Another balance update preview is out, going over changes to macro mechanics, the Cyclone, the Zealot, and more.

Macro mechanics changes:

• Spawn Larva is reduced to 2 per injection, and set to autocast by default
• M.U.L.E. is removed
• Chrono Boost is removed

• Warpgate research time reduced to 140, from 160
• Disruptor build reduced to 50, from 60
• Added one additional supply to Nexus

Cyclone

• Anti-air attack reinstated, but damage is reduced
• Damage against ground units is reduced
• Removed current upgrades and replaced with one which greatly increases Lock On damage against both air and ground units

Zealot Charge upgrade

• Speed bonus is reset to Heart of the Swarm levels
• Charge deals 30 damage on hit

Warpgate

• Warping in at Pylons takes 16 seconds
• Pylon power is buffed when touching a Nexus or a Warpgate
  • Warping in takes 2 seconds in this case
  • Warping in takes 2 seconds from Warp Prisms

Rapid Deployment Medivac upgrade removed

• New upgrade added: High Capacity Fuel Tanks - Increases the speed boost duration of Ignite Afterburners by 50%

Disruptor Redesign:

• Disruptors now shoot out a ball of energy that can be manually controlled.
• This energy ball blows up after a few seconds, dealing high damage.
• Disruptor invulnerability removed. Energy balls are invulnerable.
• If the Disruptor is killed, the energy ball fizzles dealing no damage.

Enemy Spawn location display increased from 10 seconds to 25 seconds

The explanations for these changes can be found on the official post.

Source:
Battle.net - Legacy of the Void Beta: Balance Update Preview - August 20

Legacy of the Void, the next expansion for StarCraft II, is now available for prepurchase. The expansion, which includes new units for all the races, new multiplayer features, and a new singleplayer campaign, costs $39.99 USD for the standard edition. The digital deluxe edition, which costs $59.99 USD, includes in addition: new portraits and Protoss unit skin for StarCraft II, a pet for World of Warcraft, a card back for Hearthstone, transmogs for Diablo III, and a Voidseeker mount for Heroes of the Storm.

The shop page for the game does not state a specific release date for the game, though it does say "Expected Game Release Winter 2015/2016*" and "*Game is due for release before March 20, 2016.", which means that we can expect the game by late March 2016 at the latest. There is also confirmation of an epilogue past the end of the singleplayer campaign which shows the various races and what happens to them.

After you play through the Prologue and the Protoss single-player campaign, wrap up the StarCraft II trilogy storyline by finding out what happens to each race in the Epilogue.

For the Blizzard store page for Legacy of the Void, click here. Also, for the news post of the start of prepurchases, which has an FAQ and some announcements, click here.

Source:
Battle.net - Legacy of the Void™ Now Available for Pre-Purchase
Battle.net - Legacy of the Void™ Shop Page

In a lengthy post, Blizzard has announced that "Automated Tournaments" will be coming to the Legacy of the Void beta. These automated tournaments will be a way for people to compete without the managing, organizing, and communication normally required to hold a tournament.

Once the tournament begins , you will receive a notifcation (even while in-game) that will take you to prepare for your first match. You will get a chance to veto up to three maps of your choice each round, allowing you to cater your map choices to the opponent you’re playing next. Your opponent will do the same, not knowing your veto choices. You’ll be able to see your opponent’s win record on each map to help with your veto decisions.

Signing up to an automated tournament is done in the game client. 3-round tournaments are held Mondays to Thursdays, and 6-round tournaments are held Fridays to Sundays. The rules for each of these are different, as seen below:

There are two tournament formats:

• 3-Round Tournaments
  • Schedule: Monday–Thursday
  • Duration: Approximately 60–90 minutes
  • Format: Single-elimination bracket
• 6-Round Tournaments
  • Schedule: Friday–Sunday
  • Duration: Approximately 3-4 hours
  • Format: Group Stage -> Single-elimination bracket

More information on how to sign up to tournaments can be found on this page. Also on that page are Blizzard's plans to add onto the automated tournament system, and what's to come in the future.

Source:
Battle.net - Automated Tournaments Coming to Beta

Archon Mode

• You can now use the Alt plus control group number or Alt, Shift, and control group number to ‘steal’ units from your allies’ control.
• When the party leader joins the queue for Archon mode, all members of the party will be shown the selected race.

Chat

• Made several changes to improve the in-game chat system.
• Added a Chat Manager to help manage multiple channels.
• Added channel members list.
• You can now increase the chat window size.

General

• Ranked ladder play is now available.
• The following gameplay options are being removed from the menu and will permanently be active.
  • Display World Object Tooltips
  • Display Game Tooltips.
  • Display Hotkeys on Command Card.
  • Enable Starting Worker Rally.
  • Game Timer.
• New Tab: Observer and Replay Options.
• ‘Show Build Grid’ is now on by default.
• ‘Voice’ tab renamed to ‘Voice Chat.’

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where a Cyclone’s Lock On ability would be stuck in the ‘On’ state.
• Researching Targeting Optics should no longer prevent the Cyclone from using the Lock On ability on flying units.
• The number of current Heroes of the Storm games will no longer appear in chat.
• Fixed an issue where Reaper’s KD8 charge would reverse Adept’s Psionic Transfer ability.
• The Reaper’s KD8 charge will no longer break the automatic harvest cycle of workers.
• The Reaper’s KD8 charge should no longer interfere with a unit’s ability to use shift-queued commands.
• Graviton Beam will no longer instantly cause a Ravager or Lurker to finish morphing.
• Terran A.I. should once again research Vehicle Weapon upgrades.
• (2) Dash and Terminal – All gold bases should now have the correct number of full mineral patches.
• (2) Bridgehead LE – All bases should have 5 full mineral patches.
• Build Bypass Armor Drone and Research Rapid Deployment now have hotkeys.
• Bypass Armor Drone will now reacquire a target that has left and reentered its range.
• Cyclone now receives the correct amount of armor from armor upgrades.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Bypass Armor Drone to not display it’s visual on a Stalker that used blink.
• The Immortal’s Barrier should now properly block the Disruptor’s Purification Nova.
• Fixed an issue that prevented a party leader from inviting a player who recently left their party.
• Motherships should no longer be able to cast Photon Overcharge on Pylons.
• [MAC] Fixed a crash when attempting to download the latest patch.

Source:
Battle.net - Legacy of the Void Beta Patch 2.5.3