Thank you, anonymous spam poster, for reviving the topic, but speaking of which:
Symmetry between factions is still the norm,
In some games, maybe, but if that's the case, then that makes SC1 all the more dynamic.
I don't doubt that there's some games where the factions would need to be symmetrical by design (e.g. Company of Heroes), but if people are still struggling with asymetrical design after SC1 in 1998 (heck, even SC2 in 2010), then that's more points for the games in question.
and heroes had already been a thing in Age of Empires years before.
To the extent that they were in Warcraft III? I mean, obviously heroes played a role in RTS games before then (and after), but I'm not aware of any where the heroes were so integral to the gameplay. Whether this was a good or bad decision is up to you, but WC3 still did asymetrical design, and again, indirectly spawned the MOBA genre.
These are evidence of greater polish or innovation, but not influence.
Well, again, disagree. For StarCraft, even if you've never played it, you're practically guaranteed to have come into it via cultural osmosis - "zerging" or "zerg rush" became a term well outside the game for instance. That, and the sheer influence StarCraft had on e-sports. Even confining it to the RTS genre, I can't think of games before StarCraft that featured asymetric factions, or the use of a single narrative rather than alternate campaigns, and if they did exist, then I'm not aware of them. I can name plenty of RTS games that incorporated those features after StarCraft, but before it? Eh...
Even SC2's influence can arguably be measured (see the development of Dawn of War III, much to the cries of its fanbase), and while not as influential, it's one of the few RTS IPs left standing in any meaningful way.
Second, Warcraft, or more specifically, Warcraft III. I don't think WC3 has as much influence as StarCraft, since a lot of what WC3 did came from SC1 (single overarching narrative, asymetric factions), and arguably WC3's biggest influence was through DOTA, and ipso facto, the MOBA genre. But I'd say WC3 maintains influence. Certainly more than WC1/2, which were...okay, I guess (really not fond of WC1, I enjoy WC2), but nothing groundbreaking. Again, WC1 was based on Dune (from a gameplay standpoint), and WC2 simply refined WC1. I struggle to name much influence those games had externally apart from the rivalry between Warcraft and Command & Conquer that went on at the time.
Well, that depends on how we're approaching the term "best", then. I was talking quite specifically about influence on the genre (though of course I don't think that's synonymous with something being better; it was just the approach I took to the question).
"Best" is entirely subjective. Same reason why on one hand I can acknowledge the influence WOW had on MMOs and wider culture as a whole, while really not enjoying it myself, and at times, outright disliking it.
Influence though, can be measured a bit more objectively.
