Zerg missing an Air Caster?

Just wanted to bring it up cuz it's been bugging me. Now I know SC/2 isn't supposed to have direct parity between units. Just because Protoss have Archons and Zerg have Ultralisks doesn't mean Terran need an equivalent (tough close combat unit). I know a lot has been changed and shifted, but this is one that's been bugging me a bit.

Now in SC2, there was one air caster for each race. A Caster is basically any unit that had 3 abilities, regardless of whether or not it could attack. Units like Medics, Ghosts, and High Templar would be considered casters. As for air, Terrans had the Science Vessel, Protoss had the Arbiter, and Zerg have the Queen.

Through all the changes each race has gone though, even though these three units are gone from their former selves (cept Queen which lives on only in name, but as a different unit), the Terrans and Protoss still have spiritual successors in the form of the Nighthawk and Mothership. The Zerg however are missing this unit type, and instead their second caster is more of a one-off base defense unit with spells.

I don't think that the new Queen is a bad unit. I'm not saying Zerg need an air caster. I'm just saying it bugs me that this was a paired off role that is now gone, and it sorta leaves this void that I miss. I wouldn't even mind if the Overseer got a couple new spells and became a new caster-type, as it seems like a pretty lame upgrade from the Overlord that isn't much more than what the Overlord was before.

What do you guys think?

 

wasnt the infestor airborne?

 

The Overseer is basically the Zerg air caster. I don't like it in its current state though.

 

The Infestor is the bulbous purply zerg that pukes on buildings and moves while burrowed, definately not an air unit.

You may be thinking of the Corrupter, which is an air unit, but has no spells. Its ability to corrupt is passive, and it kicks in once an enemy's HP reaches below a certain %. Same goes for the Swarm Guardian, which spawns broodlings as a part of its main attack.

The Overseer currently has one spell (that I know of), which basically spawns the changeling, and the secondary ability of dropping creep that overlords have anyways. I wouldn't really consider this unit a caster though, as it doesn't have any combat-practical/support abilities.

 

Two words... Blizz Con.

But seriously, the Zerg flying caster's basically been split into a whole lot of parts and given to some combat and utilitarian flyers. There's the Corrupter that can corrupt units, Overlord with Excrete Creep, the Overseer has Spawn Changeling, and the Swarm Guardian can spawn Broodlings. Sure, Terran and Protoss also have flyers with minor abilities as well, but excluding their primary caster they don't have many, and most are just secondary attacks. The only other unit that would come close is the Medivac Dropship, which only has Heal.

 

as itza said the zerg air-caster has been split into different units so that you have a couple of "minor" air-casters.

though i would like to see the overseer with more abilities, because at the moment it isnt really a unit i ould use for games.

-Zerks

 

Well, for mobile dectector purpose I think you will use the overseer

 

Well i guess, but do the Zerg really NEED an air caster unit?

Now calm down and ask that question. Even in the original StarCraft and Brood War, the Zerg's main focus was on the ground. They never had capital ships such as the Carrier and the Battlecruiser. They had really powerful and devastating ground units.

They have 2 spellcasters already - the Infestor and the Queen, also the Overseer, the Corrupter, the Roach, and the Swarm Guardian with special abilities, and all ground units have Burrow.
In Brood War, they had Defiler and Queen.

Terran have Nighthawks and Ghosts as spellcasters, and Medivac Dropship, Battlecruiser, Banshee, Thor, Siege Tank, Reaper and Viking with special abilities.
In Brood War they had Science Vessel, Medic, and Ghost.

The Protoss have the Mothership, the Phase Prism and the High Templar as spellcasters, along with the Stalker and Phoenix with special abilities. ( I KNOW I MISSED SOMETHING )
They originally had the High Templar, the Arbiter, and the Dark Archon as spellcasters.

 

Why include units like the Battlecruiser, Banshee, Thor, Siege Tank, Reaper and Viking as being pseudo-casters in StarCraft2 but exclude units like the Battlecruiser, Wraith, Vulture, Siege Tank as being pseudo-casters in StarCraft1?

Again, why include units like the Stalker and Phoenix as pseudo-casters for StarCraft2 but exclude units like the Corsair and Reaver as being pseudo-casters in StarCraft1? And the something you missed was the Nullifier.

Just thought I'd point all that out.

 

I am bothered by the new Queen. Considered on her own she's cool but in context she changes the nature of zerg play. Zerg were balanced to encourage fast expansion and mass units (cheaper center building, 3 units produced simultaneuosly, etc.) but the Queen's base-defensive ways make for turtling material, which's the Terran way. Zerg units were faster (zerglings, mutalisks) and roaches may bring balance but the Queen as caster isn't preferable to Defilers which could eat zerglings to cast Dark Swarm and plague to overwhelm enemy ground troops. Blizzard apparently thought the Overlord and Defiler too powerful and so nerfed them but meanwhile they've given the protoss improved abilities. A transporter-caster that acts as a pylon also. Hallucinate brings up a menu of any unit to be chosen as the image (somewhat paralleled by changeling). It seems whoever has made these choices doesn't realize the hypocrisy of getting rid of a role on one side (utilitarian flyer=overlord) and creating it for another (Protoss Phase Prism).

 

Hmmm....I never really used the Queen in brood war except for parasite mainly but I think it would be better to have just one main caster instead of spells spread out through all the units? What is the point of the Overseer by the way? If they are practicaly the same as the Overlord then why change to Overseer? The Phase Prism is a good mechanic but if the Zerg have nothing much to counter it with.....The other races have one main caster or two each so why not the same with the Zerg?

 

Zerg units are s'posed to be specialized, if you give a bunch of units abilities, then they lose that.

 

The swarm in the story line were more of a ground based attack force, they even traveled by warping and stuff. If you give zerg a bunch of air caster it takes away what makes Zerg unique. Mass ground :3

 

Quite true Vampire....They are mainly ground swarmers but that doesnt mean the shouldnt get any air casters. I prefer Protoss mainly because of massing photon cannons, carriers and dragoons. A few days ago a friend of a friend was playing brood war against the computer and was just massing lots of zerglings yet the enemy(7 of them) were all more air units then ground. Zerglings can just be easily countered by a mass of scouts/wraiths/mutalisks cant they? Only problem is that zerglings are the earliest atack unit for the zerg so the other enemies would need to tech up quickly.

 

I think Zerg already have enough air units like the Corrupter, Mutalisk and Swarm Guardian. The unit never used in games like dev sucked even in UMS games. I think more people will use Zerg cause of Corrupter, like who wouldn't want to not only destroy their air unit but turn it against the person who build em

 

Good point. The Corruper seems to be a good unit but isnt it just a little too powerful?

 

Devs did not suck, you just have to use them right. The make toss players have to make scouts, or terran players make valks, if they want to stay in the air, and bringing in muta's to reap the extra damage, psh. Powerful combo.

 

I rarely use Zerg Devs but well Zerg is my weakest race. Corruptors should have like energy and after it kills the unit it -** amount of energy to turn them against the other play for limited amount of time.

 

Terran was always my weakest race. Zerg air is going to be so fun for SC2.

 

UMS for Sc2 will be pretty funny. *use anti grav* then corrupt a thor rofl.