• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 10:39
CEST 16:39
KST 23:39
  • 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
Maestros of the Game: Week 1/Play-in Preview9[ASL20] Ro24 Preview Pt2: Take-Off7[ASL20] Ro24 Preview Pt1: Runway132v2 & SC: Evo Complete: Weekend Double Feature4Team Liquid Map Contest #21 - Presented by Monster Energy9
Community News
Weekly Cups (August 25-31): Clem's Last Straw?29Weekly Cups (Aug 18-24): herO dethrones MaxPax6Maestros of The Game—$20k event w/ live finals in Paris46Weekly Cups (Aug 11-17): MaxPax triples again!15Weekly Cups (Aug 4-10): MaxPax wins a triple6
StarCraft 2
General
Weekly Cups (August 25-31): Clem's Last Straw? Heaven's Balance Suggestions (roast me) Speculation of future Wardii series Geoff 'iNcontroL' Robinson has passed away #1: Maru - Greatest Players of All Time
Tourneys
LiuLi Cup - September 2025 Tournaments Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament Maestros of The Game—$20k event w/ live finals in Paris Monday Nights Weeklies
Strategy
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 489 Bannable Offense Mutation # 488 What Goes Around Mutation # 487 Think Fast Mutation # 486 Watch the Skies
Brood War
General
ASL20 General Discussion BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ BW General Discussion Starcraft at lower levels TvP Victoria gamers
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues Is there English video for group selection for ASL [ASL20] Ro24 Group F [IPSL] CSLAN Review and CSLPRO Reimagined!
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Muta micro map competition Fighting Spirit mining rates [G] Mineral Boosting
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Nintendo Switch Thread Mechabellum Teeworlds - online game
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread YouTube Thread
Fan Clubs
The Happy Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread High temperatures on bridge(s) Gtx660 graphics card replacement
TL Community
The Automated Ban List TeamLiquid Team Shirt On Sale
Blogs
A very expensive lesson on ma…
Garnet
hello world
radishsoup
Lemme tell you a thing o…
JoinTheRain
How Culture and Conflict Imp…
TrAiDoS
RTS Design in Hypercoven
a11
Evil Gacha Games and the…
ffswowsucks
INDEPENDIENTE LA CTM
XenOsky
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 757 users

Balance Infested Terrans - Page 2

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 All
Fleetfeet
Profile Blog Joined May 2014
Canada2567 Posts
May 19 2024 20:58 GMT
#21
On May 20 2024 04:42 Vindicare605 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 20 2024 03:54 Fleetfeet wrote:
The big design question you'll want to answer first is "What do we want Infested Terran to do?"

Changing egg sizes and adding mini cooldowns are all well and good, but if you don't have an established goal for the changes then what are you doing?


And I think that's why Blizz just ended up removing the spell. If they can't find a way to balance it the way they intended it to be used (they clearly did intend swarms of Infested Terrans to be a thing) then what's the point of even having the spell in the game.

If they changed it to a cooldown what purpose would infested terrans even have? Wouldn't they basically become shitty auto turrets at that point?

Gotta remember that Infested Terrans weren't the first spell in Starcraft 2 that got removed, Hunter Killer (later Seeker missile) was. They couldn't find a way to make that spell work either, so they got rid of it in place of something else.


Exactly, nevermind entire units that got removed (Warhound? thank god) or concepts snipped in the very early phases (Original widow mines). I don't lament the loss of infested terran - I think the combination of burrowed movement on infestors made the spell difficult to balance, and then the overlap with swarm host and brood lord puts it in a space where I don't mind it being removed at all.

If we're talking about bringing it back, I'm not opposed to it. The problem is the question "Why bring it back? What does that do?" needs to have a decent answer first. Honestly, the answer "Nothing, let's make it too shitty to be competitive-viable, let's just bring it back for flavour" suits me just fine, and I don't care how that's implemented. Make each cast cost 20 minerals, make the IT rooted to the ground and not move, whatever. I don't mind shitty flavour units in RTS, and in the case of Infested Terran it being a shitty flavour unit is BW accurate.
Vindicare605
Profile Blog Joined August 2011
United States16071 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-05-19 21:16:11
May 19 2024 21:11 GMT
#22
I think the question we should be asking is "how can we make Microbrial Shroud not such a shitty spell so that we actually feel like Infested Terrans were replaced with something rather than just removed with nothing replacing them like it feels now?"

