HotSContest: The Future?

Aside from the awesome Starcraft 2 that everyone knew was going to be played at MLG Anaheim, people were looking forward to getting their hands on Heart of the Swarm. What would be different? What would be added? What would be removed? How would the game change? Well, unfortunately, well for me at least, it was super underwhelming. Those were my initials reactions to the changes in general. However, we will go in to detail on the new changes in the game, and you can make your own judgement on the next installment in the Starcraft II series.
One of the goals of the development team in this next expansion is “taking away from the ball [deathball].” They want to remove the “your huge ball vs. my huge ball” interaction from the game which I believe is a good concept to be implemented into the next expansion. How well did they do it? So far, I think they’re not exactly on the right track…but close…

Let’s begin with Terran…..

Combat Drugs (Reaper Health Regeneration)

Starting with the Reaper, our little early game raider got a new upgrade from the tech lab on a barracks. This upgrade allows the reaper to regenerate its own health when out of combat (they had to use some World of Warcraft lingo didn’t they?). While this does add some added retention to the rather weak early game unit, they removed the reaper’s C4 bomb attack against buildings. So by removing the bomb and adding the health regeneration, Blizzard thinks this could add some new possibilities for the unit. Aside from some early retention early game, seeing some creative use out of this unit seems slim in the next expansion. Don't expect much more creative use out of this guy.

Battle Hellion (Hellion Transform)
+ Show Spoiler +

Take your average, every day Wings of Liberty Hellion and turn it into a transformer. I present the Battle Hellion. It goes from its more mobile, straight line shooting mode into a robot with 45 more HP, and it’s flame thrower changes from a straight line into a short radius cone in front of the unit. This new unit presents wonderful new options in the TvZ and TvP matchups. Early game hellions versus Protoss become more viable due to the hellions can tank more damage from the zealots. This also seems to boost the viability of mech play in the TvP match up.

For TvZ, take your standard early game hellion pushes and make ‘em meaner. The added HP and cone splash damage could cause some serious damage against early game speedlings and combine that with some Marauder+Hellion timings, and you are looking at some seriously mean strategies.

While it may seem as though giving the hellion the ability to transform back and forth is a bit too much, Blizzard counter weighted this by having the Hellion come out in Battle mode, and the time to transform into its old hellion self is long enough to discourage making snap decisions in and out of forms. This time delay presents the player with deciding the final for for their Hellions before battle occur.

Warhound (Anti-Ground-Mechanical Unit)
+ Show Spoiler +

This new factory unit was introduced to give players the ability to both play as mech or bio vs. Protoss. While this unit doesn’t seem to follow the “taking away from the ball” mantra, it seems to be an interesting unit in the development of the TvP matchup. With the current feeling on the match up being that Terran has a short window early-mid game to win due to the strength of the Protoss army late game, this unit could change the tides of those feelings. However, it seems that this unit does bonus damage to EVERY Protoss ground unit (Probe, Sentry, Stalker, Immortal, and Colossus). Could this be good for the match up? It seems as though it gives Terran a new tool against Protoss, but maybe this isn’t the right tool due to the fact that Protoss has so many AOE units in the late game. Maybe an AOE spell or damage option out of this unit could be a good fix or adjustment moving forward.

In addition to giving additional options in the Protoss matchup, it also seems as though it has some viability in the TvT mirror match up. Being an anti-mechanical unit, it does bonus damage to Siege Tanks, Thors, Hellions, Bunkers, Turrents, and Auto Turrets. The Warhound could be used as a support unit to your Bio army if you are playing against a Terran that is playing a mech style or even a tank-marine style. It seems as though the Warhound presents more innovative and creative uses in the TvT match up than the TvP matchup which it seems as though it was created for. Early bunker busts and anti-tank openings seem to be in the Warhound’s future for TvT, as well as being a part of solid mid-game Terran armies.

