The fate of the Ultralisk...

srry hex, but i dissagree about what you say with the crest not being insectoid. look at a goliath beetle it does seem different, but the crest is still following ther idea of the zerg

P.S. where do i go to complain about the new forum set up

 

The Goliath Beetle doesn't have a crest. It has a prominent thorax which is a kinda like what I mentioned earlier. Anyway, it doesn't resemble the Ultralisks crest at all. AS I said before, the Ultralisks crest looks like that of a Torosaurus. An overly large crest that is completely useless for anything other than display, that is both cumbersome and a hindrance when it comes to fighting.

 

WHOA WHOA WHOA.

What is the Ultralisk's job naturally?
To mutilate any opposition. 2 main claws 2 small ones; lore wise you can say the large claws are for those larger units and buildings where the small claws engage anything which is too small for the Ultralisk to reach as it cannot bend down. Since it can't bend down it has multiple claws for different uses. Just like a lobster, one is for crushing the other is for manipulating.
Also in the natural world creatures use many forms of display to warn/intimidate other creatures. Obviously the creature which was originially the Ultralisk DNA was a formidable beast and displaying would play a vital role when you are that large as any creature would rather win a dispute without wasting energy and that is done by large pertrusions or colours. In this case its the Ultralisk's crest which is that. It also acts as a status symbol.
In iguanas, the larger their crest, the higher their rank is in the hierarchy. And we all know Ultralisks are at the top.
Also I wouldn't call the Zerg insectoids. They only operate in a similar way with the whole swarm thing. Just cuz insects do it on our planet does not mean it is the same else where.
Also the claws are allowed to be 'cumbersome' as an Ultralisk is not a precision fighter. When you want precision you go to Zerglings, Hydralisk, or Mutalisk.
I didn't notice any thorns...

 

The Ultralisk has a special "headbutt" attack that does extra damage to buildings. The crest is probably the best option, otherwise it would just look silly.
Also, I never thought the zerg should be nimble or natural. They seems like they had to be savage and brutal, so the 4 sythes really help with that. It also makes them seem cool for me.
The thorns are just ridges, and the hydralisk has those too, which I don't mine.

 

You're right. The Ultralisks job is to mutilate any opposition. However having lots of cumbersome blades isn't an effective way to do this. Lorewise you could say just about anything, but the point is that it will always attack its target, no matter what it is, with all four blades. It has already been shown that they are cumbersome and a hindrance and that they would constantly get in the way of each other through the cinematics/gameplay videos we've seen. The Ultralisks scythes are always overlapping and getting in each others ways making it look clumsy, and the game as a whole, incomplete.

This is wrong. "Brontoliths were large yet docile creatures. They were absorbed into the Zerg Swarm, becoming Ultralisks, which bear little resemblence to their predecessors." Brontoliths were not formidable beasts. They were docile and don't look like the Ultralisk at all. Probably, only their size is what remains. Also, if the crest was originally for display, why would it be absent from earlier strains of Ultralisk? It is obviously something new but no Ultralisk would rather scare or intimidate an opponent. They're tear it to shreds, regardless of how much energy it cost them. You said yourself, the Ultralisk's job is to mutilate. It isn't to intimidate.

Zerg units do not have a will of their own. Only the Overmind (now Infested Kerrigan), Cerebrates, Overlords and maybe Queens have control over the swarm, which eliminates any need for other social ranks or hierarchy. That said, Ultralisks are not at the top. They might be valued more than the odd Zergling or Hydralisk by the collective will of the Swarm, but that would be it. Also, if there is some sort of hierarchy or social status among other Zerg organisms, the Ultralisk's size would be enough for them. Take the largest creature ever to walk the lands for example, the Apatosaurus. This dinosaur was huge and didn't have a need for any display plates or crests, unlike the relatively small Torosaurus.

Look at the facts. They are created from larvae. Those larvae form chrysalises. They have carapaces. They are a superorganism, each colony led by a Queen. They share a hive mind. Their main building is a Hive. They leave an uninhabitable trail of destruction in their wake. Many Zerg organisms share a lot of insect characteristics.

It isn't a precision fighter, but that doesn't mean it would evolve to have an extremely cumbersome and clumsy that is a hindrance to it. It's still able to be a non-precision fighter, but it needs to look much more coordinated.

Thorns might not be the right word, but look at the high resolution screenshots of it. It is covered with a whole lot of sharp, jutting spikes. Down its front, all over its back, down its legs, along its arms, over its crest, everywhere. I'm not saying it has to be smooth, but these thorns are really overdone.

 

They don't need a will of their own to have a status symbol.
But not everything has to be backed up by lore. The crest looks cool, end of IMO.

 

Sorry DontHate, didn't see your response when I first posted.

The headbutt isn't with the crest, it's with the horn on the front of its forehead. Applying a force to an area that large would just make it weaker, which is why they have the headspike.

