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Hi everyone,
We will shortly be bringing the beta down this evening to make the balance changes listed below. Thanks again for all the great feedback you've provided while testing Heart of the Swarm. We hope to see you testing these changes and sharing your input soon!
Protoss
Oracle
-The duration for Envision has been increased from 30 to 60 seconds.
Terran
Widow Mine
-The primary target damage for Sentinel Missiles has been increased from 125 to 125 +35 vs. Shields.
Zerg
Hatchery
-The Pneumatized Carapace upgrade now only requires a Hatchery.
Infestor
-The projectile speed for Fungal Growth has been reduced from 15 to 12.
Spore Crawler
-The weapon damage for Acid Spew has been increased from 15 to 15 + 15 vs. Biological.
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/7855695792
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I like how they asked for our opinion, it was overwhelmingly negative and the put the changes in anyway. Why bother to ask for out input if they don't listen. This is one of the worst patches ever does not address any problems namely sky toss.
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The Spore buff is to combat mass mutas in ZvZ.. But then in the same update they nerf fungle vs muta so you miss more. Interesting.
Do Widow Mines 1 shot stalkers/zealots again now?
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juicyjames
United States3815 Posts
Complete WoL to HotS Changes (So Far)
+ Show Spoiler [HotS Balance Changes] +PROTOSS- Carrier
- Interceptors can now change targets when they are in leash range.
- Dark Shrine
- The cost is now 150/150, down from 100/250.
- Mothership
- Recall teleports the Mothership and all nearby units owned by the player to the targeted Nexus.
- The Vortex ability has been removed from the game.
- New Ability: Time Warp.
- Creates a temporal field that slows all ground units’ movement speed within a 3.5 radius by 50%.
- This ability costs 75 energy to cast
- This ability can be cast from 9 range.
- http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Mothership_Core
- http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Oracle
- Phoenix
- Range increased from 4 to 5. Upgrade still grants +2 range.
- Pylon
- Warp-in on ramps downhill is now allowed. Warp-in to the high ground is not possible anymore.
- Sentry
- Hallucination no longer requires research.
- Stalker
- Blink research time increased from 140 to 170 seconds.
- http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Tempest_(unit)
- Void Ray
- Prismatic Beam
- No longer charges up.
- Weapon period decreased from 0.6 to 0.5.
- No longer does passive +massive damage.
- New Ability: Prismatic Alignment
- Increases damage to armored units by 6 for 20 seconds, with a 1 minute cooldown. This does not scale with upgrades.
- Activating the ability now causes a timer to display over the Void Ray for the duration of the effect.
- Supply cost increased from 3 to 4.
TERRAN- Armory
- The Armory now only has one armor upgrade for both air and ground upgrades for both Factory and Starport units.
- Battlecruiser
- Yamato Cannon energy cost decreased from 125 to 100.
- http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Hellbat
- Medivac
- New ability: Ignite Afterburners
- Speed boost that increases movement speed and acceleration to 4.25 for 8 seconds. 20 second cooldown.
- Raven
- Seeker Missile has been redesigned:
- Energy cost decreased from 125 to 75.
- Can now fire from 10 range.
- Missile comes out and stays immobile in front of the Raven for 5 seconds while charging up, then rapidly moves and explodes at the target for 100 damage plus splash damage.
- Targeted unit lights up red when targeted. If the unit moves 13 range out of where the Seeker Missile is, the Missile fizzles.
- Reaper
- New passive ability: Combat Drugs
- Health regenerates 2hp/s if not attacked during the last 10 seconds (same as Protoss shields)
- Health increased from 50 to 60.
- Movement speed increased from 2.95 to 3.75.
- No longer requires a Tech Lab Addon.
- No longer have their anti-building grenades.
- P-45 Gauss Pistol weapon damage decreased from 4 +5 vs. Light to 4.
- Siege Tank
- Siege Tanks no longer require an upgrade in order to enter Siege Mode.
- Thor
- 250mm Strike Cannons has been removed, along with its associated energy bar.
