Starcraft 2 Demo Now Available

Starcraft II Demo Released by Blizzard

In an effort to increase sales of Starcraft 2, Activision Blizzard has released a free demo of Starcraft 2.

Starcraft 2 Demo - Trying to Get More Starcraft 2 players

Starcraft 2 demo edition
- Features full access to the first 3 missions of the single-player campaign.
- Unlimited access to skirmish mode as Terran versus an A.I. opponent

You don’t need a Battle.net account or Internet connection to play once you’ve downloaded the Starcraft 2 demo.

Starcraft 2 Demo Edition FAQ
Do I need a Battle.net account to play the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty demo?

You do not need a Battle.net account or active Internet connection to play the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty demo. However, if you wish to upgrade to the full version later, you will need a Battle.net account and an active Internet connection.

Can I get a taste of the single-player campaign in the Starcraft 2 demo?

The campaign lets you try out the first 3 missions from the epic single-player campaign of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. You'll help Jim Raynor and his group of freedom fighters escape from Mar Sara and take the first steps on a quest that will change the fate of the galaxy. The full version of the game includes the rest of the campaign and offers more cinematics, the ability to customize your army with exciting tech upgrades and research, and much more. Please note that any campaign progress you make in the demo version of the game will not be carried over to the full version.

Does the Starcraft 2 demo include a multiplayer mode?

Sorry. The Starcraft 2 demo does not feature multiplayer gameplay, but you are able to play skirmish matches against computer-controlled opponents. You have to spend money for the full version of the game to access the entire multiplayer experience, including Battle.net matchmaking, leagues and ladders. There is no LAN mode for Starcraft 2.

Which races are available in skirmish mode?

Skirmish mode offers you a chance to play as or fight against the terrans only. You will need to purchase the full version of the game to play as or fight against the protoss or zerg.

How many maps are available in skirmish mode?

The skirmish mode in the demo includes a limited set of maps for players to try. The full game includes dozens of multiplayer maps.

How long am I able to play the demo?

You can keep playing the demo for as long as you like. There is no time limit, and the demo does not expire.

DOWNLOAD FREE STARCRAFT 2 DEMO
You can DOWNLOAD and PLAY the FREE STARCRAFT 2 DEMO by going to:
https://us.battle.net/account/sc2-demo.html

If you enjoy the demo, you can:
PURCHASE STARCRAFT 2 FULL RELEASE VERSION (Amazon.com)

Starcraft 2 Sale

Get Starcraft 2 at a Cheaper Price

You can purchase StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty directly from Blizzard and save 10 USD from the standard price. This Starcraft 2 sale is only available in the United States and Canada.

This is a good opportunity to buy Starcraft 2 for 50 US Dollars this Christmas.

To purchase directly from Blizzard (49.99 USD):
http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100001122

Starcraft 2 Prepaid Card Problems

Starcraft 2 Time Cards in SEA Server Problems

Blizzard Entertainment is currently experimenting with the Prepaid Card Model in SEA.
Launched in late November 2010, Asians can play Starcraft 2 by buying Time Cards.
Prices and Denominations Courtesy of Neutral Creeps: Starcraft 2 Cards

A few days after the STARCRAFT 2 FREE PLAY Weekend, BattleNet 2.0 SEA has encountered problems with the Time Card System.

Starcraft 2 having problems in Asia

The card system has broken down and a lot of Starcraft 2 players cannot use the Prepaid cards.
According to Testingrani (Starcraft 2 player), Starcraft 2 accounts trying to reload game time remain FROZEN.

Frozen Starcraft 2 Accounts:

Account Name: SCII-1
Account Status: Frozen
Product Level: Wings of Liberty
Region: Southeast Asia & ANZ (SEA)

Authentication Key Problems:

The authentication key you entered cannot be claimed. Please check the key and try again. Alternatively, you can enter this key for a different region by changing the leading part of the www.battle.net URL (ex. “eu.battle.net”) in your web browser, or for a different Battle.net account.

Starcraft 2 Game Time page:

Redemption Error
The key you entered is not redeemed on this page.

Starcraft 2 Cards Affected: (All) - 3 days, 7 days and 30 days.

Complaints from SEA players:

Chingchong (Starcraft 2 player):

Does this have anything to do with the patching ?
Quite annoying since i have now purchased 2 game cards to make this work. AND I STILL CANT PLAY.

DeicideGreed (Starcraft 2 player):

I have tried applying 3 different cards now with different denominations. NOT WORKING FOR ALL ON SEA. TRIPLECHECKED all the codes and its still not working.

Read the rest of the complaints regarding Starcraft 2 Cards on this thread:
http://sea.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/89159146
Reply to the thread if you cannot reload your Starcraft 2 accounts.

Blizzard Support at IAHGames E-mail Reply:
Please ensure that you have key in the new and correct game card cd key and not the serial number on the game card on your battle.net Account Management .

If you are still encountering the same problem, please send us the following information to us so that we can assist you further:
1) A picture of the game card cd key.
2) Print screen of the error message.
3) Your battle.net email which you have encountered with the said error message.

IAHGames Support For Starcraft II:
http://sea.blizzard.com/support

Update: Apparently, this is a widespread problem and could possibly be a system-wide problem with either the game card distribution or Bnet 2.0 itself.

Update # 2: This problem has been resolved.

Starcraft 2 WoL Release Patch 1.1.3

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Release Patch 1.1.3

Patch before 1.1.3: Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty Release Patch 1.1.2

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty – Patch 1.1.3 Changelog:

General

New game categories have been added to filter Tower Defense and Tug of War custom maps.

Balance

TERRAN
Thor
This unit will now prioritize attacking ground combat units over Medivacs.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a desync that could occur when trying to watch replays that had a dependency on bank files.

Starcraft 2 Map Contest Results 2010

Together with the announcement of Official Blizzard Starcraft 2 maps, Blizzard has also released the winners of the Starcraft 2 Custom Map Contest.

Blizzcon 2010 Custom Maps Winners

The Winning Starcraft 2 maps are:

MAD
Creator: Benjamin Lagarhus

Zergling Round-Up
Creator: Ivan Vidusenko

Photon Command
Creator: Andreas Lundkvist

Prizes for the winners:
* Free trip to BlizzCon 2010
* Maps featured in the StarCraft 2 demo area at the Blizzard Convention (Blizzcon 2010)
* 5,000 USD

Starcraft 2 Free Name Change

Change Starcraft 2 Names for Free!

From Blizzard Entertainment:

All Starcraft 2 accounts have been granted ONE (1) Free Name Change.
You can now change your SC2 usernames if you wish to do so.

How to change username in Starcraft 2?

Steps to change name in Starcraft 2 (BattleNet 2.0):
1. Go to: http://us.battle.net/account/management (Account Management)
2. Choose Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty game license
3. Character Name Change will be found at the bottom.
4. Change to your desired nick and confirm.

Reminders: Please choose your Starcraft 2 name wisely.
Do not use inappropriate usernames.

Matt Gotcher Talks About Starcraft 2 DOTA

At Blizzcon 2010, Matt Gotcher was summoned to show the world about Blizzard's pet project, Blizzard DOTA. He described Blizzard DOTA as like Super Smash Bros. in the Blizzard world.

Matt Gotcher (Starcraft II Level Designer) speaks.



