Phase Cannon

'unrootable' auto defenses? Damn they're really using their pool of warcraft III ideas Does anyone remember Ancient Protector?

 

Yeah, but they kinda have to. No such thing as putting your back against the wall anymore. They've killed the chokepoint strategy.

 

Good things, I hate turtles.

 

Yeah, but a Reaver is like a sledgehammer to them.

But yeah, I'm glad they killed the chokepoint strategy. Makes the game more fun.

 

but their so CUTE!

stupidity aside, turtleing is a valid strategy, and one i often utilize when playing protoss, because god knows you cant win in a rush. One particularly devious trick a friend showed me is 1 pylon, with photn cannons completely surrounding(really quite stupid, many times more pylons were used)

anyway, plop this down on the map, and let it loose.

also, movable defenses kinda makes me think in terms of a gate, you want units in? "open the gate" and let them pass by moving your defenses. then plop them down again.

 

Im glad choke point defenses are gone =]

 

Well, we've only seen the protoss, and they are obviously being remade to be faster and more mobile

the Terrans might have even better choke defenses, who knows.

 

i don't think phase cannons can travel through the warp gate or be 'insignia'ed into the phase prisms, it's a building, man. and i think these phase cannons are weaker when their in phase mode, how else will they allow these cannons to move? i don't think blizzard will risk unbalancing the game until this extent.

but, criticisms aside (i'm a protoss player myself, wouldn't want to criticise my own race too much), i feel that phase cannons is really a good idea, in any case if somebody comes and backstabs your workers you can move 'em to the back and take care of the marine and reaper drops. kinda makes expanding for protoss safer, also kind of means you have to attack protoss bases from more sides than one, cos they can just move all their cannons to one side to wipe you out. either thatt of totally mass protoss bases until their cannons cannot take it. either that or strike em so fast their cannons won't have time to move.

anyway some questions:
1) what happens to these cannons if their in phase mode and the pylon powering them blows up?
2) what's chokepoint strategy? i don't really know the technicalities of the game, i just know how to play. don't flame me for being a noob for this :'(

 

unlike the Ancient Protectors these Phase cannons appear to travel much faster though, this feature shouldn't really affect the game balance provided they reduce its durability

 

But as a theory if they could move from the place constructed to a power source (pylons/phase prisms) it won't be a immediate phasing. The cannons would need to travel to the place so strategies like phasing cannons to enemy's base may take a while since they cannons seems to move at a not so fast speed. And by the pylon powering the cannons do u mean the pylon powering the cannons before they phased or the pylons that will power them. The pylons powering them previously would make no difference i think but the pylons that would power the cannons are crucial and if it is destroyed the cannons have nowhere to phase to and will be effectively destroyed

 

I've successfully zealot rushed people. And gotten enough zealots of counter zergling rushes. So, its definately possible cause i'm not even really good.

And I think phase and photon cannons will be different (possibly an upgrade to photon cannons).

 

Making the phase cannons an upgrade from photon's (like sunken colony from creep colony) would make it more expensive bringing back the old: "You pay for what you get". Which is what the toss are all about.

 

I don't see them being an upgrade. As far as movement goes they're most likely limited. You can't use them as an attacking force anymore than you could in sc1 because (I'm assuming) they can only move whilst in the area of a pylon. The main use for them as far as I can tell is to help defend your base(s) from drops as was seen in the clip by the cannons moving back towards the minerals. It would help I guess in expanding a base outwards if there was a close multi nearby or the area your base is in is getting too crowded.

 

Maybe turn their shield off while in movement?

 

Possibly a side effect of it. Not sure if it needs one though. It can't attack and therefore it is a disadvantage moving it if they are attacking whilst you move it.

 

Sort of like moving siege tanks (sure they can attack but not as much as in siege mode).

 

You suggesting that the phase cannons can attack while in the moving form?
On my last post I was meaning to say that IF possible cannons should be strategically placed beforehand but IF neccessary they can be moved to help defend gatherers etc.

 

dunno if anyone else noticed but in the video the phase cannons are getting red from the heat from the flamethrowers of the reapers. The top right. Once again like the death animations Blizzard is putting in minor details like this.

 

Wait a minute, flame throwers? I think you're right, could they have a secondary attack? We'll need to see the details in the high-res version to be sure...

 

1:15 is the perfect time to stop the vid u will see the spurt of flame. And the cannons did become red right? or is it just me...