Oracle's Revelation Ability: Fix it?

[Carsickness]

Hey, I think we can all agree that this new ability is pretty lame (and redundant) for the Oracle. In fact I've only really seen it being used well in a couple videos:


Grubby vs. WhitRa @ 14:36

Hidden Content:

And

Hasu vs. Gowser @ 20:05

Hidden Content:

The problem I've found with using the Oracle as a detector are that they just die instantly.

• VS. Terran; the only thing you can currently use it for is to deny cloaked banshee. But if you went Stargate vs. a cloaked banshee Terran then you're just going to build order win anyways. Plus I really feel comfortable in the current role of the Oracle in this match up.
• VS. Protoss; DT rushes have really plagued the ladder since the dark shrine buff. Though the current detection ability of the Oracle seems to be well suited, it still forces the player to keep his army at home until a more dedicated form of detection is available. Which kind of defeats the purpose of having a detection ability on another tech path (stargate).
• VS Zerg; Here's where I think the Oracle needs the most help with an added ability. Corrupter, Swarm host just shreds through current Protoss detection. A single spore crawler denies most of the oracles harassment abilities, and using its beam spell really doesn't serve much of a purpose during an actual battle (good vs.lings). The unit has just turned into a creep tumor detector :/.

So I was just thinking of some possible fixes and replacements on the matter, and was wondering if you guys had any thoughts or suggestions of your own.

Vision field:
An ability that would grant sight and detection on a specific point (similar to Terran's scanner sweep), within a certain distance of the Oracle. The ability would be smaller then the scanner sweep, but would last longer.

Vision orbs (ya i know I suck at ability names):
Very similar to vision field, except that the Oracle would place hovering (flying type) "orbs", or w/e at a location that would give detection on a certain location for a lengthy period of time. The idea here is that the orbs would have a low HP amount but would fall very low on the priority of targets list for enemy armies. During a battle, the enemy would have to manually attack these orbs to deny detection (similar to having to target a Raven's PDD)

Prediction:
The Oracle sends out a pulse of some sort that briefly shows enemy locations and movements. Think cast-able sensor tower/ Xel'Naga tower. The ability wouldn't detect, but would help the player keep tabs on enemy armies while they each try and position themselves for the battle. Some ideas would be for it to just show the outlines of the units, or just dots through the fog of war, or remove fog of war all together. The ability could emanate from the oracle, or could be directionaly cast.

Veil of darkness:
Something similar was once tested with Protoss IIRC (dark Pylon maybe) The Idea is to deny scouting/ detection on a specific point, allowing hidden Tech. The Oracle would have to stay and....and...what's the word i'm looking for here (concentrated ability????). Anyways the Oracle's energy would drain quickly while doing this, making the area a high priority area for an enemy to want to scout again. It could be made to only effect buildings, or just a single building, or single target. A single Oracle + DT combo could be very potent if the enemy had no way to take out the Oracle.

Disruption:
Like the Corsair's (SC:BW) disruption web, only single target.
Like I was saying earlier; a single spore crawler really disrupts the harassment abilities of the Oracle. Plus it would give the unit some usefulness in the late game. It had this ability before, did it not? Bring it back!

------

The unit is good, don't get me wrong. I really like it. It just needs.....something.
And on a completely different subject. Time warp should be team coloured. It's very confusing to see who's is who's in PvP from a spectating point of view.

[DemolitionSquid]

I've been saying that having Envision and Revelation was stupid ever since they put them both on the Oracle. They should really just make Revelation detect and swap Envision with something more unique.

My suggestions? Back to the basics.
1. Recharge. EVERYONE wants an energy transfer ability and the Oracle is perfect for it. With Pulsar Beam to attack, Revelation to detect enemy movement, and Recharge to transfer energy to an allied MSC/Sentry/Templar/Phoenix it'd be an extremely useful unit.
2. Shield Boost. Make the Oracle a Shield Battery so it can still be useful in fights where Pulsar Beam isn't.

[Carsickness]

1. Recharge. EVERYONE wants an energy transfer ability and the Oracle is perfect for it. With Pulsar Beam to attack, Revelation to detect enemy movement, and Recharge to transfer energy to an allied MSC/Sentry/Templar/Phoenix it'd be an extremely useful unit.
2. Shield Boost. Make the Oracle a Shield Battery so it can still be useful in fights where Pulsar Beam isn't.

I really like both those ideas actually.
I remember the old Recharge ability (off of the Nexus w/ MSC, IIRC) in a few replays. It was really exciting to see what the Protoss was able to hold off with just High Templars and a recharge ability.
"K, it's GG. No way he can defend that......Whaaaat?!?!?"

Hidden Content:

Having a Recharge ability on a unit that is energy intensive itself would make for some great micro-intensive game play

As for the shield battery idea. There'd be a lot of different ways to implement it. Personally I think it would be nice if it worked similar to a Medivac.... Only for shields. Mmmmm Oracle + Archon.
But it could just be a straight 1:1 immediate exchange (like queen transfusion).
Or AOE like Guardian Shield. Giving you +2 to shields, so you balance both abilities depending on timing/ situation. Sounds pretty OP to me :P
What did you have in mind?

