StarCraft 2: WHY?! Harstem HATES Carriers!

Professional match of StarCraft 2 from the ESL SC2 Masters Summer. This game is a Zerg versus Protoss between DRG and Harstem.
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StarCraft 2 is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment.
Kijkwijzer (Dutch viewer guide): 6, violence, fear
#StarCraft2 #SC2 #RTS
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lowko.tv

[@chrispostle3871]

The OG Lowko intro always makes me smile :)

[@zes7215]

wrrr

[@josephfield6903]

Now just do jacksepticeye’s intro

[@rahulshah1408]

It’s audio positivity!

[@garyzhu690]

me too!

[@Howdy762]

its cringy lol

[@s43k02]

HE DID THE THIIIING

[@namanhnguyenhoang2695]

He did what !?

[@s43k02]

@@namanhnguyenhoang2695 "HELLOOOO EVERYYYYYYONEEEE My name is Lowko!"

[@dotraj8704]

HE DID THE THING

[@zes7215]

wrggg

[@nicolaunionsspezialfiliall3962]

​@@namanhnguyenhoang2695THE THING!

[@nickpantin2740]

The Scarier = Carrier The Scariest = Tempest

[@enriquegarciacota3914]

The Scaryracle = Oracle

[@icecream6256]

"HRELLOO everyone my name is lowko and welcome back to starcraft 2" - Lowko Always bring me tears and joy. Love your casts bro

[@phongminh2588]

The INTRO and the funny Harstem face. Insta like.

[@merlin_plays]

the scarriest unit for me is tempest. tempest oracle combo can destroy buildings faster. while carrier's intercepter needs minerals to rebuild. that's for unit vs buildings only for me

[@Josh-99]

The carrier can defend itself, while Tempests cannot. You can't just dive equal numbers of Vikings or Corruptors into equal numbers of Carriers, but you can do so against Tempests. Carriers are more common because you often don't need to worry about destroying buildings with Skytoss; if you destroy or push back the opposing army, the supporting ground forces can follow behind and destroy structures.

[@Daniel-rd6st]

I fear lategame carrier more. Of course i only play direct strike :p

[@merlin_plays]

@@Daniel-rd6st i really miss the old carrier upgrade where they can make intercepters faster

[@nicodemus7784]

both are scary, but 6 tempests are not. 6-8 carriers can do more work but its easier to amass tempests. 12-16 tempests can do crazy work really fast. especially on bases with a quick strike to level the place then a recall home to safety. but you cant let the enemy get that many corrupters or vikings

[@nimamotamedi4544]

Keep calling him HAMSTER. We're here for it! 🤣🤣

[@gsus3918]

Damn Harstem AND Lowko, what a time.

[@sleepylight]

This is probably the most effective use of the of the mother ship I've seen in a long time. It's impressive when used by someone who is proficient with Protoss.

[@Markey325]

I secretly love whenever you and harstem do anything together even if its just you casting his ganes

[@JH-ue2oq]

I see my favorite pro being casted by my favorite caster I have to watch! Work can wait... I'm sure there won't be a ling flood this morning lol

[@gigadolphin]

Star craft 2 fact #53 The tempest unit fires off a reverse form of energy that is similar to the energy the shield generator creates to recharge shields. It isn't psionic damage or electric in nature like how it looks. It is more like getting hit by a rapidly expanding force field. Protoss engineers found out that if the shield energy is compressed, it can stay in a stable form that can travel a long distance. When it impacts a target, it instantly expands and causes massive damage.

[@baron2062]

massive damage might be overstating it slightly

[@Shazbot277]

it'd be interesting if you cast the UTermal vs Hamster match from a week again.

[@davidholland4713]

I like the use of tempests. Unlike carriers, their attacks are absolutely free, costing no minerals, unlike interceptors. Crazy, right? Great cast as always. Maybe Harstem's idea was to save minerals by using the tempests, then use everything up at the right moment to get and use the carriers, which certainly was how it worked out. If he had the carriers earlier, the interceptors would have cost many more minerals over time. Not sure if this will catch on, though!

