• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 01:16
CEST 07:16
KST 14:16
  • 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
ByuL, and the Limitations of Standard Play2Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview12TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection7Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview8
Community News
MC vs IdrA, Boxer vs Nal_rA to be Legacy Matches @ BlizzCon85.0.16 Hotfix (June 30) - Balance + Bug Fixes18Weekly Cups (June 22-28): Zergs thrive in new patch2[TLMC] Summer 2026 Ladder Map Rotation05.0.16 patch for SC2 goes live (8 worker start)98
StarCraft 2
General
5.0.16 Hotfix (June 30) - Balance + Bug Fixes MC vs IdrA, Boxer vs Nal_rA to be Legacy Matches @ BlizzCon The Death of Cheese: From a Professional Cheeser 5.0.16 patch for SC2 goes live (8 worker start) ByuL, and the Limitations of Standard Play
Tourneys
RSL Revival: Season 6 - Qualifiers and Main Event Douyu Cup 2026: $20,000 Legends Event (June 26-28) Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule ! INu's Battles#17 <BO.9> Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
New Map Maker - Looking for Advice - Love or Hate Work In Progress Melee Maps [D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 532 Nuclear Family Mutation # 531 Experimental Artillery Mutation # 530 One For All
Brood War
General
ASL 22 Proposed Map Pool ProGamer Paychecks Story BW General Discussion Best thing happen to StarCraft since Remastered? Data needed
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL21] Grand Finals The Casual Games of the Week Thread [BSL22] GosuLeague Casts - Tue & Thu 22:00 CEST
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Creating a full chart of Zerg builds Relatively freeroll strategies Why doesn't anyone use restoration?
Other Games
General Games
ZeroSpace at Steam NextFest - Last free demo Nintendo Switch Thread Path of Exile Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Beyond All Reason
Dota 2
Looking for a Dota Mentor Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
[94721]Better Good-Health Signs Than 3-15 Bans/Yea TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread The Games Industry And ATVI Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
The HerO Fan Club! The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! Series you have seen recently... [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books [TV/BOOK] *SPOILERS* Game of Thrones Discussion
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion McBoner: A hockey love story Cricket [SPORT]
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Listen To The Coaches!
TrAiDoS
An Exploration of th…
waywardstrategy
I'm an arrogant trash talke…
FlaShFTW
Gauntlet SC2: A Retrospectiv…
Ctone23
ramps on octagon
StaticNine
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 4339 users

Was Protoss given the same design focus? - Page 2

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 4 Next All
Vitalik
Profile Joined May 2023
1 Post
May 28 2023 14:22 GMT
#21
--- Nuked ---
Nebuchad
Profile Blog Joined December 2012
Switzerland12472 Posts
May 28 2023 15:39 GMT
#22
No. The design of terran is really stupid and it's the core issue with the game. You shouldn't be able to force a tech up from the other side simply by building your core units.
No will to live, no wish to die
Beelzebub1
Profile Joined May 2015
1004 Posts
May 28 2023 16:24 GMT
#23
No, definitely not initially, but over time those design flaws were imo marginalized, or at least covered up by a different unit/composition's strengths. Protoss seems pretty versatile in their strategic repertoire lately and it's been fun to watch.

vOdToasT
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Sweden2870 Posts
May 28 2023 17:09 GMT
#24
On May 29 2023 00:39 Nebuchad wrote:
No. The design of terran is really stupid and it's the core issue with the game. You shouldn't be able to force a tech up from the other side simply by building your core units.


Brood War Terran: Sweats profusely
Brood War Zerg: Sweats profusely against Protoss
If it's stupid but it works, then it's not stupid* (*Or: You are stupid for losing to it, and gotta git gud)
Archeon
Profile Joined May 2011
3267 Posts
Last Edited: 2023-05-29 15:40:13
May 29 2023 13:31 GMT
#25
On May 29 2023 02:09 vOdToasT wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 29 2023 00:39 Nebuchad wrote:
No. The design of terran is really stupid and it's the core issue with the game. You shouldn't be able to force a tech up from the other side simply by building your core units.


Brood War Terran: Sweats profusely
Brood War Zerg: Sweats profusely against Protoss

I'm really no expert on BW (but willing to learn), but aren't dragoons perfectly fine at least against non-stim BW bio?

And IIRC zealots vs lings is perfectly fine too, it's mainly hydras that force a tech up and in return 1-2 hts with storm crush hydras. In Sc2 you need colossus with thermal lance or disruptors and you need a bunch of them cause else bio will just run over them.

On the topic of the discussion I still think that it was a weird choice to decide that Protoss shouldn't have a backbone ranged unit that trades decently in most cases. According to Kim the dragoon was too good at too many things, but the stalker in return is kinda shit at almost all things. It's also a mind-boggling statement when the marine in it's current state made it.

