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//: StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm |OT| Like Riding a Bike

S

SamuraiX-

Member
Holy shit I've never seen Polt so pumped after winning a tournament. :O

Huge congrats to him. Becomes a 3-time WCS champ with a miraculous comeback.

lol git rekt Hydra

ZvT, how the fuck does it work? All you had to do was remember to morph Banelings, spread creep, defend your side of the map and stop engaging Terran off of creep.
 
L

Lethe82

Banned
What great games what great casting. Micro was so important and tense, the crowd going wild when Hydra managed to pick off the retreating Thor? SCII has never been better, more exciting, or more engaging, and it's only getting better. We're seeing growth in Korea and EU, and LOTV is around the corner looking to make the games even more micro based and diverse.

SCII isn't going anywhere guys. It's no dead game.
 
L

Lethe82

Banned
claviertekky said:
Still a dead game in terms of casuals.

Perhaps Archon mode will regain Starcraft's casual popularity.
Click to expand...

Archon mode could be great. I know my friends who didn't have the time or desire to compete 1v1 etc are saying they want to play archon mode with me.

Now they just need to fix the Arcade UI.
 
D

demosthenes

Member
claviertekky said:
Still a dead game in terms of casuals. Rarely anyone in the GAF group is online.

Perhaps Archon mode will regain Starcraft's casual popularity.
Click to expand...

I have no idea if I'm in the GAF group but my friends and I play almost every day.

What a fucking great finals, best one in a while from what I can remember.
 
C

Crimsonlink

Member
I just felt that SC2 was stale as a Terran Player so I left. I'm sure things have improved but I don't wanna dive back in until beta starts. With the economy changes and unit changes, I don't wanna play the old builds too much to shake off my rust and then have to adjust for the release.
 
H

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
I actually caught the last 4 games of the Finals, good stuff.
TvZ with
Terran winning
is how the game should be.
 
S

SamuraiX-

Member
I just realized Polt faced the Top 3 players in the quaterfinals and took them each to the maximum number of games to claim his title.

He turned it up to another level this weekend.

Shame we didn't get to see any of his classic Nexus snipes.
 
U

unknownstranger

Member
Barely saw any of the games the last few days because I was travelling yesterday and was at my aunt's house all day today. Sounds like it was a good finals.
 
S

Syf

Banned
Swarm host redesign patch comes out for HotS this tuesday. I hope it won't throw off the balance, the game is in a really good spot right now.
 
S

SamuraiX-

Member
Syfadious said:
Swarm host redesign patch comes out for HotS this tuesday. I hope it won't throw off the balance, the game is in a really good spot right now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Terran went on a run in the middle of last year after the MSC balance updates but I'd say it was about 6 months after those big updates when all races started to slowly figure things out.

Starting from the KeSPA Cup in September 2014, distribution of winners and runner-ups by race in premier tournaments:

Terran - 11
Zerg - 7
Protoss - 10

Obviously Zerg still needs a little help. Life made up over half of their appearances in the finals of premier tournaments over the past 6 months. lol
 
L

Lethe82

Banned
Syfadious said:
Swarm host redesign patch comes out for HotS this tuesday. I hope it won't throw off the balance, the game is in a really good spot right now.
Click to expand...

It will be interesting to see, for what it's worth the changes are about a million times more interesting to see played out, and helps push multi front engagements. But yeah, the game is in a really good place right now.

After this they said that they would be patching in the Raven nerf, and I think something else?

SamuraiX- said:
Yeah, Terran went on a run in the middle of last year after the MSC balance updates but I'd say it was about 6 months after those big updates when all races started to slowly figure things out.

Starting from the KeSPA Cup in September 2014, distribution of winners and runner-ups by race in premier tournaments:

Terran - 11
Zerg - 7
Protoss - 10

Obviously Zerg still needs a little help. Life made up over half of their appearances in the finals of premier tournaments over the past 6 months. lol
Click to expand...

