March 2nd, 2003.
I Still haven't goten my beta yet but I am waiting with horrible Anticipation . Untell that time comes, I'm going to give my overveiw of the beta changes. I don't play specifically one race(being a random player ) so I think i can give some good comments on balances for all races.
Here is the Beta changes Overveiw.
Balance Overveiw
Most spellcasters (Sorceress, Priest, Shaman, Witch Doctor, Necromancer, Banshee, Druid of the Talon) have been re-balanced and given new armor and weapon types. All of these casters, as well as Dryads, now have "Unarmored" type armor, which means they take additional damage from Piercing and Siege attacks. Additionally, all of these casters (but not Dryads) deal Magic damage, which works much like Piercing, except it does additional damage against Medium armor instead of Heavy armor.
Hmm this seems kinda weird... I understand that introducing magic damage is a good idea but, why do they only take extra damage from seige and piercing? Wouldent it make more sence if they took extra from normal? And they do bonus vs medium armor...hmm...interesting...seems like casters are the counter for teir 1 melee now.
Most advanced technology structures have had their build times reduced. This reduction ranges from 20 seconds for especially underused structures, to 10 seconds for less underused structures. For instance, the Slaughterhouse builds 20 seconds faster now, while the Arcane Sanctum build time was only reduced by 10 seconds.
Not much to say about this. It can be a good thing that buildings build faster, but it could also be bad. Hope towers arnt included in decreased build speed O_o.
Units can become ethereal in certain situations. Ethereal units can only be damaged by Magic attacks (from casters such as Sorceresses, Banshees, etc) and by spells. Ethereal units cannot attack, but can still cast spells.
I like this idea. Makes some sence. I like it when blizzard add's alittle logic to the game .
Magic-immune units cannot be attacked by units with the Magic damage type, such as Sorceresses, Banshees, etc.
I kinda like this idea. Seems logical as well! I hope this doesn't bring back the "wrath of the dryads" again.
Gold bounties given for killing creeps have been SIGNIFICANTLY reduced, especially on lower-level creeps.
I am kinda disapointed with this. I really liked the bounties. Creeping was the main part of the game. I also have some speculations about this as well. Just as balla said, Night Elf seem to be able to run off no creeping alot easyer then other races. Maybe they will get the advantage from this? Who knows.
The gold costs of all units and buildings have been reduced by roughly 15%.
Yikes. This with the decrease in build time is scarrying the crap outa me . Can we say Super tower rush? .
Auto-cast buffs have been rebalanced with new mana costs, and in some cases such as Curse, have been slightly upgraded.
uhh I personally think they should make it so curse is'nt on autocast when they are first made. I like to turn it off to save mana for possess . Such a pain. Lower mana seems ok long as its not something like, Slow or inner fire which are allready super low mana cost.
Night Elf Ancients now have Heavy armor when uprooted.
Hmm seems a good idea in a way... Normal damage is alittle stronger vs Heavy then it is vs Fortified... But i can't get over seeing ARROWS do more damage to a TREE then a SWORD...then again I allways think logicaly. .
Thunderclap slow duration and strength have been tweaked so that the slow effect lasts 5 seconds at all levels, and decreases attack speed and movement speed by 50% at all levels.
Thats better at lev 1, same at lev 2 but crapyer at lev 3. In a way i kinda like it. I usually don't get clap ahead of storm bolt because I like bolt for hero killing. Some times however i would like to get lev 3 clap for the super slow. Now clap is good at low levels. I think some people like ZProtoss who is a lev 3 clap fan will be disapointed...but it seems find for me.
Entangling roots, ensnare, and other immobilizers no longer prevent units from town portaling.
Okay...thats retarded...plain and simple...I allways thought that was the danm use of entangle, to stop tp's! arg...whatever.... .
Many more minor tweaks to units and abilities...
