Swarmlings for Zerglings and Corpsers for Roaches. I liked the +2 damage and bonus mobility that the Raptors had, but I just couldn't pass up the ability to generate three lings at a time at almost instant speeds. The Roach evolution was a bit tougher -- I really liked the corrosive spit evo that stacked up to reduce the target's attack speed by like 75%, but I ultimately thought it would be a lot cooler (and maybe more effective?) to spawn in some broodlings whenever someone dies. That's pretty baller.
I haven't seen any of the other evolutions yet, but I don't mind if you talk to me about them. If you do, it just means I'll be that much more prepared when its time to make my final decision in game.
So huh, is the Heart of the Swarm disc useless? I tried to install with that first and it wanted to download. I went back and installed Wings of Liberty and got that installed all via disc and tried against with the Swarm one and...download. Is that normal? Kinda crappy speeds too that just die and eventually restart and do it all again.
I'm pretty sure mine installed from the HotS disc OK.
Also, when I fed my HotS CE key to my b.net account, it showed the wrong graphic for the HotS CE box on the page. It was a portrait-style box, more tall than wide (like D3's and the WoW ones) instead of the wider-based box that it actually comes in. But the box in the image still had the whole removable top opening mechanism.
BLIZZ PLZ FIX GAME IS RUINED!!!11
Officially the unluckiest CCG player ever.
0
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
I'm pretty sure mine installed from the HotS disc OK.
Also, when I fed my HotS CE key to my b.net account, it showed the wrong graphic for the HotS CE box on the page. It was a portrait-style box, more tall than wide (like D3's and the WoW ones) instead of the wider-based box that it actually comes in. But the box in the image still had the whole removable top opening mechanism.
BLIZZ PLZ FIX GAME IS RUINED!!!11
Ugh. This is ticking me off, it just keeps trying to redownload it just won't install from the disc for some reason. Wings of Liberty has no issues.
Actually, now that I think about it, it seemed like the install was taking a while. I was doing other stuff so I wasn't paying close attention. If it was all coming from the disc and not downloading things it seems like it would have installed faster maybe? I'm not sure. But I swear the disc drive fired up and made its usual angry noises when I started the install.
forty on
Officially the unluckiest CCG player ever.
+1
Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
Yeah, pretty sure mine installed from disk. Maybe it checks your connection speed and decides whether to do it there and then.
Seriously, that's where this campaign ended? I mean, tropes aside, and the cliche's, the plot was too predictable, which can be forgiven, but THAT is where it ends. Someone mentioned earlier, but I too would have liked to have seen more Zeratul missions and back-story, particularly about the creation of the Overmind and Amon.
And i'm not sure how to feel about this one.
Gameplay and certain maps were really fun, substantial retconning and story rather disappointing (why is metzen allowed anywhere near a storyboard. He's basically george lucas now).
For some reason my Kerrigan achievements don't seem to be making any progress. I've been at like 26/50 blast kills and 104/150 hits from the AoE move for a while now. But I've been getting various mission achievements just fine. Why can Blizzard never seem to get achievements registering correctly?
For some reason my Kerrigan achievements don't seem to be making any progress. I've been at like 26/50 blast kills and 104/150 hits from the AoE move for a while now. But I've been getting various mission achievements just fine. Why can Blizzard never seem to get achievements registering correctly?
All the Kerrigan achievements are for accomplishing those tasks within a single mission. The text doesn't read like that at all, but that's how they operate.
@TwitchTV, @Youtube: master-level zerg ladder/customs, commentary, and random miscellany.
Swarmlings for Zerglings and Corpsers for Roaches. I liked the +2 damage and bonus mobility that the Raptors had, but I just couldn't pass up the ability to generate three lings at a time at almost instant speeds. The Roach evolution was a bit tougher -- I really liked the corrosive spit evo that stacked up to reduce the target's attack speed by like 75%, but I ultimately thought it would be a lot cooler (and maybe more effective?) to spawn in some broodlings whenever someone dies. That's pretty baller.
