From what i have seen and heard, it will be much more difficult to turtle a fortress of prisms and phases, will there be any saving of this slow paced strategy? ???
Don't you mean it will be easier? I'd imagine being able to move cannons and restore Pylon power via Phase Prism would make the strategy more effective. Mass cannons is nub tho...
the stalkers blink ability makes them almost obsolete. The terran's crucio and thor can outrange the towers any day, and the fact that the large amount of cannons slows your movement wuld also be a problem when many units come towards you such as a zerg mass ALso, it doesn't mater if it is nub as long as it works, and is fun (Mainly fun for Rollercoaster tycoon, civilization fans)
In Sc1 Guardians, Tanks, Reavers, Plague, all owned mass cannons too. Plus now in Sc2 if you mass cannons Reapers or something will only find a back door before you completed it. Another thing, Stalkers wouldn't make mass cannons obsolete; it's range isn't good enough to Blink behind a mass of cannons without dying trying. But yea mass cannons won't be as good since Zealots can just Charge straight to them without having casualties before they even make contact.
However, cannons will be an excellent support structure for your army. Just like in sc1, they aren't supposed to be your main base defence. Cannons were great then placed next to chokes with a small army in front of them. The damage they do adds up when defending a narrow passage. Now, since they can move, they will be used more often. Also, then they get phase prisms, might use them offensively by placing them under the prism's power field during attacks.
Battery's out. Replaced with a higher natural regeneration rate. It is going to be more difficult to turtle because Blizzard is probably trying to make it difficult. This game is not about sitting in a base and teching to an ICBM, game-ender weapon, it is about, well, going out and defeating your opponent. That said, mobile Cannons and Phase Prisms will definitely make it easier to turtle. Holes in defenses can be patched almost instantly. It'll still be harder overall, though, because just about every other mechanic in the game makes it easier to break into a turtled base. Just about every unit out there can, or can be made to either take large amounts of damage, or inflict damage at range. Turtling has never been a strategy that won games on its own, and it is not going to become one.
The one which kills me is when a Protoss player walls, if you're Protoss and know how to use them you don't have to wall thru out the game. But it all depends on style, some are more passive, others are offensive. You simply have to get ready for constant battles with jumpers trying to come at your base all the time.
There's nothing wrong with turtling. It's not a noob tactic. That's the S in RTS: strategy. Turtling is a valid strat. Granted, a complete turtling strat isn't usually very effective, but it sure helps if do it part-way. A nice group of cannons is a good rush deterent if you are aiming for units that aren't in the first tier.
A player with really good Macro that turtles can be fairly elite. I was friends with a guy who knew the #2 ranked Starcraft player back when the game was new (and subsequently upgraded). He was very successful balancing mass defense with Zealots and High Templar. His entire game was based on playing large open maps and turtling every expansion with cannons and High Templar, along with a mobile army of Zealots. At the time we was one of the very best players in the world. Anyways, mass turtling with nothing else is foolish, but using quasi turtling to stall opponents or used in conjunction with your army can create a superior force that wins the game. Case in point, ranged towers will add strong ranged attacks to your armies power should an opponent attack your base head on. Siege tanks can nullify defenses without cost, BUT the defense towers still act as a barricade that slows the entire attack. Back in the original Starcraft days before the balance was tweaked to what it is, you HAD to turtle with Terran befor eyou built up your air fleet (terran ground was horrible). I think have the right balance of offense and defense is the best strategy, but without a doubt utilizing a larger offense force.
turtle games are basically dead now that the games speed is kicked up. I could see a form of a defense leading into a quick counter but riding out a game defending ones own base wont work. there are too many ways to get into an enemy base now blink, cliffs, and drop ships.
Very true, but the fact the new phase cannons can move adds a whole new ballgame to the defence of a protoss player. THey could use the warp rays allong with the phase cannons to defend, then later move the cannons in and power them with the prism to attack. So the turtling is not dead it just hasd evolved.
^ now that is funny. and to tanks comment yes it will be useful but not so much for a turtle game. I think the game will focus more on making sure the opponent stays out of your base and as fare away as possible. just look at how easy economy raids are becoming you don't want terrans medic drop ships with a butt load of reapers any where near your base.
starcraft is yet another game that is creating a wormhole for turtlers... I guess my old self must find refuge in games such as Supcom (lol) either that or forget about my old tactics