I think that's the bigger question here. No one seems to care that Seeker Missile is gone for Terran since anti-armor missile and Interference Matrix has more than made up for it being gone. The Raven is a much more interesting unit than it used to be.

The Infestor basically feels like it only has 2 spells now that Infested Terran is gone. THAT is the issue. Microbrial Shroud is so fucking niche in its usefulness that most people forget it even exists, but the problem is that Zerg is such a powerhouse of a race in pro play, that there doesn't seem to be any pressing need to give them a brand new spell that's actually useful when they already win everything every year.

So what do we do? Well nothing, like we've been doing. That's why nothing has happened. The minute Zerg starts actually losing again, especially in later game situations (which they are currently dominant in) is the minute we can look to the Infestor and giving that third spell the love it desperately needs.

The other problem is that anything we give to the Infestor, has to be designed in such a way so that it works around the other spellcasters in Zerg's arsenal, the Queen and the Viper. The Raven and Ghost or the High Templar and Sentry have almost no synergy with each other based on when they come out in the game and what kinds of situations they are useful in.

But the Infestor and Viper are a different story entirely. The Viper made, Infested Terrans 10x as good as they already were because you could blind units you are dropping Infested Terrans on, or Abduct carriers into Infested Terrans to be picked off.

Any new spell the Infestor gets will have to be designed in such a way that the Viper doesn't make it that much stronger, which is another problem the unit has.
aka: KTVindicare the Geeky Bartender
jack_less
Profile Joined May 2022
77 Posts
May 21 2024 08:12 GMT
#23
But you have to be careful, look what they've done with Broodling.
They bring Infested Terrans back into the game, and then they get a round of Broodling nerf. So then you have no difference between Microbrial Shroud or IT.
KingzTig
Profile Joined February 2024
155 Posts
May 21 2024 10:21 GMT
#24
Free unit isn't an issue. I absolutely disagree with some here that goes "oh but energy is infinite energy".

With the exception of viper, energy is an extremely scarce resource, hence the regen rate and energy cap.

I personally think ghost is the most broken unit, and precisely because how cost efficient with their snipe and relatively safe to cast.

So I don't think infested terran is that OP after the health nerf. I think nerfing the cast range would be more than enough.
swarminfestor
Profile Joined September 2017
Malaysia2449 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-05-21 12:52:46
May 21 2024 12:39 GMT
#25
I just love infested terrans, should make them available again.

My take
-Remove swarm host. (I always think that broodlings are just enough as the Zerg free units, why need locusts then?).
-Change infestor's microbial shrouds ability to overseer. Infestors retained three different spells as before. Overseer now has three different spells instead of two before. But the microbial shrouds could be real buff for the spawned infested terran. That's why changing to overseer I think will need the user to multitask a bit.
-Increase the supply of infestors to 3, instead of 2. (Similar with the supply of swarm host).
-Increase the mana needed for casting infested terran, make it the same when ravens casting auto turrets for harassing.
-Let the infested terrans behave like locusts. When spawning, they can fly over the cliff and drop down whenever they see the enemy's units.
- Similar with roaches, user needs to upgrade "Tunneling Claws" on Infestation Pits so that their Infestors can move when burrowing.

Rogue & Maru fan boy. ^^
swarminfestor
Profile Joined September 2017
Malaysia2449 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-05-21 13:39:32
May 21 2024 13:03 GMT
#26
On May 21 2024 21:39 swarminfestor wrote:
I just love infested terrans, should make them available again.

My take
-Remove swarm host. (I always think that broodlings are just enough as the Zerg free units, why need locusts then?).
-Change infestor's microbial shrouds ability to overseer. Infestors retained three different spells as before. Overseer now has three different spells instead of two before. But the microbial shrouds could be real buff for the spawned infested terran. That's why changing to overseer I think will need the user to multitask a bit.
-Increase the supply of infestors to 3, instead of 2. (Similar with the supply of swarm host).
-Increase the mana needed for casting infested terran, make it the same when ravens casting auto turrets for harassing.
-Let the infested terrans behave like locusts. When spawning, they can fly over the cliff and drop down whenever they see the enemy's units.
- Similar with roaches, user needs to upgrade "Tunneling Claws" on Infestation Pits so that their Infestors can move when burrowing.



