Thoughts on Archon Mode

This past weekend, Blizzard unveiled the final chapter in the StarCraft 2 trilogy: Legacy of the Void. Naturally, a lot of attention has been paid to the slew of additions and changes to the multiplayer compositions for each race, but one of the cooler announcements was the unveiling of Archon Mode. Like two High Templars joining to form a single formidable Archon, in Archon Mode, two players control a single base/army and battle a single foe.

Archon Mode!

Why is this needed? StarCraft is hard. It’s really freaking hard. You need to macro to keep your economy healthy. You need to micro to get the most out of every unit in engagements. And if you want to really do well, you need to split your army and micro on multiple fronts. Having a good strategy is key, but mechanics play an even larger role in success. You need to be able to execute a plan. In that respect, playing StarCraft can be very discouraging. Every time you find yourself improving, the match-making system matches you up with better and better opponents. Even at the professional level, there are clear cases where improved – beyond the already ridiculously impressive – level of multi-tasking and mechanics would impact the flow of a game.

Archon Mode should alleviate this somewhat and make the game more approachable, for all skill levels. It’ll be interesting to see how far Blizzard runs with this. It’d be cool to see a ladder just for Archon Mode, where two people can face off against two other people… or one Korean! While I’m excited to play with all the new units, I’m excited to merge with a friend and become an OP (over-powered) Archon!

Read more about Archon Mode in its official announcement.