StarCraft 2 is not even out yet, and Blizzard has already released a preview of StarCraft 3!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B16eAS1dwA
The minimalist graphics and sound are going to appeal to a lot of players tired of all the bells and whistles like 3D. Comment below for a chance to get in the beta queue.
Thor – Ground damage decreased from 45 to 30- Ground rate of fire improved from 1.93 to 1.28.- Air damage changed from 8 (+4 Light) to 6 (+6 Light).- 250mm Strike Cannons are now an upgrade at the Factory Tech Lab; research now costs 150/150 and 110 seconds; energy cost increased from 100 to 150.
The damage change reduces the Thor’s opening burst, which will mean that some units will be able to shoot a little longer before being destroyed. The increase in rate of fire means the damage-per-second remains the same, but it does change a few relationships. Thors are no longer as effective against Roaches (for example) without fire support from Marauders.
The Thor Strike Cannons have become an upgrade to try to help out the Ultralisk, who is countered so hard by this attack that we see very few Ultralisks in Terran vs. Zerg. This is (of course) not enough to really change that relationship, but we have some more plans for the Ultralisk in the next patch.
The anti-air changes make Thors a little more clear in their role as an anti-light AA weapon which gives more value to Vikings and Marines.
SC2Hacks: I didn’t realize Thor was so effective against Ultralisks.
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I’m curious if anyone has seen the StarCraft 2 Collector’s Edition items yet?
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The fifth episode of GosuTV
League and Tournament Updates
The best part is the little strategies blurbs where they show things like rushing with a tank, and dropping Thors behand enemy lines with medivac’s.
http://www.own3d.tv/video/26337/GosuTV_-_Episode_5
It’s about 35 minutes, but much more engrossing than another Sarah Silverman show if you’re a StarCraft player 
→ No CommentsTags: GosuTV·sc2 strategies·sc2 tournaments·starcraft tv·strategies·tank rush·thor rush
Nethaera: Siege Tank- Life increased from 150 to 160.
Siege Tanks are seeing good use in several match-ups but we still think they could be a little tougher so they can maybe get in one more shot during big fights.
SC2Hacks: I agree with this, tanks seem to die too fast. What effect does upgrading their armor do in comparison to this little upgrade?
→ No CommentsTags: seige tank·seige tank life·siege tank·siege tank armor·siege tank strategy·starcraft siege tank
Netahera: Raven- Seeker Missile range has been decreased from 9 to 6.- Splash radius has been decreased from 2.4 to 2.- upgrade no longer requires Fusion Core.
We are hoping to see some more Seeker missiles without unbalancing the unit. At the same time we want to reduce the effectiveness of Seeker missile in 2v2 games where mass Ravens have (on occasion) been a problem.
SC2Hacks: Don’t much use Raven’s personally except as a detector, takes too much time to control all the stuff! Mass Ravens? That’s an idea.
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Netahera: The range has been increased from 5 to 6.
This is not an actual change to the area effect of the weapon. The weapon was always range 6, but it would only acquire targets at range 5 so it would get a little bit of splash that would hit enemies behind its initial target. By making the weapon range 6 it is easier to shoot and run from enemy units. It does make the splash a little less useful if you are just using the “attack move” command.
SC2Hacks: I don’t see hit and run with Hellion’s much, I should try it
→ No CommentsTags: Hellion Range·Hellion strategy·Hellion unit·StarCraft Hellion·Terran Hellion
Netahera: Battlecruiser -The build time has been decreased from 110 to 90.
We are trying to make this ship a little more useful. In reality this unit is easily countered by Corruptor, Void Ray, or Viking which may already be in play by the time it arrives, but we think it might see a little more play if it’s just easier to build.
SC2Hacks: This makes sense, I rarely see a game won by Battlecruisers. I don’t see people use Ravens much either, but that may be more a function of them requiring more skill to use.
→ No CommentsTags: Battecruiser build time·Battlecruisers strategy·Corruptor·Patch 11·starcraft patch·Terran Battlecruiser·Viking·Void Ray
Netahera: Splash- 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.
We have changed how splash works for several units across the game to make it always hit the dead center of the target unit. Previously splash was centered on the front of the target unit. This makes splash generally more effective, though against certain large targets (buildings, Thors, Ultralisks) you will now not get any splash damage since the splash radius will be contained entirely within the radius of the large target.
SC2Hacks: What units do Splash damage?
→ No CommentsTags: Netahera·Patch 11·splash damage·starcraft splash
A number of units were changed slightly in Patch 11 as the StarCraft team continues to rebalance. It’s very interesting to read about how they are watching all the games and making changes, basically I think they want all the different units to be used and not useless. Anyway, in the next several posts I will be outlining all the changes as posted by Netahera of the StarCraft team.
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