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How to balance the Colossus

Blogs > targ
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targ
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
Malaysia445 Posts
September 18 2012 14:41 GMT
#1
Everyone is pointing their fingers at the Colossus as the main cause of boring deathball play in SC2, and they are right. The Protoss army is strongest in a ball with the Colossi in the back, so every Protoss player with some common sense will use it that way. This causes us to watch a wrecking ball swing across the map rather than rapiers poking back and forth.

Most of us, including me, dislike seeing this. How can we change the Colossus to avoid this? The following methods are suggested:

1. Remove it - The trouble with this is that gateway units are just not strong enough in midgame against Terran bio and Zerg roaches.
2. Replace with reaver - reavers would probably be overpowered with SC2 pathing.
3. Lengthen cooldown and increase damage - the first swipe would be too powerful, so it would have to be rebalanced.
4. Give it a siege mode - too much like the siege tank.

No satisfactory solution seems to present itself to me.

So what I think should be done is that the Colossus itself should not be touched. Instead the AOE of the other races should be buffed so that Protoss has less incentive to bunch up into a deathball, but instead do more multipronged attacks and early pokes.

For Terran, tanks could get a slight increase in damage, while the Thor should have an AOE damage spell perhaps cast in waves to replace the Strike cannon.

For Zerg, fungal growth could get furthur bonuses vs massive units, and perhaps the queen could regain some AOE damage spell like the razor swarm it had in beta. Or Corruptors could have some kind of AOE spell that makes units take more damage.

To balance this out for Protoss, the stalker could get +1 and +1 vs armor for its upgrade instead of the flat +1 it has now.

I think this would be a more viable way to avoid deathball play. At least it seems more likely than Blizzard doing anything to the Colossus.

*
http://billyfoong.blogspot.com/ my other opinions are here
Arcanefrost
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Belgium1257 Posts
September 18 2012 14:53 GMT
#2
I don't really get why there's so much colossi hate. It has spalsh damage, cliff walk, it's important to position them well, you have to use your blink stalkers to defend vs air, you can do some awesome speed prism collo play in pvt, ... imo it's a pretty good unit. I'm not saying it's as interesting as the reaver, but there are more pressing matters than the colossus for sc2.
Valor is a poor substitute for numbers.
NobledBlood
Profile Joined January 2011
United States125 Posts
September 18 2012 15:04 GMT
#3
Exactly what Arcane said in my opinion. And one of the problems with this is you are only thinking of buffing t and z vs p. What about the other match-ups? And with T and Z getting such good buffs for their units, the only way you compensate Toss, is that you give them a pitiful +1 upgrade.
TheKefka
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
Croatia11752 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-09-18 15:54:28
September 18 2012 15:47 GMT
#4
You people have never played protoss in your life if you think colossus is a good unit.
The problem with it it's a one dimensional retarded unit that causes all sorts of problems because it exists.
For one it's TOO good and efficient for what it does,so it's part of the problem why warpgate units must be so weak.
It blocks stargate tech,i.e. the carrier,because anyone that goes anti air pretty much automatically counters the stargate tech as well as robo play.So only transition you can make is templar into robo or stargate and because the colossus is so good and efficient in 99% of the cases it's always better to do a colossus switch,it's also quicker.
You can't micro the fucking thing properly as well with a warp prism because it has a delay on it's attack animation and damage output.
It's also the backbone of the "deathball",which everyone oh so loves to watch in action.
Colossus needs to be cut from the game as soon as possible.
Buff storm damage or add another unit and it's all good.
Fuck the colossus,sincerely,a protoss player.
Cackle™
Paljas
Profile Joined October 2011
Germany6926 Posts
September 18 2012 15:49 GMT
#5
give the collosus destructible rocks, they balance everything.
TL+ Member
Djzapz
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada10681 Posts
September 18 2012 16:41 GMT
#6
As a protoss player, I have to say that the colossus is one of the worst thing to have happened to SC2 and one of the reasons why I haven't really played the game in months. I think it's good, yes, but it's so damn boring to use and even worse to play against.

