If you want to get into competitive StarCraft II, just roll through single-player so you can learn up real quick, right?
Ahahahahahaha. No.
Blizzard is looking to undo at least a few of those "ha's" by adding a training mode to StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. Polygon reports the new mode will bridge the gap in applicable skills between campaign mode and multiplayer.
"We used to say 'The campaign is the tutorial for the multiplayer' and it never really was," game director Dustin Browder said. "It was partially true. You'd learn the race, you'd understand what the units did, but you didn't know how many barracks to build, you didn't understand that a rush was incoming right now, so get ready!"
The training mode will play out over three specially designed levels for each race. Players will be eased from weaker single player habits to more sustainable strategies.
"The reason a lot of players are strong at 'turtling' is because that's how campaign teaches you to play; a lot of our past campaigns certainly did," Browder said. "We're doing that less in this game."
Certain modes' user interfaces will also get minor tweaks to eliminate clutter and make pertinent information, like how many workers are harvesting resources versus how many are ideal for the task, more readily available.
"We certainly think we're doing a better job now than we ever have before. We've changed how the starting controls work. We put up auto rally points automatically. It takes a lot of stress off the opening game so you can think about match ups in the first few seconds instead of panicking trying to grab your guys. We've added all these new tutorial modes. We've added unranked play for people who are scared to play on ladder. We've added a new experience point system which allows you to gain something whether you win or lose."
We'll see if there's a significant reduction of newbie tears come Heart of the Swarm's release on March 13. And we can all enjoy its opening cinematic regardless of APM.
