593 Patch Notes

General

• You can now report misconduct or block communication with a player after completion of a game by right-clicking on the offending player's name in the score screen and choosing Report Abuse or Block Communication.
• You can now view any player's profile after completion of a game by right-clicking on their name in the score screen and choosing View Profile.
• Updated unit and ability tooltips to be accurate in all regions.
• Improved the visibility of units on zerg creep.
• Improved the visibility of team colors for protoss units using warp-in to help distinguish between multiple protoss players.
• Improved the system that handles promotion and relegation between Leagues.
• Improved the Favored functionality to more accurately portray Even matches and display properly in the score screen.
• Improved 2v2 arranged team matchmaking so games are found more quickly.
• Improved replay functionality so missing maps will be downloaded from Battle.net when you view a replay.
• Korea: Improved the logic for the age gate functionality.

Balance Changes

General

• Pathing has been improved so units can now properly block ramps and choke points.
• Made a change to how zerg creep affects doodads, such as trees, to prevent players from seeing the starting location of zerg players through the fog of war.

Terran

Viking

• Cost changed from 125 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas to 150 Minerals and 75 Vespene Gas

Ghost

• Cost changed from 100 Minerals and 200 Vespene Gas to 150 Minerals and 150 Vespene Gas.
• EMP Round radius decreased from 3 to 2.

Factory

• Cost decreased from 200 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas to 150 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas.

Tech Lab

• Cost decreased from 50 Minerals and 50 Vespene Gas to 50 Minerals and 25 Vespene Gas.

Reactor

• Build time increased from 25 seconds to 50 seconds.

SCV

• Life decreased from 60 to 45.

Bunker

• Build time decreased from 40 seconds to 30 seconds.

Marine

• Build time increased from 20 seconds to 25 seconds.

Protoss

Colossus

• Thermal Lances damage decreased from 23 to 20

Observer

• Cost increased from 25 Minerals and 75 Vespene Gas to 50 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas.
• Build time increased from 33 seconds to 40 seconds.

Stalker

• Particle Disruptors damage increased from 8 (+6 Armored) to 10 (+4 Armored).
• Weapon upgrade damage decreased from +1 (+1 Armored) to +1 (+0 Armored).

Dark Templar

• Armor type changed from Biological-Psionic to Biological-Psionic-Light.

High Templar

• Armor type changed from Biological-Psionic to Biological-Psionic-Light.

Dark Shrine

• Build time increased from 80 seconds to 100 seconds.
• Cost increased from 100 Minerals and 200 Vespene Gas to 100 Minerals and 250 Vespene Gas.

Zerg

Baneling

• Volatile Burst damage increased from 15 (+20 Light) to 20 (+15 Light).

Roach

• Burrowed regeneration rate decreased from 10 to 5.
• Upgraded burrowed regeneration bonus decreased from +20 to +10.

General

• Fixed an issue affecting the incorrect assignment of arranged teams to certain Leagues.
• Fixed an issue affecting random teams that caused no points being awarded on wins and too many points being removed on losses in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue involving the Bonus Pool display on the Quick Match and Leagues & Ladders pages.
• Korean client: Fixed an issue affecting the ability for Korean players to properly view profiles. They can now see their League ranking on their profile page.
• Fixed an intermittent UI crash on game shutdown.
• Polish client: Fixed a crash which would happen any time a "Player is no longer being revealed!" message was displayed.

Ho ho ho, Roaches.

Ho ho ho.

Marine 25sec from 20 is pretty huge, but I think it's probably the right call. Ghost reduced cost and Bunker reduced build time sound really neat, though. :)

Interesting changes. Huge nerf to scvs...they are now indisputably the worst worker units >.<
Vulnerable while building, no regen, and only 5 hp to make up for that.
we'll see how this goes...

Protoss got nerfed again. Wasn't expecting that at all. What a shock. Blizzard clearly isn't biased towards the other races :rolleyes:

Remember when the roaches thing was to be this incredible regenerating monster and not some wierd DT/hydralisk that hacked off the infestor's coolest ability.

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Originally Posted by imdrunkontea

Interesting changes. Huge nerf to scvs...they are now indisputably the worst worker units >.<
Vulnerable while building, no regen, and only 5 hp to make up for that.
we'll see how this goes...

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-Can make PF nigh invincible

The funniest part about the Roach nerf is that its base stats needed to be nerfed, not its burrowed regen.

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Originally Posted by DemolitionSquid

Protoss got nerfed again. Wasn't expecting that at all. What a shock. Blizzard clearly isn't biased towards the other races :rolleyes:

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Toss got buffed vs. MMM, got buffed vs. Muta, and got buffed vs. EMP.