I never saw someone use infestors for harrasing the drones, probes and SCV before as much as ravens and oracles. With combo of infested terrans and fungal, the user can use droplord to bring the infestors closer to resource location. Then, infestors will cast the infested terrans. The eggs will need some time to break. The fungal ability will slow down the miners to evacuate while waiting for the infested terrans to hatch.
Rogue & Maru fan boy. ^^
Vision_
Profile Joined September 2018
861 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-05-21 13:06:34
May 21 2024 13:03 GMT
#27
On May 20 2024 06:11 Vindicare605 wrote:
I think the question we should be asking is "how can we make Microbrial Shroud not such a shitty spell so that we actually feel like Infested Terrans were replaced with something rather than just removed with nothing replacing them like it feels now?"

I think that's the bigger question here. No one seems to care that Seeker Missile is gone for Terran since anti-armor missile and Interference Matrix has more than made up for it being gone. The Raven is a much more interesting unit than it used to be.

The Infestor basically feels like it only has 2 spells now that Infested Terran is gone. THAT is the issue. Microbrial Shroud is so fucking niche in its usefulness that most people forget it even exists, but the problem is that Zerg is such a powerhouse of a race in pro play, that there doesn't seem to be any pressing need to give them a brand new spell that's actually useful when they already win everything every year.

So what do we do? Well nothing, like we've been doing. That's why nothing has happened. The minute Zerg starts actually losing again, especially in later game situations (which they are currently dominant in) is the minute we can look to the Infestor and giving that third spell the love it desperately needs.

The other problem is that anything we give to the Infestor, has to be designed in such a way so that it works around the other spellcasters in Zerg's arsenal, the Queen and the Viper. The Raven and Ghost or the High Templar and Sentry have almost no synergy with each other based on when they come out in the game and what kinds of situations they are useful in.

But the Infestor and Viper are a different story entirely. The Viper made, Infested Terrans 10x as good as they already were because you could blind units you are dropping Infested Terrans on, or Abduct carriers into Infested Terrans to be picked off.

Any new spell the Infestor gets will have to be designed in such a way that the Viper doesn't make it that much stronger, which is another problem the unit has.


Ok. So if IT then Abduct spell has to be nerfed against massive units (note in the community brain)
Thanks
swarminfestor
Profile Joined September 2017
Malaysia2449 Posts
May 21 2024 13:06 GMT
#28
On May 21 2024 22:03 Vision_ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 20 2024 06:11 Vindicare605 wrote:
I think the question we should be asking is "how can we make Microbrial Shroud not such a shitty spell so that we actually feel like Infested Terrans were replaced with something rather than just removed with nothing replacing them like it feels now?"

I think that's the bigger question here. No one seems to care that Seeker Missile is gone for Terran since anti-armor missile and Interference Matrix has more than made up for it being gone. The Raven is a much more interesting unit than it used to be.

The Infestor basically feels like it only has 2 spells now that Infested Terran is gone. THAT is the issue. Microbrial Shroud is so fucking niche in its usefulness that most people forget it even exists, but the problem is that Zerg is such a powerhouse of a race in pro play, that there doesn't seem to be any pressing need to give them a brand new spell that's actually useful when they already win everything every year.

So what do we do? Well nothing, like we've been doing. That's why nothing has happened. The minute Zerg starts actually losing again, especially in later game situations (which they are currently dominant in) is the minute we can look to the Infestor and giving that third spell the love it desperately needs.

The other problem is that anything we give to the Infestor, has to be designed in such a way so that it works around the other spellcasters in Zerg's arsenal, the Queen and the Viper. The Raven and Ghost or the High Templar and Sentry have almost no synergy with each other based on when they come out in the game and what kinds of situations they are useful in.

But the Infestor and Viper are a different story entirely. The Viper made, Infested Terrans 10x as good as they already were because you could blind units you are dropping Infested Terrans on, or Abduct carriers into Infested Terrans to be picked off.

Any new spell the Infestor gets will have to be designed in such a way that the Viper doesn't make it that much stronger, which is another problem the unit has.


