Karune, Blizzard’s RTS community manager, has been sprinkling various bits of information about StarCraft 2 on a select few threads on Battle.net. Karune provides his take on several new gameplay mechanics and changes to existing units and reveals some new data on them.

First up, some more information about the new Nydus Worm transportation mechanic, which we have also brought up for discussion.

The worm is no longer underground and moveable. It is a spawned unit that acts as a exit/entrance to the network.

Since the Worm no longer travels to its destination, it can not be intercepted on the way. However, it is not invulnerable – the enemies of the Zerg will still have a chance to kill it before it starts hurling Zerglings at their base.

Yes, you can see and attack the Nydus Worm before it becomes fully built. The visual graphics of this are not totally complete yet.

Next up, Karune talks about two of the Terran’s new units – The Reaper and the Marauder – and their roles on the battlefield.

Reapers are actually one of the best units against any light units in the game. They kill Zerglings, workers, and even Zealots pretty well with a little maneuvering. Their mines also decimate stationary defenses, as well as tech buildings. They are no doubt one of the best raiders in the game right now.

Reapers, which have bonus damage against light-type units, are currently the best economy raiders in the game – being able to jump into the enemy base, dispense with its workers, and plant some explosives for extra measure. Aside from that, they are also quite capable against all other light units, including the basic units for the others races – Zerglings and Zealots. However, they are very lightly armored – meaning that efficient usage might require quite a lot of dancing.

Marauders on the other hand are probably better mixed, unless you are going up against an all armored ground force. Marauders work well against both Protoss and Zerg. Early game, as mentioned above, they are great for slowing Zealots while Marines do the damage. Against Zerg, they are better suited against those pesky armored Roaches with the fast regen.

Marauders are now found in almost every Terran build. The slowing effect of their attack is beneficial when coupled with the ranged Marines against the other two races’ melee units. In the later parts of the game, the Marauders’ bonus attack against armored units keep them viable. They are especially important against the Zerg Roach, which quickly regenerates and shrugs off damage, as they can focus their anti-armor attack and squash it before the Roach has a chance to recover.

Karune answers a question about Stargates and the option of upgrading them to Warp Gates, like Gateways.

Only Gateways can be upgraded to Warp Gates. Gosh…warped in Carriers/Void Rays over an enemy base would be OP!

Next, a discussion about abilities which may or may not make it into the game:

The Molecular Disrupter is a new ability we are testing out on the Nullifier, in which the unit fires a psionic projectile which bounces between units of the same type, doing 10 damage with each hit, up to a maximum of 10 bounces. Thus, if you were to use this ability on 2 Marines (with 40 hit points each, not upgraded), both Marines would die easily. If there were 3 Marines, it would kill 1 Marine and leave the last two at 10 hp each. Currently, the ability costs 125 energy.

The Nullifier’s chain-lightning like ability, the Molecular Disruptor, joins his other two abilities – Hallucination and Force Field. This one looks a little out of place for the relatively “peaceful” caster, which has so far only passively affected battle situations with its abilities. The mechanic of only jumping between alike units feels a bit tacked on, not having any real use in any fight.

The Seismic Thumper is no longer in the multiplayer game, but was originally dropped on the battlefield, which slows all units within it’s radius by 50% (including friendlies). The only way to stop it was to destroy the Seismic Thumper itself.

The Seismic Thumper, an ability designed for the Nighthawk, will only appear in the single player portion of the game. An interesting idea for an ability that fits the Nighthawk’s role, it is currently out of the game, replaced by another new ability, Targeting Drone:

The Targeting Drone is similar to the Auto Turret in the fact that it does not have a timed life. It currently costs 50 energy to deploy and has 120 hitpoints (all subject to balance of course). The Targeting Drone can target one unit at a time, and increases the damage that unit takes by 50%. You cannot have two drones targeting the same target. These drones are also flying, stealthed, and immobile. They may excellent perimeter defenses and can be coupled with Auto Turret raids to maximize the damage.

With the addition of this ability, the Nighthawk has truly become the master of defense for the Terran, able to deploy Auto-Turrets, Spider Mines and now Targeting Drones. Coupled with its detection capabilities, this is a unit that will accompany Terran armies into many confrontations, scouting ahead of the main force and preparing preliminary defenses until the heavy gear is deployed.  Aside from that, it will certainly be useful for quickly setting up a defense perimeter around any new expansion. This is a great defensive addition to the Terran, which, in StarCraft 1, had no standalone defensive structure they could rely on for protection against ground forces.

However, since all of the Nighthawk’s deployables are energy based and permanent, a limit will likely be imposed on the number of concurrently deployed abilities to prevent abuse. Perhaps, like the old Protoss Reaver, it will have to pay to manufacture some of them first.

Finally, Karune discusses the Colossus‘ role in detail. The Colossus, which used to be extremely powerful as an individual unit in the previous builds, has been toned down somewhat and now has a more defined place on the battlefield.

