archons are not unpopular in pvt because of emp

Yup, EMP is currently on the Ghost and does 100 shield damage to all units and drains all energy in that area of effect. Having a Ghost presence in any TvP match up is crucial, especially if there are casters in the opponent's army. In the original StarCraft, the EMP used to kill all shield hit points, but since in StarCraft II the ability has been added to the Ghost, which is more easily attainable unit than in the original StarCraft, we have reduced it's potency a bit.

Plus a one-click ability that reduces an opposing army to half health near instantly isn't something that we want to promote.

To combat EMP, Protoss players have huge new additions to their arsenal that can help them attack, defend, and buy time for tactical retreats (to allow shields to recharge since they recharge 2x as fast as the original StarCraft). These new additions would include but are not limited to: Force Field (Disruptor), Temporal Rift (previously known as Time Bomb) (High Templar), Colossus AoE lasers (with upgradable range), Phase Shift (Disruptor), Shield Regeneration (added to Obelisk [known previously as the Dark Pylon] replacing 'cloak').

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You can always make multiple ghosts and do multi-EMP.

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True, though that would be much more costly in terms of minerals/gas as well as time needed to have enough energy for EMPs. Furthermore, it would take slightly more micromanagement as well.

When put in a difficult situation, retreating with Protoss is a strategy that often times has to be used to recharge shields and regroup after attacks. Preserving Protoss units is particularly important because they are generally more expensive than the other races, have more hit points, and have that increased shield regeneration to help them fight another day.

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Ooo! Time Bomb and Phase Shift returns! Those were fun spells, now even more fun on lower tier units!

What of Halluncination and Plasma Surge, Karune? I hope those are still in the multiplayer, even if shifted around.

Btw, do you mean Dark Pylon, not Obelisk?


-Psi

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Time Bomb is now known as the Temporal Rift and is cast by the High Templar.

Plasma Surge is no longer in the multiplayer version of the game, but will still be in the editor.

The Dark Pylon is now known as the Obelisk - primarily because it no longer cloaks units and no longer provides pylon power/supply. This change was mostly due to balance, since it is relatively easy to spam Dark Pylons everywhere and instantly have a Psi Storm recharge point to decimate incoming forces.

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Q u o t e:
While I've (obviously) never played the game, it seems odd to me that the Protoss' counter to the Terran's anti-caster and light infantry unit (which is almost guaranteed first strike)... are mostly casters.

I wonder if the Devs have considered a Protoss unit that derives is protection from heavy armor rather than shields (giving it protection from the ghost, but with the obvious drawback that it wouldn't heal at all)

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The Colossus would be the unit you are looking for. One Colossi will be able to kill a group of Marines (before shield upgrade) with one sweep of its lasers. Multiple Colossi, with upgraded laser range, will surely mess up the day of any Terran player who does mass infantry.

If Protoss players do tech towards the Colossus, they will also have access to observers very early, giving them early warning to when the Ghost is in play and where it may be shooting its EMP from.

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Colossi could be locked down though, making them an ineffective counter to the Ghost... or do Ghosts not have lockdown? I haven't played since Blizzcon 2008, so you'll need to help me out here.

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No lockdown in multiplayer.