Starcraft 2

[Xantar]

Seriously? We don't have a thread about this yet? Although I guess maybe you guys are just too busy playing the game to post on the forums.

I myself do not play online, but it looks like there's plenty of content in the single player for a completionist like me to work through. Although the fact that I'm already halfway through the main campaign is depressing.

So far, I'm not sure I like the new units. They all seem really specialized. Most of the time, I just pump out lots of marines, medics, and siege tanks. Other than the Ghost, there just doesn't seem to be any reason to use any of the other infantry units, and the vehicles are only sporadically useful so far.

I do like the mildly branching storyline and the system of progressive upgrades, though.

Also: so that's what happened to Starcraft: Ghost!

[Dylflon]

Is it true that this is being released as 3 different games instead of having all 3 campaigns in one?

Quite the cash grab.

[Professor S]

So far I like the game, but I'm not seeing what everyone else is raving about. Its just a very solid, good looking, and well balanced RTS. The real strength in the single player game is great mission design. Its not just build and rush, but you have to employ the specialized units and think to complete them with the best success. But in the end, there just isn't any real progress in game play. After playing DOW2, and how they used interactive environments (buildings to garrison, rubble to use as cover, etc.) as part of the strategy, the gameplay in SC2 just feels... old. Honestly, it feels like a really good XBLA release of the original game when you are playing the missions.

The Wing Commander style "search for story" breaks in between missions are also well done, but again, very dated. 1990's dated. That said, I'll be playing this game for a while. It feels old, but it is still just so well executed, and fun, but I expected paradigm breaking game play from Blizzard, not an excellent homage.

Best:

Progressive upgrades
Good characters and story
Great looking
Incredibly well balanced

Worst:

Dated game play
Dated story delivery

Grade so far: B+*

*Note: I don't play PC games online.

[Fox 6]

Not sure i would be playing this online either, so is it really worth it just for the campaign, knowing that i would have to buy it again twice more?

[Typhoid]

I haven't played or seen anything from this game other than images online.

Me and my friend played Starcraft all the time when I was 12-13ish.
I have no "go out and buy it" feelings towards this game. I'll watch a friend play it, but I have no real desire to get it or spend any time on it.

[Jason1]

I have a question: Think this game would run decent on my Dad's computer? Here are the specs:

AMD Athlon x3 2900mhz.
Integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200 (This is what im worried about)
6MB RAM.

Thoughts?

[Dylflon]

My buddy gave me his seven hour trial card for the game. Have Starcraft II installed but no CD key...

I wonder if the pirates have found a way yet...

[Vampyr]

I kind of want this, but I suck at RTS's...will probably pass.

Looks really fun if you're good at the genre though.

[Xantar]

So far I like the game, but I'm not seeing what everyone else is raving about. Its just a very solid, good looking, and well balanced RTS. The real strength in the single player game is great mission design. Its not just build and rush, but you have to employ the specialized units and think to complete them with the best success. But in the end, there just isn't any real progress in game play. After playing DOW2, and how they used interactive environments (buildings to garrison, rubble to use as cover, etc.) as part of the strategy, the gameplay in SC2 just feels... old. Honestly, it feels like a really good XBLA release of the original game when you are playing the missions.

The Wing Commander style "search for story" breaks in between missions are also well done, but again, very dated. 1990's dated. That said, I'll be playing this game for a while. It feels old, but it is still just so well executed, and fun, but I expected paradigm breaking game play from Blizzard, not an excellent homage.


I didn't read the reviews for the game, so I don't know what everybody is raving about either. But I would point out that Blizzard games have never really been paradigm breaking or even super-innovative. The RTS genre was invented by Westwood's Command and Conquer games, after all. World of Warcraft was far from the first MMORPG, and even its biggest fans acknowledge that it merely took the MMORPG genre and did it really well. And Diablo? That gameplay was dated even when it came out.

That said, I would be just as disappointed as you if I had been expecting a fundamental change to Starcraft 2. I'm actually playing the game because I want to see what happens next in the story (and if it's good enough, I'll continue to play the next two games).

[TheSlyMoogle]

Well Diablo was really a stepping stone to Diablo 2. Diablo 2 added a lot of fun stuff to the hack n slash genre. That being said, it was just a really well done hack n slash in essence.

