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Blizzcon Live Coverage: Day 1

Forum Index > News
374 CommentsPost a Reply
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Blizzcon Live Coverage: Day 1

Text byKennigit
Graphics byKennigit
October 21st, 2011 21:36 GMT
[image loading]

This thread will be constantly updated throughout the day; Please check back often!

Twitter: Follow us @Teamliquidlive for live results from the ESports tournament Area

Official Trailer


HotS FAQ/Facts
  • Approximately 20 new campaign missions
  • 2-3 new units for each race. Some units have been removed for multiplayer
  • New upgrades for each race on old units (Banelings can move while burrowed)
  • The Battlecruiser will gain a speed-boost ability called Redline Reactor
  • Reaper no longer has a special building attack, but instead has a passive health-regeneration that allows it to recharge hit points quickly when out of combat.




Balance Panel
  • Terran vs Zerg heavily favors Terran in Korea. NA/EU seems fairly even.
  • Pro/Community feedback says 1/1/1 too powerful.
  • Blizzard agrees 1/1/1 was too strong pre 1.4
  • Blizzard agress EMP was too strong pre 1.4.
  • Immortal Buff
  • Still need some time to determine how the ratings have changed post patch.
  • Looking at general protoss buff
  • EMP Radius change?


Philosophy for HotS
  • Fix missed opportunites
  • Remove units that dont work
  • Dont add to unit strength. Fix their weaknesses


Weaknesses in WoL vs Fixes in HotS

Terran
  • Thor should mass counter Muta. Size is a problem. High cost, mass muta can spread/magic box easily.
  • Late Game Zealot powerful vs Terran
  • Battle mode for hellion. Slower - Tougher. End game fighter vs archon zealot colossus etc.
  • Warhound. Smaller faster version of thor. Anti-Mech ground attack.
  • Make thor the fantasy of super unit.
  • Shredder. Cheap board control. Dont add to the ball of death.


Zerg
  • Siege challenges and miss opportunities.
  • Ultras have size problem. Get stuck in your army and enemy units. End game splash - buff in HotS
  • Find a way to clean up a lot of marines.
  • Burrow Charge upgrade
  • Overseers out
  • Vipers pull prevent colossus from climbing cliffs to harass.
  • Swarm host: siege unit, gain map control. very zerg


Protoss
  • no solid raiding option - especially early/midgame.
  • Dont focus on killing units, but viable through whole game.
  • Lack of AOE Anti-air in WoL.
  • Carrier out. Tempest in. AOE Anti-Air
  • Oracle added, Protoss caster that copies other race's units and becomes them.
  • Mothership gone, Oracle in. Air raiding unit, has stasis and can stop minerals from mining.




FULL Details and Descriptions of each unit: Unedited.
+ Show Spoiler +

Protoss
Upon analyzing data from their most recent battles, the protoss have identified a few areas of improvement that would help them maximize effectiveness against their enemies. Based on their findings, the protoss have augmented their arsenal with a second psionic unit, a new way to counter flocks of Mutalisks, and a new form of enemy harassment.

Tempest
Description: The tempest is a new capital ship that deals massive area-of-effect damage to air units. It also has a standard ground attack, but its chief role is to help gain air superiority.

Oracle
Description: The Oracle is a psionic warship, built from a Stargate, that uses several unique abilities to raid and harass the enemy. The first is Entomb, which can temporarily block mineral fields from being harvested. Another ability, Preordain, grants vision of a targeted enemy building, allowing the protoss to see which units or technologies are being researched. Rounding out its kit is Phase Shift, which phases a target building, preventing it from being attacked, using its abilities, or granting technology. Not only can structures like missile turrets be prevented from attacking, but using this ability on a zerg Spire would block the production of Mutalisks, Corruptors, and air upgrades.

Replicant
Description: Replicants have one ability: to transform itself into any non-massive unit. They're expensive, so cloning a Zergling would not be very cost effective, but transforming into a specialized unit like a Raven, Infestor, or Siege Tank could open up interesting strategic options for the protoss.