Widow Mine (Anti-Everything Mine)
+ Show Spoiler +

Now let’s talk about my favorite unit on the weekend: The Widow Mine. Now this is something that can really change up the game as we know it today. Essentially, the Widow Mine is a mine that is produced from the factory (can be double produced with a reactor), controlled by the player, and able to be burrowed or unburrowed where ever they please. It hits air, ground, cloaked, and uncloaked units. It latches on to the unit that wonders into its proximity and then detonates after 10 seconds. The unit it is attached to is marked with a large, red icon that counts down till its death before blowing up and dealing 200 damage in a small radius. Sounds sweet right? Well, Blizzard definitely has some tweaking to do with the numbers on this unit.

The mine introduces space control to the game which it currently seems to lack. The mine has applicable roles in all three match ups, and it is definitely something that I look forward to seeing in the game. The Widow Mine could definitely have its own article detailing its possible future uses, for it is that dynamic and exciting.

It “takes away from the deathball,” requires control to use, and requires control to deal with it defensively. Blizzard did an excellent job with this unit, but players should expect to see some significant tweaking to it in the future versions of the game (damage, build time, etc.)

Redline Reactor (Unsure on name, but it's Battlecruiser Speed)

Blizzard gave Battlecruisers a speed upgrade, but they definitely did it in the wrong fashion. The speed boost costs 100 energy, and it only lasts for a short period of time. In addition to it only being a short speed boost, it also has a cooldown. With Battlecruisers already being scarcely used in late-game situations, giving the Battlecruiser a simple overall speed boost would be a good buff to possibly influence players to use the Battlecruiser, plus it might actually prove some additional viability. It is doubtful that giving it a flat out speed buff would cause any outrage. Then again, maybe Blizzard could introduce an energy refill mechanic that would allow Battlecruisers to fly though something to refill energy...

After examining Terran changes, let’s move on to Protoss…

The Oracle (Anti-Base Super Scout thing…)
+ Show Spoiler +

WTF are you?

How does one describe this unit? Well it’s a super nimble flyer that can give vision of a building, tell you what a building is producing, and, the icing on the cake, IT CAN SHUT DOWN EVERY MINERAL PATCH IN YOUR BASE.

Entomb is the spell that covers all mineral patches (I think gases too, unsure) in your base with a force field that is on a timer and also has HP, so it is able to be destroyed (interesting concept with forcefields and HP huh…). While significantly reducing mining time may take away from the deathballs, it may seem to be a bit too much to deal with. It essentially just shuts down a base till the timer runs out, or you destroy the forcefields. While harassing the mineral line without killing workers is a cool new twist to economic damage, I think that being able to cover every single mineral patch is too much. Expect the entomb spell to be reduced to being able to cover 3-5 mineral patches.

In addition to that spell, in this newest build of Heart of the Swarm, it now has an energy based cloaking field (it’s like the mothership cloaking, but with a timer). The spell costs 100 energy and lasts for 60 seconds cloaking all units in the area excluding Oracles. I guess Terrans have to start including Ravens in their TvP builds…

Pre-Ordain is the third and final spell on the Oracle, and it allows you to cast it on any building to see what tech you are researching, or what units are being built (It also grants vision of hatcheries, but it does not show what larva are hatching into). I mean, I guess this sounds cool in theory, but then again this seems to take away from the mental and strategic side of the game. If I can figure out exactly what you are building, then what more do I really need to scout? The spell lasts for 2 minutes (this better change…) and this vision coupled with the insane range of the Tempest could spell serious trouble for all races in the late game.

Mothership Core (Baby Mothership)
+ Show Spoiler +

You are so cute and useful. So cheap too!

In an interesting twist to not remove the Mothership, the Mothership Core was introduced. The Mothership core essentially has all the abilities of the Mothership, but it is attached to the Nexus and also has new abilities. (Only one Mothership or Mothership Core can exist at one time. Also, I am unsure of the tech required to get the Mothership Core. ~~I believe it is just Stargate~~, then Fleet Beacon to upgrade it into the Mothership)

Purify places a photon cannon on top of the Nexus it is attached to and lasts for 20 seconds. However, it does have a 20 second cool down and requires the Gateway. This is a solid change from having the ability to place a cannon on any Protoss building powered by a Gateway.