That's like the things they had the biggest problems with... I'm not sure how this is bad. :confused:

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Originally Posted by pure.Wasted

Toss got buffed vs. MMM, got buffed vs. Muta, and got buffed vs. EMP.

That's like the things they had the biggest problems with... I'm not sure how this is bad. :confused:

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3 buff notes + 8 nerf notes = 5 nerfs.

8/11 = 75%

Ergo, Protoss mostly got nerfed.

I don't mind all the nerfs, but really, whats with the nerf to the dark shrine?

I'm like the only toss player that even uses dark templars, or at least it seems like it. :O

Meh, the Roach nerf doesn't bother me since I never really made use of a Roach/Burrow timing attack :p.

Of all the changes, the one that made me go "WOW" was the SCV hp nerf. I mean wow...that 60 HP was such a classic aspect of the original SCV, but I guess it just can't work out in SC2, given how powerful an early Terran Marine/SCV rush can be with Reactors and the improved worker attack-move capabilities.

Oh and also, I'm very happy that +1 attack Colossi can no longer 2-shot Hydralisks :p. I believe this is might really compensate for the lesser effectiveness of Infestors vs Colossi, by better allowing the Zerg to slog it out in a head-on fight.

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Originally Posted by DemolitionSquid

3 buff notes + 8 nerf notes = 5 nerfs.

8/11 = 75%

Ergo, Protoss mostly got nerfed.

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Not all nerfs and buffs are equal. The stalker change is pretty awesome.

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Originally Posted by Pursang

I don't mind all the nerfs, but really, whats with the nerf to the dark shrine?

I'm like the only toss player that even uses dark templars, or at least it seems like it. :O

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I use them. Blizzard is channeling Harbinger.

ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL. I KNOW THIS HURTS YOU.

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Originally Posted by DemolitionSquid

Protoss got nerfed again. Wasn't expecting that at all. What a shock. Blizzard clearly isn't biased towards the other races :rolleyes:

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Why would blizzard be biased against races they put thousands and thousands of hours creating? Do you presume Dustin Browder was assaulted by a Protoss Zealot as a child?

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Originally Posted by DemolitionSquid

The funniest part about the Roach nerf is that its base stats needed to be nerfed, not its burrowed regen.

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It was because of ZvZ that they nerfed the regen.

its funny how they did basically no nerfs to the strongest race (zerg) and nerfed Protoss again (the weakest race atm)..

(im saying this as a Zerg player.. I know my race is overpowered.)

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Originally Posted by Skyze

its funny how they did basically no nerfs to the strongest race (zerg)

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Jigga wha?

Ugh. Yes, they nerfed the Protoss, but in all the places that count the P got buffed. They'll be better vs. MMM, Ghosts, Mutas, and Roaches, which is exactly the things that they needed to be better against.

Now if you wanna complain that the DT nerf is punishing alternate strategies and taking choice away from Ps, maybe you have a point. But I think over-all this is gonna be a good patch for Ps. Those nerfs to T and Z will add up.

(they weren't necessarily the right nerfs; I have NO IDEA what Blizzard is doing with the Roach at the moment... but they're nerfs)

We'll see.

I have idea why they touched the Dark Shrine. I use DT's a fair bit, they are not OP in any way.

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Dark Templar

* Armor type changed from Biological-Psionic to Biological-Psionic-Light.


High Templar

* Armor type changed from Biological-Psionic to Biological-Psionic-Light.

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Ok now ghost will REALLY be a central TvP unit! 20 damage total to high and dark templar, ouch!

Huh I'm not happy with the EMP nerf. I'm gonna get raped even more by Protoss now. I don't understand why so many Protoss players were complaining about the state of PvT. Honestly, when I play Terran, I win pretty much every match against all the races except P. On the other, I lose 90% of my matches against Protoss. It's probably just me doing something wrong though. I'd need the replays of the Protoss losing to terrans.

On another note, I'm sad to see that they still didn't had a 2nd counter for your ally ressources in 2v2. This is really important imo and even more when he leave and you're stuck controlling his stuff. The task is impossible without another counter telling you supply/minerals/gas.

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Originally Posted by sandwich_bird

Huh I'm not happy with the EMP nerf. I'm gonna get raped even more by Protoss now. I don't understand why so many Protoss players were complaining about the state of PvT. Honestly, when I play Terran, I win pretty much every match against all the races except P. On the other, I lose 90% of my matches against Protoss. It's probably just me doing something wrong though. I'd need the replays of the Protoss losing to terrans.