RACIAL CHANGES
HUMANS
HERO
Blood Mage - Mystical Hero, adept at controlling magic and ranged assaults. Can learn Flame Strike, Banish, Mana Shield, and Mark of Fire. Attacks land and air units.
Flame Strike - Conjures a pillar of fire which damages ground units in a target area over time.
Mana Shield - Surrounds the affected unit with a temporary shield that will absorb a set amount of magical or physical damage.
Banish - Turns a unit temporarily ethereal so that it cannot attack or be attacked physically. It may cast spells and have spells cast upon it, however.
Mark of Fire [Ultimate] - Sacrifices a target non-mechanical unit to create a Phoenix. This mythical bird's fiery wings will singe nearby air attackers. Immune to magic. Attacks land and air units.
I think the bloodmage will be a very good 2nd or 3rd hero. He looks like a super poor creeper, but in Huge battles i can only IMAGINE the damage he can do... think about a 3v3 and casting a lev 3 flamestike in the middle of all the other teams casters/ranged units....*drool* me want....Banish sounds cool, and mana sheilds ok i guess. Mark of fire looks BITCHING! .
UNITS
Dragon Hawk - Swift flying unit, mounted by an Elven warrior. Has the Cloud ability. Attacks land and air units.
Cloud - Creates a small cloud that stops buildings with ranged attacks that are within it from attacking.
Reminds me of the Protoss Corsair's disruption web...blizzard running outa ideas? \.
Spell Breaker - Elven warrior trained to disrupt and contort magical energies. Initially has the Spell Immunity ability, which renders him immune to magic. Can also learn Spell Steal. Attacks land units.
Spell Immunity - The Spell Breaker is immune to all spells (exactly like the Dryad).
Spell Steal - Steals a positive buff from an enemy unit and applies it to a nearby friendly unit and/or removes a negative buff from a friendly units and applies it to an enemy unit. This is an auto-cast ability.
Seems like a cool new unit. I think its a little weird that hes biger in size then a footmen, yet almost has half a footmens hp. I like his skills. Sound cool. EDIT:I found out that the spellbreaker has the hp of a huntress and up to 22 damage. SEems VERY cheap.
BUILDINGS
Arcane Vault - Creates a shop from which Heroes can purchase and sell items. The items available are dependant upon what level of upgrade your Town Hall has (Town Hall, Keep, or Castle) and what buildings you have.
OTHER
Research Rocket Tank - This upgrade changes Steam Tanks into War Engines, giving them a rocket-like attack versus air units. CURRENTLY NOT ACTIVE!
Lol...what a stupid upgrade...Don't you want your tanks to attack BUILDINGS?... they are gonna be distracted by some dumb air unit instead.
NIGHT ELVES
HERO
Warden - Cunning Hero, adept at entering and escaping combat. Can learn Blink, Fan of Knives, Shadow Strike and Spirit of Vengeance. Attacks land and air units.
Blink - Teleports the Warden a short distance, allowing her to move in and out of combat.
Fan of Knives - The Warden flings a flurry of knives at multiple enemy targets around her.
Shadow Strike - The Warden hurls a poisoned dagger with incredible force at a target enemy ground unit causing damage and temporarily slowing the target.
Spirit of Vengeance [Ultimate] - Creates a powerful fighting Spirit from the bodies of fallen allies. The strength of the Spirit of Vengeance is proportional to the number of fallen allies nearby. Immune to magic. Attacks land and air units.
Wow this hero looks sooooo cooool. I know shes a agility hero, she also does some massive good damage. Allthough blink is a good get away spell, I still think that the warden is very vulnurable to Sniping. A high level coil and nova could most likely take her out....unless she can blink away from instant damage O_O.
UNITS
Hippogryph Rider - This Archer mounted Hippogryph now has the ability to allow its rider to dismount.
I was wondering why you could never do that before...
Mountain Giant - Slow moving melee unit that can take incredible amounts of punishment. Has the Taunt and War Club abilities. Can learn Hardened Skin and Resistant Skin. Attacks land units.
