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Introduction
The first phase of the StarCraft II Beta has come and gone. Many lucky members of the online gaming community, including myself, have had the opportunity to play “the most anticipated game of all time”, as many gamers throughout the world believe. From day one up until the final hours of the beta, Blizzard kept us on our toes with numerous patches and balance updates that continuously changed the way StarCraft II was to be played. This game rightfully has set out to take its own unique place in the gaming community as a highly competitive e-sport, and most of us wouldn’t expect less from the successor of one of the most famous computer games of all time, StarCraft: Brood War.
Now is a good time to take a break and look back at what we have experienced during the few months of the beta stage. There are many articles, threads and discussions that cover the 1v1 section of StarCraft II, where players analyze strategies and debate on possible changes that may benefit the game. I believe that, due to the amount of these discussions, an article focused yet again on 1v1 would just recycle what has already been said numerous times by other members of the community, and make little to no impact on the current state of the game. Instead, I will attempt to cover and provide some “food for thought” on an equally important game type that most people may not consider as competitive.
Team Games
The 2v2 games have had their fair share of attention within the competitive StarCraft scene for many years now. Ladders, clan leagues and even the Korean Pro League have supported this type of team game, and in return we have viewed some very interesting matches and unique strategies that simply cannot be seen in solo games (Nada/Rock vs Boxer/GoRush anyone?). It is often considered as a stepping stone for beginners that enjoy playing StarCraft without having that much pressure compared to a 1v1 game. At the same time, the great depth of 2v2 and the numerous scenarios that may arise during a match makes this game type truly unique and equally as hard to learn and master as 1v1.
During the era of StarCraft: Brood War I considered myself as a 2v2 player. Competing on the most famous ladders such as ICCup, PGTour and WGTour was extremely fun, as it allowed me to learn a lot about the game while playing with and against the top players at the time. Once the beta came out, my natural instinct was to find out as much as possible about 2v2 in StarCraft II and the changes that came along with the new release. Quickly though I was disappointed, as I found out that the new features in team games had greatly destroyed some of the most important characteristics that describe team play. Communication, co-operation and individual player skill, are all core elements of not only 2v2 but team games in general, whether it be soccer, ice hockey or Counter-Strike. These elements have become less significant or even non-existent in StarCraft II, and I believe there is one key word that is responsible for this…
Sharing
In StarCraft II team games, you can share everything. Units, buildings, resources, bases, whatever a player requires from his/her team-mate can be easily passed over. This isn’t limited to the game’s elements that appear on the screen; you can also “share” your skills and mechanics in a not-so-apparent way. Although these features might allow players to develop new strategies and tactics, at the same time they remove some of the most essential elements of team games. Let’s look at the new features that have been implemented in StarCraft II and focus on how they affect the quality of 2v2.
a) Shared Control
By enabling shared control, players on the same team are allowed to command not only their own units and structures, but also those of their allies. At first this may seem like a good thing, but the fact is that the importance of co-ordination and communication has been severely degraded because of this feature. Players are no longer required to perform actions upon request from their ally. It has simply become an “I will do it myself” environment, which is clearly a characteristic of solo play. It doesn’t mean much if there are two or more players in the team. The fact that you can control the units of other players as if they were your own does not promote or encourage teams to develop good teamwork.
In order to become a top 2v2 team in SC:BW, players must not only know strategies, build orders and responses to possible outcomes, but they must also develop their collaboration skills so that they can synchronize their attacks perfectly, avoid flanks from the opposing team and provide help to their ally when needed. These things, amongst others, are what set apart the good teams from the bad ones. They are all traits that are necessary when playing with an ally. Since SC2 is a competitive game, 2v2 should be about two players responsible of their respective races, performing their own specific tasks while at the same time acting in unison towards a common goal; to defeat the opposing team. When a player can be in charge of both armies, the element of co-operation is negated and any notion of team work is simply bypassed, just so that no mistakes are made during the heat of battle due to miscommunication. If we also take into consideration that players can select hundreds of units within one control group, and that both players in a team always spawn at the closest spots (something that will be discussed later on), then it’s almost certain that one player will take full control of both armies once the troops of both team members meet up, which is extremely easy to do. For me, this does not display teamwork at all.
