• Globally, all matchups below pro-level are pretty balanced.
  • We aren’t currently seeing any problems with non-pro-level matchups, but as always, we’re watching them very carefully on a weekly basis.
  • We want changes we're making to balance at this time to be small, strategic adjustments that will only affect pro-level play.
• Zerg at the pro-level are struggling a bit to scout effectively in the early game.
  • This is tricky to balance, because we do not want to hinder sneaky strategies or tactical early play vs. zerg.
  • Our goal here is to improve zerg scouting, but not to the point where other races feel like they can’t or shouldn’t make any strategic early moves vs. zerg.
• Zerg at the pro-level are slightly too susceptible to all-in rushes.
  • We want to make creep spread a little bit easier to counter hellions in ZvT.
  • We want to make the general zerg defense slightly stronger in the early game.
• Protoss at the pro-level are doing well, but not at the very top of the pro-level.
  • At this time, we’re keeping a very close eye on this, and preparing to make any necessary adjustments.
• We are closely watching TvP to see if the offensive capabilities of terran in the early/mid game becomes too much, or if late game strength of protoss becomes too much.
  • We aren’t making a change to affect this now, but it’s very near the top of our list of things we’re watching.

Here’s what we’re testing:

Overlord movement speed increased to 0.586, up from 0.4687. Upgraded overlord movement speed unchanged.

This is to help pro players scout a little easier in the early game, and to help zerg on larger maps. We feel that this is the right way to encourage the best zerg players to scout in the early game, without giving them something that allows them to see everything most of the time. We will be watching the public testing very carefully.

Queen starting energy increased to 50, up from 25.

This change is to help zerg deal with early- and mid-game all-in rushes, and timing pushes. Each queen will have either one more chain of creep tumors, or slightly faster transfusions. During public testing, we’ll see whether zerg end up with too many creep tumors early on, or the general upgrade in defensive capabilities make it too difficult for other races to attempt any early pressure. Feedback in this area from players who have played the mod will be greatly appreciated.

Observer build time decreased to 30, down from 40.

Protoss players at the pro level currently have all the tools they need to counter various early- to mid-game threats. However, in order to see them utilize the correct tools in various scenarios, we’re decreasing the build time of observers. This will give protoss slightly earlier scouting, as well as less time spent tying up the Robotics Facility while building observers. we feel this small change will result in protoss players utilizing their other units a bit more efficiently.

Please play the map "Antiga Shipyard (1.4.3 Balance v2.0)", and join our feedback thread in our StarCraft II discussion forum to give us any feedback you have on these changes.

What does the agreement mean? Specifically, KeSPA now has a license to host and organize StarCraft II Pro League events, while Ongamenet can now host, organize, and broadcast StarCraft II Star League events. KeSPA has also added StarCraft II to its lineup of officially sanctioned games! GomTV will continue to broadcast its Global StarCraft League and Global StarCraft Team League as before.  

Top Brood War pro gamers will soon begin competing in pro StarCraft II competitions, and the new leagues will produce a vast array of new eSports content for viewers and more opportunities for pro players to compete. The influx of new talent holds the promise of even more fiercely competitive pro StarCraft II matches.

It all adds up to more eSports action than ever before, and you could be seeing your favorite players of Brood War fame clashing with GSL heroes on the big screen at your next BarCraft event.

For coverage of the event, check out TeamLiquid.net

The rules of engagement are as follows:

• No restriction on the subject of your post, but keep in mind that questions that may be answered by playing Heart of the Swarm will likely be overlooked; we don't want to spoil any surprises!
• Please only ask one question in each post. If your post has more than one question (or if your question contains multiple parts), it will be overlooked. Also, it is recommended that you read through the thread to see if your question has already been asked; duplicate questions will not have a greater chance of being answered.
• Questions will only be accepted for the first seven days, and the thread will be locked at 8:00 p.m. CEST on Monday, April 30.
• While the thread is open for questions, forum members are encouraged to go through the thread and "Like" or "Dislike" posts; voting on a post will increase or decrease (respectively) the probability of that question being answered.

To get involved, check out the "Ask CDev" post on the Story Forum:

We are currently working nonstop on StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (and Blizzard DOTA) and hope to be able to get Heart of the Swarm out to the public to see sometime in the near future. While we believe we have some great things lined up for the single-player campaign, I wanted to take some time to give you an update on the recent changes and what cool things we have in store for multiplayer.

Terrans

Terrans have undergone significant changes since we talked about them at BlizzCon. We have not kept the shredder, and even the warhound is in contention. The shredder was very confusing for players as well as being something that was easily used to kill a large number of workers with little to no warning. It was rarely used for its intended role of map control. The warhound still feels a little too much like a small thor, which is just not new enough to give terran players new strategies. We are still experimenting with a wide range of units, particularly from the factory, which we think is a little light on options. We have had a great deal of trouble with the terrans largely because they are such a flexible and effective race in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. We want to provide terran players with new strategies, however, so we will continue to work on them.

