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5.0.15 Balance Patch Notes (Live version)

Forum Index > SC2 General
119 CommentsPost a Reply
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TL.net ESPORTS
Profile Joined July 2011
4 Posts
October 01 2025 09:05 GMT
#1
Blizzard has released the 5.0.15 balance patch for StarCraft II: official post + patch notes


We are happy to bring 5.0.15 Live, which contains various balance changes, bug fixes, and quality of life improvements. We want to thank all the community contributors who provided valuable feedback during our PTR period.

Zerg
  • Spire cost reduced from 200/200 to 150/150.
  • Spire build time reduced from 71 seconds to 66 seconds.
  • Centrifugal Hooks now give +5 HP bonus to Banelings again.
  • Microbial Shroud reduces range attacks by 50% damage.
  • Microbial Shroud effect no longer persists for a few seconds after the unit has left the shroud.
  • Microbial Shroud cost increased from 75 to 100.
  • Microbial Shroud now requires an upgrade again (150/150).


Protoss
  • Energy Recharge grant has been reduced from 100 to 50 energy.
  • Energy Recharge cooldown reduced from 60 to 45 seconds.
  • Mothership movement speed reduced from 2.83 to 2.25.
  • Psionic Storm changed from 80 damage over 3 seconds to 140 damage over 6 seconds (26.7 DPS > 23.3 DPS).
  • Psionic Storm radius increased from 1.5 to 2.
  • Psionic Storm range reduced from 9 to 8.
  • Dark Templar Blink attack delay reduced from 0.75 to 0.25.
  • Surveillance mode now reveals the Observers.
  • Surveillance mode increases vision from 13.75 to 15.
  • Purification cooldown reduced from 21.4 seconds to 17 seconds.
  • Stasis Ward duration reduced from 170 seconds to 90 seconds.


Terran
  • Siege Tank can no longer be abducted when in siege mode.
  • Viking cost reduced from 150/75 to 125/75.
  • Drilling Claws effectiveness increased from 1.07 to 0.71 seconds.
  • Hyperflight Rotors research time decreased to from 100 to 79 seconds.
  • Liberator Sight reduced from 10 to 9.
  • Ghost supply reduced from 3 to 2.
  • Ghost now has light attribute.


