Yes because getting a free shot is an unintended consequence of the way beam weapons are programmed. There is no delay between shots on beam attacks when a beam kills a target which is not how attacks are meant to operate. Blizzard also listed it as a bug fix in the patch notes when they originally fixed it. It is a bug. Now, I think the real discussion is whether or not this bug makes the game better. Bugs can improve a product and I think that should be the determining factor in whether Blizzard should remove it.

Personally, I like the Oracle and I enjoy the bug. I am biased since I play Protoss, but the Oracle did look like a clunky, bad unit in those gifs for the short time the bug was fixed. The affect this has on PvZ balance is important because the Oracle is commonly used to help defend against ling floods, whether that be at the natural or at a constructing third base. If the bug is fixed, buffs will more than likely be necessary.

stilt

France2755 Posts

January 13 2019 15:42 GMT

#62

On January 12 2019 15:55 jpg06051992 wrote:
This nerf should be re applied after the upcoming tournament, but it should be compensated with both a Stalker buff and a Tempest nerf to make it less broken in TvT. Oracles are critical to Protoss securing bases and some form of map control against Zerg, so this heavy of a nerf (even if it is technically a bug fix) is going to really make securing a third a nightmare for Protoss. As a Zerg player, I'd say that in general, while Protoss air is almost unbeatable in high supply. the ground army feels incredibly weak.

I think this isbecause the Stalker more or less is useless and hilariously hard countered by mid game unit compositions like Roach/Hydra or MMM. I see a Protoss going for Stalkers early game and I already feel ahead, lings deal with them even with blink and Hydralisks of course murder them so badly. The Zealot is fine, the Sentry could also stand to probably be buffed up a bit but we'll stick with the Stalker.

It's probably time to just do an across the board nerf on Protoss air unit damage, but in return, I'd really appreciate it if Blizzard could make Protoss ground armies great again. The mass air thing is just so lame and it's just a testament to how sloppily the racial balance has been handled from the get go. I mean God what are we on, 2 or 3 Oracle redesigns, 2 or 3 Tempest redesigns, 3 or 4 Disruptor redesigns? I stand firm in my belief that Warp Gate had no place in the game to begin with, and that it's removal (although it's never EVER going to happen clearly if it hasn't happened now) or at least make it a mid game upgrade would make Protoss ground units far easier to balance.

Buffing stalker means making mass blink stalkers great again and this is really a terrible idea to have an all rounded unit who dominates the field, 2015 pvz was cancer and made a lot of players leave the game.

NonY

8751 Posts

January 14 2019 00:11 GMT

#63

On January 12 2019 08:45 KappaKingPrime wrote:
Wasn't the game balanced around this bug and shouldn't they complansate this with buffing damage/speed accordingly?

Yeah, I think they should make some attempt at compensation. I don't understand why they choose not to when it's clearly a significant balance issue. My first draft would be to increase attack speed so that it's slightly lower than it effectively was against low health units and slightly higher than it effectively was against high health units. It'd still be a nerf against low health units, which is what the oracle primarily attacks, but it wouldn't be as big of a nerf and at least there'd be some compensation against high health targets.

As for whether it's a bug, it's a bug if Blizzard says it is. They could have intended beam attacks to behave this way. It seems strange for them to come out 8.5 years after the game came out and say this was never intended but I guess it's possible they never noticed.

franzji

United States583 Posts

January 14 2019 17:05 GMT

#64

The issue with buffing the stalker is that if buffed more, it starts to rape terran in the early game too much. But then if it doesn't rape terran it sucks elsewhere

.

Something no one has proposed is another lategame upgrade that could make the stalker more viable. Blizzard is quick to try out new upgrades for terran and zerg (raven, widow mine, medivac, lurker, ultralisk), I would be curious as to how useful a late game stalker upgrade would be. They already have played with some ideas in co-op.

insitelol

845 Posts

January 15 2019 11:12 GMT

#65

Just leave the oracle as it is. It doesnt really matter if its a bug or an intended feature that keeps the balance. Every balance change (to oracle or other units that interact with oracle or esle) that took place after the HoTs release was done according to oracle's actual in-game performance (bugged or not). It was in the game for so long that became a part of it (like TONS of similar stuff in BW).

You can't deny that just for the sake of "it wasn't inteneded by the developers". BW wasnt intended by blizzard to become an esport legend. While warhound was actually intended to be a part of the game. Let's bring it back!