• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 10:58
CEST 16:58
KST 23:58
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash10[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos0Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy18ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT30Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book20
Community News
$5,000 WardiTV TLMC tournament - Presented by Monster Energy0GSL CK: More events planned pending crowdfunding0Weekly Cups (May 30-Apr 5): herO, Clem, SHIN win0[BSL22] RO32 Group Stage4Weekly Cups (March 23-29): herO takes triple6
StarCraft 2
General
Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool Weekly Cups (May 30-Apr 5): herO, Clem, SHIN win Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy What mix of new & old maps do you want in the next ladder pool? (SC2)
Tourneys
Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) $5,000 WardiTV TLMC tournament - Presented by Monster Energy GSL CK: More events planned pending crowdfunding Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament RSL Season 4 announced for March-April
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players [M] (2) Frigid Storage
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 520 Moving Fees Mutation # 519 Inner Power Mutation # 518 Radiation Zone
Brood War
General
so ive been playing broodwar for a week straight. ASL21 General Discussion Pros React To: JaeDong vs Queen [BSL22] RO32 Group Stage Gypsy to Korea
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL21] Ro24 Group F Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 [ASL21] Ro24 Group E
Strategy
Muta micro map competition Fighting Spirit mining rates What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game General RTS Discussion Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Darkest Dungeon
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Canadian Politics Mega-thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion Cricket [SPORT] Tokyo Olympics 2021 Thread General nutrition recommendations
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
[G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Loot Boxes—Emotions, And Why…
TrAiDoS
Broowar part 2
qwaykee
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
FS++
Kraekkling
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Electronics
mantequilla
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1505 users

Why Protoss Drops Are Rare (Warp Prism Analysis) - Page 10

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 8 9 10 11 12 24 Next All
Deleted User 3420
Profile Blog Joined May 2003
24492 Posts
May 03 2011 01:26 GMT
#181
I think warp prisms should be able to warp in while moving. So they don't have to be "deployed", or whatever it's called.

If the warp prism's field moves out of range of a unit warping in, the warpin is canceled.

If they did this, warp prisms would be super cool.
ProbeRusher
Profile Joined March 2011
United States86 Posts
May 03 2011 01:37 GMT
#182
buff WP
algorithm0r
Profile Joined May 2010
Canada486 Posts
May 03 2011 01:40 GMT
#183
Zerg player here so let me spew my bias.

Want to compare OVs to something? How about to pylons/supply depots. OV 200hp 0 armor. Supply 400hp 1 armor. Pylon 200sh/200hp 1 armor. Also OV move... that is the excuse I guess for their low HP but they are slow as shit even with the upgrade. If they didn't have the potential to drop they probably wouldn't be getting sniped all the time because they would have a higher HP. Still all these detriments don't stop Z from dropping.

Real reason why Protoss doesn't drop has been stated many times already. Why drop (or make warp prism) when you can just spam a few more Colossus. Want more drops? Nerf Colossus so it doesn't seem like you are losing out if your Robo isn't always churning one out. Don't QQ that you can't build another Robo... I guess having 11 wg and 3 robo is just too bad compared to 12wg and 2 robo.

Fact: Right now Toss army comp is so powerful there is no reason to do anything but WG + Colossus.
VenerableSpace
Profile Joined May 2010
United States463 Posts
May 03 2011 01:43 GMT
#184
I dont like how the OP begins with: this is not balance related and to keep balance whine/discussion out of it and then concludes with leaving it as be or buffing it.

Analysis was very obvious and shallow. Any competent player could have told you the same thing without the fluff.

OP i think you should go further with some of the points. Some areas to delve into:

the fact that as the game goes on, the warp prism built time is 'missed' less. The fact that you made a warp prism instead of that X can be at times more irrelevant as the game approaches end game. chronoboost factor etc.

