StarCraft II Situation Report : Patch 11

[UntamedLoli]

In an effort to better explain changes being made within the StarCraft II beta, we wanted to establish the Situation Report in which we take the time to share a little more insight into the balance choices we make and how we believe these changes will play out. We are incredibly dedicated to bringing you the quality and high standards that you expect of a Blizzard game and StarCraft II, and hope that by sharing more of our thoughts with you, that we can continue to both receive great feedback, but continue to see great matches within the game.

We have been working hard over the last many weeks to try to make the races as fun as possible to play. We are seeing win/loss ratios (when you factor in skill) of as little as 6% between each of the races. This is a great place for us to be during a beta, when players are still learning the races and we are still making a lot of changes. In general we believe that Terrans are still a little weak against Protoss. The other match ups are too close to call and (according to our current numbers) are within 1% win/loss. We are also getting more and more excited about what we are seeing in our mirror matches. Terran vs. Terran is a very diverse match for example and we are starting to see some really nice diversity in Zerg vs. Zerg which is a huge win for us and the community considering how stale that match was when we started the Beta.

We’ve made a significant amount of changes within the latest beta patch 11 and wanted to give a brief overview on these changes.

Splash- Splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.

We have changed how splash works for several units across the game to make it always hit the dead center of the target unit. Previously splash was centered on the front of the target unit. This makes splash generally more effective, though against certain large targets (buildings, Thors, Ultralisks) you will now not get any splash damage since the splash radius will be contained entirely within the radius of the large target.

Battlecruiser -The build time has been decreased from 110 to 90.

We are trying to make this ship a little more useful. In reality this unit is easily countered by Corruptor, Void Ray, or Viking which may already be in play by the time it arrives, but we think it might see a little more play if it’s just easier to build.

Hellion- The range has been increased from 5 to 6.

This is not an actual change to the area effect of the weapon. The weapon was always range 6, but it would only acquire targets at range 5 so it would get a little bit of splash that would hit enemies behind its initial target. By making the weapon range 6 it is easier to shoot and run from enemy units. It does make the splash a little less useful if you are just using the “attack move” command.

Raven- Seeker Missile range has been decreased from 9 to 6.- Splash radius has been decreased from 2.4 to 2.- upgrade no longer requires Fusion Core.

We are hoping to see some more Seeker missiles without unbalancing the unit. At the same time we want to reduce the effectiveness of Seeker missile in 2v2 games where mass Ravens have (on occasion) been a problem.

Siege Tank- Life increased from 150 to 160.

Siege Tanks are seeing good use in several match-ups but we still think they could be a little tougher so they can maybe get in one more shot during big fights.

Thor- Ground damage decreased from 45 to 30- Ground rate of fire improved from 1.93 to 1.28.- Air damage changed from 8 (+4 Light) to 6 (+6 Light).- 250mm Strike Cannons are now an upgrade at the Factory Tech Lab; research now costs 150/150 and 110 seconds; energy cost increased from 100 to 150.

The damage change reduces the Thor’s opening burst, which will mean that some units will be able to shoot a little longer before being destroyed. The increase in rate of fire means the damage-per-second remains the same, but it does change a few relationships. Thors are no longer as effective against Roaches (for example) without fire support from Marauders.

The Thor Strike Cannons have become an upgrade to try to help out the Ultralisk, who is countered so hard by this attack that we see very few Ultralisks in Terran vs. Zerg. This is (of course) not enough to really change that relationship, but we have some more plans for the Ultralisk in the next patch.

The anti-air changes make Thors a little more clear in their role as an anti-light AA weapon which gives more value to Vikings and Marines.

Archon- The splash radius has been increased from 0.8 to 1.

This minor buff to the Archon makes it a little bit more useful but doesn’t really change a lot of its core relationships. We still view the Archon as a recycle for a High Templar who is out of mana and not a core unit that you will build unless you are facing very specific opposition (like mass Mutalisks for example).

Colossus- The damage has been decreased from 20 to 15. The rate of fire has been improved from 2.2 to 1.65.

