Starcraft 2 Server Regions Merging

Starcraft 2 Region Linking for Season 3

For the longest time, only SEA players could play in another region (NA).
Season 3 of Starcraft 2 ladder introduces regional interconnection for some regions.

What is region linking?

Region linking is the process of connecting multiple Battle.net (Starcraft 2) regions to each other for multiplayer matchmaking.

This will be the list of the merging:

North America and Latin America - NALA
Europe and Russia - EURA
Korea and Taiwan - KRTW

In effect, the players within the linked regions will be put together into a single group instead of two separate ones.

Why is Blizzard doing this? What are the benefits of region linking?

Starcraft 2 has seen a dwindling number of players. A larger pool of players means the automated matchmaker for ladder games will be faster and more effective at finding opponents near your skill level. This means faster queue times for Starcraft 2 games.

When will this happen?

Region linking happen during the start of StarCraft II Season 3 - July 18, 2011.

Will region linking affect which game-client languages I have access to or the payment methods I use?

No. The client languages and game-access methods available to you in your region will not change when regions are linked. You will get the chance to play and connect with an even larger group of Starcraft 2 players.

Will playing with players from the linked region impact my in-game latency?

All players in the linked regions will be connecting and playing through the same data centers that they were using prior to region linking, which is the main reason why linking these regions together is fairly straightforward. There should be no impact on game performance.

How does region linking affect the Grandmaster league?

There will only be a single Grandmaster league between the linked regions.

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.