- The Thor can now switch between two modes: High-Impact Payload and Explosive Payload. The mode shift takes 4 seconds.
- When in High-Impact Payload mode, the Thor switches to a different anti-air gun (250mm Punisher Cannons) that has 10 range and deals 24 flat damage.
- Thor radius, inner radius, and separation radius increased from 0.8215 to 1.
 Widow Mine
ZERG- Creep Tumor
- No longer spawn instantly, but instead have a three second spawning animation.
- May now be placed on ramps.
- Hatchery
- The Evolve Burrow upgrade requirement has been moved to the Hatchery.
- The Pneumatized Carapace upgrade now only requires a Hatchery.
- Hydralisk
- New Upgrade: Muscular Augments
- Increases hydralisk off-creep speed from 2.25 to 2.81. Speed on creep unchanged (3.37)
- Infestor
- Fungal Growth:
- Is now a projectile.
- Speed of the projectile is 12.
- Range up to 10.
- Damage decreased from 30 +10 vs. Armored to 30.
- Mutalisk
- Speed increased from 3.75 to 4. Acceleration stays at 3.5.
- New passive ability: Tissue Regeneration
- Mutalisk health regeneration rate increased from .2734 to 1
- Spine Crawler
- This unit now completely blocks pathing when placed next to other structures, including other Spine Crawlers.
- Zerglings and other small units can no longer squeeze in between Spine Crawlers.
- The scale of this unit has been increased from 0.85 to 0.95.
- Spore Crawler
- This unit no longer requires an Evolution Chamber.
- The weapon damage for Acid Spew has been increased from 15 to 15 + 15 vs. Biological.
- http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Swarm_Host
- Ultralisk
- Damage changed from 15+20 armored to 35 flat damage.
- Viper
+ Show Spoiler [HotS Features] +GENERAL- New Menu Screens
- Revamped overall UI layout, art, and graphic style.
- More detailed information on these changes can be found here.
- Clans Support Added
- Clan tags are now pre-pended to character names of all players who join a clan.
- More detailed information on Clan Support can be found here.
- Leveling System
- Players now earn XP when playing Ranked and Unranked matchmaking games or when playing Custom Games on Blizzard melee maps.
- As players earn XP they will progress in level, with a maximum level of 20 for each race.
- Decals and portraits are rewarded through the leveling system.
- More detailed information on the leveling system can be found here.
- Physics effects on the battlefield have been greatly enhanced.
- Death animations have been updated for many units.
- Ragdoll physics now cause units to get blasted away from explosions more naturally.
- After being killed, units can now fall off cliff edges, into caverns, etc.
- Physics effects have been polished on many existing units.
- Performance has been improved.
- Physics-triggered sounds have been added.
- Improved Score Screen and Added Stats
- Experience Tab: Added a Score Screen tab that tracks XP gains and leveling progress.
- Performance Tab: Now tracks gameplay performance stats such as Average Float and Combat Efficiency, and displays lifetime averages and values for the current match.
- Added a “Play Again” button to the post-game Score Screen.
- Race Report: Added a profile section that tracks performance by race for each matchup.
- Map Report: Added a profile section that tracks performance on each ladder map.
- Groups
- Players who wish to associate casually and in larger numbers than Clans can now create and join Groups, with a designated chat channel, a News tab where stories can be posted, an Info tab where officers can post a brief description of the Group, and a Members roster. For more information on Groups, check out our first look at the feature.
- Unranked Play
- On the Multiplayer screen, players can now select Unranked Play to engage in matchmaking with the ranking system suspended.
- Players Near Me
- Recognizes other StarCraft II games running on the player’s network, making it easier to chat, play, and make friends with nearby players.
- AI Communication
- The StarCraft II Arcade is now available in the Heart of the Swarm Beta.
- Leveling
- The number of levels for each race has been increased from 20 to 30, for a total of 90 attainable levels per character.
- The overall XP required to reach max-level has been increased.
- All XP previously earned has been reset to zero. Thanks for your continuing feedback, and please keep it coming!
