5.0.12 Balance Update Test Mod
Patch Goals
- Make Protoss more stable on a professional level in the early game vs Terran and more competitive against late game Terran armies with Ghosts
- Increase the variety in the mid game and late game army compositions by reducing the strength of certain units in large amounts (Banelings, Disruptors, Ghosts)
- Make over specialized units (Cyclones, Mothership, and Infestors) viable throughout more stages of the game
- Bring more visual clarity to important units on the minimap, as well as relevant abilities like Widow Mine targeting, and Disruptor's cooldown indicator
- Promote more interaction in late game scenarios, by making units such as Tempest, Mothership, and Brood Lord more maneuverable
Table of Contents
Versus
TERRAN
Cyclone
- Cost reduced from 150/100 to 125/50
- Tech Lab requirement removed
- Health reduced from 120 to 100
- Armor reduced from 1 to 0
- Supply cost reduced from 3 to 2
- Auto attack range increased from 5 to 6
- Auto attack damage/attack speed now 11 (+2 vs armored), 0.491 cooldown
- Lock On now uses Cyclone auto attack damage (+1 damage per weapon upgrade, no longer ignores armor)
- Lock On no longer has a delay before first shot, and maintains weapon cooldown between lock ons
- Lock On cooldown removed
- Lock On cast range reduced from 7 to 6
- Lock On max range reduced from 15 to 9
- Multiple Cyclones will can now auto-cast Lock On onto the same target
- Mag-Field Accelerator upgrade removed
- Move speed reduced from 4.73 to 3.6
- New upgrade, increasing move speed to 5.1
Redesign of the Cyclone to make it into a more all around unit in all matchups. Aims to increase the viability of mech based gameplay against Protoss, while promoting more active engagements with mech based armies
Test Mod TODO: Name/Icon for Cyclone upgrade
Ghost
- Snipe damage reduced from 170 to 130 (+40 vs Psionic)
- EMP radius reduced from 1.75 to 1.5
Reducing the radius of EMP will encourage Protoss to use Psi-Storm in the PvT matchup and help in straight up engagements vs Terran armies. Snipe will no longer 1 shot units such as Zealots and Roaches, as well as requiring an extra shot to kill Ultralisks in the late game vs Zerg, generally reducing their cost-efficiency over time, while still being able to kill important spell casters such as Vipers.
Widow Mine
- Drilling Claws now also makes the Widow Mine unburrow twice as fast
- Targeting line is now more visible
Returns some of the strength to active Widow Mine micro in the mid game vs Zerg that was lost after the Drilling Claws burrow speed nerf, while not significantly increasing the power of Widow Mine drops.
Medivac
- Speed upgrade replaced with Caduceus Reactor - Increases energy regen rate by 100% (Cost: 100/100/53.57 seconds)
- Minimap radius increased from 0.75 to 1
Replaces the current unused Medivac upgrade with an upgrade which could be used in active games with a large Medivac count that run out of energy
Standardizes minimap size of Warp Prism/Medivac/Overlord. Previously Warp Prisms could appear smaller on the minimap on large maps.
Raven
- Interference Matrix now requires an upgrade (Cost: 50/50, 57.14 seconds research time)
A single Raven opening can currently disable multiple key defensive units in early pushes against Protoss. The cheap cost of the upgrade still allows for multiple Raven play in TvT and specialized builds in TvP.
ZERG
Lurker
- Adaptive Talons move speed bonus removed
- Adaptive Talons cost reduced from 150/150 to 100/100
As some of the main counters to the Lurkers are getting nerfed, reduce the speed of repositioning Lurkers in the lategame
Infestor
- Pathogen Glands upgrade removed
- Infestor starting energy increased from 50 to 75
- Fungal Growth cast range reduced from 10 to 9
- Fungal Growth damage reduced from 30 to 20
Since the Infested Terran ability was removed, the Infestor has no utility until reaching 75 energy. Fungal damage and cast range is reduced to prevent Infestors from killing Marines with 2 consecutive Fungals, and as a tradeoff to the EMP radius nerf in the TvZ lategame
Spire
- Air Armor upgrade cost reduced from 150/150, 225/225, 300/300 to 100/100, 175/175, 250/250 (Same as Air Weapons)
Air Armor is generally considered less useful than the Air Weapons upgrade despite being more expensive.
Viper
- Consume damage reduced from 200 to 150
Reduces the attention required for gathering Viper energy
Brood Lord
- Move speed increased from 2.24 to 2.62
- Broodling move speed reduced from 5.37 to 4.13
- Broodling health reduced from 30 to 20
- Broodling attack speed reduced from 0.46 to 0.57
Continuing in the direction of the last balance update, further increasing Brood Lord mobility, while further reducing the strength of Broodlings to compensate. Should allow for more active play in the late game.