Taunt - Causes nearby enemies to switch their attack to the Mountain Giant.
War Club - Gives the Mountain Giant a temporary siege enhanced attack.
Hardened Skin - Gives Mountain Giants increased resistance to attack damage.
Resistant Skin - Gives Mountain Giants increased resistance to spell damage
Wow thats alot of danm Skills... Seems kinda cheap. From what i heard form the people with beta at the moment, the Mountain giant is extreemly cheap. Like 2x a aow from regular war3. Keep that in mind.
Faerie Dragon - Small quick flying unit, effective against enemy casters. Has the Phase Shift and Mana Flare abilities. Immune to magic. Attacks land and air units.
Phase Shift - Allows the Faerie Dragon to briefly turn ethereal, breaking targeting of enemy units. This is an auto-cast ability.
Mana Flare - Causes the Faerie Dragon to channel negative magical energies that damage nearby enemies when they cast spells.
Nothing to really say. Dunno about this unit. His Phase Shift only looks usefull if you want to get away or cast mana flare on everything.
BUILDINGS
All NE Ancients can now attack while rooted.
Wow intresting...thats gonna be neat too see... i wonder what the animation is like. I kinda think that is alittle cheap however.
Ancient of Wonders - Creates a shop from which Heroes can purchase items. The items available are dependant upon what level of upgrade your Tree of Life has (Tree of Life, Tree of Ages, or Tree of Eternity) and what buildings you have.
OTHER
Cyclone - This spell is now dispellable.
hmm... i think if they do that they should back the 30 second time limit like before.
Well Spring Upgrade - This upgrade increases Moon Well mana capacity and mana regeneration rate.
hmm i think wells will be just as strong as 1.2 with this upgrade... dunno wether that is a good thing...could be alittle overpowered...question what teir can you use it on?
Enchanted Bears (temp name) Upgrade - This upgrade allows Druids of the Claw to cast Roar while in Bear Form
Ok thats plain retarded... That would make it seem weird and it would mean dotc's would almost never change outra bear form. I wonder if it works for rejuvination too?
Enchanted Crows (temp name) Upgrade - Allows Druids of the Talon to cast Faerie Fire from Storm Crow Form.
Again seems kinda weird being able to cast spells while in form. I don't agree with it.
ORCS
HERO
Shadow Hunter - Cunning Hero, adept at healing magics and voodoo curses. Can learn Healing Wave, Hex, Serpent Ward and Big Bad Voodoo. Attacks land and air units.
Healing Wave - Calls forth a wave of energy that heals a target and bounces to nearby friendlies. Each bounce heals less damage.
Hex - Temporarily transforms an enemy unit into a random critter, disabling special abilities.
Serpent Ward - Summons an immobile serpentine ward to attack the Shadow Hunter's enemies. Attacks land and air units.
Big Bad Voodoo [Ultimate] - Turns all friendly units invulnerable in an area around the Shadow Hunter. The Shadow Hunter does not turn invulnerable.
Healing wave is gonna be very usefull. I don't think its gonna do to much of a difference to grunts however. Im guessing its gonna cost about 120 mana to use. And at lev 1 the wave won't do more then 75 hp max on the first bounce. And Grunts have 700 hp.... IS probably VERy good with alot of mana and at high level however. Hex seems kinda neat. Serpent ward SCARES mE. THINK OF THE TOWER RUSHS >_<.Ultimate seems intresting. But if you can knock it donw with a stun skill like storm bolt... doesnt seem like to much trouble.
UNITS
Troll Batrider - Light flying unit with incredible eyesight. Good at destroying buildings. Has the Unstable Concoction ability, which allows the Troll Batrider to explode, dealing damage to nearby enemy air units. Can learn the Liquid Fire ability. Attacks land units.
Unstable Concoction - Causes a powerful explosion that deals damage to nearby enemy air units.
