Terran Versatility -- Why?

[Eligor]

Better yet, what if there was a dedicated unit that transfered both energy and shields. Kinda like a mobile shield battery that carried energy as well.

Probably would have to be made out of the robo bay or starport (depending on if its a flyer or not) so that players can't warp them in everywhere.

Mobile shield regen would definitely bring Archons into the light. And Energy transfer would just benifite Protoss play overall

You're right, it would add more flexibility to the Protoss force since you'll be able to choose which units to boost on the battlefield and why (for example whether to invest more energy into your spellcasters or more shields into fighting units, or whether to renovate the energy of your Templars or Sentries).

As for Archons, I've been thinking whether they may not be better server in SC 2 by being made into a (sort of) summonable unit, with greater stats that they have now but a vert limited lifespan (around 30 to 45 seconds in duration at most) at the end of which they would dissipate into nothingness (so the choice is between conserving your Templars for the sake of Psi-Storm or sacrificing them for a really quick bang on the battlefield that may give you the extra force to survive overwhelming odds).

[Carsickness]

As for Archons, I've been thinking whether they may not be better server in SC 2 by being made into a (sort of) summonable unit, with greater stats that they have now but a vert limited lifespan (around 30 to 45 seconds in duration at most) at the end of which they would dissipate into nothingness (so the choice is between conserving your Templars for the sake of Psi-Storm or sacrificing them for a really quick bang on the battlefield that may give you the extra force to survive overwhelming odds).

If that where the case then i'de think that it should only take one Templar to do so. Cool idea. Would even be cool lore wise, ie: pissing off a Templar causes it to go super sayin for a short time :P
And combining two templars would obviously give you the more stable version.

[MuppZA]

PROTOSS

Pylons -- allow Protoss to Warp-in units within Pylon range. Thaat's it.

Well cronoboost for all buildings is one more!

[guru]

Warp prism gives HUGE advantages. You can deploy your troops and punch your opponent quite hard. I think it should give you some PSI when it is in that power-field-deploying state. +8 food when deployed...that'd be sweet

[pure.Wasted]

Well cronoboost for all buildings is one more!

This is a bit tricky, see. While on the surface plopping down "Nexus -- Chrono Boost" does seem appropriate, doing so makes it seem like the ratio between Terran and Protoss weird buildings is like 6:2 which isn't that bad (maybe), but in reality, the OC alone has four times the gimmick utility that the Nexus has. That and I also left out Terran Add-ons -- which are two weird mini-structures in and of themselves -- I also left out the ability to fly on Terran structures, which makes the CC, OC, Barracks, Fac, and Starport "weird" as well...

And while these are the only ones that COUNT, if we go back to the Beta and the pre-Beta we can definitely get a sense for Blizzard wanting to do this to the extreme. Remember how Starports could upgrade into Star Bases that could fly around and repair nearby air units? Remember how Missile Turrets could be Salvaged like Bunkers... and couldn't detect unless there was a Sensor Tower nearby? Remember how the Merc Haven used to allow Terrans to plop down up to 5 Reapers immediately?

These gimmicks aren't a concern because they don't add any depth to the game -- cause they're not in it, duh -- but they do make it more and more obvious that Blizzard put a lot more effort into finding fun dynamics and synergies for the Terran race than they did for the Zerg and Protoss ones.

[Kimera757]

No, this isn't a "Terran is OP" QQ thread. I play Terran, so they're obviously UP and rock is IMBA. This is about discussing the rationale behind Terrans having so many flexible extraneous structures that simply give them versatility -- versatility that other races simply don't have. Let's go through the list of "atypical" structures for all races and what makes them atypical.

TERRAN

Command Center -- allows worker units to load and unload to keep them safe, or for transport.
Planetary Fortress -- an upgrade to an existing structure that turns it into a high powered stationary defense.
Supply Depot -- can be lowered to allow units to pass.
Bunker -- repairable, salvageable stationary defense that can hold infantry units.
Sensor Tower -- gives Terrans 'sight' in a wide range.

The issue isn't versatility, but defense. Command centers can protect their SCVs. Planetary fortresses can do this but even better (1500 hp tower with high armor value). Supply depots let you completely block off your base. Bunkers are decent at defense. Sensor towers are often derided as not being worth their cost.

Orbital Command -- an upgrade to an existing structure that turns it into a versatile caster with both defensive (anti-supply block, scan, MULE) and offensive (MULE repair, scan for vision of high ground) capabilities.

This (potentially much better than Chrono Boost), plus the command center's ability to carry SCVs while flying I find a bit worrisome. However, Scan has its downsides; it's there in part to make up for Ravens popping up only fairly late in the game. (Observers and overseers, while earlier in the game now than Ravens, are pretty expensive.)

Overall I'm thinking terrans are pretty heavily defense-focused. Being able to put supply depots under your SCVs helps protect them, for instance.

PROTOSS

Pylons -- allow Protoss to Warp-in units within Pylon range. Thaat's it.

