The first of the two StarCraft 2 Beta phases has come to an end. Launched in mid February this year, the public beta lasted almost 4 months and introduced changes to SC2 through a total of 16 patches. Multiple Battle.net data resets were also applied to allow Blizzard to test and retest Battle.net 2.0 and the match-making system.

The second and final beta phase, planned to begin shortly before the game is released on July 27, 2010, will erase all previous StarCraft 2 versions players have accumulated over the course of the beta and eliminate replay backward-compatibility.

When the second phase of beta begins shortly before the release of the game it will include a new patch. This patch will be removing all previous version folders. Any replays created during the first phase of the beta will no longer be viewable once the next phase begins.

Blizzard is not slowing down. Despite the impeding StarCraft 2 beta shut down, a new patch has been released and Battle.net‘s databases have been wiped clean. The patch deals mostly with upgrades, but also takes the Terran Siege Tank down a notch.

General

Improved the system that handles initial placement and promotion/relegation between Leagues & Ladders.

In an interesting change to the ladder system, it’s no longer possible for players to be placed into the highest league – Diamond – right after the five initial placement matches. Instead, players who display good skill during the placement matches will be placed into Platinum, and only then be promoted to Diamond if they prove their worth.

Balance Changes

TERRAN

Hellion

Weapon upgrade bonus decreased from 1 (+1 Light) to 1.

Reaper

Nitro Packs research cost decreased from 100/100 to 50/50.

Siege Tank

Siege Mode damage decreased from 60 to 50.

Thor

Anti-air weapon upgrade bonus decreased from 1 (+1 Light) to 1

ZERG

Brood Lord

Weapon upgrade bonus decreased from 3 to 2.

Quite a significant change to the Siege Tank. The likely cause is the indirect buff it received a few patches ago, in the form of a change to the way splash damage works.

The splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.

As detailed in our Terran strategy overview, the Siege Tank will still rule the ground with its range-superiority. However, its weapon is now less effective against some key targets. Here’s a short breakdown of the changes:

• No longer one-shots Combat-Shield Marines
• Needs 4 shots to kill Zealots
• +1 weapons upgrade no longer kills Stalkers in 3 shots, Marauders in 2
• Roaches will survive 3 hits as long as they’re not instantaneous: further use added for burrowing Roaches
• 4 shots needed to kill an enemy siege Tank
• Same amount of shots required for Zerglings (1) and Hydralisks (2), but more shots are needed in the lower-damage area of effect radii for many units, including Hydralisks

Overall, this is quite a meaningful adjustment to this unit, although further impacts will likely not surface until the second stage of the beta.

Blizzard has released the much anticipated and perhaps last patch of the first StarCraft 2 Beta phase. Recently applied, it has fixed some of the limbo that player b.net records were in prior to the update.

The patch focuses mainly on Zerg upgrades and abilities, converting some optional upgrades into default unit features. As with all recent updates, Blizzard has released a Situation Report to clarify the reasoning behind these changes, and we will integrate the explanations into the patch notes along with further commentary to flesh them out.

PROTOSS

Archon
Build time decreased from 17 to 12.

As Blizzard mentioned in a recent situation report, the Archon’s main purpose is to serve as a way to recycle mana-depleted High Templars, a common situation that renders these expensive and fragile units helpless in the midst of battle. With this change, the Protoss have a significantly faster way to turn the fragile casters into massive AoE tanks.

Archons can now merge a little faster so “mid battle merges” will be a little bit more practical.

TERRAN

Viking
Ground damage decreased from 14 to 12.

Situation Report:

The Viking’s damage has been reduced to make them a little less effective on the ground. Massed Vikings were a little too powerful in a few late game scenarios. Vikings have also become very dominant in terran vs. terran matches and we are testing to see if a small damage reduction will make some other units more viable.

In Terran vs. Terran matches, Vikings are mainly used to control the skies – they’d likely remain almost as prevalent even if their ground mode was removed completely. In these matches, when the skies are clear, Tanks are free to dominate the ground.

ZERG

Corruptor
Corruption energy cost decreased from 100 to 75.

Infestor
Burrowed move speed increased from 1 to 2.
Peristalsis upgrade removed.
Roach
Organic Carapace upgrade removed.
Tunneling Claws now also increases burrowed regeneration rate from 5 to 10.