On another note, I'm sad to see that they still didn't had a 2nd counter for your ally ressources in 2v2. This is really important imo and even more when he leave and you're stuck controlling his stuff. The task is impossible without another counter telling you supply/minerals/gas.

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Watch the TvP "thor rush" game. Even tho its not a viable strat to anyone decent, the power that thors have in that matchup is pretty insane. Theres many other ways for T to win also, I think its a fairly even matchup.

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its funny how they did basically no nerfs to the strongest race (zerg) and nerfed Protoss again (the weakest race atm)..

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That Roach Nerf is far more of a nerf than the meaningless "Dark Templar are less useful than when they were useless." nerf.

Not to mention that Viking buffs are global Zerg nerfs in ZvT. Now Vikings are cheaper than Mutalisks (ie: the Zerg flying unit most capable of dealing with them); they're still double-pumpable, so it's open season on Overlords.

Between that and the Stalker buff, there is zero reason to use Mutalisks now. Thanks, Blizzard. Because what I wanted was less reason to use cool units.

Thor rush definitely not viable in TvP with good players. Good players get a lot of Immortals.

BTW Protoss isn't the weakest race. Terran is.

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Originally Posted by DemolitionSquid

Thor rush definitely not viable in TvP with good players. Good players get a lot of Immortals.

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In any case, I don't just wanna rush the other guy all the time (which I could just do with 2 proxy rax: scv+ marine rush (that's where the winning 10% is)). I want to play seriously too.

Seems like they nerfed Terran due to the complaints about this so called 'OP' cheese strat of making 2 barracks, making 10 marines, and then rushing with all your SCVs.

I like the changes to the stalker and baneling, make them more valuable and less rock-paper-scissors esc.

What surprised me was the change to the scv. I guess the line-backer scv technique was too powerful and had to go. 15 hp seems like a bit much though, I wouldve tried 10 first.

The rest of the changes were somewhat expected and normal to me.

it was overpowered man..

and I will still use mutas everygame in ZvP, assuming it gets past my ling/roach timing attack in first 5 mins. Mutas arent meant to completely dominate everything heads up like they did, they are suppose to be harassing units.

The way Mutas function in SC1, they are weak and fragile but so mobile that you just distract the opponent the whole time while you take more bases/mass up a real army. That is exactly how I use them in SC2, and I think their main purpose.

I'm not too happy or upset about most of these changes.

Except for the roach. Bad Blizzard! Nerf hp, not regen! *Sigh*

But I'm glad they're making lots of changes. These patches are still smaller than the Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos beta patches were. I'll try to find some sources and link/post here on the WC III beta patches.

Now that I think about it, I'm pretty upset over the Roach change, actually.

What they did was take a unit that was incredibly A+click friendly and gave players even less incentive to micro them. Had they reduced HP, as Kim says, they'd have had the same effect but with the requirement of some micro.

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Originally Posted by Crazy_Jonny

What surprised me was the change to the scv. I guess the line-backer scv technique was too powerful and had to go. 15 hp seems like a bit much though, I wouldve tried 10 first.

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You can't really make this, you have to go to the extreme immediately so you see what is the balance bracket. If 60 was too strong and 45 is too weak you are settled. If you down to 55 or 50 you down really know, yeah you'll figure out the next patch but it is faster this way.

Coarse balance first, fine tuning after.

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Originally Posted by sandwich_bird

Huh I'm not happy with the EMP nerf. I'm gonna get raped even more by Protoss now. I don't understand why so many Protoss players were complaining about the state of PvT. Honestly, when I play Terran, I win pretty much every match against all the races except P. On the other, I lose 90% of my matches against Protoss. It's probably just me doing something wrong though. I'd need the replays of the Protoss losing to terrans.

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Look on the bright side, Sandwich Bird, an unupgraded Colossus now takes four hits to kill a Marauder instead of just 3. I think that despite the EMP nerf, the Colossus nerf is very favourable to Terrans. Assuming that you still have unupgraded Marines when your Protoss opponent has Colossi, they also don't die in 1 hit from a Colossus :].

Also, a 55 HP marine (with Combat Shield) has 45 HP when stimmed, so it also doesn't die to 1 hit from a Colossus, unlike pre-patch :).

And if you have +1 armour for your infantry, then even if the Protoss has +1 attack, it takes 4 Colossi to one-shot a Marauder. I think it might really make +1 armour a more attractive choice vs Protoss, now that it actually has more of an effect vs Colossi.

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Originally Posted by Nicol Bolas

That Roach Nerf is far more of a nerf than the meaningless "Dark Templar are less useful than when they were useless." nerf.

Not to mention that Viking buffs are global Zerg nerfs in ZvT. Now Vikings are cheaper than Mutalisks (ie: the Zerg flying unit most capable of dealing with them); they're still double-pumpable, so it's open season on Overlords.