Bonus:
Blizzard will be competing against established games in the Dota genre like Heroes of Newerth and the upcoming Valve Dota Project called DOTA 2.

Blizzard Entertainment Joins the Dota genre wars

For those who do not know, DOTA is now a legitimate name for a video game genre.

The Dota genre mania

At Blizzcon 2010, Activision Blizzard announced that:

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty launched simultaneously on five continents and in 11 languages on July 27, and within two days, Blizzard gamers made it the biggest PC game launch of 2010 so far and the fastest selling strategy game launch of all time. A month after the game’s release, the StarCraft II community was already 3 million players strong -- and to date, gamers have taken each other on in more than 91 million StarCraft II ranked matches on Battle.net.

Today we're happy to announce that four new custom games currently being developed in the StarCraft II Editor by the game's development team are available for play for the first time on the convention floor. The four games, StarJeweled, Aiur Chef, Left 2 Die, and Blizzard DOTA, will be released for free to all StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty players in the months ahead. Also featured on the convention floor are three winning custom maps submitted by players in the community map-making contest.

In addition to that announcement, Blizzard described Blizzard DOTA:

Wage war with the most powerful heroes from Blizzard Entertainment’s game universes in this explosive new multiplayer game.

Looks like Heroes of Newerth and Valve's Dota 2 are in for a tough time.

Credits: Blizzard Entertainment and the Dota genre

Starcraft 2 WoL Release Patch 1.1.2

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Release Patch 1.1.2

The announcement of Valve's DotA 2 eclipsed news from all other games.

Trivia before the Starcraft 2 1.1.2 Changelog:
DotA, a Warcraft 3 mod was based on a Starcraft mod called Aeon of Strife.

StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty – Patch 1.1.2

Starcraft 2 General Changes

* Players will no longer receive achievement toasts while their status is set to "Busy."

* The messaging when attempting to load a saved game or replay from a previous version has been clarified.

* Adjusted the amount of points earned and lost by random team participants to properly reflect the strength of a player's teammates.

Starcraft 2 Balance

PROTOSS

Buildings

Nexus life and shields increased from 750/750 to 1000/1000.

Void Ray

Damage level 1 increased from 5 to 6 (+4 armored).

Damage level 2 decreased from 10 (+15 armored) to 8 (+8 armored).

Flux Vanes speed upgrade bonus decreased from 1.125 to 0.703.

TERRAN

Buildings

Barracks requirement changed from Command Center to Supply Depot.

Supply Depot life increased from 350 to 400.

Medivac

Acceleration reduced from 2.315 to 2.25.

Speed reduced from 2.75 to 2.5.

Reaper

Nitro Packs speed upgrade now has a Factory Requirement.

Thor

Energy bar removed.

250mm Strike Cannons is now cooldown-based on a 50-second cooldown. Ability starts with cooldown available (useable immediately after upgrade is researched).

ZERG

Buildings

Hatchery life increased from 1250 to 1500.

Lair life increased from 1800 to 2000.

Spawning Pool life increased from 750 to 1000.

Spire life increased from 600 to 850.

Ultralisk Cavern life increased from 600 to 850.

Corruptor

Energy bar removed.

Corruption is now cooldown-based on a 45-second cooldown. Ability starts with cooldown expired (must wait for full 45-second cycle before usable).

Infestor

Fungal Growth now prevents Blink.

Roach

Range increased from 3 to 4.

Starcraft 2 Bug Fixes

1) Fixed an issue where players could not cast the Feedback spell on Point Defense Drones.

2) Fixed an issue where the Phoenix would continue to channel Graviton Beam after the target died.

3) Fixed an issue that would cause Larvae to spawn and be hidden behind Zerg eggs.

4) Fixed an issue where players were unable to navigate to the Single Player page or watch replays after canceling map downloads from the queue.

5) Fixed a desync that could occur on user-created maps with custom mod dependencies.

Those were the latest changes to Starcraft 2.
Got Facebook? Like Us at facebook.com/sc2portal
Twitter? Follow @sc2portal

Blizzard bans 5000 Starcraft 2 Cheaters

It is time for Activision Blizzard to milk more money from those Starcraft 2 players who have found to be cheating. A lot of these game cheaters who have been banned would probably buy another copy if they have been permanently banned.


Activision Blizzard recently suspended and banned over 5,000 StarCraft II players who were in found to be violating the Battle.net 2.0 Terms of Use. The reason? For cheating and/or using hack programs while playing.

Cheating and hacking on BattleNet undermines the spirit of fair competition and can lead to stability and performance issues with the servers of Starcraft 2. Since maintaining a stable, safe, and secure online-gaming experience for legitimate players is a top priority for Blizzard Entertainment, expect more bans in the future for those players who won't stop exploiting Starcraft 2 bugs and loopholes.

SC2Portal will now take your questions:

I have been permanently banned from Starcraft 2, what should I do?
Looks like it's time for you to purchase a new copy of Starcraft 2.

What should Blizzard do?
Release constant patches to exploits like indie company, S2 Games does for Heroes of Newerth.

I am getting Authentication Module errors, what can I do?
You can apply the Unable to download authentication module fix to resume playing.

Will I get banned if I use single player cheats?
No. You can still use singleplayer Starcraft 2 cheats.
Blizzard is only banning those gamers who cheat on multiplayer matches.

If you think you have been mistakenly banned, contact Blizzard support right away.

Unable to download authentication module, please try again later.

Scenario: Your Starcraft 2 game is showing this error:
"Unable to download authentication module, please try again later."

We would like to thank Daviash for this awesome Zeratul wallpaper.

Here is what you do (Avast users):
a) Open the user interface (UI)

b) Go to Real-Time Shields (Tab on left side)

c) Go to Expert Settings

d) Go to Exclusions

e) At the bottom of the list, there will be an empty box to type in.

Type C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net\Cache\36\b2\*.auth and then hit Enter.

f) Make sure all 3 checkboxes are marked.

g) Click OK and then Exit.

We would like to thank Curandera for this work-around.

For all other anti-virus programs, just analyze the Avast steps and apply the same exceptions/exclusions to your AV. This allows BattleNet to connect to Activision Blizzard's servers and to download the authentication module.

Follow us on Twitter: @sc2portal

Starcraft 2 WoL Release Patch 1.1.1

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Release Patch 1.1.1

With the release of Starcraft 2 Patch 1.1.0 just a few days ago, Blizzard has released a quick fix to the problems brought by the last patch.

Terrans!
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty patch 1.1.1 is now live!

Starcraft 2 Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where Ultralisk cleave range was being unintentionally extended by larger targets.

Fixed an issue where the Phoenix's Graviton Beam was automatically canceled if you used it just after the Phoenix reached 50 energy.

Fixed an issue where queuing Return Cargo on a worker would cause it to ignore the built-in delay after it finished gathering.

Fixed an issue where players watching older replays or saved games would experience stuttering.

Fixed an issue where some Mac users were unable to join games properly.

Starcraft 2 Cheats List

In the tradition of the original Starcraft game, cheat codes for Starcraft 2 exist.

Starcraft2 Cheat Notes:
-Starcraft 2 Cheats work on all the supported platforms (Windows, Mac)
-SC2 cheats can only be activated in single player mode.

Warning: Using the cheats in Starcraft2 disables ACHIEVEMENTS.