Situation Report:

There are many different upgrades on the zerg, the Roach and the Infestor both had three upgrades. We are reducing and combining these upgrades so the units get a little bit more powerful or so that you have to buy fewer upgrades to complete your units. We have also reduced the cost of several energy abilities on the Zerg that didn’t see a lot of use. We will continue to monitor these abilities moving forward.

Having been vigorously hit with the nerfhammer over the course of the recent patches, the Roach finally receives some mid-game love. Bringing the regeneration rate upgrade down from Hive level (tier 3) to Lair (tier 2) and bundling it with the Tunneling upgrade is bound to provide a solid edge for players willing to upgrade and micro their Roach swarms.

Ultralisk
Anabolic Synthesis upgrade removed.
Health increased from 450 to 500.
Speed increased from 2.25 to 2.9531.

Situation Report
Ultralisks have been buffed to include their speed upgrade as by default and to give them a little more endurance in big fights. This may or may not be enough to get the Ultralisk ultimately where we want him to be. We will continue testing going forward.

Unlike the Roach, the Ultralisk has been getting buff after buff. The current one will make it move 31% faster out of the box, meaning it is now as fast as a non-upgraded Zergling. Will this be enough to make the Ultralisk a solid option in late game matches?

The patch also included a few fixes and UI adjustments:

Map Publishing: the default Battle.net host now points to the correct server.
Time Expiration notices that were added for testing of the Guest Pass functionality have been removed.
Fixed a crash when trying to open an old replay by double-clicking it in Explorer.

That’s all for this patch. With 5 more days left for this phase of the beta, these changes will not be rigorously tested. This is the time to fulfill your duty as a beta tester and play till your eyes melt to provide some fine feedback to Blizzard while still possible! Get out there and fight, soldier!

Continuing our Strategy Overview series with the Terran race, we explore commonly used strategies in mid to high level of play in StarCraft 2. The Terran race is a totally different animal from the Protoss race previously explored here, and, therefore, the format will not be exactly the same as before – the rugged space hicks are actually not as straightforward as they seem!

To start off, we’ll focus on the common rush-type openings, before moving on to the more general gameplay strategies.

Reaper Rush

The Reaper, The Terran’s jetpack-equipped infantry unit, has been hotly discussed from day one. This super fast, ranged, cliff-jumping, light-damage dealing, tier 1.1 unit takes down workers in three rapid shots and can infiltrate an enemy mineral line before he’s able to produce a single unit. The fastest variation calls for building a Barracks and Refinery before the first supply depot, attaching a tech-lab to it and getting a Reaper out as soon as possible.

Since this is an economy-crippling build, the goal in this rush is to inflict more economy damage to the opponent than the Terran player has sacrificed for it. In low-mid levels of play, groups of 2-3 Reapers will be gathered first before an attack. However, in higher level play, players can smell a Reaper rush a mile away, and so, the Terran player will send his first Reaper to attack as soon as it emerges from the Barracks.

Reapers are basically invulnerable to tier 1 melee units and can kite those forever while taking shots at them if proper micromanagement is applied. The only exceptions are Zerglings on creep and Speedlings, which can catch up with the Reapers and quickly surround them. Still, with the Reapers’ ability to jump up and down cliffs, their survivability and harassment potential are greatly increased.

Some are calling it the “Terran 6pool” because of the somewhat obnoxious feeling one gets from being attacked before any defensive capabilities are available. However, just like early Zergling rushes, Reaper rushes can be defended against as well if one scouts ahead and prepares accordingly.

Counters:

• A single Stalker or Marauder in the mineral line, Roaches
• ~2 Marines per Reaper
• A Spine Colony or Photon Cannon + whatever units are at hand to chase the Reapers

Fast Banshees

Banshees, the Terran’s rotor-spaceships, are somewhat slow and can’t take a lot of hits, but dish out damage at an incredible rate. Despite being relatively high on the tech tree, the Terran’s walling-off abilities make this strategy both relatively safe and hard to scout. Getting these out to the field quickly gives the Terran player a good chance to find his opponent lacking any meaningful anti-air capabilities. With more than a couple at hand, the Banshees are very capable at hit and run attacks against anti-air defenses and units, wearing down the opponent until the mineral line is exposed and the workers are good for the picking. However, even single Banshees can take out their immediate counters in one on one battles – Both Queens and Stalkers lose to a Banshee in a head-on fight, and groups of Marines are not guaranteed to repel it as well. When the defenses go down, two Banshee volleys are enough to kill one worker! If that wasn’t enough, delaying the Banshee attack a little longer can allow the Terran player to research Cloak for it, making its harassment (and game ending-potential) even more effective.

