Soul Hunter Scrapped?

[FlyingTiger]

http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=sc-general&t=210968&p=1&#post210968


We have a lot of units going into StarCraft 2 right now. Many of these units you have already seen, others you havent had a chance to hear about yet. We have a few rules for our units:

1) A unit should have a cool personality. A unit must be something that is fun to play with.

2) A unit should have their own very unique role on the battlefield.

3) A unit should be fun for the enemy to try to deal with. Generally this means good strengths and interesting weaknesses.

Theres a lot more to it of course (how intuitive it is, will it balance well, etc) but thats the basics. Right now we have a lot of units on the Protoss. Not every Protoss unit you have heard about is going to make the cut. They are in training camp. We put them in the game and we see how they do. We compare them to some other units and see how much overlap there is between various units in the game. We compare units that are similar and then we make the call. Which unit is cooler? Which unit has a more unique role? Which unit is more fun to fight against?

Sometimes units will get cut. For example, the Soul Hunter is not going to show at Blizzcon. He appears to have failed his training period. He was kind of cool, but not cool enough. Some other units that you have seen are going through some significant changes. They have adapted and may yet survive. Thats how we do it. Being able to try units out before we decide if they are going to be in the game or not is a huge advantage for our development process and its an opportunity that not every developer gets. Well give you more specific information on the Protoss as we figure it out. Even what you see at Blizzcon will be work-in-progress. After Blizzcon things will most definitely continue to evolve.


WOW! ;)

[for-glory]

GOOD FIND!!

i wonder if blizz is gonna just bring out a whole new line of protoss units riite at the end. "bet ya didnt see that one coming suckahz"

[Itsmyship]

Huh...I kinda half expected half didn't expect this to happen. Nice find though Flyingtiger, nice to get any news out there.

[coalescence]

Good ****ing thing! It's idea was so NOT protoss :)

[kehmdaddy]

I think it's great that Blizzard really listened to all of its fans on this one. I would have been torn if the Soul Hunter had made it... it just isn't a Starcraft unit... thank you Blizzard!

[FlyingTiger]

lol i am sooo ecstatic that it's gone (practically) haha

[Itsmyship]

But....I had their story all figured out!! Undead Warlocks crash landed on Shakuras and the toss saved their lives and in return, they taught them how to steal souls!!! :P

[wuffle]

Wow. lol. That's a good story if you just made it up. I'd be like WTF WC? UNDEAD WARLOCKS?

[LJYLJ]

Good f**king thing! It's idea was so NOT protoss :)


i couldnt agree with u more..i did find them plain gay, especially the "for each unit it kills it power grows, stacks up to three kills" or something like that...

ye and nice find flyingtiger

[generalrievous]

praise jebus we can finally lay this grudge to rest

[CodyFallsForth]

I got mixed feelings about this.

Its not protoss like at all, so i am kinda glad.

But it was a pretty neat concept.

[coalescence]

But it was a pretty neat concept.


Maybe for a new race, or a whole new blizzard universe :p

[ninerman13]

I'm happy too - it didn't seem very Protoss, the whole 'hoverboard' concept was pretty lame, and 'soul hunting' is not Starcraft at all. The idea of beefing up attack for every unit killed was pretty cool though, maybe they'll incorporate that into another unit.

[ShoGun]

I think the dark templar might be scrapped also and the stalker it's replacement, they seem to have almost similar roles to me. If that’s so, the high templar could be changed to be able to utilize templar and dark templar energies, like Tassadar.

[burkid]

I think the dark templar might be scrapped also

no. No. NOOOOO!! dont even sugesst the DT getting scrapped!!

[sagrado_corazon]

I'm glad Blizzard is doing this "training unit camp" thing. The Soul Hunter reminded me of vultures...meh. I also didn't like the idea of its attack ray being upgraded every time it killed a unit.

[kehmdaddy]

I don't think that's going to happen... the Dark Templar are too vital to the story line. Hopefully, hopefully they'll revert back to their Broodwar form and look sexy as hell like before.