Test Mod TODO: Make this not affect Broodlings from building deaths
Overlord
- Deceleration speed increased from 1.49 to 2.28
- Generate Creep delay reduced from 1.43 to 1.07
Reduce the amount of time it takes for Overlords to stop and begin dropping creep, to allow for more active usage of Queen drops
(Transport Upgraded)
- Move speed increased from 0.9023 to 1.099
- Move speed with Pneumatized Carapace increased from 2.62 to 2.83
Non transport-upgraded Overlord's move speed are unchanged
Allow for more active drop usage. In combination with the Baneling damage nerf, should not increase the overall strength of Baneling harass against Protoss
Ultralisk
- Cost reduced from 300/200 to 275/200
- Burrow/Unburrow time reduced from 1.43 to 0.89
Lurkers and Broodlord are generally favored over Ultralisks in the lategame, as Ultralisks have poor cost efficiency over time. Should make them more used throughout long games while not greatly reducing the initial investment
Hydralisk
- Speed + Range upgrades combined: Cost 150/150/71 seconds
Increase the speed at which Hydras come online in the midgame, for more quickly responding to enemy air switches such as Mutalisks and to supplement weaker Banelings against ground based armies
Strength of Hydra based timings will be monitored vs Protoss during the testing period
Baneling
- Bonus damage per upgrade reduced from 2 (+2 vs light) to 2 (vs all)
- Centrifugal Hooks cost reduced from 150/150 to 100/100
- Centrifugal Hooks research time reduced from 79 to 71
- Centrifugal Hooks health bonus removed
Will no longer 1 shot Probes or Drones with +2 attack
Reduce some of the strength of mass Baneling armies in the mid game, and reduce the volatility in defending Baneling runbies by requiring multiple Banelings to kill workers. The speed upgrade will require less of an investment, to maintain a similar balance for 2 base Terran Marine Tank based all-ins
PROTOSS
Forge
- Shield upgrade cost reduced from 150/150 // 225/225 // 300/300 to 150/150 // 200/200 // 250/250
Shield upgrades are less useful than Attack / Armor upgrades for both air and ground units in different scenarios (e.g. against Terran armies with Ghosts). Current change helps increasing cost / efficiency ratio for the Shield upgrades.
Cybernetics Core
- Air Armor upgrade cost reduced from 150/150, 225/225, 300/300 to 100/100, 175/175, 250/250 (Same as Air Weapons)
Air Armor is generally considered less useful than the Air Weapons upgrade despite being more expensive.
Warp Prism
- Minimap radius increased from 0.875 to 1
Standardize minimap size of Warp Prism/Medivac/Overlord. Previously Warp Prisms could appear smaller on the minimap on large maps.
Disruptor
- Supply cost increased from 3 to 4
- Model scale reduced by 9%
- Radius increased from 0.5 to 0.625 (does not affect collision with buildings)
It is currently hard to tell which Disruptors have Purification Nova available when multiple are clumped together, as the models intersect with each other.
Reduce the strength of mass Disruptors in the late game vs Terran ground armies while not significantly reducing their strength in early game builds
Void Ray
- Prismatic Alignment move speed with Flux Vanes increased from 2.62 to 3.49
Previously there was an issue where Flux Vanes decreased the move speed of Void Rays while Prismatic Alignment was active from 2.82 to 2.62, when it was intended to be remain at 2.82
Allows for players to actively micro Void Rays in late game engagements without needing to cancel Prismatic Alignment.
Tempest
- Acceleration/Deceleration increased from 2.1 to 4.2
- Radius/Model scale reduced by 10%
Improve the feeling of actively microing Tempests, as the slow acceleration makes them feel slow to respond when not already moving
Mothership
- Cost reduced from 400/400 to 250/250
- Supply cost reduced from 8 to 6
- Build time reduced from 114 to 79
- Speed increased from 2.62 to 2.83
- Lateral Acceleration increased from 1.925 to 32.2875
Lateral Acceleration is the how fast the unit changes direction while moving. Increasing this will make the Mothership no longer lag behind other army units of similar speed
- Radius/Model scale reduced by 20%
- No longer has energy
- Recall now has a 110 second cooldown
- Recall radius reduced from 6.5 to 5
- Time Warp now has a 60 second cooldown
- Time Warp slow reduced from 50% to 33%
- Time Warp radius reduced from 4 to 3.5
- Time Warp cast delay reduced from 1.79 to 0.71
- Cloak Field is no longer passive. It is now an activated ability which lasts for 10 seconds, with a 50 second cooldown
Reduce the investment and increase the maneuverability of the Mothership, and prevent it from being hard countered by EMP. Should allow for earlier Mothership builds in all matchups as well as more active usage of the Mothership
Sentry
- Guardian Shield duration increased from 10.71 -> 12.86
Allows Guardian Shield to be pre-cast before engaging Terran armies involving Ghosts, lasting longer into the fight.
Oracle
- Stasis Ward sight range increased from 4 to 7
Allows Stasis Wards to be used for more central map vision with Stargate based openings
Immortal
- Barrier will now also block the first instance of damage which triggers the Barrier
Counts towards 100 damage blocked by the Barrier
Currently EMP hitting an Immortal will drain all of the Immortal's shields as well as activating the Barrier, which will generally expire before the Immortal ends up receiving other damage, making the unit heavily fall off in the mid game against Terran.