How to use the Starcraft 2 single player hacks:
Just press "ENTER" then type the exact cheat codes then press "ENTER" to activate them.
To disable, do the same process given above. Repeating it, deactivates the cheats.

Without much further ado, the goodies:

Starcraft 2 Cheat Codes

1) whysoserious
Cheat Effect: Gives you 5 Billion Credits.

2) stroaksmolts
Cheat Effect: Gives you 5000 minerals.

3) realmendrilldeep
Cheat Effect: Gives you 5000 Gas.

4) smoldersbolds
Cheat Effect: Gives you 5000 minerals and 5000 Gas.

5) moredotsmoredots
Cheat Effect: Build units for free!

6) terribleterribledamage
Cheat Effect: Activates god mode. Immortality for your units.

7) jaynestown
Cheat Effect: Gets you terrazine.

8) sawnoutofmemory
Cheat Effect: Disables fog of war. Free Starcraft 2 map hack!

9) sosayweall
Cheat Effect: Disables tech tree requirements.

10) eyeofsauron
Cheat Effect: Watch cutscenes. Works only outside missions.

11) iamironman
Cheat Effect: Gives free +1 weapon, armor and shield upgrades.

12) hanshotfirst
Cheat Effect: Disables cooldown of abilities.

13) mintmansoperator
Cheat Effect: Disables food and PSI requirements. Additional supply depots not required.

14) fsbcomunicacion
Cheat Effect: Medics heal faster.

15) overengineeredcodpiece
Cheat Effect: Plays "Terran Up The Night" - Starcraft 2 version of Radio Free Zerg.

16) cadeasygoin
Cheat Effect: Lose the current mission.

17) cmethodfeedback
Cheat Effect: Wins the current mission.

18) qrotero
Cheat Effect: Disable time of the day in SC2.

19) ypoonsvoicemail
Cheat Effect: Disables defeat conditions.

20) tyuhasleft the game
Cheat Effect: Disables victory conditions. Leavers!

Feel free to print this Star Craft cheat sheet and show it to your friends.

Got any additional Starcraft cheats?
Share it with us by posting a comment below.

Starcraft 2 WoL Release Patch 1.1.0

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Release Patch 1.1.0

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty patch 1.1.0 is now live!

This SC2 patch features adjustments to protoss, terran, and zerg balance, notable StarCraft II Editor improvements, and several bug fixes.

Here are the full patch notes. Read it well!

General:

• The Standard (US) and Standard for Lefties (US) hotkey configurations are now available in all regions.

• A new game clock has been added. Players can now instantly see how long they’ve been in their current mission or match. This feature can be turned on or off in the Gameplay Options menu.

• A new Quick Save option is now available for the single-player campaign. Players can now quickly save their mission progress by pressing Ctrl + Q.

• A new System Panel has been added. Players can now view their local time and FPS while in game by mousing over the Menu (F10) button in the upper-left hand corner of the game screen. Laptop users can also view Wi-Fi signal strength and battery levels.

• Sight granted by death reveal no longer lifts Fog of War. Units revealed in this manner are not targetable.

• (Mac only) Moved StarCraft II data files and settings from the Documents folder into the Application Support folder.

• Support for NVIDIA 3D Vision has been added. To experience StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in 3D on your desktop or notebook, you will need 3D Vision. For more information, visit www.nvidia.com/Starcraft3D



Balance Changes:

• PROTOSS

• Zealot

• Build time increased from 33 to 38.

• Warp Gate cooldown increased from 23 to 28.



• TERRAN

• Battlecruiser

• Ground damage decreased from 10 to 8.

• Bunker

• Build time increased from 30 to 35.

• Reaper

• Build time increased from 40 to 45.

• Siege Tank

• Siege mode damage changed from 50 to 35 (+15 armored).

• Upgrade damage changed from +5 to +3 (+2 armored).

• ZERG

• Ultralisk

• Ram ability removed. Ultralisk will now use normal attack against buildings.

• Damage decreased from 15 (+25 armored) to 15 (+20 armored).

• Maps

• Desert Oasis

• Destructible Rocks have been added to make natural expansions easier to protect.

• Center Xel'Naga Tower area has been narrowed.



StarCraft II Editor Improvements:

• Added new requirement types: Odd, Divide, Mod, Multiply.

• Added a chance field to effect data.

• Added support for the Slider dialog control type.

• Added a trigger to deal damage from a unit.

• Added a trigger event response to provide the amount a player or unit property changes.

• Added a trigger event when an effect executes.

• New Trigger Editor functions:

• Save Data Conversation State Value (Action).

• Load Data Conversation State Value (Action).

• Players On Team (returns Player Group associated with teams in game lobby).

• Unit Owner Changes (Event).

• Old Unit Owner (returns player ID in response to Unit Owner Changes).

• New Unit Owner (returns player ID in response to Unit Owner Changes).

• XP, Level, and Bounty unit properties can now be modified by triggers.

• Banks now save/restore XP, learned abilities, and items.

• Message Window now includes a time stamp for each message.

• An actor event is now dispatched when a missile cannot hit its target.

• When loading documents with Battle.net-only dependencies, you will now be prompted to log in and download the dependency data, rather than failing to load.

• Game variants now automatically use the default melee variants for new maps, without requiring manual generation. This will not take effect for maps created prior to this patch.

• The Custom game variant is no longer automatically included when other non-default variants are defined.

• Increased the maximum recharge vital rate for heal effects.



Bug Fixes:

• Battle.net

• Chat windows no longer vanish when exiting a multiplayer map or campaign mission.

• Fixed an issue where players would still receive toasts when their status was set to busy.

• Custom Games

• Default race in a game lobby is now properly set to Random.

• Players can now configure the lobby for 1v5 matches.

• The search functionality for map searches has been improved.

• Lobby hosts will now receive a toast when an invited player declines an invitation.

• Custom game lobbies will now remember the game mode chosen under a category.

• Fixed an issue where changing the category to "Custom" would default the teams to 5v3.

• Fixed an issue where custom maps could not be reported from the map preview screen.

• Gameplay

• General

• If a unit loads into a transport, missiles targeting it will no longer target similar units in the area.

• Structures damaged during construction will no longer count towards structures lost.

• Fixed an issue where builders waiting for an area to clear could block units trying to leave the area.

• Fixed an issue with inventory drop range checks.

• Fixed an issue that, in certain cases, allowed a command to be issued that did not appear on the command card.

• Interface

• Queue tooltips now display information about what is in progress.

• Fixed an issue where the back button would not always return players to the score screen properly.

• Terran

• Marines trained at multiple Barracks will now prefer a Barracks with a Reactor over one with a Tech Lab or no attachment.

• SCVs will now load into the closest Command Center if multiple are within range.

• Zerg

• Creep now recedes properly when an AI-controlled Hatchery, Lair, or Hive is destroyed.

• StarCraft II Editor

• The Player Leaves Game event now fires when a player leaves or they are defeated/victorious.

• Loading screen progress bar option now works when using Melee loading screen type.

• Test Document now works properly on maps with Battle.net-only dependencies.

• Publishing a new file using Major revision will now properly set the document version to 1.0.

• Publish dialog now properly remembers the Show Real Name setting from previous publish.

• File preview panel now displays author's real name if that option was set during publishing.

• The Import module will now allow importing an override Assets.txt file.

• Undoing a terrain object modification will now also undo associated terrain changes.

• Editor will display document text from another locale if no text for the active locale exists.

