EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/avoXz.jpg)
Queen of Blades, Heart of the Swarm. [1]
Introduction
Before we can begin discussing StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (HotS), we need to take a step back to appreciate what Wings of Liberty has done for the eSports as a whole.
Regardless of what you may think about Wings when it comes to balance, maps, interface or Battle.net, nobody can deny that the last few years has been the absolute Golden Age for StarCraft in the international scene. Before Wings, professional StarCraft was only visible in South Korea, where it was jokingly considered one of two primary sports in the land (the other being Soccer). These days, the StarCraft flag can been seen across the globe at the forefront of every major eSports event. The transition from BroodWar to Wings of Liberty has brought more than just money and relevance to the hardworking progamers, talented writers, community members and enthusiasts of all things StarCraft (especially those outside of Korea), it brought along a complete paradigm shift to global eSports, itself. In recent times, we began seeing StarCraft personalities such as Sean "Day[9]" Plott in Forbes Magazine[2], we witness CNN covering the World Cyber Games [3], and we hear news of major television networks to begin airing top StarCraft tournaments on national television [4].
So with the first expansion to StarCraft II on the horizon, we must must seek to answer some important questions regarding the future of series: Will Heart of the Swarm once again shake the foundation of competitive gaming the same way its predecessor, Wings of Liberty, did? Will we see another great leap forward in the industry? If the recent introduction of KeSPA players on American soil at MLG Anaheim is any evidence of things to come, then I am willing to bet yes on both counts....StarCraft is only going to get better!
Indeed, the future of eSports rides on the fate of Heart of the Swarm. But is it even a good game? Does it introduce enough new strategies for the players or deliver a better viewing experience for the spectators?
Having attended MLG Anaheim where I got to test out an early build of Heart of the Swarm, I will now attempt to give my semi-unbiased review (I play Zerg) of the game by introducing the new units and then answering the following key questions for each:
1. Will this unit increase the competitive skill ceiling of StarCraft?
2. Will it be spectator friendly?
3. Does it fill a gap in the existing strategic play in Wings of Liberty?
4. How will this unit affect the balance of the game and does it create any potential problems?
I am going to avoid discussing unit costs in this article because those numbers can easily be changed at a drop of a hat once beta rolls out this summer, instead, this review will only address each unit's core design and how the existence of such a unit will change the current world of competitive Starcraft.
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/fClr6.jpg)
Protoss
What better way to start than with the sons of Aiur, the Protoss race. Created before the dawn of the Zerg Swarm and vastly more technologically advance than the Terran Dominion, the "first born" of the Xel'Naga holds a special place in the hearts of many StarCraft fans. The current build of Heart of the Swarm introduces three big changes to how Protoss will be played by giving players control of the Oracle, the Mothership Core and the Tempest.
New Units
Oracle
The Oracle is a fast flying caster unit that is built from the Protoss StarGate. The unit itself has no attacks, but has several abilities that can be deployed to raid enemy bases as well as support the Protoss core army. The first of which is
Entombed : a spell which casts an Area of Effect (AOE) destructible barrier around all minerals in a selected region. This form of economic harassment is unique to the StarCraft universe, as it is the only one of its kind to spare the lives of opponent's workers. Instead, it directly prevents resources from being mined by obstructing access to the source.
![[image loading]](http://images.wikia.com/starcraft/images/9/9f/Oracle_HotS_Game1.JPG)
Protoss Oracle using the ability Entombed
In Wings of Liberty, there are relatively few ways a Protoss can harass an enemy base without heavily committing resources to such attacks. The Oracle unit with its Entombed ability offers a way to address this weakness in Aiur's arsenal.
However, in the current build of game, Entombed seems too strong. For 75 energy, one Oracle can disrupt an entire mining base for up to 30 seconds! The barriers can be broken by attacking them with troops or placing defensive structures such as spine crawlers or photon cannons around the mineral line. However, it still takes time to break these barriers. Ultimately, if you get hit by Entombed, you will take some unavoidable level of economic damage.
Preventive strategies against entombed are also limited. The Oracle is an extremely agile unit with a movement speed of 3.75 (mutalisks have speed 3.25), making it considerably harder to catch and destroy than other raider units. Furthermore, the game currently gives no alert message when someone has been targeted by entombed, which means that it is not only possible, but also quite probable, that an entombed attack goes completely unnoticed by the opposing player.
That being said, if the numbers are tweaked well enough (lower range of casting entombed, lower health of the barrier, lower speed of Oracle), the Oracle and its entombed ability should enrich the experience of both players and spectators of StarCraft. Competitive wise, the dispensation and prevention of entombed harassment will raise the skill ceiling for professional players as well as give spectators another reason to gasp at the screen (we all love knowing something the competitors do not). This ability also gives the Protoss race a certain edge that they currently lack in regards to dictating the pace of the game by controlling the opponent's flow of income.
Entombed Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 5/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: NERF IT (lower casting range, lower barrier health)
Preordain is the second ability unique to the Oracle. It can be cast on any building (including your own), upon which it grants temporary vision with a radius of 12 and information on the activities which the building is actively engaged in, such as what troops are being trained or what upgrades are being researched. More importantly, the buildings affected by Preordain temporarily gains the ability to detect cloak or burrowed units!
This change is absolutely huge!
Terran Command Center being affected by Preordain.
In Wings of Liberty, Protoss is often forced down the robotics tech path first in order to simply not die to cloaked enemy attacks. A simple cloaked banshee timing can force a "gg" from Protoss players without a robotics facility. Thus, choosing to tech to StarGate or Templar was extremely risky as it leaves a gaping vulnerability in the Protoss's defense. The addition of the Oracle will change the way Protoss is played by allowing safer StarGate openings. A player being raided by cloaked attacks can now throw down Preordain on his own building to stave off such attacks. It should be noted that Preordain does not replace the need for to build an observer. Without a dedicated detector unit, the Protoss army will still be vulnerable to cloaked enemy attacks should the battles be waged in a remote location.
