Karune gives some big updates.

[ArcherofAiur]

They were trying to reduce "give energy to units" spam.

Not only can you not build them anywhere you want (at the very least you have to build a pylon first, and that means waiting for the pylon to warp in, and that probably means you have a probe sitting around for some time doing nothing ... or warping in photon cannons, maybe) but it doesn't give you free psi while you're doing so.

Whats interesting is the thing everyone was worried would be overused (proton charge) was not the issue they choose to change. Instead Blizzard felt that energy charge was the spammable ability.

[mr. peasant]

That's because Proton Charge was designed with the purpose of being spammable, i.e. usable on a regular basis on par with the Terrans' MULEs and Queen's Spawn Larva ability.

[n00bonicPlague]

UPDATE: Cydra gives details about Temporal Rift.

Source: Temporal Rift/Time Bomb vs. Bullets, Lasers

An important query for blues.

So, ever since the original WWI demo, the Time Bomb has been touted as an awesome anti-projectile weapon; we got to watch missiles stop mid-air like that much-beloved scene in The Matrix.

But one question still irks me; what about non-missiles? Specifically, most Terran bullets, as used by Marines, Vikings, Ghosts, Reapers, and tangentially, Siege Tanks. Likewise, the continuous attack of the Warp Ray is a curious exception, as is the Hydralisk, as no needle can be visibly seen.

So what happens when these attacks are fired through a Time Bomb/Temporal Rift? Is a new "projectile" materialized within the bubble, or is damage simply reduced?

There isn't Time Bomb ability any more in the current game and High Templar has Temporal Rift ability. Temporal Rift creates a distortion field at the target location. Ground units caught inside of this field have their movement speed, attack speed, and ability cast times slowed by half. And it lasts 30 seconds.

[Blazur]

There isn't Time Bomb ability any more in the current game and High Templar has Temporal Rift ability. Temporal Rift creates a distortion field at the target location. Ground units caught inside of this field have their movement speed, attack speed, and ability cast times slowed by half. And it lasts 30 seconds.

*sigh*
I'll take Psi storm over that any day. That ability gets a resounding meh from me.

[n00bonicPlague]

*sigh*
I'll take Psi storm over that any day. That ability gets a resounding meh from me.

I know, it's really boring; however, I think it's one of those necessary evils, and I'm really, REALLY happy that they finally took it off of the Mothership. I think it looks good on the High Templar. An HT making a full-blown force-field didn't make total sense for me, but them slowing stuff down does. At least we still have Force Field in the Disruptor.

[mr. peasant]

I think Temporal Rift is still useful as it helps buy time for the Protoss player (seconds can be very crucial thanks to Warp-In) and against beefier units such as Thors (coupled with Void Rays?) where Psionic Storms are less effective. Also, I wonder if shield regeneration is affected by the ability? If not, it could be used to protect units while they regain shield points.

[DemolitionSquid]

*sigh*
I'll take Psi storm over that any day. That ability gets a resounding meh from me.

That depends. With multiple HT vs fast, hardy units like Roaches or Hydras, it may be more beneficial to cast Temporal Rift with one, and then accurately cast multiple Psi Storms (which have been nerfed) instead of casting and potentially missing most of the storms.

[Blazur]

That depends. With multiple HT vs fast, hardy units like Roaches or Hydras, it may be more beneficial to cast Temporal Rift with one, and then accurately cast multiple Psi Storms (which have been nerfed) instead of casting and potentially missing most of the storms.

Perfectly logical, but still highly boring in my eyes. Their fear of innovation is frustrating after so much time. I almost wish this wasn't being touted as an e-Sport so they can experiment with ideas which are actually clever or fun.

[Nicol Bolas]

I'll take Psi storm over that any day.

It all depends on the size of the field. Psi storm can only affect so many units. Slowing down the entire enemy army can be much more effective in the long run than killing a few of them. Especially in conjunction with long-ranged attackers like Colossi.

Take the situation of some STs on a ledge. Oh, you could throw a Psi Storm up there, but it'd take at least 2 casts of it to kill them. One Temporal rift effectively makes them useless.

[ArcherofAiur]

Another thing is the size of the effect. Keep in mind psi storm is now a much smaller radius. If Temporal Rift has a large radius and long duration I can see it being quite useful.

Slowing movement, attack and ability speed in a given area has game changing potential. I cant wait to see the creative plays that result from this ability.


Also

Temporal Rift + Psi Storm = Dead Army