Blizzard just has a knack for creating really well done games, and taking genres and getting them spot on perfect. That's most of the fun.

That being said I never liked the original SC, so doubt I will enjoy this one. I prefer the Warcraft setting and such. However Zergs, those dudes are baller.

[Fox 6]

Figure I may pick this up eventually. My Mac is a couple of years old now, but i shouldnt have any problems running it if i dont use the highest performance level, right?

System requirements
2.6 GHz Intel Pentium (Dual core recommended)
2 GB RAM (4 GB Recommended)
ATI Radeon X1600 for Mac
OS X 10.5.8+

My System
2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro
OS X 10.5.8

[Xantar]

You'll be fine. It's actually running on my iMac with a 1.8 Ghz Intel Core Duo. It chugs from time to time, but it's playable.

[Professor S]

This quote from Penny-Arcade sums up my thoughts on StarCraft 2:

They say you can't go home again, but you can, actually, if your home is an imaginary world infested with xenomorphs. I was under the impression that the genre had moved past this and into squads, cover, and co-op. Maybe it has. But what they've done here - that is, to realize a worthy nostalgia that doesn't merely trade on sentimentality - bears itself with a regal charm.

I am happily disappointed in this game, if that is possible. The game play is old, but the design around it is magnificent. I still have a hard time suspending disbelief when my marines just stand there taking fire when there is plenty of cover to be had, but this cover is just atmospheric. To me, this removes a layer of strategy and thoughtful game play that is inherent to my enjoyment of an RTS, but somehow SC2 makes me forget that for a while, and just continues to dazzle me with its balance, production value and incredible mission design.

That said, I doubt I'll play through again. I've experienced the game, and without the added layers of environmental interactivity, I'm not seeing a lot of replayability in the single player.

This is a last, glorious finale to classic RTSs we all grew up with, but to me it is still a finale. Relic and Creative Assembly have picked up the torch, and I hope they continue to run with it.

[Vampyr]

I don't get that Penny Arcade comment. Squads and cover (Dawn of War) and "traditional rts" themes of building a faceless army and various control structures seem like two entirely different game types to me. I would go as far as to say you can enjoy one and not the other.

[Dylflon]

Bought this game a couple days ago.

It's pretty good!

[Bube]

Interesting. I get the little icon that means I've posted in this thread, but my post is nowhere to be seen.

I suck at RTS games, but I still love Starcraft. It seems that you can't play against people from other regions, but if anyone wants to add me, I'm Pyro (#369)

Edit: Ok, apparently I posted here but it somehow didn't show up. Had to delete 2 other posts :)

[Typhoid]

Boobs, I fixed it for you.

[Bube]

What just happened?! Now I see my first post again :)

[Vampyr]

Hmm, I'm starting to think about getting this. D: I've heard the single player is really good, so even if I'm not good at the game at least I could manage that.

[Typhoid]

What just happened?! Now I see my first post again :)

I fixed it for you, like I said.

[Fox 6]

I picked it up today.

[uber_paddler]

This is my first ever RTS, enjoying it so far. I don't know that I'll ever jump into multiplayer, as I like my dignity just the way it is. The single player's great, though, and I'm looking forward to the mods that come out of the community.

[Xantar]

So I tried an AI game (I don't play online, and my connection has been acting up so much that it probably wouldn't sustain me through a whole game). And I'm really annoyed at how many units from the single player campaign are cut out of multiplayer completely. I understand that the game needs to be balanced, but come on now. They cut out medics! Why would you do that?

This leaves the multiplayer (at least on the Terran side) looking like an expansion pak because there just isn't that much new, and some of the new stuff is too specialized to really be useful (Hellions). There should at least be the option to use some of the units from the single-player campaign in multiplayer games. Just make sure they don't count on the ladder.

[Fox 6]

So I tried an AI game (I don't play online, and my connection has been acting up so much that it probably wouldn't sustain me through a whole game). And I'm really annoyed at how many units from the single player campaign are cut out of multiplayer completely. I understand that the game needs to be balanced, but come on now. They cut out medics! Why would you do that?

