TLnet Poll - How do you feel about the 5.0.16 PTR balance…

On May 30 2026 19:25 Agh wrote:
Should just implement everything stormgate had going for it. (Mainly referring to control group binds. Eg. Being able to set up customizable selection/be able to omit things from it. )... But might as well go further and do the whole command card automation. Hell do the right click and drag spread/arc thing too. Think it's wild that you can't remove an overseer/observer/medivac/etc from all army selection in 2026. Also make the rapid fire keybind setup a default option for the game.

Idea to change economy at this point is beyond half baked. I will be extremely surprised if it results in anything other than games averaging 1-2 extra minutes.
Don't think this will entice any new player into trying it out, and for every potential returning player this might appeal to, an equal or greater amount will probably be irked and demotivated.


Even with all that said it's unfortunate that any change is a positive one because the game is in such a piss poor state. (Right now Probably 3rd all time right behind WoL launch and the final form broodlord infestor era)

Very disappointed this is the 'phase 1 feeler' patch they came up with

On May 30 2026 16:45 ejozl wrote:
balance and qol changes mostly suck.

eco changes are in the right direction.

On May 30 2026 20:54 baldgye wrote:
I'm not a very high MMR player... but I this entirely changes the marco requirements for Protoss in such a cool and interesting way... at least, with what I've been playing around with on the PTR... idk about balance or anything like that.. but

- macro'ing from gateways is now much easier, because you no longer have to physically look at a warpin point and then spam the units you want.. and remember to do this all the time... now you can just hotkey your gates and macro from them like any other production unit
- but ontop of that, you now get to dynamically change that, when you have a warp prism, you can switch them over, warp in a bunch of zelots, transform them back and go into an easier macro style...

The early game and openings are going to be really interesting though, as idk how to open without going 2gate just because of early pressure and the new warpgate research stopping you from producing from a gateway for so long... it would also be nice if the core could do *something* as for most of the game until the late game, it just sits there...

On May 31 2026 05:46 SC-Shield wrote:


I don't see why you want to stay on gates once you have warp gate technology. What if you get a medivac drop or nydus in base? Good luck with gateway tech if your army is far away. There is a reason why warp gates are convenient. Now if you remove nydus and tweak here and there, you may even remove warp gate entirely.

On May 30 2026 17:41 depressed1 wrote:
And we are going to watch +1 or +2 additional minutes of nothing at the game.

On June 07 2026 13:45 Whiztard wrote:
They change Protoss so much more than any other race. Super major changes: Mothership Core, Pylon Overcharge, Mothership Core removal, Nexus Overcharge, Shield Battery, then Warpgate.

Meanwhile for Terran....bunker, reaper, supply depot barracks requirement, ok.

For Zerg....I don't even know what fundamental changes they ever got! I suppose queens got easier to use. Hydralisk speed and dash? It was an upgrade overall iirc?

Every major change for Protoss changes how the race survives in the early game which is insane since it upends entire build orders.

On May 30 2026 18:21 axi wrote:
Blizzard looked at a skyscraper teetering on collapse and decided to blow up the foundation. This isn’t a “balance patch”—it’s a catastrophic demolition of SC2’s core DNA. The 5.0.16 PTR doesn’t iterate; it obliterates.
Your “pro scene” is already on life support. Most pros are semi-retired, and the few still playing aren’t theorycrafting—they’re mourning. You’ve taken a competitive ecosystem running on fumes and poured sand in the gas tank. Few will waste months re-learning economy, supply, and production timings because some detached developer had a “vision” for one-to-three-base gameplay.
The casuals? They’re not adapting—they’re lost. The playerbase that endured a decade of neglect is now told to forget everything they know about macro, builds, and timing.
But the real crime is the knowledge death spiral. Veterans who spent years refining guides and coaching methods now have curricula that are worthless overnight. They can’t teach what they don’t understand. Meanwhile, new players—already fighting SC2’s brutal learning curve—have been cut off at the knees. They learn half a build, the patch hits, and suddenly they’re stuck in a game that no longer resembles the one they were trying to learn. You’ve walled off generations of players and bricked up the door.
SC2 wasn’t dying because the early game was too short. It was dying because Blizzard abandoned it, then occasionally returned to kick it in the teeth. This isn’t a revival. It’s the final shovel of dirt on the coffin.