In my opinion, the Colossus is the most effective when you have more than one. Three seems to be my optimal number, especially against Terran. Medivacs heal at a very fast rate, but only one target at a time. Against a group of Marines with a Medivac, one single Colossus would do virtually nothing, because the damage would be healed through easily. With three Colossi, the Marines would die in one sweep, negating any healing that could be done. A single Colossus is good at softening targets, but with more rapid healing from Medivacs and new units like Roaches, it may not be enough. At that point, you need enough to kill them in one sweep, and when you do have that, it will do significant damage to any army, especially with the additional range upgrade for the Colossus.

The Colossus has changed from the powerful assault unit it once was into more of an attack support unit. It will function best when it utilizes its extreme range upgrade (9) to target distant enemies from the safety of cliffs, or behind other, cheaper and more expandable units so it can inflict its AoE damage and soften up targets.

Some concerns were raised about the mechanism of the attack, which sweeps across in a line in front of the Colossus. The area of effect is very dependent on the position of the Colossus, and the timing of the animation also raised some questions. Here’s what Karune had to say:

Even though the beam is currently shown visually in various ways, the damage is done to all units in that straight line at the same time instantly. That line will always be based on the position you are attacking from, so in that way there is a lot of control as how to use the Colossus.

Lastly, Karune reveals an interesting piece of information about Blizzard’s plans for competitive play:

The range of the Colossus is what makes it such a great support unit, as well as an awesome raider from cliffs. Additionally, all competitive maps will have cliffs to some degree.

StarCraft 2 has intergrated many mechanics which depend on cliffs and height differences. This is something that differentiates it from StarCraft 1 in a great way and adds more complexity to the game. Aside from units, like the Colossus, which can traverse these heights naturally, the line-of-sight changes add to the importance of utilizing cliffs intelligently. It’s no surprise that Blizzard will want to see these new additions in maps designed for balanced, competitive gameplay.

Related Posts:

• » StarCraft 2 Beta: Protoss Strategies Overview
• » One Week Into The StarCraft 2 Beta: New Patch, Blizzcast
• » Indestructible Charges, Disruptor, New Hero Page, Fan Art
• » Micro-Updates: Queued Construction, Unit Types, Mothership

19 Comments to “Karunology: Terran Infantry, Colossus In-Depth, New Abilities”

1. THE_BANANA_REPUBLIC — October 27, 2008 @ 4:42 am
   

   How is warp technology OP for air units and not ground units? It seems to me that air units are more mobile, and it the ground units that have a harder time traversing the map — especially with competitive maps utilizing cliffs.

   Karune has played the game a lot more than I have, so I’ll take his word for it.

2. SCV_Operator — October 27, 2008 @ 5:09 am
   

   I really like the Nighthawk unit now. When it was first suggested with the autoturret that in itself sounded cool. These targetting drones and adding in the spider mines too make this a great unit. I wonder how the limiting factor for the drops would work, though? Like the old Vultures, would each unit only have a limited amount of starting equipment? That seems to make sense to me as each Nighthawk only has a limited amount of space.

   How about:

   4 Spider Mines
   3 Auto turrets
   Unlimited targetting drones (as these are very small)

   as a starting point. They all require energy to deploy, so you couldn’t drop them all at once, and once the items with damage are used up, the Nighthawk can still deploy targetting drones to help other units.

3. Apharion — October 27, 2008 @ 9:53 am
   

   I sure hope our previous recommended air-drop nydus worm will be considered. right now.. this new nydus worm canal thing seems very unrealistic to me… almost to a level that it slightly ruins the lore.

   colossus seems nerfed
   but blizz will get it right I think.
   I am still disappointed that the Protoss has no real reaver replacement for some heavy splash damage at slow firing rate.

4. SCV_Operator — October 27, 2008 @ 10:15 am
   

   Agree with the nerfing of the Collosus. It looked so awesome in the original release video, I just hope it doesn’t get relegated like the Thor seems to have done.

5. The Lost Firebat — October 27, 2008 @ 5:13 pm
   

   I’m really excited about the Nighthawk. Seems like it will be an highly usable new unit.

6. Kent — October 27, 2008 @ 6:52 pm
   

   right now I don’t really like the nullifier.. it somehow.. seems misplaced in the game. A mechanical spellcaster of protoss energy… that is just odd.

7. Joe — October 27, 2008 @ 9:59 pm
   

   Unlimited targeting drones? Hmm…

   Maybe if the Colossus attack was an instant beam with clear indication of the damage zone at the damage time it would be better. The latest sweep across beam thing is very poor, as units might die before the beam visually hits them.

   I would like to see its beam damage zone animate forwards like a lurker attack, which might work with both the visual style and strategic placement ideas that are already in place.

   Although, while interesting, the original attack was probably the best option. The unit seems slow, and having to place it correctly on the battlefield may hinder its overall usability.

   It seems as though the colossus’s shift from “powerful assault unit” to “attack support unit” has been minimal; if anything, it has simply become a less attractive unit option.

8. Victor — October 28, 2008 @ 7:08 pm
   

   “Maybe if the Colossus attack was an instant beam with clear indication of the damage zone at the damage time it would be better. The latest sweep across beam thing is very poor, as units might die before the beam visually hits them.”