This leaves the multiplayer (at least on the Terran side) looking like an expansion pak because there just isn't that much new, and some of the new stuff is too specialized to really be useful (Hellions). There should at least be the option to use some of the units from the single-player campaign in multiplayer games. Just make sure they don't count on the ladder.

The medic is now combined with the drop ship, to form the medivac

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[Bube]

I fixed it for you, like I said.

Haha, when I couldn't see my first post, I wrote the same thing again. When I did that, I saw my first post, and had to delete it. The next day, you said that you fixed it, but that wasn't really fixing it :D

I had to delete it again :D

[BreakABone]

Am I the only person on these boards NOT playing this game?

[manasecret]

Am I the only person on these boards NOT playing this game?

I'm not, but I really want to. My crappy 512 MB, un-upgradeable RAM forces my hand. :(

But I am surprised by what sounds like the complete lack of innovation, especially on the multiplayer side.

Back in the StarCraft early days, I was actually a HUGE online Age of Empires 2 gamer, but not so much StarCraft. By the time I started playing StarCraft, all of my friends and everyone online were goddamn experts. I got my ass wiped everywhere.

A few months ago, I finally picked up Age of Empires 3. AOE3, while very familiar to AOE2, had some big innovations in the single player that also transferred to multiplayer.

AOE3 had the New World theme. It was civilizations from Europe colonizing America. To tie into that, it had shipments that you could get from your home country. To get the shipments, you racked up points in a match in numerous ways, such as killing other units or fighting for and finding treasures etc. Once you racked up enough points, you could choose a bonus shipment from home, anything from food, wood, or gold all the way to some really expensive military units. You usually ended up getting several shipments in the course of one match.

But you only started out with a few possible shipments to choose from. To unlock the rest, you had to earn experience points, mainly by winning games.

Like I said, this was a part of both single player and multiplayer, thankfully so. To make it balanced for multiplayer, you could only bring in 20 or so possible shipments to choose from in a given match. And you gain XP whether you win or lose, just by playing matches you gain XP, though much quicker when you win.

Unfortunately for me, I got AOE3 long after it was released, so trying to find beginners/medium players to play with is difficult. But I really enjoyed and appreciated the innovation added to that game. It's disappointing to me that StarCraft 2 couldn't add more.

[Jason1]

I could play this, but I would probably have to be on low graphics settings due to Graphics card limitations. I'll probably wait until I decide to upgrade the graphics card.

[Typhoid]

Haha, when I couldn't see my first post, I wrote the same thing again. When I did that, I saw my first post, and had to delete it. The next day, you said that you fixed it, but that wasn't really fixing it :D

I had to delete it again :D

It said you deleted two posts so I restored one of them. It must have just been some type of glitch if they kept duplicating.

[Combine 017]

Since the rest of you are all babies I decided to try a game online and I kicked ass.
It also helped that I was doing a 2 Vs 2 and had a competent team mate.
Protoss Carriers FTW!

[Xantar]

The medic is now combined with the drop ship, to form the medivac


Yes, I know about that, but it's a really unsatisfying substitute. It's far less efficient than the medic for three reasons:

1. It's more expensive, and sometimes you just don't need a dropship when all you want is a medic.

2. It's harder to keep the medevac close to your marines. The auto-heal doesn't seem quite as intelligent as it is for medics, and since the medevac hovers over marines, it's harder for you to micromanage marines.

3. It's much easier for the enemy to kill compared to the medic because it doesn't stay as far behind the line and it's big.

[Vampyr]

Well I bought it, it's installing now - excited to get in and start playing. :)

[Bube]

Since the rest of you are all babies I decided to try a game online and I kicked ass.
It also helped that I was doing a 2 Vs 2 and had a competent team mate.
Protoss Carriers FTW!
I've played 7 games so far, and I've got 4 wins and 3 losses - all 2v2.

In one game, my teammate left quite early on. I won against the other 2 :)

Another victory came with my teammate wiped out.

Though I was owned quite badly in 2 games :D

[Vampyr]

This game has turned out to be way more fun than I thought it was going to be. Every mission is new and different.

I kind of wish Mass Effect 3 would set up the Normandy like the Hyperion - I'm tired of actually having to walk places.

[gekko]

Am I the only person on these boards NOT playing this game?

