Dustin Browder on StarCraft II beta patches

One of the biggest patches to the StarCraft II beta just went live yesterday, containing the map editor, a couple new maps, and some balance changes. While the patch notes say we can expect another major content patch in the future that will enable you to share your maps, there will still be balance patches released as necessary.

We can expect smaller patches to address balance issues to roll out as issues are identified. In my interview with Lead Designer Dustin Browder, he stated that one of the top priorities for the team right now is identifying completely unstoppable rushes and patching them out. When we spoke Monday afternoon, the dev team was putting the finishing touches on the most recent patch that eliminated the previously unstoppable Zerg Queen rush.

Noting that some players seemed frustrated with the time it took for things like rushes and exploits to be patched out, Browder assured me the team was working as fast as they can. When the team sees a balance complaint within the community, they first have to test it themselves. They then have to spend time seeing if there’s any way to counter said problem with any existing units or strategies. Assuming they identify a legitimate problem that needs to be balanced, they then must find a way to tweak the units in question so that they don’t accidentally unbalance anything else. After another round of testing, they’re finally ready to release the patch.

As the beta continues, expect more small balance patches as new issues are identified.