Even though its competitive scene might not be as booming as it once was, there are plenty of interesting things going in with Starcraft 2 right now. The third mission pack for the Nova Covert Ops solo campaign just recently became available, a couple of new co-op missions have been added to spice things up, and after years of begging there's even brand new unit cosmetics to mess around with!
The only thing left to round out all of the content was to also release a significant balance update, and as it so happens - Blizzard recently recently did just that! Given that I haven't played Legacy of the Void in quite a while I won't even begin to guess how impactful these changes will actually end up being, but for what its worth, there sure is a lot of changes on display. You can find the full patch notes over at the Starcraft 2 website, but if you're just looking for the balance changes, here's the list:
Terran
• Banshee
- Removed the Fusion Core requirement for the Hyperflight Rotors upgrade.
- Research Hyperflight Rotors upgrade time increased from 93 to 121.
• Battlecruiser
- Energy bar removed.
- Yamato Cannon and Tactical Jump no longer require energy to cast. Instead, each upgrade has a cooldown of 71 seconds.
- Removed the Behemoth Reactor upgrade (energy upgrade).
- Yamato Cannon no longer gets interrupted by Neural Parasite.
• Cyclone
- The anti-ground weapon has been heavily changed.
-- Damage changed from 18 to 3 (+2 vs armored).
-- Range decreased from 5 to 4, and the new "Mag-Field Launchers" upgrade gives +2 range.
-- Attack period change from .7 seconds to .1 seconds and random delays removed.
-- Weapon upgrade amount changed from 2 to 1 to account for the new damage value.
-- Changed weapon name to Tornado Blaster.
- No anti-air weapon.
- Movement speed decreased from 4.72 to 4.13.
- Lock On can now target air units and air structures only. Range is unchanged, and the ability now deals 160 damage over 14 seconds.
- Removed auto-cast for the Lock On ability.
- Supply cost decreased from 4 to 3.
- Increased health from 120 to 180.
- The Cyclone no longer requires a Tech Lab, and can now be built with a Reactor.
- The Cyclone auto-attack missile art has been adjusted to reduce visual clutter.
- The missiles fired from the Lock On ability are unchanged.
- Removed the Cyclone Lock On Damage upgrade from the Factory Tech Lab.
• Liberator
- Remove the +light damage for the anti-air attack.
• Raven
- Auto Turret damage increased from 16 to 24.
• Siege Tank
- Health increased from 160 to 175.
- Damage in Siege Mode increased from 35 (+15 vs armored) to 40 (+30 vs armored).
- Siege Tanks can no longer be picked up by Medivacs when in Siege Mode.
- Crucio Shock Cannon weapon attack period changed from 2 to 2.14.
• Thor
- Anti-air splash for the Javelin Missile Launchers radius increased from 0.5 to 0.6.
- Thor High Impact Payload Mode: The Thor’s anti-air weapon, 250mm Punisher Cannons, will now be prioritized before the anti-ground weapon, Thor's Hammer.
• Viking
- Assault mode auto-attack now deals bonus (+8 vs mechanical) damage.
• Starport Tech Lab
- The "Research Explosive Shrapnel Shells" upgrade was replaced with the "Research Recalibrated Explosives" upgrade.
- "Research Recalibrated Explosives" upgrade
-- Increases the Seeker Missile unit's tracking range by 50% (13 to 19.5).
-- Increases the Seeker Missile's damage by 30%.
Protoss
• Adept
- Shade vision reduced from 9 to 2.
• Carrier
- Removed the Release Interceptor ability.
- Interceptors cost reduced from 25 minerals to 5 minerals, and auto-build is enabled by default.
• Dark Templar
- New Ability: “Shadow Stride”
-- Allows the Dark Templar to teleport a short distance and creates a visible smoke-effect upon being cast.
-- Research from Dark Shrine.
-- 100/100 cost, 121 research time, cooldown of 21 seconds.
• Tempest
- Supply cost increased from 4 to 6.
- Anti-ground damage increased from 30 to 35.
- Anti-ground weapon range changed from 15 to 8.
- New ability: “Disruption Blast”
-- Charges up for 4 seconds, and then stuns enemy ground units and ground structures in the target area for 7 seconds.
-- 10 cast range, 43 second cooldown, area of effect radius set to 1.95.
-- No friendly fire effect.
• Void Ray
- Speed increased from 3.15 to 3.5.
• Warp Prism
- Health reduced from 100 to 80.
• Zealot
- The "Research Charge" upgrade will now increase the Zealot's movement speed from 3.15 to 4.13.
Zerg
• Baneling
- Centrifugal Hooks now adds +10 life in addition to increasing Baneling’s movement speed.
• Brood Lord
- Range reduced from 11 to 10.
• Hydralisk
- “Evolve Muscular Augments” is now split into two separate upgrades:
- "Evolve Muscular Augments" upgrade will increase the Hydralisk base movement speed by 25%.
-- Cost 150/150, Research time: 71
- "Evolve Grooved Spines" upgrade will increase the Hydralisk attack range by 2.
-- Cost 100/100, Research time: 71
- Changed the Hydralisk movement speed to be affected the same as other units while on Creep.
- Muscular Augments now gives a 25% speed boost both on and off of Creep.
• Infestor
- Has a collision radius while burrowed (but smaller than normal).
- Can cast all abilities while burrowed.
• Swarm Host
- Swarm Host cost reduced from 150/100 to 100/75.
- Increased Locust Swoop range from 4 to 6.
- Locust Acid Spit weapon damage decreased from 12 to 10.
• Ultralisk
- Base armor increased from 1 to 2.
- Armor provided by Chitinous Plating reduced from 4 to 2.
The update is already live and available, so if you feel like trying out a brand new version of Starcraft 2, now would be the best time to do so! And if you don't own Legacy of the Void, or even Starcraft 2, I have a some good news as Blizzard is currently running a Black Friday sale on the entire Starcraft collection.
You can find out more by heading over to the Battle.Net store, but don't wait for too long as the sale will only last until November 28. And if you need a bit of a demo before opening your wallet, its also worth mentioning that the Starcraft 2 Starter Edition is completely free, so make sure to give it a look if you're curious. Have fun!