- Exciting new replay features have been added to Heart of the Swarm.
- Watch With Others - This feature allows you to watch replays in sync with other players on Battle.net
- Take Command - This feature allows you or your group to take control of selected player armies while watching a replay.
- Recover Game - This feature allows you to recover a prematurely ended game from a replay.
- For more details about these new features, please see our overview on the StarCraft II Community Site.
- Vs. AI Mode has been enabled. Players can now challenge an AI opponent that scales in difficulty.
- Training Mode has been enabled. In Training Mode, you’ll work your way up from basic StarCraft gameplay skills to greater challenges designed to hone your skills.
USER INTERFACE- Custom Games
- Many drop-down filters are now consolidated into side navigation.
- Merged Join Game and Create Game screens into a single page.
- Moved all party displays and controls into the Party Chat window.
- Updated the Profile Summary screen to include progress UI for the new leveling system.
- Updated loading screens with new background images, more clearly displayed player names, and the overhead map.
- New Copy Link buttons have been added, which automatically copy certain pages in-game to the clipboard, allowing players to share them with others via clickable links in chat or on the web. When clicked, these links will navigate to the in-game page.
- In-Game UI Polish
- Moved the Main Menu and Help buttons above the command card.
- Achievements and Message Log menus are now accessible via the Main Menu.
- Added a Select Army Units button next to the Idle Worker button.
- Unit Status bar settings have been added to the Gameplay Options screen.
- Decal art has been updated to appear brighter and more visible.
- New Victory/Loss sequences now play at the end of a game.
- Show Unit Status Bars – Damaged: Show only status bars for units that are below max health or energy.
- Team Colored Status Bars: Status bar border frames match each player’s team color.
- Maps that appear in the Custom Games section now include all of the same Game Info pages as the maps available in the Arcade (Overview, How to Play, Patch Notes, Reviews).
- New options added to aid newer players in the Options > Controls menu
- Team Colored Life Bar
- Always Show Worker Status
- Simple Command Card
- Show Current Order Indicator
- Select All Larvae
- Display Experience Points
- Enable Enemy Unit Selection
- The Help section has been revised and updated.
OBSERVER MODE- Leader Panel
- Added Structure tab and Upgrades tab.
- Observers can now click Leader Panel icons to center the game camera on a unit or structure.
- Clicking multiple times cycles through units of the same type.
- Minimap
- Attacked units now flash white for the observer.
- Nuclear Launch and Nydus Canals now create pings on the minimap for observers.
- Versus Mode Side Toggle
- Added a hotkey (Control-X) that flips the side on which players appear in various parts of the UI when watching a 1v1 Versus Mode game.
- By default, the player with the leftmost start location will appear on the left in the user interface.
EDITOR
All of the above are changes have already been implemented. Global Play, new Dances, new Skins, and a customizable observer UI are expected, but haven't been properly implemented yet.
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United Kingdom12071 Posts
On February 08 2013 09:59 Valon wrote:
I like how they asked for our opinion, it was overwhelmingly negative and the put the changes in anyway. Why bother to ask for out input if they don't listen. This is one of the worst patches ever does not address any problems namely sky toss.
Skytoss has been good for like a month or so. That's no where near long enough to find out if it's actually balanced or people just don't know how to deal with it.
The last thing I want them to do is nerf carriers now and they become useless again, same goes for the voidray.
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So how do you expect the Pneumatized Carapace change to play out? Get that and not speedlings/burrow untill you know what the other guy is doing? Get speedling and Pneumatized Carapace and wait on burrow?
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Oracle still leads to build order wins, TvP is quite broken at this point. Expecting a lot of Terran players to switch race upon release.
Oh, and wait a minute, what? More early game buffs for Zerg? ....
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I imagine most are curious as to why the hellbat wasn't even mentioned. Not a great patch imo. Hopefully other issues will be addressed before the game comes out.
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On February 08 2013 10:00 MidgetHumper wrote:
The Spore buff is to combat mass mutas in ZvZ.. But then in the same update they nerf fungle vs muta so you miss more. Interesting.
