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About Arbiters

Blogs > TheAntZ
Post a Reply
TheAntZ
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Israel6248 Posts
October 01 2009 02:52 GMT
#1
This blogs basically just to ask one question. I've heard quite a few people say that arbiters have only somewhat recently started being used in PvT. Can anyone please tell me why though? I mean its kinda obvious the unit rocks, it cloaks, teleports, freezes entire portions of terrans army, what prevented progamers from using it before?

*
43084 | Honeybadger: "So july, you're in the GSL finals. How do you feel?!" ~ July: "HUNGRY."
da_head
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
Canada3350 Posts
October 01 2009 02:55 GMT
#2
recently? are you sure? could have sworn nal_ra used em back in the day..
When they see MC Probe, all the ladies disrobe.
riptide
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
5673 Posts
October 01 2009 02:59 GMT
#3
2005 SPRIS MSL - Nal_ra vs Goodfriend at Parallel Lines 3.



Probably some of the most famous arbiter play in all of Starcraft.
AdministratorSKT T1 | Masters of the Universe
StarN
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
United States2587 Posts
October 01 2009 03:01 GMT
#4
people used arbs back in the day, but carriers was generally the lategame unit of choice in PvT.
Retired BW Noob
geegee1
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States618 Posts
October 01 2009 03:01 GMT
#5
are you sure why wouldnt anyone NEVER use a arbiter for free army movement switch can get a easy GG with free cloak and freezing half your army? nonetheless even from back then
pew pew
Musoeun
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
United States4324 Posts
October 01 2009 03:01 GMT
#6
Yes, but that was Nal_ra.

I'm curious though, when did arbs become standard in PvT?
Don't Shoot the Penguins. | Dance, 성은, dance! | Killer FanKlub | Action sucks. | Storm Terran hwaiting.
Waffles
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Romania605 Posts
October 01 2009 03:08 GMT
#7
On October 01 2009 12:01 StarN wrote:
people used arbs back in the day, but carriers was generally the lategame unit of choice in PvT.

and until flash made +1 gol counter vs that im guessing that was the general idea?
TheAntZ
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Israel6248 Posts
October 01 2009 03:09 GMT
#8
I've seen it a couple of times already before but didnt think to make a blog then but right now me and a friend were discussing arbiters so I thought opening a blog would be the best way to find out. though the TL search function is kinda failing me right now, not allowing the words only and used to be searched .__.
43084 | Honeybadger: "So july, you're in the GSL finals. How do you feel?!" ~ July: "HUNGRY."
Manifesto7
Profile Blog Joined November 2002
Osaka27172 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-10-01 03:16:35
October 01 2009 03:15 GMT
#9
Carriers were the better late game option until
- Terran upgrades came much faster (Flash and Katrina)
- The macro game accelerated to close the window of time necessary to build up carriers. With faster upgrades and better timings, terran players can run over protoss players when they are vulnerable and building carriers.

To counter stronger pushes that had upgrades, protoss players needed stasis to freeze chunks of the army. They also needed to force terran players to invest in, and be worried about, recall.

It is just part of the metagame evolution. Perhaps in the future it will swing the other way again.
ModeratorGodfather
TheAntZ
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Israel6248 Posts
October 01 2009 03:22 GMT
#10
cool, thanks for the detailed answer :D
43084 | Honeybadger: "So july, you're in the GSL finals. How do you feel?!" ~ July: "HUNGRY."
Cloud
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
Sexico5880 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-10-01 03:28:54
October 01 2009 03:24 GMT
#11
Whatever man, you cant just say, it was because of style 'A'. Because if someone nowadays played with that very same style. Then the response wouldnt be an automatic carriers or whatever, it would still most likely be arbiters. So much has evolved from that point when everything, from the map characteristics to the best widespread beliefs of that time, made carriers enough to win. It would probably seem parallel to like queens in a zvt; everyone knows that they could improve the game if you just had the speed for it. Yet no one really tries to use them, because you can already win without them.
BlueLaguna on West, msg for game.
RoieTRS
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States2569 Posts
October 01 2009 03:37 GMT
#12
I remember someone saying rekrul was one of the first progamers using arbiters in pvt
konadora, in Racenilatr's blog: "you need to stop thinking about starcraft or anything computer-related for that matter. It's becoming a bad addiction imo"
Chef
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
10810 Posts
October 01 2009 03:43 GMT
#13
Carriers like lots of cliffs and limited ground mobility. Back in the day when most maps could be called Terran maps, this was the Protoss' late game savior. Now that mappers have started making maps more open so that Protoss ground units have a chance against Terran armies, it's suddenly much more efficient to use Arbiters in many situations.

That's why they're more common/more or less standard now. But they were never not used. If you wanna see lots of Carrier play, watch pro games on Ride of the Valkaries. Lots of cliffs to abuse there esp. in the late game.
LEGEND!! LEGEND!!
numLoCK
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
Canada1416 Posts
October 01 2009 03:52 GMT
#14
Ya, when I learned to play PvT quite some time ago I learned to do Carriers if the map allowed or Arbs if it did not. But changes in playstyle and maps have led to a greater use of Arbs these days I guess.
Mora
Profile Blog Joined October 2002
Canada5235 Posts
October 01 2009 03:53 GMT
#15
On October 01 2009 12:15 Manifesto7 wrote:
Carriers were the better late game option until
- Terran upgrades came much faster (Flash and Katrina)
- The macro game accelerated to close the window of time necessary to build up carriers. With faster upgrades and better timings, terran players can run over protoss players when they are vulnerable and building carriers.

To counter stronger pushes that had upgrades, protoss players needed stasis to freeze chunks of the army. They also needed to force terran players to invest in, and be worried about, recall.

It is just part of the metagame evolution. Perhaps in the future it will swing the other way again.


while i certainly agree with what you've said, i would also say that [in general] a unit who has indirect impacts on a game will not get as much as attention as a unit that does.

Defilers were not seen for quite some time in pro-gaming (hell, they didn't become popular until after i quit playing actively) and now they are considered a staple. I don't think it was a forced evolution where other zerg play styles were superior to this because of the current meta, they simply hadn't been discovered/mainstreamed yet. Part of that 'discovery' is also an increase in multi-tasking/control.

I don't think pros are of the opinion that queens suck, they are simply just too hard to use. An increase in mechanics would allow for queens to realize their usage (as could be said of defilers in the foreign community).
Happiness only real when shared.
Nevuk
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
United States16280 Posts
October 01 2009 04:08 GMT
#16
You also have to consider that arbs are very gas heavy and light on minerals while carriers are very very mineral heavy, so maps with more gas favor arbs over carriers. It used to be somewhat common for gasless nats to exist.
Sentenal
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States12398 Posts
October 01 2009 06:04 GMT
#17
On October 01 2009 13:08 Nevuk wrote:
You also have to consider that arbs are very gas heavy and light on minerals while carriers are very very mineral heavy, so maps with more gas favor arbs over carriers. It used to be somewhat common for gasless nats to exist.

I don't really think thats the case, since Carriers require alot of gas as well. While an Arbiter itself would cost more gas than a single Carrier, you are generally making several Carriers at the same time, so you need roughly the same amount of gas.

Maps are the main reason, I think. Combined with Flash's goliath/upgrade builds making Carriers not as good.
"Apparently, Sentenal is a paragon of friendship and tolerance. " - Ech0ne
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