StarCraft II

[DarQraven]

Well, that's sort of the point I'm making. Zerg has infestors, but no one was really using them effectively. Apparently, when they *were* used, they were too effective, so they received a nerfboost (is that a word?) in that their mindcontrol duration is now permanent, but the range has almost halved and their HP when down 25% or so.

There's the overseer abilities to spawn changelings and stuff like that that noone is using, due to general uselessnes.

If you're using Queens offensively, you're effectively just killing them. They're slow as hell outside creep and their attack doesn't make up for that or their cost, plus the sacrifice in extra larvae.

Most of the interesting mechanics, Nydus worm excluded, only work on creep or in your base, not on the attacking units.

Mind you, this goes mostly for early to midgame. Zerg special units such as corruptors, broodlords or infestors eventually pay off, but only at the point where you're already at 200/200 and you can't just spam hydra/muta anymore.

 

[Kantham]

Zerg, on the other hand, has mostly regular attack units. Muta, Hydra, Zergling, Roach, etc... All they do is attack.
Sure, they can burrow, but that's not nearly as cool as the other two races' abilities.

Plus, correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe that Zergs is the only race that does not have any edge-climber unit types.

 

[Wail of Suicide]

That's one thing that's being discussed about Zerg quite frequently over at teamliquid forums. Zerg, as of now, is missing a bit of variety, which makes them very easy to scout (as Kantham mentioned above me).

If you compare the Zerg 'interesting' units to those of other races, they come up a bit short.

Protoss has got AoE/DOT spells (psi storm), damage to casters (Feedback), Blink, Guardian shield and forcefield on the sentry (support unit), Archon warp (fuse two depleted casters into an attack unit), and several units with interesting attack mechanics such as Void ray, mothership and +damage to armored/light like Immortals and Colossi.

About the same for Terran.

Zerg, on the other hand, has mostly regular attack units. Muta, Hydra, Zergling, Roach, etc... All they do is attack.
Sure, they can burrow, but that's not nearly as cool as the other two races' abilities.

I kind of agree with this - Although that's not really anything new. The only Zerg caster you'd see in pro-level play was Defilers because they could use Dark Swarm, which was basically a requirement to get anything done as late game Zerg.

Banelings are pretty interesting, and in some ways are like spidermines, although to use them that way you'd need some intense micro.

At this point, I haven't seen the Zerg casters really being used - I guess Corrupters are a hybrid anti-air, caster unit? I've seen a big force of Corrupters pitted against a couple of BattleCruisers though, and they did not match up in the same way Vikings would. At the same time I do see the potential for the Corrupters though - Their ability to shut down a building entirely could be really cool if paired with Mutalisk harass, but I haven't seen anyone try it.

I've seen a couple Infestors, rarely, and I've seen the Mind Control ability, but I've yet to see them turn a battle around in any meaningful way like a couple good EMP or Psi Storms would. Fungal Growth is supposed to be their big spell, like Psi Storm for the High Templar, but because it's Damage over Time is just not that useful unless you can disengage - And ground based units really can't do that too much. The slow itself can be useful, but Zerg are already generally faster than their opponents - I think it may need something else, either reduce damage affected units deal or reduce their armor a bit.

Zerg really lack a credible cloaked threat, I wish there were a cloaked Zerg unit, or a spell to give cloaking to a couple of units (call it "Chameleon Scales" or something). I realize Roaches are supposed to pseudo-fit that role, as they regenerate and can move while burrowed, but it's really not the same as DTs or Banshees who are a serious threat to your supply lines if you don't have detection.

 

[TWD]

I just wanted to point out that Blizzard is now allowing players to invite friends. I recieved my invite last night. The keys don't work yet however. I think they're going to activate them all at once today to test load. I think this is also part of a ladder reset.

 

[xMurphyx]

How does one go about inviting friends? I don't see an option for that at battle.net.

 

[Darkdrium]

I just wanted to point out that Blizzard is now allowing players to invite friends.

I don't have friends


In the beta I mean

 

[d3tox]

well if anyone has a spare invite, I'd love one.

 

[AlCapowned]

How does one go about inviting friends? I don't see an option for that at battle.net.

Blizzard should have sent you a message in whichever email account you used to get into the beta. In that message, there is a key that you can send to anyone. Whoever you invite has to make a Bnet account and then enter the key after clicking the "Add or Upgrade a Game" button.

