Dev update: HotS Multiplayer

[TheEconomist]

@DSquid:

It will give the unit a real sense of power and really make it unique from the Carrier, Battle Cruiser, and Brood Lord.

By making it a flying Templar?

I am 99% sure that, if you hadn't come up with this idea and Blizzard had implemented it, you would've started a shit-storm (pun intended) about Blizzard's lack of creativity.

[sandwich_bird]

I agree with all the changes they want to make. I hope they can find something interesting for Terran too though. Battle hellions and warhounds(assuming that they stay in) are really ''meh''... Really nothing interesting to them and the flying spidermines are pretty much useless considering that their only real use would be to counter muta harass... which btw can already be easily countered by a couple of turrets + stiming marines. Maybe you could catch a colossus off-guard or something but that's also an unlikely case considering that by the time you have a colo out, you also have observers and can probably take out those mines easily. If they're gonna put mines back, put freaking regular spidermines back. Then again, this is something I'd like to avoid considering how APM extensives spidermines based strategy were in BW.

What Terran needs(if they remove Thor) is a new massive unit that can remove Force fields. I'd also like a new aoe air unit but... all they really need to do is buff the freaking raven so that hsm becomes more viable. Science vessel >>>>>>>> raven.

[DemolitionSquid]

@DSquid:

By making it a flying Templar?

I am 99% sure that, if you hadn't come up with this idea and Blizzard had implemented it, you would've started a shit-storm (pun intended) about Blizzard's lack of creativity.

Oh TF, you know me so well.

I must ask of you two questions. One, do you think my idea is bad regardless, and two, do you acctually have any imput as to what would be better?

Saying the Tempest shouldn't shoot Storms because the Templar does is silly. If something works, you keep it. If Storm actually functioned better on the Tempest than the Templar, I'd have no problem removing it from the Templar, or scrapping the Templar completely. Blizzard has put arbitrary restrictions on themselves, forcing themselves to keep units or abilities that might not need to be there, or may need to be significantly altered. They've chosen nostalgia over gameplay in some places and it's hurting them.

[TheEconomist]

If something works, you keep it.

That isn't the point.

If that was Blizzard's idea and not yours, you would have immediately gone on a rant the moment you heard.

That's all I meant to say. Next topic.

[Alar]

Rather than shooting storms, why not give it a bouncing attack? I think only the Mutalisk has one, if I recall. It fires out bolts of electricity/psionic energy that zap around like chain lightning, perhaps? That could be an upgrade, if they want. I agree that it needs SOMETHING, otherwise it just feels like an AtA/AtG Guardian/Brood Lord.

[PsiWarp]

Kinda knew the Replicant would be cut. It was a cool-looking techno-wisp but also a dirty copycat :>

Idea on Tempest attack: an anti-air black hole that draws non-massive units in, and grind them with high damage per second. Take out poorly-microed Muta flocks in seconds!

Returning the Overseer, maybe the Changeling too?

[DemolitionSquid]

I am comfortable with both Alar and Psiwarp's Tempest suggestions.

Perhaps instead of shooting Psionic Storms, the Tempest emits a constant storm around it dealing AoE damage - basically a very expensive flying Shredder. It would actively have to put itself over the enemy and in harms way to deal damage, like when the Mothership had Planet Cracker. Being so high tech it couldn't be abused like the Shredder apparently was for worker killing, but it would still retain that area denial Blizzard is looking for. By being a flying unit it would also encourage Zerg into using more Hydras and Corruptors in their play to kill it effectively.

I recall I suggested Protoss gain a unit with what I called "Inverse Glaive Wyrm" mechanics. Every bounce would increase in damage, so you'd want to target something near the enemy you actually wanted to deal the most damage to. By the power of MICRO!

[Todie]

[...]the flying spidermines are pretty much useless considering that their only real use would be to counter muta harass... which btw can already be easily countered by a couple of turrets + stiming marines. Maybe you could catch a colossus off-guard or something but that's also an unlikely case considering that by the time you have a colo out, you also have observers and can probably take out those mines easily. If they're gonna put mines back, put freaking regular spidermines back. Then again, this is something I'd like to avoid considering how APM extensives spidermines based strategy were in BW.

Flying mines are about areal denial and splash. i think it oucld be pwoerufl vs drops of call kinds witch mgiht be good. also against the new protoss oracle and amybe the zerg viper depending on how these unts are used and how the mines are deployed.

What Terran needs(if they remove Thor) is a new massive unit that can remove Force fields.

Good point we need to keep this in mind.

I'd also like a new aoe air unit but... all they really need to do is buff the freaking raven so that hsm becomes more viable. Science vessel >>>>>>>> raven.

i used to agree, but ive come to realzie that the raven is so damn versatile witht he mobility of being a flying unit and having all its abilities upgradable at the eng-bay.. The seeker missile is not impactful in itself, but considering the might of the terran army even without that, and how a few full energy ravens dramatically increase the utility of a formation of vikings that tries to dominate the sky, its hard to further buff the raven or seeker missile without breaking it.

Rather than shooting storms, why not give it a bouncing attack? I think only the Mutalisk has one, if I recall. It fires out bolts of electricity/psionic energy that zap around like chain lightning, perhaps? That could be an upgrade, if they want. I agree that it needs SOMETHING, otherwise it just feels like an AtA/AtG Guardian/Brood Lord.

There seems to be an agreement that his tempest or whatever the nw Protoss air unit ends up being called, needs to have an interesting mode of attack.

a bouncing attack is itneresting, but then it needs to be set apart clearly from how the mutalisks glave-worm works. For example, the tempest could attack two targets at once with equal damage. making it weaker if ever faced off against only one enemy (or several enemies with significant space in between them) ... a related alternative is o allow it to attack one air target and one ground target at a time - making it weakerwhenver faced with only one.

Kinda knew the Replicant would be cut. It was a cool-looking techno-wisp but also a dirty copycat :>

Idea on Tempest attack: an anti-air black hole that draws non-massive units in, and grind them with high damage per second. Take out poorly-microed Muta flocks in seconds!

Returning the Overseer, maybe the Changeling too?

This is a cool idea, especialyl considering motehrship and vortex are likely gone. However, elts keep in mind what blizzard said:

with the addition of the range upgrade on phoenix in Wings of Liberty we no longer feel like a splash anti-air weapon is necessary on the protoss, but we would still like to give the protoss some additional firepower in the air.

in light of this i would love a unit with an attack that had a short-term effect on the nearby targets movement and locality, as you suggest; let the attack draw the enemies in towards the centre of the attack with some force, similar to what vortex did but less forceful and without any actual hole to disappear into at the centre. This would add another feature of obstructing movement - including aireal movement and also combine well with both splash damage and general kiting tactics. Giving this unit actual splash damage on top of draging enemies into the splash area however, would be too extreme IMO.

[DemolitionSquid]

So can we all agree on the Tempest shooting Vortexes then? AoE damage in a pulling field? I can totally work with that.

[Todie]

again, i think AoE damage AND pullingfield in the same unit is over the top. The pullingfield alone will greatly amplify splash from storm/colossi/archon