Do Widow Mines 1 shot stalkers/zealots again now?
They specifically said that they felt infestors were still too good but they were a linchpin in muta-vs-non-muta play in zvz. The spore and fungal changes together address that issue.
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On February 08 2013 10:01 Qikz wrote:Show nested quote +On February 08 2013 09:59 Valon wrote:
I like how they asked for our opinion, it was overwhelmingly negative and the put the changes in anyway. Why bother to ask for out input if they don't listen. This is one of the worst patches ever does not address any problems namely sky toss. Skytoss has been good for like a month or so. That's no where near long enough to find out if it's actually balanced or people just don't know how to deal with it. The last thing I want them to do is nerf carriers now and they become useless again, same goes for the voidray.
Sky toss is too good if it gets to late game zerg has zero answers to it. It needs some changes.
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The fact that Blizzard is now resorting to giving bonus damage vs very, very specific unit types seems like a step in the wrong direction for how they should approach balance. It seems a little too conservative in one sense (making mild damage buffs vs. specific targets rather than reworking the units as a whole), but also a bit too complicated in another sense. I'd really hate to see us 5 patches down the line with every unit having a bunch of extremely specific +damage modifiers.
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On February 08 2013 10:05 obsid wrote:
So how do you expect the Pneumatized Carapace change to play out? Get that and not speedlings/burrow untill you know what the other guy is doing? Get speedling and Pneumatized Carapace and wait on burrow?
If you are getting ov speed and the other guy is going for some macro build, you will fall waaay behind.
You're just going to have to wait on ov speed and burrow just like before.
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They're not watching the MLG games, I guess.
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On February 08 2013 10:05 obsid wrote:
So how do you expect the Pneumatized Carapace change to play out? Get that and not speedlings/burrow untill you know what the other guy is doing? Get speedling and Pneumatized Carapace and wait on burrow?
It will have little-to-no impact immediately as generally zergs can scout to their satisification in the early game. People will need to devise compelling reasons outside of scouting to get overlord speed early, likely revolving around lair timings to deny thirds with creep for extended periods of time or drop play.
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I think this is an ok patch. Even if things like the Spore buff aren't enough to deal with Mutas, at least they won't mess up other matchups.
I don't know if the Widow Mine buff will make much of a difference really. I think it could definitely help to hold off all ins better now though. You cant send in a unit to take a hit then pull it back for shield regen. Also I think Oracles will get 1 shot now which is nice too. But then again, Oracles also have the ability to detect them for a longer period of time. So zomg who knows?
I'm not sure about the Infestor nerf. I feel like the times that Fungal is most necessary is against air or Medivac drops. Against air it will still be fine I'm guessing, but it will be even harder to hit those pesky drop ships. (w00t, I'm Terran!)
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On February 08 2013 10:06 Kambing wrote:Show nested quote +On February 08 2013 10:00 MidgetHumper wrote:
The Spore buff is to combat mass mutas in ZvZ.. But then in the same update they nerf fungle vs muta so you miss more. Interesting.
Do Widow Mines 1 shot stalkers/zealots again now? They specifically said that they felt infestors were still too good but they were a linchpin in muta-vs-non-muta play in zvz. The spore and fungal changes together address that issue.
Yeah, Soulkey really abused those Infestors today against Last.
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T.O.P
469 Posts
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Hope for a future tank buff, maybe? First time anything has had +damage to shields, right?
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Does anyone know how the Widow Mine's +shield damage is calculated? Does it pretty much instantly remove the 35 shields and then proceed to do it's damage? Because if it does it's payload and then does 35 shield damage ontop of it the only thing that effects are shots to Carriers and Colossus :/
As a Terran player I was really hoping for some kind of Hellbat nerf. I simply cannot find the will to log into the beta knowing I may roll a TvT which quickly became the stupidest matchup (worse than Reaper wars, imo) since the Hellbat drop build.
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Cannot believe these changes are going through.
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EPT
