With the post-Blizzcon patch in the works, I would ask about a simple new upgrade on the Cybernetics Core:
Khaydarin Matrix - Costs 150m 150g. Sentries start with +25 Energy.
The idea being is that a Sentry would be able to cast Guardian Shield the moment it warps in, and combined with Stalkers, it would allow Protoss to better deal with Battlecruisers without having to keep Tempests at home (since you can’t use Feedback any more), and otherwise reduces the requirement of having to nerf other units.
Thoughts?
EDIT: Originally required Robotics Facility because Sentries are robotic and it helps reduce its impact on early-game timings, but this has been removed for now.
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I like this sort of idea…
Given that everyone would be grabbing warpgate research first, you probably would not need to make robo a requirement.
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150/150 upgrade on a unit people hardly make past the mid game?
On a unit already pretty gas intensive. It won’t be made.
Especially if the extra upgrades remain on the twilight council.
Nobody would purchase this garbo upgrade.
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The upgrade should be for both Sentries and Oracles to really make it worth wild.
Guys… this means they warp in with enough for guardian shield or hallucination ready. That’s a big deal. Especially with the new EMP.
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Things like price and requirement can be tuned, depending on what Blizzard feels. It being on the Cybernetics Core and requiring the Robotics Facility is based on the fact that the Sentry is a robot rather than a living protoss that needs training etc, plus it competing with Warp Gate helps to prevent the old Immortal/Sentry timing attacks since the cost will eat into production.
But the main point is that it allows the casting of Guardian Shield right off the bat, which is potentially life-saving during a defensive warp-in and might be the key tweak that the protoss race needs, even if it seems small.
For Oracles, I did ponder about “Argus Jewel” (the Brood War’s Corsair energy upgrade) for 100m 100g that gives them +25 energy, but even at a cheap cost, people probably won’t get it because it would have to go on the Fleet Beacon, plus expert players tend to keep their Oracles alive from the early game.
And though it’s wishful thinking in regards to new builds, one could warp in Sentries offensively from an out-of-sight Warp Prism and immediately hallucinate some high-tier units to make it look like the Golden Armada. Sure, harmless if the opponent is paying attention, but given that a certain former grandmaster left the game upon seeing hallucinated Void Rays…
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Needs to be earlier in the tech tree. Like on TC or Cyber. Otherwise, not bad. Certainly not amazing either.
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Well, the Cybernetics Core is about as early as it can be. If it can be shown that it won’t interfere with early all-ins though, then the Robotics Facility requirement could be removed. At the very least, the upgrade competes with Warp Gate and, later on, air upgrades.
The upgrade is not meant to be amazing and is rather boring ultimately, but has some practical utility in the mid-game.
That’s what I was thinking, by putting it on the cyber core you make it compete with WG and the only thing you could really rush it with anyhow is a proxy gateway…with sentries…that sounds awful lol.
The only situation where it could be pretty strong is in a 2 immortal warp prism+warp in a sentry to FF the ramp into the main off timing.
In the situation of the proxy Gateway, I think it will be scouted long before it will become a problem, because first the Pylon and Gateways have to be built, then the Cybernetics Core, and then Khaydarin Matrix researched. For a one-base proxy, I honestly don’t think you’ll have the gas to make it worthwhile. If anything, you might as well just build a pair of Sentries early on and let them gather energy.
For the Immortal/Sentry All-In, I’m not quite sure on the timing needed in regards to building the Robotics Facility after your Cybernetics Core finishes - it might be that the prerequisite won’t make any difference if Warp Gate finishes only after the Robotics Facility is built.
I can make an extension mod with the upgrade if people want to give it a try. It shouldn’t be too difficult. I can throw in the Oracle energy upgrade on the Fleet Beacon as well, but that might make it less of an accurate test.
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gut it down to a 50/25 upgrade and put it in the Forge and people might take it in some niche situation. If you want to put it in core with 150/150 price tag, make it so that it increase energy regen for all unit, not just sentry alone. All Protoss spell casters currently are kinda bad so what the worst that could happen… right?
It’s a thought, but it might be dangerous as far as Phoenixes are concerned since they could potentially lift up and kill a much larger number of workers, since the first ones made will have time to generate more energy if the upgrade is researched early - getting a Stargate and Forge early on is common in PvZ.
For those curious, I have published two extension mods on the EU and US servers:
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Extension Mod - Protoss Energy Upgrades - adds the Khaydarin Matrix and Argus Jewel upgrades to the Cybernetics Core (requires Robotics Facility) and Fleet Beacon respectively.
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Extension Mod - Protoss Energy Upgrades (Balance) - same as above, but couples them with Blizzard’s current balance test patch (it was updated a few times because a bug caused Argus Jewel to clash with Flux Vanes, something that only revealed itself when played live… not during testing).
I’m not sure how you’d convince a Terran or Zerg player to play against you on this mod, but it is at least a way of seeing how the upgrades work in practice.
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Would there be room to consider this suggestion as of the latest balance test updates?
P.S. If everyone’s happy, I’m going to remove the Robotics Facility requirement from my extension mods soon.
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Mods updated. The Khaydarin Matrix no longer requires the Robotics Facility. Good luck in making use of it!
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I want to say that the Sentry energy upgrade might become a necessity in PvP given how powerful Void Rays are now if you rush Flux Vanes from 2 bases. True, they get hard-countered by Archons, but their sheer speed means you can hit bases with incredible ease and would need a more mobile force… one that can use every bit of defense you can get, like a ready-to-go Guardian Shield (even if you have to spend 50m 100g for it).
Not sure if this is the time to be bumping this, but a common issue going around is the interaction between Ravagers and Sentries - I don’t know how practical this energy upgrade is in addressing the issue, but I like to think it might be a good starting point.
Also, besides approaching a particular issue (in this case, allowing a Sentry to cast a second Force Field sooner), I feel a simple energy upgrade might allow for new options when it comes to developing new builds and mid-game interactions, like for ‘softer’ home defence due with a ready-to-go Guardian Shield.