DemolitionSquid Reviews HotS Multiplayer Changes

[DemolitionSquid]

Seeing as I'm such a loved and respected member of this community, I thought I'd let you peons in on my deep thoughts about HotS.

Terran

Ghost Energy Change: Approve of more strategic and timed use of Cloak.

Reaper Regeneration: Do not like. Zerg regenerate. The Medic was merged into the Dropship to help heal the mobile Reaper. This change will work, but defies racial norms and insults the Medevac (poor girl ).

BC Speed Boost: I don't particularly support increased Terran speed. Terran push, leapfrog, enforce positions. They have Reapers, Hellions, and Banshees to raid and assert control. Speed Boost will only really be useful in getting BC's to the front line, or chasing retreating Mutalisks. I don't feel that's enough justification for its insertion, regardless of how minor an ability it may be.

Shredder: I understand the thought behind this thing, and I follow the logic. I do not, however, support it or agree with it. Terran have Siege Tanks, Bunkers, and Planetary Fortresses. They have no need for another AoE denial method. Blizzard should instead focus on making the Planetary Fortress more viable to increase its use outside Gold Mineral defense. They should introduce better Bunker upgrades.

Battle Hellion: I do not support this change. The Firebat was removed from multiplayer to be replaced by the more mobile Hellion. Now we're shoehorning it back in? Not cool. The unit seems to fill too many roles - tank, AoE, mobile - all for 100 Minerals. It deplaces the Marauder as the go-to front line support unit. Right now Marines kill Zealots/Zerglings and Marauders kill Stalkers/Roaches. I predict it will swap to Battle Hellion kills Zealots/Zerglings and Marines kill Stalkers/Roaches, leaving far more gas for Terran tech and upgrades to unbalance their progression. Hellions right now are too weak for this, with too direct a stream for such a play. Bringing in the Battle Hellion as essentially the hearty WoL campaign Firebat will regress HotS into SCBW. Also, with the creation of the anti-tank Warhound, I feel there's no niche for the Battle Hellion in that damage absorption aspect either.

Warhound: I have always felt the Thor never reached its potential. It was very Terran as a giant mech, but was nerfed and shoehorned into a ranged tank AA. The Warhound appears to fix all my issues with the Thor - cheaper, smaller, more mobile, more producible. Its anti-siege tank ability is also pleasing to me. Its basically Thor Jr. and I'm content with that.

Thor as a "superunit": This is what it was originally, and what it was always meant to be. I approve.

Protoss

Mothership removal: I approve. The Mothership was a missed oportunity. Too costly, too late. Huge target, weak spells. It was a glorified Arbiter, and it failed.

Nexus Recall: Kiwikaki should be happy about this, and I am too. This is what the Mothership did with Mass Recall, brining units back to base. Cutting out the Mothership middle-man is a clear improvement, letting the ability be used more often.

Nexus Arc Shield: I believe all units and abilities should be useful all game long. Arc Shield does not seem to support this ideology. It may be useful early game, making Pylons and Gateways into 20 second Photon Cannons. But Cannons lose their power late game, and this spell will too. I have no doubt Chrono Boost and Recall will be the better defencive abilities through macro.

Carrier removal: FINALLY. This unit has been a broken burden for a decade. I could go into a huge post about it, but I think it's clear to everyone why its a good thing it's gone, so lets move on.

Tempest: I feel this unit will be a much better captial ship than the Carrier, but I'm not sold on it. A strong AA presence was needed. No variability in power as Interceptors are created and lost is a blessing. Its a more straight-up unit than the Carrier... but I'm not sure thats a good thing. It feels too much like a Battle Cruiser to me, and I'll have to try it before I can assess if I like that for Protoss.

Oracle: Protoss have been lacking a strong harrasser, relying on Phoenix and late Warp Prism DT drops. They needed an earlier method. They got the Stargate produced Oracle, and I'm disappointed. Browder said there were already 55 million ways to kill workers, and they wanted something different, so now you can block mining. This logic hurts my soul. You know what hurts mining really well? Killing workers! You can never have too many ways to kill workers, and mineral block is a stupid ability. On the other hand, I'm very happy to see Contaminate remains in game. Stalling turrets and production is a huge boon, and I hope this ability will see more play as an "electric cage" cast from the Oracle than it did cast from the Overseer.

