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The Ghost Nerf is Being Done Wrong - Page 11

Blogs > qxc
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Striborg
Profile Joined June 2011
United States47 Posts
February 14 2012 21:37 GMT
#201
I don't like this approach to patching. Wait until the community explodes over a change, and then change it to what was probably originally intended all along just to make it look like "our idea." In the meantime we have to wait for another patch to get the "real" ghost change. Seems like it's all planned drama, but who knows, maybe my tin foil hat is overkill and Blizzard's balance team is just as bumbling as we like to think.
Stop exploding, you cowards!
bkrow
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
Australia8532 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-02-14 21:38:24
February 14 2012 21:38 GMT
#202
On February 15 2012 06:13 RoboBob wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 15 2012 06:02 bkrow wrote:
This was great to hear during State of the Game and now that you've fleshed it out and added some great examples, it makes even more sense.

Blizzard constantly cites "pro player feedback" as a source of their balance decisions - i want to meet the pro players who sat down, thought it through and said .. "yep nerfing ghosts into the ground is good for the game overall." I don't understand why a unit has to go from overpowered to completely useless in one swoop.

Great write up

Well, be careful what you wish for. Both Idra and Nestea have made a case for nerfing Ghosts into the ground in numerous interviews. Pro feedback is not always the best way to balance a game. Pros may have the best experience and knowledge, but they also have the worst bias.

Noone questions that ghosts needed a nerf, but there is a difference between nerfing something into the ground and balancing it appropriately. I don't think any mature, clear thinking pro would logically suggest a unit like the ghost being made redundant.
In The Rear With The Gear .. *giggle* /////////// cobra-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!!!
AnxAir
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States9 Posts
February 14 2012 21:39 GMT
#203
While I agree with everything else (I think that snipe should be left at the old 45 but do 25 to massive) I have one major issue with what you're saying.


This isn't just a small nerf being proposed. It's almost a 50% reduction in damage. It'd be like if marines now did 4 base damage. It's a big decrease and any unit that would take 25 damage instead of the old 45 wouldn't be worth sniping anymore. The ghost just wouldn't be cost efficient.



This is absolutely untrue for the late game TvZ issue. This has to be thought of in an actual game scenario. Terrans shift queue up snipes. So what's going to be different after this patch? The Terran is going to have to shift click a brood lord 4 extra times, and there will be one other minimal delay in the 4 extra snipe animations. So being very generous, the Brood Lord in question will live maybe 1-2 game seconds longer with the nerf, and accomplish Blizzard's desired goal by making it cost the 100 extra energy to kill a BL.

That's why on paper, it looks like "OMG 50% NERF WHAT?!?!" but will change very little about late game TvZ except the fact that more ghosts and energy is needed for large scale battles with lots of Zerg T3.

However, like I said, they do need to change Snipe to 45 base damage and then -20 vs massive (so the 25 stays the same) because ghosts do have other uses than in late game TvZ. But other than that, this change is not as unreasonable as people are making it out to be.
TheRealPaciFist
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States1049 Posts
February 14 2012 21:40 GMT
#204
On February 15 2012 06:00 linduxed wrote:
I'm in full agreement with this blog. Something tells me however that this will not be addressed in this patch, I think Blizzard will ship the patch, and in the best case scenario it will be retracted later on.

What's extra problematic is that SC2 doesn't use subtractive damage, but additive damage. This in itself is not a problem, but qxc's change would need subtractive damage, and that would (if I'm not mistaken) the Ghost the only unit with that kind of damage. I don't think Blizzard would like that.

So as said, I agree with the blog, but I sadly don't think it will be fixed right now.


Easy enough fix. Just make Snipe have bonus damage to non-massive.

On February 15 2012 06:02 bkrow wrote:
This was great to hear during State of the Game and now that you've fleshed it out and added some great examples, it makes even more sense.

Blizzard constantly cites "pro player feedback" as a source of their balance decisions - i want to meet the pro players who sat down, thought it through and said .. "yep nerfing ghosts into the ground is good for the game overall." I don't understand why a unit has to go from overpowered to completely useless in one swoop.