Although tbf one of the problems the devs had with the dragoon was that it didn't have a lot of micro potential which definitely isn't true for the marine.

It's also pretty apparent that the devs didn't have a lot of interesting ideas for Protoss initially. Protoss new robo units in WoL are pretty boring to play and while the phoenix and the sentry offer more micro potential especially the latter also caused a lot of problems. HotS and LotV introduced more complex units and P is definitely more interesting to watch as a result. But when I look at terran where almost all units have their niche, timing, micro potential and unique quirk Protoss seems to have been the race that got a lot of medium-slow units that just can a-move and don't really pull their weight by themselves.
low gravity, yes-yes!
dysenterymd
Profile Joined January 2019
1250 Posts
Last Edited: 2023-05-29 14:32:27
May 29 2023 14:32 GMT
#26
Protoss is just much more unforgiving at the highest level. In PvT and PvZ there are so many points whre Protoss has to get transitions perfect or they're just run over immediately - blink stalkers are good against Terran until there's too much stim bio and then they're just utility, adepts are good against Z until they're total dead weight, robo comps work until a few vipers are out and then you'll just die if your transition isn't ready, etc etc.

It's not that there isn't pressure on T and Z to transition, but it feels like their windows to transition are more generous.
Serral | Inno | sOs | soO | Has | Classic
[Phantom]
Profile Blog Joined August 2013
Mexico2170 Posts
May 29 2023 16:11 GMT
#27
On May 29 2023 01:24 Beelzebub1 wrote:
No, definitely not initially, but over time those design flaws were imo marginalized, or at least covered up by a different unit/composition's strengths. Protoss seems pretty versatile in their strategic repertoire lately and it's been fun to watch.




Oh yeah, so versatile that for the past 2+ years the only viable opening in PvZ is stargate (and no, adepts aren't a viable opening).
WriterTeamLiquid Staff writer since 2014 @Mortal_Phantom
Yoshi Kirishima
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
United States10375 Posts
Last Edited: 2023-05-29 17:58:33
May 29 2023 17:58 GMT
#28
I felt Protoss wasn't as developed as Terran for sure, but as of LotV I think they got a good amount of love and I really like the race now (I play Terran, but as of LotV I got way more interested in Protoss and want to learn it).

LotV Protoss feels they have lots of interesting/tricky builds and smart build orders you can go with. Back then, it was just like 1 or 2 base warpgate all-ins or rushes to a certain tech (DTs for example). But now with the economy differences + more abilities and more new units, and buffs to units like Warp Prism, it feels like Protoss has a wide arrange of strategies now. You may need to rely a bit on an element of surprise as Protoss with your tech, but I think that's totally fine and sets it apart from Terran (army production, micro'ing units) and Zerg (economy, massive macro). It creates a nice triangle with tech, army, economy.

I feel like Zerg got much more fleshed out too now, if we look at Dark for example, he really shows how versatile the race is, and how you can "evolve" or keep switching your composition to adapt to the opponent, and he can come back as well with smart adaptations in the game and catch back up in economy.

If we look at Protoss, players like sOs show how crazy and powerful Protoss builds and strategies can be.

If we look at Terran, players like Maru show how resilient Terran can be and hold onto and claw back into games with high efficiency and micro.

I feel all 3 races are quite fleshed out now, and Protoss and Zerg feel they definitely match how fleshed out Terran is now. Terran doesn't feel like it got much more fleshed out since WoL, just a little. It plays mostly the same still, the scope of what you can do doesn't feel too much wider or different.
Mid-master streaming MECH ONLY + commentary www.twitch.tv/yoshikirishima +++ "If all-in fails, all-in again."
Fanatic-Templar
Profile Joined February 2010
Canada5819 Posts
May 29 2023 19:38 GMT
#29
I do feel bad that the Colossus, a unit that was clearly designed by the art or story or some other non-gameplay team ended up being one of the most important units in the Protoss arsenal until Legacy of the Void. At least other such units like the Thor or Mothership were more niche and didn't warp the entire race's strategy around it.

Did you know that the Colossus can walk up and down cliffs, you guys?
I bear this sig to commemorate the loss of the team icon that commemorated Oversky's 2008-2009 Proleague Round 1 performance.
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland27066 Posts
May 29 2023 22:24 GMT
#30
On May 29 2023 00:39 Nebuchad wrote:
No. The design of terran is really stupid and it's the core issue with the game. You shouldn't be able to force a tech up from the other side simply by building your core units.

These are all interlinked, but people continually point to Terran as the ‘well designed’ race.