[proswimma]

i think they will keep the dark templar because they are really important to the story and that for the twilight archon it says you can combine a dark templar and a high templar. Therefor they HAVE to keep it. :)

[Ych9]

Awesome.
I really hated the Soul Hunters, and I'm glad that Blizzard is planning to scrap it.

[zeratul11]

good, i dont like the soul hunters. the name itself sucks.

hhmm. now they should get rid of the reaver too.. or change it to a new completely new model with the same movement speed and ability (reaver). im getting bored seeing the same things again in starcraft 2 even the reaver.

lets face it, its not exciting like the colosus which is a completely new unique unit. but im only talking about the reaver, the zealots and others stays cause they look cool and got new skills. the reaver model is lame and looks like has only one ability (scarab) and same movement speed etc.. just change the model, not a worm thing anymore please. innovations.

just an opinion ;D

[Exvasion]

But...but.. I love reavers, they were my favorite protoss unit :(. And I kind of like how they look now. In SC they looked like a big fat worm, now they look metallic and colorful like protoss should.

[Dreadnought]

Zerg could use the ability the soul hunter has, kill units to get stronger. A defiler did something kinds similar. Except it killed your own units and it gained energy..

[kehmdaddy]

I respect your opinion zeratul11, but I really think the Protoss are different enough from the original already. The reaver is an incredibly vital unit to the Protoss. It's their heavy hitter, their siege weapon. Although they could replace it, I think they really should just re-do its current model or texture it much better. It's really boring looking right now.

[Star-Crap]

good riddance

[BaneOfHumanity]

Soul Hunter....thats the biker toss right lol...remind anyone of Warhammer 40K :P

Im glad its gone I didnt like it....

[zeratul11]

I respect your opinion zeratul11, but I really think the Protoss are different enough from the original already. The reaver is an incredibly vital unit to the Protoss. It's their heavy hitter, their siege weapon. Although they could replace it, I think they really should just re-do its current model or texture it much better. It's really boring looking right now.


thats what im saying, reavers looks boring the second time around, if they want to make a new siege unit for the protoss why not just make a BRAND NEW model of it completely different from the worm look. we need to see new cool new reaver like unit not a remodeled look from the original. remove the reaver change it to something else with the same scarab siege ability. much much better.

[ArchLimit]

Yea, I'm very glad they got rid of the Soul Hunters as well. They just didn't feel right to me, as I'm sure most ppl felt. To go along with the name "Soul Hunter," I also sort of hope Blizzard sort of tones down the names/voices of the characters a bit. For example, "Zealot" was cool, and so was "Dragoon." When you start getting into things like "Soul hunter" or "Shuriken" for the Tempest, it just sort of dilutes the integrity of the Protoss. I mean, a shuriken is used by Ninjas... in Japan... Why in God's name would the Protoss name their units after ancient Japanese culture?

As for the voices, I liked the more affirmative, direct speech in SC1, whereas the SC2 ones sometimes sound a little overdone. Zealots so far sound great. But I think a few of the units are saying stuff that's just too grand/epic for movement confirmations.

[kehmdaddy]

Good points ArchLimit. I agree with the names, some of them are a little too over the top. I would prefer giving the Shuriken a rename, in fact, I would prefer if they just remained as the normal Interceptors with their ranged attacks. But, if you think about it, with a melee attack, Shuriken does fit it pretty well. It's just, as you said, why would the Protoss have stolen a Japanese name haaha. I think the Stalker actually is a bit mundane of a name for that unit, but I'm not really complaining about it. I'm surprised you liked the Zealots, I thought they sounded worse compared to SC1's. I haven't checked all the little voice musings from the units yet, but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

[Fenix]

hhmm. now they should get rid of the reaver too.. or change it to a new completely new model with the same movement speed and ability (reaver). im getting bored seeing the same things again in starcraft 2 even the reaver.


