Nine years ago, Blizzard announced its initial plans to feature a community-driven map store for their popular RTS video game Starcraft 2. But it was last month when the feature was finally updated with the developers launching the Premium Arcade.
The launch of the StarCraft II patch 4.3.0 will introduce new Arcade maps made by two of the prominent community creators, Daniel ‘Pirate’ Altman and Tya, who have been working over the last year. The two high-quality premium Arcade maps will each offer different kinds of experiences to the players.
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ARK Star
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfAzBOdA_cc&w=560&h=315]
The ARK Star is a tactical turn-based RPG made by Pirate, which features the protoss. It was described as an interstellar adventure that allows the player to follows the Sol Seekers, an elite team of Templar on a mission to find and destroy the mysterious weapon known as the ARK Star. Players must level up, strengthen their squad by crafting equipment, and unlock new talents and abilities that cater to their playstyle.
The full ARK Star map is now available for $4.99 and comes with an exclusive portrait.
Direct Strike
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUl5Cj-7GtQ&w=560&h=315]
Direct Strike, on the other hand, is described as the next evolution of Desert Strike HotS, which is considered as StarCraft II’s most famous Arcade map ever. This community map is developed by Tya and is for free, but players are given the option to upgrade the map to a premium version.
The premium version will enhance the gaming experience with cosmetics and new modes that players can enjoy. This includes the Sabotage mode, which conceals the player’s staging areas and allows unit bans. There is also Switch mode, which will enable players to change their race mid-game.
Aside from these game modes, the premium version will also give players the access to cosmetics so they can customize their staging area and add some flair to their units.
In Direct Strike, players are pit against each other in a tactical tug of war. They must build units to spawn in their staging area, and send them out in waves to attack the enemy base.
The premium version is available for $4.99 and also includes an exclusive portrait.
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StarCraft II is a real-time strategy game released in July 2010 for Microsoft Windows gaming PCs and Mac OS devices.