Immortal Barrier absorb down to 100 10% faster attack speed on the Colossus
Terran:
Thor AA damage changed to flat and single target Damage altered to 35 (+15 armored) every 2.14 seconds Liberator damage changed to 4 (+3 light) Cyclone cost reduced to 150/100 Cyclone supply cost increased by 1
Zerg:
Swarm Host cost reduced to 150/75 Swarm Host supply cost increased by 1
I actually really really like the protoss changes..just a hood little tone down and tone up, shockingly elegant coming from david.
I have no clue how the Thor changes even work.
Swarm hosts will still be bad I think, the problem is lotv is very fast paced and having a unit with such a long cool down and using so much supply just seems uh....not optimal? Would be happier if they just removed it from the game and buff the infestor, you can really only polish a turd so much.
The liberator nerf is long overdue as is cyclone buff, definitely changes that are justified and simple, very impressed by this balance map, it's like David's finally getting his shit together.
I really love the protoss changes but just can't get behind most of the terran ones. I'd much rather see Liberators lose their AA splash and keep it on the thor. Instead of having the thor be the heavy hitter late game give the cyclone some +X vs massive when locked on buff. I feel like that might do more to help mech exist than putting that role on the thor. That MIGHT break the cyclone though, no idea.
The zerg changes are largely irrelevant. No one will make the swarmhost at its current supply cost, let alone at a higher one
The Terran changes don't really add up. Thors will still be expensive and clunky, and without the AoE they lose some of the only utility they had left. A cyclone just isn't worth 4 supply. Honestly I barely ever make them anymore (even the single one you used to make for early game defense), and I'm seeing more and more pros skip them in every matchup. And 4 supply definitely is a waste for a unit that weak. Even if I made one because it was cheaper, eventually I'd just sack it anyway because it's dead supply. So I might as well spend the gas on something else. The SH change seems like it's the same.
I can see why they nerf liberator AA, it seemed very much overtuned against corruptors. But I'm not sure this was the right change to the unit.
Buffing the colossus is one of the worst ideas they've had. Deemphasizing the colossus was one of the better decisions they've made and given the state of tvp, they absolutely should not buff it for the sake of balance.
I wanted a nerf to the Immortal, but a slighter nerf, not so drastic as this. How about a number around Barrier absorb somewhere around 150 damage? 100 looks too little, and that will kinda screw up the PvZ matchup again,
Really don't like the Barrier change, it just feels so much more like a passive ability. The object is that players get good at triggering it pre fight, or change targets when the Barrier is up. Also really good Protoss players could manually use it at crucial moments. Why not nerf it's vs Armoured, or revert it's range back to 5?
The Colossus change is also really boring, but I guess I didn't complain back when Siege Tanks got +10% attack speed. The unit will do a lot better when caught on it's own now. I would've probably prefered buffing it's AoE slightly and maybe have it not be able to attack units adjacent to it. That way Bio would fair a lot worse and maybe the new Thor anti air would be the tech of choice to keep Bio going vs Protoss in the later stages.
Thor & Liberator anti air change, I've grown to like, they were far too similar beforehand. Hopefully now Viking Anti Air won't be too similar to the new Thor Anti Air.
Not sure how elegant design it is to elaborately have units be less spammable, by increasing supply costs, but increase viability by decreasing resource costs. I'm also not sure it will work out, the Roach historically has been a very spammable unit, because of this. Maybe they don't mind Cyclone spam, as long as the composition does not remain the same through the entire span of the game.
Seems like a pretty big nerf to immortals. To big if you ask me.
I don't like the approach of making stuff easier for lower league players, it will just make it frustrating to play against. They should rather focus on what units are to easy for lower level player to use from the other races and make them harder to use. Which is why I dislike the colossus buff (That might be to ambitious though..). Instead they should try to make the disruptor to be more reliable (as I feel like it is a bit to much "hit or miss" at the moment)
Thor change, it would be fantastic if thors could be an answer to broodlords and tempest and I guess this is step in that direction but I don't think this is enough (I haven't tested so I don't know)
People are talking about how air units should have increased supply and then they increase supply for the Cyclone (anti air unit) instead? The cost reduce thing is good I guess. I wish they switched the tech lab requirement for an armory requirement so you could reactor them. Now that I think about I am not even sure what role the cyclone is to do? Wasn't it intended to counter to ultralisks at first? Do Blizzard even know? I mean It would be so easy to make it a good aa unit.
I don't see any chance of fun game play involving swarm host. They could be plausible if each wave cost some money and locusts couldn't fly but tbh I think they should just remove them.
I really like the P changes as well. They need some tuning of course -maybe the colo buff and the immortal nerf are too much- but I really like the idea. I don't think the colossus is as bad an unit as a lot of people want it to be -swarm host is a lot more unsalvageable if you ask me. No real opinion on the other changes that mostly affect ZvT.
maybe the colo buff and the immortal nerf are too much- but I really like the idea. I don't think the colossus is as bad an unit as a lot of people want it to be
In Legacy they nerfed the damage by 1.25 - 1.55x depending on the level of attack upgrades, returning 10% DPS via attack speed isn't a cataclysmic change.
maybe the colo buff and the immortal nerf are too much- but I really like the idea. I don't think the colossus is as bad an unit as a lot of people want it to be
In Legacy they nerfed the damage by 1.25 - 1.55x depending on the level of attack upgrades, returning 10% DPS via attack speed isn't a cataclysmic change.
yeah should be ok ; a nice push to a now underused unit. The immortal nerf is harsh though, needs a lot of playtesting.
Spending 100 gas on 4 dead supply instead of 150 gas on 3 dead supply isn't going to change the decision making process of building cyclones. They just aren't good units.
maybe the colo buff and the immortal nerf are too much- but I really like the idea. I don't think the colossus is as bad an unit as a lot of people want it to be
In Legacy they nerfed the damage by 1.25 - 1.55x depending on the level of attack upgrades, returning 10% DPS via attack speed isn't a cataclysmic change.
It was nerfed for a good design reason and is one of the reasons the marauder nerf is acceptable at all. The magnitude of the buff is not a good defense of the buff.
I like the Protoss changes, hopefully the Colossus buff will not make it an important unit though.
The Thor AA is probably good for mech but, since mech is not usable i don't know what to think. If it can counter BLs and Liberators then maybe mech has a chance in TvZ and TvT. Tempests are still unaffected with their stupid 15 range unlimited kiting ability against both air and ground.
The Cyclone, eh, still expensive, still weak, still trying to live on a gimmick ability. I think they should first decide what this unit is supposed to do and synergize with before toying with numbers.
- Thor's AA is more of a nerf, doing the viking's job, but less efficently. - Immortal barrier is a terribly designed ability, nerfing it is good because the immortal is overwhelming, but it doesn't solve the fact it's bad design - colossus attack speed is kinda meh - liberator's AG is the problem, not its AA. Right now the only consequence of this change will be to kill skyterran strats in TvZ : EVEN LESS DIVERSITY, YAAAAY. - cyclone's lockon design is terrible. Changing the stats of the unit won't make it less BS. Cyclone is now the supply of a tempest? Rofl. - swarm host : now you're just being hilarious.
EPT![[image loading]](http://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/blog_header/vv/VVKA6LVZUA0Y1448482273038.jpg)
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