As a spectator, I've seen too many games abruptly end just because Protoss was not able to get detection in time. Preordain will likely discourage cheesy play against Protoss. At the same time, it might encourage more cheesy plays from the Protoss, themselves. We can expect to see more multi-StarGate open against both Terran and Zerg as these openings now have fewer weaknesses. I am unsure if Preordain will make the games more enjoyable to watch or increase the overall quality of StarCraft matches, though I expect Protoss to employ much more aggressive builds in the future.
Skill wise, I do not see Preordain doing anything other than making the game easier for the Protoss race. It's a simple click and run and you have vision for 2 minutes. This ability requires little micro from the Protoss player and there's really not much the opponent can do once Preordain hits. I think 2 minutes is an awfully long time for an ability to last and would love to see it reduced to about 30 seconds. This way, the Protoss player would still need to actively scout the opponent's base, instead of just once in a while and having guaranteed vision to so many things.
Preordain Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 0/5
Spectator Friendly: 2/5
Serving a Purpose: 3/5
Balance: NERF IT (lower duration of effect)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/XRu1n.jpg)
Oracle using Cloak Field
The final ability bestowed on the Oracle is perhaps one I am most excited about :
the rebirth of Brood War's Arbiter in StarCraft II...
Cloak Field
This ability alone makes me want to play as Protoss. Cloak Field is no longer a passive ability as it was on the Arbiter or Mothership, instead, it costs 100 energy to activate and affects all friendly units and buildings around the Oracle at a range of 7 for 60 seconds. It is incredibly powerful when used in conjunction with the Mothership Core's (which refills the Oracle's energy stock).
Currently, cloak field requires no research, so one can use it as soon as an Oracle is trained (given enough energy). This design is quite susceptible to creating cheesy cloak rushes in which an Oracle accompanies a 4-Gate StarGate aggression.
Again, the movement speed of the Oracle is a concern. Since the unit can still move at blinding speed even with the cloak field deployed, cloak rushes became surprisingly difficult to deal with as there are few units that can chase down an Oracle in early game. Given how strong cloak field is and how easily it can be abused, I would like to see this ability as an upgrade available at the fleet beacon. This would give Protoss players more incentive to build the ever expensive beacon to round out their late game tech. Another approach to balance out cloak field is to decrease the movement speed of the Oracle while the ability is active. This will give the opposition a reasonable fighting chance to fend off Oracle supported attacks.
The cloak field should be an exceptional addition to the the Protoss repertoire. We can expect to see Oracles dancing behind the armies of Aiur as enemy fleets attempt to snipe them off one by one. This ability will undoubtedly increase the level of micromanagement required from both players in late game confrontations as well as increase the need for careful consideration before major engagements. It is also expected that cloak field will be quite spectator friendly because it increases the diversity of strategies available to competitors; there are simply few things in StarCraft as satisfying as seeing professional players outsmart one another.
Cloak Field Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 4/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 4/5
Balance: NERF IT (upgrade at Fleet Beacon, slower Oracle movement speed while active)
Overall the Oracle is a unit with incredible versatility. Entomb allows Protoss the ability to harass and control the enemy's income, Preordain gives Protoss another way to scouting the opponent's base as well as safer transition from StarGate openings and Cloak Field brings back some of that Brood War magic that had been lost in Wings of Liberty. If the blinding speed of the Oracle was toned down a bit, the addition of this unit would tremendously rewarding for StarCraft players and spectators, alike.
Oracle Overall Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 5/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: NERF IT (lower movement speed)
Tempest
There's been a lot of talk about the Protoss Tempest recently in StarCraft communities around the globe. So what exactly is it about this unit that gives it so much press? The answer is simple: The Tempest does 60 damage every 6 seconds to a single target at a range of 22!
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ieBYq.jpg)
This might be old news to many of you, but let's take a moment to consider why we are so concerned about such a unit. For starters, if we were to compare the Tempest to long range siege options available in Wings of Liberty, we would find that the unit with the next longest range after the Tempest is the Siege Tank, which has a range of 13 (and we Zergs know how difficult Siege Tanks are to deal with). So exactly how long is this 22 range? From my play testing, the Tempest can literally shoot targets that are not even on screen! Now the unit only attacks once every 6 seconds. The low DPS was a conscious design decision made by the developers to balance out this unit's ridiculous sieging capabilities.
I have many problems with this unit, but let's talk about the most obvious one. The Tempest is not spectator friendly. Nobody wants to see players being shot at by something off screen. When a marine fires at a zergling on screen, that's a story arc: you know who the characters are, what they are doing and how they ultimately meet their ends. The Tempest, in contrast, is unappealing because it doesn't tell the whole story: there is something off camera firing at something on camera. This kind of narrative does not engage an audience. When spectators cannot fully see what is happening, they often become disconnected with the drama on screen and will ultimately lose interest. It is thus for the betterment of eSports that the range of the Tempest be reduced to a more reasonable value.
The second problem I have with the Tempest is that it is actually quite worthless. This is the unit that was suppose to replace the Carrier as the Protoss late game golden ship of hope. Instead we get an overpriced photon cannon that does absolutely nothing: It cannot raid because it cannot run away fast enough, it cannot engage in small skirmishes because the attacks are too slow and it cannot engage in large scale battles because it does no damage! Even in casual games, massing Tempests is about the worst thing anyone can do, as your maxed out army does less damage than a handful of stimmed marines.
So what the hell is this unit used for?! Blizzard seems to want Protoss players to use the Tempest against Siege Tanks...
as if Siege Tanks were ever a problem in the PvT matchup!
