EPTAnd yes, this is a parody. I feel like it's really obvious and I don't want to leave this spoiler here but every time I write something even remotely tongue-in-cheek it goes over half of the readers' heads.
I was taught to see imbalance in individual strategies and innovations, not in Blizzard conferring dominance on my group.
Through work to bring PvP builds into PvT (because why not more Void Rays) I have often noticed Protoss players' unwillingness to grant that they are overprivileged, even though they may grant that the other two races are disadvantaged. They may say they will support Terran and Zerg buffs, in research time, in damage output, or in viable builds, but they can't or won't support the idea of nerfing Protoss. Denials that amount to taboos surround the subject of advantages that Protoss players gain from Terran and Zerg disadvantages. These denials protect Protoss privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened, or ended.
I think that Protoss are carefully taught not to recognize Protoss privilege, so I have begun in a more passive-aggressive way begun to ask what it is like to have Protoss privilege. I have come to see Protoss privilege as an invisible package of unearned benefits that I can count on abusing every day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. Protoss privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of balance updates, maps, builds, units, mechanics, and minerals.
I decided to try to work on myself by identifying some of the things that make Protoss privileged in every game I play. As far as I can tell, my fellow Terran players with whom I engage in ladder with cannot count on most of these conditions:
- 1. I can if I wish harass the enemy and immediately warp to safety, taking minimal casualty.
2. I can avoid spending any money when creating scouts which move faster than almost any other unit in the game.
3. If I should need to expand, I can be pretty sure of the location's safety simply by building a pylon nearby.
4. Should the pylon be of insufficient aid, I can quickly defend such a location with a single mass recall.
5. I can spend money on and send one warp prism alone most of the time, no matter how many forces I intend to harass with.
6. I can turn on a given stream or open to the front page of TL and see players of my race widely represented.
7. When I am told about the great plays that happened this week in StarCraft, I am shown that players of my race made them.
8. I can be sure that my race will have a major role in the next expansion.
9. If I want to, I can be sure of finding a Protoss streamer to spread ideas of Protoss privilege.
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in an LR in which I am the only one rooting for Protoss.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person in an LR in which they are the only member of their race.
12. I can go into an obs game and see a member of my race playing and winning.
13. I can count on players of my race to sweep balance problems under the rug.
14. I can make my research and/or unit production go faster than it is supposed to.
15. I do not have to put my air units in much danger when gaining sight of a cliff for blinking.
16. I have a spell which denies my opponent the ability to micro.
17. I can win a game with a controversial strategy and not have the commentators put this down to my race.
18. I can BM, draw pictures with pylons, or not return the "gl hf", without having people attribute these choices to the bad manner of my race.
19. I can send feedback to Blizzard without putting my race into the spotlight.
20. I can do well in a challenging game without being called a credit to my race.
21. I am never forced to sacrifice greedy openings for defensive plays against early harassment.
22. I can keep my opponent in the dark with the positioning of a few units and rely on my race's dynamic variety of builds to overpower the enemy.
23. I can remain oblivious to the state of the metagame and still consider units of my race are underpowered.
24. I can quickly turn the tide of a close battle and count on a mechanic where the units instantly appear on the field as they are summoned.
25. I can easily find wallpapers, screenshots, and funny videos featuring players of my race.
26. I can criticize balance without being seen as an apologist for my race.
27. I can return to my base while covering my rear with splash damage, ensuring I can always retreat in safety.
28. My race gives me little fear about ignoring the build orders or placement of units and buildings of other races.
29. I can worry about balance without being seen as self-interested or in desire of cheap ladder points.
30. If I have low results as a player I can be sure it will not be attributed to my race.
Although perfect balance in SC2 will probably take Blizzard 'until they run out of World of Warcraft expansions' worth of time to achieve, there are pressing questions for me and I imagine, for other players like me if we raise our daily consciousness on the perquisites of being Protoss. What will we do with such knowledge?
Beat me at my own game, obviously