I haven't seen any of the other evolutions yet, but I don't mind if you talk to me about them. If you do, it just means I'll be that much more prepared when its time to make my final decision in game.
I can see the appeal of the near instant growth for swarmlings and the additional forces with the corpsers but I preferred the raptors and vile roaches. The raptors plus attack speed mutation gave me some awesome attack speeds and that charge is deadly. When supported by vile roaches that slow Attack speed and movment speed by 75% almost everything became food for my roach ling swarm. using mutas to cover any air assaults and they tore through most of the game
Only 4 missions left, and I kinda don't want to finish them. Cause once I do, it'll be another 2-3 years before the protoss campaign, and waiting that long sucks.
Swarmlings for Zerglings and Corpsers for Roaches. I liked the +2 damage and bonus mobility that the Raptors had, but I just couldn't pass up the ability to generate three lings at a time at almost instant speeds. The Roach evolution was a bit tougher -- I really liked the corrosive spit evo that stacked up to reduce the target's attack speed by like 75%, but I ultimately thought it would be a lot cooler (and maybe more effective?) to spawn in some broodlings whenever someone dies. That's pretty baller.
I haven't seen any of the other evolutions yet, but I don't mind if you talk to me about them. If you do, it just means I'll be that much more prepared when its time to make my final decision in game.
I can see the appeal of the near instant growth for swarmlings and the additional forces with the corpsers but I preferred the raptors and vile roaches. The raptors plus attack speed mutation gave me some awesome attack speeds and that charge is deadly.
Uuuh, do the raptor charge offset the huge disadvantage that slowlings find themselves at? Because I can't honestly see how you're supposed to choose anything else than the runspeed mutation for zerglings? Felt kinda dumb to not have that one on the spawning pool, like in the multiplayer.
And I loved it. I really thought it was well done. Better than WoL on almost every level, including dialogue.
I think my favorite thing about the game was how the story was broken up into smaller stories, each with their own progression and story arc. It really made every level feel as though it counted toward some objective. Let's face it, in past starcrafts there were always missions that felt tacked on just for length. I didn't feel that way with this game because there was always an immediate goal I was working toward. I enjoyed that a lot.
My biggest complaint would be that the ending was very abrupt, and not quite as epic as I had hoped. But it wasn't bad or anything.
I also would have liked a few more story twists to shake things up a bit. Not a whole lot of surprises.
But the gameplay was absolutely solid. I had worried that microing Kerrigan around all game would become a chore, but I really never felt that way. She was fun to use and it was fun to mix up her abilities. I'm glad most of the upgrades in this game could be changed at will. I don't like having everything locked down so that I can't try it out.
I'm already excited about playing it through on brutal. It seemed quite a bit easier than WoL, especially towards the end, so hopefully I won't have too much trouble with it.
Anyway, gj Blizzard.
+1
eeSanGI slice like a goddamn hammer.Registered Userregular
I wish the dialogue didn't have as much name-dropping as it did but I pretty much enjoyed the campaign.
Slice like a god damn hammer. LoL: Rafflesia / BNet: Talonflame#11979
Had a lot of fun with it, honestly! It was by far better than WoL in many areas. The characters were vastly more interesting and individual (ironic for a race with a hive mind), Kerrigan's justifications were much more conflicted and interesting. The voice acting was pretty good. The story didn't feel as half-arsed, and I really liked the planet-by-planet method of the storytelling, made each arc feel a lot more solid.
I'll be honest though, it felt a lot easier than WoL, even on Brutal. But I suspect that is because I play zerg usually, so aside from missing being able to inject (10 macro hatches per mission is kinda dumb) I just tore through every mission regardless.
I've always really loved the storyline in the Starcraft games. I know its popular to trash on modern Blizzard these days... but the Starcraft storyline has always been interesting, incredibly well presented, tight and compact without being too predictable, and very stylish and Heart of the Swarm is no exception. SC never fails to draw me in and immerse me in the world.
