05.06.2008 - 01:17
Lead Designer Dustin Browder meldete sich, erfreulicherweise, auch mal wieder im Battle.net Forum. Er äußert sich zu der nicht mehr vorhandenen Ghost Fähigkeit "Drop Pod" und zur aktuellen Rolle des Thors. Der Thor ist ein guter Konter gegen "leichte Lufteinheiten", wie beispielsweise Muta oder Banshee. Außerdem ist er ein gutes Fleischschild, wenn es um das Stürmen gegnerischer Basen geht. Zuletzt hat er scheinbar noch eine Self Repair Fähigkeit, ist also ein zäher Brocken bzw. eine Art laufende Wand.

Ich werde in Paris den Thor intensiv testen, vor allem was seine Einsatzfähigkeit gegen Bodeneinheiten angeht. Bin schon gespannt :)

Hier die Orginal-Beiträge von Browder aka Cavez:
1. Zum Drop Pod

" Drop Pods were "one more thing" on the Ghost. The Ghost had a TON of powers for a while and when we were looking at it we decided we had to be simpler/cleaner with the unit design so cuts had to be made.

More importantly, when we played with them in-game we really struggled to find a good use for them in a lot of situations. They had some narrow-use cases of course, but just weren't that fun. They were balance-able.

As our unit mix changes we may find a use for them again, but today they are out."

2. Zum Thor

" We have tried the "multi-unit" in various forms a few years ago and they never really work out. It's always very difficult for the enemy to figure out how to deal with the multi-unit. And once a large number of multi-units are in-play it becomes a pretty boring game for both players.

The Thor is actually working pretty well as:
- Anti-air (Flak Cannons are good vs. smaller air units).
- Point-man for a charge into an enemy defended position.

This gives the Terrans something that is less static than the Siege Tank from the Factory to "push" and it also gives them the badly needed anti-air from the Factory as well. So far the testing on him has gone pretty well, he is balance-able, reasonably different from other units in the game and fun to use.

Thors vs. Battlecruisers is a good example of a fun match-up with this design. Battlecruisers get messed up a bit by the Thor's AA but the damage isn't quite right for taking down Battlecruisers, Battlecruisers can respond with Yamato and Thors can respond to that with their self-repair ability. Battlecruisers also have the mobility advantage. Overall I think the Thor has the edge, but player skill is a big factor in these types of heavy-metal duels.

Anyway, you guys know that this stuff changes all the time, but until we learn more, the Thor seems to be in a pretty good space."

Quelle: Starcraft 2 Battle.net Forum