Bug Fixes
  • Updated Protoss AoE UI indicator.
  • Fixed an issue where units with beam attacks would conflate each other's cooldowns.
  • Fixed an issue where Probes would become unresponsive near Assimilators.
  • Fixed an issue with Cyclone attack upgrade giving +1 instead of +2.
  • Fixed an issue with Mothership attacking at max range.
  • Fixed an issue with Cyclone Lock-On Cooldown.
  • Fixed an issue with Orbital Commands not auto-rallying.
  • Fixed an issue where Mothership had a redundant Psionic tag.
  • Fixed an issue where Mothership weapon behaved erratically when targeting Changelings.
  • Fixed an issue where Mothership was unable to designate and maintain the correct number of targets (4) for target-firing (including during movement).
  • Fixed an issue where Mothership's target-acquiring process would cause it to overly-prioritize low-priority targets (such as Larvae).
  • Fixed an issue where Mothership's range was less than intended.
  • Fixed an issue where units unloaded out of transports would not reset their acquired attack target to the closest unit.
  • Fixed an issue where Commands with add-on build would be issued to the same Barracks repeatedly rather than spread out.
  • Fixed an issue where hitting the key to construct an add-on twice could result in the production structure lifting when certain settings were used.
  • Fixed an issue where "Set Rally" could not be issued if both flying and ground structures were simultaneously selected.
  • Fixed an issue where visual effects from abilities could be seen through the fog of war (Parasitic Bomb, Stimpack).
  • Fixed an issue where visual effects from abilities could not be seen even when large portions of the model were well within vision range (Guardian Shield, Microbial Shroud).
  • Fixed an issue where Disruptors lacked an AoE indicator.
  • Fixed an issue where Stasis Wards had no pre-placement visual indicator or sound.
  • Fixed an issue where Liberators could designate an attack target while morphing from AG to AA, but not while morphing from AA to AG.
  • Fixed an issue where Liberators commanded to siege in areas inside their range could result in slower execution than being commanded to siege outside their range.
  • Fixed an issue where the model for Zerg 6x6 rocks was set to be too large for its footprint, and projectiles would not produce flesh squibs.
  • Fixed an issue where Ravagers would glide along the ground if told to move command after issuing corrosive bile.
  • Fixed an issue where no target impact animation was present for Corrosive Bile.
  • Fixed an issue where Broodlings could greatly delay launching or fail to launch toward their target, depending on their position relative to the broodlord.
  • Improved Microbial Shroud particle effects for units within the shroud, particularly as certain map lighting could cause bright flashing lights.
  • Fixed an issue where players could accidentally drain excess health while attempting to cast Stimpack (It now has a very short cooldown to prevent rapid re-cast).
  • Fixed an issue where Cyclones hit by a Lurker spine would instantly go into Lock-On cooldown.
  • Fixed an issue where Cyclone Lock-On projectiles would damage targets even if the target had escaped detection before impact.
  • Fixed an issue where Contaminate could be cast on targets that could not research or train units (like Creep Tumors).
  • Fixed an issue where 'damaged' graphics would not trigger on Rich Refineries/Extractors.
  • Fixed an impactful balance issue where Motherships were not playing their coolest available visual animation while constructing. This is intended to buff Protoss visually.
  • Updated turning/position visuals for Reapers, Hellions, and Cyclones.
  • Fixed an issue where Dark Templar attack sounds would complete regardless of whether a unit had been dealt damage.
  • Adjusted smartcast behavior for Caustic Spray and Consume abilities. This is intended to reduce the reliance on 'Rapidfire' settings for optimal use.
  • Fixed an issue where Locusts spawned simultaneously would have perfectly synchronized animations rather than behaving like a swarm.
  • Fixed an issue where researching Hi-Sec Auto Tracking would not update its level on the icon of units it affected.
  • Increased allied push priority for Thors and Siege Tanks. Intended to assist bulky units in pathfinding when surrounded by many small friendly units.
  • Fixed an issue where Reaper's rapid regeneration model would persist above its transport.
  • Fixed an issue where Siege Tank impact fire model would persist above its target's transport.
  • Fixed an issue where Siege Tank impact craters would disappear and reappear if the target was picked up/dropped out of a transport.
  • Fixed an issue where Thor's High-Impact weapon made no launch sound.
  • Fixed an issue where KD-8 Charge could cause ground units to resemble air units by moving them to a different height plane.
  • Fixed an issue where KD-8 Charge knockback animation would persist on units that were no longer being knocked back.
  • Added polish to the casting of Microbial Shroud via a short cast finish time.
  • Fixed an issue where the rich Assimilators' shield armor icon would not update with shield upgrades.
  • Fixed an issue where it was difficult to tell the progression of Lurker spikes underneath clumps of units.
  • Fixed an issue where Lurker spine damage was desynced substantially with its visual effects due to the visual spine taking too long to appear.
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TL+ Member
redloser
Profile Joined May 2011
Korea (South)1749 Posts
October 01 2025 09:09 GMT
#2
man it'd be nice had they at least stated the purpose of the changes (e.g. they find PvZ midgame was too weak for P in pro game so we buff storm, etc.) instead of just churning out patches with no remarks
MiCroLiFe
Profile Joined March 2012
Norway275 Posts
October 01 2025 09:41 GMT
#3
Storm is actually better than it was before
Im Terran. Yes i will balance whine somethimes. And thats how we terrans survive, Hoping for balance patches<3
MJG
Profile Joined May 2018
United Kingdom1451 Posts
October 01 2025 10:44 GMT
#4
At least it looks playable, unlike the initial proposals.
puking up frothing vitriolic sarcastic spittle
MiCroLiFe
Profile Joined March 2012
Norway275 Posts
October 01 2025 10:49 GMT
#5
Protoss is even more safe now:/ terrans stil have to do all ins
Im Terran. Yes i will balance whine somethimes. And thats how we terrans survive, Hoping for balance patches<3
CicadaSC
Profile Joined January 2018
United States1900 Posts
October 01 2025 10:55 GMT
#6
loved what i saw in patch so far.
Remember that we all come from a place of passion!!
Kreuger
Profile Joined October 2011
Sweden845 Posts
October 01 2025 11:07 GMT
#7
Will be fun seeing how this will play out in the coming weeks
derkopf
Profile Joined July 2004
Germany85 Posts
October 01 2025 11:17 GMT
#8
not having a changelog in the game-client itself is a silly one
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20326 Posts
October 01 2025 11:57 GMT
#9
How long til we have a community mod reverting this?
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
tigera6
Profile Joined March 2021
3482 Posts
October 01 2025 12:21 GMT
#10
First online cup with the new patch and we have 7 1/2 Protoss in top 8, look promising.
Kreuger
Profile Joined October 2011
Sweden845 Posts
October 01 2025 12:23 GMT
#11
Looking at the matchups, maybe 1-2 of those tosses are a suprise but nothing special otherwise
MJG
Profile Joined May 2018
United Kingdom1451 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-10-01 13:02:42
October 01 2025 13:01 GMT
#12
On October 01 2025 21:21 tigera6 wrote:
First online cup with the new patch and we have 7 1/2 Protoss in top 8, look promising.