• Copying points with custom models will display the model properly on the pasted point.

• It is no longer possible to have multiple default variants in the Game Variants dialog.

• Removed icon support for attribute and variant definitions, as Battle.net does not display these.

• Fixed issues with invalid map bounds when creating 32x32 maps.

• Fixed issues with poor performance in the Terrain Editor when scroll bars are visible.

• Fixed issues with drag-and-drop in Trigger Editor when tracking is not enabled.

• Fixed an issue that would cause a crash if multiple unit forms had too many abilities.

• Fixed an issue with temporary publish names in the Publish dialog still verifying the original name.

• Fixed an issue with the Unit Manipulates Item trigger.

• Fixed excessive delays on some systems when saving files using the Smaller Files option, and also when publishing Locked files.

• Fixed preview panel display in Terrain Editor palettes.

• Fixed performance issues in Terrain Editor when modifying terrain with many road tiles on the map.

• Fixed initial display of variables in the Trigger Debugging Window.

• Fixed generated script for built-in attribute values, which caused them to not be accessed properly.

• Fixed action list when modifying a Custom Script action without sub-views enabled.

• Fixed loading map dependency data.

• Fixed an issue where loading complex bank files would cause the client to disconnect from Battle.net.

• Technical Issues

• Fixed an issue where unplugging headphones could cause the game to freeze.

• Fixed an issue where XP systems running with Unicode characters enabled could prevent a player from starting a multiplayer game.


Side Note:
Sarah Kerrigan has been voted as the Greatest Game Villain of All Time!

Sarah Kerrigan is All time Greatest Game Villain

Gamespot has chosen Kerrigan as the Greatest All time Game Villain

The votes have been made and it all came down to a battle in the stars between StarWars and StarCraft.

But in the end, Kerrigan triumphed over 64 other great game villains.
The last of which was formidable Sith Lord, Darth Vader.

Say hello to Darth Kerrigan. Even the galaxies of George Lucas have not been spared.

And oh by the way, it is "Villains" not "Villians"
Give her the proper winning title.
Kerrigan might invade your little world with her Zerg brethren if you don't.

You can tweet this to the whole Koprulu Sector by opening the @sc2portal.

Pre-Patch 1.1 Situation Report

Recieving Transmission...

Greetings, citizens of the Koprulu sector!

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is celebrating its monthsary and we’re extremely excited to witness the amazing community that’s come together around the game. To that end, we want you to know we are hard at work on the first feature and balance patch, and expect to have it completed and available by the middle of September. Patch 1.1 will contain a number of improvements including additional mod features, Editor improvements and bug fixes, some custom game improvements, support for NVIDIA’s 3D Vision, and more. We'd also like to share some specific plans for this patch with you.


To begin, we've heard a lot of feedback from our global community about standardized hotkey options. We're happy to announce that in patch 1.1 we are going to make the Standard (US) and Standard for Lefties (US) hotkey options available in all regions.

Balance Changes

We have several balance changes in store. One general change we're making is that friendly units will no longer provide vision after being killed. Enemy units previously revealed will no longer be targetable. Now let's break down the additional balance changes we're implementing.

Maps

We're going to be adding destructible rocks to the Desert Oasis map to make natural expansions easier to protect. In addition, the center map watchtower area is being narrowed.

Protoss

We have two key changes in mind for the zealot: the build time is being increased from 33 to 38 seconds, and the warpgate cooldown is being increased from 23 to 28 seconds. Zealot rushes are currently too powerful at various skill levels, particularly those that rely on rapidly assaulting an enemy base from nearby "proxy" gateways. We feel the window players have to scout for and fend off this rush is too small. We also want to address the problem of protoss being able to dump minerals a bit too quickly with the combination of warpgates and Chrono Boost.

Terran

There are several changes in the works for terrans. Reapers against zerg are stronger than expected. Due to the zealot build time increase, reapers would be a bit problematic in combination with proxy barracks, bunkers, and/or marauders against protoss. Therefore, we have decided to increase the build time of reapers as well from 40 to 45 seconds. Fast reaper + bunker, or fast marine + bunker rushes are problematic against zerg. Although this rush would never outright destroy the zerg player, we feel zerg suffers too much of a disadvantage from either having to cancel the fast expansion, or getting trapped inside the main base for too long, so we are also increasing the bunker build time from 30 to 35 seconds.

Siege tanks in large numbers are performing too well in all matchups. In the mid- to late-game, siege tanks are too dominant against all ground units. We want a small set of light and unarmored ground units to perform better against siege tanks. With this in mind, we're changing the Siege Mode damage of the siege tank from 50 to 35, +15 vs. armored; to correspond with this, damage upgrades will be changed from +5 to +3, +2 vs. armored. This change reduces the base damage of the siege tank against light and unarmored units, as well as the splash damage.

Battlecruisers currently lack good counters from the ground and still perform very well against a wide array of unit types. We're aware that it is not easy to get battlecruisers out for the cost, but at the same time, it is possible in both 1v1s and team games to create stalemate situations to bring them out. Overall, we feel that battlecruisers are too strong for their cost, and the terran-forced stalemate situations are causing less interesting gameplay. We will be lowering their damage against ground units from 10 to 8.

Zerg

Ultralisk damage is being decreased from 15, +25 vs. armored to 15, +20 vs. armored. This reduction is comparable to the changes being made to the battlecruiser and siege tank. Like the battlecruiser, ultralisks are simply too powerful for the cost, even though they are difficult to muster. Also, in combination with other units, ultralisks are difficult to counter from the ground. The ultralisk building attack (Ram) is being removed because the damage rate is too similar to its normal attack, which will be used against buildings instead. When ultralisks target tightly packed smaller buildings such as supply depots, the Ram attack is actually outputting considerably less overall damage than its normal attack, as Ram only hits a single target.

In the Future

We are reading your posts on the forums and creating lists of features and bugs to address in future patches. We have mid- to long-term plans to further evolve the Custom Game experience, and soon, enhance our social features with the addition of chat channels. We will be sharing more specific information in the coming weeks. As with all of our previous games, we will support StarCraft II for many years to come. Your feedback and participation is critical in making this not only the best game it can be, but also the most engaged gaming community in the world. We look forward to the implementation of patch 1.1, as well as sharing our plans for our future gameplay and Battle.net features.

End of transmission...

Starcraft 2 WoL Release Patch 1.0.3

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Release Patch 1.0.3

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue preventing some players from accessing offline play from the login screen.

Starcraft II Custom Map Contest

Starcraft 2 UMS (Custom Maps) Contest

In our first-ever StarCraft II Custom Map Contest, we're challenging you to craft the most fun, creative, and polished custom map that the galaxy’s ever seen.

If you think you've got the skills, fire up the StarCraft II Editor that came with your copy of the game and get started. The Editor is a powerful, robust, and complete development tool, and it's everything you'll need to build your creation. Keep in mind that we’re looking for originality, innovation, and fun, so whether you want to make the next DotA, create the next Fufu Ninjas, craft a mini-RPG, or concoct a third-person shooter, let your imagination run wild.

"DotA - Wc3 mod that now has a genre named after it."