If your stock units pump out tons of damage and are far more microable than anything else in the game, how can that be mitigated? Well via the things people complain are bad design. Big, A-move friendly comps and AoE

Protoss to some degree needed sentries in WoL, Mothership Core overcharge and shield batteries subsequently just to hold stock Terran bio-centric pushes.

I don’t mind the idea of a ranged-centric kind of glass cannon faction. However, in SC2 things melt so fast when things scale that melee micro is pretty negligible.

SC2 is pretty miraculously good considering some of the calls made way back for Wings. But future developers of RTS I hope steer clear of adopting, especially in making one race so asymmetric in micro demands/micro potential
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Chemist391
Profile Joined October 2010
United States368 Posts
May 30 2023 00:01 GMT
#31
I've always thought that warpgate should be a later-game tech, probably unlocked by the Templar Archives. Then gateway units could be stronger and splash damage could be weaker.

If shield upgrades provided some kind of defense/mitigation of EMP, that could help, too.
BronzeKnee
Profile Joined March 2011
United States5224 Posts
May 30 2023 02:37 GMT
#32
On December 11 2020 06:03 dUTtrOACh wrote:
You'll only get speculative responses on that here. Who else but the insiders at Blizzard who worked on the design aspect of each race would really know? How would you define "fair" (man hours or some other metric)?


I feel like this is a joke. The designers thought the Colossus would be this amazing cliff walking harass unit to decimate enemy work lines...

I'm sure they thought everything was just fine.
Slydie
Profile Joined August 2013
1959 Posts
May 30 2023 08:19 GMT
#33
On May 29 2023 00:39 Nebuchad wrote:
No. The design of terran is really stupid and it's the core issue with the game. You shouldn't be able to force a tech up from the other side simply by building your core units.


No, and they don't. Stim, combat shields, concussive shells, +1+1, reactor medivacs, tanks and ravens are all tech.

There were long stretches when Protoss could mass blink stalkers on 2 base and easily pick Terran defences apart. Fighting complete Triple-Splash-Toss Deathballs with bio is really hard too!
Buff the siegetank
Slydie
Profile Joined August 2013
1959 Posts
May 30 2023 08:22 GMT
#34
On May 30 2023 11:37 BronzeKnee wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 11 2020 06:03 dUTtrOACh wrote:
You'll only get speculative responses on that here. Who else but the insiders at Blizzard who worked on the design aspect of each race would really know? How would you define "fair" (man hours or some other metric)?


I feel like this is a joke. The designers thought the Colossus would be this amazing cliff walking harass unit to decimate enemy work lines...

I'm sure they thought everything was just fine.


I actually thought the idea of a ground unit which could be hit by air was really cool when I first saw it. The viking/colosseus dance can still be interresting, but it ended up a being a more boring unit than I hoped for.
Buff the siegetank
Comedy
Profile Joined March 2016
469 Posts
May 30 2023 12:36 GMT
#35
This game would've been so much better if protoss didnt have uncounterable map editors for the first 5 years of it.
Nebuchad
Profile Blog Joined December 2012
Switzerland12472 Posts
Last Edited: 2023-05-30 16:14:56
May 30 2023 16:08 GMT
#36
On May 30 2023 17:19 Slydie wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 29 2023 00:39 Nebuchad wrote:
No. The design of terran is really stupid and it's the core issue with the game. You shouldn't be able to force a tech up from the other side simply by building your core units.


No, and they don't. Stim, combat shields, concussive shells, +1+1, reactor medivacs, tanks and ravens are all tech.

There were long stretches when Protoss could mass blink stalkers on 2 base and easily pick Terran defences apart. Fighting complete Triple-Splash-Toss Deathballs with bio is really hard too!


Blink is also tech according to your definition then

Medivacs, tanks and ravens are tech, and sure you're going to get those because why wouldn't you. But you're not forced to get those unless there's tech on the other side. If I make a bunch of zealots and stalkers with upgrades and you make a bunch of marines and marauders with upgrade, you're going to win. I don't have an option but to counter what you're doing. The design of terran forces the protoss to make an active choice to counter the standard build-up of a terran army, and the terran can then scout that choice and react accordingly. I'm sure we've seen Serral play for long enough to know that the person reacting has an advantage in this game.

And for a sidenote, fighting complete triple-splash toss deathballs with bio shouldn't be really hard, it should be 100% impossible. It is a sign that terran is badly designed that it is really hard.
No will to live, no wish to die
Gattuzo
Profile Joined June 2023
1 Post
Last Edited: 2023-06-07 20:13:04
June 07 2023 16:51 GMT
#37
On May 31 2023 01:08 Nebuchad wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 30 2023 17:19 Slydie wrote:
On May 29 2023 00:39 Nebuchad wrote:
No. The design of terran is really stupid and it's the core issue with the game. You shouldn't be able to force a tech up from the other side simply by building your core units.