Ok. So if IT then Abduct spell has to be nerfed against massive units (note in the community brain)


Abduct shouldn't be allowed against Mothership. Because you can only make one Mothership at one time.
Rogue & Maru fan boy. ^^
Vision_
Profile Joined September 2018
861 Posts
May 21 2024 13:07 GMT
#29
Are you able to hold a zerg push ? because if so, you can chronoboost your mothership unit
Snakestyle1
Profile Joined May 2017
43 Posts
May 21 2024 15:59 GMT
#30
On May 21 2024 22:06 swarminfestor wrote:


Abduct shouldn't be allowed against Mothership. Because you can only make one Mothership at one time.


But then again, should mothership really be viable? Other races dont have hero units. Protoss already has 2 capital ships (carrier, tempest), while other races only have one.

The fact that they have a THIRD capitalship, and the only race with a hero unit, opening a SECOND recall, is just a bit overboard and feels pretty unfair.

Sometimes, between all the extra stuff protoss has in battery, recalls/overcharge at nexus, warp-in instantly at any base, mothership recall, 2 capital ships, 3 solid splash options.. it just feels like protoss has had one more expansion pack over the other races sometimes. It feels like they just have more stuff.
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25544 Posts
May 21 2024 17:28 GMT
#31
On May 21 2024 22:03 swarminfestor wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 21 2024 21:39 swarminfestor wrote:
I just love infested terrans, should make them available again.

My take
-Remove swarm host. (I always think that broodlings are just enough as the Zerg free units, why need locusts then?).
-Change infestor's microbial shrouds ability to overseer. Infestors retained three different spells as before. Overseer now has three different spells instead of two before. But the microbial shrouds could be real buff for the spawned infested terran. That's why changing to overseer I think will need the user to multitask a bit.
-Increase the supply of infestors to 3, instead of 2. (Similar with the supply of swarm host).
-Increase the mana needed for casting infested terran, make it the same when ravens casting auto turrets for harassing.
-Let the infested terrans behave like locusts. When spawning, they can fly over the cliff and drop down whenever they see the enemy's units.
- Similar with roaches, user needs to upgrade "Tunneling Claws" on Infestation Pits so that their Infestors can move when burrowing.



I never saw someone use infestors for harrasing the drones, probes and SCV before as much as ravens and oracles. With combo of infested terrans and fungal, the user can use droplord to bring the infestors closer to resource location. Then, infestors will cast the infested terrans. The eggs will need some time to break. The fungal ability will slow down the miners to evacuate while waiting for the infested terrans to hatch.

It used to be really, really potent, especially on outlying bases.

Like auto-turret harass on crack, although a little less easy to get into position for
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25544 Posts
May 21 2024 17:35 GMT
#32
On May 20 2024 05:58 Fleetfeet wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 20 2024 04:42 Vindicare605 wrote:
On May 20 2024 03:54 Fleetfeet wrote:
The big design question you'll want to answer first is "What do we want Infested Terran to do?"

Changing egg sizes and adding mini cooldowns are all well and good, but if you don't have an established goal for the changes then what are you doing?


And I think that's why Blizz just ended up removing the spell. If they can't find a way to balance it the way they intended it to be used (they clearly did intend swarms of Infested Terrans to be a thing) then what's the point of even having the spell in the game.

If they changed it to a cooldown what purpose would infested terrans even have? Wouldn't they basically become shitty auto turrets at that point?

Gotta remember that Infested Terrans weren't the first spell in Starcraft 2 that got removed, Hunter Killer (later Seeker missile) was. They couldn't find a way to make that spell work either, so they got rid of it in place of something else.


Exactly, nevermind entire units that got removed (Warhound? thank god) or concepts snipped in the very early phases (Original widow mines). I don't lament the loss of infested terran - I think the combination of burrowed movement on infestors made the spell difficult to balance, and then the overlap with swarm host and brood lord puts it in a space where I don't mind it being removed at all.

If we're talking about bringing it back, I'm not opposed to it. The problem is the question "Why bring it back? What does that do?" needs to have a decent answer first. Honestly, the answer "Nothing, let's make it too shitty to be competitive-viable, let's just bring it back for flavour" suits me just fine, and I don't care how that's implemented. Make each cast cost 20 minerals, make the IT rooted to the ground and not move, whatever. I don't mind shitty flavour units in RTS, and in the case of Infested Terran it being a shitty flavour unit is BW accurate.