If we keep the Thor, we are currently experimenting with an anti-air spider mine that would give the terrans a way to get some factory-built anti-air into small places that a Thor has trouble reaching (like near your minerals). Whether this is meaningful, considering terrans have marines, is still in question. We are also experimenting with an extremely long-ranged terran missile launcher that can be used to break siege tank lines to make terran-vs.-terran factory-based games more dynamic.

Protoss

Protoss have gone through some changes since BlizzCon as well. The oracle is still in and functioning as a protoss raider (as intended) that can give the protoss some reach in the mid-game to disrupt enemy plans. The replicant has been cut. He was causing enemy players to not build certain unit types and was actually removing diversity from the game instead of adding diversity.

The tempest was a powerful splash anti-air capital ship at BlizzCon. With the addition of the range upgrade on phoenix in Wings of Liberty we no longer feel like a splash anti-air weapon is necessary on the protoss, but we would still like to give the protoss some additional firepower in the air. The tempest is currently a very long-ranged aerial siege weapon that can strike both air and ground targets. This gives the protoss army some real reach to force an engagement on their terms in the end-game.

We’re also experimenting with some nexus abilities. One example is a mass recall that allows the protoss to be more aggressive. They can move out onto the map with their slower sentry/zealot force and, if things don’t work out, recall the force back to their base if and when things go wrong.

Zerg

Zerg are the most stable and largely unchanged since BlizzCon. The swarm host is still serving well as a zerg siege unit that can burrow and pressure the enemy from a distance (in a very zergy way), but the viper has some slightly different new abilities. In addition to Abduct, the viper also has the ability to blind biological units in an area of effect. Blinded units have their range reduced to 1. This is obviously effective against terran infantry as well as zerg roach and hydra armies. The viper can also regain energy by feeding off of minerals. This locks up the mineral patch and prevents it from being harvested, so you want to use this ability away from your base.

We have decided to keep the overseer and make the viper a pure caster. We will be taking a look at the overseer to see what we can do to make his abilities more interesting.

We are also trying some additional abilities on the nydus network to allow you to spawn different types of nydus worms. The most interesting worms have been a worm that can spew creep across several screens to create a zerg assault highway, as well as a worm that attacks only enemy buildings, meant to be used as a ground-based zerg base raider.

We have some more work to do before we’re ready to begin beta testing Heart of the Swarm. We know that everybody wants a date for when they can play, and we know how important it is to get this out in front of the community as soon as possible. We’re working on it.

Also, this is awesome:

—Dustin Browder, Game Director, StarCraft II

Today, we're releasing an update that will give everyone one opportunity to change their BattleTag nickname for free. If you picked a nickname you're not happy with, don't worry -- you can pick a new one. Even if you haven't created your BattleTag identifier yet, you'll still get one free BattleTag change to use after it's been created (similar to the way character name changes for StarCraft II worked).

As we announced previously, BattleTag nicknames will be required in order to play Diablo III, and in the future, they'll be used in a variety of ways across all of Battle.net. To set or change your BattleTag, simply log in to Battle.net account management, head to the Account > Summary page, and look for the Create or Change option. BattleTags aren't unique, so you can pick any name you like as long as it adheres to the BattleTag Naming Policy.

Here's what you can expect from BattleTags when Diablo III launches:

• Your BattleTag will serve as your public identity when chatting, grouping, or interacting with other players in Diablo III.
• Once two players agree to become BattleTag friends, you'll automatically be able to see and interact with each of the Diablo III characters your friend plays automatically – no need to add multiple character names to your friends list individually.
• Prior to the game's release, your presence on the Diablo III forums will be connected to your BattleTag, rather than any one specific character in the game. You'll transcend boundaries!

Our long-term plans include adding the ability for BattleTag friends to participate in cross-game chat (in StarCraft II, Diablo III, and World of Warcraft, and future Blizzard Entertainment games), as well as offer other features similar to what's currently available via Real ID. More cool additions to BattleTag are on the horizon, but we're not quite ready to talk about those yet.

We'll continue to keep you up to date on our plans for BattleTag nicknames as more info becomes available. For more details, check out the BattleTag FAQ.

Don’t forget to review the changes to the official ladder map pool for Season 7 and keep in mind that Grandmaster League will start next week.

Good luck, have fun!

As a one-season experiment, we will be relaxing the match-making settings slightly in Season 7 to introduce more variety into the ladder. In practical terms, this means you won't always be evenly matched with your opponent. You'll regularly compete with players at slightly higher or lower skill levels, to make the experience more well-rounded. These adjustments to the match-making system will also offer a chance to potentially get promoted more quickly, so stringing together wins versus more skilled opponents could potentially result in faster league promotions.

As always, we will be monitoring the effects of these changes and tweaking the match-making settings to improve upon the match-making system going forward. We’re excited to hear about your experiences and we’re looking forward to your feedback about these changes once Season 7 begins.

See you on the ladder!