Even if you've got some experience creating custom maps, you'll want to kick your efforts into overdrive for this one, because the stakes are high. We’ll be choosing three winners to represent the best of what the mapmaking community has to offer. If your custom map is one of those selected, you'll win a trip to BlizzCon 2010 (including airfare and accommodations), and BlizzCon attendees from all over the world will have a chance to play your creation in the StarCraft II demo area at the convention. Of course, it can't hurt to have some spending cash while you're in town, so we'll also throw in $5,000 prize money for each winner.

Map makers will have until September 11 to submit their entries.

Starcraft 2 WoL Release Patch 1.0.2

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Release Patch 1.0.2

Just a few simple bug fixes.

Bug Fixes

* Fixed an issue where campaign mission victories would not always trigger properly.
* Fixed an issue where some players were unable to access single player features.

Starcraft 2 WoL Release Patch 1.0.1

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Release Patch 1.0.1

Here is the first post-release patch for Starcraft II:Wings of Liberty by Blizzard.

Bug Fixes

* Campaign saves have been optimized.
* Fixed an issue with sound not playing on some 7.1 systems.

Starcraft 2 - Ghosts of the Past Trailer

Blizzard Entertainment is known for it's epic movie-grade cinematics.
As a reward for the success of the "Join the Dominion" propaganda campaign, this trailer was unlocked.



Enjoy it! Starcraft II will be launched on July 27, 2010.
Finally!

Starcraft 2 Updates Beta Patch 15 to 18

The following would probably be the last SC2 beta patches before LAUNCH!

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Starcraft II patches 15, 16, 17 and 18.



Starcraft II Beta Patch # 15 (version 0.17.0.15623)

General
- Improved the system that handles initial placement and promotion/relegation between Leagues & Ladders.

Balance Changes

TERRAN
Hellion
- Weapon upgrade bonus decreased from 1 (+1 Light) to 1.

Reaper
- Nitro Packs research cost decreased from 100/100 to 50/50.

Siege Tank
- Siege Mode damage decreased from 60 to 50.

Thor
- Anti-air weapon upgrade bonus decreased from 1 (+1 Light) to 1.

ZERG
Brood Lord
- Weapon upgrade bonus decreased from 3 to 2.

Bug Fixes
- Resolved an issue with publishing maps in non-English locales.


---

StarCraft II Beta – Patch 16 (version 0.19.0.15976)

General
-Rally points now behave as a move command, instead of an attack move command.
-Enabled the ability to manually add a StarCraft II character friend using the player's character code. Character code is a server-assigned numerical code that is displayed within the Add Friend panel.
-Battle.net Achievements & Rewards have been updated.
-All Quick Match modes are now available: 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, and Free For All.
-All A.I. difficulties are now available for play.
-Cooperative matchmaking versus A.I. players is now available as a play mode.
-Enabled cross-game social features between World of Warcraft and StarCraft II.

Balance Changes
ZERG

Infestor
Frenzy spell removed.
Infested Terran spell added.

Overseer
Infested Terran spell removed.

Ultralisk
Now immune to stuns and mind control.

---

Starcraft II Patch 17 (version 0.20.0.16036)

Bug Fixes
Many of the following bug fixes were intended for internal testing only, and are now being reverted.

- 250mm Strike Cannons can no longer deal damage to hidden targets.
- Barracks build time decreased from 65 to 60 seconds.
- Bunker build time decreased from 40 to 30 seconds.
- Canceling morphing Banelings now returns 75% of the cost like other morphing Zerg units.
- Hellion range reverted from 6 to 5.
- Reaper build time decreased from 45 to 40 seconds.
- Zealot build time decreased from 38 to 33 seconds.

---

Starcraft II Beta Patch 18 (version 0.21.0.16094)

General
-The Mac StarCraft II Editor is now available!

Bug Fixes
- Burrowed Ultralisks now have the correct 500 hit points while burrowed.
- Fixed an issue where custom maps utilizing custom loading screens could cause players to lag or be dropped from Battle.net.
- Fixed an issue during replays when rewinding could cause the replay to desync.
- Fixed an issue with in-game menus causing performance issues.

Starcraft 2 Updates Beta Patch 11 to 14

This covers Starcraft II patches 11,12,13 and 14.


Starcraft II Patch #11 (version 0.13.0.15250)

Balance Changes

TERRAN
Battlecruiser
- The build time has been decreased from 110 to 90.

Fusion Core
- The build time has been decreased from 80 to 65.

Hellion
- The range has been increased from 5 to 6.

Planetary Fortress
- The splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.

Raven
- Seeker Missile range has been decreased from 9 to 6.
- Seeker Missile splash radius has been decreased from 2.4 to 2.
- Seeker Missile upgrade no longer requires Fusion Core.

Siege Tank
- Life increased from 150 to 160.
- Siege Mode splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.

Thor
- Ground damage decreased from 45 to 30.
- Ground rate of fire improved from 1.93 to 1.28.
- Air damage changed from 8 (+4 Light) to 6 (+6 Light).
- 250mm Strike Cannons are now an upgrade at the Factory Tech Lab.
- 250mm Strike Cannons research now costs 150/150 and 110 seconds.
- 250mm Strike Cannons energy cost increased from 100 to 150.
- Anti-Air splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.

PROTOSS
Archon
- The splash radius has been increased from 0.8 to 1.
- Splash damage now originates from the center of the target, rather than the impact location near the unit in order to maintain more reliable splash damage.

Colossus
- The damage has been decreased from 20 to 15.
- The rate of fire has been improved from 2.2 to 1.65.

Phoenix
- Can now attack while moving.

Sentry
- The damage has been decreased from 8 to 6.

ZERG
Brood Lord
- Life has been decreased from 275 to 225.
- Armor has been decreased from 2 to 1.

Corruptor
- Corruptor damage changed from 12 (+10 Massive) to 14 (+6 Massive).
- Corruptor speed increased from 2.75 to 2.9531
- Corruption ability redesigned:

- Single target.
- Increases damage taken by 20%.
- Lasts 30 seconds.
- Costs 100 energy.
- Range 6.
- Cannot target structures.

Infestor
- Neural Parasite is now an upgrade at the Infestation Pit.
- Neural Parasite research costs 150/150 and 110 seconds.
- Neural Parasite can now target Air units.
- Neural Parasite energy cost increased from 50 to 100.

Spine Crawler
- The root time has been increased from 6 to 12.

Spore Crawler
- The root time has been increased from 6 to 12.

Ultralisk
- Damage has been increased from 18 to 25.

Hotkey Changes
General
- In order to resolve a conflict with building multiple Forges with the Shift Key we have made the following changes:

- Changed Center Camera from Shift+F to Ctrl+F.
- Changed Camera Follow from Ctrl + F to Ctrl+Shift+F.

Standard
- To prevent the accidental research of Ventral Sacs when trying to train an Overlord with no Larva available, the hotkey has been changed from V to E.
- View Own Health Bars functionality added to the Backslash key

Standard for Lefties
- Due to a conflict with research Banshee Cloak, research Seeker Missile has been changed from L to K.
- To correct a conflict with the Attack command on Planetary Fortress, train SCV has been changed from K to J.
- In order to prevent the accidental training of Zerglings when using the Select Larva hotkey,train Zergling has been changed from L to J.
- To prevent the accidental training of a Queen, train Ultralisk has been changed from U to T.
- To prevent the accidental research of Pneumatized Carapace when trying to train a corruptor with no Larva available, research Pneumatized Carapace has been changed from P to C.
- View All Status Bars has been changed from Q to the Alt key.
- View own Status Bars functionality has been added to the Q key.

