Ready for a sneak peek 👀 at the first ladder maps of 2019? 🗺️ https://t.co/bzoRRJVQ2e https://t.co/c8EKUhlpxD
Top tier gameplay is coming at you [🔴 LIVE] with the #TingOpen Ro16 Korea Group via @BaseTradeTV! 📺 Watch on… https://t.co/bXp09oTFVO
What is @nathaniastv doing today on stream? 🤔 Hints: There will be War Chest XP There will not be paella 🚫🥘 Watch… https://t.co/P6jVQ5BTpi
Ready to strengthen your brain and boost your War Chest XP? 🧠⬆️ Tune in to @RotterdaM08 now and do both. 📺… https://t.co/eiPl8xp0Ea
RT @stpltv: The STPL Round 3 Playoff Finals are LIVE 🎥. Poland's NetWars take on the SA/Korean Hybrid SouL Gaming. - 2 Teams will enter -…
Yesterday we released a patch that fixed a long-standing bug involving beam weapons. Though we believe this bug should eventually be addressed, we agree with the feedback that the change was sudden, especially with the upcoming IEM and WCS qualifiers. As a result, we’re going to revert this change today and reintroduce it at a later date.
RT @TLnet: New year and new Team Liquid Map Contest! This time we have three new features we wanted to be included, Rich Vespene Geysers, R…
RT @TwitchEsports: Get your pylons ready! On January 16th your favorite streamers will brawl in #TwitchRivals @StarCraft Streamer Showdow…
Top tier Grandmaster plays + War Chest XP = 🙌 📺 https://t.co/F5kjxEaCsL https://t.co/CljWOLqrzT
RT @esportstarcraft: 📣WCS Winter Open Qualifier signups are NOW OPEN!!! 📣 We've got all the 📚 info you need at https://t.co/FomK8CXyfd - g…
✔️ Watch exciting matches ✔️ Get War Chest XP ➡️ https://t.co/ei29EoigId https://t.co/S6cVvGlzl9
RT @stpltv: The STPL Round 3 Playoffs Begin! Tonight 🇵🇱NetWars take on NaS 🇺🇸 - 16 Teams - 4 Remain - Today only 1 will advance. ➡️ JOIN…
Get ready to watch the OSC Championship with @Wardixo! 🙌 Tune in now on @Twitch and earn War Chest XP. 👀… https://t.co/YsFM3Fbss2
Unlock 🔓 War Chest rewards by watching StarCraft streamers on @Twitch! Get started with @feardragon64 ➡️… https://t.co/iRM72Dv8V4
Ready to level up ⬆️ your War Chest progress and get helpful tips? @StarcraftWinter’s got you covered! 📺… https://t.co/ZNQFr6f84B
Introducing: The Blizzard Cosplay Book Explore a celebration of our amazing cosplay community filled to the brim w… https://t.co/8XOCmHIrfR
📺 Watch StarCraft streamers on @Twitch 🔓 Earn War Chest XP and unlock rewards 🤜🤛 Support the community ➡️… https://t.co/R5KwHyyR8B
RT @Twitch: Watch #Starcraft2 streams, get War Chest xp. Do it for Auir. https://t.co/ypHOVVKnBK
It’s been a great year for StarCraft II. After the epic BlizzCon finals, we were treated to one of the most exciting HomeStory Cups to date, which showcased the new balance patch just a few days after its release. Congratulations to Serral for winning HSC XVIII and also to Future for his impressive performance at Cheeseadelphia 8! On our end, we’ve been continuing to monitor tournaments and gather feedback from the community forums and pros since the new patch was released. As 2018 comes to a close, we’d like to unpack the feedback we’ve been receiving and share our thoughts on the state of the game.
TvT
As Cyclones now largely resemble their pre-3.8 patch state, TvT early-game has also functionally reverted back to its pre-3.8 patch state. We’re seeing slightly more Reaper proxies compared to the time frame right before 3.8 patch, however. Feedback we’ve received suggests that this may be because players have learned to transition more safely from proxy builds. Or it could be that aggressive builds tend to win out in the early stages after a balance patch and players simply need more time to adapt. Overall, we’ve received reports that early-game TvT has become more varied, and we’re happy with how it’s developing.
ZvZ
We’ve received feedback that Mutalisk-based strategies have become more potent due to a combination of various Zerg changes to the Queen, Roach, Hydralisk, Creep Tumors, and Nydus Networks. We’ll be carefully watching this matchup’s mid-game compositions to see if Mutalisk play becomes too oppressive.
PvP
Because of the Sentry’s Hallucination cost reduction, players are now able to open Stargate and choose their first Stargate unit based on their Hallucination scout. This effectively condenses the pre-4.7.1 Phoenix and Oracle openers into a single catchall Stargate opener. This new opener can diverge into two separate paths, which can cover each other’s weaknesses. As a result, we’re seeing more Stargate openers and Phoenix mirrors than usual.
Thus, we’re considering tweaks to either Hallucination or Stargate units that would add risk to blindly opening Stargate in PvP. We’re also considering changes that would allow players to transition out of Phoenix mirrors in the case of Stargate vs. Stargate openers.
TvZ
TvZ has been the matchup where we’ve seen the most change. We’re glad to see more Widow Mine-based play, which can lead to very back-and-forth, action-packed games. We’ve also been seeing a lot of interesting development in mech compositions with increased use of Cyclones, speed Banshees, and Battlecruisers. This matchup has been consistently evolving and we’re witnessing something new every week.
TvP
In TvP, while we’ve received feedback that Terran proxies are weaker than before, we still see a significant number of proxies in tournament play. Some Protoss players have commented that it can be difficult to discern between the various all-ins and fake all-ins while some Terrans have indicated that proxy play feels like the safest option to secure a low ground expansion against fast Adepts. We’re considering attacking this issue from two angles, both by weakening proxy openers and making macro openers more robust.
With regards to the mid-game, we’ve heard that TvP is slightly easier for Terrans now due to the Disruptor change. As for late-game, we’re keeping a close eye on the strength of Tempests, which we’re getting mixed feedback about. Since one of our overarching goals for the end-of-year patch was to bring more balance to the late-game of all matchups, we’ll keep looking at potential future changes to achieve this, if necessary. At the same time, however—partially because of the prominence of Terran proxies—our sample size of late-game TvP is not as large as we’d like.
ZvP
We’ve received feedback that it’s now easier for Protoss to survive Zerg onslaughts in the mid-game. In the shift to late-game, Zergs have responded positively to Vipers being able to survive Feedback. On the Protoss side, players have been mixing up their late-game compositions and experimenting with new combinations of Void Rays, Carriers, and Tempests. While we feel these are all already positive changes, we’d still like to see more Robotics Bay-level units in Protoss compositions.
Additional Thoughts
Outside of anything matchup-specific, there are a few other units and upgrades that we haven’t seen much of lately, such as Thors, Anabolic Synthesis, and Nydus Networks. Though a few of these may just need more time for players to figure out, we might give them an extra boost in a future patch.
As a whole, we continue to feel that it’s natural for more aggressive strategies to be stronger following a major balance patch because players will need time to explore refined responses to these strategies.
That’s it from us! Now, it’s your turn to let us know your thoughts. But before we leave, we wanted to wish Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year from everyone on the balance team. See you all next year!
"Upgrade complete." War Chest: Katowice 2019 is live! 🙌 Get yours ➡️ https://t.co/Ricn0S7a5N https://t.co/T1AvvLtfGQ