Advanced Incubation

[GRUNT]

I think Perfecttear's got a very good point. The tier 2 upgrades for the Zealot and Marine make them so much more formidable than their SC1 counterparts. Stuff like Marines no longer needing an upgrade to boost their range also hurts, I'd imagine.

Now, I know Karune said that Zerglings counter Stalkers pretty handily, but I mean, they don't really have top-level players testing the game. What I suspect is that in actuality, Zerglings are more of a 'soft' counter and don't pwn Stalkers nearly as well as they do Dragoons.

Karune mentioned that Zerglings' pathfinding lets them surround Stalkers better, but there was something important he forgot to mention - Stalkers' pathfinding is better than Dragoons', too. The unit size of the Stalker is also smaller than the Dragoon, meaning that you have the same amount of firepower and sort of the same amount of overall HP (Stalkers are, admittedly, 40 shields less tough) in a smaller, more concentrated area. That Dragoons were so large and clumsy was part of the reason why Zerglings were effective against them. Stalkers also come with 6 range, whereas Dragoons need to be upgraded to attain it.

The better pathfinding means that units appear to clump up a lot more easily than they would in BW. This of course, can be a double-edged sword once a lot of AoE hits the field. Even taking the better pathfinding into account, Zerglings MAY still be weaker lategame than they are in BW simply by virtue of them being more susceptible to AoE.

Another thing that needs considering is that a large part of what allowed Zerglings to be viable lategame in BW (especially against Terrans) was Dark Swarm. Without that spell, would the Zergling's impact later in the game be reduced?

Creepwalking is pretty neat, but as others have pointed out, it's probably only going to become a factor when defending.

I don't really know how SC2's lategame will play out, but offhand, I really like the idea of Adrenal Glands being moved down to Lair Tech, and Zerglings getting a new Hive-Tech upgrade :P.

Of course, stuff like a production discount or getting extra Zerglings per egg has got one additional advantage: it inadvertently reduces the cost of Banelings, too.

That said, I don't think that the discount on Banelings would be significant enough to disregard the possibility of such upgrades for the Zergling.

Time and the beta will tell how effective Zerglings are in the lategame, and if it turns out that they need a boost lategame, and if this idea doesn't make them too good, then I think that'd be pretty sweet :].

[Antarus]

Dont Zerglings technically have a tier 1.5 upgrade?

Banelings?

I agree they should have the Adrenal Glands by tier 2, but that would make the races similar as well, all tier 1 units getting an upgrade by tier 2.

[RamiZ]

I dont think they need anything at all...Banelings and Speed are enough....And also With Adrenal Glands the Zerglings become number 1 dps units in whole SC BW, dunno will it be in SC2, but they are really really strong with that....Also afaik Marines got combat Shield as Tier 3 upgread....

Of all things in SC2, the most i like is that Zergs got 4 tier 1 units, and in Tier 2 they dont get some strong units but in Tier 3 they got a lot of Upgreads for Tier 1 and Tier 2 units that makes them more valuable(Roach regen, Zerglings AG, Lurker Aspect, Banelings speed, Corruption duration increase etc etc...) and then you have way more alternatives then you had in SC BW, and players will go for more Tier1, 2 units then Rushing for example Guardians or Ultralisks...The Swarm

[Medzo]

Zerglings are a strong strong unit still. They have plenty of upgrades like burrow, speed increase, attack speed increase, and have greater returns from weapon upgrades. They can also morph into banelings. And while it is not directly a zergling ability, they can be used with ultralisks in a new way because the ultras can walk ontop of them.

[Perfecttear]

How about instead of the upgrade, the zerglings would cost 75 minerals but you get 3 of them. Marines 50, zerglings 75, zealots 100.

[PsiWarp]

Nine Zergling rush is always interesting.

How would the control display their supply occupation? 1.5?


-Psi

[Perfecttear]

Or it could even be that zerglings cost 75 and you get 3 of them and after the Advanced Incubation upgrade it spawns 4 of them, this way the upgrade would increase the productivity by 33% and not 50% . Before the upgrade 1.5 after the upgrade 2 pop cost.
Zerg swarm ftw

[PsiWarp]

Haha, but wouldn't the increase in production naturally cause for balance on the Zerglings damage output and HP?

25 HP, 3 damage a Zergling for 3 is not fun


-Psi

[MattII]

You still have that problem of having .5 population somewhere along the line.

[Nicol Bolas]

the most i like is that Zergs got 4 tier 1 units

That remains to be seen. Just because they moved Hydralisks back down to Tier 1 doesn't mean they didn't move something else (Banelings) to Tier 2.