Starcraft 2

Despite what Rob Pardo said about the game not being launched this year, there’s plenty of evidence that a Starcraft 2 beta will make an appearance at Blizzcon.

Here’s the gist from WoWInsider:

In case you needed any more reasons to want to go to BlizzCon, they’ve just announced that convention-goers will be treated to a playable demo of StarCraft II. Of course, who knows how much “playable demo” there is to the game yet, but but Blizzard tells us that “attendees can sample the new units and gameplay elements for themselves in multiplayer battles.”

PCGamer has done an extensive preview of Starcraft 2 - 9 pages in total. There’s quite a bit of new information that has surfaced.

For starters, the article confirmed that there will be NO HEROES in Starcraft 2. So if you think the marine in the trailer is some kind of a hero unit, you’re wrong. Though you could be right when it comes to the Starcraft 2 single-player.

Another interesting bit comes in the form of a screenshot (blurry, I know). Remember when I discussed the Protoss Colossus? I said it likely substitutes the reaver. As you can see in the screenshot, reavers are alive and kicking butt. So no substitutions.

In addition to the new Protoss units announced, I see that my favorite caster is here to stay: the High Templar with its Psionic Storm. In addition, he’ll bring a new spell that will create a force field to trap enemy units and create barriers.

There’s one unit that I haven’t seen before - the Protoss Tempest. This “dark” carrier will have use fighters to attack targets and its special is a force shield that will only activate when hit from the ground.

The Protoss Colossus is probably one of the most recognizable of the new Protoss units in Starcraft 2. It bares a close resemblance to the aliens in War of Worlds. It’s a huge walker, so in this respect it has a reference to The Empire Strikes Back.

Trivia aside, the Protoss Colussus looks like a replacement to the Reaver. The Reaver has a splash attack (scarabs) and apart from it’s obvious role as a ground support for Zealots, it is often used in hit-and-run missions on enemy bases. The shuttle carrying a reaver and support troops is definitely one of the better weapons in the Protoss arsenal, especially against Zerg expansions.

See the Protoss Colossus in a gameplay video and you’ll see it shares some of the Reaver characterstics.

Now, all the hit-and-run missions aside, the Reaver was definitely one of the LEAST utilized Protoss units. Its slow speed combined with the AI of the scarabs meant its usefulness was limited.

So what have changed in Starcraft 2? For one, the colossus still makes an excellent raider (see screenshot).

The Colossus has kept the splash attack but this time it’s not easy to evade it or mis-direct it with a few dancing Zerglings. In addition, you don’t need a shuttle to move it to higher/lower ground.

Going back to rock-paper-scissors, the Protoss Colossus looks like a hard counter to mid-game Zergling drops and Terran marine-medic push. It has to be a tier 2 Protoss unit in order to have a chance to counter the above. I’ll be extremely surprised if it turns out it has an air attack as well. So while the Colossus is the ultimate ground weapon, the Protoss Mothership still rules supreme in the air.

Initially, I was thinking of starting with the Zealot. It made sense to start with the first unit that’s coming out of the Gateway. However, the Protoss Mothership seems at least 10 times more exciting, so lets forget about build orders for now.

If you interested in how the Mothership fits the storyline, here’s a brief primer:

After the destruction of Auir, and the attacks on Shakuras, the Protoss has decided to create safe havens within the sky. These glass domes encase entire Protoss cities and are a symbol of hope and power. Headed by the leaders of the Protoss Conclave, Motherships are not only armed to the teeth, but also act as a funnel for the Conclave’s immense psionic power.

Let’s look at the gameplay video (Protoss Mothership only)

Protoss Mothership Stats

The production cost for producing a mothership is not clear, yet you know what you get for your money - a finisher that will destroy your opponents fleet and level a heavily fortified base. It has 850 hit points and is protected by a 350-point shield.

The Mothership’s standard attack consists of eight psionic missiles that home to nearby targets. It seems like they’ll be difficult to focus-fire effectively. In the gameplay video, it looked like the Mothership is hitting two or more targets simultaneously. Lets go through the abilities next.

Protoss Mothership Ability: Time bomb

The time bomb ability will slow down to crawl all enemy movement in the area around the Mothership. In addition, all missiles fired by stationary base defenses (maybe Goliath missiles as well) will get caught up in this force field. Once the units are destroyed, the missiles fall to the ground and the Mothership continues unscathed.

Protoss Mothership Ability: Planet Cracker

This ability reminds me of the movie Independence Day. It’s a deathray that hits all targets on ground below the mothership. Its purpose is to level a base and/or destroy all ground reinforcements that enemy throws at you. Not sure if you can use this ability in conjunction with the Time bomb. It seems like a deadly combo to me: no one moves, while I level the base.

Protoss Mothership Ability: Black Hole

In case you’ve got the impression that the Mothership abilities target ground only, here’s my favorite ability: the Black Hole. It looks like the Mothership will expend all its energy on this one (you might even need an energy upgrade). The effect is devastating to all units in range - they are sucked in the black hole, never to be seen again.

This disappearing act takes things a bit too far in my opinion. So maybe Blizzard can balance it with making it a Wormhole instead of a black hole. It could cause damage and throw the sucked units all across the map.