The changes to the Colossus damage and rate of fire are similar to the changes to the Thor. They reduce the burst damage from the Colossus so fewer units will die in the initial blast and get to shoot a little bit longer before they are hit by more blasts. The damage is lower, but the damage per second is DPS is the same.

Phoenix - Can now attack while moving.

This is a huge change that allows a Phoenix to dance around Mutalisks and other air units and attack them while moving. Phoenix always did hard-counter Mutalisks, but now even a very small number of Phoenix can challenge a very large number of Mutalisks so long as they are willing to attack and move away. Use your Phoenix to keep out of the Mutalisk attack range while firing yourself and you can do a lot of damage to a pack of Mutalisks.

Sentry- The damage has been decreased from 8 to 6.

We are seeing a lot of Force Fields which we really, really like. We don’t want to see fewer Force Fields, but we do want to see a higher cost for those Force Fields. By reducing Sentry damage we believe that Protoss players will have to be more careful about the number of Sentry they make.

Broodlord- Life has been decreased from 275 to 225. Armor has been decreased from 2 to 1.

Broodlords are awesome. They needed to be a little weaker. They should still be pretty scary.

Corruptor- Corruptor damage changed from 12 (+10 Massive) to 14 (+6 Massive), speed increased from 2.75 to 2.9531, Corruption ability redesigned: Single target. Increases damage taken by 20%. Lasts 30 seconds. Costs 100 energy. Range 6. Cannot target structures.

All of these changes are a buff to the Corruptor. You will pay less gas for a similar level of Corruptor fire power. The Corruptor is faster and more able to keep up with your Mutalisks. In addition its special ability has changed. You no longer use Corruptors just to stun important enemy buildings but you can weaken important enemy units on the battlefield to make them more vulnerable to attack by both your air and ground units.

Infestor- Neural Parasite is now an upgrade at the Infestation Pit, research costs 150/150 and 110 seconds, can now target Air units, energy cost increased from 50 to 100.

The changes to Neural Parasite are there to try to protect the Ultralisk from being mind controlled too easily. It is also consistent with what we think the power level of the ability is against Thor and other units. We have also buffed the ability to allow it to target air units so you can use it as a defense against Void Rays.

Spine Crawler- The root time has been increased from 6 to 12.

At some levels of play we are seeing spine crawlers used to protect a Zerg player until he can advance to some dangerous technology (like Mutalisks). In these cases players are using Spine Crawlers almost exclusively to defend themselves and the ability to move the Crawler as a way to protect not only their base but their expansion as well. We want there to be a higher cost to this strategy and more risk associated with choosing to go “Only Spine Crawler.”

Ultralisk- Damage has been increased from 18 to 25.

We are buffing the Ultralisk, but we don’t think this buff is sufficient. Expect more changes to the Ultralisk in the next patch.

What’s Next?

We are working hard on a few issues for the next patch. Obviously we are going to be playing this patch with the community to see what we broke with all of these changes. We are also going to continue to evaluate the Ultralisk and the Zerg in general to make sure they have enough choices and options on all of their units.

http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=24702391969



StarCraft II Beta – Patch 11 (version 0.13.0.15250)

The latest patch notes can always be found on the StarCraft II Beta General Discussion forum: http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=23094049316&sid=5000

Balance Changes


   * TERRAN

         o Battlecruiser

               + The build time has been decreased from 110 to 90.


         o Fusion Core

               + The build time has been decreased from 80 to 65.


         o Hellion

               + The range has been increased from 5 to 6.


         o Planetary Fortress

               + The splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.


         o Raven

               + Seeker Missile range has been decreased from 9 to 6.
               + Seeker Missile splash radius has been decreased from 2.4 to 2.
               + Seeker Missile upgrade no longer requires Fusion Core.


         o Siege Tank

               + Life increased from 150 to 160.
               + Siege Mode splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.


         o Thor

               + Ground damage decreased from 45 to 30.
               + Ground rate of fire improved from 1.93 to 1.28.
               + Air damage changed from 8 (+4 Light) to 6 (+6 Light).
               + 250mm Strike Cannons are now an upgrade at the Factory Tech Lab.
               + 250mm Strike Cannons research now costs 150/150 and 110 seconds.
               + 250mm Strike Cannons energy cost increased from 100 to 150.
               + Anti-Air splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.




