The Thor's problems up til' now..........

[Norfindel]

If Thor is supposed to be tanking, then give it a lot of HP, and weaken the attacks to compensate (or use bonusses to specialize the attack).

[pure.Wasted]

If Thor is supposed to be tanking, then give it a lot of HP, and weaken the attacks to compensate (or use bonusses to specialize the attack).

The most basic levels of micro can and will render that version of the Thor useless. He'll take the first hit if he's at the front of your army, but he would have taken it regardless. Past that, everyone will ignore him and focus fire everything else.

That's why the LOS blocker solution is... actually a solution. As long as the Thor is alive and as long as the player is taking advantage of the LOS mechanic, the Thor MUST be taken out pronto. Whether he deals 1000 damage per hit or just 1.

[phazonjunkie]

As I suggested in another thread, they should try making make Thors into LoS blockers.

That could work it Thors had substantially more Hp.

[Asfastasican]

That's why the LOS blocker solution is... actually a solution. As long as the Thor is alive and as long as the player is taking advantage of the LOS mechanic, the Thor MUST be taken out pronto. Whether he deals 1000 damage per hit or just 1.

I enjoy the creativity behind this magical LOS solution, but I think we have to think about what were actually trying to solve here.

The only real benefit a Thor would be as an LoS blocker is as a ramp blocker against ground forces... but only in the mid and late game. Now why would I say this? Because most armies have at least one air unit, for one. You couldn't possibly make it so air units can't see past them. Oh, don't forget that if you happen to form a semi circle around the Thor with a few of your forces, that drastically will reduce the LoS reduction on its own, and a complete surround will nullify it completely. And third, what's going to prevent something like a psi storm from ripping apart the same units you want your Thor to protect? The big bad darkness?

Are you trying to solve something along the lines of "We want the Thor to tank" or are you actually trying to solve "We want to protect the little people" problem?

What most of you are probably looking for is actually a flat HP buff on the Thor OR perhaps you could think out of the box and give the Thor a researchable ability that aids in defense, its own durability or its ability to draw attention to itself. Perhaps a flak cannon that covers a nearby area in heavy smoke that instantly blocks vision within its influence for 5-10 seconds? Or another ability idea that would create energy tension between itself and the single target DD option it already has?

Don't be surprised if they have something planned for the Thor post-expansion.

[Norfindel]

The most basic levels of micro can and will render that version of the Thor useless. He'll take the first hit if he's at the front of your army, but he would have taken it regardless. Past that, everyone will ignore him and focus fire everything else.

That's why the LOS blocker solution is... actually a solution. As long as the Thor is alive and as long as the player is taking advantage of the LOS mechanic, the Thor MUST be taken out pronto. Whether he deals 1000 damage per hit or just 1.

I said lower or specialize the attack, not make it useless. Anyways, remember Ultra+Ling? Ultra's attack was pathetic in BW, but the Zerglings have a huge damage output. Still, the game AI is made in such a way that the units under attack are mostly the Ultralisks. Trying to focus fire on the Zerglings is very difficult, if not impossible, so it worked very well.

Now, imagine a 600hp Thor surrounded by Marines.

Anyways, i'm not against the sight-blocking mechanic, i think it could be interesting, but the Thor is going to need more HP. A tanking unit cannot be of much help, if it's tanking for 0.1 seconds

[phazonjunkie]

perhaps you could think out of the box and give the Thor a researchable ability that aids in defense, its own durability or its ability to draw attention to itself. Perhaps a flak cannon that covers a nearby area in heavy smoke that instantly blocks vision within its influence for 5-10 seconds? Or another ability idea that would create energy tension between itself and the single target DD option it already has?

It's out of the box thinking like this that would do more good than a simple defensive/offensive buff.

Speaking of which, remember the seismic 'thumper' ability the raven had for a couple of builds? Maybe something like that would go good with The Thor.

[ManjiSanji]

Speaking of which, remember the seismic 'thumper' ability the raven had for a couple of builds? Maybe something like that would go good with The Thor.

Ooh, could it also summon Nydus Worms? =D

[Lupino]

One idea I've seen floating around is to give the Thor the Defensive Matrix that the Battlecruiser used to have. This, combined with an armor/hp upgrade (the giant mech really should have more armor than a silly little roach ) would help it do a better job of being a 'tank'.

[arthas]

One idea I've seen floating around is to give the Thor the Defensive Matrix that the Battlecruiser used to have. This, combined with an armor/hp upgrade (the giant mech really should have more armor than a silly little roach ) would help it do a better job of being a 'tank'.

Defensive Matrix won't fit good to a walking cannon machine...The Thor is good as it is now,except the AA attack...

[Alzarath]

As I suggested in another thread, they should try making make Thors into LoS blockers.

I don't know about that... Thors are usually singled out and focus fired. Making it a LOS blocker would suggest you'd want to put it in the front so they couldn't see your other forces, this makes the Thor a LOT easier to single out. It is an interesting idea nonetheless though.