There are certain timings you have to invest in a warp prism to make them cost effective, explore these options.
If you are losing a battle you would not get a warp prism because you are gonna need the build time to replenish collosi and you will not ha. But if you think about it, if you are trading units, the other player is not likely to push to your main allowing for prism counter?

I agree that with T they are always good utility for bio and with the nature of the marine in sc2, you will always be using them as a mineral dump, specially on maps where gas is a limiting factor. With Z you always got overlords so you got the drop and speed upgrade investments, but they are resource limited only not time, and one time. But i dont think its that warp prisms are weak, they just havent found their niche since the templar nerf. Shit still needs to be tested.

backslash end disorganized rant.
mburke05
Profile Joined October 2010
United States130 Posts
May 03 2011 01:44 GMT
#185
lol are you seriously asking for a signifigant buff in the mobility of the army of the already most mobile/powerful force BY FAR in the game.

like really dude?

come on
mavsfan0041
Profile Joined February 2011
United States306 Posts
May 03 2011 01:45 GMT
#186
On May 03 2011 10:26 travis wrote:
I think warp prisms should be able to warp in while moving. So they don't have to be "deployed", or whatever it's called.

If the warp prism's field moves out of range of a unit warping in, the warpin is canceled.

If they did this, warp prisms would be super cool.


At first I was like "How would this change anything?" but then I realized that actually would fix a lot... They would be able to get away faster if something finds them while trying to warp in so their "paperness" becomes slightly less of an issue with good reaction times. And if a warpin does get canceled you only lose the gateway cooldown right? Not minerals and gas afaik. The only thing that might be a problem is doing say, white ra immortal/warp prism micro AND being able to warp in zealots at the same time and same place might be a bit OP.
R.I.P. CheckSix
NukeTheBunnys
Profile Joined July 2010
United States1004 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-05-03 01:50:54
May 03 2011 01:48 GMT
#187
I think the biggest reason why drops for protoss units arn't used is because how bad the units you drop are.

the real options you have to drop with are 4 zealots, 4 stalkers, 4 DT, or 4 HT or some combination there of.

Zealots unsupported are pretty terrible cause any target can just run away, and they take a long time to kill any buildings.

Stalkers do such low damage that 4 of them is next to worthless and they can blink which allows for more mobility, and they less vulnerable(not stuck in the prism that can die and cause all of them to die)

HT and DT are more viable IMO since they are better in small numbers. HTs can storm and kill whole mineral lines in seconds, and DT force scans or other kinds of detection and can still level bases in a short amount of time if there isnt detection. but this is only a very late game tactic since it takes so long to get them

Combine this with the fact that if you warp anything then you cant bring your troops back with you. If you make enough warp prisms to pull your units back after the attack you have a large number of these useless warp prisms taking up food. For Terran the medivacs help keep your bio ball alive so much longer so its not really a loss to have them taking suppy. For zerg ovies actually give you supply.
When you play the game of drones you win or you die.
Yoshi Kirishima
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
United States10366 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-05-03 01:56:34
May 03 2011 01:53 GMT
#188
4. Cargo Capacity

All three cargo transports can carry a maximum of 8 supply worth of units. However, Protoss does not have a 1 supply unit other than the Probe. At least, our drops would consist of 4 Zealots, 4 Stalkers or a mix of both. Sure, the argument would be "Just make more Prisms", but take into consideration Point 2 and how that takes time from the Robotics Facility. Medivacs can carry 8 Marines, a scary drop, and Overlords can carry 8 Zerglings. The ability to only drop 4 units at a time appeals even less to the Protoss player and would once again, refrain from dropping.


May appeal less, but it's definitely better than the measly 8 Zerglings. 4 Chargelots for example will do so much damage.

Also another part you don't emphasize or comment enough on is that the Warp Prism is the "strongest" drop since you can bring potentially more units; the units inside and additional units being warped in. And if you kill the WP, the additional units being warped in will be refunded and the production cycles reset again, so it's not much of a loss.