No dude, just no. Reavers are awesome. You ever see what a Reaver does to a Zerg Rush or M&Ms? It's a beautiful bloody mess. They have to keep the Reaver. I'm alright with them changing the model from what it is now, but it has to be a slug. No :powerdown:, cause that would be petty, but :no: :bad: :no:

The Dark Templar is sooo not getting the axe. I liked the models better in the first one, but the scythe, IMO, is freaking pimp.

The Soul Hunter, I have mixed feelings. I thought it was cool, but really out of place. It would fit perfectly in the WC world. So, they can axe it. I wonder what its replacement is gonna be.....

They original names were the best, cause they were all archaic military unites.
Zealot: Religious fanatic
Dragoon: Mounted musketeer
Scout: Duh
Reaver: A destroyer thingie, but I always think Firefly when I hear it
Templar: The Knights Templar
Archon: An angel dealie
Arbiter: A Judge
And so on and so forth
Though "Tempest" sounds freaking awesome....I still think they should be called "Gusts" though..... :-\


Oh, and Archlimit officially has the coolest sig EVER.

[ShoGun]

I agree with the dark templar unit being too important to the storyline. It was just my speculation, because the stalker, and the DT's roles seem so similar, and blizzard wants to avoid making repetitive roles. But I could be wrong about them having similar roles.

[kehmdaddy]

Haha everyone loves ArchLimit's sig! ^_^
I agree Fenix, the Reaver has to stay. But I am not a fan of that Dark Templar scythe. Why does it have a skull on it? Since when do the Protoss select trophies from their kills? I don't get it. They should just 3D model the original... you gotta admit, it was so freaking cool. And Blizzard mentioned the Dark Templar merging together to form the Twilight Archon, so I don't think they have any shot at getting the boot.

[ArchLimit]

Yea, I'm not big on the new design of the new DT either. I so dearly have this guilty pleasure of wanting the Dark Templar to never change; I guess my work is pretty evident of that, haha.

Yea, the scythe is a bit much. What MIGHT be kind of cool though, would be sort of a double side psiblade, sort of the like the the demon hunter's weapon from WC3. But I personally don't see anything wrong with just keeping it the way it was in SC1.

Again, thanks for the sig compliments everyone. You guys are giving me one hell of an ego boost, haha.

[kehmdaddy]

I want the guy in your sig as the Dark Templar in Starcraft 2. Not an armored Halo2 Elite necromancer with a teal neon scythe whose head I am not able to pick out.

[Fenix]

Imagine if they put another blade pointing the other way on the new DT weapon. Got it? Now imagine the Dark Templar spinning it to attack. That is my idea of a cloaked assassin of death and destruction. :good:

Plus, I'm pretty sure, as people say the DT as Deth on Wheelz (TM), it needs a scythe to evoke the Grim Reaper image, as I said somewhere else. I don't like the skull thing, but it makes sense to me for the Protoss to keep trophies. They're a very militaristic race, full of warriors, and as such, full of honor. It makes perfect sense for them to keep the skulls of tough vanquished foes.

[kehmdaddy]

Still, I'm not sure I'm sold on the skull thing... we're talking about the Protoss here, not Predators! And what you said about a spin attack with the new DT weapon- well, that would be be pretty tight. I think I'd still prefer if they just spun around slashing the hell out of their foes with their warp blade though haha

[Itsmyship]

I always imagined the DT to have a scythe like blade, but the scythe was on their arm. They would have grim reaper look, the batman look, and it makes sense on the assasination bit.

[[LightMare]]

NO WAY!!!!!!!!! awwww. soul hunter, will have to make an appearance in the expansion!

[kehmdaddy]

Wow, I can't believe anyone really liked it. Well, I'm sorry for your loss :(. But ;D :good: ;D :thumbup: ^_^ :thumbup: no more Soul Hunters hahaha!!!! Seriously though, it was a Halo 2 grunt on a hoverboard floating on chlorine gas. And it stole souls. So this hoverboard flying grunt was also bestowed with black magic.