Liquid Fire - Flings a volatile liquid that causes buildings to take damage over time. Buildings that are currently taking damage from Liquid Fire cannot be repaired.
haha kinda a weird anti air unit. Oh well i just hope it does its job as a anti air unit and less on the air vs buildings part.
Spirit Walker - Tauren caster who can shift between the corporeal and spirit worlds. Can cast Spirit Link, Disenchant, and Ancestral Spirit.
Corporeal/Ethereal Form - Allows the Spirit Walker to morph between corporeal and ethereal form.
Ancestral Spirit - Allows a Spirit Walker to resurrect dead non-Hero Tauren.
Disenchant - Damages all summoned units in an area.
Spirit Link - Links the spirits of several friendly units together so that damage to one unit will be shared to some extent by all the units linked to it.
Wow intresting Unit. I can't wait to see this in action. Reserecting TAURENS seems cheap however.
BUILDINGS
Reinforced Orc Burrow - Upgraded version of the Orc Burrow with greater hit points and greater defenses.
Makes sence. Burrows do good damage but they allways have weak ass hp. I think its a good idea. But im worryed that orc deffence will be TO strong...
Voodoo Lounge - Creates a shop from which Heroes can purchase items. The items available are dependant upon what level of upgrade your Great Hall has (Great Hall, Stronghold, or Fortress) and what buildings you have.
OTHER
Troll Berserker - Troll Headhunters may now be upgraded into Troll Berserkers, which are tougher and have the Berserk ability. Can learn Troll Regeneration.
Berserk - Gives the Troll Berserker faster movement and attack rate; however, they will also take more damage from attacks.
VERY good idea! I love that they will increase the attack speed of head hunters! Couldent think of a better upgrade.
Ensnare - This ability is no longer dispellable, and it can target magic-immune units.
Well this makes it logical so i can agree with that. After all ensnare doesnt use mana so it makes sence. Its not a spell afterall.
Wind Walk - If the Blademaster attacks a unit to break invisibility, he will deal bonus damage.
Ha that sounds cool. Its a good way to get ww active. I like the idea.
UNDEAD
HERO
Crypt Lord - Warrior Hero, adept at summoning insect minions and crushing enemies. Can learn Impale, Spiked Carapace, Carrion Beetles and Locust Swarm. Attacks land units.
Impale - The Crypt Lord impales a target enemy unit, then flings it into the air. When the impaled unit hits the ground, it is stunned.
Spiked Carapace - The Crypt Lord forms barbed layers of chitinous armor that increase its defense and return damage to enemy melee attackers.
Carrion Beetles - Progenerates a Carrion Beetle from a target corpse. At higher levels of the spell's proficiency, these Beetles can burrow into the ground to hide from enemies. While they are burrowed, they cannot attack.
Locust Swarm [Ultimate] - Summons a swarm of locusts that attack nearby enemies and restore hit points to the Crypt Lord commensurate with the damage the locusts inflict.
This guy looks SO BUFF. With Spiked carapace and carrion beetles he could creep the map by himself and RAISE a army.... Very cool.
UNITS
Obsidian Statue - Fortified statue with an aura that causes nearby wounded friendly Undead units to regenerate hit points at a faster rate. Can cast Absorb Mana and Replenish Mana. The benefits of its aura can be enhanced through research. Can also research Sphinx Form.
Aura of Blight - Regenerative aura that only affects friendly Undead units. This effect does not stack with other statues or with Blight.
Absorb Mana - Drains a target owned unit of mana. All mana stolen will fill the Statue's mana pool.
Replenish Mana - Replenish the mana of a target friendly unit. This is an auto-cast ability.
Sphinx Form - Transforms the Obsidian Statue into a powerful flying unit. Attacks land and air units.
I dunno what to think about this unit. Seems weird... hes kinda a walking moble Huge moonwell...but then he can transform into a flyer? weird...