With the rise of popularity and effectiveness (balance patches) of the Templar Tech, I think we'll see more drops as the Robo isn't making Colossi or has stopped making them in favor of HTs. And if not, I'll be doing that anyways.

Also another thing... I don't think most people realize there is a Warp Prism speed upgrade and observer speed upgrade? Both for 100/100, but the speed increase is shocking. Hell, you could use a leftover WP to scout around the map for expansions in place of an observer.
Mid-master streaming MECH ONLY + commentary www.twitch.tv/yoshikirishima +++ "If all-in fails, all-in again."
MrBarryObama
Profile Joined August 2010
Korea (South)141 Posts
May 03 2011 02:07 GMT
#189
On May 03 2011 06:46 NicolBolas wrote:
All of these points could be used against the Shuttle from SC1.

Really, the only reason you don't see more Prism usage is because of the lack of a droppable unit that can do serious damage. There's no equivalent to a Reaver (the primary thing people carried in Shuttles). Immortal drops would be strong at picking off tech structures quickly, but that's about it. Storm drops still work, but that's pretty late-game stuff.


END OF DISCUSSION, this is exactly why. Nothing is wrong with the warp prism, it's a tight unit. But terran and zerg have cheap units that deal big damage, which are perfect for drops, while toss dont. So really warp prisms are just flying pylons that you use to feel pr0.
iseefor
Profile Joined September 2010
United States162 Posts
May 03 2011 02:08 GMT
#190
i see what hes talking about with the hole loss of production, but if you can get a good drop off you will end up miles ahead. granted that can go both ways, but still. i feel the risk is worth it in the end. would love a bit more HP though. ^^

.CJ.herO lifer.
0mar
Profile Joined February 2010
United States567 Posts
May 03 2011 02:09 GMT
#191
There's nothing good to drop as Protoss except for DTs.

4 blue flame hellions? You can wipe out an entire mineral line with that.
8 marines? Stim them and you can destroy some buildings if the response is delayed.

Plus you're going to build medivacs anyways, so you can drop 16 or 24 marines and really wreak some havoc.

Zerg has access to doom drops after upgrading their OLs. Bane drops in the mineral line are basically unavoidable unless you have some great defense, and even then you just need to get lucky and have one baneling go off near a group of probes.

Protoss is screwed in this regard. Colossus/Templars are too valuable to risk and they are mainly a late game option in which you can do that fancy drop shit or you can just go kill him with that much AoE available. Zealots/Stalkers are too weak in small numbers to do much damage. Everything else is a joke. There's no reaver type unit which benefits from increased mobility alongside it's ability to cause massive damage.
windsupernova
Profile Joined October 2010
Mexico5280 Posts
May 03 2011 02:19 GMT
#192
How are people saying that there are no droppable Units? Especially after the Amulet Nerf HT are the droppable unit from the P army.

The thing about any drop play its that its mostly High risk high reward and since Protoss have no need to risk it atm thats why we don't see P drops so much
"Its easy, just trust your CPU".-Boxer on being good at games
Jimmeh
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
United Kingdom908 Posts
May 03 2011 02:21 GMT
#193
On May 03 2011 06:39 `ChroMaTe_ wrote:
Warp Prisms, if caught, can get picked off and destroyed faster before all cargo is unloaded or before we can get away compared to the other transport units


If they're caught then, yes, they can be destroyed faster than the other dropships. However, generally, if a dropship is caught it's dead anyway. If I manage to get in a position to attack a warp prism and kill it, I can almost definitely do the same with a medivac/overlord regardless of health/armour difference.

The Warp Prism costs 200 Minerals, not exactly cheap. Medivacs cost 100/100 and Overlords cost just 100, with the research to be able to drop costing 200/200, which is only a one time cost, so the more drops you use the more cost efficient the research becomes.


Warp prism only costs minerals. As the game progresses gas becomes more and more of an issue due to tech advancing so when your dropship only costs minerals it's a huge bonus.