Is it vT or vP that Zergs are suffering most loses? vT I'd imagine? Maybe rolling over the Adrenal glands update from LotV could help.

Tekniqs said:
i have one friend that plays SC2 lol

Tekniqs#1290
Click to expand...

Keep getting unable to find player on NA and EU :p
 
U

unknownstranger

Member
The Adrenal Glands buff won't change much as if Zerg got it by that point they've probably already won. The bigger problem in the match up is it takes Zerg about 350/350 and around 3 minutes to just be able to go from 2/2 to 3/3 compared to Terran who don't have to do anything else. I've consistently said that getting to Hive needs to be cheaper/quicker and then Ultra's could probably use a small nerf.

Lol watching GSL reruns and that YongHwa-Byul game 5 was amusing as hell.

Lol 3 gate vs DT's in Proleague.
 
L

Lethe82

Banned
unknownstranger said:
The Adrenal Glands buff won't change much as if Zerg got it by that point they've probably already won. The bigger problem in the match up is it takes Zerg about 350/350 and around 3 minutes to just be able to go from 2/2 to 3/3 compared to Terran who don't have to do anything else. I've consistently said that getting to Hive needs to be cheaper/quicker and then Ultra's could probably use a small nerf.

Lol watching GSL reruns and that YongHwa-Byul game 5 was amusing as hell.

Lol 3 gate vs DT's in Proleague.
Click to expand...

Yeah, tho ultras already really suck. You are absolutely right that the issue tends to be Zergs dying before Hive (or getting there and being completely dead anyway). Maybe the ultra buff is meant to help when they limp across the finish line to hive tech (Ravagers, and Lurkers will probably help them reach Hive more easily in LotV but I digress).


Carmack said:
I had to search to 2013 to find a #WCS peak concurrent viewers count higher than today's.
Click to expand...

https://twitter.com/mbCARMAC/status/584762335090384899

Polt vs Hydra - The Comeback

SCII has never been better.
 
T

Tekniqs

Member
hey guys, how do you cancel a medivac drop? like say I already pressed D and clicked on the medivac and it's dropping units as it moves. What if I need to suddenly get the hell out of there?
 
Yoshichan

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Tekniqs said:
hey guys, how do you cancel a medivac drop? like say I already pressed D and clicked on the medivac and it's dropping units as it moves. What if I need to suddenly get the hell out of there?
Click to expand...
Good question, I want to know this as well!
 
S

SamuraiX-

Member
Aaron said:
Bomber barely holding on in GSL. Needs to go back to the glasses.
Click to expand...

Preach. The glasses were just too iconic. He might as well have race switched to Protoss while he was at it. ;_;

Game 3, 4, 5 were Bomber at his best. Going 3 CCs and macroing Zerg into oblivion. It's insane to me how fast he can max on bio while getting 2/2 at the same time. He just doesn't miss a beat. Even when Shine took advantages early game in the last two games, Bomber didn't even care that he was playing from behind. Just steadily maxed out on bio on 3 bases while getting them upgrades.

Not sure what happened in Game 1 but apparently Game 2 was a combat shield timing gone horribly wrong.
 
L

Lethe82

Banned
Clan Wars Season 2 - Prime vs YFW is LIVE

1) Engines of War - (P)MyuNgSiK vs (Z)Ian
2) Deck 16 (2v2) - (Z)TerrOr and (Z)BBoongBBoong vs (T)Vanilla and (P)Has
3) Orichalcum - (T)TANGTANG vs (P)Has
4) Legacy of the Void Beta - (Z)BBoongBBoong vs (T)Vanilla
5) Crazy Clash - (Z)TerrOr vs (Z)Leenock
6) Neo Emerald Plaza - (T)KeeN vs (Z)Slam
7) (ACE) Penisula
Click to expand...