Another use of this feature that I believe steers the game in the wrong direction is when players “share their skills” with their allies. This can easily be understood with an example:
A 2v2 team consists of a Zerg player named “Zee” and a Terran player named “Tee”. Zee is an experienced veteran with decent mechanics, whereas Tee is new to the game and has very limited knowledge. Once their match begins, they plan to quickly attack their opponents. Tee rushes to Reapers while Zee opts for Zerglings and Banelings. Tee has produced units sooner than Zee and attacks first, but due to the fact that he is a beginner, his control is very sloppy and his harass isn’t very effective. This is where Zee decides to “share his skill”. Both players enable shared control and now the Terran’s Reapers can be controlled by Zee, who successfully harasses the opposing team’s mineral lines. At the same time, Zee is also producing a Zergling army which is quickly followed up by Banelings. Meanwhile, Tee isn’t participating in the battles at all. He is limited to keeping up the Reaper production so that Zee can continue pressuring their opponents. After a few minutes, the game ends with our hero team claiming victory thanks to the efforts of only one player. In a similar way to the example above, players can share their skills for numerous tasks, such as taking control of your ally’s scouting worker or repositioning your team-mate’s troops while they’re under attack.
The problem with the given example is that both players no longer have distinct roles that they are solely in charge of, nor are they equally contributing to their team. One player has intentionally taken over and executed tasks that should normally be carried out by his/her ally. If you think about other competitive team sports, such as a doubles match in tennis, a game of basketball or even Counter-Strike, this type of scenario never occurs. All players within the team have their own set of “tools” (tennis rackets, hands, etc) and they have their own unique skills (excellent backhand, good jump-shot, etc). When a tennis or basketball player possesses the ball, it is up to them to execute their role perfectly (return the ball to the opposite court, score a 3-pointer, etc) and their team-mates depend on them to do their part. Players are only capable of executing their role based on what they know. There is no such thing as “lending my serve skills” or “let me borrow your hands so I can score 3-pointers easier”. In team games, all players depend on each other and each player is a necessary figure within the team. If a player fails, then the team suffers. That is what team games are about. In StarCraft II, there is no such dependency. A bad player doesn’t weaken the team as it should. An army controlled by a beginner can easily be operated by an expert team-mate on a level much higher than the player’s capability. Why let your ally struggle with a task, such as microing a group of Mutalisks, when you can do it better yourself? They say “a team is only as good as its weakest member”. That is clearly not the case when playing 2v2 in StarCraft II.
b) Shared Resources
The next feature on our list of things to examine is shared resources. After the 5-minute mark, players are allowed to exchange any amount of minerals or gas with their allies without any additional cost. This feature greatly encourages teams to abuse the element of “feeding” which, in a similar way to shared control, could turn all team games, including 2v2, into a one-man show. Feeding occurs when one player of the team continuously sends resources to the other player that has been assigned the role of actually playing the game. So instead of 2v2, the game evolves into a 1v1 match where the designated “players” create enormous armies much faster than usual. They aren’t required to expand since they have their allies to do that for them. Timing is gone out the window, as players can no longer know what units are being massed or when to expect a sudden attack. This style of play could possibly become the only option available for 2v2 teams, and that clearly isn’t good news for a competitive game.
Not long ago, a member of the Team Liquid forum named “Vexx” created a topic about this subject that highlights the problems that occur due to this feature and the reasons why it destroys team games in StarCraft II. I couldn’t agree more with this post, so instead of rewriting things in my own words, I believe it would be best to read the full article here.
Another creative aspect of 2v2 games that has become extinct in SC2 because of shared resources is the tactic I like to call “translating”. This term describes the actions carried out by one player of a team (usually a player that has some sort of advantage) in order to balance the game or generate an advantage for their ally. Here are a few examples that demonstrate creative “translating” play by two teams in SC:BW (team 1 is ZT and team 2 is ZP):
• If the ZT team rushes and greatly damages the opponent Zerg player, a portion of the Protoss army can be sent to the Zerg ally for protection, which will allow the Zerg to recover. The Protoss player can also choose to counter-attack and damage an opponent, since they will have a much smaller army than Protoss.