Maybe nimble wasn't the best word, I basically meant un-cumbersome, but you can't seriously tell me that the Zerg aren't supposed to be natural. They're biological organisms. Perhaps not natural in the sense that we'd be likely to see them wandering around in the bush, but natural as in it's plausible that something like that could exist. It's easy to have a natural looking Ultralisk that still looks savage and brutal. The StarCraft:Ghost Ultralisk was a perfect example of that, not that I want an exact replica of the StarCraft:Ghost Ultralisk in StarCraft2, but you get my point. I hope.

Thorns, ridges, call them what you will, it still doesn't mean that they're not overdone. I'd still like for it to have the ridges, but not like the ones it's got now.

Why would they need a status symbol if no Zerg unit, barring Overlord and maybe Queen, has a will of its own?
Also, I think you might have meant 'end of discussion' not 'end of in you opinion'.

 

I forgot the .

 

I really dont like the ultarlisk's large crest in front. IMO it looks too large and unwieldy, which would cause the ultralisk to slow down. While i like the concept, i think BLIZZARD should tone done the head crest to a more reasonable size.

 

Ultralisks are essential to late game vses protoss in starcraft: broodwar. In starcraft II they are looking pretty badass. I'm sure they'll remain zerg's heavy hitting melee unit. Just as protoss has the carrier, and terran has the battlecruiser, zerg has the ultralisk.

 

people use ultralisks quite often actually in the ZvP and ZvT matchups.

 

Yeah man, burrow those puppies!
I think them Ultralisks ain't going anywhere.
Blizzard had supped 'em up real nice. Four tusks@?! ZMOFG
Anyway, Ultralisks are great. They soak up damage like no other, and there is no other unit I'd choose to go up against a Terran Base swarming with siege tanks and bunkers. All you need are some of those and countless scourge and you win.
I miss the scourge...

 

after the recent batch of of Q&A 36, I feel the roach having 15 regen makes the ultralisk kinda like eeehh? is it worth the money.....

 

yes and no, while the roach has 15 health regain per sec. it still has low low points i think that a 2 siege tank would only need to hit it for it two die, while the Ultra has massive health, able to withstand powerful blasts.

i would say that they are both tanks, but each for a different purpose.

 

At the moment, a single Siege Tank shot would be able to take one out. Siege Tanks deal a hundred damage against Armoured targets and the Roach only has ninety health. For this reason, the ninety health reason not the Siege Tank reason, it won't make a good tank. A Tank has to be able to withstand all the incoming damage, not just some. In an assault, your opponent will be dealing much much more that fifteen damage per second meaning they will still be able to take out Roaches extremely quickly. The problem will be when the units attacking them are being killed off, allowing the Roach to constantly keep regenerating back to full strength. Ultralisks are different. They can take much more damage than the Roach can, especially when up against large armies.

Ultralisks will hopefully tank large battle by dealing as much damage as possible, but not overly so. If they're dealing all this damage then the opponent will need to take them out as quickly as possible in order to keep their defences intact. The Roach on the other hand will tank small battle because if they're left until the end, the opponent might have taken too many casualties and be unable to have the firepower to take them out and as a result they'll be helpless against them.

 

when did they ever said that roaches have 'Armoured' defence? and roaches were a tier 1.5 unit last time i checked. i dont think any 1.5 tier unit will have 'Armoured' defence and that includes the stalker, i think it has 'medium' defence now.

what is your avatar? i keep looking at it and i cant figure out what it is.

 

no theres only armored and light armored, and the roach is armored. But yeah I guess the ultralisk still serves as a good shield. But to bad the ultralisk cant walk into a nuke head on walk out the other side and say that tickled.

 

I think the roach and the ultra will both serve as tanks, but in very different situations. IMO the roach is better against the protoss as they lack the massive damage of the terran and, have on average slower attack rates. This means that a group of roaches supported by some zerglings, can probaly storm into a protoss, just because of the roach's high regen rate.
While the ultra seems more designed to go against terran unit, as it has massive health, can survive up to six tank shots.

ps my spell check seemsnot to be working, is this just happening to me, or has anyone else notice this?

 

Just because the Protoss have less units that deal massive damage and have a slow attack rate, it doesn't mean that Roaches will be more effective tanks against them. No Protoss units deals massive damage, but none deal next to no damage. They're all strong and powerful attacks, regardless of whether they match the damage of Siege Tanks, etc. The fact that they have a slow attack rate is not really a problem when defending against Roaches. A slower attack rate allows for them to have higher damage, and seeing as you'll hardly ever be holding of some Roaches with a few Zealots or a couple of Stalkers, you can easily focus fire, so multiple unit will all deal their damage at once, taking down the Roach extremely quickly.

 

@People doubting the Ultralisk in comparison to the Roach.
15 hitpoints per second ok. Do you know how much damage can be delivered in a second? 1 shot from 2 tanks will take out a Roach, not to mention the splash damage. That is 100+ damage from just 2 tanks.
So simply up the ratio and add some tanks and more Roaches, thats a whole load of damage directly hitting the Roach before they can even see the tanks. Roaches won't fair that well against siege tanks.
Ultralisks will work well against sieged tanks as they have 600 hitpoints. yea sure 6 sieged tanks will one shot an Ultralisk, but since when did Ultralisks attack on their own?