[Outcaster]

it's a good thing they are taking the Soul hunters out, they just didn't fit

And Archlimit , congrats for that awsome sig, now that's the way the DT should look like in SC2

[Zeratul]

DT = 2nd best unit in game
Zeratul = Best!
Oh and hero DT = 3rd ;D (there are 3 types of DT's in SC if you didn't know)
interestingly enough the hero DT has a faster movement than both Zeratul and normal DT's which move at the same speed.

Glad too see soul hunters gone!

[TidalSpiral]

I also have mixed feelings. It didn't seem like the unit fit, but you hate to see units getting the axe before you even have a chance to play with them! :( Maybe I'm just selfish, but I don't want to hear about a unit unless it's STAYING in the game.

I hate Reavers because they kill me, but they are a really great unit in design and usefulness. I bet they'll get a new ability in SC2 though - maybe let you build a different type of Scarab, a more expensive but bigger blast one? That would be funny... blue scarab, blue scarab, blue scarab, RED SCARAB!

[AdmiralAckbar]

Second best day of my life -> after ten years of *****ing starcraft 2 finally anounced
Most dissapointing day -> see the soul hunter on this very website (resume *****ing)
Best day of my life -> find out the soul hunter is scraped
(obviously my life isnt to exciting)
anyone who thinks the soulhunter is cool in any way has something seriously wrong with their brain
level up weapon straight out of the GLA tanks in C&C generals, by the way that game SUCKED that series died with RA2 anyway

[kenshin72]

I think its good that is gone

The Hover thingy looks pretty sick though.....but not for protoss

I think Terrans deserve the hover thingy

[Dreadnought]

2 words >>>>>> GOOD RIDDANCE <<<<<<

[burkid]

at kenshin72, they do. its called a cobra.

[GrahamTastic]

I think the dark templar might be scrapped also

NOO!!! I think that the Dark Templar are too important for the story. Why would they put themselves in non-cloaked Stalker thingies unless they were injured? (Dragoons)

[burkid]

in the description for stalker on the blizzard website, it says something along the lines of 'dark templar willingly infused into an exoskeleton for the protection of their race'. it doesnt say anything about injuries. injuries are for dragoons. stalkers aren't dragoons. just similar.

[MarineCorp]

Kinda a good thing that soul hunters were scrapped because it made the game sort of imbalanced and it looks weird and ugly.
But it was cool and very destructive but it was too destructive good thing they took it out.

[DontHate]

it didn't look too destructive. It just looked plain ugly.

[Nikzad]

Yea, the scythe is a bit much. What MIGHT be kind of cool though, would be sort of a double side psiblade, sort of the like the the demon hunter's weapon from WC3.


I don't really like the scythe that much on a dark templar, but I think it is a sweet idea nonetheless
A demon-hunter psi blade would be cool, but I would need to see it in action. But if it did, we would flood the forums with "OMG I haTe Teh deemin hunter DarK teMpLAr" threads

One thing that I absolutely - ABSOLUTELY - insist on, is that the attack sound be the same as it was in Brood War. It was one of my favorite sounds of all time, aside from the combination of *scarab explosion*+*death scream of 5 hydralisks*

It really sounded like a freaking warp blade that was slicing through what ever form of matter it came into contact with.

But I agree with Praetor Fenix on the issue of the reaver...if they scrap it, how am I going to be able to watch 8 zerglings burst into a showery mist of blood and flesh? (mulitply that by 5 or so and that's my dream 'ling rush)

[AdmiralAckbar]

Why would a dark templar sacrafice themselves to become a stalker. couldnt they just drive them like a normal vehicle. Especially considering protoss have a very low reproductive rate and small population it wouldnt seem wise to turn your own people into cyborgs. As GrahamTastic said why would a powerful,invisible dark templar turn itself into some half-assed dragoon

[burkid]

ask blizzard. i didnt write the lore. and stalkers are one of the coolest units shown.