New Abilities
A new ability called Arc Shield has also been added to the nexus -- this ability will temporarily add additional shield and building armor, as well as a weapon very similar to a photon cannon. The weapon does the same amount of damage as a regular photon cannon but only damages light units. This ability will help the protoss buy time to defend in the case of an unexpected drop from an enemy. Another ability, Mass Recall, has also been added to the nexus, which allows protoss players to teleport armies from out in the field back to the nexus. The recalled units are stunned for a few seconds when recalled.

Retired Units
As we add units to the multiplayer game, sometimes it’s necessary to remove units or alter others’ abilities to maintain game balance and eliminate redundancy. In the current design of Heart of the Swarm, the protoss are not able to deploy Motherships and Carriers, though these and other units that don’t exist in Heart of the Swarm multiplayer will still be available in Wings of Liberty multiplayer and the solo campaign.


Terran
The resourceful terrans have also been improving their technology to better survive their battles in the Koprulu sector.

Shredder
Description: The Shredder is a new unit built from the Factory that allows the terran player to control the battlefield. In its mobile form, the Shredder has no attack -- but when set to stationary mode, it channels area-effect damage to both the air and ground. If a friendly unit enters the range of the Shredder, the weapon shuts off.

Warhound
Description: The Warhound is a small, walking ground mech that wields an effective anti-air weapon with splash damage, much like the Thor from Wings of Liberty. The difference is that the Warhound is smaller and much more nimble, though it gives up some range on its anti-air missiles in exchange for this mobility. The Warhound also wields a small ground attack weapon that does additional damage to mechanical units, making it particularly well suited to taking out enemy Siege Tanks -- though it's not particularly effective against non-mechanical units.

Thor (Modified)
Description: While it was always quite effective against ground and air, one of the biggest problems with the Thor has been that it’s too big and bulky to move around well... so the terrans decided to made it even bigger. In Heart of the Swarm multiplayer, terran players will be limited to having only one Thor at a time, but this new behemoth hits even harder with its regular ground weapons and can absorb a tremendous amount of damage. The terrans have also swapped out the Thor's anti-air weapons for a bombardment ability that does a huge amount of damage to a wide swath of ground. The Thor will need time to set up its bombardment cannons, as well as time to repack them after an attack, much like a Siege Tank. Of course, fielding such a powerful weapon requires a hefty investment in technology, so both an Armory and a Fusion Core will be required before a Thor can be built.

New Abilities
The Hellion has been upgraded to a transforming unit similar to the Viking. When transformed into its new battle mode, the Hellion will gain in hit points and get a stronger flame attack that covers a short arc in front of it. This makes the Hellion more effective in late-game fights against large clusters of light units such as Zealots. The Ghost’s Cloak ability has also been modified -- it will no longer be a toggled effect. Instead, there will be a one-time energy cost to activate Cloak for a specific time duration. Energy regeneration will continue while cloaked, and Ghosts can re-cloak while nuking without interrupting the call-down. The Battlecruiser will gain a speed-boost ability called Redline Reactor, which is governed by a cooldown. And finally, the Reaper no longer has a special building attack, but instead has a passive health-regeneration that allows it to recharge hit points quickly when out of combat.


Zerg
The zerg continue to evolve and adapt to changing environments, particularly the dangers they face on the battlefield. New creatures will help the zerg stage more effective sieges and add unique enemy-manipulating abilities to their arsenal.

Viper
Description: The Viper is a new flying unit with three unique abilities. Blinding Cloud temporarily reduces the attack range of all ground units inside the cloud to melee range, and prevents energy-based abilities from being used. Abduct allows the Viper to physically pull a unit to the Viper’s location. Finally, the Viper has a one-time ability called Ocular Parasite, which allows it to detach its eye stalk and meld it onto any friendly, non-massive unit, turning that unit into a detector.

Swarm Host
Description: The Swarm Host is a slow-moving ground unit that has no standard attack. When burrowed, the Swarm Host spawns a continuous stream of slow-moving melee units called Locusts that can be used to lay siege and pressure entrenched enemy positions.

