The hydralisk is a StarCraft II unit.
Conception[]
It was intended that the hydralisk make a return in StarCraft II from the outset. Some visual upgrades had to be carried out however—the in-game artwork of the hydralisk from the original game did not match the cinematic version, so adjustments were made to the StarCraft II hydralisk such as the tail spikes and head-gills used during the attack animations. Another visual update was the scything talons being increased from one to three to make the design dissimilar from other popular alien designs such as the tyranids.[1]
The hydralisk was also iterated on several times. Earlier renditions were very accurate to Samwise Didier's concept and worked very well in-game. The cinematic department created a high-resolution version of the hydralisk which featured many stylized differences which became a visual disconnect between the cinematic and in-game artwork of the hydralisk. The final iteration of the hydralisk was done with the intention of applying more cinematic-influenced designs to the low-resolution hydralisk while maintaining the bold Samwise proportions and style.[1]
Game Unit[]
Hydralisks constantly moved in tier from 1.5 to 2 and back over the development of StarCraft II. In June 2008, they were described as tier 2-2.5, costing 100 minerals and gas and dealing 13 damage (+3 vs. Armored) vs ground and 12 (+5 vs. Armored) vs air. It had a range of 6 and moved quickly by default, removing the need for upgrades.[2] At BlizzCon 2008 in October, they moved down the tier list and lost HP and damage, intended to be used as an anti-air unit.[3] In April 2009, the hydralisk moved back to tier 1.5, as part of an effort to prevent zerg vs zerg matches devolving into roach vs roach battles.[4] In May 2009, they were moved back up to tier 2.[5] As of June 2009, they were moved back to tier 1.5.[6] As of patch 3.8, they are intended to be a core component of zerg army composition,[7] though remain a tier 2 unit.
Hydralisks used to deal extra damage to air units.[8]
Hydralisks gained their melee attack animation in April 2009.[9]
Wings of Liberty[]
StarCraft II beta patch 5 increased the delay between attacks from 0.75 seconds to 0.83 seconds. Patch 8 decreased the hydralisk's HP from 90 to 80.
Heart of the Swarm[]
The Muscular Augments upgrade was added in the beta, causing hydralisks to move 25% faster off creep. Balance Update #8 added a lair requirement.
Patch 2.1 Balance Update #2 decreased the hydralisk's attack delay from 0.83 to 0.75.
Legacy of the Void[]
Grooved Spines and Muscular Augments were combined into one upgrade, the latter gaining the range bonus. They were split again in Patch 3.8, and Muscular Augments was modified to increased the hydralisk's base movement speed by 25%, also increasing in cost from 100 minerals and gas to 150. Grooved Spines was modified to increased attack range by 2. The Patch 3.8 Balance Update removed Grooved Spines and added +1 range back to Muscular Augments.
The Patch 3.11 Balance Update increased the hydralisk's HP from 80 to 90.
The Patch 4.1.4 Balance Update split the hydralisk's upgrades once more, with Muscular Augments maintaining a 100 mineral and gas cost. Patch 4.2 added a green visual effect to the hydralisk's attacks once Grooved Spines is researched.
Patch 4.7.1 decreased unburrow speed from 0.71 to 0.36 and random delay from 0.36 to 0.08. The hydralisk's attack speed changed from 0.54 to 0.59.
Grooved Spines also received an updated icon from the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
References[]
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