Replicant: Holy shit. Currently 200/200 to become any non-massive unit of any race. Making the most of this unit will define the great players, if it stays in. The possibilities are endless, and I'm eager to see where it goes. I'll have to withhold further judgement for now.

Zerg

Baneling Burrow-Move: Baneling mines have never been as popular as they were expected to be. The moment they're spotted the Terran and Protoss prep Observers and Scan to nullify the threat. Hopefully burrow-move will let Banelings get into desireable positions with a bit more safety and assurance.

Hydra Speed Upgrade: I think having Hydralisks slow off Creep is an important part of promoting Creep spread. The problem is that Hydras are not as vital as they were in SCBW for AA because of Corruptors. So I think increasing their speed with an upgrade should help them be seen more often in core ground armies.

Corruptor Ability Change: The Corruptor has always been troubled. It used to turn enemies into turrets. Now its just a nerfed Devourer and a stepping stone to Brood Lords. I have no idea how Blizzard thought its new "Mineral Siphon" ability was a good idea. Leaving your Corruptors in the enemy base to suck minerals from him is just rediculous. I give this change an F-.

Overseer Removal: Its a sad state that the Overseer was never a strong caster, it had real potential. Changeling was a horribly implemented Parasite substitute. But at least contaminate lives on in the Protoss Oracle, and the Viper appears to be a solid substitute.

Ultralisk Burrow-Charge: I think this change, while defying the laws of physics, is very good. Getting your Ultras into the fray has always been an issue, and I'm glad to see them given some better pathing.

Viper: Despite it looking like a fighter jet dragonfly, the Viper seems to be a good caster replacement to the Overseer. Dark Swarm/Disruption Web returns in a new form, and I think it compliments the Zerg melee focus nicely. The ability to add Detection to any Zerg unit is a bit strange, but the thought of burrowed Banelings littered around the map who can also detect cloaked Ghosts and DT's is tempting. What really sells this unit for me, however, is the "Grab" ability. To be able to displace other units at whim will completely alter the playing field of range attacking and area denile. I'm very eager to see where this goes.

Swarm Host: This easily gets my vote as the best new unit. I love this thing - its simple and eligant, and it screams Zerg. Endless waves of Locust (Broodlings)? Yes please. My only concern is it may replace Zerglings as cannon fodder late game, because I want all units to be useful the whole game.

[Sheliek]

What about making the reaper healing an activated ability. Say, heal X damage for Y energy, with perhaps Z activation period in which the reaper is a sitting duck.

[RamiZ]

Things I dislike is Thor as a "superunit". I dislike the whole "superunit" concept in SC universe. In 99,99% Thor won't be even made. I also dislike Reapers regen, and really dislike the Warhound look. Warhound looks now like average mech warriors... at least make it closer to the old Goliath.

[Alex06]

I don't see why they had to model an entirely new vehicle to make the Warhound. It looks so haphazardly assembled and weak mechanically. It looks like an ugly long-legged SCV. They could've simply used the Diamondback from the campaign, and perhaps even given it researchable Spider Mines. That thing looks 10 times cooler than the Warhound, and it was already anti-armor anyways.

[RamiZ]

But they needed some unit on two legs, to replace the Thor, some robot, but other than that, I agree with you. Warhound looks terrible.

[DemolitionSquid]

Protoss

Mothership removal: I approve. The Mothership was a missed oportunity. Too costly, too late. Huge target, weak spells. It was a glorified Arbiter, and it failed.

Nexus Recall: Kiwikaki should be happy about this, and I am too. This is what the Mothership did with Mass Recall, brining units back to base. Cutting out the Mothership middle-man is a clear improvement, letting the ability be used more often.

Nexus Arc Shield: I believe all units and abilities should be useful all game long. Arc Shield does not seem to support this ideology. It may be useful early game, making Pylons and Gateways into 20 second Photon Cannons. But Cannons lose their power late game, and this spell will too. I have no doubt Chrono Boost and Recall will be the better defencive abilities through macro.

Carrier removal: FINALLY. This unit has been a broken burden for a decade. I could go into a huge post about it, but I think it's clear to everyone why its a good thing it's gone, so lets move on.