Grid for Lefties
- Attack Move and all other buttons in the 0,4 position should now function correctly.
- View Own Status Bars functionality added to Q.
- View Enemy Status Bars moved to W.
- View Ally Status Bars moved to E.

Classic
- Changed build Nydus Canal from P to N.
- Changed Place Nydus Canal ability from P to N.
- Terran Infantry Weapon researches have been changed from E to W.
- Terran Vehicle Weapon researches have been changed from E to W.
- Train Thor hotkey has been changed from O to G.
- Train Viking hotkey has been changed from Y to W.
- View Own Status Bars functionality has been added to the Backslash key.

Icon Position Changes
- To put all race gas extractors in the same icon position, the positions of the Supply Depot/Refinery and Pylon/Assimilator have been swapped.
- In order to make transforming multiple Gateways easier for players using Grid key sets, Transform to Gateway has been moved to a separate icon position (2,1).

Bug Fixes
- Corrected an issue that was causing the Polish language client to crash when receiving the "player is no longer being revealed” message.
- Corrected incorrect battle.net links on multiple language clients pages.
- Corrected an issue where the Zealot was using an US English voice over in the Korean language client.
- Corrected an issue where a player is unable to build any structures that require pylon power when their protoss ally leaves.
- Units can no longer be healed or repaired while in transports.
- Corrected an issue where Corruptor units were able to recast corruption before time is up.
- Corrected an issue where the Creep Tumor targeting circle was visible to opponents through Fog of War.
- Corrected an issue in which selecting a Starport under construction and a completed Starport would display the select builder command in the Viking slot.
- Corrected a Roach Weapon tooltip.
- Corrected the Broodling weapon icon.

---

Starcraft II patch # 12 (version 0.14.0.15318)

Balance Changes

Protoss
Forge
- Build time increased from 35 to 45.
- Life and shield values decreased from 550/550 to 400/400.

Mothership
- Vortex now removes Force Fields within its area of effect.

Terran
Thor
- Radius decreased from 1.375 to 0.8125.
- Model size reduced to match new radius.

Zerg
Roach
- Roach supply count increased from 1 to 2.

User Interface
- Several Hotkey changes have been made (German client only).

Bug Fixes
- Fixed a crash which sometimes occurred when quitting the program.

---

Starcraft II Patch # 13 (version 0.15.0.15449)
(Patch number 13 is a major one, so get ready for some wall of text.)

General
- Map Publishing is now enabled: Using the map editor, you can upload your custom maps to share with the Battle.net community.
- Facebook feature is integrated: Here’s a quick way to expand your social network by seeing who among your existing Facebook friends also has a Battle.net account.
- 3v3 and 4v4 formats are now enabled.
- Numerous updates have been made to the Leagues & Ladders system:

- Removed Copper League and added Diamond League above Platinum League.
- Player ratings start at 0, rather than 1000.
- No longer displays loading screen odds in placement or practice league matches.
- Matchmaking system logic updated.

- UDP is enabled to help improve game performance.
- Numerous performance and stability improvements.

Balance Changes

PROTOSS
Sentry
- Force Fields can now be destroyed by Massive ground units walking over them.

Void Ray
- Range decreased from 7 to 6.

Warp Gate
- Subgroup selection priority changed from 2 to 3 so that it takes priority over Gateways when selected.

TERRAN
Marine
- Stimpack research cost decreased from 150/150 to 100/100.
- Combat Shield research cost decreased from 150/150 to 100/100.

ZERG
Infestor
- Infested Terran spell removed.
- Frenzy spell added:

- Costs 25 energy.
- Targets a single biological unit which deals 25% more damage and is immune to snare, stuns, and mind control for 30 seconds.


Overseer
- Contaminate spell added:

- Costs 75 energy.
- Targets a single enemy structure which cannot train units or research upgrades for 30 seconds.

- Infested Terran spell added:

- Costs 125 energy.
- Infested Terrans have the same stats as those previously created by the Infestor and are placed directly under the Overseer when spawned.


Ultralisk
- Life decreased from 600 to 450.
- Damage changed from 25 to 15 (+25 Armored).
- Damage versus structures increased from 60 to 75.

Hotkey Changes (English Only):
- Zerg Set Worker Rally Point changed from R to G.
-Zerg Spore Crawler changed from W to A to avoid conflict with the Select All Warp Gates hotkey.

Battle.net Interface
- Revamped summary pages for player Profiles and Leagues & Ladders.
- Added a Help system with tech trees and other tips and tricks.
- Removed identifier from the character naming process and added the ability to refer friends for invitation into your party or lobby.
- Updated the Battle.net user interface to consistently use a nested menu system.
- Updated audio and text pass for the Battle.net user interface.
- Added in-game blocking and player muting.

---

Starcraft II Patch 14 (version 0.16.0.15580)

Balance Changes

PROTOSS
Archon
- Build time decreased from 17 to 12.

TERRAN
Viking
- Ground damage decreased from 14 to 12.

ZERG
Corruptor
- Corruption energy cost decreased from 100 to 75.

Infestor
- Burrowed move speed increased from 1 to 2.
- Peristalsis upgrade removed.

Overlord/Overseer
- Pneumatized Carapace cost increased from 50/50 to 100/100.

Overseer
- Infested Terran energy cost decreased from 125 to 100.

Roach
- Organic Carapace upgrade removed.
- Tunneling Claws now also increases burrowed regeneration rate from 5 to 10.

Ultralisk
- Anabolic Synthesis upgrade removed.
- Health increased from 450 to 500.
- Speed increased from 2.25 to 2.9531.

Bug Fixes
- Map Publishing: the default Battle.net host now points to the correct server.
- Time Expiration notices that were added for testing of the Guest Pass functionality have been removed.
- Fixed a crash when trying to open an old replay by double-clicking it in Explorer.
- Fixed a bug where Ultralisk splash damage was not being properly reduced against armored units.

Starcraft 2 Updates Beta Patch 9 and 10

These are the changes brought by SC2 patches 9 and 10.

Starcraft II Beta Patch 9 (0.11.0.15097)

General
* The StarCraft II Editor is now available! Players will now be able to begin creating trigger maps in preparation for map publishing which will be made available in an upcoming beta patch.
* Achievements & Decals are now live!
- Players will now be able to earn achievements, browse the list of available achievements, and view achievements earned by friends.
- Players will be able to highlight favorite achievements in their Showcase.
- Earning certain achievements will unlock portrait and decal rewards.
* The updated Homepage now includes a Recent Broadcasts panel and a News & Community panel.
* A new Match History page is now available which will allow players to browse and filter their last 1,000 games played.
* A new Community page is now available which features an in-game version of RSS news feeds.
* A new Friends-of-Friends feature has been added, which allows players to easily find and connect with more real life friends on Battle.net through existing friends.
* Additional friends presence details are now available from the Friends list.
* Improvements have been made on the Voice Chat system in game. Please use the new voice chat and provide feedback via the StarCraft II beta forums.
* The score screen now features a new graph tab.
* The art for many parts of the user interface has been updated.
* Hotkey templates have been added. In the gameplay options menu select from standard name based hotkeys for right and left-handed players, grid based hotkeys for right, and left-handed players, and classic StarCraft keys.
* Several hotkeys have been changed to avoid conflicts with the "Select All Warpgates" UI button:
- The Set Worker Rally Point has been changed from W to R.
- Build Sensor Tower has been changed from W to N.
- Terran Infantry Weapons have been changed from W to E.
- Terran Vehicle Weapons have been changed from W to E.
- Weapon Refit has been changed from W to R.
- Burrow has been changed from W to R.
- Spawn Larva has been changed from R to V.
- Neural Parasite has been changed from R to E.