New Abilities
The Corruptor's Corruption ability has been replaced by a new ability called Siphon that allows Corruptors to target buildings and slowly damage them. This damage is converted into resources for the zerg at the same time. Ultralisks have a new Burrow Charge skill that lets them dive underground and instantly surface at a target, allowing them to initiate the fight faster on a crowded battlefield. Finally, the Baneling has evolved tunneling claws similar to the Roach, which allows them to move while burrowed -- this new evolution will mean other races will need to be even more wary about hidden drops and making sure to have detectors with their army. Finally, the Hydralisk has a new upgrade that allows them to move faster while not on creep.

Retired Units
The Overseer has been cut; its detection ability has been replaced by the Viper and its Ocular Parasite.


Corruptor Changes
The Corruptor's Corruption ability has been replaced by a new ability called Siphon that allows Corruptors to target buildings and slowly damage them. This damage is converted into resources for the zerg at the same time.

Ghost Changes
Zealots. The Ghost’s Cloak ability has also been modified -- it will no longer be a toggled effect. Instead, there will be a one-time energy cost to activate Cloak for a specific time duration. Energy regeneration will continue while cloaked, and Ghosts can re-cloak while nuking without interrupting the call-down.

Thor Changes
While it was always quite effective against ground and air, one of the biggest problems with the Thor has been that it’s too big and bulky to move around well... so the terrans decided to made it even bigger. In Heart of the Swarm multiplayer, terran players will be limited to having only one Thor at a time, but this new behemoth hits even harder with its regular ground weapons and can absorb a tremendous amount of damage. The terrans have also swapped out the Thor's anti-air weapons for a bombardment ability that does a huge amount of damage to a wide swath of ground. The Thor will need time to set up its bombardment cannons, as well as time to repack them after an attack, much like a Siege Tank. Of course, fielding such a powerful weapon requires a hefty investment in technology, so both an Armory and a Fusion Core will be required before a Thor can be built.

Retired Units
As we add units to the multiplayer game, sometimes it’s necessary to remove units or alter others’ abilities to maintain game balance and eliminate redundancy. In the current design of Heart of the Swarm, the protoss are not able to deploy Motherships and Carriers, though these and other units that don’t exist in Heart of the Swarm multiplayer will still be available in Wings of Liberty multiplayer and the solo campaign.




HotS Gameplay Impressions

Kennigit

Had a chance to play one Zvt vs Zatic during the opening ceremony just to test out how some of the new units feel.

Viper
- can cast 3 spells, a dark swarmish spell with small AoE called Blinding Cloud. I was using this on Zatic's tank/battle hellions before i realized that this was a bad idea.
- Abduct was very cool - i'm bad at the game so didn't use it effectively, but the idea that you can pull a harassing colossus off a cliff or some templars out of an army (the cast range is quite wide) is nice.
- Ocular Parasite...I need to investigate more to determine if your opponent knows which unit you have cast it on (you cast it on a friendly unit causing it to detect cloaked units). You get viper at lair tech right now - my initial impression is that it would nullify cloaked banshees but that's just theory crafting.
- It feels like the type of unit that you will have a few floating around (with your army/or in base) but not use in mass. Support unit.

Swarm Host
- Super cool. Zatic contained my natural with a ton of siege tank/battle hellion. The swarm host burrows and then spawns 3-4 locusts (they look like mini hydras). Combination of Blinding Cloud and ling/swarm host burrow completely wrecked it. By themselves, they aren't too strong as they have a long cool down on spawning locusts (right now its ~24 seconds. the locusts last 15). It has a similar dynamic to broodlords from first glance - amazing in numbers, but you need support units.

Changes/Abilities
Overseer has been cut - Viper and ocular parasite are lair tech though so it seems ok (there is an energy cost on OP - lol...op).

Ultralisk has a new spell called Burrow Charge which lets them dive underground and instantly surface at a target - haven't used it yet.

Hydra has a new upgrade which allows it to move faster while off creep - nice.

Baneling has a new upgrade which allows it to move while underground....UMMMMMM WHAT?. I haven't used it yet, but i'm going to go find some bronze leagues to abuse it on. Will ask David Kim how he intends to balance that which is unbalancable later today during the press session.

Zatic and i tested Battle Hellions vs roaches. Its basically the same dynamic as the original hellion except it does a lot more damage to buildings now.