What about infestor/broodlords? You know what else is good with dealing with mass infestor/broodlords?
THE FREAKING CARRIER!!!
+ Show Spoiler +
Heck why not just give the carrier a range of 22...
Tempest Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 1/5
Spectator Friendly: 0/5
Serving a Purpose: 0/5
Balance: AXE IT!
WE DEMAND THE CARRIER
Mothership Core
This is by far the best new unit introduced in Heart of the Swarm, not because of how cool looks or how much damage it can deal out, but because it has the potential to redefine the most boring matchup in the StarCraft universe: Protoss vs. Protoss (PvP). The Mothership Core (MSCore) is a new concept unit that can be built very early in the game at virtually no cost. It requires no additional structures other than a Nexus and some gas to construct, but players may only have one MSCore on the field at a time. The MSCore is completely immobile and must always attach itself to a Nexus, but can be teleported between Nexi at the cost of 25 energy. It is given three abilities: Purify, Energize and Mass Recall.
Purify
Purify is a defensive ability that turns the Mothership Core into a powerful, rapid firing photon cannon, dealing 60 damage every 1.25 seconds for 20 seconds.
Mothership core lights up and fires at enemy units when Purify as used.
A large reason why many professional StarCraft players and fans regard PvP to be the worst matchup in the game is because how often it devolves into a WarpGate vs WarpGate slugfest. There are a couple of problems with this strategy: it makes the battles quite monotonous, the games usually end before12 minutes mark, and the matches become incredibly coinflippy, being more dependent on luck rather than skills. There's a saying in the StarCraft community that anything can happen in PvP. A good player can lose to a poor one just because his warp-ins are slightly slower or that he made one too many probes more than his opponent.
So why is it that PvP has remained so stale, even with the countless patches Blizzard has implemented trying to save it? The core of this problem lies with the fact that there exists no defender's advantage when it comes to defending WarpGate attacks. Since warptech bypasses the distance between bases, both aggressor and defender have the same reinforcement speed, making it extremely difficult to hold the line when enemy forces are at your front door. The developers have done a lot to salvage what they could from PvP, from increasing warpgate research time, reducing the effectiveness of early blink-tech aggression to changing the way the high ground mechanic works in the game. Yet for all their efforts, the problem remains: lack of a true defender's advantage.
The Purify ability will rectify this problem by giving the defending Protoss player a little bit extra firepower to withstand aggressive WarpGate plays. My only problem with this ability right now from playtest-experience is that it still seems a little too weak and is nothing more than glorified photon cannon. I would like to either see a slight buff to the damage output or an increase to the cannon's rate of fire.
Since the Mothership Core can be transfered between Nexi, it is expected that Protoss fast-expansion builds will become safer and more viable in all matchups. Purify will vastly improve the quality of PvP games and will make what was once the worst matchup in StarCraft II a bit more bearable to watch. Who knows, maybe by this time next year, we might even get to see what late-game PvP actually looks like.
Purify Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 3/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: BUFF IT (slight increase to damage output or rate of fire)
Energize
This is the second ability given to the Mothership Core. Energize fills up the energy stock of any friendly unit or building at a rate of 25 per second until it is fully charged.
Honeslty, I am quite torn about this ability. For a long time fans have demanded that Blizzard bring back the Shield Battery from BroodWars in order to give Protoss some sort of advantage while defending home territory. The Energize ability does not quite accomplish this aim. Instead of using this ability for defensive measures, play-testers at Anaheim have opted to use it for aggressive ends. By Energizing the Protoss Nexus, players could gain access to the "infinite chrono boost," by which multiple structures could all be accelerated in a short period of time. Offensive builds that took advantage of this infinite chrono boost technique could be downright game-breaking, as it allows much faster WarpGate cooldowns and Protoss upgrades to finish much more quickly. Cloak Field Oracle-rushes were also frequently used with the assistance of the Mothership Core. The Energize ability may be hard to balance as its existence is prone to early game abuse, though we will not be able to judge fully until the beta comes out.
What is still intriguing about Energize is that it does open up a lot of interesting builds and strategies. High Templar warp-ins with immediate Psionic Storm capabilities will once again be available to Protoss players, albeit near a Nexus...though it does make me wonder how good proxy Nexi may become later down the road. As a spectator, I expect Energize to bring about more enjoyable matches due to the sheer variety of builds Protoss can do with it. As a casual player, I'm dreading it a little bit. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
Energize Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 3/5
Spectator Friendly: 4/5
Serving a Purpose: 2/5
Balance: Undecided
Mass Recall
The final ability, Mass Recall, rounds out the Mothership Core's role as a defensive caster.
Mass Recall, originally a late-game tech available on the Mothership in Wings of Liberty, has been reallocated to the MSCore to be used as an emergency-defense and rescue maneuver. For Diablo fans out there, this skill should be renamed as "Scroll of Town Portal," because that is exactly what it does. Using 150 energy (almost all the MSCore's reserves), the Protoss army can be teleported to any Nexus that has a Core attached.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/lnQYz.jpg)
Mothership Core using Mass Recall
There are legitimate reasons why Protoss players need Mass Recall this early on. The Protoss army in Wings of Liberty is often criticized for being one-dimensional, frequently resorting to a "death-ball" style across all match ups. Several facts about the race can help explain why this has been the preferred style of play since the release of the game. In Wings, Protoss has relatively few options to raid enemy bases, Protoss units are incredibly immobile that they are often lost once deployed and because these units are so expensive, losing them could set a Protoss player miles behind his opponent in a match. These problems may have driven many pro-gamers to play either very conservatively (creating a death-ball) or very all-inny (2 base, 8-gate, MC-style).