Medivacs from Starports, which in most cases are going to be producing Medivacs during the whole game.


This is, frankly, wrong as the Terran will mostly be producing vikings vs the typical colossi seen in TvP. Yes, they'll build a few medivacs at the start and here and there throughout the game. However, once the Protoss starts producing colossi, the Terran generally has to start producing non-stop vikings otherwise they're going to die. This completely negates the rest of your argument.

The Medivac can heal the drop units, increasing the cost effectiveness of the Terran units. Overlords just provide supply, and the Warp Prism can create a power field. That allows you to of course, warp in more units than you can have in the actual Warp Prism, but in conjunction with Point 1, the Warp Prism can get picked off some of the time and your units will be cancelled. Which brings me to the next and final point.


Why the huge double standard? You argue that medivacs can heal the dropping units thus increasing the effectiveness, but a Warp Prism is suddenly useless because it can be picked off so there's no point warping in? What stops you from sniping the medivac that's healing the drop? What stops you from protecting your own warp prism with the units that you drop initially whilst it's warping in? What stops you from using an observer to scout for when the units are coming back to defend so you know when to cancel warpin and retreat?

4. Cargo Capacity


Warpin. End of.



But, really, the reason that warp prisms aren't used so much is that Protoss don't have to with their current style of play (as stated by others in the thread). Why would Protoss want to harass when they're not really scared of a late game engagement generally? Sure, they might want to prevent expansions going down incase their opponent is being greedy but they don't need drops to do that. A Terran player needs to drop Protoss to try and delay their 200/200 "deathball" as it's more cost effective than the 200/200 Terran army. Zerg players have been experimenting with drops/nydus worm play lately for the exact same reason.
Aequos
Profile Joined October 2010
Canada606 Posts
May 03 2011 02:21 GMT
#194
On May 03 2011 10:45 mavsfan0041 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 03 2011 10:26 travis wrote:
I think warp prisms should be able to warp in while moving. So they don't have to be "deployed", or whatever it's called.

If the warp prism's field moves out of range of a unit warping in, the warpin is canceled.

If they did this, warp prisms would be super cool.


At first I was like "How would this change anything?" but then I realized that actually would fix a lot... They would be able to get away faster if something finds them while trying to warp in so their "paperness" becomes slightly less of an issue with good reaction times. And if a warpin does get canceled you only lose the gateway cooldown right? Not minerals and gas afaik. The only thing that might be a problem is doing say, white ra immortal/warp prism micro AND being able to warp in zealots at the same time and same place might be a bit OP.

They don't even cost you a gateway cooldown to be honest (it's the same as killing the pylon as units warp in).

I actually tested this out in the map editor at some point (back when I was trying and failing to make a custom UMS map) and it didn't work out too well. Essentially, you could not warp units in as you moved, because even slow things (like a Mothership with the full sized pylon field) could not get units in before it moved outside the range. The current range of the power field is so small that having an "instant switch" would provide essentially the same effect unless units warp in a lot faster under the Warp Prism (food for thought).
I first realized Immortals were reincarnated Dragoons when I saw them dancing helplessly behind my Stalkers.
AnAngryDingo
Profile Joined August 2010
United States223 Posts
May 03 2011 02:25 GMT
#195
protoss drops are rare because they just aren't necessary due to warpgates and having a ridiculously strong army anyhow
Elwar
Profile Joined August 2010
953 Posts
May 03 2011 02:33 GMT
#196
I don't think its due to the warp prism.

Its because gateway units are completely terrible in small numbers against what the enemy will defend with (lings/roaches or marines/marauders). Also terran and protoss can defend drops very easily. Stimmed MMM or lings will arrive in no time. Theres simply not opportunity to drop unless they are way out of position.

Its completely the opposite reasons why protoss get dropped all the time. MMM or roach drops require a much bigger (more expensive) protoss army to clean up than what was dropped. Protoss is by far the slowest race to respond unless they have many idle warpgates even if they have blink stalkers out.