Also, anyone been experiencing graphical glitches? Wednesday night after I downloaded the game, I played through the first 5 missions with no graphical bugs at all, game ran smooth as silk on Ultra settings across the board. Then after that first patch, I started getting weird random textures glitches, like textures stretching out, scrambling, and clipping through units. Very distracting and it seems to happen randomly.
0
Dhalphirdon't you open that trapdooryou're a fool if you dareRegistered Userregular
swarm queens are the new marine medic on brutal apprently
0
Dhalphirdon't you open that trapdooryou're a fool if you dareRegistered Userregular
the only thing i don't like about kerrigan so far is that Kinetic Blast is on Q and I don't appear to be able to properly rebind it, and Q is my Patrol key.
Aberration? It seems like they just stuck that unit in the game at the last minute. It has no mutations or special upgrades. No one ever even mentions it.
Also, it's kind of annoying how you had to choose between "normal" upgrades with the mutations. I liked it better in WoL when you could get all the normal upgrades in addition to some special upgrades. Although,
I suppose the permanent strain upgrade balances it out.
And the campaign really made me miss the Overmind and the Cerebrates, their dialogue had a lot of gravitas and intelligence. Plus the writing in SC1 was more refined.
also, the evolution pit strains aren't really a real choice in most cases
there is always one best option
take the hydralisk for example
it is very obvious that giving your hydralisks a stimpack ability that doesn't cost health is going to be the best choice
all you have to do is look at the choices and think "hm which one would they NEVER put in multiplayer"
MP plays differently to SP.
the stimpack ability would be killer in mp, in sp where you can push from one end of the map to the other with 1 ball it doesnt do as much. grooved spines will provide you with a flat dps increase instead of more burst.
also, the evolution pit strains aren't really a real choice in most cases
there is always one best option
take the hydralisk for example
it is very obvious that giving your hydralisks a stimpack ability that doesn't cost health is going to be the best choice
all you have to do is look at the choices and think "hm which one would they NEVER put in multiplayer"
MP plays differently to SP.
the stimpack ability would be killer in mp, in sp where you can push from one end of the map to the other with 1 ball it doesnt do as much. grooved spines will provide you with a flat dps increase instead of more burst.
grooved spines are just range? That's not really a flat dps increase. Just a burst at the first volley.
And the hydra stimpack is better than normal stim in that it doesn't cost health
Oh god they're so crappy. I just massed mutas and won it on brutal first try ez mode.
Same except
roaches with sprinkled queens and hydras.
Well second try. I got too distracted killing both other armies and was trying not to use the scourge-or-whatever they snuck in the back
Hydra evo
Torn between lurker and impaler. Impaler has much better range it seem though....
The thing with mutas on that map though is that you can
fly past the armies to kill that big monster down south.
I did have to use the locusts about 4 times overall though because I was 1Aing most of the time. When I split mutas into 2 groups I was able to handle the multi prongs easier. Also mutas let you kill them before they're at your choke so you don't have to deal with having your spine wall burst. I could've used queens though, only had 1. Good call on that.
On the hydra,
I went with stim. The range is meh and I can't remember the other one... just more hp? Hydras weren't meant to tank anyway so stim seems the reasonable choice.
On roaches:
Oh god vile roaches are ridiculous. I'm suuuuper excited to use them. 75% slow down is insane. The corpser is nice swarmy but requires APM to constantly drag-select the babies to keep pushing forward.
I got past the Supreme mission last night.
Totally stole that final boss fight from D3.
I enjoyed it though... took about 6 tries.
MMMig on
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
0
TannerMS "I'm confidence cause I'm zerg!"Registered Userregular
Hydra upgrades
I really wanted to like frenzy but shooting over your roaches with only 5 range was too irritating.