Balance Changes
TERRAN
Marauder
- Concussive Shells research cost decreased from 100/100 80 seconds to 50/50 60 seconds.

PROTOSS
Immortal
- Build time increased from 40 to 55.

ZERG
Infested Terran
- Damage increased from 5 to 8.
- Speed decreased from 1.5 to 0.9375.

Queen
- Speed off creep decreased from 1.5 to 0.938. (Speed on creep unchanged.)

Spine Crawler
- Attack period decreased from 1.6 to 1.85.

Infestor
- Neural Parasite range increased from 7 to 9.
- Fungal Growth projectile removed; Units in the target area are now instantly hit.

Maps
We've made a change to the (2)ScrapStation map to make the natural expansion easier to defend. New maps have been added to the ladder rotation while others have been removed as follows:

1v1
+ Added (2)IncinerationZone

2v2
+ Removed (4)LostTemple
+ Removed (4)Metalopolis
+ Added (4)AridWastes
+ Added (4)Coalition
+ Added (4)Decena
+ Added (4)ScorchedHaven

1v1(Novice)
+ Removed (4)NoviceKulasRavine

2v2(Novice)
+ Removed (4)NoviceKulasRavine
+ Removed (4)NoviceShakurasPlateau
+ Added (4)NoviceDecena
+ Added (4)NoviceScorchedHaven
+ Added (4)NoviceTwilightFortress

---

Starcraft II Beta Patch 10 (version 0.12.0.15133)

Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where Larva were not dying after being cancelled.
Fixed an issue with Banelings, Brood Lords, and Overseers obeying their original Hatchery's rally point.

Starcraft 2 Updates Beta Patch 7 and 8

We'll start clustering SC2 beta patch updates by twos. This is for archiving purposes for all those who joined playing STARCRAFT II: Wings of Liberty beta.

Here are the changelogs for patches 7 and 8.

Starcraft II Patch 7 (version 0.9.0.14621B)

TERRAN
Banshee
The health has been increased from 130 to 140.

Missile Turret
The damage has been changed from 7+7 armored to 12.

Thor
Anti-Air damage has been decreased from 10+6 light to 8+4 light.
Anti-Air attack now deals splash damage in a 0.5 radius.

PROTOSS
High Templar
The Psi Storm radius has been decreased from 2 to 1.5.

Photon Cannon
Life and Shield values have been increased from 125/125 to 150/150.

ZERG
Broodlord
Damage has been decreased from 25 to 20.

Roach
Organic Carapace no longer grants bonus regeneration to unburrowed roaches.

Spine Crawler
Damage has been increased from 20+10 armored to 25+5 armored.
Attack period decreased from 2.2 to 1.6.

Spore Crawler
The cost has been decreased from 100 to 75.

Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue in which players would desync when matched against others with certain CPUs.

----

Starcraft II Beta patch 8 (version 0.10.0.14803)

General
Korea
Added support to display the game rating information on the login screen.

Balance Changes

TERRAN
Thor
Build time decreased from 75 seconds to 60 seconds.

Siege Tank
Build time decreased from 50 seconds to 45 seconds.

Marauder
Concussive Shells now require an upgrade.

Barracks Tech Lab
Concussive Shells upgrade added.
Concussive Shells upgrade costs 100/100 and takes 80 seconds to complete.

PROTOSS
Void Ray
Changed to only have 2 damage levels instead of 3. Still takes the same amount of time to fully charge.
Base damage changed from 2 (+4 armored) to 5.
Powered-up damage changed from 8 (+16 armored) to 10 (+15 armored).
Armor value decreased from 1 to 0.
Cost increased from 200/150 to 250/150.

ZERG
Roach
Burrowed move speed decreased from 2 to 1.4.
Armor value decreased from 2 to 1.

Hydralisk
Life decreased from 90 to 80.

Starcraft 2 Updates Beta Patch 6

StarCraft II Beta – Patch 6 (version 0.8.0.14593)

The latest patch notes can always be found at
http://twitter.com/sc2portal

General
* You can now report misconduct or block communication with a player after completion of a game by right-clicking on the offending player's name in the score screen and choosing Report Abuse or Block Communication.
* You can now view any player's profile after completion of a game by right-clicking on their name in the score screen and choosing View Profile.
* Updated unit and ability tooltips to be accurate in all regions.
* Improved the visibility of units on zerg creep.
* Improved the visibility of team colors for protoss units using warp-in to help distinguish between multiple protoss players.
* Improved the system that handles promotion and relegation between Leagues.
* Improved the Favored functionality to more accurately portray Even matches and display properly in the score screen.
* Improved 2v2 arranged team matchmaking so games are found more quickly.
* Improved replay functionality so missing maps will be downloaded from Battle.net when you view a replay.
* Korea: Improved the logic for the age gate functionality.

Balance Changes
* Pathing has been improved so units can now properly block ramps and choke points.
* Made a change to how zerg creep affects doodads, such as trees, to prevent players from seeing the starting location of zerg players through the fog of war.

TERRAN

Viking
Cost changed from 125 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas to 150 Minerals and 75 Vespene Gas.

Ghost
Cost changed from 100 Minerals and 200 Vespene Gas to 150 Minerals and 150 Vespene Gas.
EMP Round radius decreased from 3 to 2.

Factory
Cost decreased from 200 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas to 150 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas.

Tech Lab
Cost decreased from 50 Minerals and 50 Vespene Gas to 50 Minerals and 25 Vespene Gas.

Reactor
Build time increased from 25 seconds to 50 seconds.

SCV
Life decreased from 60 to 45.

Bunker
Build time decreased from 40 seconds to 30 seconds.

Marine
Build time increased from 20 seconds to 25 seconds.

PROTOSS

Colossus
Thermal Lances damage decreased from 23 to 20.

Observer
Cost increased from 25 Minerals and 75 Vespene Gas to 50 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas.
Build time increased from 33 seconds to 40 seconds.

Stalker
Particle Disruptors damage increased from 8 (+6 Armored) to 10 (+4 Armored).
Weapon upgrade damage decreased from +1 (+1 Armored) to +1 (+0 Armored).

Dark Templar
Armor type changed from Biological-Psionic to Biological-Psionic-Light.

High Templar
Armor type changed from Biological-Psionic to Biological-Psionic-Light.

Dark Shrine
Build time increased from 80 seconds to 100 seconds.
Cost increased from 100 Minerals and 200 Vespene Gas to 100 Minerals and 250 Vespene Gas.

ZERG

Baneling
Volatile Burst damage increased from 15 (+20 Light) to 20 (+15 Light).

Roach
Burrowed regeneration rate decreased from 10 to 5.
Upgraded burrowed regeneration bonus decreased from +20 to +10.

