PTR Patch 1.3.0

[Genopath]

Which is a good thing. Medivacs shouldn't be outhealing offensive spell damage.

But being a 4 second 'stun' will force zerg to have more infestors or save up more energy to properly immobilize a group. One Fungal over a full duration isn't enough to kill marines; while standing in a psi storm would.

True but Psi-Storm can be dodged and usually only partial damage is done. I wouldn't mind getting rid of the stun if the damage becomes instant. 6-8 Infestors could destroy an MMM ball very safely. Unlike HT which require good psi storm positioning over the spell time.

[Caliban113]

Hot off the press....

The patch 1.3.0 PTR is once again available for testing. With the help of player feedback, we've addressed several bugs with this update and made the following changes to unit balance:


The buff to Infestor health has been reverted.

Fungal Growth is now once again instant cast and will no longer fire a missile.

Ghost EMP now drains up to 100 energy instead of all available energy. The effect on Protoss shields remains unchanged.

While we're not currently anticipating any further changes in this PTR cycle and are very close to finalizing and releasing patch 1.3.0, we still encourage to you to hop onto the PTR client and continue testing. Check out the PTR FAQ to learn how: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/1196139834

We'd also like to thank everyone who's participated in the PTR thus far. Your reports and feedback have been very much appreciated!

EMP nerf sounds fair if HTs are losing the amulet

[protoswarrior]

EMP nerf changes nothing since no HT ever get beyond 90 energy before a battle (before getting KA). 100 energy drain on a 90 energy templar is the same as a FULL energy drain on a 90 energy templar.

[RamiZ]

EMP nerf changes nothing since no HT ever get beyond 90 energy before a battle (before getting KA). 100 energy drain on a 90 energy templar is the same as a FULL energy drain on a 90 energy templar.

If Amulet nerf stays(and it probably will) you will have HTs with full energy, just like you did in SC BW, you will save them for full energy, and with proper spreading you will be able to cast more Psi Storms than you are now, since one Ghost won't disable 6 HTs with single EMP.

[protoswarrior]

If Amulet nerf stays(and it probably will) you will have HTs with full energy, just like you did in SC BW, you will save them for full energy, and with proper spreading you will be able to cast more Psi Storms than you are now, since one Ghost won't disable 6 HTs with single EMP.

You're dreaming if you think that. Ghost timing is 160 seconds before templar tech. The FIRST timing attack with EMP by Terran will kill Protoss right there and then when Protoss is just about getting 55 energy on the non-KA upgraded HTs he gets.

And, 160 seconds includes Moebius Reactor and Ghost unit build time.


A more realistic take would be that every Terran will scout Protoss and see that he has gone Colossus/Stalker/Sentry and will not even bother with Ghosts, and will just blindly tech to vikings every game and roll his way to victory. 700/800 is too expensive to invest in a tech that brings no reward.

What is the point in spending that much when at MOST you can only cast 1 psi-storm (if lucky)?

[RamiZ]

You're dreaming if you think that. Ghost timing is 160 seconds before templar tech. The FIRST timing attack with EMP by Terran will kill Protoss right there and then when Protoss is just about getting 55 energy on the non-KA upgraded HTs he gets.

And, 160 seconds includes Moebius Reactor and Ghost unit build time.


A more realistic take would be that every Terran will scout Protoss and see that he has gone Colossus/Stalker/Sentry and will not even bother with Ghosts, and will just blindly tech to vikings every game and roll his way to victory. 700/800 is too expensive to invest in a tech that brings no reward.

What is the point in spending that much when at MOST you can only cast 1 psi-storm (if lucky)?

Again, you are comparing HT with Ghost, witch is just wrong, in my opinion. Ghosts aren't used just because of HTs, but because of Protoss' Shield and other units like Sentries. I am pretty sure that with Colossi/Sentries/Zealots/Stalkers/Phoenixes/whatever you will be able to win the fight. It all comes down to positioning and who plays the fight better.

You are all crying too much, the fact is, it really is big nerf, but the other fact is that I saw many games in PvT being played without HTs.

[Todie]

I think HT's will come in to play a bit later than is currently the case, and with less impact; as you cant warp in storm vs drops etc. I think we'll still definately see HT's though, especially on maps and spawns that are far enough apart to make for longer bigger games.

.. also, presuming the situation where HT's saved up 175+ energy, (witch is far fetched by current standards; requires some passivity / defensive paosture) this makes for some more resilient storming capability; requiring double EMP or sniping of these templars, from ghosts that might get picked of by other units or fresher HT's that are still feedback-capable; creating a similar "cant deny all storms wtih EMP" situation as we currently have though warped-in storms.

.. though these situations appear later, dealing with them may require larger investments in ghosts - units that lack an equivalence to archon-merging, (making them less versatile than HT's) or a heavier relliance on mech support to lessen the blows of psi-storms.

Finally, lets not forget the EMP-nerfs barring on other P energy units; sentires frequently end up banking more than 150 energy in the buildup to key midgame fights, phoenixes can too, and i've seen plenty of key EMP's landed to significantly hurt the usefulness of these units.


... to sum up, i hope and believe protosswarior is wrong on this, though i lack personal experience on the matter, as ive said before, i think these changes may serve to greatly diversify P play-styles later in the game; i hope to see more double-forge builds, more phoenix+colossi and more combinations of reliance on colossi AND HT, through the latgame, as well as continued use (and warping in) of sentires throughout the later stages of the game; HT will no longer be as dominant a gas sink on the gateway; maybe we'll finally start seeing some regualr FF+storm combos!

time will tell if additional changes are needed to strengthen what should become a more diverse set of options for lategame protoss..

for now, all i can think of is that it might be good to set a timer on the EMP-debuff so that units cant have double shield & energy taken away by instant double EMP, the same timer as the EMP's revealing effects i guess... i cant know if its really called for, but i feel, its something that makes sense.

[Blazur]

I can't believe they're sticking with the KA removal. Somebody suggested a change to all caster upgrades which I agree with. Instead of making units start with more energy, allow them to regen energy more quickly. This would be so much more useful.

[SinsWage]

I can't believe they're sticking with the KA removal. Somebody suggested a change to all caster upgrades which I agree with. Instead of making units start with more energy, allow them to regen energy more quickly. This would be so much more useful.

This may end up happening in the long run after they see how these changes affect game play.

[Caliban113]

I can't believe they're sticking with the KA removal. Somebody suggested a change to all caster upgrades which I agree with. Instead of making units start with more energy, allow them to regen energy more quickly. This would be so much more useful.

Good idea - Also, if they are worried about HTs being able to storm too soon after being warped in, why dont they just reduce the amount of starting energy? - enough so that the player has to wait 20 seconds or so for enough energy to storm. (?) I mean, they'd at least have enough starting energy for a feedback.