Zealot's charge ability

[mc2]

Zealot's speed upgrade is to allow them to be just as useful in late game. Yeah they can get ahead of the rest of the team and get loses its protection. It does get annoying because dragoons tend to be big and clumpsy and have trouble going through tight spaces. I usually send out the zealots after i send out my archons and dark templars because they'll just eventually overtake.

[gr3ykn1ght]

well, it's not that bad anymore... notice it travels at the same speed as your dark templars and archons when not in battle... during battle, they just have to go in front... it's not that bad...

i simply LOOOOOOOOVE the effects when they get the speed boost...

ratatatatatat (marines attacking zealots)
bssst. (zealots activate speed boost)
zoooooooooooooom! (zealots suddenly speed up like nobody's business)
voom! (zealot plunging psyblade into marine's torso)

[TheDarkTemplar]

The charge is only activated when they see an enemy to attack. It's a brilliant addition to one of my favourite units in the game.

[reject_666_6]

^It looked like the charge had a shorter range than the Zealot's actual sight range.

[Trippe]

Just a little information for you guys (:
It's a charge ability yes. But you might not know, they actually learned it by dissembling them selfs. dissembling as in turning into atoms.
The charge concept is a really cool thing, it makes people wanna use the zealots more than we all usually do, they are a nice counter part of a good combo attack, which i of cause wont tell you about :-X

- Trippe out

Blades of Glory is NOT a fighting movie, it's an ice skating contest >:(

[coalescence]

Just a little information for you guys (:
It's a charge ability yes. But you might not know, they actually learned it by dissembling them selfs. dissembling as in turning into atoms.
The charge concept is a really cool thing, it makes people wanna use the zealots more than we all usually do, they are a nice counter part of a good combo attack, which i of cause wont tell you about :-X

- Trippe out

Blades of Glory is NOT a fighting movie, it's an ice skating contest >:(


Even more? Man I might get a zealot overdose ;D

[reject_666_6]

Why couldn't the Charge ability just be explained by them sprinting a short distance? Did they HAVE to complicate themselves with "disassembly"? I think that Blizzard is pushing the Protoss' physical prowess to ridiculous levels.

[gr3ykn1ght]

why ridiculous? i think it's good! (i'm biased, i'm a protoss player)

anyway, it's better than zealots having constant speed ain't it? maybe they only can do a speed boost against stationary units, who knows?

[reject_666_6]

I don't mind the actual ability, but they gave it a too fancy explanation. :-X

[gr3ykn1ght]

hmm. i don't like the explanation too. i'd rather think it's from the zealots own psychic powere itself that they have the speed boost. sounds ten times more cooler, though not genuine.

[Trippe]

I am sorry about this, but i cannot give you any evidence of this story since i really can't remember where i read it, but i´m sure i read it though ^^
Just keep looking on the net for information about story lines for SC1, you will figure out a lot you actually didn't know, not about tactics or use full information, but just stories :), I like to read them.
The Protoss IS a future characteristic known is sci-fi, of cause it is a disassembling they use to actually either increase speed of charge, I can't really explain it better than that. No worries, in worst case scenario blizzard simply removes the charge concept and goes back to the speed upgrade ^,,^

[Shockfrost]

I don't know about any story, but I can tell you this much;
Protoss don't seem to be doing it consistently yet.

They did not energy rush some of the Nydus Worms and Banelings.
Maybe they were specifically given orders so they would not... Blizzard showboating..

and maybe they can only do it every so often.

In any case.

This allows the Protoss to completely control field position.
If you watch the way they move, in the demo, some dart all the way out and around their fighting partners and strike.
This means the Zealots will have an easier time surrounding, outnumbering, and outmaneuvering their foes.

To be honest, I can't see anything but benefit from a burst of speed to engage. You can always order your troops to hold position or otherwise micromanage to prevent the burst, and that rush is going to always allow the protoss to take the first shot.

Combined with Shields and numbers, Zealots in number will be able to quickly close distance gaps between Hydralisks, Marines and Immortals, nullifying the advantages they were hoping to get. And always getting the first hit, will tip the scales in your favor when the forces are equally balanced...

I would rather be the arrow than the shield... ;) No offense to the Terrans and their spiffy new toys.