Mass Recall is the standard Mass Recall we are all currently familiar with, but the Protoss is able to get this ability much earlier in the game. Since the Mothership Core is able to be started with the first 50 gas, starting to build energy super early in the game gives the Protoss army and huge advantage to its already super mobile self. Giving this ability to Protoss so early in the game seems to be an absolute mistake. A player can warp in at an opponent's front, then after the attack immediately recall with no repercussions? The spell costs 150 energy which seems to be the correct cost, but being able to get the ability so early in the game seems to be an absolute mistake for how the other mechanics of Protoss work.

Teleport is another new spell added into the game from when we’ve seen it last. This spell costs 25 energy and allows you to transport the Core to another Nexus. While this seems to be a cool spell, it also seems as though the Protoss player doesn’t really need to make any strategic decision on where to place the Core due to they can just place it on any Nexus given they have enough energy. So, as long as you have 25 energy you can defend all your Nexuses with a Mothership Core. You can start with a core on your first Nexus, then as soon as you expand send it to your natural, and third and so on and so forth. Getting hit by a drop? Immediately teleport to the drop location. This just seems too much and seems like the spell should be removed to increase strategic decision making. This seems to be too strong against some midgame pushes from all three races (more specifically Terran and Zerg).

Energize is the final and also a new spell in this build of Heart of the Swarm. For 25 energy, your target can gain maximum energy. Wait what? Khaydarin Amulet for anything? Now this seems to be a little too rich for my blood. With the Mothership Core having a max of 200 energy, that means I can warp in 8 High Templar or Sentries and give them all max energy. This just plain is not going to work. Definitely expect to see this axed in future versions of Heart of the Swarm.

Mothership (Current Flying Wings of Liberty Form)

If you should choose to turn your Mothership Core into a Mothership, then you get the same one from Wings of Liberty with some changes. It no longer has its cloaking field, vortex has been changed, and you get a new spell: Stasis.

Vortex will no longer affect air units, only ground. This is a good change due to the Archon Toilet becoming such a powerful late game tool for the Protoss against a large Brood Lord army or a fleet of Battle Cruisers (See GSL finals MVP vs. Squirtle). Don’t be surprised if Blizzard actually removes Vortex completely from the game.

Its newest ability is Stasis. This spell freezes air units in place for 20 seconds. I really like this new ability because it gives the Mothership increased defensive capabilities. If you had enough Corruptors or Vikings, then you could just run up and 1 or 2 shot the Mothership. If you didn’t have any energy for a Vortex, then you were just going to lose your Mothership. Adding retention to units is a good thing for the future development of Starcraft.

It seems that if the Vortex change stays as so, then there might not be much point in upgrading from the Mothership Core into a Mothership. The Core has so much more utility. Maybe some damage increases on the Mothership could force players into having the utility option of the Mothership Core or the damage output of the Protoss’ Capital Ship.

Tempest (22 Range Super Downtown Blaster)
+ Show Spoiler +

Seeming to be the hottest topic on the weekend’s build of Heart of the Swarm, the Tempest is supposedly supposed to take the place of the Carrier (I can’t decide if removing the Carrier is good or not yet).

Essentially, the Tempest has 10 range when it is initially built out of the Stargate (requires Fleet Beacon), and has an upgrade for +12 range that puts it at 22 range. Now, it shoots fairly slow and requires visions of the target obviously, but does 22 range strike anyone else as ridiculous? If you couple this with the Oracle’s spell of Pre-Ordain, then you are looking at some serious damage capabilities of the Tempest. The damage is 45 a shot (60 versus massive targets: Brood Lord, Ultralisk, Colossus, Thor, Carrier, Archon), but I can’t seem to translate slow shooting, 45 damage a shot + 22 range into terms of overpowered or not. Maybe they have this one right? I doubt it, but it could be possible. We will have to definitely see how this turns out…

Speculated Use of Tempest in Heart of the Swarm:

Let’s see how the bugs did in their own expansion…

Viper (Flying Caster)
+ Show Spoiler +

Now, the Viper is a great concept and definitely a cool unit for the Swarm, but I think they have some serious tweaks to make to its spells.