Great write up


Blizzard confuses me so much.
Second favorite strategy game of all time: Starcraft. First: Go (aka Wei Qi, Paduk, or Igo)
Ruscour
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
5233 Posts
February 14 2012 21:41 GMT
#205
On February 15 2012 05:58 Spicy_Curry wrote:
arent banelings psionic?

There's so much room left over in their bodies aside from the acid for a large psionic brain, amirite?
Smackzilla
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States539 Posts
February 14 2012 21:42 GMT
#206
Here's another opportunity for Blizz to prove they listen to the community. Come on, you got the map pool right, so why not keep the streak going?! Nerf dmg to massive!
You see a mousetrap. I see free cheese and a f&%*ing challenge - Scroobius Pip
mishimaBeef
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
Canada2259 Posts
February 14 2012 21:43 GMT
#207
Face it boys and girls, blizzard wants seeker missiles used in this game TvZ. Think of the beauty... graphics make the game
Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
eu.exodus
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
South Africa1186 Posts
February 14 2012 21:43 GMT
#208
lol i should have just made my blog post about this exact thing 3 days ago. I posted in another thread about this in sc2 general proposing the exact same changes.

Still 2 shot infestors, do reasonable damage to other units and fix the broodlord problem without hurting tvz or any other match-up for that matter. even as a zerg player i dont think snipe has any utility now in tvz other than trying to snipe infestors which makes it more like a viking or a corruptor in that it only has one use. To me having to counter a caster with another caster that has no other use exept killing infestors is pretty fucking stupid.

Cant even 1 shot i ling that costs 25 mins and 0.5 supply? Please. Even as a zerg player i can say thats retarded.

On February 15 2012 06:28 Saltydizzle wrote:
The patch is completely necessary.


no one will disagree with you. The extent of the nerf is not necessary though.

6 poll is a good skill toi have
gauz
Profile Joined May 2011
Sweden16 Posts
February 14 2012 21:45 GMT
#209
I'm only plat and how much I even hate ghosts killing my BL's, this is ingenious. Make a slight damage reduction vs massive, which is where the ghosts where slightly op, killing off 5-6 t3 units very quickly. Snipe never were are real issue vs. anything else than zergs massive units.
Mind is everything
theprofessor
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Japan108 Posts
February 14 2012 21:48 GMT
#210
i completely disagree. i think the change is needed.
how2TL
Profile Joined August 2010
1197 Posts
February 14 2012 21:49 GMT
#211
You can't always get what you waaaant.
TBone-
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States2309 Posts
February 14 2012 21:51 GMT
#212
On February 15 2012 06:48 theprofessor wrote:
i completely disagree. i think the change is needed.


Care to explain why this change is worse than the blizzard proposed change?
Eve online FC, lover of all competition
caradoc
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Canada3022 Posts
February 14 2012 21:54 GMT
#213
I play P and I like this writeup. The only reason I think they're reticent to do something like this is that they don't like to add fundamentally new mechanics to fix balance issues. Having a -dmg to an attack or ability would be the only case of its kind in the game. I personally don't think that this constitutes a fundamentally new mechanic per se, but it's probably why they thought of 25+25 rather than 45-20 or whatever.
Salvation a la mode and a cup of tea...
MandoRelease
Profile Joined October 2010
France374 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-02-14 21:55:41
February 14 2012 21:54 GMT
#214
As little as my opinion matters, I'll still give it. Because I can.
I don't like the idea of having straight up 50 base damage for the snipe. Here's why.
The first thing this patch wants to address is late game TvZ. And though I totaly agree with qxc that we haven't seen much use of ghosts in early/mid game, qxc said that there are situations that we won't be able to see anymore at such stage, and I don't think these situation should be seen in the first place.

Going fast HT or fast Infestor is something that you can do in very specific situations, or else you get roll over (because you don't have much of anything once you run out of energy if you went for these gas expensive unit very early).
The ghost already has 20 base damage against light, if you add 50 base with the snipe, I think the array of situations in which you could go early ghost would be too wide, compared to the other 2 races.
Plus, since we haven't seen these situations, we don't know if the ghost is too strong or not strong enough in these situations. And this 50 damage base would be a slight buff.