 

[Kantham]

Damn, I am probably worse than I think I really am, but the 6.1 BETA AI made by the community is somewhat near impossible for me. I gave it my 110%, Toss Vs Toss, I had a squad of 7 zealots (+1 ground melee upgrade), he had like 20. GG.

It just doesn't make any sense, maybe I felt on the cheating version. I know they have 2 different versions, but man, why does it have to be like this?

It is the only decent AI made to date as well, the base AI is simply dumb (4-6 buildings and a few units the whole game)

I can't wait to get my hands on the retail game with the Blizz-coded AI, see the improvements made.

 

[xMurphyx]

Blizzard should have sent you a message in whichever email account you used to get into the beta.

Thanks man! Haven't checked my account since then.

 

[DarQraven]

Damn, I am probably worse than I think I really am, but the 6.1 BETA AI made by the community is somewhat near impossible for me. I gave it my 110%, Toss Vs Toss, I had a squad of 7 zealots (+1 ground melee upgrade), he had like 20. GG.

It just doesn't make any sense, maybe I felt on the cheating version. I know they have 2 different versions, but man, why does it have to be like this?

It is the only decent AI made to date as well, the base AI is simply dumb (4-6 buildings and a few units the whole game)

I can't wait to get my hands on the retail game with the Blizz-coded AI, see the improvements made.

Don't feel bad, the 6.1 AI (even the non cheating one) can be pretty tough.
Not because they are actually smart, but because, like always, a computer is bloody fast at micro and macro at the same time. They never forget to build units. Ever.

However, give it a couple more tries to really figure out the units. The various hard counters in SC2 make it so that even the most perfect macro game cannot stand up to a smaller army of just the right units. One set of matches I played mere minutes ago, I was steamrolled by a huge number of marines+marauders early on. Second match, I placed a forward pylon and sent some early zealots to delay their expansion/harrass. After that, straight up to warp gates while slowly teching to templars. (Two archives = researching amulet and storm at the same time, both chronoboosted).

After that it was a piece of cake. Warping in fully charged high templars with storm ready to go every 25 seconds, right in front of their base, vs some 100 marines and 10 marauders, that's probably 4x the army I was steamrolled by.

The fight lasted 10 seconds. After that it was just some cleanup work.

 

[TWD]

I had trouble with the crack AI the first few times, but it's just a matter of figuring out what works. After 4 or 5 tries it was effortless. Playing against human players is a totally different story. Now that I'm actually in the beta I can't put it down. Every match will keep you on your toes.

Don't forget that there's the help menu. It tells you about all the units and what they are strong/weak against. Hard counters are a big deal in this game. You also can't let yourself forget about your macro. Never stop building units. Set up hotkeys for your buildings, and make sure they are always producing.

 

[Sir_Brizz]

Seems like everyone but me is getting the stupid beta

Not that I particularly care, but I'd like to at least give the game a chance.

 

[Slainchild]

I want to play it.

 

[Defeat]

I want to play it.

 

[TWD]

I wish I could help you guys out, but I'm probably not going to get any invites soon. There's keys out there, but the community has been doing a good job of giving them to who deserves it the most. Hence casual gamers that aren't as involved are left out.

Don't worry though, you'll get your chance. It's insanely fun to play with friends. This is the sort of game you can play every night with your friends for years and still enjoy. The new battle.net is just done so well, that alone will keep you playing. There will be plenty of entertainment to be had when the game is released.

 

[Kantham]

Thanks for the tips guys, but I really do believe that the 6.1 AI is just too much for me to handle, plus, it's main goal is rush the human player like there's no tomorrow.

I want to play it.

You can -obtain- it like I did, I just haven't got a hold for the multiplayer BETA.

Not because they are actually smart, but because, like always, a computer is bloody fast at micro and macro at the same time. They never forget to build units. Ever.

Yeah, kinda like every FPS AI have aimbots on 24/7, they are coded to act like humans, thus miss. Otherwise it would be ****ing dumb, kinda like having an AI creating 20 Zealots like there's no beginning.

 

[Slainchild]

You can -obtain- it like I did, I just haven't got a hold for the multiplayer BETA.

I need Multiplayer.

If I played against AI, I'd just get even more depressed thinking about how much fun I could be having in MP.

So... no thanks.

 

[MARVO]

I want to play it.

 

[Kantham]

Mothership rush.
Banshee rush.