Why does shift-queuing blink in Starcraft 2 have unpredictable results?

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Why does shift-queuing blink in Starcraft 2 have unpredictable results?
Posted On: May 9, 2023

I was messing around with some of the "Challenge" missions and discovered a Protoss a mechanic that I don't quite understand (Protoss is my least played race by far, so sorry if this is a basic question).


When I attempt to blink stalkers using the shift-queuing method, I usually end up leaving some stalkers behind. It's odd that sometimes all stalkers will properly blink but sometimes I'll end up leaving somewhere between 1-3 stalkers behind. The unpredictability is unsettling.


Mechanically, I'm going through the following 3 steps, which I believe are the correct ones:.


First, I select the stalkers, right-click on the location from which I want to initiate the blink.


Then I press Shift + R (R is my blink hotkey) and left-click on the intended destination of the blink.


Lastly, I release Shift, then press Shift + right-click on a location to which newly blinked stalkers can go (so as to make room for the stalkers which haven't yet blinked).


Note: this is the same series of steps as outlined in this other post: How can I queue up stalker blink?


Here's a GIF showing the result:.


What am I doing wrong?


Alternatively, if I'm following the right steps, what is causing the unpredictability? I have never seen an instance of a unit simply "skipping" one of the commands in its command-queue and attempting to execute the next one.


Question from user iceman at gaming.stackexchange.com.


Answer:

It seems that there's been a change to the way queued blinks work. It used to be that while trying to do this that some stalkers blink but do not quite make it to the intended destination whereas some will make it.


It looks like that if they will not make it to the marker that the stalker will instead ignore the blink command. This change is good as you can issue another blink command to the ones that did not make it up instead of having to wait for the cooldown as you needed to previously.


This issue arises because of the grouping of the ball of units, notice how when you queue a series of move commands for a group of units that every unit does not reach the marker but they move as a group. Same thing happens with blinking stalkers, they will try to blink from a position that is close to the marker and for this reason it will not always end up doing what you intended.


Having longer run ups and shorter distance to blink is good practice as it will work more often. The longer run up means that the units are more in a line and less bunched up so there's less chance of them being outside the max blink range and being closer to the wall is the same as it increases the chances that when it tries to blink it will be within range due to the fact that the center of the grouping of units is closer to the wall (so the outermost unit will be closer).


Answer from user Aequitas at gaming.stackexchange.com.



[BACK]
Why does shift-queuing blink in Starcraft 2 have unpredictable results?
Posted On: May 9, 2023

I was messing around with some of the "Challenge" missions and discovered a Protoss a mechanic that I don't quite understand (Protoss is my least played race by far, so sorry if this is a basic question).


When I attempt to blink stalkers using the shift-queuing method, I usually end up leaving some stalkers behind. It's odd that sometimes all stalkers will properly blink but sometimes I'll end up leaving somewhere between 1-3 stalkers behind. The unpredictability is unsettling.


Mechanically, I'm going through the following 3 steps, which I believe are the correct ones:.


First, I select the stalkers, right-click on the location from which I want to initiate the blink.


Then I press Shift + R (R is my blink hotkey) and left-click on the intended destination of the blink.


Lastly, I release Shift, then press Shift + right-click on a location to which newly blinked stalkers can go (so as to make room for the stalkers which haven't yet blinked).


Note: this is the same series of steps as outlined in this other post: How can I queue up stalker blink?


Here's a GIF showing the result:.


What am I doing wrong?


Alternatively, if I'm following the right steps, what is causing the unpredictability? I have never seen an instance of a unit simply "skipping" one of the commands in its command-queue and attempting to execute the next one.


Question from user iceman at gaming.stackexchange.com.


Answer:

It seems that there's been a change to the way queued blinks work. It used to be that while trying to do this that some stalkers blink but do not quite make it to the intended destination whereas some will make it.


It looks like that if they will not make it to the marker that the stalker will instead ignore the blink command. This change is good as you can issue another blink command to the ones that did not make it up instead of having to wait for the cooldown as you needed to previously.


This issue arises because of the grouping of the ball of units, notice how when you queue a series of move commands for a group of units that every unit does not reach the marker but they move as a group. Same thing happens with blinking stalkers, they will try to blink from a position that is close to the marker and for this reason it will not always end up doing what you intended.


Having longer run ups and shorter distance to blink is good practice as it will work more often. The longer run up means that the units are more in a line and less bunched up so there's less chance of them being outside the max blink range and being closer to the wall is the same as it increases the chances that when it tries to blink it will be within range due to the fact that the center of the grouping of units is closer to the wall (so the outermost unit will be closer).


Answer from user Aequitas at gaming.stackexchange.com.



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