[mc2]

yeah just like the stim packs for terrans.
it'll definitely increase their power by forming a circle around a unit and charge in towards it, like the donut of death :D

[Fenix]

I think I've posted the Donut of Death enough times for you know what that is, mc2.....

[mc2]

yeah the scouts are cool, I'm referring to the zealot this time, by forming a circle and ganging up against a unit it can be very powerful

[Fenix]

Conceivably though, only 5-10 Zealots will be able to fit, because of their size.....I'd say more of a Ring of Death, because it'll also only be one unit deep. No, Donut of Death will stay for the Scouts.

[reject_666_6]

Or Warp Rays/Phoenixes as the case may be...

[mc2]

It appears the phoneix may not even be able to attack ground. So they'll have to do the formation on an air unit.

Still it's better for zealots to have a consistent speed. moderately high speed throughout the whole time is better than having a charged up super speed and then other times return to normal. Plus you wouldn't send out zealots alone.

[gr3ykn1ght]

i don't think so. zealots having a crazy consistent speed is definitely NOT preferable to having them have this speed boost.

beside, as a protoss player, travelling across long distances with these consistently speedy zealots gives me a problem when i want to macro manage my troops, they always go ahead and attack first. which of course ends up with them turning to zerg fodder or human bullet ridden troops. so them having a speed boost is a pro to me.

[Remy]

Phoenix has ground attack, you can see it in the demo.

Zealot charges are consistent if we assume it has a cooldown, which I personally believe so.

And another thing is, a lot of ppl dis marines, the poor guys.Â* Toss players seem to enjoy mocking them.Â* Although I'm a Zerg player, I'll stand up for them just this once.Â* 12 stimpack marines will kill a cannon before it can even get off a second shot.Â* A single marine gets shot once, that's it.Â* Even with range factored in, the cannon will at most get to fire twice.Â* And guess what, a zealot has the same attack cooldown as the cannon, but less shield and weaker base attack.

[gr3ykn1ght]

yeah, that's pretty much what i hate... as a protoss player, i just can't seem to properly get stimed marines dead fast enough before it screws up my base and messes my game up. PLUS the medics are darn irritating. usually i'd just get reavers and blow everything up, either that or i'd use dark templars killing them one at a time (a properly upgraded dark templar can one hit kill a marine). but it's still too slow, like i said.

[Oiyzas]

I think the info on the dissasembly came from the SC2 site itself. I dont have the link on me, but go to the page where it explains all the toss units and you'll find it.

This charge thing seems like the perfect counter to marines on high ground. Since they can move around their allies to get in on the action, there wont be any of that annoying 'my-units-keep-getting-stuck-behind-the-other-units' crap that happens when you try to macro a large assault. I like.

[UchihaItachi0129]

ok here it is for all those people who don't believe or can't find it

Some zealots have even developed the ability to turn their body into pure energy for a few microseconds. This allows them to move at lightning-fast speeds and strike suddenly against an enemy that thinks they are out of range.

here's the link: http://starcraft2.com/features/protoss/ it's the 2nd to last paragraph...i think

[Ghost]

Or Warp Rays/Phoenixes as the case may be...


Ouch, imagine a Donut of Death of Warprays around any building, talk about 3 second destruction.

[jaywalker]

also realize that zealots can chase down fleeing enemy units more effectively. that makes you think twice before sending your marines into a protoss base.

[Ghost]

Thats right, also, dancing is done with

[wuffle]

Which toys?

[[LightMare]]

zoom zoom zoom! i love this new ability

[cybermaster1]

Anyone have any thoughts about the Zealots using their charge ability on their own units by using the attack buttom to move around faster??

[ZeiDjon]

I think there will be a cooldown on that ability...

And if you look on that Gameplay Video when they attack the marines, they dont charge right away after the first charge.

ZeiDjon

[Zerat]

the charge skill might have a range limit, it will be used automaticly while atacking a target at some range, if the range is smaller it will run to it wyth normal speed

[Meee]

I think it's rather the other way. If Zealot is too far it'll run normally until reaches charge range. But may be both for all we know

[brc9210]

Zealot cant charge its own units because its a passive ability.

[Ghost]

Zealot cant charge its own units because its a passive ability.


Yea but maybe if you Attack click on of your own he will charge towards the clicked target? If this can be done, a good microer can make zealots retreat to a shield battery and then back into the battlefront by attack clicking, stopping right next the the battery, right clicking on it and then attack clicking the ground adjacent to enemy troops. hmm.