Yeah I really loved fighting Baal again. (I can't even tell if I'm being sarcastic) I guess mostly it seems lazy, but how else are you going to make a boss fight in the fixed top-down/iso perspective? Maybe Ancient Dude should have just eaten Kerrigan, and then you get a mission inside his stomach with constant life drain. The dude was huge, why not put that to use? The fight is obviously and entirely contrived, and makes you wonder why that guy was the best zerg ever. Too harsh?
Yeah I really loved fighting Baal again. (I can't even tell if I'm being sarcastic) I guess mostly it seems lazy, but how else are you going to make a boss fight in the fixed top-down/iso perspective? Maybe Ancient Dude should have just eaten Kerrigan, and then you get a mission inside his stomach with constant life drain. The dude was huge, why not put that to use? The fight is obviously and entirely contrived, and makes you wonder why that guy was the best zerg ever. Too harsh?
Hah, that's hilarious but yeah it was definitely Baal. Maby HotS is D4 and we just don't know it yet?
Well, frankly I'm really glad they introduced bosses. That's an underused mechanic in SC. We had a few like the leviathan and brutalisk but they were more like minibosses.
And actually the SC engine is powerful enough that they could do all sorts of crazy shennanigans like add a mini fight in a FPS perspective or even a bomberman style mode. The map editor is craaaaaazy powerful. But alas, I enjoyed the fight.
Had a lot of fun with it, honestly! It was by far better than WoL in many areas. The characters were vastly more interesting and individual (ironic for a race with a hive mind), Kerrigan's justifications were much more conflicted and interesting. The voice acting was pretty good. The story didn't feel as half-arsed, and I really liked the planet-by-planet method of the storytelling, made each arc feel a lot more solid.
I'll be honest though, it felt a lot easier than WoL, even on Brutal. But I suspect that is because I play zerg usually, so aside from missing being able to inject (10 macro hatches per mission is kinda dumb) I just tore through every mission regardless.
No, it felt a lot easier for me too! I had played WOL again on Saturday before release and I was playing casual because I was having trouble on normal. I played normal through the entire zerg campaign and didn't even have to restart a mission. It was really weird. But a lot of fun too.
I really wanted to like frenzy but shooting over your roaches with only 5 range was too irritating.
I can see that, but I haven't gotten to a mission yet where I can't just stutter step towards an army. So far though pure roaches seems to be doing ok.
Haven't hit a mission (aside from that shuttle one) where vs air was a big priority. Kerrigan can take care of most low-volume air units.
Posts
I went with
I haven't seen any of the other evolutions yet, but I don't mind if you talk to me about them. If you do, it just means I'll be that much more prepared when its time to make my final decision in game.
Also, when I fed my HotS CE key to my b.net account, it showed the wrong graphic for the HotS CE box on the page. It was a portrait-style box, more tall than wide (like D3's and the WoW ones) instead of the wider-based box that it actually comes in. But the box in the image still had the whole removable top opening mechanism.
BLIZZ PLZ FIX GAME IS RUINED!!!11
I'd say yes. I'm having a blast with the campaign.
Ugh. This is ticking me off, it just keeps trying to redownload it just won't install from the disc for some reason. Wings of Liberty has no issues.
Well, considering the fact that the game is only sold by Blizzard/Activision, it'll probably be a very long time before the price drops.
3DSFF: 5026-4429-6577
And i'm not sure how to feel about this one.
Gameplay and certain maps were really fun, substantial retconning and story rather disappointing (why is metzen allowed anywhere near a storyboard. He's basically george lucas now).
did anyone find any eastereggs or hidden maps?
"Must solve zergling allergy to lemon juice. Something something something"
I'm sure the others also say extra stuff.
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
All the Kerrigan achievements are for accomplishing those tasks within a single mission. The text doesn't read like that at all, but that's how they operate.
not-really-spoiler image but spoilered anyway
I cant stop
send help
I must collect them all
My favorite mission was
3DSFF: 5026-4429-6577
I like how there were some references to Aliens in the sound effects in that mission.