I'm not. Don't care much for StarCraft.

[TheSlyMoogle]

Also not playing it. Don't care much for sc either

[Angrist]

I'm not playing it yet. I'm not home now, I want to fnish SC:BW first and I'm hoping to find a better deal. I'm excited though...

[Fox 6]

Just want to take a general census as to what everyone's preferred race is.

I can play any of them, but I think I'm partial to Terrans

[Angrist]

I don't have SC2, but I have this:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_acVfxpzH9b8/TGgoHjjeAlI/AAAAAAAAB-M/P9sGMCfxkWA/s640/DSCF0290.JPG

[Xantar]

I've always been partial to Terrans just because they are the easiest for an RTS novice like me to pick up. But if I played more, I would probably be a Protoss player because I like to micro-manage and preserve my units as much as possible. I most definitely cannot handle the Zerg. I understand their mechanics, but I could never get the hang of directing so many massive swarms of units around.

[Angrist]

I received the game today, but now I need to fix an internet connection to register it...

[Angrist]

Got it. :) What are your IDs? I'll PM you mine (it's my main e-mail address, don't want to post that here).

[uber_paddler]

Well, I just finished my 100th online game. Which is saying something, considering I almost didn't even buy the game. I could never have imagined I'd get this into it. I've been playing Protoss, and I don't think I could play anything else. Zerg, as you mentioned Xantar, are just too unwieldy and I feel like Terrans are just too slow. I don't want to have my worker hang around while stuff is building, I just wanna warp it in. Building? Warped in. Units? Warped in. I haven't even been playing single player because after playing Protoss so much I can't handle Terran. If there's one thing about multiplayer that really bothers me, it's how easily people will drop their pride in favor of the cheesiest of wins. Of course, even 100 games later, I'm still not very good. Stuck in Bronze league.

[Angrist]

This should work:
Name: Canyarion
Character code: 738
So add me if you want. (Although I don't think you can play cross-regional.)

uber, I used to be like that with Warcraft 3. I totally loved the multiplayer, especially 3v3. When I did FFA, I lurked and made a massive Chimaera army. Good times.

I just did some games in the practice league, boooring! The game is so slow there. But so far I'm still learning, so I better stay in it for a while.

[uber_paddler]

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the practice league either, but still played about 20 games there just to get the hang of the systems. The giant pile of rubble at the bottom of your ramp is especially frustrating.

[Angrist]

Uhu. I usually start with Stalkers with Blink, so I can blink past the rubble. I can't say it's been very effective yet.

I won 2, lost 1. I didn't have any anti-air that time. In the other 2 I had better micro than the opponent. And an earlier expansion.

[Angrist]

I've been able to keep up a 2:1 win ratio. Because I'm still in the practice league (18 games left, so I've played 32), I expand fast. I can barely defend the enemy's first attack, after which I quickly build a superior army.
Usually 1/3 Zealot, 1/3 Stalker, 1/3 Immortal/Colossus/Other. Depends on what the enemy's using of course.

I'm afraid I'm addicted. :( Oh and the people who are afraid to play online have no idea what it's like.

[BreakABone]

http://news.bigdownload.com/2010/08/30/rumor-starcraft-ii-to-be-controlled-from-your-iphone-or-ipad/

Now Uber can play StarCraft even when he is away from home.

[Angrist]

I thought you were going to post that you bought the game. :(

[Bube]

Hey, I've been busy lately. Glad to see you bought the game Angrist - I'll add you as soon as posibble :)

I posted before, but my username is Pyro (369).

Won 10 games in 2v2 bronze league, currently playing 1v1 placement matches.

[uber_paddler]

I guess I might as well post my info here as well. Character name is MagnusBulla and my number is 708.

[Angrist]

So it's true then. We can't play together because we're in different zones. I tried adding you, but it didn't work.

I've been losing a lot of games in the practice league lately. :( I still tend to go for a pretty early expansion, but I should stop doing that. The players I'm pitched against now are too good for that. I just got rushed by Marines/Marauders/Medivacs...

The good news is that one of the guys I barely beat a few weeks ago is now 5th in a Platinum League. So I guess I am playing on a higher than average level. :)

[Xantar]

I can't play multiplayer. My computer can't handle it.