• If Z1 has 10 Mutalisks and Z2 has only 5, the Zerg player of team 1 can use his/her Mutalisks to harass the Protoss mineral line and production facilities, so that the Terran player can slowly gain an economic and army advantage over the Protoss player.
Example 2 is one of the most standard “translations” that occur during a 2v2 game. The Z1 player may lose some Mutalisks and be on par with the Zerg opponent (both of which are on 1 base), but that previous Mutalisk advantage has now been “translated” into a Terran advantage over the Protoss, which greatly tilts the game into the ZT team’s favor.
Sharing resources is an uncreative and easy solution that can be carried out by basically anyone (beginners and experts) that wants to balance the game or gain an edge, and which in return makes team games extremely dull and boring to play. In SC:BW, teams went from attacking to defending and then back again, just so that they can get that much needed advantage in 2v2. The top teams could estimate the situation in any given circumstance and know exactly when they should attack or defend. This constant back and forth is what made 2v2 such a competitive game and also interesting to play, as there was so much action going on during the match, probably more than in 1v1 games. In SC2, there is no need for players to find unique tactics or special ways to utilize their army in order to create or nullify an advantage. With the shared resources feature, a couple of clicks generates the same result. Just send X amount of minerals or gas to your ally and you have successfully balanced the game, without having to think much about it. Even 1v2 scenarios can be avoided by sending out a few minerals to allies that have no main structure left. This no longer gives teams a good enough reason to quickly eliminate an opponent.
c) Spawning Positions
Some of you may have noticed that in 2v2 players no longer spawn at random locations. Obviously, on a shared bases map, players are meant to spawn right next to their ally, which is perfectly fine. But on all other 2v2 maps, such as Lost Temple or Metalopolis, players are always close to their allies and far away from their opponents (for example on Lost Temple, one team always spawns at the north and west bases, whereas the other team spawns at the east and south bases). This new pattern occurs on all maps, and it limits the possible strategies that can be used in 2v2. When playing 1v1 on a map with 4 starting locations, players respond differently and use specific strategies when their opponent is located at the X, Y or Z base. This results in a different style of gameplay every time. Shouldn’t 2v2 also feature this? Why were random positions removed from 2v2 in SC2?
In SC:BW players would spawn at random starting locations. If your base was close to your ally’s base, you could use strategy A or B. If you and your ally were at cross-positions (for example, one player at north and other at south on LT), strategy C or D would be a better option. This made 2v2 more interesting to play as there were numerous strategies that could be applied for any number of circumstances. An excellent example of a 2v2 map fully utilizing this pattern is “Iron Curtain”, which was used in the Korean Pro League a few years ago. This map is split by walls and minerals into two sections, left and right, and players were either on the same side of the map with their ally, or on opposite sides with an opponent. Teams had to take into consideration many variables when playing on this map (where is my ally, what races are my opponents, what to do if the opponent on my side is race X?) and this resulted in some very interesting matches and unique strategies.
Conclusion
Honestly, I am greatly disappointed in the way that 2v2, and all other team games, have turned out to be in SC2. A game of endless creativity, where players would often think outside the box and develop excellent teamwork to compete on a higher level, has now become an uninteresting game that is hardly a challenge to play. The basic elements that made 2v2 such a competitive game and entirely different than 1v1 no longer exist in StarCraft II. Teams are no longer required to find their own way of communicating, co-operating and planning ahead so that their strategies will shine through. By sharing your skills with allies, there are no longer any weaknesses that can be utilized by the opposing team to their benefit. The newly implemented functions are what steer the game into a direction where eventually there will be only one way to play team games. “Sharing” is what has truly hurt the competitive 2v2 scene.
With all these new added features, I’m left wondering what was so wrong with team games in SC:BW that required them to be altered so much. Changes shouldn’t be made just for the sake of it, especially when in SC:BW, 2v2 has been proven countless times to be an extremely competitive game type, probably on the same level as 1v1 matches.
For me, there is only one solution; remove shared control along with shared resources, and also make players spawn at completely random starting locations.
Now is the time for Blizzard to listen up and hear for once what the top 2v2 players have to say about the development of what could be the most competitive computer game of all time, StarCraft II.
*Special thanks to Tenryu, my main SC:BW ally and good friend, for helping me complete this article