---

Another idea I was thinking of is;

Temporal Rift:
An ability that denies upgrades in either a AOE, or single target cast. (AOE would be a little much I think)
Cast on a Colossus = No thermal lance.
Cast on a Medivac = No thrusters / healing
Cast on Ultralisk = no Chitinous plating

You get the idea.

Or maybe thinking a little outside the box; the Oracle would focus on a specific building - denying all upgrades that came from that building. 1:1, oracle:building ratio. Drains Energy heavily (like pulsar beam).
Hellooooo forge denial.

Imagine someone going blink stalker blinking into your base. Only now you can trap them in

[DemolitionSquid]

Your Temporal Rift would be better called Nullify, and its something I've considered in the past. The problem is figuring out exactly how it should work. Should it remove +ups, or all other extra upgrades? Would it nullify starting energy upgrades? The ability just feels too vague.

My Shield Booster for the Oracle would work one of two ways:
1. Overshield. Sentry decreases damage by 2, Oracle adds X shields to unit for Y energy.
2. Channeled Energy based Shield replacer. Instead of the target units shields taking damage, the Oracle's energy decreases. Once the energy is depleted, the channel shuts off, and the targeted unit starts taking shield damage. So if you Target an Archon with the Channel it effectively gets as much extra shielding as the Oracle has energy (or some fraction thereof for balance).

Honestly, I've always leaned most towards Recharge though. The tactics of energy transfer are just so varied and useful.

[Carsickness]

Your Temporal Rift would be better called Nullify

Lol yes, much better. I never was any good at naming things (my future child is probably going to hate me). I remember a unit creating contest i entered (and won 2nd place) way back when. I think i called it "lithoblipod". LOL how's THAT for a bad name :P

Should it remove +ups, or all other extra upgrades? Would it nullify starting energy upgrades? The ability just feels too vague.

I agree. For it to have a chance of working I think just extra abilities would be the way to go. Temporary removal of +ups would be a little much in the end game.
So casting it on a Spawning pool would remove speedling and crackling upgrades. Casting it on a Templar Archives would remove Psi storm. Casting it on a Cybernetics Core would remove the ability to turn gateways into warpgates, but it's not like it would revert all your warpgates back. They are already warpgates, so casting it on a cyber core would pretty much be pointless. Same goes with the energy upgrade question: The units are already produced - they aren't just going to drop 25energy. Though any unit that is built during the "Nullify" would not receive the +25 energy benefit.
Casting it on a Lair in the middle of a doom drop would..... hmmmmm. Well, that would just really suck for a Zerg player.

2. Channeled Energy based Shield replacer. Instead of the target units shields taking damage, the Oracle's energy decreases. Once the energy is depleted, the channel shuts off, and the targeted unit starts taking shield damage. So if you Target an Archon with the Channel it effectively gets as much extra shielding as the Oracle has energy (or some fraction thereof for balance).

I like that one the best. Being able to not only micro your units back, but microing which ones receive transfered damage would be great as well. Just waiting to see who your enemy target fires in order to cast the ability would be fun.
What about shield upgrades? would they still come under effect? Or would this be its own side equation? What about Immortal's hardened shields? would they still reduce damage - and therefor energy drained from the Oracle?

[DemolitionSquid]

Lol yes, much better. I never was any good at naming things (my future child is probably going to hate me). I remember a unit creating contest i entered (and won 2nd place) way back when. I think i called it "lithoblipod". LOL how's THAT for a bad name :P

I wasn't gonna say anything... but yeah, your naming ability is pretty bad.

I agree. For it to have a chance of working I think just extra abilities would be the way to go. Temporary removal of +ups would be a little much in the end game.
So casting it on a Spawning pool would remove speedling and crackling upgrades. Casting it on a Templar Archives would remove Psi storm. Casting it on a Cybernetics Core would remove the ability to turn gateways into warpgates, but it's not like it would revert all your warpgates back. They are already warpgates, so casting it on a cyber core would pretty much be pointless. Same goes with the energy upgrade question: The units are already produced - they aren't just going to drop 25energy. Though any unit that is built during the "Nullify" would not receive the +25 energy benefit.
Casting it on a Lair in the middle of a doom drop would..... hmmmmm. Well, that would just really suck for a Zerg player.


I like that one the best. Being able to not only micro your units back, but microing which ones receive transfered damage would be great as well. Just waiting to see who your enemy target fires in order to cast the ability would be fun.
What about shield upgrades? would they still come under effect? Or would this be its own side equation? What about Immortal's hardened shields? would they still reduce damage - and therefor energy drained from the Oracle?

You've pointed out the flaws in both abilities pretty well. They're both just a bit too vague and complicated mechanically. Zerg losing their Ventral Sacks mid-drop would just be silly, and the whole Immortal thing... ugh.

Again, the single best replacement ability at this point is Recharge/Energy Transfer. As far as I'm concerned, the Oracle with Pulsar Beam, Revelation (with detection), and Recharge would be perfect.