EPTSiege Tank:
Siege Tanks no longer require an upgrade in order to enter Siege Mode.
Blizzard's reasoning for this change is this:
"This change should mainly affect TvP, so that teching to mech is easier." (source: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/7592400518).
When I first read this my jaw dropped. I could not believe it. I think I am pretty open to just about every change Blizzard makes. I don't like to argue with the balance changes. In fact, I have NEVER argued or complained about ANY balance changes since Brood Wars. I have welcomed each one, and found new ways to play and win.
You would expect that as a Terran player I would be THRILLED to see no more siege mode upgrade. "Yippie! No more upgrade! Time to win!"
But I am not thrilled. Listen, this upgrade is important to Terran. It is what makes Starcraft, Starcraft. The two BIGGEST upgrades as Terran are:
Stim Pack and Siege Mode.
The other races each have their own core upgrades. For example:
Zerg:
Metabolic Boost for Zerglings.
Protoss:
Psionic Storm for High Templars.
Why are these upgrades important?
They make the game strategic, exciting and fun. The strategy and excitement and fun comes from the anticipation of the upgrade as it is upgrading.
Your opponent is closing in on you and you are trying to distract or hold him off as that Siege Mode upgrade is finishing. Or you want to push. You are eager to push. He just did a stupid attack on you. You know if you push you will win. Your marines and units are piling up. But you have to wait for the Siege Mode upgrade... Maybe you can time it right and show up at his base just as it finishes... But do you know your timing? Do you know how long it will take? What if you get caught in the middle of the map and surrounded?
or
You know you are about to lose, because you chose to tech, but if you could hold on for a few more seconds as Psionic Storm finishes, you know you can fry his units and have the upper hand.
It is situations like these that make Starcraft a great game. These are common situations and the game really revolves around these important and well known upgrades.
The way I see it is, Blizzard is adding all this other stuff to the game, and it is affecting already effective parts of the game. They are adding some cool things. And I am open to change. But this is what I truly believe:
If you are going to add "good" things to the game that jeopardize other already GREAT parts of the game, then you are doing something WRONG.
Why go backwards? Could it be that someone at the top of the Starcraft development team wants to make a name for themselves? In the Book "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't" by Jim Collins, he talks about how when new leaders or CEO's join a company, they act selfishly. They don't care about the company (or game), they care about their own ego and fame. And they are willing to destroy things that past leaders have made (i.e. siege mode), with a reckless disregard for the public, just to meet their own ends. They take pride in destroying a community (Brood Wars) and then creating their own. They WANT to create their own. They want NO ties to the past.
There have been many signs in the past of this since the beginning of Starcraft WOL, and they were suspicious to me. Today, my suspicions are confirmed. I am sorry if this is ambiguous, but those who know what I am talking about will understand. They feel what I feel.
So again,
If you are going to add "good" things to the game that jeopardize other already GREAT parts of the game, then you are doing something WRONG.
I don't care what they add or change, but they CANNOT ruin core game elements that make the game Starcraft. It is an insult to all gamers past and present.
What do you guys think?
