Is Sensor tower still in the game?

[mr. peasant]

What benefit would your enemy get from it? am I missing something?

Norfindel asserted that the opponent should also be able to see the red circle that demarcates a Sensor Tower's sensor range to compensate for the player's advantage of being able to peek into the fog of war. MattII then countered that it was not that big an advantage to the player to begin with.

[Nicol Bolas]

Norfindel asserted that the opponent should also be able to see the red circle that demarcates a Sensor Tower's sensor range to compensate for the player's advantage of being able to peek into the fog of war. MattII then countered that it was not that big an advantage to the player to begin with.

The thing is that it's not a benefit. The only time it ever becomes a concern is if you build them in a hidden expo. Basically, it prevents you from having extra vision without the enemy knowing you're already there. If they already know you're there, then there's no disadvantage.

Then, there's the misinformation part of it. Build one on an island expansion somewhere, but don't actually expand there. Put your Ninja-expo elsewhere. They will see the tower and assume something's there, thus wasting their time and resources while you're gaining an extra expo.

And mind games play into this too. What if you actually expand there sometimes?

[Pandonetho]

IIRC every time an enemy enters the radius you hear an alert noise.

IMO the biggest advantage from this (from my experience as a Terran player) is knowing exactly when a drop is coming. You'll be able to hear it and respond accordingly, whereas many times I'm busy doing something only to look back at my base to see a reaver killing everything.

[The_Blade]

IIRC every time an enemy enters the radius you hear an alert noise.

IMO the biggest advantage from this (from my experience as a Terran player) is knowing exactly when a drop is coming. You'll be able to hear it and respond accordingly, whereas many times I'm busy doing something only to look back at my base to see a reaver killing everything.

I believe SC 2 contains even more aggressive tactics than reavers. Reapers, storms, tanks, nukes, void rays, colossi, nydus are just a few of the most common harrassing in SC 2. Hidden hill tactics are also quite common IIRC.

[RamiZ]

I think that Sensor Tower is incredibly broken and not balanced at all. Blizzard should rework it or remove it. Last time we checked radius was pretty huge, what is the point in having only one tower, and enemy can't surprise you already in any way... Don't know how people don't see this...

[limE]

I think that Sensor Tower is incredibly broken and not balanced at all. Blizzard should rework it or remove it. Last time we checked radius was pretty huge, what is the point in having only one tower, and enemy can't surprise you already in any way... Don't know how people don't see this...

Why not just release the Beta to see how imba it is, then do somthing about it?

[RamiZ]

Why not just release the Beta to see how imba it is, then do somthing about it?

Well, it is going to be that way, probably...

[//MavericK\\]

I wonder if the sensor tower could end up being a detriment, used against the player in some way.

An example: if your enemy knows you have a sensor tower in play, he can then create a feint, massing what appears to be a large force just at the edge of visual range. This could made up of cheap units (SCVs, probes, marines, zerglings) You see six or seven of the red alert tags approaching and pull forces from other areas of your base to defend what actually amounts to a decoy attack. Then the enemy player springs the real attack from a completely different direction.

This tactic would be even more effective in 2v2 matches.

I think it sets up all kinds of neat play mechanics, for both sides. Not just the player using it.

[RainbowToeSocks]

I wonder if the sensor tower could end up being a detriment, used against the player in some way.

An example: if your enemy knows you have a sensor tower in play, he can then create a feint, massing what appears to be a large force just at the edge of visual range. This could made up of cheap units (SCVs, probes, marines, zerglings) You see six or seven of the red alert tags approaching and pull forces from other areas of your base to defend what actually amounts to a decoy attack. Then the enemy player springs the real attack from a completely different direction.

This tactic would be even more effective in 2v2 matches.

I think it sets up all kinds of neat play mechanics, for both sides. Not just the player using it.

I could see this type of play being kind of hit and miss. Yes the player may fall for it, but it's not that difficult to throw a marine into the alert area and spot the trick before he moves his forces.

But it's still a good tactic, especially if the Terran player has the sensor tower inside his base so he has little time to react to the alerts and gets scared. Not so great if the Terran has a tower a bit outside their base so they have a chance to scout out the alert and prepare

[MattII]

An example: if your enemy knows you have a sensor tower in play, he can then create a feint, massing what appears to be a large force just at the edge of visual range. This could made up of cheap units (SCVs, probes, marines, zerglings) You see six or seven of the red alert tags approaching and pull forces from other areas of your base to defend what actually amounts to a decoy attack. Then the enemy player springs the real attack from a completely different direction.

As Rainbow says, it's going to be kind of hit-and-miss. It's also going to take more than a few Marines to trigger panic because no good player would ever try an unsupported attack with heavy units. Also, a player who is concerned could simply send a cloaked Ghost of Banshee out to scout the force, or drop a Scanner Sweep onto it.