Black Sphinx - Large flying unit with powerful anti-caster abilities. Can cast Devour Mana and Orb of Annihilation. Attacks land and air units.
Devour Magic - Dispels units of all magic buffs within an area. Every buff dispelled will be converted into hit points and mana for the Black Sphinx. This spell will also deal damage to summoned units in the area of effect.
Orb of Annihilation - Gives the Sphinx a more powerful attack that delivers splash damage. This is an auto-cast ability.
Seems kinda cheap. At this point i also relize that there is WAY to many anti caster abilitys. It looks like casters are gonna be frail...cant dmg worth jack AND all spells get taken/stolen/reflected back at them. Casters look TO nurfed.
BUILDINGS
Tomb of Relics - Creates a shop from which Heroes can purchase items. The items available are dependant upon what level of upgrade your Necropolis has (Necropolis, Halls of the Dead, or Black Citadel) and what buildings you have.
OTHER
Crypt Fiend - This unit may now learn the Burrow ability.
Burrow (Crypt Fiend/Carrion Beetle) - Allows Crypt Fiends to burrow into the ground, become invisible, and regenerate hit points at a faster rate. While burrowed, Crypt Fiends cannot attack.
tut tut blizzard. Stealing this idea from broodwars Zergling? hehe...
Web - This ability is no longer dispellable, and it can target magic-immune units.
Same as ensnare... Logical.
Skeletal Mage - A unit summoned by the Raise Dead spell once Skeletal Mastery has been researched. Like Skeleton Warriors, Skeletal Mages can benefit from Skeletal Longevity.
Seems like that will be intresting. GOnna be alittle bit more confusing controling abunch of RANGED skeletons too.
Upgrade Aura of Blight - Increases the regenerative effect of the Obsidian Statue's hit point regeneration.
Exhume Corpses Upgrade - This upgrade allows Meat Wagons to generate corpses like a Graveyard. A new corpse is generated every X seconds and is placed inside their cargo. CURRENTLY NOT ACTIVE.
[B]Lol...what a lame attempt to make Meat wagons good! I don't think i have even ever used the 'collect bodys" skill.
NEUTRALS
HERO
Dark Ranger - Cunning Hero, adept at manipulating opponents. Can learn Silence, Black Arrow, Life Drain, and Charm. Attacks land and air units.
Silence - Stops all enemies in a target area from casting spells for a short duration.
Black Arrow - Adds extra damage to attacks. Enemy ground units killed while under the effect of Black Arrow will turn into skeletons.
Life Drain - Channeling spell that siphons health from the target to the Dark Ranger for a period of time or until the affected unit moves out of range. Dispel does not affect the spell.
Charm [Ultimate] - Takes control of a target enemy unit. Charm cannot be used on Heroes, or on creeps who are too powerful.
Wow killer hero. I like her. She seems really good. Only problem is I think shes low on hp and she is walking so probably slow movement. Might be a easy target to suround and kill.
BUILDINGS
Marketplace - A store for purchasing goods. As creeps are killed, whatever items they drop will simultaneously stock this store.
Goblin Shipyard - Sells boats.
Hmmm... yet no attack ships? how are you going to deffend yourself from air units?
Tavern - Allows you to hire various Heroes.
NEW FEATURES & ENHANCEMENTS
AMM Search Improvements - Now when searching for anonymous opponents for AMM games, you can chat in the chatroom. Additionally, a "Quick Game" option has been added that will immediately start a game using the settings from your previous game.
In-Game Battle.net Reply - While in a game you can now "/r " individuals who message you from Battle.net.
YAY! I hate typing out some ass's name that is msging me while im in game! Thank you Blizzard!
Clan Support - UI support for clans is now available on Battle.net. Please visit the Beta site http://www.blizzard.com/war3x/beta/ for further information on how to create clans and manage clans.