This seems to be intentional design by Blizzard, not a balance issue.
Golgotha
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Korea (South)8418 Posts
May 03 2011 02:36 GMT
#197
what....i thought WP were made at stargates....no wonder i never see em.
KingAce
Profile Joined September 2010
United States471 Posts
May 03 2011 02:37 GMT
#198
It's to risky as a drop ship. Unless you're carrying HTs with storm energy already. You just want to use the warp in ability in the shadows, which is safer than risking 4 units inside a glass ship.
"You're defined by the WORST of your group..." Bill Burr
Sir Snoopy
Profile Joined March 2011
United States57 Posts
May 03 2011 02:55 GMT
#199
Has anyone tried to drop an archon?
That's SIR Sir Snoopy to you!
0mar
Profile Joined February 2010
United States567 Posts
May 03 2011 03:33 GMT
#200
On May 03 2011 11:19 windsupernova wrote:
How are people saying that there are no droppable Units? Especially after the Amulet Nerf HT are the droppable unit from the P army.

The thing about any drop play its that its mostly High risk high reward and since Protoss have no need to risk it atm thats why we don't see P drops so much



That's an extremely late game option and leaves your main army open to attack. Even pre-amulet nerf, it wasn't really worth dropping HT because storm is pretty weak. It's radius is small and the DPS is low enough to escape with workers. Other than that, what the heck else are you going to drop? 4 zealots is probably the only thing worth doing because they can hit hard. Anything else you warp in goes on a suicide mission.

For Protoss, drops are high risk, low reward due to the nature of their units.
Prev 1 8 9 10 11 12 24 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Kung Fu Cup
11:00
#4
RotterdaM925
TKL 311
IndyStarCraft 206
SteadfastSC179
Rex118
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RotterdaM 925
TKL 311
Lowko280
Hui .266
IndyStarCraft 206
SteadfastSC 179
LamboSC2 142
ProTech127
Rex 118
StarCraft: Brood War
Calm 5438
Bisu 3310
Jaedong 2430
Shuttle 975
Soma 642
Larva 580
Mini 423
Stork 400
actioN 356
Hyuk 329
[ Show more ]
Light 311
Snow 298
ggaemo 285
Rush 285
ZerO 217
Aegong 191
EffOrt 162
hero 107
Leta 103
PianO 79
Sharp 61
Hyun 51
Barracks 43
scan(afreeca) 35
Pusan 29
ToSsGirL 28
sSak 25
Backho 24
Rock 19
soO 18
Shine 17
Terrorterran 17
GoRush 14
JulyZerg 11
NaDa 10
Dota 2
Gorgc9150
qojqva1413
syndereN289
420jenkins161
Counter-Strike
fl0m3159
byalli66
kRYSTAL_52
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King99
Other Games
Liquid`RaSZi1219
B2W.Neo819
hiko661
crisheroes355
DeMusliM289
Mlord288
ArmadaUGS107
XaKoH 101
Trikslyr20
ZerO(Twitch)15
Organizations
Counter-Strike
PGL22661
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• LUISG 3
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• HerbMon 17
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Nemesis3000
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
9h 3m
The PondCast
19h 3m
CranKy Ducklings
1d 9h
WardiTV Team League
1d 20h
Replay Cast
2 days
CranKy Ducklings
2 days
WardiTV Team League
2 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
3 days
BSL
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
3 days
[ Show More ]
WardiTV Team League
3 days
OSC
3 days
BSL
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Wardi Open
4 days
GSL
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Kung Fu Cup
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSL Elite League 2026
RSL Revival: Season 4
NationLESS Cup

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
ASL Season 21
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
Nations Cup 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: W2
IPSL Spring 2026
Escore Tournament S2: W3
Acropolis #4
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
RSL Revival: Season 5
WardiTV TLMC #16
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.