The second phase of the StarCraft II Beta has ended. Blizzard will be preparing the servers for the release on July 27th.
A new patch came out but with only Bug Fixes. It seems Blizzard was doing some testing and is now reverting all the hidden changes.


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.

(Source)

After a long silence, the Beta testing is back online and with a new Patch.


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.

(Source)

Blizzard has put up a new promotional site for StarCraft II called Join the Dominion. There are 3 primary parts to this site. The first is a quiz that helps you determine which terran unit best fits your personality. InfestedRaynor is closest to the Viking:



Secondly, there is a propaganda contest where anyone can design a poster using any technique, persuasion, slogans, or misinformation necessary to rally the troops to join the militia of any race. The rules are pretty simple:

• Poster dimensions must be at least 1024 x 768 in resolution
• File size must not exceed 5MB

There will be several prizes awarded to the winners. The winning posters are determined by votes from Facebook users. One Grand Prize Winner will receive:

• Alienware M11x Laptop
• Alienware OptX 2310 3D 120Hz LCD monitor
• NVIDIA 3D Vision Kit
• Razer Mamba gaming mouse
• Razer Sphex gaming grade desktop skin

A second place winner will get:

• Alienware M11x Laptop
• Razer Mamba gaming mouse
• Razer Sphex gaming grade desktop skin

One third place winner will receive:

• Alienware OptX 2310 3D 120Hz LCD monitor
• NVIDIA 3D Vision Kit
• Razer Mamba gaming mouse
• Razer Sphex gaming grade desktop skin

Eight last place winners will get:

• Razer Mamba gaming mouse
• Razer Sphex gaming grade desktop skin

Lastly, this site will be releasing new content over time. As new users indicate they like the site via Facebook, the progress bar will grow. Every 5% should release some new content.
The first phase of the StarCraft II Beta has ended. Blizzard hopes to open the Beta again a few weeks before the release date on July 27th.
Several weeks ago, Blizzard announced a contest for fans to make a StarCraft II video about anything related to the game. The winners have been announced at the press release.

Patch 15 is full of mostly nerfs for the Terrans.


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.

(Source)

Patch 14 has been released consisting of mostly Zerg balance changes. Uploading maps to Battle.net is now available and should be free of any bugs from Patch 13.


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.

(Source)

Blizzard has announced they will be extended the beta testing until June 7th. The beta will be offline for several weeks but plan to have it back up a few weeks before the release date.


We previously announced that the first phase of the StarCraft II beta test would be coming to a close in all regions on Monday, May 31. In order to prepare for the final phase of beta testing, we plan to extend the current phase in all regions until Monday, June 7. After this date, the beta test will be unavailable for several weeks while we make some hardware and software configuration changes for the final phase of the beta test and the release of the game. We plan to bring the beta test back online for a couple of weeks prior to the game’s launch to complete our testing. We’ll have more details to share about when this final phase will begin at a later date.

We’d like to thank all of our beta-test participants for your enthusiasm, dedication, and valuable feedback during the beta test, and we look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on the StarCraft II beta test as the game’s July 27 launch approaches.

(Source)

1 2 3 4

© 2009 InfestedRaynor