So I've just been getting achievements. Damn, that Hard level achievement in the early level where you're just playing defense is nearly impossible. And what's worse is it would actually be pretty easy if you just had siege tanks.

[Angrist]

Is that the achievement where you have to destroy some enemy hives, or prevent any building from being destroyed? Because I still need to get both...

I got most of the other achievements though. Some are really easy or gimmicky, I think they should have done a better job with most of them.

[Xantar]

Yes, that's the one. I had to build three barracks and put reactors on two of them and then just continuously pump out marines and medics (I really wish we could have had firebats or marauders. Even reapers would have helped). And that meant I didn't have enough people to hold off the last Zerg rush, so my base got overrun (but it's ok because they didn't get to destroy everything before the time ran out).

[Vampyr]

Is that the achievement where you have to destroy some enemy hives, or prevent any building from being destroyed? Because I still need to get both...

I got most of the other achievements though. Some are really easy or gimmicky, I think they should have done a better job with most of them.

Achievements are always a mixed bag like that. It's nice to get some credit just for playing the game.

[TheSlyMoogle]

http://www.gomtv.net/

I hate this game, but ran across this stream site for korean tournaments while watching heroes of newerth streams.

[uber_paddler]

I can't play multiplayer. My computer can't handle it.

So I've just been getting achievements. Damn, that Hard level achievement in the early level where you're just playing defense is nearly impossible. And what's worse is it would actually be pretty easy if you just had siege tanks.
That's ironic, as I find multi runs much, much better than single player. Kinda funny. I don't know what I'd do if multi didn't work for me, I'm closing in on addiction territory here.

[uber_paddler]

So it's true then. We can't play together because we're in different zones. I tried adding you, but it didn't work.

I've been losing a lot of games in the practice league lately. :( I still tend to go for a pretty early expansion, but I should stop doing that. The players I'm pitched against now are too good for that. I just got rushed by Marines/Marauders/Medivacs...

The good news is that one of the guys I barely beat a few weeks ago is now 5th in a Platinum League. So I guess I am playing on a higher than average level. :)
Yeah, that's too bad about the region-lock thing. It's just as well, though, as it sounds like you're probably a whole lot better than I am anyway, lol.

[Angrist]

I honestly don't know how good I am. I'm still in the practice league. I used a tactic that relied on the enemy turtling, but in the last 5 games I've only met people who don't do that.
After 9 more games I'll do my placement matches. Oh and I don't really plan on playing for long... like you say, it's very addicting.

[Angrist]

I got assigned to the Gold League. :) Won 4 of my 5 placement matches.

[Bube]

Damn, and you say you're bad at it. I can't go higher than 35th place in my Bronze league.

Really sad to see that we won't be able to play 2v2 team ladder games together :(

[Angrist]

We can, as you discovered today. ;) Was fun to play with you, I hope we'll do that more often.

Did you all beat the campaign yet? On what difficulty? I started out on hard, which was ok for me. But the last level is incredibly hard on... hard. (I (accidentily) beat it on normal.)
I made some stupid upgrade decisions too. :)

[Bube]

I definitely want to play that 2v2 team ladder with you! :) I'll be trying harder next time ;)

I'm about to finish the campaign, I've got the last 2 missions left. I'm really worried about the last one, and I'm playing on normal :)

Which choice did you take on the second to last mission? [minor spoiler] Did you take out the air or ground units? [/minor spoiler]

[Angrist]

I thought air units would be less annoying. I think I might have made the wrong choice though...

The last level was doable on normal. Good luck! See you online.

[uber_paddler]

I still haven't finished the campaign. The Terran just have to many little idiosyncrasies that I can't be bothered to deal with. As far as multi goes, I'm still in bronze, but I'm first in my division and have been playing (and beating) a lot of silver opponents lately, so that will probably change this weekend.

[Bube]

I still haven't finished the campaign. The Terran just have to many little idiosyncrasies that I can't be bothered to deal with. As far as multi goes, I'm still in bronze, but I'm first in my division and have been playing (and beating) a lot of silver opponents lately, so that will probably change this weekend.
I remember reading that Blizzard haven't made league promotions available yet. They say more matches need to be played.

Finished the campaign, btw; and having a blast playing 2v2 teams with Angrist!

