LOTV Beta Unit Tweaks Thread

I'll start with the Adept. The Adept was originally slated as being a core gateway unit and a way for Protoss to have flexibility on gateway tech. However, it has gone off with a whimper and is looking like a modified reaper with no obvious utility in real combat.

I propose the following:

Adept should be made slightly more expensive (100 min 50 gas). It should either lose the shockwave effect or it should have it by default.

Alternate upgrade on Twilight -- Psionic Palm (we'll call it "psi-palm" like napalm :D).

The concept is simple: the Adept has an activated cooldown spell where it attempts to get in melee range to the target, and punch it spiritually, filling the target with psionic energy and causing an explosion shortly after (think five finger death punch from Kill Bill 2 but with a bomb). Against enemy units, the punch is instant once the Adept gets in Melee range, and then the target flashes light blue before blowing up with a small AOE explosion (damage undecided as of now).

This ability works differently against structures. Against structures, this move is not instantaneous. Instead, there is a channeling period where the Adept channels its psionic powers through the structure before causing an explosion for 400 or 500 damage. With one Adept, it might take some time to channel the explosion, but with 3 or 4 doing this spell at once, this ability is instant (uses all of their cooldown). This means it becomes a decision when sneaking in an adept bomb squad on whether you will be setting off an instant explosion and escaping or setting off a series of bombs one after another for more damage (and higher risk).

Why this synergizes with the adept:

It is hard to buff a unit like the adept without making it a replacement of the stalker or making it worse than its gateway brethren. With its current design, its niche is harassment and scouting, and it offers little in combat. Dead supply. However, Psi-palm interacts with the Adepts movement mechanics in a beautiful way that makes it a core part of the Protoss army.

The Adept is slow, but with Psi-palm, an approaching Adept poses a threat. You don't want it to AOE your army, so the Adept forces you to retreat or micro away while the stalkers take potshots at your army. In combination with psionic transfer, the mindgame potential of this stealthy saboteur becomes very real. While you are retreating, the Adept might transfer right behind you, and now you are caught between Adepts and Zealots.

Alternatively, you could be chasing down 4 or 5 adepts, ready to reap large dividends when they transfer to your base and start bombing your buildings. Maybe you've set up a wall with Bunkers and you are feeling mighty safe against stalkers and zealots, when a group of 4 adepts psionic transfer to the frontlines to blow open your turtle defense.

The concept of burst mobility with a high damage low range option would allow Protoss to lean on the Adept for mighty harassment as well as having battlefield utility in that they force micro from the opponent in engagements with just a few of them. The Adept would be able to break open a turtle defense without requiring Robotics tech, either through strategically bombing bunkers or taking out siege tanks.

Most importantly, Psipalm makes psionic transfer more interesting. Psi-palm can scare opponents into thinking you will be engaging in close quarters, when instead you plan on bypassing the army altogether as you head for their base directly to shut down production. And like any gateway unit, they scale in their functionality depending on the number of them you produce.

In its current form, 5 adepts aren't much better than 2 adepts at the function they serve. But with Psi-Palm, a bomb squad of 5-7 adepts might be good for breaking open a contain/turtling opponent or harassing buildings, while 2-3 adepts might simply pressure the opponent to micro differently in an engagement.

Thoughts? I haven't really thought of specific numbers, but all of these ideas would warrant the adept being more expensive. However, I think Protoss deserves more cool units in LoTV to make up for Colossus taking a less important role and the other races getting bigger and nicer toys.

/r/starcraft Thread