ANZ Game Servers For Starcraft II Now Available Ahead Of Starcraft II: Legacy Of The Void!

In a move that will delight gamers, Blizzard has announced that local Starcraft 2 players will now be able to play on local servers, in preperation for the launch of Legacy of the Void later this month.

“In addition to an epic single-player campaign, social and competitive multiplayer has always been a core component of the StarCraft experience,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Deploying local game servers for StarCraft II in ANZ reaffirms our ongoing commitment to the region and should deliver a new standard of gameplay for players there.”

Of course, new servers mean new questions to go along with them and Blizzard have answered a few of the more common ones, you can check them out below.

Q: What benefits will local game servers have for StarCraft II players in ANZ?
A: By hosting StarCraft II game servers in Australia, ANZ players should benefit from improved gameplay responsiveness and a better gameplay experience.
Q: When will these new game servers be available?
A: Local StarCraft II game servers are available now!
Q: Will these new game servers affect who I can play with in ANZ and the Americas?
A: No. Because the new local StarCraft II game servers will communicate with the existing servers based in the Americas region, you will be able to seamlessly play, group up, and chat with friends in both ANZ and the Americas as you do currently.
Q: Will I need to pay any fees, or register to transfer?
A: No. Because the new ANZ StarCraft II game servers will continue to be linked with the Americas, all existing levels, achievements, and match history will be retained. Australian and New Zealand players currently accessing other regions, and who wish to benefit from the improved performance of locally-hosted game servers, are encouraged to switch to the Americas region in preparation for the launch of Legacy of the Void.
Q: Can I choose which game server I connect to?
A: Our most recent update, Heart of the Swarm Patch 3.0.3, allows the option to select a preferred game server in the StarCraft II Options Menu. However, we would like to clarify a few points about this feature before you try it out.

• This setting will default to Best Match, but players may wish to change this if they notice connection issues when playing on a specific server.

• Please note: As we continue to improve and expand our game sites, our intention is for Best Match to provide the best play experience for most players. If you are not experiencing issues, it is highly recommend that you leave this set to Best Match.

• If players in a party have conflicting game site preferences, the game server that is most commonly selected among the party’s members will be used. 

• It is still possible for players to get matched into games on servers they did not select. This will be rare, but can still happen.

• If players in a party have different preferred game servers selected, it will try to match to the most preferred site.

• If you are not in a party, you are almost guaranteed to receive the game server you select, but there is still a small possibility you will be connected to a different server.  

Q: Will the new ANZ game servers only be available to players who purchase Legacy of the Void, or will they also work for Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm players?
A: All StarCraft II players will be able to take advantage of the local game servers straight away at no additional cost, regardless of whether they purchase a copy of Legacy of the Void.
Q: Where are the servers physically located? 
A: The ANZ StarCraft II game servers will be hosted within a data centre in Sydney, Australia, and service players across Australia and New Zealand.
Q: Will local game servers change the way I activate Legacy of the Void at launch, or any other Blizzard Entertainment games? 
A: No. Local StarCraft II game servers will have no impact on the way players currently register physical copies of Blizzard Entertainment games, or the unlock timing or process for activating digital copies of StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. While the new, local game servers should provide an improved gameplay experience, product activation and authentication will continue to be handled by Battle.net servers located in the Americas. Players in ANZ will be able to begin the fight to reclaim the protoss homeworld from 4 P.M. AEDT on launch day, November 10, 2015.
Q: Does this mean other Blizzard games will also be getting local servers?
A: Blizzard Entertainment is committed to providing our players around the world with the most epic experiences possible. We will continue to explore optimal solutions for all of our franchises in each region. The addition of local game servers supporting StarCraft II brings the title in line with our existing ANZ game server offerings for World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and Heroes of the Storm.