HUSKY CAST: QXC vs Illusion - ARCHON MODE - LEGACY OF THE VOID

Blizzard update

Upcoming Ladder Map Pool Update - April 8

Hey everyone,

We’d like to update you regarding few schedule changes we’re making for the upcoming Season 2 season roll and map publish. We previously announced that we would be adjusting the season roll by one week. In addition, we will be updating the Season 2 1v1 ladder map pool slightly ahead of the season roll.

This should provide additional practice time on these maps to players hoping to compete in the World Championship Series Qualifiers, while allowing all other players an earlier preview of the map pool. If you haven’t seen the maps coming next season, feel free to check out our Season 2 maps blog which outlines them in full detail. Besides these 1v1 maps, the seasonal map update will operate as usual with new team maps joining the ladder upon the season roll.

Thanks, and we hope you enjoy the new maps!
Click to expand...

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/16952585315

Struggling against carriers in LotV ZvP? Let JaKaTaK tell you about rapid-fire parasitic bomb!

(seriously start using rapid fire and step your game up)

Great news today. @totalbiscuit is in remission. Final CT Scan is all clear.
Click to expand...
https://twitter.com/GennaBain/status/585504973070405632
 
L

Lethe82

Banned
I'd post this in the beta thread but I can't be the only one posting in it (and have already made two posts back to back); I'm completely in love with the Adept. It along with all the Protoss nerfs makes me want to try my hand at Toss (on the side, Terran 4 life) when LotV comes out.
 
L

Lethe82

Banned
HellBlazer said:
I tried to watch but he kept pronouncing it "Yoh" Flash Wolves. :(
Click to expand...

There wasn't really much to see, Prime is basically a shell of a shell of its former self.

What's the MKP situation? Has he been convicted (so to say)? There is a possibility that he just MKP'd it and thought the spot on the mini map was an overlord. It's possible that someone leaked the prepared strategy of Byul hence the traffic activity on the illegal betting sites.

All the attention is on MKP but I would imagine both of them are under scrutiny.

The starting map lineup for Season 2 of Clan Wars

Also Heads up

A new SCII Fight Night will air on the 10th, featuring LoTV

ApolloSC2 said:
Whattttttttts uppppppppppp.

I am going to run a fun and entertaining evening for you all, a Fight Night show-match evening for Legacy of the Void with some of your favourite players.
With the first Season of WCS over, I have some spare time before Season 2 starts up and wanted to have some fun with LotV this coming Friday!

Image created by @_borsti - Thank you buddy

DBsCu0v.jpg


When? - April 10th 8pm CEST
Where? - www.twitch.tv/apollosc2
Who with? - I will ask numerous people to come join me for fun and giggles!!
Format - Best of 5
Map-pool:
Coda
Echo
Oribital Shipyard
Cactus Valley
Iron Fortress
Lerliak
Ruins of Seras

Prizepool
As of announcing this: There isn't any prize pool.

What I want to do is open up the prize pool for each matchup to be public, if you as a community member wants to a little money on the line for a matchup you want to see, send the money to me and I will add it to the pool.

Example: Destiny vs Showtime - 0euros
If you wanted to see this increased, you can donate into the matchup and see it increased. Johnny69 donates 10euros, prize pool is now increased to 10euros

How to donate into these showmatches, you can send the money to my paypal with a message of which match-up you want the money to go towards and if you want to be anonymous or not: PAYPAL: dignitasapollo@gmail.com
Click to expand...

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/legacy-of-the-void/482482-apollo-lotv-fight-night-friday-10th
 
L

Lethe82

Banned
The map for game 1, engines of war, didn't seem very interesting to be honest. If the cannon setup was a bit more involved maybe, but then again we didn't get a real match on it.
 
