7

I've been watching SC:Broodwar matches and there are tournament legal glitches/bug exploits that some professional players use in their matches.

For example, the Turret Bug, the Mining SCV trick (where you can make a unit go through a mineral line) and the Dragoon Hold trick (where you can make a Dragoon fire slightly faster by moving your Dragoon as soon as it fires then quickly pressing hold position).

Are there any glitches or exploits being used legally now in Starcraft 2 tournaments as if it is part of the meta game?

Improve this question
5
  • 1
    Mutalisk stacking could be considered exploiting the mechanics of the game as well.
    – Robotnik ♦
    Commented Oct 13, 2015 at 7:33
  • @Robotnik Well, "flyer stacking" is a mechanic as core to the game as ground unit pathfinding. Blizzard did make a lot of tweaks to flyer stacking, trying to make it work in a way that they want - how can using this be "exploiting"?
    – Orc JMR
    Commented Oct 13, 2015 at 9:08
  • @OrcJMR - Because exploiting means: "to make full use of and derive benefit from". People who know about the flying mechanics know they can stack them, so they do. Exploiting isn't a bad thing per se, it's using the existing mechanics of the game to derive an advantage. The only difference between Muta stacking and the mineral boosting technique listed below is how Blizzard treated them - one they allow (and built for), and the other they disallow (and patch out).
    – Robotnik ♦
    Commented Oct 13, 2015 at 9:16
  • @Robotnik Yes, this is the vocabulary meaning. I meant "exploiting" in a more common sense in gaming, that being "using something not directly intended to give an advantage", more like "abusing". Such things, of course, depend on the level of play - marine stutter stepping may look like an abuse for players who are not familiar with it, but is explicitly designed by Blizzard to be used "to the fullest".
    – Orc JMR
    Commented Oct 13, 2015 at 11:26
  • @OrcJMR - I was using the dictionary definition of the word, not once have I said 'abused'. Good point on the Marines though: Blizzard may have just built in the Marine's animation-cancellation, with the 'stuttering' mechanic being an unintended consquence. Or they could've built it with the 'stuttering' mechanic in mind. The point is it doesn't matter: Either way, it can be exploited by players to gain an advantage. That's the point I was making
    – Robotnik ♦
    Commented Oct 15, 2015 at 3:42

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
7

This Mineral Boosting Trick is the only example I'm aware of and it's likely to somehow be patched out in the next version of SC2, as it's similar to a previous trick that was also patched out.

Blizzard no longer seems to be a fan of emergent gameplay and so these "tricks" that were so common in SC:BW are purposefully taken away.

Improve this answer
10
  • 1
    Is that trick solely only on the Terran SCV? Can't watch the whole video but somehow managed to watch the trick in action.
    – user29674
    Commented Aug 24, 2012 at 9:34
  • 1
    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft About 4% according to one post and between 1-7% depending on the mineral patch according to another post
    – Atav32
    Commented Aug 24, 2012 at 16:12
  • 1
    @BBz Again, you can do it in both directions. The video was just to show how it was done, not to maximize the efficiency.
    – Decency
    Commented Aug 24, 2012 at 16:37
  • 2
    "Blizzard no longer seems to be a fan of emergent gameplay and so these "tricks" that were so common in SC:BW are purposefully taken away." - They were never a fan of it there is just a limit to the number of exploits they will fix after a game has been released for so long. Make no mistake about it these "tricks" were exploits.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Aug 24, 2012 at 17:01
  • 1
    @Ramhound Many of the 'exploits' of original SC:BW were core to the gameplay and would never have been changed.
    – Decency
    Commented Aug 24, 2012 at 20:40
1

Although Blizzard is not fond of glitches in general, the priority they give to mineral-walking (drones, SCV's and probes set to gather minerals) has led to some quirky scenarios. One of the most notable can be seen here.

Stephano was able to push the Dark Templars off of his Hatchery by mineral walking his drones so that they push the DTs, then having them hold position. This bought him vital time.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.