EPTFor those who don't go to Battlenet, here are some quotes from Bashiok regarding the balance issue.
Bashiok
(Hopefully this doesn't read too harsh, it's been a tough Monday.
<3 <3 <3)
Our intent is not to have a game with broken balance in an attempt to sell an expansion. That should go without saying. It makes me sad it isn't.
Our intent is also to not apply knee jerk fixes based on the first few weeks as understanding of the game and strategies are still in flux. The game is young, and we don't feel that it would have been helpful to progressing peoples understanding by throwing in tons of fixes based on flavor-of-the-week (or day, or hour) strats.
We see a lot of variation between the regions. Making a change for how NA players play may be completely ridiculous for how KR players play, and actually mess up a balance there. For instance 10 of their top 20 players are zerg. So that's one place where we have to be mindful and careful and attack balance issues with great prejudice.
That said. There are balance changes coming. What everyone was seeing in beta with tons of quick balance changes are because it was in beta and we feel we can get away with throwing out a lot of 'we think this may help' type fixes. With a live environment we're not going to throw stuff out there unless we're pretty sure. We've played. We've looked at data. We've looked at each region. And then we act. Which isn't to say we may not be wrong from time to time, but it's a more measured approach than beta players may be used to or expecting.
(Hopefully this doesn't read too harsh, it's been a tough Monday.
<3 <3 <3) Our intent is not to have a game with broken balance in an attempt to sell an expansion. That should go without saying. It makes me sad it isn't.
Our intent is also to not apply knee jerk fixes based on the first few weeks as understanding of the game and strategies are still in flux. The game is young, and we don't feel that it would have been helpful to progressing peoples understanding by throwing in tons of fixes based on flavor-of-the-week (or day, or hour) strats.
We see a lot of variation between the regions. Making a change for how NA players play may be completely ridiculous for how KR players play, and actually mess up a balance there. For instance 10 of their top 20 players are zerg. So that's one place where we have to be mindful and careful and attack balance issues with great prejudice.
That said. There are balance changes coming. What everyone was seeing in beta with tons of quick balance changes are because it was in beta and we feel we can get away with throwing out a lot of 'we think this may help' type fixes. With a live environment we're not going to throw stuff out there unless we're pretty sure. We've played. We've looked at data. We've looked at each region. And then we act. Which isn't to say we may not be wrong from time to time, but it's a more measured approach than beta players may be used to or expecting.
Some Guy
Bashiok, is it possible that you could tell us if there are any improvements coming for zerg? I know things vary from region to region, but I think a lot of zerg players are generally frustrated from every region. I mean, even players like Check and Cool, very strong korean zergs, are beginning to give up on the swarm.
I'm not demanding specifics or anything like that. Just looking for a glimmer of hope that things will get better.
Bashiok, is it possible that you could tell us if there are any improvements coming for zerg? I know things vary from region to region, but I think a lot of zerg players are generally frustrated from every region. I mean, even players like Check and Cool, very strong korean zergs, are beginning to give up on the swarm.
I'm not demanding specifics or anything like that. Just looking for a glimmer of hope that things will get better.
Bashiok
We're aware of the concerns.
That's about as far as I'm willing to go.
We're aware of the concerns.
That's about as far as I'm willing to go.
Bashiok
My intent was to dispel the notion that all players are created equal.
I don't think any one here is looking at 26% zerg and shaking hands and congratulating each other on a perfectly balanced game. Ultimately I don't think who plays what is very logical to point at and say what's OP or not, but people do it, and so I react in-kind when possible to tell them to politely take their seat.
My intent was to dispel the notion that all players are created equal.
I don't think any one here is looking at 26% zerg and shaking hands and congratulating each other on a perfectly balanced game. Ultimately I don't think who plays what is very logical to point at and say what's OP or not, but people do it, and so I react in-kind when possible to tell them to politely take their seat.
There you have it. Blizzard is working on stuff, but nothing is solid enough that they want to mention it publicly.
26% of their player base picking Zerg is an issue to them. This doesn't mean Zerg is UP, but it does mean Zerg is less appealing, and it is in Blizzards best interest to make all races equally fun to play (balance is part of that).
Mentioning that Korea has quite a few top Zerg means that in its current state, Zerg is completely playable for 99% of SC2 players without any major problems, so this is not an issue that demands immediate fixes. All the more reason to take it slow and make the RIGHT change rather than a quick one.
I am writing this simply to let people know that Blizzard is looking at balance one way or another, please don't muck it up by crying that they're not fixing everything today.