Pictures




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Pwnographics
Profile Joined January 2011
New Zealand1097 Posts
October 21 2011 21:41 GMT
#2
So excited!
AxelTVx
Profile Joined May 2010
Canada916 Posts
October 21 2011 21:42 GMT
#3
Sick! Nice kennegit"
Axel 145 Masters Protoss
EL33T_COL
Profile Joined August 2011
Canada68 Posts
October 21 2011 21:42 GMT
#4
thanks for this insight!
À vaincre sans péril on triomphe sans gloire
Grettin
Profile Joined April 2010
42381 Posts
October 21 2011 21:42 GMT
#5
Thanks for these.
"If I had force-fields in Brood War, I'd never lose." -Bisu
ZeroCartin
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Costa Rica2390 Posts
October 21 2011 21:43 GMT
#6
Awesome pics! Thanks Kennigit!
"My sister is on vacation in Costa Rica right now. I hope she stays a while because she's a miserable cunt." -pubbanana
Fager
Profile Joined March 2011
Denmark6 Posts
October 21 2011 21:43 GMT
#7
Pictures look so sweet, pretty cool stuff!!!
Cointoss? No... protoss!
Snayven
Profile Joined September 2011
Germany3 Posts
October 21 2011 21:44 GMT
#8
Happy Birthday and thanks for this
Fuck all other goals - I just wanna be nice | Day[9]
falafelnr1
Profile Joined January 2011
Sweden444 Posts
October 21 2011 21:44 GMT
#9
On October 22 2011 06:41 Pwnographics wrote:
So excited!

You just can't hide it?
dodgepong
Profile Joined April 2010
United States50 Posts
October 21 2011 21:45 GMT
#10
Great coverage! Interesting that the Viper is Lair tech, not Spire...I wonder if Lair is too early for such a useful spellcaster? I realize that the detection spell is necessary to make it similar to overseers, but maybe one of the other two spells should need a cheap research at the spire or lair.
I'm just this guy, you know?
tmtx
Profile Joined April 2010
71 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-21 21:45:51
October 21 2011 21:45 GMT
#11
Ocular parasite is one time ability according to this. Can vipers cast OP on themselves? If not, then banshees should be ok.
Reborn8u
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
United States1761 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-21 21:46:11
October 21 2011 21:45 GMT
#12
On October 22 2011 06:44 falafelnr1 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 22 2011 06:41 Pwnographics wrote:
So excited!

You just can't hide it?

He's about to loose control and I think he likes it!

Thanks for this kennigit, very interesting stuff!
:)
Draconicfire
Profile Joined May 2010
Canada2562 Posts
October 21 2011 21:46 GMT
#13
Burrow movement banelings are so going to be OP.
@Drayxs | Drayxs.221 | Drayxs#1802
ThisWillBEz
Profile Joined August 2010
United States120 Posts
October 21 2011 21:48 GMT
#14
Two protoss air units? I have to say im surprised
EL33T_COL
Profile Joined August 2011
Canada68 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-21 21:48:47
October 21 2011 21:48 GMT
#15
À vaincre sans péril on triomphe sans gloire
marcelluspye
Profile Joined August 2011
United States155 Posts
October 21 2011 21:48 GMT
#16
it doesn't shoot banelings..... :'C
Tumor
Profile Joined July 2010
Austria192 Posts
October 21 2011 21:49 GMT
#17
love you nice one!
quaffle
Profile Joined December 2010
United States249 Posts
October 21 2011 21:50 GMT
#18
I just jizzed in my pants...
Your success is only measured by the strength of your competitors.
TheMob
Profile Joined June 2011
United States26 Posts
October 21 2011 21:51 GMT
#19
Ocular Parasite sounds exactly like the Queens ability in BW. Im assuming that it would like you know, as in BW, with the unit being highlighted in green (in a group of units) and the words "Parasite Detected"

Kennigit, any word on what the BW players will be doing?
astroorion
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States1022 Posts
October 21 2011 21:52 GMT
#20
Very nice preview and cant wait to see what is to come!
MLG Admin | Astro.631 NA
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