Welcome back to our hands-on feature for StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void! Last time, we sat down and got comfortable with the new changes to the Protoss race and what modifications have been made to the overall game outside of the three races in the multiplayer scene.
In this part, we’re going to take a look at what I would call my ‘off-races’. They are the two races that are not my main choices when I dive into the multiplayer, the two that I erm… suck most at.
Those races are of course, the Terran and the Zerg. Without further ado, let’s hop right in!
The Terran Army
The human Terrans rely on their engineering to create war machines alongside to join their foot soldiers in conquest. It’s therefore relevant then, that the changes focus mostly on the mechanical units of the Terran army.
Of existing units that I had a go with, there were two standout changes that could significantly change the game at levels far higher than my own skill. First up involves the Siege Tank. Normally, when they enter ‘Siege mode’ and anchor themselves into the ground to fire their main cannons, Siege Tanks cannot be moved at all. New to Legacy of the Void is the ability for Medivacs to load up Siege Tanks even when they’re still sieged up.
There are two critical caveats to this: First, a Medivac can only carry one sieged tank at a time instead of the two unsieged tanks it could normally carry. Secondly, the potential for harassment at the enemy’s base with this is huge. Medivac units already have the Emergency Booster for a quick exit, making the potential for punishment of weakspots immense.
Harassment is also possible in the late game with a change to the Battlecruiser. The massive battleship is a bit of a rare sight in the professional StarCraft scene, and the inclusion of the Tactical Jump ability looks set to change that. It allows the unit to teleport to any location on the map, regardless of whether or not the palyer has vision of it.
Now, imagine about three or four Battlecruisers instantly popping up at a known enemy expansion and decimating it whilst the main army is out of position. It’s not hard to imagine the carnage.
Moving on to new units, the Terran army is only blessed with one new unit so far in the Beta (there was a second, the HERC, but it is no longer in the game). The Cyclone is a mechanical unit built out of the Factory which can fire at enemies for a set period of time even whilst moving. Its attack is an auto-cast ability with a cool-down, meaning that it works great for burst attacks and harassment, but less so in sustaining an assault against the enemy.
Much like the new units for the Protoss that we saw earlier and what we’ll see with the new Zerg units, the Cyclone benefits greatly from a player that’s competent in micro-management. Accurate control of units is key to mastering the Cyclone, meaning that simply hitting the attack-move command will likely lead to failure in a sortie.
On that note…
The Zerg Swarm
The Zerg Swarm is the favourite of those who excel in macro-management. On top of usual unit and building construction duties, a good Zerg player will also juggle in good management of their larva supply whilst gradually expanding the presence of creep (purple goo) on the map.
Whilst these aspects are still critical, the new Zerg units also follow the trend of increasing the focus towards the micro-management of units. In keeping with the mutative characteristics of the Zerg, both of these units are actually evolutions from existing units. For Zerg veterans, think about Corruptors morphing into Brood Lords and you’re on the right track.
The Ravager can be mutated from Roach units and are siege units that attack using a casted ability called Corrosive Bile. Ravagers shoot this bile into the skies and onto their enemies in a targeted area, dealing splash damage to those that are still within that area when it drops. With a few Ravagers at hand, they can make extremely light work of enemy front lines if given the chance. Despite that though, the repetitive firepower of standard ground units can equally make light work against Ravagers.
The tip here if you’re against Ravagers is to look for the warning indicator for the bile and move away from it. Conversely, Zerg players with Ravagers have to anticipate the movement of opposing units to ensure that their bile attacks will make contact with the enemy units. Lots of micro-management once more.
The Lurker is a little bit lighter on the micro-management, however it still requires a bit of planning for maximum effect. Its attack travels in a line to eventually deal splash damage to the intended target. This opens the possibility for attacks to be dodged by units, however it does also mean that Lurkers could target units behind others and increasing the potential quantity of units that could be damaged. The Lurker is an evolution from the Hydralisk. It does lose the ability to attack air units as a result of the evolution, however the potential damage it can do to ground units and buildings both is increased.
Of the changes to existing units that I experienced in my game time, there was one that stuck out most because of the harassment that Zerg players loved to dish out on me. Swarm hosts have been crucial siege units in Heart of the Swarm, providing the ability to send a near constant stream of expendable units to whittle an enemy down. In Legacy of the Void, some extra tweaks have been made to try and shift them from a siege use and open up possibilities for harassment. Swarm Hosts can now manually spawn Locusts when unborrowed, and can be upgraded to spawn Locusts that can fly in the air.
That latter enhancement was one I saw a lot when playing against Zerg. Often, I saw flying Locusts swoop down on a weakness at my base, destroying buildings that I thought I could safely build without much trouble. Players need to be reactive to these attacks and observant of potential weak-spots that could be exploited. That’s quite a lot to take in for a learner, yet it’ll also create opportunities for some fascinating plays at the top-level for spectators of professional gamers to enjoy.
Whew! That’s a lot of ground covered about the Terran and the Zerg. The new 2v2 match-up called Archon Mode is a feature that I’ve yet to try out. Once I get some time with the feature, I’ll be back to give you all the info on this interesting new mode!
For now though… check out this fun little video that does a fantastic job of explaining exactly what Archon Mode is!