No, and they don't. Stim, combat shields, concussive shells, +1+1, reactor medivacs, tanks and ravens are all tech.

There were long stretches when Protoss could mass blink stalkers on 2 base and easily pick Terran defences apart. Fighting complete Triple-Splash-Toss Deathballs with bio is really hard too!


Blink is also tech according to your definition then

Medivacs, tanks and ravens are tech, and sure you're going to get those because why wouldn't you. But you're not forced to get those unless there's tech on the other side. If I make a bunch of zealots and stalkers with upgrades and you make a bunch of marines and marauders with upgrade, you're going to win. I don't have an option but to counter what you're doing. The design of terran forces the protoss to make an active choice to counter the standard build-up of a terran army, and the terran can then scout that choice and react accordingly. I'm sure we've seen Serral play for long enough to know that the person reacting has an advantage in this game.
I recently came across a fantastic blog that focused on the top UX Design Agencies. It was a serendipitous find that opened up a world of possibilities for me. The blog featured in-depth reviews and case studies of various agencies, highlighting their expertise in creating exceptional user experiences. I was thrilled to discover a centralized resource that helped me understand the key players in the industry and their click here unique approaches to UX design. This blog has become an invaluable source of inspiration and knowledge as I navigate the field of user experience.
And for a sidenote, fighting complete triple-splash toss deathballs with bio shouldn't be really hard, it should be 100% impossible. It is a sign that terran is badly designed that it is really hard.

I agree, although the design here is actually the easiest.
Ireland Kelly
Profile Joined June 2023
1 Post
Last Edited: 2023-06-23 23:17:13
June 23 2023 23:16 GMT
#38
--- Nuked ---
AssyrianKing
Profile Blog Joined August 2011
Australia2117 Posts
July 23 2023 03:25 GMT
#39
One thing I always wondered was, the base units for Terran or Zerg have either similar strength or are a bit beefier, whereas for Protoss they have slightly less HP or Shields.

I am aware that both units now have special abilities or more micro potential. But Marines/Zerglings are better already due to better pathing in Starcraft 2.

I personally think the base units should be a bit beefier and then to balance Protoss around those changes.
John 15:13
Slydie
Profile Joined August 2013
1959 Posts
July 23 2023 07:06 GMT
#40
On July 23 2023 12:25 AssyrianKing wrote:
One thing I always wondered was, the base units for Terran or Zerg have either similar strength or are a bit beefier, whereas for Protoss they have slightly less HP or Shields.

I am aware that both units now have special abilities or more micro potential. But Marines/Zerglings are better already due to better pathing in Starcraft 2.

I personally think the base units should be a bit beefier and then to balance Protoss around those changes.


The goal of the race was always to make Protoss time and space manipulators. It turned out to be much harder to balance than expected, and a lot of abilities were too game breaking, like black hole/vortex, missile slow down field and even pylon warp-ins, which had to be heavily nerfed.

I think the developers did necessarily give P less focus, but the whole concept of the race was much harder to get right when matched against the other two. Protoss still attracts players who enjoy a race with lots of trickery, the highest skillcap micro ability in the game, several devastating AOE options and massive air fleets.
Buff the siegetank
Prev 1 2 3 4 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
PiGosaur Cup
00:00
#88
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SpeCial 322
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 3139
GuemChi 3015
Shuttle 1453
Tasteless 136
Dewaltoss 61
sSak 39
ZergMaN 32
Bale 25
Movie 25
Icarus 9
[ Show more ]
Noble 8
Dota 2
LuMiX0
League of Legends
JimRising 827
Super Smash Bros
hungrybox580
Other Games
summit1g9048
C9.Mang0568
ViBE157
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1049
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream263
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Rush1085
• Lourlo1067
• Stunt384
Upcoming Events
Kung Fu Cup
5h 44m
Replay Cast
18h 44m
CrankTV Team League
1d 5h
Bombastic Starleague
1d 14h
The PondCast
2 days
HomeStory Cup
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
HomeStory Cup
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
HomeStory Cup
4 days
[ Show More ]
OSC
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
WardiTV Weekly
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

YSL S3
Douyu Cup 2026
Murky Cup 2026

Ongoing

IPSL Spring 2026
Acropolis #4
CSL Season 21: Qualifier 2
SCTL 2026 Spring
XSE Pro League 2026
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
IEM Rio 2026

Upcoming

CSL 2026 Summer (S21)
ASL Season 22:Wild Card Qualifier
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Revival: Season 6
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
HSC XXIX
Light Tournament 2026
Eternal Conflict S2 Finale
Heroes Pulsing #3
Eternal Conflict S2 E1
FISSURE Playground #5
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
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.