And that's huge. Let's not forget warp prisms either, but with the AoE nerf it seems players use pylons instead.

ZERG

Nydus Worm -- allows the Zerg to transport units quickly around the map.
Creep Tumors -- burrowed 'structures' that provide Creep and vision. A teensy bit hesitant on these, because hey, if we count them, why not count Terrans' Auto-Turrets?

Creep gives speed bonuses in an AoE. Auto-Turrets don't do anything like that. Also, there's multiple ways of spreading creep.

Spine & Spore Crawlers -- can uproot. Again a little hesitant to give Zerg this because half of the Terran buildings can 'uproot'... and have like 5 times more flexibility while uprooted than these two.

On the one hand, none of the terran defensive structures can move. On the other hand, rooting takes so long you really can't use it in combat. This is a real disappointment with the spore crawler.

[Josue]

Cool ideas and awsome thread BTW.
Better yet, what if there was a dedicated unit that transfered both energy and shields. Kinda like a mobile shield battery that carried energy as well.
[...]
Mobile shield regen would definitely bring Archons into the light. And Energy transfer would just benifite Protoss play overall

I had been thinking about making Mothership's cloaking aura a bit more interesting by passively adding:
Increased shield and energy regeneration to units within it's Area Of Effect.

That would make the Mothership's cloak aura more interesting compared to the Arbitrer's. You know, everyone complains about Motherships and I would start by changing that.
About Other changes... I don't know, I think Massive recall is OK for me, Vortex looks cool, maybe it should also do something else.
Yet they should definitely add some sort of hyper beam like the planet cracker... (Independence day style!!!) which mechanics should it have?
Why not make it like the purifier's beam? something that takes some time to load and then deals a massive AoE damage? I think it wouldn't overlap with Psi Storm as it would be used mainly against buildings (you know units will have plenty of time to run away due to charging time, but they will have to choose whether to attack the mothership and risk to die if it fires before.)

As for Archons, I've been thinking whether they may not be better server in SC 2 by being made into a (sort of) summonable unit, with greater stats that they have now but a vert limited lifespan (around 30 to 45 seconds in duration at most) at the end of which they would dissipate into nothingness (so the choice is between conserving your Templars for the sake of Psi-Storm or sacrificing them for a really quick bang on the battlefield that may give you the extra force to survive overwhelming odds).

If that where the case then i'de think that it should only take one Templar to do so. Cool idea. Would even be cool lore wise, ie: pissing off a Templar causes it to go super sayin for a short time :P
And combining two templars would obviously give you the more stable version.

Well, I'd rather bring back dark archons from Dark templars but with totally new spells, something that sinergizes with everything the protoss have...
I don't know... something that provides temporary AoE mind control?
maybe too much... or how about... or I don't know, heck! let's think about it!

[pure.Wasted]

And that's huge. Let's not forget warp prisms either, but with the AoE nerf it seems players use pylons instead.

My problem isn't balance, it's options. The more options you give one player, the higher his potential skill-cap.

Command Centers can load SCVs and fly. This allows them to A) retreat from pure-ground harassment, B) be used as an emergency wall before lifting off to its proper placement, C) lift off and fly to difficult-to-reach expansions that other races can't reach... why? Why do Terrans get so many options because their CC got an arbitrary, cool ability that people continue to find new ways to take advantage of?

Can Zerg do anything funky and unorthodox with their Hatchery? Nope. Can Protoss do anything unorthodox with their Nexus? Nope. And we haven't even gotten into the OC and PF upgrades, which provide countless new options ON TOP of what the CC already offered. Do you turtle around your main while teching up to some 1-base all-in while your PF provides the only defense you need? Do you get a PF on your nat? Do you get the PF on your third? Do you use PFs as area denial tools in the late game? Do you set up PFs to attack your opponent? I've seen all of these things work. And each one gives the Terran countless options -- NOT just in defense, but in offense as well.

During the beta no one ever thought to place their Supply Depots in the resource line, and now players are doing it, because there is room for them to be creative when buildings have "fun" abilities. Who knows what we'll see in the future? Meanwhile, we haven't really seen anything new done with Chrono Boost in a long time, we haven't really seen anything new done with Creep in a long time, we haven't really seen anything new done with Warp-In in a long time -- because these mechanics are far more straight forward, and, frankly, there just aren't enough of them.

[rainynightz]

I'll just point out that I think the Overlord's Generate Creep ability is still sorely underused in general. I'm seeing so many Zerg players not tapping all of their Overlords to start generating Creep once they've reached Lair-tech, and there is simply no reason not to use the ability against any Protoss or Terran (Zerg opponents will be debatable, but that's not my point here). A few Overlords, even without speed upgrades, greatly speed up Creep Tumor spreading, and the faster you Creep up the map, the sooner you can reap the benefits.

[LordofAscension]

I'm very interested in the development of this discussion and as it evolves, I wonder if it will make a good article. Nice work man!

~LoA