Counters:

• Missile Turrets with Marines, quick Vikings with Ravens
• Spore Colonies, quick Hydralisks with Overseers
• Photon Cannons, Stalkers with Observers added later on

Marine Rush

As simple as it gets. Get a bunch of trusty Marines and send them to the enemy base, mowing down everything on the way. This build was very uncommon in the early days of the beta – the simplest things are sometimes hardest to see – but it’s been gaining traction as of late, despite the nerf to the Marine build time in patch #6. After getting a first Barracks and an Orbital Command, three more Barracks are quickly added (before the second Supply Depot, for brave players) and Marines start being produced in masses. The gang heads out to the enemy base, trying to take advantage of their long weapon range and concentrated DPS to quickly and painlessly take down any target of opportunity. With some micro inserted into the mix, the Marines will run back a bit after each firing cycle: this makes them take less hits from melee units and prevent them from getting surrounded as well as makes it harder for shorter ranged units to engage with their full attack potential. When the Terran player finally pushes his Marine force into the enemy base – usually supplemented by more and more waves of rallied reinforcements – the opportunity to deal a knock-out blow to the enemy economy is great, and the game is often decided right at that point.

Counters:

• Bunkers, especially with Reapers OR very quick Siege Tanks
• Banelings, Roaches and/or Spine Crawlers in sufficient numbers
• Quick Colossus, dancing Stalkers, Cannons + Force Field in chokes, Charging Zealots

Hellion Opening

Hellions, the StarCraft 2 Firebat/Vulture hybrid, have been seeing more and more use throughout all stages of the game. Still, one of their most effective uses is early in the game, where few offensive units are available. Their linear splash damage effect makes them particularly suitable for killing workers – especially if these try to run away – and makes the Hellion one of the units most benefiting from good micromanagement. The Terran player will get a fast Factory right after the first Barracks, on which a Reactor addon is pre-built, and then move the Factory over it to quickly start pumping out Hellions for a devastating drive-by on the enemy economy. With their bonus damage against light targets, the Hellions remain very handy later on, if Zerglings, Banelings, Hydralisks, Zealots, and Dark Templars come into play. While the Hellions can’t survive many hits, their relatively long range allows them to stay safely behind the rest of the Terran army, scorching enemy units without inflicting friendly fire damage in the process.

Counters

• Blocked ramps and choke points (units on Hold Position work well!)
• Static defense in the mineral line

Standard M3 Ball

Ahh, the dreaded M&M&M army. Much has been said about this unit composition – comprising Marines, Marauders and Medivacs – and not surprisingly so, as it can be seen in the vast majority of Terran games, in all match-ups. The reason, of course, is the incredible robustness and all-roundedness of this build – and some would say: ease of use. The M3 ball, composed of easy to mass units, capable in both defense and offense, mobile to the extreme yet beefy enough for a stand-up fight, is clearly the “correct” go-to strategy in many situations. With Marauders dishing out heavy anti-armor damage, Marines – the highest DPS/cost ranged unit in the game, who have a great anti-air weapon – and Medivacs, the mobility and healing granting fliers, the M3 ball can be where it needs quickly, counter almost any unit composition, and stay alive long enough to get the job done. With the three upgrades added – Combat Shields, Concussive Shells and Stim Packs – the ball can serve many Terran players for the entire match.

When building up for an M3 ball, one would best be served by quickly setting up two extra Barracks after upgrading to an Orbital Command. One Barracks should have the Reactor addon while the other two get a Tech-Lab. From then on, pumping out units is an easy affair, and the ball is quickly formed by continually building two Marauders and two Marines at a time. This build allows the production of a relatively heavy army while still teching up and/or getting unit upgrades – a must for a dedicated M3 ball. When a small complement of M&Ms is gathered, a Starport is built to supplement them with Medivacs.

The M3 ball is made! This well-rounded army can then push out, look for weaknesses in enemy positions, drop on unsuspecting mineral lines, or serve as cannon fodder for Siege Tanks.

Counters

• Siege Tanks, Cloaked Banshees
• Fungal Growth, Banelings + Swarm, Brood Lords in the late game
• Colossi or Psi-Storm with Charging Zealots

Mid-game transitions: Siege Tanks, Thors

Once the Terran player has opened with one of the above and successfully transitioned into the mid-game, the time comes to choose a unit composition that will best serve the next transition – into a victory, or at least into the late-game. The Terran race has a variety of options and answers for all situations, but some counters are very hard and serve almost no purpose against anything but their intended targets.