The immobility of the Protoss army will often result in scenarios where Protoss players are unable to defend their bases once they have committed to an attack. It is also difficult for Protoss to split their army in smaller fractions in order to both defend and attack, as the efficiency of their forces decrease exponentially when used in smaller groups. Many times, Protoss players are forced into a base-race scenario, even when they are ahead. Such a situation puts the Protoss at a disadvantage, since their buildings cost more than those of the other two races.
Mass Recall is thus a welcomed addition to the Protoss's compendium of special abilities, as it will allow Protoss units to audaciously venture beyond enemy lines in order to pressure or take out key buildings without fear that such maneuvers could cost them the game. We can expect to see more "special tactics" from these players as well as witness Protoss engage in skirmishes that they wouldn't have otherwise attempted in Wings. Early access to Mass Recall will completely change the way people play this race and will likely make Protoss games more enjoyable, both to play and to spectate.
Mass Recall Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 5/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: EXCELLENT!
The Mothership Core as a whole is an incredible invention by Blizzard, perhaps the best unit they have ever designed in the history of StarCraft II. The amount of changes this single unit can bring about to the Protoss metagame is astronomical. I cannot wait to see what brave new world lies waiting next year when we finally get to see one in action.
Mothership Core Overall Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 5/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: PERFECT!
Other Changes
Mothership
I guess we should first be thankful that this unit has not been taken out of the game as originally planned. The Mothership has always been a crowd pleaser. This capital ship has been gaining relevance in modern times against both the Zerg Swarm and the Terran Forces. It is currently being used as an end-game WMD (weapon of mass destrucion) by means of the fabled Vortex-Archon (archon toilet) maneuver.
Mama lives!!
There has been a few key modifications made to the Mothership in Heart of the Swarm.
First of all, the Mothership is no longer "constructed" from a Nexus, instead, it exists as an upgraded form of the Mothership Core. Say what you will, but there is something magical about seeing the Mothership Core gaining wings and taking flight off from a Nexus for the first time.
The new Mothership has lost the ability to passively cloak friendly units and buildings around her; the Cloak Field now belongs to the Oracle. She retains the ability Mass Recall from Wings and players still can only have one Mothership out at a time.
The biggest change comes from the redesign of the Mothership's army disruption abilities:
Vortex now only targets ground units, while a new spell,
Stasis, immobilizes all air forces around the Mothership (including the Mothership, herself!) with a range of about 7. As with Vortex, units that are affected by Stasis are immune to damage.
The idea to split Vortex up into two abilities is an ingenious one as it solves quite a few problems that exist with the current Mothership from Wings. The issue people have with the earlier iteration of the Mothership Vortex was that the victor of the final confrontation would seemingly be random: If Vortex lands on the opposing army, Protoss wins; if Vortex doesn't land, Protoss loses. The coin-flip nature of this endgame scenario has turned-off a lot of fans who want to see a demonstration of skills from both parties instead of a draw of luck.
Vortex being split up into two spells gives the owner of the Mothership choice: One can choose to disable the opponent's air forces or their ground one.
Currently, one of the most problematic late game army composition for Protoss players is the Infestor/Broodlord composition. The strength of this Zerg army lies upon how well the Broodlords and Infestors synergize with one another. The endless spawns of broodlings from the aerial Broodlords deal the damage, while the terrestrial Infestors root the Protoss army in place using Fungal Growth. Infestor/Broods are incredibly frustrating for Protoss players when they are together, but if the Infestors were separated from the Broodlords by means of a well placed Mothership spell, then the Zerg army falls apart.
Thus with Stasis and Vortex, the Protoss can disrupt and severely weaken the Zerg's death-ball army without actually killing anything. If Stasis hits all the Broodlords, then the Protoss army could easily move into position to kill the Infestors. If Vortex hits the Infestors, then the Broodlords are left defenseless. Whichever the case, these two Mothership spells can greatly stem the tide of battle in Aiur's favor. The Zerg player gets the benefit of knowing that one Archon-Toilet won't destroy his entire army anymore. Furthermore, with careful army positioning, the threats of Vortex and Stasis can still be mitigated. I am uncertain of how strong these abilities will play out in a professional setting, though I am excited that the coin-flip nature of Vortex from Wings has somewhat been addressed.
Mothership Changes Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 3/5
Spectator Friendly: 3/5
Serving a Purpose: 3/5
Balance: Undetermined
Protoss Overview
There are concerns within the community that Heart of the Swarm will not bring enough enhancements to the Protoss race as it could. I want to assure you that these changes may seem few on paper, but they are extremely significant in practice. Though Protoss did not receive any game breaking new units, and the new capital ship remains a big let down, the inclusion of the Mothership Core and the Oracle will no doubt reset everything we know about the Protoss race. Now if only we can get that Carrier back...
Protoss in HotS Overview:
New Units: 4/5
Gameplay Improvement: 5/5
Fix Existing Issues: 5/5
Final Word: CARRIER
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/jvkZf.png)
Terran
The Terran race has been a dominate force in competitive play since the release of Wings of Liberty. Lately, the race has fallen on hard times as Protoss and Zerg began to challenge Terran's tournament supremacy. A myriad of balance nerfs directed at Terran, coupled with better match-up understanding from the other two races have left many Terran players yearning for new strategies promised in the upcoming expansion. Heart of the Swarm will introduce Terran players to the command of three new units: The Battle Hellion, the Warhound and the Widow Mine.
New Units
Battle Hellion
The Battle Hellion is a new alternate form of the Wings of Liberty Hellion. The unit is able to transform between its battle and vehicular state at will. When constructed at the factory, the Hellion will emerge in its battle form. No research is required for the transformation of the Hellion between its two modes of appearance. An additional 45 health is added to the maximum HP of the Hellion when it is in its battle armor. Battle Hellions do slightly more damage (2 points more) and has a wider arc attack than vehicular ones.