[@elijahpeck3540]

In most cases, the carrier is the harder one to deal with, but I think this play style is an exception from Harstem. The extreme range of the tempest makes it very difficult for the broodlords to handle the archons and HT, which is a must in order to overwhelm the Protoss. They are also less prone to viper abducts and infestor spells because of their range, and with that many archons you can't jump the tempest. I do think that it's easier to kill this army if you set up the engagement properly, but it's harder to set up against the tempest. It's kinda like snipe from ghosts

[@temushin]

As a platinum zerg player, I can't even think of the last time I saw tempests on the ladder. If I lose to protoss it's usually to mass carriers.

[@cavemantero]

That's why ZvT, PvT has basically boiled down to beating the protoss before carriers come out. Its trash.

[@hivetech4903]

@@cavemantero Losing to Carriers as Terran? Haven't seen it in the last few years.

[@dekwoo1]

I love the Lowko harstem “rivalry”

[@Dylan13Nessman]

I'm more worried about tempestuous. Carriers are usually easy for me to deal with (Parasitic bomb/corruption lowko maneuver). I can usually keep interceptor count super low to where they aren't an issue. (This is low masters btw)

[@danielcripe25]

That's it... I am calling Harstem, Hamster from now on 1:32

[@svengalt9546]

Has anyone ever seen them both in the same room at the same time? hmmmm

[@TheKalash]

That really isn't a good idea, as Hamster is the name of Harstem's video editor.

[@Arctan489]

If you wanna tease him back, type his name as Harmstem and other gems from his IODIS series in the overlay when you cast him. It'll rile him up good when he notices

[@Shardarki]

"CARRIER HAS ARRIVED" sends chills down my spine

[@sandrock605]

In Lowko speak, "Rahdder dan" = Rather than

[@rahulshah1408]

The comment about "carriers do not cause damage" ... I remember that trivia show. - Nice one Lowko!

[@golagiswatchingyou2966]

Dat moment dat je favoriete caster de game cast van je tweede favoriete caster. Feels good man ❤

[@Obsidian0Knight]

This threw me off at the beginning! I saw the thumbnail, I also watch harstems KZbin, figured it was an imba video or something and then here's the handsomest man in StarCraft with the old school intro. Me being super smooth brained, thought "wow that's funny harstem used a recording of lowkos intro!" And then I remembered, he is a pro player so it makes sense that he's in a video like this at some time. 😅 Btw I love the collab stuff you guys have done, good vibes :)

[@vitorh3568]

Nice game by Captain. In the last minutes I started to get worried though xD

[@mageplaysgames2977]

Wake up babe, new Lowko vid just dropped a min ago!

[@financialliteracy8204]

Classic 38 minutes carrier transition, never fails!

[@nguquaxanguyen5224]

harstem is the type of player that is afraid to lose more than wanting to win. if he can change that mindset i think he will level up since his mechanic is incredible

[@gage6355]

I follow him a lot on yt, he also has a kind of complex of inferiority, when he face players who are considdred to be better than him he just lose his mind and throw the game with stupid errors also if he is winning hard, he really just needs to improve is mental and he would do a very big step

[@AlexGeo925]

How have I never heard anybody call Harstem Hamster before?? 😂😂😂

[@adambaker4590]

Hard for me to compare carriers and tempests; they perform different functions in my head. It'd be like asking, "What's scarier, Siege Tanks or Thors?" Thors are like carriers, siege tanks are like tempests. Carriers are great at fighting opposing armies, tempests are great at sniping production facilities or key targets from a long distance. But both of them fall apart without the proper supporting units underneath them. Tempests without archons/high templars under them are like Siege Tanks without Marines or Marauders in front of them. D E D.

