14 DAY TRIAL // The Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void beta test is underway, and I'm having a great time getting beaten up by everyone.
Blizzard Entertainment usually holds beta tests for months before releasing a new product, tweaking the experience and making sure that the balance is right, especially when the stakes are as high as the single real-time strategy game that is also an eSport experience.
While I acknowledge the fact that, this early in the beta, most of the people involved are pretty hardcore, it was still a disheartening experience to be the butt of all jokes time and time again, realizing that I lacked not only mechanical dexterity but also map awareness and the requisite acumen to come on top during battles.
Nonetheless, I kept trudging on, I progressed and I started getting better at it. However, there is still a lingering feeling that's nagging me. I wish I had four hands and two heads, in order to be able to properly take care of the economy and the units.
Thankfully, developer Blizzard Entertainment took care of that, seeing the return of a great multiplayer mode from the original Starcraft, now dubbed Archon Mode.
The new multiplayer mode enables users to enjoy a special kind of one-on-one experience, in a team setting where two players share control over a single base, battling a similar team of opponents.
The duo has to work together for the common goal of vanquishing the foe, using the refined control experience that the new mode enables.
Great minds think alike, with a little planning
Archon Mode greatly expands the array of interaction afforded to a player. Whenever I watched pros playing the game, I used to get excited seeing them pilot their armies, harassing, microing drops, while at the same time never missing a beat when it came to managing their bases and economy.
While for a single regular user that level of control remains a dream, a surrogate of the experience is now made possible through the Archon Mode.
The only caveat is that you have to team up with somebody you know and trust, and you need to have your roles determined at the beginning of the match, otherwise you risk running into situations where you both want to spend the same resources on two different things.
The way this works best is if one player takes care of managing everything related to the macro side of things, expanding, creating workers and production facilities, while the other is in charge of the actual fighting.
This enables a user to relish the freedom to have full control over the army, being able to properly control units in order to maximize their efficiency, instead of constantly having to go back to take care of something back home, for a couple of seconds that can often prove fatal.
This also means that communication between the two players has to be flawless, as the one in charge of the army has to constantly keep the other up to date with the status of the game, from the tech and bases he scouted up to what units he needs to be able to produce in order to counter the enemy's strategy.
Two heads are better than one
Furthermore, having two players in control can mean that there is less of a chance to get surprised by a sneaky drop of burrowed Roach attack on your mineral line, and that your own harassment and drops can be pulled off much more efficiently.
You no longer have to worry about drawing out aggression from the enemy with your main army and losing it while you manage the units you just dropped inside his base, because your team partner can take care of that.
Overall, it definitely seems like the kind of shared experience that I could really get behind, largely due to its more casual nature, enabling users who are looking for something more competitive than custom maps to enjoy Starcraft 2's challenging and satisfying action with only half the usual amount of pressure.
It can also work well as a learning tool, helping more inexperienced players to see the game in action firsthand, and to see how their teammate is developing the base and reacting to the events in the game.
Meanwhile, people who aren't part of the beta for Legacy of the Void can also enjoy a similar experience by checking out the Micro Macro map on the arcade.