is now moving to a new World of Warcraft Beta Signup page. This seems to be more than a WoW page since there are all Blizzard games : WoW, Diablo and of course Starcraft ! Of these 3 games, Starcraft has the greatest chance to get beta scheduled. We can expect to see the beta in April given that all the latest changes announced were about balance.
Another proof of the coming beta is blues beginning to post about it on the Starcraft forums:
Battle Report
It will still be the same Battle Report game as Dustin described, but there is no guarantee on the release date specifically because our production processes can sometimes be lengthy, and the final product will also be distributed in all of our supported languages as well. In the next Battle Report, we plan to also include a transcribed version of the game.
Map Editor: Mid-game entering and leaving?
A lot is possible in the map editor, and much has been done with the War3 editor that we definitely didn't intend it to do too... we'll see in time.
Will SC2 support LAN?
Sorry, I cannot answer at the moment
Protoss
Warp In through cliffs
With vision you'll be able to warp in on the cliff. Sight is a hugely important factor in timed strategies where players rush to a unit that can traverse cliffs.
Units targeted by a force field
They do not get pushed outside of the force field. If a unit is underneath a force field, when it exits the force field's radius, it will not be able to pass through the force field again until it dissipates. Units under the force field can fire out as well as be hit by enemy fire.
Nullifier
Only changes are balance changes, which will still continue to change. Otherwise besides that, the abilities are still the same.
Hallucination still does not work on Carriers, Motherships, Dark Templars, an Observers. I'll have to get back to ya on the lore side
maybe get them to post up a website update on that.
The Nullifier's weapon hits one target at a time, doing damage as long as the enemy is targeted.
Zerg
Creep Tumors
Creep Tumors are 'burrowed' and will need a detector to be able to see them. No need for additional speed bonuses, since Zerg ground units (minus the Drone) will already have speed bonuses on creep. The Creep Tumors now only cost 25 energy from the Queen to create. Using the energy for Creep Tumors though means you aren't using that energy towards spawning additional larva. Players will have to make a choice in their strategy.
Creep generation
Overseers cannot generate creep. Generate Creep ability of the Overload will continuously generate creep up to a maximum radius, until the ability is turned off. The Overlord cannot move while the ability is active.
Buildings without creep
If you generate creep, then start a Nydus worm, then stop generating creep while the nydus worm is constructing, the Nydus Worm will still pop up, but will begin to take damage over time when there is no creep.
Speed upgrades
There is currently a speed upgrade for the Overlord at the Lair. Overseers also have a speed upgrade option in the Lair, and will no longer automatically have the speed upgrade.
Lair/Hive
The Lair/Hive currently have 3 upgrades:
- Additional Overseer Speed
- Additional Overlord Speed and allows them to transport
- Razor Plague (AoE cast ability for the Queen, which is also able to be controlled for a duration by the Zerg player)
Banelings and Zerglings
Banelings are visible and still very effective. When they are grouped with Zerglings, it is hard to focus fire several Banelings approaching at the same time. Even one Baneling getting through can be devastating to mass Marine armies or groups of Zealots.
Burrowed Banelings are also like mines, deadly when used as an ambush on unsuspecting forces.
Zerglings are always useful in late game due to their speed and ability to surround enemies. Banelings too are especially useful against both Zealots and Marines, even with their upgrades, and thus will always be useful to counter them. Additionally, Banelings are always useful in raiding, which should be done throughout the entirety of a StarCraft II game.
Terran
Marines
Marines are much more useful than the original StarCraft, mostly because they have more hit points now. Even in mid game, they can be armed with Combat Shields, giving them a whopping 55 hit points. That combined with Stim Pack and Medivac Dropships healing, is quite a formidable force.
Nonetheless, in early game, it is a
must to combine them with Marauders, to slow Zealots and force fire Roaches.
Mass Marauder
Mass Marauders unfortunately would lack the dps that a combo Marauder + Marines group would have. Also Marauders don't have Stim Pack, which also makes up a great deal of extra dps. The Marauder early game could kite a few Zealots well, but their fire rate is much slower than a Marine.
Beta Coming Soon, Blue Posts
Linear Mode