[@T-adams]

as a protoss main, here is my 2 cents after the carriers got nerfed recently, the tempest have rose higher in popularity now your army will prioritize the carrier itself instead of the intercepters… basically the carrier is the first thing your army will auto attack. since the carrier is so easy to hunt down, the tempest is a better skytoss unit

[@Josh-99]

I get the feeling that this game was the way it was because Harstem is Harstem. It looks like a "Greediest Man Alive" challenge combined with a "No Carrier" challenge. However, you also get to see how difficult it is to actually force an established Zerg out of the game, even when really far ahead. There really is no army that can push into Brood Lords (the best air-to-ground unit in the game), Corruptors (the best air-to-air unit in the game), Infestors (the best offensive spellcaster in the game) and Vipers (the best defensive spellcaster in the game). What Harstem did was wait for DRG to get frustrated and attack into static defense -- something Harstem always builds a lot of (it's one of his best qualities; he never leaves a base without static defense). He used that to equalize the power differential between his army and the significantly more powerful Zerg units, and then leveraged the fact that Brood Lords can't run away from a losing fight to win the game. With the Brood Lords dead, he could use the Archons and Immortals to clean up all the bases.

[@Kaefer1973]

Corruptors are the best air-to-air? Not sure, they are the best anti heavy, but there's better options for fast enemy flyers. So maybe a shared first place?

[@andrewboelter4866]

@@Kaefer1973 Infestors aren’t the best spellcaster either, ghosts are much stronger than infestors and about as good as vipers. Ht are also very powerful.

[@Josh-99]

@@andrewboelter4866 High Templars are terrible. They are used because Protoss does not have much in the way of splash damage. Feedback, their starting spell, is straight worse than EMP. They have to research Psionic Storm, and it's worse than Fungal Growth by a wide margin. They are the slowest and most vulnerable spellcasters in the game. Protoss use them because, strangely, they are the only offensive spellcaster they have, with Oracles and Sentries being more for utility.

[@andrewboelter4866]

@@Josh-99 Colossi, disrupters, and archons are all very effective splash damage dealers, so Protoss has plenty of options for splash other than HT. Psi storm and fungal growth serve two different purposes, but to say that feedback and storm are weaker than EMP and fungal is either a lie or willfully ignorant. Storm deals way more damage and is incredibly effective against any bunched up light units, while fungal slows movement speed with a little bit of damage. Feedback drains energy AND deals damage to the unit, while EMP just gets rid of energy. HT are amazing and that’s why they’re frequently mixed into any Protoss army.

[@Josh-99]

@@andrewboelter4866 Except they AREN'T frequently mixed in. Researching Storm is a HUGE commitment; do you know it is among the most expensive and lengthiest unit-specific upgrades in the game? The most common use for High Templars is to morph them into Archons. Also, Feedback is straight worse than EMP. Ghosts can eliminate all of the Energy AND a significant amount of shields in a LARGE area with a single cast from a single Ghost.

[@lorgarmor5886]

I was genuinely confused for several seconds when I saw Harstem in the thumbnail with the Lowko logo underneath. It was like seeing the word RED written in blue and being confused which color actually is written there.

[@yamilabugattas3895]

Great cast Lowko! Controlling tempests efficiently looks a bit APM intensive, but it looks like it could be powerful if done correctly.

[@paulzi666]

hamster is my favourite deer!

[@bjm_77]

Outstanding commentary Lowko, you had me following until the end!

[@PazCristo]

In 2023, DRG is still playing

[@BestPrezz]

Yeah, Harstem is known for hating the carrier and he tried to avoid it all costs until he couldnt anymore lol

[@phelanwolf6747]

Well the Tempest is more dangerous than the Carrier but Harmstem only had enough of them to oneshot one Broodlord at a time. So he deliberately tricked DRG by pretending to priotize ground units. However the Carrier goes well with splash damage, all those bruised units can be taken down more efficently with Interceptors instead of the Tempests big guns.

[@anonanumerical367]

Man the old into. Dang thats good

[@LDSG_A_Team]

What a fascinating game to watch

[@CubeItself]

zealots and prisms are the scariest thing ever instant death at the hive

[@bongkem2723]

Hamster is my new favorite player/caster from now on :))

[@snowdrop9810]

As a very low diamond player, archons are the scariest skytoss unit for me. How does a zerg even kill those huuge hp pools

[@vectrom21]

Blords and roaches are good against them. Ultras aren't bad against them too. Lurkers are the best tho.