(Wiki)LiuLi Cup/Weekly/8

Which Ro16 match-ups do you think are upsets caused by balance?

Clem is only 1/3 a Protoss btw...
puking up frothing vitriolic sarcastic spittle
CicadaSC
Profile Joined January 2018
United States1900 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-10-01 13:06:39
October 01 2025 13:05 GMT
#13
On October 01 2025 21:21 tigera6 wrote:
First online cup with the new patch and we have 7 1/2 Protoss in top 8, look promising.

lots more top protoss play than zerg or terran, you can look at noteable signups list on liquipedia... everyone knows protoss dominate weekly cups along with clem and well... this looks about what you would expect any patch. get serral and reynor and everyone else in there and then maybe we can have a discussion about balance. Also, i will note it is still early, so even then idk if i would even buy that. meta def gotta settle on this one.

For me, i think after RSL season 3 i will have a much better picture on the state of this patch.
Remember that we all come from a place of passion!!
Ciaus237
Profile Joined July 2015
South Africa287 Posts
October 01 2025 13:58 GMT
#14
The idea that Serral and Reynor are the only Zergs relevant for balance (and that the near absence of the race from smaller cups is not relevant) is an... interesting one.
The time that we kill keeps us alive
Charoisaur
Profile Joined August 2014
Germany16062 Posts
October 01 2025 14:23 GMT
#15
Zerg will be crazy this patch. 40 hp Banes that smash Ghosts, buffed Mutas, Mini dark swarm, and bugfixed Broodlords and Cyclones.
At least the buffed units are fun (minus the broodlord)
Many of the coolest moments in sc2 happen due to worker harassment
Moonerz
Profile Joined March 2014
United States461 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-10-01 15:02:22
October 01 2025 15:00 GMT
#16
Didnt realize this had gone live until I played a game last night and someone sieged an observer and I killed it.

Ultimately terran feels like it comes out the loser by a decent margin in this patch.

TvP maybe got a little better since toss won't be able to maintain vision as easily especially at f2 levels. But gonna have to see how that works out.

TvZ yeah I think zerg clearly gets some help in exchange for yoinking tanks.
dysenterymd
Profile Joined January 2019
1250 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-10-01 15:06:50
October 01 2025 15:05 GMT
#17
On October 01 2025 22:58 Ciaus237 wrote:
The idea that Serral and Reynor are the only Zergs relevant for balance (and that the near absence of the race from smaller cups is not relevant) is an... interesting one.

I think the performance of players like Solar/Shin against players like Showtime/Zoun and Cure/Byun (the A- tier players of their race, for lack of a better term. Maybe that's unfair to Cure because he has great results but I still put him below Maru/Clem) is absolutely relevant. I do question the relevance of smaller cups though. The best Terran (Clem) and the three best Protoss all like playing small cups, while only some good Zerg do, and those that do aren't nearly as prolific.

Could that be because playing Protoss is so unfun for Zerg that they choose not to play cups? It could be. But also with the dearth of top players in general, it's totally feasible that by chance the top Zerg we have just aren't too inclined towards cup play. A tournament like RSL with decent prize pool will be far more instructive.
Serral | Inno | sOs | soO | Has | Classic
[PkF] Wire
Profile Joined March 2013
France24238 Posts
October 01 2025 15:34 GMT
#18
not gonna lie, the first tourney on the patch didn't look good. Overcharge got reasonably nerfed but I didn't realize how much stronger the new storm was ; those being the main changes aimed at TvP which was very imbalanced, I don't see how this is going to solve it. Even a slight storm buff would have been questionable (the overcharge nerf was needed and, if we agree TvP was massively problematic, didn't need to have any counterpart), but here ? I genuinely already hope this iteration doesn't last the year.
Charoisaur
Profile Joined August 2014
Germany16062 Posts
October 01 2025 15:35 GMT
#19
Fixed an impactful balance issue where Motherships were not playing their coolest available visual animation while constructing. This is intended to buff Protoss visually.

The intern was surely having fun
Many of the coolest moments in sc2 happen due to worker harassment
Admiral Yang
Profile Joined July 2025
47 Posts
October 01 2025 16:15 GMT
#20
everyone knows protoss dominate weekly cups along with clem and well... this looks about what you would expect any patch


Is it unreasonable to say that this is exactly what a balance patch is supposed to address?
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