   Seconded; it would be REALLY weird to see one of your units DIE when the beam only JUST LIGHTED UP. Unless the beams were INVISIBLE and the visual effects were just HOLOGRAMS wow!

9. SCV_Operator — October 29, 2008 @ 3:29 am
   

   They could use two attack animations for the Colosus – a pre-attack, dim illumination of the area that is going to be covered, and then the second, damage-causing beam.

   If you saw the first attack animation, you could move your troops out of the way in time (perhaps).

10. kent — October 29, 2008 @ 9:42 am
    

    I am beginning to feel that the protoss looks boring. Almost seems like they are there just because they were in SC1. Though one should really play the game to know, but as of now, it seems the protoss has nothing, absolutely nothing.

    yes, warp in build as a new idea is cool. but that’s all.

    Phoenix is an ugly craft with a ‘overload’ skill, that skill feels more zerg than protoss, as it weakens the unit too much afterwards. I want to see the phoenix replaced with a higher calibur protoss figher. Seriously, the art of the pheonix doesn’t help to sell it either.

    the Nullifier is another odd unit, looks like a flying trilobite, mechanic caster/magic box? Just bleh those ability for the high templar or dark templar, why make it a separate unit at all?

    Mothership nerfed, colossus nerfed. (and colossus still get hit by land and air.) . . . wtf blizz?

    Give the protoss something already? here are my wish list.

    1, give us a heavy armored expensive type of zealot, so you have fast infantry and heavy infantry.

    2, Let the Immortals shoot air.

    3, new air unit to replace phoenix please, something Protoss-like, like… the nighthawk in design.

    4, bring back a Heavy damaging unit, doesn’t need to be the reaver, but something that can really cause high numbered splash damage.

    5, bring back the Dark Archon as super late game caster.

    that’s what I feel.

11. johnner — October 29, 2008 @ 6:03 pm
    

    agreeing with protoss being nerfed too much and losing the cool factor.

    also agreeing on protoss needing one unit that can do above 100 damage in 1 hit. Right now, against fast healing units like roaches and marines with medics, the protoss weaponary is pretty much useless. (unless you wipe out archons.)

    something needs to be done.

12. redrach — October 30, 2008 @ 9:45 am
    

    From what I gather, the Protoss are the most overpowered race in the current alpha build. Check out the Starcraft 2 exhibition match on the Blizzcon coverage website. The Stalker’s Blink ability in particular, is very powerful in the hands of a progamer. Combine that with the ability to warp in ground units anywhere with a single shuttle, as well as drop the usual number of units, and throw in a mighty Colossus that can walk up and down cliffs – and you have a Protoss race that is MUCH stronger at raiding than its counterpart from SC1.
    That’s why Blizzard is focusing on buffing the other races and nerfing the Protoss.

    @johnner:
    The Protoss have several units that can quickly kill mobs of Roaches and Medivac-Marines. The average Protoss army will consist of a large number of Stalkers which can easily focus-fire and take out Roaches as well as the Medivac Dropship (Also, the Dropship will find it very hard to run, because of Blink).
    Late game you can expect to see Immortals, Psionic Storm, Archons, groups of Colossi, Void Rays, etc.

13. johnner — October 31, 2008 @ 12:11 am
    

    Re-above

    thanks for the feedback.

    that being said, I want to stress why I feel the protoss is not enough right now. First, according to Karune, upgraded roaches can survive psi-storm, and actually take down zealots cost to cost without suffering much damage, the only effective weapon left to fight roaches for protoss.. is the Dark templar and archons. I will assume medivac can’t heal that quickly, but probably not too far off the charts either. In other words, it appears to be that the protoss is the only race without some sort of a ‘quick healing infantry’, you might argue protoss has shield battery, but that’s a very immobile regeneration.

    If there’s an upgrade for protoss shields to regenerate at twice the rate under a pylon range, that I will think is fair.

14. NFX — November 1, 2008 @ 6:55 pm
    

    wow….this really look Interesting…that ever it seems that the terrans really rocks!especially the nighthawks!and the thor!even the hellions can burn the zerglings within in longer range!man….i really want to plat this game…when ii will release??anyway??2009?

15. NFX — November 1, 2008 @ 7:03 pm
    

    and what happen to the “Cobra??” unit?didn’t they include this one to the demo?is it powerful?and what ability that it have?

16. neophyte.vii — November 2, 2008 @ 2:49 pm
    

    @Johnner

    Um, dude, the entire protoss race now has fast-healing shields when out of battle.

17. johnner — November 3, 2008 @ 7:36 pm
    

    REALLY??? never heard of it.

    how does it work? got an article about that somewhere?

18. jamvng — November 5, 2008 @ 4:46 am
    

    Dunno bout an article, I’ve read about it somewhere but not sure where. Bascially the longer that a protoss unit isn’t damaged for, the faster it heals its shields. So for an opponent if you damage a protoss unit but don’t kill it, and you don’t continue you attacking, then its shields will regenerate really fast.

19. Victor — November 5, 2008 @ 5:47 am
    

    You can hear about it in the second match of Sonkie vs Yellow during BlizzCon 2008

    http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/video/archive.xml