• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 22:18
CEST 04:18
KST 11:18
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Summer's End6Serral wins HomeStory Cup 2915Serral wins Maestros of the Game 243ByuL, and the Limitations of Standard Play3Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7
Community News
GSTL Returns in 2026!43Weekly Cups (Aug 3-9): Protoss get shut out7RSL goes to London! 2026 Offline Finals Nov 21-2212Weekly Cups (July 27-Aug 2): SHIN's big week0SC4ALL II: Brood War - $2500 - Dec 5-611
StarCraft 2
General
How to Choose the Best Solar Panels for Your Home Balance hotfix patch 5.0.16b (July 16) GSTL Returns in 2026! SC4ALL: II Talent Announcement! Protoss AoE skill expression
Tourneys
PIG STY FESTIVAL 8.0! (13 - 23 August) WardiTV Mondays 2026 KungFu Cup Announcement Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament 2026 GSTL Announcement
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
Nexus Wars 2021 GUIDE [M] (2) Industrial Park
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 539 Thunder Dome Mutation # 538 Media Blackout Mutation # 537 Hostile Territory
Brood War
General
SC4ALL II: Brood War Player Announcement 3/4 - soO BW General Discussion Rush's Odyssey Controversy [ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Summer's End StarCraft 64 is coming to Philly at SC4ALL II
Tourneys
[ASL22] Ro24 Group A Small VOD Thread 2.0 CSLAN 4 is Coming! ASL Season 22 LIVESTREAM with English Commentary
Strategy
Odyssey Mineral Stack Saturation Fighting Spirit mining rates Any training maps people recommend? Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
General RTS Discussion Thread Nintendo Switch Thread Anyone here play Quakeworld back in the day? Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread EVE Corporation
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
[TL LoL EUW IHs] Teemo shall perish TSM pausing esports and CLG Dead
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Power Rank TL Mafia Community Thread NeO.D_StephenKing vs This Guy From 1 Million Dance
Community
General
The Letting Off Steam Thread US Politics Mega-thread Artificial Intelligence Thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
MarineLorD Fan Club The ShoWTimE Fan Club The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! Anime Discussion Thread Series you have seen recently...
Sports
MLB/Baseball 2023 Football (Soccer) Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NBA General Discussion Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Simple Questions Simple Answers FPS when play League Of Legend on laptop
TL Community
The Automated Ban List Northern Ireland Global Starcraft
Blogs
LOCKPICKING NOOB
LUCKY_NOOB
Chinese Gen Z: Between Dream…
TrAiDoS
Cathedral Of CS And NY pizza a…
FuDDx
Please support my new stand…
Peanutsc
Hello guys!
LIN1s
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 8490 users

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
Osaka27176 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
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
The Patches Monday
16:15
#3
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RuFF_SC2 154
SpeCial 111
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 3621
GuemChi 2161
Dota 2
NeuroSwarm176
League of Legends
JimRising 598
Counter-Strike
summit1g9101
Fnx 854
taco 429
minikerr55
Super Smash Bros
hungrybox1227
Other Games
C9.Mang0392
m0e_tv242
Maynarde142
Trikslyr63
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1168
BasetradeTV42
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH223
• Hupsaiya 126
• davetesta37
• OhrlRock 2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• RayReign 13
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Stunt215
Other Games
• Scarra414
Upcoming Events
Afreeca Starleague
7h 42m
Sharp vs Shinee
Action vs Shine
GSL
8h 42m
PiGosaur Cup
21h 42m
Replay Cast
1d 6h
Afreeca Starleague
1d 7h
BeSt vs Paralyze
Jaedong vs Speed
Kung Fu Cup
1d 8h
Replay Cast
1d 21h
The PondCast
2 days
KCM Race Survival
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
[ Show More ]
PiG Sty Festival
3 days
CranKy Ducklings
4 days
PiG Sty Festival
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
PiG Sty Festival
5 days
The Patches Monday
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSLAN 4
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
Eternal Conflict S2 Finale

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 3
K-JUNGMAN
ASL Season 22
Super Anchor Qualifying S3
RSL Revival: Season 6
PiG Sty Festival 8.0
META DYMY #4
Esports World Cup 2026
Esports World Cup 2026: LCQ
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026

Upcoming

CSL Season 22: Qualifier 1
Escore Tournament S3: W8
CSL Season 22: Qualifier 2
CSL 2026 AUTUMN (S22)
Acropolis #5
Acropolis #5 - TRS
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
HSC XXX
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Offline Finals
Big Dog Cup 2026 Div 1
Stake Ranked Episode 5
PGL Masters Bucharest 2026
Thunderpick World Champ. '26
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
1win Private Club #1
Logitech G Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
FISSURE Playground #5
BLAST Open Fall 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.