Between that and the Stalker buff, there is zero reason to use Mutalisks now. Thanks, Blizzard. Because what I wanted was less reason to use cool units.

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You're taking all these changes way too harshly, Nicol :p. You couldn't really brute-force your way to victory using Mutalisks pre-patch, and after more and more players started using a greater number of Stalkers and Sentries in their armies, I just used Mutalisks as a harass unit, which they should still be fine at. Also, it's not as if Stalkers are so much more powerful now that you can't punish a Protoss player with Mutalisks if they really skimp on the anti-air.

I'm actually more concerned about Stalkers vs Zerg ground now :p. They kill Zerglings in 4 shots as opposed to 5, and Hydras in 9 shots as opposed to 12. Hydra/Roach may not dominate Zealots/Stalkers/Sentries/Immortals so much anymore. However, on the bright side, once Colossi come into play, it doesn't hurt Zerg as much ^_^.

To me, the real Viking buff came a couple patches ago - the one that increased their damage vs non-massive targets or whatever. Ever since that patch, Zerg have lacked a very strong aerial answer to Vikings, so again, I don't see this change affecting ZvT too much.

[quote]What they did was take a unit that was incredibly A+click friendly and gave players even less incentive to micro them. Had they reduced HP, as Kim says, they'd have had the same effect but with the requirement of some micro. /quote]

No, they wouldn't. If Roaches have less Hp, then in the time before burrow micro, they would be far less useful. By keeping the Hp the same and only affecting regen, what they do is make burrow micro less useful. This only affects the Tier 2 Roach.

Now, this is still stupid, because Tier 2 Roaches were weak as hell before this change.

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Hydra/Roach may not dominate Zealots/Stalkers/Sentries/Immortals so much anymore.

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Which effectively means that the Zerg have no answer to this. Muta-Ling isn't effective due to the beefed up Stalkers. Muta/Hydra is too gas heavy. You can't even get decent burrow micro with Muta/Roach. What is a Zerg player supposed to do? It's not like we have that many units that we can use. Infested Marines aren't going to do jack against this. The damage output of Fungal Growth is crap compared to Protoss HP. And with Infestors still at 90 Hp, they have no hope of gaining control of anything significant.

Hmm it seems like they may be doing the database wipe right now. Nobody is able to post on the beta forums cause it says your character does not exist.

Why isn't anybody mentioning the baneling buff? The desired effect seems pretty obvious to me. They want you to use more banelings and less roaches in the zvp matchup. I do question how good Hydralisks are now with Stalkers around. I guess they were ok anti-air, but I really wasn't even using them much before. I don't see how this helps things.

I also don't understand why they're making it even easier for Terran to block off and bunker up.
________
AVANDIA SETTLEMENTS

The thing I'm actually most pissed about is the needless Observer nerf. Terran already get to scan me from safety anytime they want, but my Observer has to take up a supply slot and try and sneak into their base without being scanned or forced off by Turrets. And now I gotta use 25 more gas and 7 more seconds to get my detection? So not cool.

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Originally Posted by TWD

Why isn't anybody mentioning the baneling buff? The desired effect seems pretty obvious to me. They want you to use more banelings and less roaches in the zvp matchup. I do question how good Hydralisks are now with Stalkers around. I guess they were ok anti-air, but I really wasn't even using them much before. I don't see how this helps things.

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Hydras with Roach support can really dominate Zealots/Stalkers/Sentries/Immortals :p. It took High Templar or Colossi to tip the battle back in the Protoss' favour.

Now, Hydras are not as strong against Stalkers, so it might put Zerg in a bit more of a pickle. Maybe more Banelings need to be used, or maybe the Colossi nerf balances out the fact that Stalkers are a good deal better against Zerg ground now.

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Why isn't anybody mentioning the baneling buff?

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5 whole damage. Now, instead of taking 9 times as much gas to kill a Marauder as a Marauder costs, it only takes 7. So cost effective. :rolleyes:

I think this patch was well done personally. Anybody that doesn't see the literal "balance" of buffs and nerfs to each race this time around needs to go play their nemesis race for a good thirty games and open their eyes. :)

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Originally Posted by DemolitionSquid

Protoss got nerfed again. Wasn't expecting that at all. What a shock. Blizzard clearly isn't biased towards the other races :rolleyes:

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I've never seen that much sarcasm packed into one post.
You should win a certificate or something. :p

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Originally Posted by Dale

I've never seen that much sarcasm packed into one post.
You should win a certificate or something. :p

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Dale, meet Squid.

Squid, Dale.