S

Syf

Banned
Patch is dropping today: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/18598811

Zerg

Swarm Host
Cost modified from 200 Minerals and 100 Vespene to 100 Minerals and 200 Vespene
Supply cost increased from 3 to 4
Movement speed increased from 2.25 to 2.95
Swarm Hosts now require the Burrow research in order to burrow
Swarm Hosts no longer collide with Locusts

Spawn Locusts – This ability has been reworked
Auto-cast removed, Spawn Locusts must now be manually cast.
Spawn Locusts cooldown increased from 25 seconds to 60 seconds
Casting Spawn Locusts no longer requires a Swarm Host to be burrowed

Locust
Weapon speed increased from .8 to .6
Locust duration increased from 15 seconds (+10 seconds with Enduring Locusts) to 25 seconds

Infestation Pit
Enduring Locusts – This upgrade has been removed
New upgrade: Flying Locusts - Allows Locusts spawned by Swarm Hosts to fly. Flying Locusts can use Swoop to land and attack
Requires Lair
Cost is 200 Minerals, 200 Vespene, 160 seconds
Allows Locusts spawned by Swarm Hosts to fly. Flying Locusts can use Swoop to land and attack
Swoop: Orders the Locust to land at the targeted location, allowing it to attack

Viper
Blinding Cloud range increased from 10 to 11

Terran

Raven
Point Defense Drone duration decreased from 180 seconds to 20 seconds

Protoss

Tempest
Bonus damage versus massive air units decreased from +50 damage to +14 damage.
 
H

HellBlazer

Member
How do these balance patches usually get integrated into the currently ongoing leagues? Do they wait between seasons to update, or what?


Lethe82 said:
What's the MKP situation? Has he been convicted (so to say)? There is a possibility that he just MKP'd it and thought the spot on the mini map was an overlord. It's possible that someone leaked the prepared strategy of Byul hence the traffic activity on the illegal betting sites.
Click to expand...

There has been no official statement from KeSPA or the MVP team, as far as I know. We may never get one, as KeSPA doesn't strike me as the most transparent of organizations. I would imagine if anything is ever proven, MarineKing would be fired though? We'll see if he's still on the roster for next round I guess. He hasn't been sent out to play since (for good reasons), but he was at the arena with the team this week.
 
S

SamuraiX-

Member
HellBlazer said:
How do these balance patches usually get integrated into the currently ongoing leagues? Do they wait between seasons to update, or what?
Click to expand...

I remember the Hellbat nerf update go thrown in right in the middle of a Code S and went live for the rest of the tournament.

I'd bet the GSL and SSL matches on tonight will be played using the new update. This was probably the best time to implement it. Season 1 of WCS, GSL and SSL over, just Code A and Challenge going on for Season 2 at the moment.

The one ongoing tournament that's going to be the most affected no doubt is the Fragbite Masters finals that start in a couple of days. Four participants: 2 Terrans, 2 Zergs, all of whom are comfortable in the late game where most of these changes will have the most significant effect.
 
L

Lethe82

Banned
Syfadious said:
Patch is dropping today: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/18598811

Zerg

Swarm Host
Cost modified from 200 Minerals and 100 Vespene to 100 Minerals and 200 Vespene
Supply cost increased from 3 to 4
Movement speed increased from 2.25 to 2.95
Swarm Hosts now require the Burrow research in order to burrow
Swarm Hosts no longer collide with Locusts

Spawn Locusts – This ability has been reworked
Auto-cast removed, Spawn Locusts must now be manually cast.
Spawn Locusts cooldown increased from 25 seconds to 60 seconds
Casting Spawn Locusts no longer requires a Swarm Host to be burrowed

Locust
Weapon speed increased from .8 to .6
Locust duration increased from 15 seconds (+10 seconds with Enduring Locusts) to 25 seconds

Infestation Pit
Enduring Locusts – This upgrade has been removed
New upgrade: Flying Locusts - Allows Locusts spawned by Swarm Hosts to fly. Flying Locusts can use Swoop to land and attack
Requires Lair
Cost is 200 Minerals, 200 Vespene, 160 seconds
Allows Locusts spawned by Swarm Hosts to fly. Flying Locusts can use Swoop to land and attack
Swoop: Orders the Locust to land at the targeted location, allowing it to attack

Viper
Blinding Cloud range increased from 10 to 11

Terran

Raven
Point Defense Drone duration decreased from 180 seconds to 20 seconds

Protoss

Tempest
Bonus damage versus massive air units decreased from +50 damage to +14 damage.
Click to expand...

