StarCraft 2 Tech Tree

[Norfindel]

Which is how it has always been ever since it was no longer produced by SCVs.

So? What's the problem? I'm just taking the chance to say that taking a late game damage soaker and make it some sort of super-Goliath isn't too interesting.
Giving a ground unit a lot of anti-air range was already done with the Goliath, and it wasn't interesting for gameplay. Such a kind of splash damage was already used for units like the Valkyrie and the Corsair, which totally raped Light air units, which isn't fun, either, and it would be worse with this kind of range.
So, why not give this unit a ground attack only, and some interesting abilities, like Defensive Matrix to aid it's role as a damage soaker. Hell, they're so fat that they could even obscure the battlefield, leaving the units behind inside the fog of war, unless spotted by the enemy. They could also have Drop Pods filled with Marines, that would be usefull to attack enemy Siege Tanks directly, by landing the Drop Pods next to them, or you could use them to raid an enemy base.

[unentschieden]

The problem is that there is no aggro system in SC2. Why would anyone target the damagesponge first? Terrans are the Glasscannons of SC. They are the ones with pure ranged attacks, the highest amount of active abilities and the loads of AoEs. Thats what was so exciting about the initial Thor - it went against the racial concept. Unfortunately thats also why it had to change.

[Nicol Bolas]

Why would anyone target the damagesponge first?

Because:

1: it's the one in range.

2: it will kill you if you don't.

3: your units automatically target the first thing that comes into range, so at least the first round of your fire will go after it.

[MattII]

4. It's slaughtering you Mutalisks and Corruptors.

[mr. peasant]

Because:

1: it's the one in range.

2: it will kill you if you don't.

3: your units automatically target the first thing that comes into range, so at least the first round of your fire will go after it.

Also, in the case of Thors and other Terran units (which are ranged) versus non-Terran units that are melee (or just shorter ranged), the Thors form a protective wall thanks to its size, preventing the opposing units from reaching said 'glass cannon' units.

[Norfindel]

Why would anyone target the damagesponge first?

I think it's something like this: units are biased to shoot the higher damage unit first (in their range). That's why Ultra+Ling works so well, nobody is shooting at the Zerglings that are really dealing the heavy damage. The damage done by the Ultralisks in comparison is laughable.
A damage soaker forces you to constantly focus fire on the weaker units, as they're the ones dealing the most damage.
In the case of the Thor and the Siege Tanks, the Tanks are probably out of sight from your units.

[unentschieden]

I think it's something like this: units are biased to shoot the higher damage unit first (in their range).

Initially Units fire at the first unit that comes into range. After that the Targeting algorythm kicks in and selects the unit that TAKES the most damage. If you leave targeting to the computer the Thor would be the LAST unit being shoot at. Your only chance is to send in Thors first and be done before your spearhead dies (or the enemy player has time to retarget). Thats how Ultra+Zergling actually work.

In the case of the Thor and the Siege Tanks, the Tanks are probably out of sight from your units.

The point of the current Thor is that BOTH are out of the range of enemy units. Siegetanks have still the highest AG Range and Thor right now the highest AA range.

[Nicol Bolas]

Initially Units fire at the first unit that comes into range. After that the Targeting algorythm kicks in and selects the unit that TAKES the most damage. If you leave targeting to the computer the Thor would be the LAST unit being shoot at.

That's totally untrue. If you leave units alone, they will target the unit they started targeting after that. Now, once that unit is dead, they will switch to something else. But if that unit has lots of Hp, it's going to take a long time for them to retarget.

The point of the current Thor is that BOTH are out of the range of enemy units.

If you're using a Thor to meatshield for your STs, they work best as both meatshields and spotters. That is, they should be engaging enemy units towards the extremes of the ST's range. That way, they can use their large bodies to make it more difficult if not impossible to get around them. At the very least, your Thors should be engaging enemy far enough away from the STs that the enemy can't shoot them.

[unentschieden]

If you leave units alone, they will target the unit they started targeting after that.

What exactly do you mean with that? I have yet to see units retarget from a unit they didn´t kill yet if it´s that what you mean.

[Nicol Bolas]

What exactly do you mean with that?

Yeah, I should probably try that again in English:

If you leave units alone, they will keep targeting the unit they started with until it isn't there anymore.