   * PROTOSS

         o Archon

               + The splash radius has been increased from 0.8 to 1.
               + Splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.


         o Colossus

               + The damage has been decreased from 20 to 15.
               + The rate of fire has been improved from 2.2 to 1.65.


         o Phoenix

               + Can now attack while moving.


         o Sentry

               + The damage has been decreased from 8 to 6.




   * ZERG

         o Brood Lord

               + Life has been decreased from 275 to 225.
               + Armor has been decreased from 2 to 1.


         o Corruptor

               + Corruptor damage changed from 12 (+10 Massive) to 14 (+6 Massive).
               + Corruptor speed increased from 2.75 to 2.9531
               + Corruption ability redesigned:

                     + Single target.
                     + Increases damage taken by 20%.
                     + Lasts 30 seconds.
                     + Costs 100 energy.
                     + Range 6.
                     + Cannot target structures.


         o Infestor

               + Neural Parasite is now an upgrade at the Infestation Pit.
               + Neural Parasite research costs 150/150 and 110 seconds.
               + Neural Parasite can now target Air units.
               + Neural Parasite energy cost increased from 50 to 100.


         o Spine Crawler

               + The root time has been increased from 6 to 12.


         o Spore Crawler

               + The root time has been increased from 6 to 12.


         o Ultralisk

               + Damage has been increased from 18 to 25.



Hotkey Changes



General

   * In order to resolve a conflict with building multiple Forges with the Shift Key we have made the following changes:
   * Changed Center Camera from Shift+F to Ctrl+F.




Standard

   * To prevent the accidental research of Ventral Sacs when trying to train an Overlord with no Larva available, the hotkey has been changed from V to E.
   * View Own Health Bars functionality added to the Backslash key


Standard for Lefties

   * Due to a conflict with research Banshee Cloak, research Seeker Missile has been changed from L to K.
   * To correct a conflict with the Attack command on Planetary Fortress, train SCV has been changed from K to J.
   * In order to prevent the accidental training of Zerglings when using the Select Larva hotkey,train Zergling has been changed from L to J.
   * To prevent the accidental training of a Queen, train Ultralisk has been changed from U to T.
   * To prevent the accidental research of Pneumatized Carapace when trying to train a corruptor with no Larva available, research Pneumatized Carapace has been changed from P to C.
   * View All Status Bars has been changed from Q to the Alt key.
   * View own Status Bars functionality has been added to the Q key.


Grid for Lefties

   * Attack Move and all other buttons in the 0,4 position should now function correctly.
   * View Own Status Bars functionality added to Q.
   * View Enemy Status Bars moved to W.
   * View Ally Status Bars moved to E.


Classic

   * Changed build Nydus Canal from P to N.
   * Changed Place Nydus Canal ability from P to N.
   * Terran Infantry Weapon researches have been changed from E to W.
   * Terran Vehicle Weapon researches have been changed from E to W.
   * Train Thor hotkey has been changed from O to G.
   * Train Viking hotkey has been changed from Y to W.
   * View Own Status Bars functionality has been added to the Backslash key.



Icon Position Changes



   * To put all race gas extractors in the same icon position, the positions of the Supply Depot/Refinery and Pylon/Assimilator have been swapped.
   * In order to make transforming multiple Gateways easier for players using Grid key sets, Transform to Gateway has been moved to a separate icon position (2,1).


