A new free name change has been given to all current StarCraft II accounts, allowing players to don a new character name.
All StarCraft II accounts have been granted one free name change. If you'd like to change your character name, log in to Account Management and select your StarCraft II game license from your list of game accounts.
You can use the dropdown list in the "Character Name Change" section at the bottom of your game license screen to select a region in which you'd like to use an available name change. Once you've selected a region, click the "Use Name Change" button to initiate the request. After confirming that you'd like to change your character name, simply log in to StarCraft II and you'll be prompted to select a new one.
It's another Call to Action, this time on a version of Derelict Watcher: "Derelict Watcher TE (2.0.8 Balance v1.1)". The changes for this map are as follows:
Protoss
Warp Prism
Movement speed increased from 2.5 to 2.953 (previously 2.5 to 3.375.)
Acceleration increased from 2.125 to 2.625 (previously 2.125 to 3.25.)
The Gravitic Drive upgrade has returned to the Robotics Bay and will increase movement speed to 3.375 and acceleration to 3.25 when researched.
Terran
Hellbat
Attack damage decreased from 18 +12 vs. light to 18.
The Infernal Pre-Igniter upgrade increases attack damage from 18 to 18 +12 vs. light.
Banshee
Cloaking Field research cost decreased from 200/200 to 100/100
Cloaking Field research time decreased from 110 seconds to 90.
A new situation report is out, and this time, David Kim is explaining current and future approach to balance.
More Action throughout the Game We strongly believe that this is the main direction the game should go. More action means more diversity, which makes the game more challenging to play and more fun to watch.
Change the Game to Promote Skill The Warp Prism change we tested last week is a good example of a tweak that benefits players who are amazing at multitasking, while having little effect on the game below the pro level. For an eSport game like SC2, we want more things in the game that separate out the very best from the average, not less.
Blizzard is asking for testers for their new desktop app that is currently in development. This app is "designed to improve the launcher experience for all Blizzard games and streamline the ability for players to get into their games."
To help with the testing, all you have to do is opt in to any of the game universe betas from your account management. An e-mail will be sent to you when you are selected for the testing.
A new feature for StarCraft II has been revealed by Blizzard today, called Spawning, which allows people with the Starter Edition or Wings of Liberty to play Heart of the Swarm with their friends. People may join their friends' Heart of the Swarm parties to experience Heart of the Swarm multiplayer in all its glory, even without owning Heart of the Swarm.
Nowadays, anyone who hasn’t yet purchased StarCraft II can still play, thanks to the Starter Edition. While Starter Edition players have access to much of the game, there are many features that they previously couldn’t try before upgrading to the full game. Spawning closes that gap. Any player at a lower expansion level who joins a party that includes a player at a higher expansion level is Spawned up, and gets to play using the features and options of the highest expansion level for as long as they’re in a party together.
For example, when a Starter Edition player joins a party with a Wings of Liberty-level player, both are instantly playing Wings of Liberty. When those two players then join a party with a Heart of the Swarm-level player, they all immediately gain access to Heart of the Swarm content, and they keep that access until their party no longer includes any higher-expansion level players.
There's even a new Spawning page, which you can check out here. Blizzard's video explaining Spawning can be seen below.
Carbot also made an animation to celebrate the Spawning feature, which you can also watch below.
Blizzard also gave an interview to Penny Arcade explaining their reasoning for making Heart of the Swarm multiplayer "free".
“It came about in brainstorming on our side, and thinking back to some of the things we used to do back in the old days,” saidSigaty. “Remembering how that was received…even going back to Warcraft 2 when I wasn't with Blizzard, I remember thinking 'this is so cool that they did that.' So we wanted to give back that feeling to it.”
But there are other advantages that Sigaty says he's hoping the new initiative will bring to the StarCraft world.
“StarCraft tends to skew 1v1 in perception, because obviously eSports focuses that way. But we hear about players talking nostalgically about Big Game Hunters and building up massive armies with friends and wiping out AI armies. Or even just playing teams against each other. And for me personally, I'd love to see us break down some of the perception that the game is all about this ranked 1v1 play. And I think this is a great opportunity to share that.”
You can read the full Penny Arcade interview here.
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is currently 50% off on the Blizzard Store. Anyone wishing to purchase the first installment of StarCraft II should act fast, because this sale ends on June 11, 2013.
You can purchase Wings of Liberty from the Blizzard Store on this page.
The new short story for StarCraft II is out, featuring the Terran SCV.
When “Pearly” Bousquette signed on with Raynor’s Raiders, he knew his life was about to become much harder and infinitely more dangerous. But when he and his crew of SCV pilots are sent on a simple strip-and-rip mission, things quickly turn sour… and it’ll take all of Pearly’s ingenuity to get his crew back home alive.
Blizzard has posted a lengthy FAQ on the StarCraft II main page, answering some common questions about the Heart of the Swarm ladder, its leagues, and seasons.
Question: I’ve been losing quite a bit on the ladder lately. Why am I not being demoted? Answer: To keep play at each skill level on the ladder competitive, we no longer demote players in the middle of a season. (Exception: Demotions down from Grand Master league are applied in cases of high bonus pool (inactivity).) Unless you're an inactive Grand Master, you can only be placed into a lower league when you play your initial placement match(es) in a new season, or by leaving the league.
Question: When I choose to play “unranked”, do I only face other unranked players? Answer:No. At this time, players who are playing with and without ladder points on the line are in the same pool. In order to expand the interests of players who choose to play unranked, the game maintains a separate hidden skill rating for ranked and unranked play. At the highest levels of skill, ranked players are only matched up against other ranked players, and unranked players are only matched up against other unranked players.
