StarCraft 2 Receiving These "Major Design Changes" In Forthcoming Update

Blizzard has announced a series of big changes to StarCraft II's multiplayer mode. Just as it did with the big 3.8 update last year, it's outlining many of those now in preparation for a long period of testing.

These adjustments were outlined in a new post on Blizzard's website, though the developer describes this as only an "initial list of changes," which are merely being "proposed" at this point. One big tweak concerns a change made with Legacy of the Void that was meant to prevent players from turtling up and playing defensively. Blizzard thinks this went too far and wants to encourage comebacks from players who can't establish more than a couple bases. To facilitate that, it's increasing the amount of resources available from large mineral nodes and Vespene geysers (small mineral nodes will stay as-is).

The bulk of the changes concern specific units. MULEs can now harvest Vespene gas but bring in fewer minerals than before, and if more than one MULE is working at a refinery, it will be less effective. The Raven loses some of its abilities but gains new ones: Scrambler Missile temporarily knocks out weapons and unit abilities, Repair Drone restores nearby mechanic units' health, and Shredder Missile deals damage in an area and temporarily decreases armor. The Infestor is being adjusted so that it operates differently on and off of Creep. The Mothership Core is being removed altogether and changes are being made to the Nexus--Blizzard acknowledges this is a big change and will be watched carefully.

Blizzard outlines these and many other changes, along with the thought process behind them, here. You can check them out for yourself in-game now through StarCraft II's testing section, but you'll likely have to wait a few months to see them arrive in the live game.

"As with last year, this design patch will require a large amount of testing, feedback, and revision before it can go live for everyone to enjoy, so we wanted to get it into your hands for testing as fast as possible," Blizzard said. "The changes in this blog are live on the Testing section of StarCraft II Multiplayer, and we would like to release the final changes after this year’s tournament season concludes in November."

Earlier this week, Blizzard launched StarCraft Remastered. Next week, it has a series of announcements planned for Gamescom. While a new Overwatch map reveal is arguably the biggest, we know StarCraft II will get at least some attention with the unveiling of a new co-op commander.