Don’t break out the champagne yet; Blizzard hasn’t officially stamped the 1.22 patch for standard play.
However, the development teams has been hard at work pulling data together and gathering input from pro players. The players have been selected to test the patch before its public release, soon publicly accessible for testing by anyone who wants to give it a whack.
Players have been itching to see the newest balance changes and maps for ladder.Test servers will be up with the patch, as well as forums for reporting bugs and feedback.
Karune’s progress log can be found here
The depths of the internet have got many a word written about the balance in Warcraft 3, but very few from people who understand the game as deeply as Manuel “Grubby” Schenkhuizen. The Dutch Warcraft 3 superstar has written an article for esportsglobal.com about it, proving that playing a video game is only one of his talents.
The column called “Fickle balance” shows a very interesting perspective on several issues, in particular people’s attitudes towards perceived imbalances in the game. The piece is well worth a read. Here is a taste:
Which strategy is balanced and which is imbalanced? It seems there is an opinion for every grain of sand in the Sahara Desert and like the sand; they are blown away just as easily with every gust of wind. Indeed, I find that the balance in Warcraft III can be viewed just so: waves ripple through the community with a fresh wind every few weeks and completely shatter our previous suppositions. Those people that stick with their earlier conclusions find themselves outnumbered by the ones who ride the wave, unless their mind stays unchanged until the next wave when a strategy becomes imbalanced – for the second time.
Continued…