Bug Fixes



   * Corrected an issue that was causing the Polish language client to crash when receiving the "player is no longer being revealed” message.
   * Corrected incorrect battle.net links on multiple language clients pages.
   * Corrected an issue where the Zealot was using an US English voice over in the Korean language client.
   * Corrected an issue where a player is unable to build any structures that require pylon power when their protoss ally leaves.
   * Units can no longer be healed or repaired while in transports.
   * Corrected an issue where the Creep Tumor targeting circle was visible to opponents through Fog of War.
   * Corrected an issue in which selecting a Starport under construction and a completed Starport would display the select builder command in the Viking slot.
   * Corrected the Broodling weapon icon.

[IskatuMesk]

Needs more roach/marauder/immortal rehauls.

lol @ phoenixes hard countering mutas. I guess they forgot that muta splash is a lot more dangerous in sc2 than sc1. That's like saying wraiths hard counter corsairs.

[Mucky]

Siege Tank- Life increased from 150 to 160.

cool how about a supply/gas cost decrease

[Xelxiuz]

Needs more roach/marauder/immortal rehauls.

lol @ phoenixes hard countering mutas. I guess they forgot that muta splash is a lot more dangerous in sc2 than sc1. That's like saying wraiths hard counter corsairs.

Elaborate please, I'm interested in this better splash mechanic.

[IskatuMesk]

They do more damage per bounce in sc2 than sc1, so a lot of mutas can do quite a bit of damage with splash alone. Phoenixes, on the other hand, have always been single target except for alpha when they had overload (which was even more OP). Before this patch Phoenixes could kill mutas in very small numbers but when both their numbers rose they were completely helpless against mutas. I had made the mistake of trying to use them vs mutas one too many times to know this personally.

Now Phoenixes can kite Mutas indefinitely with no effort on behalf of the user - they still keep firing with simple move commands and have longer range.

[AA7Dragoon]

Well that makes sense why I lost to that Terran player.  I was wondering why my Ultralisks were being slaughtered.  Those Thors were just ripping them to shreds!  I agree, another Ultra buff is needed.

I'm curious to try out the Phoenix auto-fire. 

I really like the Immortals.  I am generally happy with them.  Yes, they are very strong against most ground units; however, you can't Warp-Gate them, they can't attack air, higher tier level, and they are pretty expensive to invest into (new building type to micromanage, multiple buildings and unit cost).  A damage reduction is in order to their +bonus attack, but their overall POW! shouldn't be hampered with.

Marauders on the other hand, are really strong for being tier 1.  One 50/50 cost upgrade to the barracks and you instantly have them.  You can easily kite zealots *shakes fist* and the forced concussion upgrade wasn't much of a hindrance to get at all.  I feel like they need a tech requirement like an engineering bay.  Just that extra 1-2 minute delay into the game where a player can't rush you with it.

Haven't played enough to have an impression on Roaches.

Stalkers need more anti-air buffs.  They are the only anti-air other than the Phoenix (Snowglobes don't count with their 100 gas cost).  Put Stalkers in front of a fleet of ships vs. Hydralisks, and you'll easily see which unit type destroys the fleet.  Zerg and Terran have some pretty strong anti-air units.  The Protoss have very little.

[wibod]

Immortals are fucking retarded because of their massive bonus damage that completely stomps anything armored. Coupled with the fact that their shield ability makes them pretty goddamn hard to destroy. The only air unit that can kill immortals in a reasonable amount of time is Carriers.

[Master Jademus Sreg]

Immortals are susceptible to attacks with low damage and high rate of fire; Marines, Zerglings, and Hydralisks are obvious choices. Hardened Shields pins down damage, but only for as long as the Immortal's shields last. If you're Terran, EMP those bitches a few times and watch them melt under a bit of fire.

[Theia_Loki]

Reapers are also fairly dangerous if they manage to slip past your forces and into your base, where they can do frightening damage. I've seen them chew up Zerglings pretty quick, mostly attributed to their +5 bonus against light. Too bad the guys can't shoot air, else they'd shoot everything they come across up in no time.

I don't make any use of Marauder spam at all, to be honest (about 3-4 at most, as support). They only attack ground targets, have about 2 1/2 times a marine's health, and are more of a glass cannon against armoured due to their ridiculous bonus which equals their base attack.

