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A few days ago, CatsPajamas called blink stalkers a unit with "unlimited potential", i.e., units that keep getting better as your skill improves. This got me thinking, so I sorted each Starcraft 2 unit into 3 rough groups (some are on the borderline). Some notable examples from each category:
Unlimited Potential:
+ Show Spoiler +(1) Stimmed Marines with Medivacs - As MarineKing famously demonstrated, splitted marines can take on an equal number of banelings. Stutter-stepped marines can demolish melee units. Using medivacs, marines have extreme mobility and can even bypass forcefields.
(2) Blink Stalkers - Mr. Bitter pointed out in another cast that stalkers can actually technically be blinked before a fired projectile even hits them. So theoretically, you could engage without taking any damage.
(3) Mutalisks and Phoenix - Two of the most agile and micro-able units in the game. If controlled correctly, you can deal game-ending damage without ever having to engage.
Limited Potential
+ Show Spoiler +(1) Ghost, Infestor, High Templar - I think the caster units fit into this category. Placement and timing of spells take skill, but in the end, you are only as good as the spell is. The power of the spell is a ceiling for how good these units get.
No Potential
+ Show Spoiler +(1) Baneling, Thor, Colossus, Corrupter - The strength of these units depends mostly on how many you have.
I noticed that this correlates with units that are exciting from a spectator's point of view. When I think of Idra's mutas, MarineKing's marines, Hero's phoenix, it all goes to show that some of the most exciting units are those with enough options to allow the players to express their own style.
Also interesting is that caster units, even though they each present many powerful spell options, are not necessarily the most exciting. With this in mind, I would like to see more micro-able units for future expansions, rather than more spell options.
So, no surprises here, but I found this an interesting way to classify the units.
  
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Why are mauraders considered no potential while marines are unlimited? They are just as fast.
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Blazinghand
United States25560 Posts
I think banes have a lot of potential! cool things like drops on armies, on workers, etc, can turn games around. Burrowed banes are brutal, and in general I find banelings to be very exciting units (in TvZ and ZvZ early game esepcially).
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On November 30 2011 10:06 Emporio wrote:
Why are mauraders considered no potential while marines are unlimited? They are just as fast.
That's a good point. It seemed to me that they were less maneuverable but it seems like they are the same in stats. Changed.
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Banelings and lings both have more than no potential, if you consider splitting to engage (vs siege tanks) and splitting to engage different targets (a small group of lings to a tank, the rest + banes to the marines etc).
What you see most of the time is more of an a-move ball going towards the enemy currently, there's a lot of potential in lin/bling control in at least zvt.
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United States5162 Posts
I would put void rays, hellions, and sentries in at least the limited potential category because they're quite micro dependent and can do good damage if controlled properly. I'm not sure if they'd be unlimited potential due to clear weaknesses, but they certainly deserve mention.
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Ye I think it's a nice idea but I just don't like how you ended up dividing them. Mostly I agree with Blazinghand about why Banelings have a ton of potential. Also for the casters in the Limited spot. Yeah you're only as good as the spell is but it's not like Phoenix do bonus damage when controlled well either. You can get a lot more value out of your casters by being good, like baiting into Storms or Infestor drops like Catz and Destiny do.
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See this blog for info on why there is micro potential when using colossi.
Also anything with an non-instant attack, like the corruptor, still has some micro potential in minimizing the amount of overkill.
Same with maximizing splash damage from thor aa attacks, banes...
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You can storm a bunch of marines and not take any damage....
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Focus on the important stuff. Why waste time on trying to categorize such trivial things?
If you cannot see the potential of such units as banelings then I cannot help you.
Top players will try to utilize these and in many cases be no where close to perfection; however, they can be game changers and they have tons of utility as well if you use them properly.
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Banelings have none? Lol.... They have LOTs of potential. Plus dividng them won't solve the meaning of Starcraft or improve that much.
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Wha? I think there's at least some potential in any unit that does something other than attack. Sure the baneling itself can only explode, but usage of baneling landmines and bane rain should have at least some potential. Also, I don't expect to see it in pro play, but you can imagine a scenario in which a fast thor+medivac+bio push early game against toss gives the thor some potential. The drawback of the thor (in this situation, and in most tvp) is the range. Dropping a thor on top of force fields could be a cool idea.
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You made a mistake, you didn't put 'Terran' under unlimited potential...
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....banelings???? did u know burrowed banelings...can end a game b4 even engaging????
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I wrote an in depth blog on unit control a few weeks back that's related to what you're talking about.
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On November 30 2011 13:03 Newbistic wrote:I wrote an in depth blog on unit control a few weeks back that's related to what you're talking about.
Interesting, I enjoyed reading it!
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EPT
