So, therefore, your point is, Mesk, Starcraft was more fun because there were some more strategic units? I know I've read your articles before, and I know that that simple point and shoot units are boring. Do you have any example of units that require skill to use, besides the Reaver in SC (any game will do)?IskatuMesk wrote: Reavers are one of the most pivotal units in the Protoss arsenal. Especially in PvP, next to Arbiters. Good reaver control makes or breaks a protoss player.
The reaver is special because it's High Risk High Reward. It requires a considerable amount of skill to handle the reaver/shuttle combo and of course, as mucky said, you have the scarab dud problem which is because they are ground units.
Another unit that falls into high risk high reward is the Spider Mine. But the Reaver is the best example of providing strategic and tactical depth using synergy (Shuttle) and giving the player considerable power (A reaver can decimate a player's economy in a single hit) but with a considerable risk involved (Yes, the reaver is slow, that's the entire point hur hurr derp).
The colossus is more effective, yes. That's why it's a terrible unit. It's too effective. It takes no skill to use. Placing your reaver, shooting at the right target from the right angle, avoiding letting your shuttle get raped, it's all part of the game. The colossus, well, you just walk up and watch it kill everything. It's a boring unit to watch and to use. It's like, giving your batter too much sugar ruins the flavor. The Colossus is too powerful and because it replaces the Reaver's role, which was a High Risk High Reward unit, you are taking something away from the protoss gameplay and replacing it with something unintuitive and very stale. Most people who see the Colossus will go "Oh hey, a giant robot!" and give no further thought to it because there is nothing impressive about the gameplay elements it brings to the table.
In order to achieve that amazing spectator sport that Blizzard wants so badly, they need units like the Reaver. It's not about nostalgia; I couldn't care less if the keep the reaver in its current incarnation or not. I didn't cry when they axed the wraith or even my beloved devourer and defiler. But I do care about what the new units do to the metagame and to the overall prose of the races. And from my eyes, the Colossus adds nothing but takes away a lot.
IMO, a good example for a unit demanding some skill is, and you'll surely hate me for it, the Soviet Terror Drone in Red Alert 3. Of course, EA made a ridiculous job with it, but, if you look from a different angle, you see that, for medium-skilled players, the Drone is an effective harassment unit, that can change the tide of the battle. You just needed to path effectively the Drone in order to take down an Ore Collector in early game. Unfortunately, EA swarmed bases so much with their fucking Repair Drones that it, unexpectedly, made the Drone an useless unit, a decoration.
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