As many StarCraft players will know by now, the Legacy of the Void expansion has been announced and the conclusion of the StarCraft II trilogy is almost upon us. Of course, with a new expansion, multiplayer changes are inevitable.
Blizzard have already outlined their initial proposals for each race. However, these are all subject to change at Blizzard's discretion. We will, of course, be sure to keep you apprised with as up-to-date information as possible. As these are all brand new changes for Legacy of the Void, let's break all three races down unit-by-unit.
This article will be all about the race Legacy of the Void is based around: Protoss.
The Protoss, sadly, only have one new unit: the Disruptor. A micro-focussed unit, built in the Robotics Bay. The Disruptor's goal in life is to deal large amounts of splash damage on clustered enemy units.
In a way, it's a Protoss version of the Baneling - but with two key twists. Prior to detonation, presumably when the player activates it, the Disruptor morphs into an invulnerable, mobile, energy ball. Though it only lasts a short period. This gives it a small, very important, window of opportunity to move into position before detonating and dealing damage.
The second advantage for the Disruptor is after detonating the unit doesn't die. Although currently unclear, it's likely there's an energy bar which recharges in between denotations. Meaning with the correct micro you could rack up some serious damage, especially in the early game, with this new Protoss zombie-esque unit.
Now the new Protoss unit is all accounted for, time to cover the tweaks/buffs/nerfs of existing units. Starting with the Immortal. It now comes with an active shield ability, discarding the previous passive Hardened Shield.
This is more of a tweak, rather than a buff/nerf, as it pushes the use of Immortals more towards a micro game. The theory being in formerly simple engagements, such as steam-rolling through static defence/units while pressing 'A', the Immortal is now forced to consider the engagement more carefully and use shield activation timings to win.
However, it means when engaging in battles Immortals would have previous struggled in, say against Hydras/Marauders, they can now survive far better with more intensive micro. Definitely more of a balancing issue than a full change, but continues the trend of increased micro-focus Blizzard appears to be hoping for in Legacy of the Void - especially with Protoss.
The rest of the Protoss changes are all taking to the sky, so what better way to start than with the Oracle. Revelation and Envision are now one in the same. When clocked units are hit with Envision, they are also revealed for all to see.
By combining these two abilities into one, the Oracle is now a far more viable detection unit. Making it very useful when players don't want to change their entire tech tree to get an Observer.
On top of this, the Oracle has a new active ability called Stasis Ward. These are cloaked trap mines, which when tripped will freeze all enemy units within range. Currently it's unknown how long the stasis lasts, but during the “significant” period enemy units will be unable to move, attack, or use abilities. The catch here is the enemy units won't take any damage while trapped in this frozen Protoss limbo.
The biggest, and in my opinion the most important, change to the Protoss roster is the Warp Prism. In Legacy of the Void players will be able to pick up units from a distance. Though the distance currently isn't known, it looks to be about the same as a Pylon's energy range.
Protoss, debatably, have the most trouble when it comes to drops in StarCraft II. This Warp Prism buff is aiming to make drops and harassment more viable for Protoss players. As well as help evacuate slower units away from the battlefield during a tactic retreat, or move units to help defend a third+ base – a frequent complaint levelled by Protoss players in Heart of the Swarm.
The Tempest is getting its fair share of tweaks, but they're a little complicated. In Legacy of the Void, its standard attack will be restricted to only ground units. The trade-off for this is the Tempest is being given a significant boost to it's movement speed (its previous speed being akin to a dead orca whale in a shopping trolley) and will still maintaining its current range (15).
This is then balanced by an active ability, known as Disintegration. This new ability allows Tempest to deal high damage, over a long period of time, to a single selected unit.
Blizzard have shown an example clearly using this ability on a Brood Lord. Indicating the Tempest may still be able to damage air units, but not with the standard Tempest attack.
Finally, we have the Carrier. Quite possibly the most requested unit Protoss players have ever wanted changes for. The Carrier has been the subject of many Protoss players for years - with many criticising its cost efficiency, and attack prowess in close engagements.
However, praise be to Auir, as Legacy of the Void will see the ability to direct the Carrier's Interceptors to a targeted area within the Carrier's range (12). This new change will mean, hopefully, players can deal more damage with a Carrier in individual battle, as well as making it more cost effective to go for the tech tree overall.
That about wraps it all up for now. Those are all the proposed changes currently for the Protoss race in Legacy of the Void's multiplayer. Again, these are all subject to change whenever Blizzard feels to urge, but at the time of posting these are all accurate. We'll be sure to keep you as up-to-date as possible with any future changes here on Gfinity.
If you're interested in checking out the multiplayer changes to the Terran or Zerg race, then simply click the images below: