EPTThis is mostly because most armies consist of a diversified unit composition which single our specific key units, that pretty much make or break the game. So protecting/buffing or debuffing important units in the enemy's armies is essential to the sucess of an attack/defense.
![[image loading]](http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/9833/collosushires.jpg)
hmmm... now who should I focus fire?
The first trade-off is the APM-cost. In order to cast a single target spell, with precision, one has to stop, specifically point at the target unit and cast the spell. This is getting harder when armies are big and its difficulty is also amplified if you want to cast the spell on multiple units. All translates into time lost which costs precious seconds you could have spend doing something else. Depending on the spell's effect you might be better off by going back to your base and macroing up, or giving other commands (such as mass spells).
"Using mindcontrol on a zergling anyone?"
The second trade-off is Energy cost. If a target has multiple spells, such as mass spells, or single target spells, the energy efficiency might decide which one you have to cast.The arsenal of spells in Starcraft 2 has a bunch of single target spells all of which were destined to this specific role. Let's list some of the most useful ones.
The third effect is their effect upon the game as a show. Pro players with huge APM will find the time to squeeze them in. However, will this change the game? Will their actions make the game nicer to watch? Of course the Korean announcer might eventually go: "Frenzuuuuuuuu" but will it have the same effect to the public? "Oh great now units to a little more dmg which I cant really notice anyway..."
Some single target spells in Starcraft II:
* Neural Parasite: Takes control of that key enemy unit such as a Thor or Collosus.
This is clearly the spell you want to be casting if the enemy's army is composed of a couple big units that deal the damage (such as Collosus, Immortal, Thor) and the rest are just meat units.
* Feedback: Again, focusing the enemy casters and dealing major damage to them while draining all their energy is clearly worth it if the enemy casters are potentially strong against your army composition.
The purpose of this thread is to discuss the underwhelming single target spells that have been introduced in the latest patches: Corruption and Frenzy
As opposed to the two spells presented above, which clearly have a major impact upon the battle, these last 2 spells, are just simple buffs/debuffs which give a static damage increase for or against a certain unit. We shall steer away from the situational Ultralisk + Frenzy versus Neural Parasite or 250MM Cannons for the time being because of the sheer situational aspect of that scenario. Here we have two spells, which you can choose to cast in the midst of the battle. The alternative, would be forgetting them and choosing to cast something else, or simply go back inside your base and macro some more.
"This is not Warcraft in space"
![[image loading]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_TbUMVMMDLcQ/S_jvntwiWqI/AAAAAAAAATM/-aV8lBPDuZ0/s912/Bloodlust.jpg)
Remember Bloodlust? Now wasnt this sweet?
These two spells remind me more and more of another game in the Blizzard universe. Warcraft3 had a bunch of such spells, buffs and debuffs alike, all destined to empowering your army and weakening the enemy for you to gain the upper hand. But let's look at the picture above. You can count a handful of units from each side, and those of you who have played the game know that this is the composition of a mid/late game army. Only 12 units - super units of course - but the philosophy of that game, was completely different. In a game completely orientated on micro, where all units are exceptionally strong, it is always viable to buff or debuff them.
In Starcraft II units have very small health pools in respect to their health and in one blink of an eye multiple units can die. The fact that one unit can deal 25% more damage, for the exact 5 seconds of its expected lifetime, is something negligible.
Furthermore, in Warcraft III such spells, as bloodloust, the ones which you definitely wanted to have casted on all your army were autocasted spells, which means your micro was targeted elsewhere. Lets imagine for a second that this spell werent autocast: like Unholy Frenzy from the Undead Race. Would you spam it on all your units? Some will, some will only cast it on the most powerful units (heroes). But what if your army had 100 Ghouls and a few Necromancers would you bother clicking it 100 times?
Back to Starcraft II we have the newest incarnation of such a spell:
Frenzy
# Costs 25 energy.
# Targets a single biological unit which deals 25% more damage and is immune to snare, stuns, and mind control for 30 seconds.
On paper this looks decent. Click it a couple of times on some units they do more damage. But let's look at what it usually does. A typical scenario of Zerg armies is the Infestor-Hydra combo, especially against Terran Bio. A hydralisk does 12 damage per shot, which means that with Frenzy on it will do 3 Extra Damage.
Lets picture an Infestor with 75 Energy. The choice is: Cast a Fungal Growth or 3 Frenzy on the hydras. So that means the 3 hydras will do 3 more damage each with each attack.
* Fungal Growth: 36 damage over 8 seconds
* Hydralisk attack rate: 0.83
According to Liquipedia, a hydralisk will land 10 attacks in 8 seconds which means 30 extra damage done. 3 Hydralisks will sum up to 90 more damage. Now if your fungal growth can hit more than 3 units (which it usually does), the spell chosen to cast is a no brainer. Furthermore, with their low health, Hydralisks rarely last sufficiently long for this damage to build up.
![[image loading]](http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/4351/infestoredited.jpg)
tough choice huh?...
But what about mass Infestor, Frenzy-ing everyone??? Bloodlust worked pretty well in Warcraft 3? While this is true on paper, the APM cost of point clicking on every one of your hydras, not to mention the gas cost of your infestors make this really undesirable. You can gain more by a)making more hydras, b) spending the time macroing to c) make more hydras.
Corruption
Another underwhelming spell. Due to the fact that its the only spell for the Corruptor it simply means that it is always beneficial to cast it. I agree that in the case where the oponent is going mass Carriers, having corruptors demolishing them even faster than they normally do it is a beneficial bonus. In most cases however, Corruptors are only used when Collosi are out in the field. Killing the 2-3 Collosi a tad faster is good, but is it worth the APM cost?
The role of air superiority units has evolved in Starcraft 2. Due to their nature these units normally cannot attack buildings and the main ground army making them a really situational choice. Making too many Corruptors (to overkill those collosi) can prove risky if the enemy has enough army to overwhelm your ground forces, even whithout the aid of the collosus. The air superiority fighters of other races, both have an additional ability meant to support ground troops. The Pheonix, with its ability can lift units up, thus damaging and disabling them while the Viking can land and bolster the strength of the ground army.
The Corruptor weakens the enemy ground army instead. Let's look again at the effect of such a spell from the perspective of a hydralisk. 20% more damage from 1 hydralisk means an effective 2 extra damage. This is negated by 2 extra armor. Pretty much it is the counterpart of Guardian Shield. However Guardian shield is 1 button press, whereas this one must be single target cast.
Corruptors in action:
![[image loading]](http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/7405/corruptionk.jpg)
Now they take more damage: but who's gonna kill them???
Pheonixes!:
![[image loading]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_TbUMVMMDLcQ/S_j-3Yj18uI/AAAAAAAAAT0/GK8xs-kcgf8/s1152/Fullscreen%20capture%205232010%20120909%20PM.jpg)
So is it worth it? I will let players decide. One thing is for sure, this ability is nothing as game changing as Graviton Beam or Viking Ground mode. Maybe its not meant to be.
So we had a look at two of the newest spells and tried to give a rough estimate about their strength and estimate whether they are useful or not. In a game such as Starcraft II where APM is consistently dedicated to macroing up and keeping ahead of the opponent, we can safely conclude that minor buff spells, even if nice to have, will not play a significant role. 1 less Inject Larva, or missing a couple of seconds in producing those reinforcements can prove disastrous in such a fast paced game. Energy is also a resource that needs to be managed carefully, and casting the spell with the greatest effect is surely a priority.
In conclusion, I hope to be proven wrong and that someone will end-up using these to a great extent, but as for now, the philosophy behind these spells seems pretty uncompatible with a game such as Starcraft II.