![[image loading]](http://static2.dmcdn.net/static/video/364/950/46059463:jpeg_preview_large.jpg?20120609152156)
The Battle Hellion was born out of necessity to address the late-game TvP match up where mass Zealot warp-ins from Protoss would often times overrun the Terran army. The problem arises from two fronts:
I. Late game Zealots warp-ins is an exceedingly efficient mineral dump for Protoss players and they can be rallied anywhere Protoss has a simple pylon set up. WarpGate tech reinforces more quickly than Terran production can match because Protoss troops can be rallied much closer to the front lines.
II. Terran Mech builds are simply not able to stand up to Protoss armies. As such, Terran players are forced to into using biological armies, which have higher DPS at the cost of having very little health and requiring dedicated micro to be cost-efficient. Strategic wise, the Terran army loses a lot of ground when it is forced to studder-step micro backwards against mass Zealots. In addition, it becomes increasingly difficult for Terran to contain the Protoss army after Zealot-Charge has been researched.
This causes late game TvP to be very taxing on the Terran players, as they constantly need to keep up with reinforcements at a disadvantage while carefully microing troops to avoid complete annihilation.
This is where the Battle Hellion comes in. The unit has a higher pool of health than vehicular hellions, and is capable of standing up to Zealots cost for cost without the constant need of being microed. In gameplay, Battle Hellions are straight forward to use: you just kind of attack move them into enemy units. However, having light-classed armor, Battle Hellions are still vulnerable to other Hellions, Banelings and Collosi.
From playtest experience, I did not notice how much Battle Hellions have changed TvZ. A few Queens and Spines were more than capable of fending off handfuls of Battle Hellions at a time. However, the use of Battle Hellions in tandem with Marauders in the early game may prove problematic for Zerg players later down the road as stronger builds are figured out.
As a spectator, I find little enjoyment in watching Battle Hellions fight Zealots. And as difficult as it was to kite Zealots with Marine/Marauders, it provided a much better display of skill from the players at the very top level of StarCraft. Although the new Battle Hellion serves an important purpose,I can't help but feel that the unit itself is somewhat uninspired...
Battle Hellion Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 1/5
Spectator Friendly: 1/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: Undetermined
Warhound
The Warhound is a new mechanical unit produced from the Terran factory. Warhounds are equiped with auto-castable anti-mech missiles that can fire independently of the Warhound's attacks, dealing 30 damage per round with a cooldown of 6 seconds. The Warhound is currently unable to target air units.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/pf7dp.jpg)
The Warhound firing glowing anti-mech missles seen at the bottom of screenshot
The introduction of the Warhound will promote the Terran-Mech style of play in both TvP and TvT. In the Terran mirror-match up, the Warhound will likely improve diversity in playstyles as players are able to choose between creating equally viable bio-centric armies or mech-centric ones. The Warhound's ability to directly confront siege tanks lines can also break up the monotony of entrenched tank vs tank warfare. Similarly, in TvP, Terran players will now have the option of taking the Protoss army head-on instead of being forced into a harassment-style of play using infantries. The unit is expected to create faster-paced games for players and more entertaining matches for spectators.
In the current build, Warhounds have no place in the TvZ matchup. The role of a heavy tanking anti-air mech unit is still being occupied by the now re-employed Thor. The developers have stated that they are looking for ways to make the Warhound more viable against Zerg in the coming months [5].
Aesthetically speaking, the Warhound has improved a great deal since we last saw it at BlizzCon. The unit no longer moves like a clunky Lego piece, instead, it strides with a believable mechanical swagger. The anti-ground pistol possessed by the Warhound shoots out short bursts of lasers, perhaps a nod to common Sci-Fi conventions. Overall, the unit is starting to fit in more with the rest of the StarCraft cast.
From a competitive standpoint, it is likely that top Terran players will choose to activate the Warhound's anti-mech missles manually rather than use its auto-cast function. This way, they will be able to target down key enemy units such as Collosi, Tanks and Thors when necessary. The anti-mech missiles function smilarly to that of the Snipe ability, albeit with a cooldown, which means large amounts of damage can be dealt to a single target over a short period of time. However, at a limited range of 7, the Warhound will not likely be able to take out siege units without taking damage.
One possible consequence of having the Warhound may be the loss of diversity in strategic play. Perhaps the Warhound may prove to be too strong against tanks and collosi that people stop making these units all together. The developers will need to carefully consider the strength of this unit during balance: if the unit is too weak then it will not fulfill its role, if too strong, then it will extinguish more strategies than it will create.
Warhound Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 3/5
Spectator Friendly: 3/5
Serving a Purpose: 3/5
Balance: Undetermined
Widow Mine
The final Terran unit to make a debut at MLG Aneheim is the Widow Mine, a low-cost, special-op unit that can be built from the Factory. The Widow Mine burrows itself into the soil and waits for unsuspecting enemy forces to pass by, at which point it will leap onto a the closest enemy unit in range. The opposing player has ten in-game seconds to remove the targeted unit from his army or all everything within range of 3, including the host, will take 200 damage. The Widow Mine is capable of targeting both land and air units. It currently does not deal friendly damage.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/iLcAm.jpg)
Terran Widow mine, the countdown timer is indicated by a red circular bar that depletes over time until the mine explodes.
The Widow Mine may bring back Brood War nostalgia, but it is a far more sinister version of the Spider Mine we all know and love. The first big difference is that you can build it directly instead of making a Vulture unit just to have access to it. The second is that it is able to target both air and ground units. The ability to target air makes the Widow Mine a dangerous foe in any situation; it can take out expensive fliers such as Vipers or Void Rays with relative ease. It also gives Terran another way to fend off pestering Mutalisk attacks.
From playtest experience, the Widow Mine seems incredibly strong. I was hit by more than a few of them as my army marched across the battlefield. The 10 seconds warning (5 in real time) was a lenient enough time window for even low level players like myself to react accordingly (removing the affected unit from the army). However, I do have a few problems with this unit.
