Please look into modifying Zagara's "Scourge Queen" Prestige

PTR Feedback
#1

Scourge Queen prestige is interesting and feels like the most Zagara-like imo, but it has arguably the biggest disadvantage out of the entire prestige set.

Current disadvantage: “Zagara is unavailable” makes two entire mastery sets to be completely useless because there’s no Zagara to benefit from the first set, and there’s no alternative method to use frenzy and roach drop.

Scourge Queen is the only prestige that makes an entire mastery set completely useless, let alone two.

Also, removing hero unit is one thing, but it also removes top bar alternative.
Kerrigan’s “Desolate Queen,” on the other hand, gives two alternative skills to compensate for removed leaping strike and psionic shift, and lets her keep the immobilization wave.

On top of that, the advantage it’s supposed to give is completely meaningless at low levels.
Both the scourge nest and baneling nest does not spawn any free units at level 1, and additional zergling doesn’t spawn on level 1 neither.
It seems like the free scourge+banelings are supposed to unlock at level 7, and additional zergling at 13 with Swarmling, which makes her low level even worse than non-prestige Zagara due to lack of Zagara hero unit.

Lastly, having to pay 6~700 minerals for the additional 50 supply feels bad, because this is THE only advantage that is not tied to disadvantage that require resource to unlock.

Overall, prestige is very unbalanced in my opinion, but this prestige has the biggest hidden disadvantage compared to every other prestige currently available.

8 Likes
#2

I can’t say much on the balance or gameplay front as I don’t play much Zagara, but having one of her prestige talents ignore two entire sets of mastery is a big problem to me. I don’t know if the talent needs to be changed, but maybe the masteries need to have a different effect when using that talent.

#3

I agree, I think they should either keep Zagara in a nerfed version (maybe 50% ability and summoned unit damage, and 50% frenzy efficiency) so two-thirds of her masteries doesn’t become irrelevant, or maybe to increase the supply to a full 200 to compensate for losing so many of her mastery options.
And they should definitely shift around her level unlocks so she could get either free banes, or swarmlings from the very beginning.

I think in general they will have to shift around level unlocks for all the commanders in order to better align with the Prestiges.

#4

I think its probably intended, she goes from ~75 combat unit supply to ~125 combat unit supply, and those units are effectively cheaper and you get more of them free.

#5

Still not quite worth losing the hero IMO, not to mention her calldowns. That roachdrop is a very powerful base pusher and frenzy gives a ton of extra dps and mobility. The extra combat units can’t make up for that, as well as losing two thirds of her masteries, even if they are cheaper.

Also it’s a bit bugged, hopefully they will fix it, only work on swarmlings, not normal zerglings, making it a pain to level up.

#6

I would say add frenzy and roach drop as top bar abilities. Also allow the scourge nest to set a rally point, like the bane nest. That’s good enough IMO.

There’s lots of examples where a prestige benefit doesn’t come into play because it requires something unlocked past level 1. I’m okay with that TBH. It just means you shouldn’t use that prestige while leveling up to that point. (You don’t have to use them after you unlocked them FYI.)

3 Likes
#7

I understand the complaint about Mastery becoming unusable, but trying to give back abilities that were taken away defeats the purpose of the Prestige and would make it WAY too strong. I played this Prestige against siege tanks and there are just too many units for the siege tanks to keep up, and they get deleted - against something they normally counter.

This Prestige seems fine.

#8

I personally see the issue as less of giving back abilities the prestige takes away and more fixing the masteries to fit with the new prestige. Maybe the two sets of mastery change for this specific prestige talent. Something to make 2/3rds of her masteries not useless with a given prestige talent.

#9

Just throwing out there, maybe Zagara’s Mastery Set 1 can help with Scourge Queen.

  1. Zagara’s Health and Energy Regeneration - Speed up Baneling/Scourge Nest unit production (15%)
    30 Sec > 25.5 Sec for all nests

  2. Zagara’s Attack Damage - Increase Health (30%) of Zagara’s Combat units (Except for Aberration and Corruptors)
    Zergling - 56 HP
    Baneling - 39 HP
    Scourge - 33HP

While at it, why don’t we allow Zagara in her Apex Predator Prestige drop Corpser Roaches as infested Drop? (Video starts at 2:26)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjOJSzr5vLg&t=4s

1 Like
#10

I think that if a Prestige nullifies a Mastery, that is just part of the effect of the prestige.

In some cases the player reallocates the mastery (symbiote mastery for no UE abathur). in others the loss of both mastery options is part of the cost

#11

It’s not that a single mastery is nullified by a prestige talent, it’s that entire mastery power sets are nullified by a prestige talent. In the case of Zagara her power set 1 and 3 both only effect Zagara, there are no other options, 2/3rds of Zagara’s mastery will never effect her no Zagara prestige talent.

3 Likes
#12

The problem is Zagara’s Scourge Queen prestige nullifies two sets of masteries (1 and 3).
Zagara has great presence in her own army for her versatility and powerful ability that makes her extremely important through out the entirety of the mission (Other Heroes loses their spotlight from their own death ball). Fury in particular is an extremely powerful global ability which greatly boosts attack powers and affects both players and allies.

I think it is justified some measure of additional bonus should be applied to make it balanced.

#13

It does mean that 2 of 3 Mastery points are worthless… but the third Mastery point is worth more (better Banelings and Zerglings is a big boost with 150 supply of them)

(so if you are sub-90 Mastery, Scourge Queen is a better option)