For the sake of the discussion, let's say that what I just said is plain wrong, and that we just won't see much of the ghost at all post patch. Then I believe that this is to be addressed in another patch, and not in this one, mainly because that is not the main focus. If it turns out that the ghost is just too weak for mid-game play, unlike the infestor, then I believe that should be dealt with in another patch, when we actually have data to work on (unlike this one).

As the patch is, it may actually give us data to work on the ghost for these situations, because there are changes. And maybe change the ghost later on. With 50 base damage for snipe, almost nothing changes, so we won't have another point of view on the ghost and these situations.

I don't know, in my mind it made kind of sense. Maybe I did not express myself correctly.
When you play the game of drones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground. Huge IMLosirA fan.
FlaShFTW
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States10564 Posts
February 14 2012 21:57 GMT
#215
i think it should be something around 35-40 base and + vs psi. or 45 and -15 vs massive.

25 +25 is too much nerf and you only get 5 damage plus vs psi.
Writer#1 KT and FlaSh Fanboy || Woo Jung Ho Never Forget || Teamliquid Political Decision Desk
TL+ Member
MrCash
Profile Joined October 2011
United States1504 Posts
February 14 2012 21:57 GMT
#216
Mr Simpson stated Blizzard read all the forums.
This topic has been well represented on STOG, Reddit and most importantly on TL (probably on battle net forums too).
Now let's see if they simply like to read and have a giggle or if they are truly willing to implement changes based on reason.

I just imagine the guy who came up with the idea of the current nerf opposing this to no end, so as not to look silly for not coming up with this himself and people taunting of him that someone else should be getting paid to do his job.
But that's just my wild imagination at work.
Swede
Profile Joined June 2010
New Zealand853 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-02-14 22:11:08
February 14 2012 21:58 GMT
#217
On February 15 2012 06:02 bkrow wrote:
This was great to hear during State of the Game and now that you've fleshed it out and added some great examples, it makes even more sense.

Blizzard constantly cites "pro player feedback" as a source of their balance decisions - i want to meet the pro players who sat down, thought it through and said .. "yep nerfing ghosts into the ground is good for the game overall." I don't understand why a unit has to go from overpowered to completely useless in one swoop.

Great write up


But it's not completely useless. It's probably one of the most versatile units in the game even with the proposed changes by Blizzard. Are people forgetting EMP, nuke and cloak? Its really good base damage to light units?

I actually agree with QXC's changes, but I disagree with all of the people suddenly calling the unit 'useless' because of Blizzard's changes. That's just dishonest.

As a side note, I never liked snipe in the first place. I don't think Ghosts need an extra way of dealing with casters (they have EMP), and I don't think Terran need an extra way of disposing of banelings etc.

Oh well.
turdburgler
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
England6749 Posts
February 14 2012 21:59 GMT
#218
i love pro players to weigh in on subjects. but every other topic like this gets closed with the reasoning "stick to 1 thread" not "your bad and wrong and dont know what your talking about" WHAT MAKES QXC SO SPECIAL HU?!
Swift118
Profile Joined January 2012
United Kingdom335 Posts
February 14 2012 22:00 GMT
#219
Well if I was a pro level Terran as yourself I would be a bit pissed aswell. Nerf seems a bit harsh for late game Terran which already seems overwhelmingly tough against Zerg and Protoss. Lets see if it goes through on a permanent basis or is patched again in the near future.

From a more neutral point of view its really cool to see pro players get more experienced with their spell casters bringing some pretty interesting exchanges between races, but maybe ghosts are starting to get over used in TvZ like infestors were starting to get overused in ZvP.
LavaLava
Profile Joined January 2012
United States235 Posts
February 14 2012 22:02 GMT
#220
Several people are saying that a damage penalty (50 -25 vs Massive) is unprecedented, but remember, it's not an autoattack, it's a spell, so it's not really a big deal at all.

PDD has a damned list of applicable units in the tooltip. This minus to massive would actually be far more elegant.
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