TLDR: Swarmlings should be reverted to their HotS campaign appearance for consistency’s sake, and Splitters should use the updated green Leviathan Brood Baneling skin. The current models deviate too much from their campaign appearances. Detailed reasonings below:
There are several discrepancies with the appearances of Zagara’s units that I would like to point out, which were introduced along with her Leviathan Brood skinset. Several of the skins look too similar to the unit variants of other Zerg commanders, or overwrite the appearances of campaign units in a manner that feels inconsistent. The main thing I would like to see is her Swarmlings and Splitters being returned to an appearance that more closely resembles their campaign incarnations – with her Swarmling being reverted to its classic appearances, and her Splitter being given the current multiplayer version of the Leviathan Brood Baneling skin (which is essentially the green campaign Splitter with spikes).
- Swarmling – The Warchest Zergling skin doesn’t resemble the iconic appearance of the campaign Swarmling, with its imposing sail. This is at odds with Kerrigan’s Raptors, which retain their campaign appearance. The Warchest model also features only team color and no purple highlights, resulting in Zagara’s Swarmlings not being recognizably the same Zergling variant as in the campaign. It’d be like Kerrigan’s Raptors losing the green on their wings and being replaced with team colour (like the “mutant” multiplayer skin), resulting in a much less unique appearance. Furthermore, the level 12 talent still depicts the old Swarmling model. The Swarmlings should either be given back their old model, or the current model reworked to feature more purple highlights. Otherwise they just seem like a Zergling that’s been reskinned like Zagara’s other units; “Swarmlings” in name only.
(It should be noted that Alarak’s Slayers still use the appearance of the campaign Tal’darim Stalker, and Nova’s units use their Covert Ops campaign models and not the Special Forces skins. Zagara’s Swarmlings and Splitters, as far as I know, are the only player-made campaign units in co-op whose appearances were drastically changed from the campaign.)
- Roach – Zagara’s Roaches too closely resemble Abathur’s Vile Roaches, despite having no special abilities. It’d be like another Terran commander using the Special Forces Marine skin when Nova already uses the skin it was based on. If her Roaches are going to look different from the baseline, they shouldn’t borrow their appearance from another variant when that appearance actually signifies a mechanical change.
(Zagara’s Hunter Killers have the same issue as the Roaches, in that they too closely resemble Kerrigan’s post-level 5 Hydralisks. There the webbing signifies the ability of Hydralisks to morph into Lurkers; with Zagara, the webbing signifies something entirely different. Even so, the Leviathan Brood skin and portrait suit Zagara’s Hunter Killers quite well, and they possess some visual features that Kerrigan’s Hydralisks don’t.)
- Splitter/Splitterling – In the HotS campaign, Splitters were the green variant, whereas Hunter Banelings were the purple variant. Admittedly, the campaign Splitters did not have a distinct enough appearance from the basic Baneling. However, making the Splitters purple in co-op creates disconnect and inconsistency in relation to the campaign color-coding. I think it would be a considerable improvement if Zagara’s Splitters were changed to use the “fixed” version of the Leviathan Brood Baneling skin (which is green and resembles the campaign Splitter with added spikes). There’s no reason why Zagara – the only commander who uses Banelings (not counting Mecha Banelings) – should have her Banelings so drastically differ from the standard appearance. It’d be like Raynor’s Marines using the Tyrador or Umojan skin when no other commander uses the default Marines, or Alarak’s Wrathwalkers being changed to the multiplayer Forged skin (which resembles Fenix’s Colossi in shape).
(I also have a suggestion for Stetmann’s Banelings, which can be upgraded with the Hunter’s abilities. It would be a great change if, once upgraded, they could turn purple as a visual signifier. This would be a great visual nod to the campaign Hunter Banelings.)
I’ve always felt that Zagara’s skinset was somewhat tacked-on, especially considering that it doesn’t even apply to her whole army (and none of her structures). The units of hers that have the Leviathan skins don’t match her structures, her Aberrations and Scourges, or even Zagara herself. All other commanders with skinsets (which is most of them) have lore or thematic reasons as to their differing aesthetic, but Zagara does not. In co-op, alternate skinsets are mostly used to signify substantive alterations from base mechanics, (either in singular units or entire armies,) yet Zagara’s units mainly function they way they do in multiplayer and the campaign. I admit that I am perhaps unfairly biased against Zagara’s skinset, and one could easily go in the other direction and update the rest to match (although this is unlikely seeing as Stukov still hasn’t been given his due portrait-wise). Even so, I still think it’s a highly reasonable request that her Swarmlings and Splitters should more closely resemble their campaign versions. As it stands, the current Swarmling’s overabundance of team color looks too generic, and the Splitter’s bright purple color is too garish and differs too much from the previously-established norm.
Thoughts?