YES!!! I LOVE THIS! i allways wanted to have this ever sence Broodwar... Gonna solve so many problems!
Allied Team Colors - The "Minimap Ally Colors" button now toggles units in the minimap AND IN THE world view to appear colored according to alliance. Player is white on minimap (Blue in world view), allies are Teal on minimap and in world view, and enemies are red on the minimap and in the world view. Creeps appear black in this mode.
Err doesnt seem good to me. I like to know each persons colors. Easyer to remember there strengths and stuff.
Dark Mask Creep Indicator - Creep locations are now visible through the minimap in the form of a glowing icon. This icon indicates a creep camp's threat level as easy (small-sized icon) or challenging (large-sized icon).
Eh seems cool i guess. Helps if you don't know the map well.
Health Bars - Holding down the "Alt" key will display health bars above all units on the screen. Holding down the "[" will display friendly health bars where the "]" key will display enemy health bars.
Ah this makes it much easyer to find the weak unit but i think that makes micro to easy. It was suposed to be skill to find the hurt one quickly. Now its gonna be simple.
Queued Research/Upgrades - You can now queue multiple upgrades as well as units simultaneously from buildings, provided there are available resources.
Hmm Your gonna need alot of cash to queu all those upgrades...
Research/Upgrade Complete Messages - The text messages that appear when research or an upgrade is completed now tell you specifically what was completed.
Are they gonna have a voice saying what building/unit you completed too? That would pwn!!
Inherited Follow - When following a friendly unit, following units now inherit the order of the leader. For example, units following an attacking Hero will also attack along with the Hero.
Huh...seems weird... I don't think i like the idea. Maybe you don't want them to attack? It should be like a guard command. Not a move.
Improved Defeat Conditions - Defeat conditions now greatly reduce the frustration caused by "hide the farm" tactics.
Lol... you have only farms left..."YOU ARE DEFEATED NOOB"... That would be funny.
Town Portal Improvements - Players can now more accurately control where they arrive when they use a Scroll of Town Portal by clicking on a specific location in the world view within limited range of the town hall they are teleporting to. Additionally, double-clicking on a Scroll of Town Portal will send your affected units to the nearest, player-owned town hall on the map. In the case that the player has no town halls, the units will be taken to the highest technology allied players town hall.
EXCELLENT IDEA! PROBABLY THE BEST CHANGE YET! MAn i know tping has been so anoying but this solves everything! THANK YOU.
Rally Point to Hero Icon Feature - You can now select a unit-producing building and right click on a Hero icon along the left side of the screen to assign the rally point to that Hero.
GOod idea. I was always hoping you could do that. Saves time from scrolling over the map looking for your hero.
Building Control Groups - Buildings are now supported in control and subgroups the same way units are.
Ah good. I hate how you can't have two different buildings in the same group.
Handicaps - We now have handicaps in the game allowing players to set themselves at a disadvantage if they so choose. This reduces the maximum hit points for the affected players units to the chosen percentage. So, for example, a player setting his handicap to 60% will have units with maximum hit point values 60% the normal value.
Lol that would be funny. Maybe the more handycap you have the more exp you get for winning. OR less you lose for losing.
Occupied Display (Bunkers) - These structures now display "occupied" graphics above them when a unit is inside.
Hmm never thought of that...
Improved Waypoints - Waypoints are now graphically represented much more clearly. A small flag is placed at each waypoint. Additionally, several buildings can be way-pointed for construction by a single worker unit, although you must have the available resources for each building.
Seems like a very good idea. Now you won't have to set units to one waypoint and pick them up and move them to another to avoid creeps.
Construction Site Indicators - A transparent building appears at the construction site of placed buildings indicating that a building is going to be constructed there.
Seems like Totall Annihilation grafics to me.. Oh well those are cool .
Well I hope you guys liked my entry. Its long as HELL!! heheh.. Any comments on what you want to hear more of later are apreiciated. THx for reading.
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