I think it’d have pretty fun uses more in BW than in SC2 come to think of it. Tanking siege tank hits/triggering friendly fire, or even just throwing obstacles to block enemy units a bit.

Zergs already have the viper, which may as well be renamed ‘anti-tank caster’ because SC2 isn’t BW and the more cute ways of dealing with tank lines stop being viable past a certain supply. Likewise SC2 units are very ‘slippery’ so tactically blocking stuff off is less of an option too.

I agree that SC2 is quite lacking in very niche/borderline useless abilities.

We need SC2’s scout equivalent dagnabbit!
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Prev 1 2 All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
LiuLi Cup
11:00
Weekly #5
Harstem576
mouzHeroMarine529
TKL 337
CranKy Ducklings317
IndyStarCraft 175
Rex153
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Harstem 576
mouzHeroMarine 529
TKL 337
IndyStarCraft 175
Rex 153
mcanning 17
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 50846
EffOrt 1656
Light 570
Stork 513
Larva 473
Snow 424
BeSt 399
actioN 396
ggaemo 291
Mini 282
[ Show more ]
ZerO 243
Leta 241
Soma 180
PianO 106
Mong 104
Movie 97
Hyun 74
sSak 62
Shine 61
Sharp 61
JYJ58
ToSsGirL 55
Sexy 46
Pusan 42
sorry 37
scan(afreeca) 32
Aegong 32
soO 30
Nal_rA 28
Bale 27
Mind 23
Backho 19
HiyA 17
Rock 15
yabsab 13
Sacsri 12
Terrorterran 11
ajuk12(nOOB) 11
SilentControl 9
ivOry 7
Dota 2
Gorgc6118
qojqva2953
Dendi1232
XcaliburYe189
Counter-Strike
zeus840
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor24
Other Games
hiko1014
DeMusliM434
Lowko389
Hui .316
ArmadaUGS116
oskar101
SortOf71
KnowMe25
ZerO(Twitch)24
Organizations
StarCraft: Brood War
UltimateBattle 1291
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 16 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• StrangeGG 43
• poizon28 3
• intothetv
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• C_a_k_e 3536
• WagamamaTV512
League of Legends
• Nemesis4655
• Jankos1315
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
9h 21m
The PondCast
19h 21m
RSL Revival
19h 21m
Maru vs SHIN
MaNa vs MaxPax
Maestros of the Game
1d 2h
Classic vs TriGGeR
Reynor vs SHIN
OSC
1d 12h
MaNa vs SHIN
SKillous vs ShoWTimE
Bunny vs TBD
Cham vs TBD
RSL Revival
1d 19h
Reynor vs Astrea
Classic vs sOs
Maestros of the Game
2 days
Serral vs Ryung
ByuN vs Zoun
BSL Team Wars
2 days
Team Bonyth vs Team Dewalt
CranKy Ducklings
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
GuMiho vs Cham
ByuN vs TriGGeR
[ Show More ]
Cosmonarchy
2 days
TriGGeR vs YoungYakov
YoungYakov vs HonMonO
HonMonO vs TriGGeR
Maestros of the Game
3 days
Solar vs Bunny
Clem vs Rogue
[BSL 2025] Weekly
3 days
RSL Revival
3 days
Cure vs Bunny
Creator vs Zoun
Maestros of the Game
4 days
Maru vs Lambo
herO vs ShoWTimE
BSL Team Wars
4 days
Team Hawk vs Team Sziky
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
Monday Night Weeklies
5 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSL Season 18: Qualifier 2
SEL Season 2 Championship
HCC Europe

Ongoing

Copa Latinoamericana 4
BSL 20 Team Wars
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 3
BSL 21 Qualifiers
ASL Season 20
CSL 2025 AUTUMN (S18)
Maestros of the Game
Sisters' Call Cup
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025

Upcoming

LASL Season 20
2025 Chongqing Offline CUP
BSL Season 21
BSL 21 Team A
Chzzk MurlocKing SC1 vs SC2 Cup #2
RSL Revival: Season 2
EC S1
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
Skyesports Masters 2025
IEM Chengdu 2025
PGL Masters Bucharest 2025
Thunderpick World Champ.
MESA Nomadic Masters Fall
CS Asia Championships 2025
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
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 © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.