Blizzard is turning Starcraft 2’s e-sports upside down. One year after the big patch 3.8, they want to make less used units and abilities more attractive with “comprehensive design changes” and make sure that games can’t be finished in one hit.

The new features are immediately available on the test servers, but they will undergo a long testing period and will be officially released only in November, after the tournament – Season . An overview of all changes can be found on the official Starcraft 2 website.

Boost economy and the end of the mothership core

Starcraft 2

The biggest change is a deletion: The Protoss lose the mothership core, the mothership is built directly in the endgame. The capabilities of the core, on the other hand, are transferred directly to the Nexus main building.

The Terran Ravens on the other hand, soon functioned differently: they were not very effective in small numbers, but overpowered in large masses. With the new Disruptive Missile, Repair Drone, and Anti-Tank Missile abilities, the Raven should function as a supporter even in small numbers, but mass production should no longer be worth it. With the update, the MULE robot can not only mine minerals very effectively, but also siphon off vespin gas.

Zerg players are supposed to work with Contaminators can no longer overrun enemies and cover the ground more with creeper slime. The Fungal Infestation ability only slows enemies when they are not on Creeper. Also, Infested Terrans created by the Infested are now equipped with an air defense weapon and are created faster on Creeper.

For all players, the resource system changes around Minerals and vespin: They are now slightly more available in bases, the raw materials of a base deplete slightly later. This is to continue to encourage players to build new bases soon. However, the pressure on beginners to expand immediately decreases.

Patch notes at a glance

The changes are listed below. If you would like to read an explanation from the developers for every single change, commenting on each design decision again, you can find the full patch notes on the official website.

Economy

• Large mineral fields in bases have been increased from 1,500 to 1,800 minerals per field.
• Small mineral fields continue to contain 900 minerals per field.
• Vespingeysirs now contain 2,250 gas instead of 2,000 gas to maintain mineral to gas ratio.

Terran

M.U.L.E.:

• M.U.L.E.s can now mine vespine gas in refineries.
• M.U.L.E.s harvest 10 vespingas per harvesting operation.
• M.U.L.E.s harvest 20 minerals per harvest instead of 25.

Raven:

New ability jamming missile:

• Cost: 50 energy.
• Range: 8.
• Effect: The targeted mechanical unit’s weapons and abilities are briefly disabled.

New ability Repair Drone:

• Cost: 75 energy.
• Effect: Places a repair drone with limited life on the battlefield. The drone can target and repair mechanical units in its vicinity.

New Ability Anti-Tank Missile:

• Cost: 125 energy.
• Effect: Fires an anti-tank missile that activates after a short delay and tracks the targeted unit. On impact, it deals 30 damage and briefly reduces armor by 3.
• The Improved Explosive Charge upgrade has been removed.
• New Improved Ammo upgrade: Increases the blast radius of anti-tank missile by 20% and the range of its target tracking by 50%.

Arachnomines:

• Arachnomines are now revealed while the Guardian Missile cooldown is active.

Ghosts:

• Ghosts can now cloak themselves by default.
• Ghosts now start with 50 energy instead of 75.
• Moebius Reactor has been added back to Ghost Academy. It grants Ghosts +25 energy after they are produced.

Falcon:

• No longer receives a sight bonus in defense mode.
• Now gains visibility over his target area in defense mode.

Cyclone:

• The first four shots of capture are fired faster. Total damage over time remains at 160.
• New Armor Piercing Missile Upgrade: This upgrade grants +2 damage against armored units to each Cyclone missile fired during captures, for a total of +46 damage.

New upgrade Intelligent Servos:

• The transformation time of Hellions, Battle Hellions, Thors and Vikings is greatly reduced.
• Found in the Tech Lab of Factories.

Protoss

Mothership Core:

• Mothership core has been removed.

Revised ability of the Nexus: Time Loop.

• Cost: 50 energy.
• Duration: 10 sec.
• Effect: Buildings work 100% faster.

New ability of the Nexus: Mass Recall.

• Cost: 100 energy.
• Effect: After 4 sec, all units are teleported from the target area to the nexus. During this period, the units cannot attack or move.

New ability of the Nexus: Shield Restoration.

• Cost: 1 energy per 3 shield points restored.
• Range: 8.
• Can be used automatically.
• Can be deployed on units and buildings.

Agitator:

• The damage of the agitator’s particle disruptor has been increased from 10 (14 against armored units) to 15 (21 against armored units).
• The time between attacks of the particle disruptor has been increased from 1.03 to 1.54.
• The Particle Disruptor now receives +2 damage per weapon upgrade (previously +1).

Disruptor:

Psi Nova

• Psi-Nova now explodes when it comes into contact with enemy units (not buildings).
• Psi-Nova still lasts for 2 sec before exploding.
• Damage reduced from 145 (+55 shields) to 135 (+25 shields).
• Cooldown reduced from 21 to 18.
• When the disruptor is dropped from a warp prism, the psi-nova gets a short cooldown. Otherwise, it would be a bit too powerful against workers.

Colossus:

• Damage reduced from 12 to 10 (15 against light units).
• Changed the damage per upgrade from 1 to 1 (+1 against light units).
• Attack range increased from 6 to 7.

Upgrade: Improved thermal lance.

• Range upgrade reduced from +3 to +2.
• The cost has been reduced from 200 / 200 to 150 / 150.

Carrier:

• The cost of interceptors has been increased from 10 to 15 minerals.

High Templar:

• The attack Psi Explosion was added.
• Range: 6.
• Damage: 4.
• Attack speed: 1.25.

Mothership:

• Now being built directly in the Nexus.
• Can no longer use photon overload.
• Mass recall now works like the version of nexus described above. All targeted units are recalled to the mothership.

Observer:

• New ability Surveillance Mode: The observer cannot move and his visibility is increased by 25%.

Zerg

Vereucher:

Fungal infestation

• The radius was increased from 2.0 to 2.5.
• Can no longer hit air units.
• The movement speed of hit units that are not on Creeper is reduced by 50%.
• Units hit on creepers are rooted.

Contaminated Terran:

• Now benefits from the Rocket Attack (Zerg) and Ground Armor upgrades.
• The damage of the Gauss Rifle has been reduced from 8 to 6.
• The Gauss Rifle can no longer hit air units.
• Infested Terrans are created much faster on Creeper.

New Attack: Acid Spore.

• Projectile
• Range: 6.
• Damage: 14.
• Attack speed: 0.95.
• Gets priority over ground weapons.

Lurker:

• Mutate to lurker build was removed from hydralisk build.
• New building: Schleicherbau.
• Cost: 100 minerals / 150 vespingas / 86 sec.
• New Upgrade: Vole Claws.
• Can be found in the lurker build.
• Requires swarm stick.
• Cost: 150 minerals / 150 vespingas / 56 sec.
• Reduces the time required for digging in. Increases the movement speed of sneaks from 4.13 to 4.55.

Viper:

Parasite Bomb

• Damage can no longer be stacked with the effects of other parasite bombs.
• Damage increased from 90 to 180.

Overseer:

• New Spy ability: The Overseer cannot move and its visibility is increased by 25%.

Swarm Host:

• Movement speed away from creeper has been reduced from 4.13 to 3.15.
• Movement speed on creeper remains at 5.36.