Tempest: I feel this unit will be a much better captial ship than the Carrier, but I'm not sold on it. A strong AA presence was needed. No variability in power as Interceptors are created and lost is a blessing. Its a more straight-up unit than the Carrier... but I'm not sure thats a good thing. It feels too much like a Battle Cruiser to me, and I'll have to try it before I can assess if I like that for Protoss.

Oracle: Protoss have been lacking a strong harrasser, relying on Phoenix and late Warp Prism DT drops. They needed an earlier method. They got the Stargate produced Oracle, and I'm disappointed. Browder said there were already 55 million ways to kill workers, and they wanted something different, so now you can block mining. This logic hurts my soul. You know what hurts mining really well? Killing workers! You can never have too many ways to kill workers, and mineral block is a stupid ability. On the other hand, I'm very happy to see Contaminate remains in game. Stalling turrets and production is a huge boon, and I hope this ability will see more play as an "electric cage" cast from the Oracle than it did cast from the Overseer.

Replicant: Holy shit. Currently 200/200 to become any non-massive unit of any race. Making the most of this unit will define the great players, if it stays in. The possibilities are endless, and I'm eager to see where it goes. I'll have to withhold further judgement for now.

[Alex06]

But they needed some unit on two legs, to replace the Thor, some robot, but other than that, I agree with you. Warhound looks terrible.

But the Battle Hellion is on 2 legs. Now pretty much every Terran vehicle has legs.

For the Recall ability, I had a better idea; Make it a teleport ability that allows to to select a target area and a destination area (within pylon range, of course). Still, I am happy the Mothership is gone. The Carrier, not so sure, though...I wish they'd have re-worked it, like the Reaper.

[Alar]

I agree. Hellions seem overpowered as f*ck. Unless they increase the price by 75 minerals or 50 gas, I can't see this remaining in the game as it is...

Unless Battle Hellions becomes a gas expensive upgrade to try to balance things out, maybe?

[JackhammerIV]

I thought the battle hellion was an upgrade that needed to be researched. Overall seems like a mech boost for Terran. Things to better support and protect the core siege tanks.

Replicant seems like it should be taken out of the game. Just a little too strange. Like saying Protoss needs to rely on the other races' units to do well.

[DemolitionSquid]

Zerg

Baneling Burrow-Move: Baneling mines have never been as popular as they were expected to be. The moment they're spotted the Terran and Protoss prep Observers and Scan to nullify the threat. Hopefully burrow-move will let Banelings get into desireable positions with a bit more safety and assurance.

Hydra Speed Upgrade: I think having Hydralisks slow off Creep is an important part of promoting Creep spread. The problem is that Hydras are not as vital as they were in SCBW for AA because of Corruptors. So I think increasing their speed with an upgrade should help them be seen more often in core ground armies.

Corruptor Ability Change: The Corruptor has always been troubled. It used to turn enemies into turrets. Now its just a nerfed Devourer and a stepping stone to Brood Lords. I have no idea how Blizzard thought its new "Mineral Siphon" ability was a good idea. Leaving your Corruptors in the enemy base to suck minerals from him is just rediculous. I give this change an F-.

Overseer Removal: Its a sad state that the Overseer was never a strong caster, it had real potential. Changeling was a horribly implemented Parasite substitute. But at least contaminate lives on in the Protoss Oracle, and the Viper appears to be a solid substitute.

Ultralisk Burrow-Charge: I think this change, while defying the laws of physics, is very good. Getting your Ultras into the fray has always been an issue, and I'm glad to see them given some better pathing.

Viper: Despite it looking like a fighter jet dragonfly, the Viper seems to be a good caster replacement to the Overseer. Dark Swarm/Disruption Web returns in a new form, and I think it compliments the Zerg melee focus nicely. The ability to add Detection to any Zerg unit is a bit strange, but the thought of burrowed Banelings littered around the map who can also detect cloaked Ghosts and DT's is tempting. What really sells this unit for me, however, is the "Grab" ability. To be able to displace other units at whim will completely alter the playing field of range attacking and area denile. I'm very eager to see where this goes.

Swarm Host: This easily gets my vote as the best new unit. I love this thing - its simple and eligant, and it screams Zerg. Endless waves of Locust (Broodlings)? Yes please. My only concern is it may replace Zerglings as cannon fodder late game, because I want all units to be useful the whole game.