[SirBaron]

I don't mind the actual ability, but they gave it a too fancy explanation. :-X

Indeed, but to be honest it does not look like they truly become "pure energy", they just go WHITE AND FLASHY and run really really fast like Forrest Gump on some serious caffeine.

[[LightMare]]

the charge is great. it allows your zealots to come very fast at the enemies, and it will give you such an advantage

[paragon]

The charge only lasts for a set amount of time, it does last until the zealot gets up to the enemy. One zealot that was going all the way around stopped charging halfway there and didn't start back up before it reached its target. Another one started charging towards the last marine but the marine died so the zealot turned towards the building still charging while most of the others walked towards the building at the normal speed.

[SirBaron]

The charge only lasts for a set amount of time, it does last until the zealot gets up to the enemy. One zealot that was going all the way around stopped charging halfway there and didn't start back up before it reached its target. Another one started charging towards the last marine but the marine died so the zealot turned towards the building still charging while most of the others walked towards the building at the normal speed.

So it's safe to assume then that it's not only timed but also has a cooldown?

[paragon]

So it's safe to assume then that it's not only timed but also has a cooldown?

Yeah most likely.

[thitian]

in the video it looks like charge is a passive ability with a small cooldown...
i really hope the zealots will auto-charge all enemies in charge-range so
..
zealots can charge my banelings :thumbup:

[paragon]

Whenever I see zerglings turning into banelings i'm going to run my melee units far far away because the morph egg appears to have the same super high armor that the rest of the eggs have had so killing them before they turned would be difficult.


Edited out quotes. Please read the forum rules and refrain from quoting unnecessarily.

[FlyingTiger]

So it's safe to assume then that it's not only timed but also has a cooldown?

Yeah most likely.


Yeah if you pay attention to where all the buttons are (move, attack, hold, etc.) in the gameplay video, you can see the charge ability button (or not a button) have that C&C-like cooldown thingy.

[paragon]

Yeah if you pay attention to where all the buttons are (move, attack, hold, etc.) in the gameplay video, you can see the charge ability button (or not a button) have that C&C-like cooldown thingy.

No they don't...

[kingsky123]

charge looks like passive to me i think it will replace that -leg movement thing- in sc1 where you could upgrade zealots movement ?

[thrif]

Charge is the sexiest ability in sc2 so far. Makes me want to play protoss, hands down. Bloody imba. ^_^

[DarkZtorm]

Im a little afraid that the charge ability will make the zealots hard to control.
If they get attacked do they automatically charge their enemies(If they're not in hold position)? If so it would be really easy to trick enemy zealots to come to you.
I would like this ability more if you had to manually use this skill, then this skill could be used much more tactically :)

[10-Neon]

Well, it is not as if the Zealots wouldn't be tricked into attacking the enemy without Charge. With this ability, they at least have a better chance of getting some hits out before biting the dust.

[DarkZtorm]

Eh? no? You can just trick the zealots with 1 marine scv or something. And have siege tanks behind or vultures if they exist in stacraft 2 and kill the zealots very easy, and with charge u have no change to reatreat them fast enough :(

[Lemonparty]

Zealots charge in 5 tanks
All tanks attack Zealots
Tanks explode
Repeat
Bring Immortals
Laugh at tanks

Hell, the 7-8 tanks in the trailer took like 20 seconds to kill the zealots, they even had the time to destroy 3 and they were hella far to begin with.

[DarkZtorm]

I dont think you see what i mean... But well just see when the game comes out ;)

[Remy]

I doubt charge will make you lose control of your zealots.  If that's the case, having charge activated will only let you withdraw your zealots faster.

[mc2]

Agree, it's just like controlling a group of stimmed marines. The charge ability is great. Allows the zealot to be useful even in late game. I wonder what will happen to the speed upgrade it originally had.

[Dreadnought]

I garantee 500% that the zealots will only charge if their order is attack move. Therefore if you tell them to stop or hold position they will not charge.

[marinepower]

There could perhaps be another option for zealots all together, where you need to activate the charge first, then they will automatically do it. The charge thing seems kind of cheap though, especially against many ranged attackers, as you now can't just outmicro the zealots because they will charge straight at your units and slaughter them.