First of all, the Widow Mine can raid mineral lines too effectively in the current build of the game. A Medivac with a few Widow Mines can devastate an entire colony of workers in just seconds. There is very little time to react to such attacks unless you constantly have vision of your worker lines. To alleviate this problem, Blizzard can either create a special alert to notify the player being attacked by Widow Mines off screen, or they extend the amount of time before Widow Mine detonates.
Secondly, at 200 damage, the Widow Mine practically eclipses the Hunter Seeker Missile (HSM) in every way. The HSM does 100 damage to enemy units, has friendly-fire AND is not even guaranteed to land. I do not understand the point of having two similar options available when one so vastly outshines the other. Maybe it is time to give the Raven a new ability.
The good thing about the Widow Mine is that it costs supply unlike Spider Mines in Brood War, which you can have as many as you want, given that you build enough Vultures. This design choice will force Widow Mine users to draw supplies away from the Terran death-ball.
The Widow Mine should be fun to spectate as it adds to the number of ways competitors can outsmart one another. Strategic placement of these units can bring a level of tension and paranoia to the opponent. It is stellar design when a unit allows and encourages psychological warfare. We can expect the excitement generated by Widow Mines attacks to be comparable to seeing borrowed Banelings melt unsuspecting Marines. Is the Widow Mine obscenely strong right now? Perhaps. Does it make the game more exciting to watch? Absolutely! In fact, I can't wait to see battlefields completely littered with Widow Mines!
Widow Mine Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 5/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: NERF IT (need more warning when used in worker raids)
Other Changes
Reaper
The Reaper from Wings of Liberty returns with a few modifications: the unit no longer possess high damage anti-structure grenades but gains a new upgrade, Combat Drugs, which allows passive regeneration of health outside of battle.
just go away...please.
I am going to be blunt about this unit.
WHY IS IT STILL HERE?!
The Reaper is a unit that serves absolutely no purpose save the occasional early game harass. After the 10-minute mark, it ceases to be relevant in all matchups. By the midgame, almost every unit in the game hard counters the Reaper. Even with the new combat drug upgrade, the Reaper fails to compare to a group of stimmed Marines dropped from a Medivac. Terran already has plenty of harass options, there is no need to keep overlapping ones. It is just bad design to have a unit that is only good for the first few minutes of a game.
Reaper Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 3/5
Spectator Friendly: 2/5
Serving a Purpose: 0/5
Balance: GET OUT!
Terran Overview
The over-arching theme of Terran improvements in Heart of the Swarm seems to be "make the game easier." Battle-Hellions reduce micro requirements, Warhounds encourage deathball attack-move builds and Widow Mines allow Terran to control space more freely. Terran players should be excited, as the changes will allow more comfortable games next year. But aside from the Widow Mine, there is little else to look forward to as a spectator.
Terran in HotS Overview:
New Units: 3/5
Gameplay Improvement: 3/5
Fix Existing Issues: 4/5
Final Thoughts: BUFF RAVENS!
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/KQiXx.png)
Zerg
Being the featured race in Heart of the Swarm, the Zergs have grown more fearsome than ever. Their battlefield needs are met by their constant evolution. With the possession of two new breeds of breasts, the Viper and the Swarm Host, Zergs are now capable of breaking entrenched enemy positions as well as setting their own.
New Units
Viper
The Viper is new flying spellcaster for the Zerg Swam that can be trained after Hive-tech has been researched. Vipers have two core abilities, Blinding Cloud and Abduct, both of which are used to break enemy formations and manipulate battlefield positions. They also have an additional ability called Consume which allows the Vipers to siphon 200 health from a friendly structure and convert it to 50 energy stocks.
Blinding Cloud
Blinding Cloud allows the Viper to hinder the vision of ranged enemies in a selected area, effectively turning their attacks melee. Units under Blinding Cloud's influence may move outside its cover to regain vision. The Blinding Cloud ability now requires 125 energy to cast instead of 100, as such, the Viper will no longer be able to cast Blinding Clouds consecutively.
![[image loading]](http://www.ag-clan.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/rss-poster/cache/5cd84_ZvT_Iceworld03-copy-resize-610x381.jpg)
It is difficult to discuss Blinding Cloud without referencing the Dark Swarm ability from Brood War. In StarCraft I, the most feared late game Zerg tech was the Defiler unit which had the ability to disable ranged attacks by blinding enemies in a cloud of smoke. This ability was one of few ways Zerg could engage a Terran army without taking heavy loses from Siege Tank fire.
Years later when StarCraft II came out, the Zerg inexplicably lost the Defiler and consequently, Dark Swarm. Without the cover of Dark Swarm, Zergs were unable to engage armies made up of predominately ranged units cost-efficiently. Thus in Wings of Liberty, the Zerg mantra is to never attack an entrenched position, even when the Zerg player is ahead. Doing so will often put the Zerg player behind or cost him the game. The lack of a cover ability also meant that small groups of ranged units, such as marine/marauders, could be extremely cost-efficient against Zergs.
As a Zerg player, I am very excited to see Dark Swarm returning as Blinding Cloud.
This ability will once again allow Zergs to play more aggressively in the late game. Zergs can now force the opponent away from an advantageous position, such as the high ground or watchtower, by use of a few well placed Blinding Clouds.
No longer will Zerg players be made to wait.
No longer will the Swarm be forced into a macro-game should the enemy cower behind a blanket of bullet fire.
However, the ability currently costs 125 energy, which is difficult to stomach. The original Dark Swarm costs only 100 energy to use, and the Defiler unit had a maximum of 250 energy stock (compared to 200 max in StarCraft II). Blinding Cloud is by far the most exciting addition to the Zerg's toolset in HotS; it would be a shame if this ability becomes underused simply because it is cost-prohibitive. To alleviate this problem, the developers an either decrease the energy requirement of Blinding Cloud or increase its effective radius. In the HotS build provided at Anaheim, there was little reason to use Blinding Cloud when the much more powerful ability, Abduct, was available for only 75 energy.
