Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm's New Units - A Rundown Of Their Strengths And Weaknesses

The new StarCraft 2 expansion has been out for about two weeks now, and many players are finishing up with the game's story mode, and ready to move on to the competitive world of the multiplayer. If you're curious what sort of new units Heart of Swarm has brought, read on for a rundown of the additions.

The Protoss have gotten three new units. The first is the Oracle, an airborne harassment vehicle with a number of supporting abilities. Built from Stargate, the Oracle is extremely mobile, and devastating against unprotected workers with its Pulsar Beam ability. However, its low HP make it vulnerable to anti-air defenses. In addition to its combat ability, the Oracle can also cast Envision, which provides temporary detection for cloaked units; and Revelation, which acts as the Protoss equivalent of a Terran Scanner Sweep.

The second Protoss unit is the Tempest, a long range assault airship with a range similar to that of the Siege Tank. Built from the Stargate once the Fleet Beacon has been constructed, the Tempest is extremely strong against massive-class flying units, dealing bonus damage against flyers like the Battlecruiser and Brood Lords.

Lastly, the Protoss have gotten the Mothership Core, a new aerial spellcaster/support unit. It's an effective defensive unit, and can use Photon Overcharge to grant a Nexus the temporary ability to attack. Additionally, it can provide mobility with Mass Recall, teleporting itself and nearby units to any Nexus, as well as Time Warp, which slows effected ground units. Once the Fleet Beacon is online, it can also be upgraded to a full-blown Mothership.

The Terran have received the Hellbat, a Hellion upgrade that gives the unit more health at the cost of its speed. Additionally, the Widow Mine performs similarly to the previous StarCraft's Spider Mine. However, it is built directly from the Factory and can move and burrow on its own. As an added bonus, it can also hit air units.

As the stars of the new expansion, the Zerg has received a number of particularly interesting updates. The Viper is an airborne spellcaster with no attack, but three useful abilities. Blinding Cloud limits units to melee range in an effected area, Abduct pulls a unit to the Viper, and Consume damages a friendly unit for 200 life over 20 seconds in exchange for 50 energy.

The Zerg have also gotten the Swarm Host, a ground siege unit that produces a stream of Locusts once burrowed. These locusts last 15 seconds, or 25 seconds with an upgrade at the Infestation Pit.