HotS just got a lot better imo.

McDonald's to hold LotV Showmatches with $1700 prize purse! MMA, Crank, Catz, Hydra, Team Liquid and Team Property to participate

Some good suggestions to further improve Archon mode

een having a bunch of fun with Archon mode, although more often than not I get beat by a team of two pros!

I've been think of some ways it could be improved to make the teamwork more fluid. I wrote a post a while ago, and although it was about Team Games I think some of my points are applicable to Archon Mode as well (such as Smart Ping and "looking for partner" features) so check it out if you didn't already see it: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/16780578070?page=1#1

Some other ideas I've thought of:

If two players control one unit, it prioritizes the commands of one player
Alternatively, you can't select units your Archon Partner already has selected

As a general rule, if you're both wrestling to use the same units, thats mostly a sign of bad teamwork and something you need to work on -- but I still think this feature would helpful simply in the case of mistakes. For an example if two players try to burrow their Lurkers because they're not sure if the other one is watching and they don't want the Lurkers caught unborrowed, currently this will cause the Lurker to burrow and then immediately unburrow. In this case, just giving priority to one player so it only takes one burrow command would be fine.

An example where just not allowing the player to select units already selected by their partner would be if one player is controlling the majority of a mech army and the other player is microing some tank drops with the mech army -- this change would prevent one player from accidentally selecting the other player's units.

Show allies camera, cursors, and units selected

I think this would be 100% the best change to Archon Mode regardless, but it may also solve the above problem: If you knew what units your ally was controlling, you could avoid the above mistakes without having constantly yell at each-other exactly what units you're selecting and without having to disable the ability to select a unit your ally has selected.

For clarification: Your allies camera view-finder would show on the mini-map. Dotted selection circles would appear on units your ally has selected, just like what occurs in team games with shared control. As for the cursor, I don't think it would be necessary to actually show their mouse cursor position at all times (you can kind of tell based on their camera position and the units they have selected) but I do think the issues they've ordered should be visible, like in replays when you follow the players camera and can see their move/attack move commands.

Production tab

This one was suggested by Lowko: http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/317kk9/lowkos_idea_archon_mode_should_have_a/

Again, its solved by good team communication, but it would be helpful to have a production tab for your partner visible so you can tell what he's building for you. This is useful even for things as small as supply blocks: You notice you are about to be supply blocked and are supply blocked, but you're not sure if your ally has already started an overlord/depo/pylon to solve the issue or not. You can just ask your ally, but SC2 is so fast paced and so much is happening you really need to be discussing other things or building them as soon as possible, not trying to spend a long time figuring out if your ally has already started them or not.

Shared control groups?

In a similar vein to the previous one, in 1v1s most players will add units to their control groups right when you build them. But if your ally is building for you, you can't do that. It makes it very hard to have all of your units in control groups when playing Archon Mode. It would be neat if the player building could control group units as they build, and the other player would automatically inherit those control groups. I feel like this would have to be optional though, as this wouldn't always work out.
Click to expand...

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/16952585425

Stephano vs Demuslim - TvZ - LEGACY OF THE VOID

SHOUTCraft Clan Wars S2 - Yoe Flash Wolves vs. Prime (spoiler-free VoD)

Maru Starleague Champion (Highlights Video)
 
S

SamuraiX-

Member
unknownstranger said:
Ryung with one of the latest GG's I've seen in awhile.

Dark destroying Ryung with cheeses because why not.
Click to expand...

Ryung shouldn't have even been there. His qualifying bracket was a complete joke.


Only 2 Terrans in the SSL Main Event Season 2. Incredibly disappointing. The same two Terrans were made the final, no less. lol Meanwhile, they're ruling Code A this season. lol
 
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