[@1.-ulysses334]

Don't trust the LotV cinematic. Ultras always kill archons.

[@vectrom21]

@@1.-ulysses334 Technically the archon died too...

[@snowdrop9810]

@@vectrom21 those die to carriers, while the archons kill my anti air.

[@hivetech4903]

@@snowdrop9810 In low Diamond if Protoss actually makes it to Carriers he probably played better & deserved to win. Either Lurkers in sufficient numbers or Broods kill everything Protoss has on the ground.

[@helldrake77777]

I don't understand. Why does Harstem not build Void Rays? They would have been the perfect counter to everything in that match.

[@BlackRainRising]

I dunno who's been casting his last several videos but it's good to see Lowko is back! :P

[@Erebus2075]

hydra+marines should be vastly better vs. carriers interceptors, but carriers should have vastly increased range on them; it's so stupid carriers need to hug stuff to hit it and so stupid a tiny interceptor takes so much effort for anti-air specialist to take down.

[@torch_k8110]

The old intro! Was kinda hoping the thumbnail arrow was pointing to a sneaky zealot

[@Erebus2075]

oracles are so good you could have 5 in your army no prob and they would always make their price home :P

[@strickenlol]

HELLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOO EVERYONE

[@timmothyburke]

Harstem has a video of him beating serral on the ladder in a late game.

[@twofish777]

The og intro made my week

[@MrTziparul]

Great job hamster!

[@andreolivier8632]

Ah man. I can't help but auto like videos with the old intro. It literally makes me grin like a pumpkin😅

[@imaguy7070]

I swear that intro has to be turned into a dJ Remix

[@Claymanation]

Harstem is just so good dude

[@Daniel-Star]

I think the carriers where important and better than if they had been tempests but the biggest thing was Harstem was able to get DRG into a fight in a poor position against a comp he had no time to properly prep against, and that's what the carriers really did. You can't really split or hit and run attacks with corrupters against carriers like you can against tempests, and before the fight DRG couldn't know that the carrier count was so high. So DRG dove in to try and get the carriers and realized too late the carrier count was to high to snipe. Which was a huge play and mind game from Harstem by never going really insane with skytoss for most of the game DRG kept too many ground units and so the moment Harstem went all in on skytoss DRG didn't have the army comp to fight it and he didn't have the money to sacrifice all the corrupters for max damage and then remax before the slow skytoss force could get to his bases. It was an epic game played by both sides but I really want to know how long Harstem was planing that mass carrier checkmate or if he just saw an weakness and went for it. Also interestingly enough DRG might have been able to pull off the win or at least prevent Harstem from attacking him after the fight if he had employed the Lowko maneuver :D

[@Agarring_Dutch]

Such a cool game by Harstem. Makes my little dutch heart make a tiny proud jump.

[@jeongordon2050]

Yeah lowko keep up the intro, we love it

[@ipotatoe_28]

"Two balls of Protoss are too big for the expansion." - Lowko 😏 -

[@Venom-kf6jp]

I love the intro

[@basedandredpilled7920]

Hartsem replays, good replay choice. Looks like a replay from "greediest man alive" series too.

[@Pfasma5]

If there was a protoss/Zerg battle where the armies close together and the Protoss side has a mothership cloaking the army. If an infestoe neural parasites the mothership, does the Protoss army get revealed and the Zerg army is cloaked?

[@vectrom21]

Yes, zerg can get the cloaking field passive from the momma ship.

[@Wwillswords]

​@@vectrom21you can't neural parasite the mothership

[@vectrom21]

@@Wwillswords oh right, they changed it some time ago. They added the heroic tag to momma ship. But you could before that change.

[@Wwillswords]

@@vectrom21 yeah

[@enriquegarciacota3914]

There’s a lot of things that work though. You can parasite an oracle to reveal everything under the mothership. If you parasite a probe and create a nexus, you can chronoboost Zerg buildings.