Siege Tanks

The Siege Tank, one of the Terran’s most symbolic units, returns to serve the same role in StarCraft 2 – ground-control and crowd-control. With the huge damage and splash effect, Siege Tanks are effective in all numbers, whether by softening up enemy units for an M&M blob or by completely denying an area of the battlefield from ground units when large enough numbers are used. Often, the Terran player will quickly get a couple of Siege Tanks after settling into the game and march straight towards the enemy base, slowly wearing him down with the help of the incredible long range of the sieged-up tank artillery cannon. From then, the Terran player is a Siege-Tank push away from victory – slowly leap-frogging the Siege Tanks closer and closer to where it hurts while keeping the enemy contained inside his base.

Counters

• Siege Tanks, Banshees
• Swarming the tanks when they unsiege, Brood Lords
• Immortals, Phoenix Gravity Beam, Dark Templars, carefully managed Charging Zealots

Thors

The Terran Thor, still a menacing unit despite the recent size cut, has slowly managed to find a niche on the battlefield, thanks to some patched-in changes to its attributes and a greater understanding of its role in the game a couple of months into the beta. Despite its cost, the Thor has many advantages and is very useful in many army compositions – and sometimes, even just by itself.

Since the Thor is able to take down many units – including workers – in one volley of its cannons, Thor drops can actually be very effective if done right. A Terran producing a Thor quickly and dropping it on an enemy mineral line will rack up a few worker kills easily and will also be able to deal with many offensive units unless they swarm him all together – in which case, it’s back to the Medivac.

Thors are also a great addition to an M&M ball when deciding to push out with one. Its great anti-air attack, which deals area-of-effect damage in a small radius, is a perfect complement to Marines against flying threats such as the Mutalisk and Banshee. The Thor’s special Strike Cannon ability is great when dealing with other Massive targets, since, despite not dealing much more DPS than its normal attack, the bombardment stuns the unit in place until it dies. Also, since abilities ignore the Immortal’s hardened shield, the Strike Cannons destroy a fully-shielded Immortal in one use.

What is the Standard

When Terran players wish to play it safe and solid, they’ll often wall-up inside their base while gathering the standard M&M force. Constantly scouting the enemy, additional units will supplement this basic army to counter upcoming threats to the Terran infantry: Hellions for masses of light units, mainly Zerglings, Banelings and Zealots; Vikings for heavy air units, such as Brood Lords, Void Rays, Carriers and Battlecruisers, as well for decapitating Colossi; Siege Tanks to deal with masses of tier 1-2 units; Thors to deal with light-air swarms; and eventually, Battlecrusiers to put the hurt on everything or break down turtles. Some pressure can be applied using Reapers, Banshees or Hellions, as described above, until the Terran player is ready to seal the deal with a well-timed push.

Addendum: Terran as the Real Infestation

While fighting the Zerg often feels like dealing with bugs that keep harassing you all over and are impossible to get rid of, the Terran race can actually play the infestation game just as well, “infesting” the battlefield and never releasing their hold on it. The Terrans have always been the turtle-friendly choice, but in StarCraft 2, thanks to some new tools and additional mobility, the turtle can now more easily spread around and hold more and more of the battlefield. Almost every Terran unit can be treated like a mobile turret with various properties designed to keep enemies away from the Terran mining operations. Their units have the longest range, their buildings are bulky and durable, and their static defenses – Bunkers, Missile Turrets and Planetary Fortresses, provide the most robust defense.

The Thor often makes more sense when seen as a walking turret, patrolling the base and guarding it from Mutalisk invasions; Vikings, one of the slower flying units, have an incredible range of 9, and are more than suitable for taking down Void Rays trying to penetrate the Terran base before they even think of charging up. With Siege Tanks, the building armor upgrade, the Raven’s Point Defense Drone and Auto-Turret, and the amazing staying power of infantry backed by healing Medivacs, a well-built Terran fortress is indeed the hardest to break.

A Terran player playing the infestation game will periodically take over an expansion, sending many SCVs to quickly put down defenses and buildings as well as Siege Tanks and the other necessary walking/flying turrets to secure the area. The purpose, of course, is to create a stronghold that the enemy will have to spend many more resources to remove than it took to secure. Slowly taking over the map while occasionally harassing the enemy, this strategy is often hard to deal with even if it’s seen coming.