[Angrist]

Yesterday's last match was pretty neat, with our great comeback.

I still don't really understand this League thing. I'm in Gold, but I've mostly had to face players from the platinum and even diamond league. There was one guy who was ranked 1 in the silver league, he kicked my ass (slightly).
So basically right now it's total chaos? Plays from silver can be better than platinum?

[Bube]

Well, since you get placed into a league by playing only 5 placement matches, there are bound to be some misplaced players.

Just think, what if all 5 of your opponents in the placement matches dropped out of the game? You'd probably be at least Gold.

BTW, I changed my avatar. Since I can't go for gold in the challenges right now, I'm getting my Spectre fix here ;)

Edit: Found something nice. (http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/628075819) It's a pretty in-depth FAQ about ladders and rankings and promotions. And it seems that promotions are allowed..

[Angrist]

Hah, I just got out of a 56 minutes' match. I was Protoss, I faced Terran.

- I open with "Hi. Another chance to train against MMM!" (I hate that strategy.)
- He doesn't go for MMM but for a proxy rush. I spot that and kill his worker. In his camp I kill another one, I get chased by a third one, which I also kill.
- Apparently this scared him, because he locks himself up in his base with tanks. After I get a nice army I try to get in and defeat him, but I lose the battle.
- He gets Banshees which can turn invisible. He doesn't know I have an observer in his base all the time, so I see everything coming. I deal with them easily.
- He gets Battlecruisers, a lot of them. I guess I wasn't paying attention, because I get owned. Even though I destroy most of his forces (High Templar's Feedback halves their HP and prevents Yamato Cannon), my main base gets wiped out.
- I get to the 2 Island expansions and build a flying Void Ray army. I have more minerals than I can spend, but I'm a bit low on gas. I keep harassing his expansions, but he still gets a nice air army again. My Void Rays beat them.
- I use some survivors of my ground units to kill his workers. My Void Rays take out his main base which is totally undefended. Five minutes later I have found his last base. We agree that was a great match. :)


Soooooo... do any of you have fun stories?

[Bube]

How about posting the replay?

[Angrist]

Why, you don't even have time for your own replays. :p But ok.
http://www.gamereplays.org/community/uploads/repimgs/repimg-33-154536.jpg (http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=download&id=154536)

[Angrist]

So does anyone still play this?


I finally hit rank 1 of my Gold division, and how! I faced a Platinum Protoss rank 26. We were both playing very defensively, which basically meant none of us attacked. When he finally did, I kicked his butt. I realized I had to attack while my army was still bigger than his, but I took way too long. When I finally struck him, I lost the battle. I had almost nothing.
I thought I was going to lose and I would have if he had attacked at that point. But apparently we both wanted to have some fun (he while winning, me while losing).

Soooo I went for a Mothership. :D Since he still wasn't attacking me, I got 3 Cariers, lots of zealots and some sentries with that. I used Vortex to split his army in half, then I beat him easily. He couldn't believe he lost to me. After that we became buddies and we'll probably do some 2v2 together. :)

[manasecret]

I finally bought a new computer! I bought it for Starcraft 2 and Civ 5. The parts should be here by Wednesday next week.

The question is... will I play Civ 5 first, or SC2? :)

[Angrist]

Depends on how much time you have to sink in. The SC2 campaign can be played in 20 hours or so (first time). I know from Civ 4 that one single game can last more than 40 hours...

On the other hand, SC2 has a much better multiplayer, so you should definately end up with doing that.

[Bube]

You found yourself a 2v2 partner? :( I feel like I've been cheated on :p

I may not be Platinum, but I'm loyal. Don't you don't forget that :p

And congrats on being first! I also see that you have 99 wins - 1 more for a new portrait ;)

[Angrist]

Actually I haven't done 2v2 with him. But I'm seeing 2 other persons... But really, it's nothing. With you it's serious, you and me have a future. The others... they're just distractions for when you're not around. I swear it hasn't been more than 5 times. Or 6. Don't be mad, if you want I'll break up with them. :(

Good news: I think I found out how to beat Zerg! It involves lots of Colossi and enough stalkers to fend off mass mutalisk. It seems to be working well.