Remove that shit, make high templars more accessible and balance the game around that. Maybe buff storm damage against armored units and lower it against light armor units. Give feedback a slightly longer range or give the sentry guardian shield the ability to block EMPs. Maybe that's stupid, it probably is because I just winged it right now on the fly, but the point is, I'm not worried about balance. I think Blizzard has done an excellent job balancing the game. But it bores me to death.
"My incompetence with power tools had been increasing exponentially over the course of 20 years spent inhaling experimental oven cleaners"
kafkaesque
Profile Blog Joined November 2011
Germany2006 Posts
September 18 2012 17:19 GMT
#7
Just put destructible rocks at every expansion beyond the natural.

Then you make it so that only colossi can attack rocks, so in order for Zergs or Terrans to get third bases, they have to bargain with Protosses. If the Protoss user decides not to let the Zerg to get to a 3rd base, that's called a Rock Block.

Or tossing him the salad.
| (• ◡•)|╯ ╰(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)
tehemperorer
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
United States2183 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-09-18 19:19:46
September 18 2012 19:18 GMT
#8
I like the unit, feels powerful, I don't have to micro it much aside from move commands, and it gels well with early units. The range upgrade comes in at a good time, and it isn't too strong if you rush to it but can be if you use it right. Why the hate? You want every unit to be a transformer, to have an ability, or to be "cool" in more than just looks? It's a strong uh-oh unit, why is that bad?
Knowing is half the battle... the other half is lasers.
fire_brand
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Canada1123 Posts
September 18 2012 19:44 GMT
#9
I think the problem with colossi is actually two fold.

Mobility

Yes, it's a problem. No other unit in the game has such incredible damage potential and combined with such mobility other than, maybe, the ultralisk. And the ultralisk has a melee attack and is just to massive to get good positions very easily. It's actually difficult to ATTACK with the ultra. The colossi can move freely at the same speed as the rest of the deathball, can easily get up and down cliffs (which is not actually a bad thing and has the potential to be a neat little mechanic) and needs to preparation to unleash its attack like the tank does.

How lets look at every other major damage dealer in the game. Broodlords, Carriers, BCs, all slow as balls. Tanks need to be sieged up for its damage potential and is relatively fragile and easy to pick off in tank mode. Thors have no AOE, a very large model, a low movement speed, and relatively slow attack. The immortal, likewise, without the large model. The Ultra, as we've previously covered, has a large model, and a melee attack. Templar and Raven have slow movement speed, no survivability and have to cast to inflict damage. The infestor has the same issues, but with slightly more survivability with burrow/burrow movement.

This basically insures it's going to be in your deathball, where that wouldn't really happen as easily as a Tank, or looking back at BW, a reaver or lurker. They're designed to work well with gateway units and just sort of mass together.


Collision

This is sort of along the lines of mobility, but is probably even a large culprit than it. Let me go back to the ultra for a second. One thing about the ultra, that makes it really difficult to use, is how badly it synergies with anything else. A swarm of roaches or lings will actually impede the ultras movement and often get in the way of it, preventing it to attack. As a result you need to really babysit them, and insure it's doing the most possible damage that it can. In fact, more often than not, you need to use it in junction with fungals just to kill anything.

The Colossi doesn't have that problem. It can sit comfortably above its army of gateway minions and shoot happily from the back. It doesn't stop your zealots from charging forward or blink stalkers from moving up. It's complete lack of collision with any allied units, other than other colossi, makes it one of the easiest units in the game to control. There's very little babysitting needed to use colossi. It can often just be A moved forward with its buffer of gateway units beneath to steamroll an opposing army.

Conclusion

I really don't think it's broken, or imbalanced, or anything of the sort. I just think it's a poorly designed unit that makes gameplay and spectating increasingly bland the more you see and use it. It is the epitome of a boring unit and fits easily into the deathball mold.
Random player, pixel enthusiast, crappy illustrator, offlane/support
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