The availability of Blinding Cloud will increase the micro-management of armies form both sides during battle. Expect to see more unit movement on screen as armies must now avoid being debuffed by the cover of the Cloud. Zerg armies will now have the option to force a wider variety of engagements than before, resulting in more action-packed games for the spectators. Overall this ability will increase the skill ceiling and entertainment value of matches across all levels of StarCraft.
Blinding Cloud:
Skill Ceiling: 4/5
Spectator Friendly: 4/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: BUFF IT (Return Blinding Cloud's cost to 100 energy, in line with Dark Swarm)
Abduct
Abduct is the second ability given to the Viper which allows it to grapple-hook any nearby unit at a range of 7, pulling that unit towards the Viper. Abduct is an incredibly potent ability used to capture key units from the opposing army, culling them into the Zerg Swarm to be dispatch more easily. What's interesting is that Abduct can be used on friendly units as well, allowing Vipers to assist Ultralisks up a cliff! Abduct cannot pull enemy units off the map into dead space. It currently costs 75 energy to cast.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/XCfIO.jpg)
There's really no nice way to say this:
The Abduct ability is Stupid!
Even as a Zerg player, I cannot justify its existence in the game.
Let me explain my view:
StarCraft is a game of strategy; the position and formation of armies play a central role in strategic play. Having a unit that can completely destroy formation by dragging off the opposition's core units, is just bad game design. I have similar problems with Neural Parasite in Wings of Liberty, but at least the effects of that spell can be mitigated if the Infestor is killed off. Not so with Abduct! For 75 energy, a handful of Vipers can tear apart any army by removing all its core units. What is the point of making Siege Tanks anymore? Or Collosi? Or Archons? The game will devolve into massing cheap units and throwing them at each other.
The Viper's Abduct will cause the game to lose not only unit diversity, but also strategic elements such army formations and space control through clever siege-weapon positioning. Abduct needs to be heavily nerfed if not completely remove from the game. If the developers insist on keeping it, they should, at the very least, make it cost all 200 of the viper's energy. This ability is so strong that the only way it can exist in harmony with the rest of the game is to become an all or nothing move. And even then, Abduct may still be a problem because the Viper unit can quickly gain energy through Consume! This ability is so problematic that it is better to simply get rid of it or completely redesign it. If allowed to exist in its current form, Abduct will no doubt smear the very name of StarCraft!
Abduct:
Skill Ceiling: -2 /5
Spectator Friendly: 0/5
Serving a Purpose: 0/5
Balance: AXE IT!!
The Viper is, in my opinion, the most aesthetically pleasing unit to watch in the whole game. A flock of Vipers supporting an expansive Zerg army is a spectacle to behold. As a unit, the Viper currently suffers from some issues: Blinding Cloud costs too much energy and Abduct is almost game-breaking. I expect this unit to undergo quite a few changes before the game is released.
Viper Overall Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 3/5
Spectator Friendly: 4/5
Serving a Purpose: 3/5
Balance: Needs Tweaking
Swarm Host
The Swarm Host is a new siege weapon available to the Zergs at the Lair-tech. They can be trained after the purchase of an Infestation Pit. The Swarm Host has no attacks, rather, it spawns endless waves of temporary units called Locusts to chase down enemies. The Swarm Host may only create Locusts while burrowed and the Locusts expire after a maximum (upgradable) of 24 in-game seconds. Locusts fire spines at a range of 2 and can target both ground and air units.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/D37HD.jpg)
The lack of a true siege option until late-game BroodLord-tech has hampered Zerg strategies for a long time in Wings of Liberty. The Swarm is forced to play passively. Attacking Terran or Protoss armies head on without having a mid-game siege weapon will usually end catastrophically for the Zerg player. Thus, the introduction of the Swarm Host will allow Zergs to engage in large scale combat at the midgame, defend choke points or vital positions and cost-efficiently pressure a turtle-ling opponent.
The Swarm Host and its Locusts have been redesigned since debutting in 2011 at BlizzCon. Locusts are now incredibly powerful as they are fitted with ranged-attacks and can even target air. I am concern that this unit is too powerful in the current build of the game. Locusts simply should not have an anti-air weapon. From my play experience, Swarm Hosts spawning endless locusts was similar to having an endless supply of roaches...that could shoot air. Why would Zerg players make anything else BUT Swam Hosts?!
The Zerg army can become completely unstoppable (especially against Protoss) once a critical amount of Swarm Hosts has been acquired. Since Swarm Hosts are cloaked while burrowed, they become very hard to kill en masse. Protoss observers can easily be shut down by simply having a few OverSeers with the Swarm Host pack. The combination of Infestors/Swarm Host/OverSeer/Viper was nigh unstoppable. Long-range enemy units could be Abducted using the Viper while Locusts took care of pretty much everything else. Any unit that got too close would be rooted by Fungal while Locusts tear them apart.
The Swarm Host and its Locusts should be reverted back to having ground-only attacks. Else, every Zerg matchup will be completely dominated by Swarm Hosts and their Locusts as these units are simply too cost efficient. If Locusts were to remain with the same firepower they have today, then it might be best to make Swarm Hosts visible even while burrowed. This change would give the opposition a reasonable fighting chance against these monsters.
Swarm Hosts naturally require little micro, though as with all siege weapons, positioning remains an important factor in their proper use. I expect watching the ebb and flow of Locust swarms to be quite entertaining for spectators. Who doesn't love watching a good game of chicken?