In the last match tonight I faced Zerg. I used that strategy and took out his expansion. He said 'gg' so I relaxed... and then he attacked me again. Luckily I had a back-up army sitting in my base, so after 3 minutes I got the real gg. Weird guy.

Oh yeah, I got promoted to Platinum. Ranked 12 at the moment, but the top is really competitive so by tomorrow I'll probably be 20 or lower.

[Bube]

Nice. I'm bronze, my teammate is platinum. Interesting mix.

But I've been playing offline in the last few days, and I've got much better.

Early Banshee harass FTW!

[Bube]

BTW, did anyone hear about the new custom maps announced at BlizzzCon? Left 2 Die and Blizzard DotA are sure to be big hits. Can't wait to play them!

[Xantar]

Wait. Blizzard is making an official DOTA map? Who is it going to be maintained by?

Actually, don't tell me. DOTA on Warcraft III has eaten enough of my time already.

[Bube]

They really haven't announced anything yet (or at least, I don't know anything else other than the fact that they're releasing it), but yes, it's made by Blizzard (the original DotA is owned by Valve, as you probably know). The description says that it has characters from Blizzard's game universes, so it'll probably be something like Smash Bros. :p

http://eu.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/841898#blog

[Angrist]

Actually they compared it to Super Smash Bros. themselves.
I just don't like the grey environments. Give trees!

Left2Die sounds like a lot of fun, I want to see screenshots! I wonder if you can play as all races, or just Terran.

[Angrist]

Argh, Zerg drive me crazy. :mad: So hard to defeat.
I've been losing a lot, also vs. Protoss and Terran. I went from rank 8 to 18 within a few days.

[Typhoid]

I have no desire to play this game [while I loved SC], but practically all the gamers I know own this game - so I know the strategies and whatnot - but I just don't want to waste countless hours playing Koreans who play for speed and stats, and not fun.

I am however super fond of watching friends play, or watching commentated replays on Youtube. I actually find that entertaining.

[Angrist]

You think you can battle Koreans? Like, logistically? They're on a different realm. And the automatic matchup-system would never pit you against them.

So if you want to have fun, get the game and don't be afraid. :)

[Bube]

And you'll be playing against people close to your skill level. It's actually quite fun, and you really feel yourself progress as you play.

[Angrist]

I just hit rank 1 of my Platinum division! :D I'm quite happy with that. And all games are so much fun.

[Angrist]

Did you see this? :D

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I want his dinosaur T-shirt.

And this feels like your private thread Bube. :p

[Bube]

Lol, that was awesome! :D So funny, especially Husky rapping, lol.

And yes, this seems as if we're talking over MSN :)

[Angrist]

Hah. I got promoted to Diamond, which is (at the moment) the highest league. :D And I'm rank 8 (of the 100 in my division) with 2000+ points.

That was my goal in the game. :) Now I can take a vacation and perhaps not play the game when I get back.

[Bube]

Wow, congrats! Me being away helped you :p

[Angrist]

Thanks. :D I'll be at my family in the next few weeks, so we won't be able to play for a while...
Gives you time to work on your 1v1 skills. ;) I know you can be at least silver!

[Bube]

Meh, maybe I would if I found the time, but I just can't play as much as I'd like to..

And I've decided to cut back on all kinds of multiplayer games, I miss single player games :(

[Angrist]

I've now beat the whole campaign on Brutal difficulty. :) Only 2 levels were really hard... and they were so hard that I needed to look up some tips. It turns out I was making the wrong units.

So I am now the owner of a sweet Kerrigan avatar!

[Bube]

Wow, congrats! We should start playing again :(

I haven't logged in in about a month. I never feel like playing knowing that you won't be playing again :)

Yeah, I hate 1v1 :D

[Angrist]

BUBE! Where are you man, you're missing all the fun! :p

Do you still watch Day9? Next Funday Monday is 'don't expand to your natural'. I never tried the Fundays because I wanted to climb the ladder (and using some weird strat doesn't help much). But now that I don't care much, I decided to join in.

So I've been playing some interesting matches where I expanded anywhere but to my natural. And I think I've won more than 50%. :) I don't really see all that much benefits, other than that it shows you how easy it is to defend an expansion. And sometimes you can trick your opponent into believing you're still on 1 base.

