Overall design goals for Corruptors
Make unit more important, dynamic, and skill based for player and opponent
General changes
Viper now unlocked via Corruptor evolution same as Broodlord.
Added Abilities
Transform
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Switch between air and ground unit.
Corruptors have cool tentacles coming out of their rears, so let's give them the ability to walk with them on the ground.
Version A
When on the ground Corruptors have the same stats maybe less armor value
Version B
Corruptor has Swarm Host speed, retains air attack damage, range, can attack and move at same time
Version C
Same as version A but unit can move and attack at the same time
I really like the idea of corruptors flying in landing and suddenly being these terrifying acid spitting tentacle walking murder machines that attack while they move. They're overall damage would be low because their rate of fire is so poor and they could be targeted and killed fairly easily, but I like the visual, it would also compel T and P to spend a bit more time making sure they had stuff to defend such tactics against a mineral lines and places that ling runby's wouldn't otherwise be likely.
Idea: Some sort of passive goo that they leave in their wake while on the ground either corrupting units or creating a speed debuff.
While on ground
Standard attack only hits ground (actually think hitting air or ground might be cool)
Ability: Burrow
Ability: Seige
Target: Air and Ground (remember those bugs from Starship troopers?)
- Corruptor shoots acid balls at a range of 10-12 strong against biological units and structures, splash damage from shots
- Auto Cast (Passive energy drain while in seige mode?)
- Once launched attack takes 4 seconds to land in a radius of area designated
- Zerg player does not gain vision of area being shot at.
- Landing locations show up on in game to give opponent time to react, forcing micro. Damage is more AOE Splash than single target, maybe bonus to massive however.
Explanation: Softening enemy positions opening up safer avenues for potential for harass or backstab attacks later on. Tradeoffs are Corruptors vulnerable and immobile. Seige can help deter a game ending death ball push ZvP after failed engagement in center, while lessening Zerg defenders disadvantage when bases get cut off. Allows opponent to micro against, forces multitasking. Makes Zerg make cost benefit analysis versus direct AA versus area control also risk of corruptors getting 'caught' in between transitions.
Needs some sort of limit for duration and I don't want corruptors to have an excuse to burn mana so they can't take dmg from feedbacks.
Air or Ground
Spell: Latch
Corruptor attaches itself to enemy.
Armor to 0 for duration of latch
can use latch while burrowed - visual of corruptors shooting out of ground and entangling air unit too good
Target: Air and Ground
Latch (Unit): Corruptor gains Mutalist Heath Regen while latched (variation on Roach burrow heal)
Drains enemy energy and health over time (to minimum of 1 HP a la plague). Must manually target to kill. When latched Corruptor can still attack nearby
ground and air units but not target that is latched.
Not sure: Disables attack? Disables spellcasting? Maybe slows attack instead of disables? Speed debuff?
Latch (structure): Corruptor gains Mutalist Heath Regen while latched.
Corruptor latches onto structure, passive damage to structure and energy drain, build time reduced by 25% (50%?). Corruptor can attack nearby ground and air units.
Not sure: Slows research? Disables building abilities?
Tactics
Corruptors are still relatively expensive and inefficient so I'm not too worried about these abilities being abused with dozens of them at a time
This is completely a first draft. it's late and I feel like I should spend more than 10 minutes on this before posting it, but this is my idea. It's kind of a mess right now but I feel some kind of variation on these ideas is the way to go.
I like the concept of corruptors being able to harass, 'catch' drops as they are moving on the map, provide some light space control and to help with the defenders disadvantage that Zerg can have ZvP when you factor in Protoss rolling warp ins after the Zerg losses a big engagement. Something that just wouldn't give a shit about stalker zealot sentry mass force fields creating a game ending push late game that could also then help soften the Protoss ball if they get packed too tightly due to mass FF protecting them from melee et all.
The whole show was pretty interesting really.
I just focused on the Protoss stuff so much to annoy EJ and get people to click (even I'll admit the line attributing all of SCII problems to Protoss was slight hyperbole
).
Everyone should check out Meta, I don't even bother with the other shows to be honest.