I can see the appeal of the near instant growth for swarmlings and the additional forces with the corpsers but I preferred the raptors and vile roaches. The raptors plus attack speed mutation gave me some awesome attack speeds and that charge is deadly. When supported by vile roaches that slow Attack speed and movment speed by 75% almost everything became food for my roach ling swarm. using mutas to cover any air assaults and they tore through most of the game
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
Same except
Well second try. I got too distracted killing both other armies and was trying not to use the scourge-or-whatever they snuck in the back
Hydra evo
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
I think my favorite thing about the game was how the story was broken up into smaller stories, each with their own progression and story arc. It really made every level feel as though it counted toward some objective. Let's face it, in past starcrafts there were always missions that felt tacked on just for length. I didn't feel that way with this game because there was always an immediate goal I was working toward. I enjoyed that a lot.
My biggest complaint would be that the ending was very abrupt, and not quite as epic as I had hoped. But it wasn't bad or anything.
I also would have liked a few more story twists to shake things up a bit. Not a whole lot of surprises.
But the gameplay was absolutely solid. I had worried that microing Kerrigan around all game would become a chore, but I really never felt that way. She was fun to use and it was fun to mix up her abilities. I'm glad most of the upgrades in this game could be changed at will. I don't like having everything locked down so that I can't try it out.
I'm already excited about playing it through on brutal. It seemed quite a bit easier than WoL, especially towards the end, so hopefully I won't have too much trouble with it.
Anyway, gj Blizzard.
Slice like a god damn hammer. LoL: Rafflesia / BNet: Talonflame#11979
I'll be honest though, it felt a lot easier than WoL, even on Brutal. But I suspect that is because I play zerg usually, so aside from missing being able to inject (10 macro hatches per mission is kinda dumb) I just tore through every mission regardless.
Yep. If you're going to buy it, might as well do it now. Price won't drop for another year or two, at least.
Also, anyone been experiencing graphical glitches? Wednesday night after I downloaded the game, I played through the first 5 missions with no graphical bugs at all, game ran smooth as silk on Ultra settings across the board. Then after that first patch, I started getting weird random textures glitches, like textures stretching out, scrambling, and clipping through units. Very distracting and it seems to happen randomly.
Also, it's kind of annoying how you had to choose between "normal" upgrades with the mutations. I liked it better in WoL when you could get all the normal upgrades in addition to some special upgrades. Although,
And the campaign really made me miss the Overmind and the Cerebrates, their dialogue had a lot of gravitas and intelligence. Plus the writing in SC1 was more refined.
there is always one best option
it is very obvious that giving your hydralisks a stimpack ability that doesn't cost health is going to be the best choice
all you have to do is look at the choices and think "hm which one would they NEVER put in multiplayer"
MP plays differently to SP.
the stimpack ability would be killer in mp, in sp where you can push from one end of the map to the other with 1 ball it doesnt do as much. grooved spines will provide you with a flat dps increase instead of more burst.
grooved spines are just range? That's not really a flat dps increase. Just a burst at the first volley.
And the hydra stimpack is better than normal stim in that it doesn't cost health
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
The thing with mutas on that map though is that you can
I did have to use the locusts about 4 times overall though because I was 1Aing most of the time. When I split mutas into 2 groups I was able to handle the multi prongs easier. Also mutas let you kill them before they're at your choke so you don't have to deal with having your spine wall burst. I could've used queens though, only had 1. Good call on that.
On the hydra,
On roaches:
I got past the Supreme mission last night.
I enjoyed it though... took about 6 tries.
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
Well, frankly I'm really glad they introduced bosses. That's an underused mechanic in SC. We had a few like the leviathan and brutalisk but they were more like minibosses.
And actually the SC engine is powerful enough that they could do all sorts of crazy shennanigans like add a mini fight in a FPS perspective or even a bomberman style mode. The map editor is craaaaaazy powerful. But alas, I enjoyed the fight.
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
I can see that, but I haven't gotten to a mission yet where I can't just stutter step towards an army. So far though pure roaches seems to be doing ok.
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra