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Can anyone say Diablo 3?! While traversing the Internet, I stumbled across Blizzard’s website and noticed that it had a special new cover screen. This struck me as odd because Blizzard very rarely does things like this unless they are giving us a sneak peak. Upon closer examination, I discovered the Diablo “Hel” and “Shael” runes embedded within the graphics.

The stone looks to be of the same material as that of a Soul Stone. This appears to be a massive stone of great power that is cracking open in the center depicted by the piercingly bright light emanating from it. Perhaps the prison is struggling to withhold the most despicable of all evils, Diablo, the Lord of Terror himself. Perhaps it holds some unknown monster never before unleashed upon the world of mortals, dwarfing Diablo’s evil powers, and ready to unleash his fury upon an unsuspecting realm.

Although this is not a definitive Diablo 3 release date, we may hear more news about it this weekend at the upcoming Blizzard conventions.

With Starcraft 2 production progressing steadily and possibly Diablo 3, this leads us to wonder what will happen to Blizzard’s cash cow; the World of Warcraft (Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game).

It seems as though Blizzard has grown large enough to handle multiple full scale projects at once, as they released their highly successful Burning Crusade Expansion, and are in the process of developing the Wrath of the Lich King World of Warcraft MMORPG expansion set. We will keep you updated as to news of Diablo 3 this weekend!

June 15, 2008. The Decay of RTS Games. Hacking.Following in classic Blizzard behavior, they have let yet another of their once highly competitive and skillful games succumb to the vices of hackers. This is a growing trend in Blizzards games; they are incredibly successful upon debut and develop a loyal following who will continue to love the games long after their popularity passes, but Blizzard forgets about these people. They are a corporation, and they have their mind on money. Money comes in the form of new games, new productions, such as World of Warcraft, where users pay a monthly fee and generate enormous revenue.

I have witnessed the demise of past hit titles such as the Diablo series, the original Starcraft, and now unfortunately, Warcraft 3. It is unfortunate that Blizzard could care less if there is no longer the potential to reap income, but this is one of the sad realities of life. Peruse the top 20 of any realm and it is a safe bet to assume that over half of them are using map hacks and/or disconnect hacks. No longer is it a close knit community where player tags are recognized and respected as skillful top ladder players. Now, it is a bunch of “no-name” parasites who abuse hacks to make their way to the top. This creates an increasingly frustrating environment for players who still enjoy playing the game the way it was meant to be.

Blizzard promised a patch, months ago, another unfortunate trait of theirs. They probably have forgotten they even made such a statement, as there has been little to no update on the progress of such patch. It is likely that titles such as World of Warcraft will receive multiple patches before they even make another post on the progress of a Warcraft 3 patch.

Basically, if you are a Warcraft fan, Blizzard is showing you the door. They really do not care if anyone plays this title anymore, as they have their eyes set on bigger money. Hopefully Starcraft II Beta will be released soon enough and the RTS fans of the Blizzard community will have a game that is hacks/cheater free. Until then, tough luck.

Jun 9 , 2008.
For those of you that really enjoyed the important role that casters played in Warcraft 3, Starcraft 2 will not leave you disappointed. In addition to including the smartcasting system, they have also revamped several units including the ghost to counter them to prevent imbalance. The ghost can currently see units in the fog of war that have energy so he serves as a good detector for incoming caster raids. This gives players plenty of time to get their ghosts in position and subsequently utilize their snipe ability to take out the threat. Another aspect that they have decided to carry over from their previous RTS venture of Warcraft 3 is the concept of destructible obstacles such as rocks. These will most likely be implemented to block off valuable resource deposits forcing a player to expend considerable time to access them or find an alternate route. In previous testing periods, if you played Protoss, you could also be creative and use the Anti-Gravity spell to lift them into the air and sneak in some probes to start up your expansion. Then after the duration of the spell has expired, the barrier crashes back to the ground providing a natural defense for you. However, the development team has titled this as a bug and terminated this option.

The Nullifier (Anti-Gravity unit) still is a formidable unit when used en masse. As the same suggests, they are able to “nullify” the effects of powerful enemy units such as Siege Tanks and Ultralisks by lifting them into the air and effectively taking them out of the combat field. This should definitely be looked at closely for balance issues, because the ability sounds very similar to the Warcraft 3 Druid of the Talon’s Cyclone ability which Blizzard made far too powerful in certain matchups.

More information on the Terran Reaper’s Detonation Charges that were mentioned in the previous article: These mines are visible upon their deployment, but a skilled player might deploy them in the midst of an enemy mass where it would be difficult to target them during a skirmish; which could prove to be fatal to their entire unit. They are extremely small and it would take a player of extreme skill to be able to micromanage well enough to focus fire kill them before their detonation. They damage enemies and friends alike so caution should be used rather than randomly throwing them out. Unlike the original Spider Mines, they do not detonate other mines when they go off. Instead of having a limited supply of mines, the ability has a 30 second cool down, and they currently do 30 damage plus an additional 30 to armored units/buildings.

May 29, 2008. For those of you who were fans of the Terran Vulture’ Spider Mines from the original game, it must have been a devastating blow when you received news that the Vulture got scrapped. However, fear not! Blizzard has equipped the Terrans with more than sufficient means of showering opponents in shrapnel. The Reaper, the Terran jet-boosted super infantry unit, comes armed with D-8 Demolition charges so you can blast enemy units and buildings alike to your hearts content. They have some nasty splash damage on them also; so if you are into team killing or just sadistically enjoy seeing your troops get ripped apart, this is the unit for you.

Due to popular demand, Blizzard attempted to bring mines back into the Terran game strategy by giving the Nomad the ability to deploy stationary Mine Drones. However, this has been scrapped and in the current build, the Nomad can now deploy Spider Mines of its own. Yes, this means that a flying unit can now deploy mines all over the map, look out melee units! A few details on these revamped Spider mines, their movement behavior is the same, but now they do 50 damage as well as an additional 50 towards armored units; and instead of being limited to only 3 mines, they now cost 15 energy a piece, so you can plant limitless amounts of mine fields pending sufficient energy resources.

Although this is still undergoing relentless testing by the development team, it appears that Blizzard has every intention of keeping this minefield based warfare in the game. This should prove to be an excellent counter for smarter players to tech to in order to counter masses of weak Tier 1 melee units.
May 22, 2008. With The first quarter of 2008 ending shortly: We at StarCraft2Z.com would love to extend to you, a COMPLIMENTARY WoW™ Subscription and Burning Crusade Expansion pack!

May 1, 2008.
There are many exciting new updates for those of you who have been searching for Starcraft II news. The Carrier, a classic favorite of Protoss players has been revamped to make it a more viable air to air fighter. Originally, the carrier was created as a vessel that housed 8 interceptors that you had to build from scratch. Now however, they come pre-loaded with 4 interceptors (the max has been reduced from 8). However, to compensate for this when you will need extra fire power, you can pay to build 4 Strike Fighter Escorts who will attack the carrier’s enemies for their 45 second lifespan. This adds another strategic element for Protoss players to toy with, having to balance their economic output with how much damage they want to inflict upon their enemy.

Some other interesting questions brought up during the update were whether each race has a unit capable of laying siege to fortified island positions. The Zerg have their Swarm Guardians, the Terrans have their monstrous Battle Cruisers with their powerful generators creating the epic Yamato Cannon blast, and the Protoss has the Carrier with unreleased new sieging abilities? This topic is still under testing so more to come.

The Zerg have a new unit called the Infestor. It has the unique ability of being able to move underground while burrowed. The Infestor has taken over the Queen’s previous infestation ability, and it can infest opposing factions buildings creating for example, Infested Marines!

The Medivac is a new unit that the Terrans are experimenting with. It is created in the Starport and heals essentially the same as a medic. It simply deploys mechanical drones that heal biological units nearby one at a time. It is still under development but continues to be an interesting topic of discussion amongst the developers.

The Zerg also have another unit called the Roach, which they have yet to receive a final design on yet. They are still tampering with whether it should be a ranged or melee unit and if it can attack air or not. Under the current build, it is ranged but lacks the ability to attack air units.

The Zerg Corruptor is a unit that can only attack and infest air units. This proves to be very interesting in team games with Protoss allies, where they can use their Anti-Gravity ability to lift off enemy units and then the Corruptor can infest them.

These are all very exciting additions that Blizzard has made to their highly anticipated RTS and they have uploaded much streaming online video to their sites showcasing these units. The movie quality is superb no matter if you have an Intel Processor, AMD Athlon, or are a MAC user. The videos and gameplay run smoothly on all and it is a glorious spectacle to behold.

April 27, 2008.
Lots of interesting developments lately in the world of Starcraft II. With the last update revealing the much awaited Zerg, we now take the time to delve a little deeper into their world. For starters, the Queen is now a super unique unit that will play major base defense roles. Because only 1 can be in existence at a time, their deployment will be extremely important and deadly in the hands of a skilled Zerg commander. Another interesting tidbit of info is that the Ultralisk can now burrow into the ground and wait patiently until the perfect moment to strike, taking the deadliness of Zerg ambushes to a whole new level.

Really exciting is the new and improved Nydus Worm, which has replaced the Zerg Overload’s Ventral Sacs method of “dropping.” Now, surprise attacks will come from under the ground instead of the air. The Zerg Nydus Worm can now burrow anywhere, regardless of if there is Zerg Creep there or not, making the Zerg an extremely mobile and formidable foe.

As far as the Terrans go, the new Jackal unit with its “rail style” splash damage attack has become an even more potent weapon for skilled micro management players because although its health has been reduced from 125 to 75, they have been given a speed boost allowing for more efficient hit and run style tactics.

In lieu of the new casters being introduced to the Zerg and Protoss, the Terran Ghost has now been outfitted with the ability to detect units with energy in a 30 yard radius. This ability is passive and similar in effect to that of the Sensor Tower, capable of detecting energy units even within the fog of war.

April 8, 2008.
Lots of interesting developments lately in the world of Starcraft II. With the last update revealing the much awaited Zerg, we now take the time to delve a little deeper into their world. For starters, the Queen is now a super unique unit that will play major base defense roles. Because only 1 can be in existence at a time, their deployment will be extremely important and deadly in the hands of a skilled Zerg commander. Another interesting tidbit of info is that the Ultralisk can now burrow into the ground and wait patiently until the perfect moment to strike, taking the deadliness of Zerg ambushes to a whole new level.

ZERG! At long last, Blizzard has finally updated the Zerg page, whereas previously they had only released information about the Terran and Protoss. As we speak, they are in the process of updating the Zerg page, at the moment there are only thumbnails, but within a few hours we should be seeing the Zerg units and buildings page fully operational, and we will be bringing to you all newly released Zerg units and abilities.

So far, they have only released two of the units that those of you familiar with the original StarCraft will recognize; the Hydralisk and Mutalisk. These are two favorites of Zerg players as they are a primary component of any powerful Zerg force.

A little background history on the Zerg, they are completely different from the Terrans and Protoss because instead of being one species, the Zerg Swarm is comprised of multiple species that have been assimilated and integrated into the Swarm to create the most deadly fighting creatures possible. They undergo rapid selection and evolution as they become the most effective killers possible in order to achieve the ultimate goal of the Zerg, utter domination of any and all other races that they come into contact with.

Unlike the other two races, the Zerg use no sort of mechanical or technological weapons and buildings, but rather thrive upon biological adaptation and controlled transformation and mutation of previously existing Zerg strains and DNA. This makes them extremely unique, as they show the true power of nature in exerting their natural dominance over the other races technology with sheer brute force and numbers.

In StarCraft I, the Zerg hierarchy of control stemmed from the ultimate entity, the Overmind, who controlled the entire Zerg Swarm with absolute power. The Overmind delivered orders to the subservient cerebrates, each of whom was in control of a smaller portion of the Overlord’s dominion, whom in term gave orders to the Overlords, who were physically present at the Zerg nests and on the battlefield to make sure the orders were carried out.

The Protoss destroyed the Overmind in an attempt to defeat the Zerg, but their plan did not fully come to fruition, because the Overmind had transformed former Ghost Operative, Sarah Kerrigan into the Queen of Blades. Upon hearing of the Overmind’s defeat, she maneuvered to have the Dark Templar destroy the remaining cerebrates, and in their absence manifested control of the entire Zerg Swarm as a conniving and ruthless ruler.

We think this is a rather simple minded, short sighted view that this person is portraying. They are essentially saying that they want the game to be just a mirror of the original Starcraft with improved graphics, which only a very small portion of the community would be in favor of. Everyone else wants these new units, new abilities, because they are going to bring RTS game-play to a whole new level, not destroy it!

Dustin Browder, Starcraft II Lead Designer responds that the development team is paying careful attention to the effects of adding these new terrain mechanics to the game, and they likewise feel that if anything, it enhances the importance of terrain and positioning. After extensive testing, they feel that it is not negatively affecting the game, but remain open minded to the opinions of the future gamers, saying that:

“If we find that the Reaper/Viking/Colossus/whatever are ruining our game play experience and have destroyed strategy then they get the boot. That hasn't been our experience so far with these units, but we aren't in beta yet.”

January 29th, 2008. First StarCraft 2 Hero Revealed! Click Here or go to the Hero's page. Bringing you updated information from Blizzard about StarCraft 2 Heros. We have a very interesting exclusive biography on Jim Raynor, the first of the SC 2 Introduced hero's, with accurate information about his role in StarCraft 2.

January 26th, 2008. Don't forget that StarCraft 2 Zone has Every Race and unit profiled. Terran, Protoss, Zerg, Also use the links for Terran Units, Protoss Units, Zerg Units. Remember these links all directly navigate you to the correct information on each StarCraft 2 Race and Unit, pulled from Blizzard's forums, insider news, and closed sources.

January 26th, 2008.

The Multiplayer Demo

StarCraft 2 Multi-Player Demonstration as available at Blizzcon. No CDKey, No Full Copy, This is a Demo, so all of the bugs are not worked out yet. Siege tanks going into siege mode look like they are flying for a second. Give us your feedback, we play on Augustrad server; You can find us in channel Zone on Augustrad. No Beta Yet. But this just means we're one step closer.

January 24th, 2008. Karune has posted Q&A Batch 26 & 27 For StarCraft 2. Again, His answers.
1) How will the map pool for the ladder be handled? Only maps made by Blizzard or will there be opportunities for mapmakers to contribute? If so, how will new maps be selected/balanced and how often are you planning on updating the map pool?

Do Protoss warriors actually die? What is the blue flash when they die?

In the chaos of the battlefield, Protoss warriors fight with tremendous power and grace, but even so, they can be mortally wounded. Then the Protoss' enemies often bear witness to a startling sight: the injured Protoss disappears in a bright flash of light. Such a vision has caused primitive races to quail in superstitious fear, and yet it has no supernatural cause. On the other hand, it is merely the result of teleportation, which is one of the chief strengths of Protoss advanced technology. Protoss warriors typically have teleport mechanisms built into their armor. If the warrior is sufficiently injured, a properly functioning mechanism will automatically teleport the body to the nearest safe haven.

A Protoss warrior who is badly injured but still living may be placed in a dragoon--or latterly an immortal--shell to continue to fight. This is the choice of the individual warrior. Some warriors elect to shoulder the burden of remaining among the living instead of joining the sum of Protoss lives embodied in the Khala. It is worthy of note that the lives of individual Protoss that have passed into the Khala are no longer coherent entities, and the Protoss cannot speak with their dead per se. However, there are memories and strands of experience that can be accessed. Only the most skilled Protoss preservers can locate and follow specific desired strands of knowledge. The tremendous value of preservers comes from the fact that they carry within themselves and can access the sum total of Protoss experience at an individual level.

Protoss casters will have an ability to transfer energy from one caster to another. This ability will allow for a lot of micromanagement opportunities to maximize the amount of energy to a single caster, for the maximum number of special abilities casted.

On what kind of energy are based Protoss shields? If they are based on PSI energy, how can be possible for a Terran EMP attack to drain their energy?

Protoss energy sources are highly esoteric because their starting point was the Protoss' use of their own psionic powers to protect themselves; to charge their tools and weapons; and to make, manipulate, or meld matter. Over time technological advances have enabled the Protoss to mimic these psionic processes to the extent that the Protoss can now construct inorganic devices to tap into the same universal processes to power shields, drives, weapons, and robots. Thus, for example, the energy field projected by a pylon that powers Protoss structures cannot truly be called psionic in nature, just as the shields protecting a zealot are not purely technological constructs. Rather, the two processes are so closely interlinked that they are almost the same. As a result, Protoss power sources and particularly their shields are vulnerable to disruption by technological means such as EMP weapons. Similarly such power sources can be restored or recharged from artificially stored energy.

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