Bug Fixes
* Fixed an issue affecting the incorrect assignment of arranged teams to certain Leagues.
* Fixed an issue affecting random teams that caused no points being awarded on wins and too many points being removed on losses in certain situations.
* Fixed an issue involving the Bonus Pool display on the Quick Match and Leagues & Ladders pages.
* Korean client: Fixed an issue affecting the ability for Korean players to properly view profiles. They can now see their League ranking on their profile page.
* Fixed an intermittent UI crash on game shutdown.
* Polish client: Fixed a crash which would happen any time a "Player is no longer being revealed!" message was displayed.

Starcraft 2 Updates Beta Patch 5

StarCraft II Beta – Patch 5 (version 0.7.0.14356)

Balance Changes


* PROTOSS

Cybernetics Core

+ Warp Gate research time increased from 60 seconds to 140 seconds.

* ZERG

Hatchery/Lair/Hive

+ Burrow research time increased from 50 seconds to 100 seconds.
+ Burrow research cost increased from 50 Minerals and 50 Vespene Gas to 100 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas.

Nydus Network

+ Nydus Worm build time increased from 10 seconds to 20 seconds.

Hydralisk

+ The delay between attacks has been increased from 0.75 seconds to 0.83 seconds.

Infestor

+ Neural Parasite has been redesigned:

# The limited duration of 10 seconds has been removed.
# Can no longer target air units.
# Cast range decreased from 9 to 7.

+ Burrowed Infestor move speed decreased from 1.5 to 1.
+ Infestor life decreased from 120 to 90.
+ Infestors that are burrowed now have the same threat level as above-ground units for the purposes of automatically acquiring targets.


Bug Fixes


* Fixed an issue with High graphics settings that could cause particles not to render.

Starcraft 2 Updates Beta Patch 4

StarCraft II Beta - Patch 4 (version 0.6.0.B14259B)

General

* Korea

Added support to display the game rating information on the F10 in-game menu within the beta.

Starcraft 2 Updates Beta Patch 3

StarCraft II Beta - Patch 3 (version 0.5.0.14219B)

Balance Changes

* TERRAN

Engineering Bay

+ Infantry Armor: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.
+ Infantry Weapons: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.

Armory

+ Vehicle Plating: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.
+ Vehicle Weapons: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.
+ Ship Plating: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.
+ Ship Weapons: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.

* PROTOSS

Zealot

+ The maximum shield capacity of this unit has been decreased from 60 to 50.


SC2 Bug Fixes

* Fixed a bug where the Infestor's Neural Parasite ability could cause Reapers to lose the ability to move.
* Fixed an issue that could use an incorrect HDR format on some ATI cards.
* Fixed a crash that could happen on some ATI cards.

Starcraft 2 Updates Beta Patch 2

StarCraft II Beta - Patch 2 (version 0.4.0.14133)

Here's the 2nd SC2 patch from Blizzard.

Balance Changes

* Terran

Banshee

+ Cloak: This ability no longer requires Fusion Core to research.

Barracks

+ The build time for this building has decreased from 65 to 60.

Factory

+ The build time for this building has decreased from 65 to 60.

Reactor

+ The build time for this building has decreased from 40 to 25.

Reaper

+ The build time for this unit has increased from 30 to 40.
+ Nitro Boost: The build time for this upgrade has increased from 90 to 100.

Starport

+ The build time for this building has decreased from 55 to 50.

Tech Lab

+ The build time for this building has decreased from 30 to 25.

* Protoss

Mothership

+ The build time for this unit has increased from 120 to 160.
+ The food cost of this unit has increased from 6 to 8.
+ The number of shots fired by this unit has decreased from 8 to 6.
+ The shield of this unit has decreased from 400 to 350.
+ The health of this unit has decreased from 400 to 350.
+ The acceleration of this unit has decreased from 1.3125 to 0.3125.
+ The deceleration of this unit has increased from 0 to 1.

Nexus

+ Chrono Boost: The duration of this ability has decreased from 30 to 20.

* Zerg

Corruptor

+ The damage done by this unit has increased from 12 (+8 massive) to 12 (+10 massive).

Starcraft 2 Updates Patch 1

StarCraft II Beta - Patch 1 (version 0.3.14048)

The 1st Starcraft 2 beta patch has been released.


Balance Changes


* Terran

-Viking

+ The armor value for this unit in Fighter Mode has decreased from 1 to 0.
+ The damage done by this unit in Fighter Mode has changed from 6 (+8 armored) to 10 (+4 armored).

-Reaper

+ The damage done from D-8 Charges has decreased from 40 to 30.
+ The delay between attacks for D-8 Charges has decreased from 2.5 to 1.8.

-Orbital Command

+ The build time for this upgrade has decreased from 50 to 35.

* Protoss

-Observer

+ Gravitic Boosters: The cost of this research has decreased from 150 Minerals and 150 Vespene Gas to 100 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas.

-High Templar

+ Phase Shift: This ability has been removed from the game.
+ Feedback: New Ability. Drains all energy from the target unit and causes damage equal to the amount of energy drained.

-Colossus

+ The building pathing radius for this unit has decreased from .75 to .5625.

-Mothership

+ Vortex: The energy cost of this ability has increased from 75 to 100.
+ Vortex: The target radius of this ability has decreased from 3.0 to 2.5.
+ Temporal Rift: This ability has been removed from the game.
+ Wormhole Transit: This ability has been removed from the game.
+ Mass Recall: New Ability. Teleports all of the player's units in the target area to the Mothership.

-Gateway

+ The build time of this building has increased from 50 to 65.

* Zerg

-Infestor

+ Fungal Growth: The damage done by this ability has decreased from 48 to 36.
+ Fungal Growth: This ability now prevents affected units from burrowing.
+ Neural Parasite: Functionality changed. The Infestor now channels this spell, which lasts 10 seconds or until the Infestor is destroyed. You can now target all units with this ability.
+ Terran Infestation: The ability's energy cost has reduced from 50 to 25 and Infested Terrans now spawn 1 at a time.


Bug Fixes


* Addressed an issue causing people to receive an "Internal Battle.net Error" message with their game client.
* Muting your microphone will no longer cause your microphone to be turned off in the operating system once the program has exited.

Please note that the voice chat functionality has only partially been implemented. There are many known issues with voice chat that we expect to address in a future patch.

* The "Medium" graphical settings were reconfigured to work better on appropriate machines. The video settings "auto-detect" functionality has been reset as a result.
* Added a frame rate limiter to the game menus to prevent some graphics cards from running at higher frame rates than necessary.
* Added GRB rating tags to the login menu for the Korean version of the Beta client.

StarCraft 2 Beta Key Giveaway

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Starcraft 2 Beta has arrived!

Carrier has arrived!
Starcraft 2 is now in BETA! :)


The StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Beta Test Has Begun

Blizzard Entertainment is pleased to welcome all of our beta testers to the first phase of the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty beta test. You will have an early opportunity to play, test, and experience the online multiplayer aspect of StarCraft II, as well as get a first look at the newly revamped Battle.net.

The new StarCraft II beta forums will be your main source for official news and announcements over the course of the beta test. We encourage you to check the forums regularly and to use them to provide us with feedback and to engage in general discussions about the game with your fellow players. If you ever need help or technical assistance, the Blizzard support website now includes a StarCraft II beta-test section.

We are looking forward to receiving your comments, feedback, and suggestions on StarCraft II and the new Battle.net; let us know what you think via the "Feedback" forums.

Thank you for helping us test StarCraft II. Your participation and feedback is important to us, and will help us make StarCraft II one of the most epic entertainment experiences...ever.