Archon mode may very well be the magic bullet - Page 2

On April 01 2015 15:54 opisska wrote:
I still can't quite grasp how this is now introduced as the greatest invention of all times when the same feature was available in BW 15 years ago.

On April 01 2015 19:10 mantequilla wrote:
It's a good idea but still, I don't get how do you share things to do? You should sit side by side or have a good Skype conversation, okey that's doable. But you also have to have a very good plan before game, what will we do? Who will control what?

If two bad players play archon mode, they will perform worse than playing alone. It can only work good, if both players are good and kinda know the correct thing to do in a situation, then you can share the workload. In two bad players' case this only leads to frustration.

It's the same case in 2v2, I quit playing with my 2 friends because we couldn't cooperate ingame. It can only be worse when controlling the same units.

I think there should be some ingame feature guiding players to share the workload, such as denying control of something for each player.

On April 01 2015 19:24 digmouse wrote:

You can simply designate tasks, like one control army only one doing base management only. And to be fair a lot of the players are "bad" because they can't handle all the stuff at once, if one can solely focus on one part of the game it would only get better instead of worse.

On April 01 2015 20:03 mantequilla wrote:


That's very simplistic thinking. Base management and army control are part of a "strategy". You can't divide strategy unless 2 players see it with the same eye. 1 thinks that "we should get on a defensive posture, since opponent is rushing", other one thinks that they are ok, and does not place that supply depot on the wall, or does not pull scv's to repair the wall. Bam! lings are in your base and you lost the game. Don't forget that SC2 is too fast a game to tell and synchronize everything you are doing (or thinking).

Bad player + bad player = doesn't do any good. maybe even worse, leads to frustration. (gold + gold)
Bad player + good player = good player just have to decide and do pretty much everything. (gold + dia)
good player + good player = now you may just divide the apm. (dia + master)

On April 01 2015 14:09 TotalBiscuit wrote:
Learning curve. It's why this game is so beautiful at the highest level, the best spectator eSport there is and simultaneously, the albatross around the games neck that is slowly strangling it of oxygen. With the addition of more units, a faster start and more micro, LOTV looks set to push that even further. It's a potential disaster for the games playerbase, as SC2 is one of the most stressful and difficult games to play and even harder to get into now with each passing day. Except...

Archon mode. I played today and it blew my mind. It literally made SC2 twice as easy to play yet without sacrificing any of the complexity. It made the game less stressful and more fun. It added in the enjoyment of playing with a friend, a social element but without the additional stress of handling your own base and economy like 2v2. You share the mental load, you work together to defeat the opponents who can also do the same thing. There's more harass. I was playing with CranK today and I was harassing the main with warp prism immortal drops while he harassed multiple expansions simultaneously with Upgraded Adepts. This is nigh on impossible for one player to control themselves, even at the highest level, but we were able to do it and stay on top of our macro and we had a blast in the process.

The potential of Archon is huge. Think about the scenarios where it could be used.

1) Coaching. Archon mode makes coaching completely viable, you can bring a friend in and let them control a small number of units or gradually instruct them in a build order while handling scout, harass and early defense yourself.

2) Bringing an old player back up to speed. It's a great opportunity to bring an ex-SC2 player back into the fold and ease them in without the stress of having to handle everything themselves.

3) Just a great way for friends to play together. Less stressful than 2v2, yet just as complex as 1v1.

Archon mode has made a believer out of me. I don't want to play SC2 outside of this mode anymore. This lets me enjoy high level SC2 without the countless hours required to get to that level. It lets me learn at my own pace and focus on what I find enjoyable in the game while the other player handles the rest. It might very well be the magic bullet the game is looking for to make it accessible without sacrificing its complexity.

In short, try Archon mode when you get into the beta.

On April 01 2015 20:31 opisska wrote:


Again, the fact that you are just bad at communicating, doesn't mean that everyone has the same problem.

On April 01 2015 15:59 GoShox wrote:


Imagine how much these people would freak out over the introduction of the ability to play with other people via local area networks!

On April 01 2015 20:12 Noam wrote:
A fun way for friends to play TOGETHER is what this game needed the most.

On April 01 2015 20:52 Kazahk wrote:

I know people will bitch about this but LAN is honestly outdated. Most people don't even use ethernet cables anymore, the one thing it was good for was tournament settings. Of course it comes with its own down sides but that is the price you pay for convenience. But really bringing computers within feet of each other to transfer information is so 90's.
EDIT: yes wireless lan can still be used but at that point it isn't to different from battle.net