[image loading]

Abduct is a sort of grappling hook that attaches to enemy units and drags them closer to the Viper. It costs 75 energy (you’ll see why this is vital in a moment), and essentially give you a free kill on whatever unit you dragged in as long as you have your army around, and that is my problem. It seems as long as you have enough units nearby, any unit you drag can just be removed from the enemy forces and one shotted. Seems like something needs to be changed here, more specifically with the energy consumption and regeneration rate rather than the actual spell.

Consume is the second ability of the Viper, and it is definitely something awful. You cause 200 damage over 10 seconds to your own building, but it gives you 50 energy. What’s so wrong with that? Well, you’re creating free energy for your units. You’re not spawning them in with ample time to let them grow energy themselves. The second issue is that Zerg buildings passively gain back HP, or they can actively be given more HP through Queen’s Transfuse. Zerg Khaydarin Amulet? Either way I am not a fan of units being able to regenerate the energy of other units. Takes away timing factors I enjoy in game play.

Blinding Cloud. Ah, now you’re getting it right, Dustin. Blinding Cloud is a spell that when casted creates an AOE cloud that reduces the range of all biological units to 1. For example, if Marines are standing inside the cloud, they have a range of one. If they leave the cloud, then their range goes back to normal. While I think that this is definitely an excellent step in advancing the game forward, I think that this might present a problem when coupled with Infestors and Banelings. I expect to see some tweaking here as well, but maybe not too much. This is definitely a great spell and advancement for the game.

Swarm Host (Zerg Siege Unit)
+ Show Spoiler +

The Swarm Host. I have some mixed feelings about this. A Zerg siege unit that spawns two locust that can be upgraded to last 25 seconds, hit both ground and air, and do significant damage. It’s super cool in the ZvZ match up due to the locust having the ability to hit both ground and air. It seems to have some cool potential in the ZvP match up by possibly tying up more Robotics Facility time to observers (due to it can only spawn locusts while burrowed. Also “removing from the ball”). Zerg vs Terran is something I’m wishy-washy about. I really like how it gives the Zerg a new, exciting offensive option and could introduce more Raven play, but at the same time I feel like is this the right new unit the Zerg needed? I would definitely need to play more games as Terran against it to establish a better opinion.

Ultralisk Burrowed Charge

This spell is just too Warcraft for me. It seems like it is just kind of this gimmicky move for the Ultralisk. It’s supposed to be this super armored melee unit, then why are we giving it charge? It gets +5 armor. Wait, it’s not just a charge, but it knocks units into the air for a brief time? Ok, now you’re losing me…I definitely do not like this being in the game, and I hope it gets removed. If you want to make a change to the Ultralisk I think there has to be a different way.

Better Use for Ultralisk Charge:

Hydralisk Speed Upgrade

I mean…does anyone really have any complaints with this? Now they are a viable option. I am all for that. Introducing new types of play is something that the expansion definitely should do, and this accomplishes that completely. The only argument that you could make against this is that they are too fast at the moment. Well, if that is the case, then they aren’t very far off in getting it perfect.

Well, those are my thoughts on the subject. Remember, everything could change tomorrow, and these suggestions as to how gameplay could look in the future are complete speculation. Hope you enjoyed :D

*Everything expressed in this blog regarding gameplay is complete speculation and prediction. Please keep discuss proposed in a hypothetical stance. GL HF GG.*

HotSContest: The Future?

Completed

Ongoing

Upcoming