[Bube]

Lol, I just saw this :) Yesterday was a coincidence :)

That not expanding to natural seems pretty easy for me, as I already don't expand myself :p

I have tons to learn :(

[Angrist]

Today I had to fight a player from the Master league for the first time. And I won. :D

If I keep that up, I might be promoted one day. :) At the moment I'm rank 3 in my division of Diamond.

[Bube]

I still haven't touched the game since the 4-in-a-row.. :D

[Angrist]

Tonight I did some 3v3s. In one game I had noob allies (the mute and selfish kind), in the second game we messed up because we attacked way too late.

[Bube]

Attacking late is our worst enemy! If we're not rushed very early, and we lose, it's almost always because we attacked too late :(

[Angrist]

So do we need a new thread for Heart of the Swarm, or do we use this one?

Because there's been an info blowout. http://eu.battle.net/sc2/en/game/heart-of-the-swarm-preview/

http://eu.media.blizzard.com/sc2/media/screenshots/swarm-screenshot06-large.jpg

[Angrist]

Does anyone still play this?

I do. Still in Diamond League.
The game has evolved a bit in the last half year. My strategies that worked so well suddenly aren't that good anymore. So now I'm trying some new strats... and I suck. My strategy vs Zerg is decent, against Terran is just plain terrible. Oh but my Protoss vs Protoss is great, I win around 90% of that.

So now I try to practice more, play at least 4 games a day. I know I can be better than this, it just takes time...

[Angrist]

After I moved to my new house I decided to train a lot more for SC2. At the moment I'm doing great, I won 13 out of my last 16 matches. I'm top Diamond, but I want to get promoted to Master league. Only then can I say I belong to the top 2% of active SC2 players. :)

I'm playing around 8 matches a day, which takes a few hours. And I'm having a great time. =)

[Angrist]

Say hi to the newest Starcraft 2 1v1 Master.

[Seth]

Yeah Angrist! Top 2 % is pretty damn good. Congrats

[Angrist]

Thanks!

I wrote sort of a promotion speech yesterday. I posted it on the Battle.net Protoss forums, but here it is:

Dear fellow Protoss,

Since fall 2010 I have fought hard for what happened to me today. There are many stories like it, but this is mine.

I started playing SC2 a few months after launch. I finished the campaign on every difficulty level and I dove into multiplayer. After the games in the practice league, I got placed in Gold league. I figured that was fine: Most of my experience in competitive gaming consisted of N64 games with my friends and some short periods of PC shooters. I never played Brood War online, I only played 3v3 WC3 for a while. On top of that, I was already 27 when I started SC2. So Gold league was fine for me.

But then I got into Platinum. And after that in Diamond. And then top Diamond. I had developed a style, I knew what my strengths and weaknesses were and I kept working on that. I was pretty close to Master several times… but I always had 1 weak matchup. And I got lazy in the others. I started messing up and I was back to Diamonds again.

And now for the first time ever, all my three matchups are very strong. I honestly don’t care what race I’m up again, I know what I’m doing and I know it will work. So far in this season I have won 15 games and lost 5, so there’s even some room to grow.

I knew I was on my way to Master league, but I didn’t know it was so close. Tonight I defeated a Master Protoss. Two fast Zealots and a Stalker were too much for my opponent to handle. He left the game without a GG. I quit the game and there it was…

“You’ve Been Promoted!”

It took me a few seconds to realize. I then cried out in joy. I made it, my efforts were not wasted. Despite what some people say, it does matter what league you’re in. Being in Master league is more than just having a title. Starcraft is about fun, but achievement is a big part of the fun. Getting where you know you can be. Pushing yourself to be a little bit better, a little bit faster, a little bit smarter. It feels great.

And now? On Friday I’m flying to Ireland for holiday. It will feel good knowing I’ve achieved getting to Master league. When I get back, I’ll see where my skills can take me. And whenever I quit, I will always be able to say that I was in the top 2% of the SC2 ladder.

Keep up the good work and thanks for all the help throughout the years!

Greetings,
Canyarion

[TheSlyMoogle]

I'm just curious, does this encompass the entire world servers or just the servers in your region (by region I mean, Americas or European or Asian servers.)