[@Chris-si9in]

As Protoss you only need enough tempest to one shot broods and the rest should be carrier ( 12 carriers ideally )

[@meanoldfatlady5071]

isnt hamster harstems editor?

[@svengalt9546]

yes, allegedly ;) but maybe lowko knows something we don't

[@sc2youtube744]

As a toss player, tempest are so hard to micro i basically never make them.

[@torjusaanderaa3749]

Wow! they might not be the very best players in the world, but this was certainly one of the most exciting rounds i've seen in a while! ^^ So much actual strategy going on and great demonstration of all the unit counters and combinations! I really do feel the tempest deserves a small buff tho! because it makes for very exciting games, but as we could see here, it hardly deals any damage for it's super slow attack speed, and movement for that matter.

[@matthewh3138]

I Fear the tempest more than the Carrier in most cases. When they use the tempest correctly they can't even be reached! Just my two cents.

[@AD-lr6pc]

Thé scarrier is more scary than the tempest imo

[@lucius8675]

Lowko at 39 minutes, did you make a reference to "Gargoyles"? The cartoon from the 90's or is gargoyles healing while turned stone a myth thing people know?

[@cmiato]

he did the original intro for Harstem

[@r3tr056]

"DRG"? ROCK AND STONE!!!

[@patrickjanotta7652]

what a game!

[@dominiknoack3736]

INTROOOO

[@NinjadoPantanoPlays]

2023: the year of harstem

[@brunomendes4159]

great game

[@lucasaurelio2806]

I THOUGHT IT WAS A VIDEO FROM THE CAP HIMSELF 🤣🤣🤣

[@Zoutsteen]

I thought the mothership toilet flush got removed from game. But if you do this ... oh momma ...

[@cuper3000z]

My day has been made 😊

[@davidbardwell712]

dat intro!😍

[@arvinjancruz5175]

great game!

[@amirjameioskooei1997]

From the other game you casted! PROBIUS! The probe, the hero, the legend You will be remembered for NOT JUST five years You will be remembered for ETERNITY! P.s. And will be always avanged in every game!

[@driznardelunyar5199]

the thumbnail is creeping me out 😆

[@f1shze4lot]

Hell yeah old intro

[@psychaoticproductions3994]

I'm a simple man. I hear best intro at KZbin, I click like.

[@immortalkhang8294]

Wait his name is lowko?

[@mayastic9570]

Isn't Hamster the editor ? I think it would be insulting to hamster if you use the names interchangable :P I've also seen so many games lately where the protoss makes a bunch off carriers and the corruptors just fly through and kill every single one. I greatly prefer harstems approach with the tempests and just rely on the ground army for hardhitting damage. It feels far less vunerable to the corruptors flying in and killing all the expensive air units.

[@therealjanczareq4355]

"HELLLLLLOOOOOOO everyone, my name is LOWKO" :')

[@maciejbuczkowski8358]

@Harstem Hamster :D

[@BEFisher00]

Tempest because they don't run out of energy like Carriers do with its interspectors. Not only that, it's long range. YAY.

[@santeenl]

Why didn't Harstem make anything for 2 minutes around the 36min mark?

[@Spartsou]

Back when I played with my cousin and brother, I'd just mass Tempest 😂. I'd destroy their bases but they would destroy mine first, if they ignored my army😅😅

[@-rage-blackout9145]

You need Ultralisk and Roach. Shame this guy 🙃 Without ground unit= no victory.

[@Euler271]

MY NAME IS LOWKOOOO!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@merlin_plays]

i hope they bring back mama ships blackhole

[@duergh]

making yt vid isn't easy job and i instantly think how someone working on oil rig will look hearing thous xD... still love ur content tho ;)

[@PhysicsNerd25]

Is Harstem using GMA builds in tournaments now?

[@akagamino_moto]

आपके वीडियो में बहुत ही शानदार गेमप्ले होता हैं, मैं इनसे बहुत अधिक प्रभावित होता हूँ!

[@phillip5922]

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