Hey everyone, I just got done posting an interview with both EG IdrA and DeMusliM, talking a little about their own personal experiences with the HotS beta, and how they think balance of the game is shaping up to be.
Here's a few questions to get you started:
A comment a lot of players have been saying is that Terran in HotS feels almost identical to Terran in WoL. The exception of this may be how Terrans start using Widow Mines, but I can definitely see how the changes to Terran in HotS are not nearly as much as the changes and/or new strategies that Protoss and Zerg have been discovering. How much do you agree with Terran in HotS feeling the same to WoL, and is there any sort of change you feel Blizzard should make that would help Terran feel more unique in the new expansion?
DeMusliM: A lot of people are right, in that the changes for Terran aren’t half as interesting as for Zerg and Protoss. Hellions right now are a mobile unit that are made for harassing and dealing with light units — they have a role and purpose. They are going to be able to convert into a unit that’s made for dealing with Lings (which they already do pretty darn well) and Zealots (which isn’t needed since bio does that well enough anyway, especially with upgraded medivacs). Thors – well that’s another change that doesn’t change playstyle. The only somewhat change are Widow Mines, which have their defensive uses. I understand Blizzard have tried to make them more a battle usable unit which is cool and stuff, but the reality is there are just better alternatives. Would i rather have 10 widow mines (20 supply) try run in behind an army and blow it up (at the risk of dying before they even do anything), or would I rather have a double drop somewhere on the map, or 2 drops possibly killing 2 expansions simultaneously? The answer is pretty obvious to me.
The only thing I find significantly different is the strength of bio, it’s really fun to play again, and the Medivacs with there speed is really one of the best changes they could have done, maybe it needs some altering as it’s really good right now, but the other changes Terran has are really lacking compared to that of the other races, and Medivac changes in my opinion.
You also mentioned on stream that you haven’t found “the best” Zerg comp yet, but you’re really favoring Roach+Hydra+Viper due to its mobility and spell effects. Describe the best you can what makes this comp so strong and what are some apparent weaknesses that you found in it?
IdrA: Roach Hydra is very well designed to kill low tech stuff, Roaches sit and tank and Hydras kill stuff from behind. They’re very cost efficient but not supply efficient which makes them good for early action and back and forth battles where you can force engagements and you’re constantly resupplying. The weakness is to very powerful defensive units like tanks and Collosus that obliterate the Hydras from range and that are good for sitting back and waiting for late game situations. Viper’s abduct, and vs Terran blinding cloud, lets you force engagements and nullify a lot of the units that make it possible to kill Hydras before they kill you.
It’s not particularly good vs Terran in general simply because you need the burst dps of good fungal or Banelings to kill off bio, particularly vs the new medivacs, but to counter it you just kind of need to have good mechanics. As Protoss Templar tech will counter a single minded zerg who just goes Roach Hydra Viper regardless, however as Zerg if you scout that I think you should go Roach Hydra Infestor or possibly swarm host with support, and without Collosus Protoss will then be in trouble. So what I think protoss should be doing right now is going collosus very defensively and then getting Templar just for feedback, later for storm, support before vipers come into play.
i honestly think blizzard are out to piss every terran player off right now. 1 new unit essentially that is pretty much worthless. I really hope blizzard wakes up and smells the coffee for once and gets the game where it needs to be in terms of all matchups not only being fun and entertaining to watch but balanced.
I totally agree with the Terran design. Blizz will hopefully adjust some things.
I really like the reaper for early pressure in TvZ, but in TvT everybody is forced to build at least one until the first hit gamble starts ^^
Sadly Terran is also the race with the fewest design changes. Only the widow mine is a "new" unit for me. I feel Zerg and Protoss got "better" units, not in terms of balance but rather in terms of design.
I agree with DeMuslim completely. Terran needs better units in HoTS, as they're pretty stale compared to what Zerg and Protoss got.
The warhound and shredder were very bad ideas, so they should've consulted more regarding unit concepts and design. I hope they make a few good units before release though, as they're running out of time.
Just to play the devil's advocate, do consider that terran was already the race with the most stuff. They are the most versatile as is, so it's to be expected that there isn't as much that can be added without it seemingly superfluous (like spider mines).
I feel exactly the same way as Demuslim. Terran got absolutely shitty changes compared to the other races...
The Warhound was a dumb idea, they realized the community thought it was bad - what do they do? "remove it" Why not add another unit instead ? Why not try to fix it ?
I am hardcore Terran fan and looking at HOTS is depressing right now.. It's like watching Z and P having all these new units and abilities, and T is stuck with the same shit. I played maybe around 20 games in the beta and never touched it since, still think WoL is funnier despite the terrible status of the game.. I am really worried for the future of Esports as I lost all faith in Blizzard
On December 30 2012 08:59 Zenbrez wrote: I always like EG interviews, thanks!
And just because I see it very often in journalism, where ther are double spaces between words for half a sentence, what's the purpose - emphasis?
I can't speak for journalism in general, but our EG site uses Wordpress which auto formats those spaces in between sentences you're seeing. It's really for the sake of proper alignment with the rest of the article. I suppose I could change it, but never really thought about it lol.
On December 30 2012 09:12 WhiteSatin wrote: The Warhound was a dumb idea, they realized the community thought it was bad - what do they do? "remove it" Why not add another unit instead ?
That would take time and effort. Blizzard doubtlessly has milestones to meet when testing HotS and since mech TvP isn't working out from the very beginning it's much easier to just cut it out entirely.
I'm not quite sure I like Demuslims things he said, then again I guess he does prefer bio. I just think some of the things he's saying are just because he doesn't play mech all that often so doesn't see the importance of like the hellbat in TvP.
I still respect his opinions though, he's a great guy and a fellokw brit. :D
While I agree with Demuslim in the long run, right now I'm actually having fun trying out widow mines + increased medivac harass, so I don't have such a pessimistic outlook as some other terrans. Besides that, I always felt that terran was the well-designed race. It's just now zerg has a bunch of units that are fun and interesting and can even be called well-designed, while terran only has the 'well-designed' part down...not fun and innovative. And poor protoss. I have my opinions but I'd really like to see a pro's thoughts on the race. Maybe Incontrol can have an interview after the holidays.
Zerg is the only one looking fun in the long run. And the way Idra is talking about it even makes it seem more fun and intricate, which makes me at least a little excited for HOTS.
EPT![[image loading]](http://evilgeniuses.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/hots-idrademu-medium.jpg)