Edit: I'd much rather have the medic come back. Having an aerial transport that can heal units is a very weird move, C&C inspired or not.

[IskatuMesk]

Immortals are flat out retarded, their attack needs a serious rework. No way should a unit be doing 50 damage that fires that fast.

[Xelxiuz]

Well that makes sense why I lost to that Terran player.  I was wondering why my Ultralisks were being slaughtered.  Those Thors were just ripping them to shreds!  I agree, another Ultra buff is needed.

I'm curious to try out the Phoenix auto-fire. 

I really like the Immortals.  I am generally happy with them.  Yes, they are very strong against most ground units; however, you can't Warp-Gate them, they can't attack air, higher tier level, and they are pretty expensive to invest into (new building type to micromanage, multiple buildings and unit cost).  A damage reduction is in order to their +bonus attack, but their overall POW! shouldn't be hampered with.

Marauders on the other hand, are really strong for being tier 1.  One 50/50 cost upgrade to the barracks and you instantly have them.  You can easily kite zealots *shakes fist* and the forced concussion upgrade wasn't much of a hindrance to get at all.  I feel like they need a tech requirement like an engineering bay.  Just that extra 1-2 minute delay into the game where a player can't rush you with it.

Haven't played enough to have an impression on Roaches.

Stalkers need more anti-air buffs.  They are the only anti-air other than the Phoenix (Snowglobes don't count with their 100 gas cost).  Put Stalkers in front of a fleet of ships vs. Hydralisks, and you'll easily see which unit type destroys the fleet.  Zerg and Terran have some pretty strong anti-air units.  The Protoss have very little.

Send scouting worker to block tech lab position forcing them to make marine <.< if you're terran, you can send 2 scvs and repair each other blocking the positioning for a very long time or at least until they have enough marines/send scvs which both put you economically ahead. If the moron actually tries to lift off you can just not let it land ever, specially with double scv.

From the few days of playing, I've yet to see any race marginally superior to the other two <.< but this is at high gold/low plat where nothing matters =P and I still have no idea how to learn timing attacks (which is why I want to learn build orders by the minute/second because I assume that's how the nerds do it) each race has cheese, some of which is stronger than the other, but I wouldn't say it was as bad as WC3/TFT at least on my level, due to the lack of snowballing with the hero factor.

[IskatuMesk]

Sc2 is about early game, harass specifically. Harassment is incredibly strong in sc2, practically game deciding. Example: Reapers. If you succeed with reapers you will more than likely win because of how accelerated the economy is. If you fail there's a good chance you will lose because of how gas expensive they are and how behind it'll put you in. Anyone who's smart will prepare for reapers and soundly squash them.

This is not always the case on reverse positions on Metalolpolis though as that's the only case where map distance is really significant enough to give you a chance to catch up (TheLittleOne vs Nazgul).

[Xelxiuz]

Well yeah, because that's the way they wanted it to be, so that harassment is powerful enough to cripple you and end the game. I'm not saying whether or not it should be, but from all the interviews and stuff Blizzard has shown, it's pretty clear that was part of their vision. Didn't one of them say that at any time, it's possible to lose completely? It's pretty much saying there's no safety buffer in this game, you have to create your own.

Whether or not harassment is too strong at the moment, well I don't watch replays for the sake of skill, I watch them for hilarity =/ and you aren't making more Mesk.

[Theia_Loki]

Speaking of Harassment, I still recall rushing a Protoss player with Reapers (well, mostly hit-and-run maneuvers). By the time I came back with them to screw his natural expansion's workers he just quit, leaving me laughing my ass off at the scenario (the whole game lasted a little over 7 minutes, and I was just getting my main base's defenses together).

[IskatuMesk]

I preferred macro games over what sc2 right now, but I think sc2 can still play very much like sc1 in that regard, you just need maps bigger than Blood Bath. That's why rushing/cheese/harass is so strong right now.

Or you can just play 2v2 on twilight fortress.

Not that I haven't cheesed that before, either. I'm sure mantits remembers.