StarCraft 2’s upcoming co-op mode puts two players in command of one base

StarCraft 2's upcoming co-op mode puts two players in command of one base

By Adam Rosenberg November 9, 2014

StarCraft 2‘s previously announced Legacy of the Void expansion got an update at BlizzCon, with Blizzard Entertainment confirming that it will now be released as a standalone game rather than an add-on for the popular real-time strategy game. Among the handful of details that emerged is word of “Archon Mode,” a new take on multiplayer in which two players team up to control one base and one army, taking on another pair of players in control of their own base.

There’s not much more info than that, though Blizzard did share a new trailer for the upcoming game during the weekend fan convention’s opening ceremony. You can check out the StarCraft stuff at the 23-minute mark of the above video. You can also watch the trailer, sans opening ceremony, right here.

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Related: StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm expands the game smartly, especially for online gamers (review)

BlizzCon attendees got a chance to take a closer look at Legacy of the Void at the show, but anyone that didn’t make it out can get a basic rundown of what was shown off in a new Battle.net post. It’s a pretty general look, running through key locations for the Protoss-focused campaign mode, new customization options, and an early glimpse of what a couple of missions look like.

There’s no word on the timing for this release, but that’s typical for Blizzard. We’ll see it when it’s ready, as the studio is so fond of reminding fans with all of its products.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

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How long is Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

A vista in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

BioWare RPGs are known for being lengthy adventures. Whether it is one of the Mass Effect games or older Dragon Age titles, you can expect a hefty playtime full of adventure, charming companions, and side content. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the first game in the series in 10 years and is far more action-heavy than previous entries, but does that mean it will lean on the shorter side? Or is this game a return to the old BioWare and something you can easily sink 40-plus hours into? There are a few ways to answer that question, and it will vary slightly from person to person, but here's about how long you can expect it to take you to beat Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
How long is Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

While it isn't quite an open-world game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is still huge, with expansive hubs full of side content to explore. It also features incredibly customizable difficulty settings that can vastly influence your playtime. All that being said, if you were to take a balanced approach to exploring, doing side content, and playing on a difficulty level that challenges you a bit, expect the game to last you around 40 hours. You can probably shave off around 10 hours if you mainline the story, and maybe a bit more if you set the difficulty to the lowest level to just experience the story.

Gaming

How to respec in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

A character draws a bow in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

You can spend a long time making your character in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Between their race, appearance, background, and class, there are a lot of ways to customize the game to your liking. Once you do make your choice and get into a few battles, you will earn your first skill point and be prompted to spend it in the skill tree. That's all basic stuff for an RPG, but even seasoned veterans of the genre might get a little overwhelmed by the size of the skill tree here. It's more like a bush, and you will begin at the center and can carve any path you want toward the edges, where the specializations are. However, you will never have enough points to unlock them all. In fact, you will only be able to reach a single specialization at one time. While you could spend an hour reading and mapping the perfect upgrade path, why not just have fun and try things out and respec your points later? Here's how to reset your skill points in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
How to respec in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Respecing in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is easy, free, and can be done as many times as you like. When you want to refund your points after you've unlocked the skill tree and spent your first points, you have two options. The first is to simply select the individual skills you want to refund (as long as they aren't connecting two nodes) and refund them one by one. Or, you can start from a clean slate by pressing Y or Triangle on the controller to refund every single point you've spent.