Blizzcon 2011: StarCraft II - Multiplayer

Game Director Dustin Browder opened the discussion with an analysis of the balance of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, from global game allocation to tournament results. In most cases, a good balance of matchmaking was observed, with a few exceptions, such as zerg versus protoss at the Master League level, which favored the zerg in the European hierarchy; and Terran supremacy in GSL Code S tournament play. The team has recently been examining the effect of the 1.4 patch modifications on protoss / terran matchmaking, which, among other things, were intended to reduce the effectiveness of the 1/1/1 Terran strategy. Increasing the range of the immortals has also had a positive effect. Right now the development team is considering downgrading PEM and making other changes to further improve the overall balance.

The arrival of the Heart of the Swarm expansion gives the development team the opportunity to work on the balance of StarCraft II multiplayer in a more thorough way than the patches allow. With the ability to add and remove units, Heart of the Swarm will allow the team to more effectively manage race weaknesses, spice up certain stalled encounters such as zerg versus zerg or protoss versus protoss, and fix missed opportunities. compared to existing units. Browder recalled that the game is under development, nothing is final, player feedback is essential, and the upcoming StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm beta will be extremely helpful and informative.

Game designer David Kim continued with a detailed evaluation of the three races. Here's an overview of what's new in Heart of the Swarm multiplayer:

Terran

• Incidents and weaknesses
  • The thor is too slow and clumsy.
  • The race has difficulty managing fans en masse late in the game.
• New units and abilities
  New "Battle Mode" for the Erebion - Transform like a Viking.
  • • The erebion in battle mode has more hit points, it moves more slowly.
    • The Flaming Attack fires a shorter, wider shot, and stronger.
    • Provides the Terran with a robust front-line fighter late in the game.
  • Demolition Man
    • Smaller, more agile version of thor.
    • Effective ground weapon against mechanical units to help break through siege tank lines.
    • Anti-aircraft attack with splash damage.
  • Crusher
    • Robot that deals channeled area of ​​effect damage when immobilized.
    • Damage is automatically blocked when an ally enters its range.
    • Gives Terran cheap area control, but cannot be used near the main army.
    • It is still in an early stage of its development.
  • Thor
    • Moved to an advanced stage of the game, more hit points and damage.
    • you can only have one, like the motherships in Wings of Liberty.

Zerg

• Incidents and weaknesses
  • Difficulties in the middle phase of the game with siege and area control.
  • Missed opportunities with certain units such as the Ultralisk and the Degrader.
  • New units and abilities
    • Ultralisk
      • The existing version is bulky and has a hard time going into battle.
      • The new underground charge ability allows them to dive underground and enter combat with ease.
    • Viper
      • New irradiator unit with detection, replaces the supervisor.
      • He has abilities as a blinding cloud to help break through entrenched positions.
      • The abduct ability allows you to draw units towards you: take out siege tanks or colossi from the deadly balls.
    • Swarm Host
      • Zerg artillery for map control and siege.
      • Burrows into the ground and continually spawns small attack creatures.
      • It has a very zerg style.

  Protoss

  • Incidents and weaknesses
    • You need more assault options.
    • Needs area-of-effect antiaircraft attacks.
  • New units and abilities
    • Storm
      • New protoss main ship, replaces the carrier.
      • Anti-aircraft spray damage on mutalisks and other aircraft.
      • Direct air-ground attack not spread.
    • Replicating
      • Special drive that can be cloned into any non-huge drive.
      • Allows Protoss to also obtain Siege Tanks or Infestors from their enemies.
      • It is very expensive.
      • It is still in an early stage of its development, it is not a definitive unit
    • Oracle
      • Irradiating unit used for assault and harassment.
      • You can disable enemy structures or prevent mining with your skills.
      • It does not kill or deal damage.
      • The mothership is designed to favor this unit.

  Other adjustments and additions have been made to the multiplayer mode of Heart of the Swarm. Among the most interesting modifications we find that the reaper has obtained the ability to regenerate health at high speed when he is out of combat, although his attack on buildings has been eliminated. Battlecruisers will also have a new cooldown ability that gives them a speed boost. .

  When it comes to zerg, Banelings will be able to move underground thanks to an upgrade late in the game, while Hydralisks will gain a speed upgrade when moving outside of Creep The debunkers will also have a new channeled ability called suck. Sucked buildings take damage over time while the zerg player gains some of their minerals. .

  We finally talk about the protoss. Two new abilities have been added to the Nexus. One is a mass retreat that allows Protoss players to quickly retreat their armies, while the other is a defensive ability that gives any structure additional shield and building armor, in addition to a photon cannon-like weapon. .

  Before the round of questions, the StarCraft II development team reminded attendees that the expansion is still in an early stage of development and is therefore subject to change. .

  What do you think of the multiplayer experience of StarCraft II?