Starcraft II Patch 15 (version 0.17.0.15623)

[Statharas]

Patch 15 released to public. Click the Show button to see notes.

Click to show patch notes

StarCraft II Beta -- Patch 15 (version 0.17.0.15623)


The latest patch notes can always be found on the StarCraft II Beta General Discussion forum.

General

• Improved the system that handles initial placement and promotion/relegation between Leagues & Ladders.

Balance Changes

• TERRAN
  • Hellion
    • Weapon upgrade bonus decreased from 1 (+1 Light) to 1.
  • Reaper
    • Nitro Packs research cost decreased from 100/100 to 50/50.
  • Siege Tank
    • Siege Mode damage decreased from 60 to 50.
  • Thor
    • Anti-air weapon upgrade bonus decreased from 1 (+1 Light) to 1.
    
    
• ZERG
  • Brood Lord
    • Weapon upgrade bonus decreased from 3 to 2.

Also, it appears that the Database had yet another wipe!

Click here to see what Zarhym said

In the near future, we will be doing another full reset of the beta database in order to test new changes. This reset will wipe the following information for all players:

• Character and identifier
• Friends list
• Profile
• League placement
• Ladder rank

Due to the amount of people currently participating in the beta, this database reset will allow us to monitor and test conditions similar to a game release (albeit smaller). We want to thank everyone for their patience and continued help and support in testing StarCraft II.

 

[Robbepop]

hiho,

changes are great imo!
finally siege tanks are nerfed now...

Robbepop

 

[Rui]

I don't understand how Broodlords need a nerf. They are so expensive and slow that it's not worth getting them at all. If they're caught on the run, there is no way to save them.

P.S. -- and they could have made adding friends by nicknames possible. Now I have to ask everyone their e-mail address again =\

 

[Deolrin]

Rui, a bunch of Corruptors and like 5 Brood Lords are incredibly useful and awesome.

 

[Avex]

Alot of maps such as Special Forces don't work now because Blizzard f*cked up the team thing.

/derp.

 

[Dr Super Good]

Brood Lords are the single most powerful anti ground unit in the game. They not only can spawn infinite meat walls which deal damage, they also have moderate range and deal huge damage on launch. Top that with the fact they do not friendly fire like siege tanks and you see why they needed a nerf.

Just like protoss colossus, they are not meant to be in the front line and are good targets to focus fire on or OHKO with yamato gun. They however are great at killing all land units. Basically a glass cannon unit as far as I can tell. Easy to kill but insanly powerful.

Be aware that the base damage of them is un altered. They are only 3 damage weaker when fully upgraded with 3 air weapon. Also their spawn damage is un altered. Considdering they used to gain 3 damage per upgrade, this goes to show just how much damage they deal as a base (stronger attacks gain more damage with upgrades as a general rule of thumb I find).

 

[Rui]

Then they're just not a team game unit, I guess. The battle is over before they can make it halfway. Then again, this brings back my previous argument of the somewhat ridiculous speed of the game, but units don't play at different game speeds, which is why Broodlords could be a little faster...!

 

[mrzwach]

Nitro Packs research cost decreased from 100/100 to 50/50.

Wooo!

Though mech nerf is kinda lame.

 

[Statharas]

Meh. Found something...Bad.

 

[Vengeancekael]

I hate it that now you need people's email addresses <.< Just add nicknames and be done with it!!! They want it to be "social"....

 

[Dr Super Good]

People fail to realise there is a speed adjustment gauge. It does default to fast but actually it could be set slower. At normal games last 50% longer and micro is easier. Also it reduces the bonuse gained from using hotkeys.

 

[Ghost765]

bonus for using hotkeys?

 

[MGCǂSpectre]

I hate it that now you need people's email addresses <.< Just add nicknames and be done with it!!! They want it to be "social"....

It was done in Patch 13. I thought it was only for 1 patch... Ok beta is over they'd better add back adding thru account for final phase.

For Balance comments, this:

Well it won't change the strategies that are currently used vs races. For me no prob, cause even if I was seeing tanks being used like general defense, I personally could play without them.

Tanks are used lots in TvsT. It definitely screws up the mirror with Viking and Tank nerf. Vs Protoss, used as defense but you mostly see MMM ghost, so what? Vs Zerg, yes we saw in some pro replays used siege tanks but again imo could be played MMM, thors and helions. Even if you've seen some massing 10 tanks vs Zerg, I've seen also pro replays where except TvsT tanksa re support unit not the main unit like massing 10 tanks as it was in SC1.

Conclusion: nothing so dramatic vs protoss and zerg but it sure affects mirror a LOT

The hilarious thing is I lost to mass vikings combat, yet won with tanks so I tested - no effect on what they do in mirror, they do them even more.

 

[Rui]

People fail to realise there is a speed adjustment gauge. It does default to fast but actually it could be set slower. At normal games last 50% longer and micro is easier. Also it reduces the bonuse gained from using hotkeys.

Key word: «people». I know you can adjust the speed, but everyone plays on Faster. Even the people I play with prefer that speed. What can I do? I'm the only one who doesn't like the games to be this fast.

 

[MGCǂSpectre]

Plus you can't change speed in ladder is Faster by default.

 

[Weep]

Key word: «people». I know you can adjust the speed, but everyone plays on Faster. Even the people I play with prefer that speed. What can I do? I'm the only one who doesn't like the games to be this fast.

Well, you're not the only one. I prefer "Fast", which seems to be more of a match for SC1's "Fastest".

 

[Dr Super Good]

Honestly fast is not all that fast in SC2. Atmost a 50% or 100% speed increase over normal.

Try playing fast in supreme commander 2, and you will see how speed makes a difference. There fast is like 4 times normal speed.

The major thing is people must remember to use trigger timings set to game time and not real time usless speed is locked. Otherwise if you set the speed to slow you could have it a lot easier or a lot harder.

Broodlords are especially slow because of their power. If they were fast or even normal speeded they would suffer the same problem that void rays had but worse. Sneak 4 broodlords behind a mineral deposit and the player can kiss all their workers good bye. Unlike voidrays which had rediclious range and speed, broodlords are slow so any such mission will likly be suicide as any enemy air will rip them appart. They still serve the role of the terran siege tank and the prtos colossus, both are very very strong but easy to kill or dangerous to use.

The protoss colossus can walk nearly everywhere even up cliffs and has AoE as well as long range. It however has low duribility compraired to thors and ultralisks (same tier) and unlike them can be attacked as an air unit (so it not only gets hit by ground only attacks, but air only attacks).
Siege tanks are not the strongest of units, but when in siege mode gain huge range and damage. They have splash, so much that it totaly decimates low tier units however the splash will hurt allies as well meaning they could quite easilly kill your own army as well as the enemies and are totally imobile and easy targets when in siege mode.
Brood lords I have already discussed, but suffer simlar problems.

All these units which I look at as artillery units are weak against air, so consider getting anti air units with them or if the enemy is going largly air not getting them at all.

 

[Rui]

That's why I said a LITTLE faster... I'm going to play with them again eventually, but I keep my point until then.

 

[MGCǂSpectre]

Go go go Rui

 

[Miss_Foxy]

I wonder if there's another way to customize that...