Swarm Host Rating:
Skill Ceiling: 3/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: NERF IT (Locusts should not be able to target air units)
Other Changes
Speed Hydras
Hydralisks are now upgradable at the Hive-tech, gaining a 50% movement speed-boost while off creep.
![[image loading]](http://www.sc2blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/hydralisks2.jpg)
Goodness, do I miss Hydralisks. I have been trying to incorporate Hyralisks into my play as often as possible, but the reality is, Hydras are awful in Wings of Liberty. This upgrade is vital to reviving Hydralisks back to their former glory. Speed Hydras will allow Zerg players to maneuver about the map, flank enemy positions and retreat from an unfavorable battle. It is a shame that this upgrade is only available after Hive-Tech. There are already tons of other options offered at the Hive. If this upgrade is brought to the Lair level, we would be able see more interesting use of the Hydralisk unit. Balance may not be an issue as Protoss and Terran players will now have access to Battle Hellions, Widow Mines and MSCore Storms to deal with Hydralisks.
Hydra Speed Upgrade Rating:
Skill Ceiling:5/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 3/5
Balance: BUFF IT (Bring it to Lair Tech, we want Hydralisks back!!)
Burrow Charged Ultralisks
The Ultralisk can now be directed to perform a short-distance underground charge towards enemy lines. This ability requires no upgrade and has a cooldown of 30 seconds between use. Since BlizzCon, the Ultralisk Burrow-Charge ability has been modified to be a bit slower but it has gained a new animation.
![[image loading]](http://www.sc2blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/ultraliskfeeding.JPG)
This ability really feels foreign to me. For so long, many Zerg players, including myself, have learned to accept the fact that Ultralisks are not meant to be used as a primary damage dealers. The Ultralisk in Wings is nothing more than a meatshield used to trample over forcefields and deliver banelings to enemy lines. But now with Burrow Charge, it is possible for Ultralisks to tactfully take out Siege Tanks, fight infantries head-on and even completely bypassing enemy defenses to raid worker lines! There are so many things that the new Ultralisk will be capable of doing. I'm already drooling a bit just thinking about it.
Burrow Charge Ultralisks Rating:
Skill Ceiling:5/5
Spectator Friendly: 5/5
Serving a Purpose: 5/5
Balance: PERFECT
Zerg Overview
Of the three races, it seems that Zerg will be getting the most new toys. They ARE the race being featured in this expansion, afterall. However, my only gripe with the current design is that all the new Zerggy-stuff are relegated to the Hive-Tech. Zerg's early game remains unchanged and are still susceptible to cheeses. The more I think about it, the more I realize the recent Queen Buff might have been a ninja move by the developers to ease the new units from Protoss and Terran into the expansion. Perhaps they realize that without buffing the Queen, Battle Hellion rushes or MSCore builds might get out of control simply because Zerg still has relatively few options that early in the game. At this point, all I really want as a Zerg player is that Hydra Speed upgrade at the Lair.
Zerg in HotS Overview:
New Units: 4/5
Gameplay Improvement: 5/5
Fix Existing Issues: 5/5
Final Thoughts: HYDRALISKS!!!
Closing Thoughts
I don't know how Blizzard did it, but they actually managed to make Heart of the Swarm look even better than Wings of Liberty. Some improvements to the graphics were immediately apparent, such the way gusts of wind would cross one another or how the falling snow would seem to gently glaze the screen. Wind patterns would shift dynamically onscreen and the effects of dust and snow beneath the moving units did not disappoint. Oh and the Zerg creep is translucent!!
There is also a new physics engine in play, giving a myriad of new death animations. Units that die to tank fire would often be lobbed off cliffs, dead stalkers would crumple over in unique ways and Ultralisks would hurl Marines into the air as they unburrow. Incredible stuff!
There's a lot to be excited about. As a casual player, I look forward to how all the changes will affect my play. As a spectator, I am curious to see what the pros can do with a higher skill ceiling. And as a fan of eSports, I can't wait to see where Heart will take us.
Michael Pachter once predicted that eSports will double in size every 2 years for the next 10 years[6]. As we near the anniversary of our first two, it seems like a good time to reflect on all that has transpired and the great many things that are to come. Wings of Liberty wasn't perfect, but it carried us this far. Having played Heart of the Swarm, I can assure all of you that the upcoming StarCraft II expansion can carry us forward a few years more.
Acknowledgements
I had so much fun at MLG Anaheim. I want to thank Blizzard for making such a wonderful game and allowing attendees to play Heart of the Swarm. The number of demo stations were perfect, I never had to wait in line for more than 5 minutes to play a game. It actually created a nice diversion in between spectating professional level matches and going to the restroom from drinking so much Dr. Pepper. Whenever my friends and I did not feel like watching a match, we simply walked over to one of the 200 computer stations available and battled one another in HotS. The immersion is incredible when StarCraft is all around you. One minute you could be watching a DRG on stage, the next, you could be emulating him at a nearby computer as you try to crush your friends. Live, Love and Breath StarCraft. What a dream come true!
And thank you to TeamLiquid.net.
for allowing a StarCraft enthusiast like myself to find friends, acceptance and my own voice.
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Written by Neoghaleon55
Published by TeamLiquid.net
Entry to Heart of the Community Contest, 2012.
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Citations and Credits
*Logo by anttilepisto at anttilepisto.net, used with permission.
[1]Image from zastavki.com, free wallpaper # 28338-18.
[2]http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2011/09/06/sean-day9-plott-talks-starcraft-esports-and-nerd-pride/
[3]http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2011/12/09/intv-skorea-world-cyber-games-sutter.cnn
[4]http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/06/10/cbs-will-broadcast-major-league-gaming-on-tv-this-fall/
[5]http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=345310
[6]http://www.onrpg.com/MMO/Starcraft-II/review/E-Sports--OnRPG-February-22nd-Report
Well done.
