We're pleased to announce StarCraft II region linking, an exciting upcoming change  that will connect a number of StarCraft II communities around the world for multiplayer matchmaking and communication purposes. In conjunction with the start of Season 3, we’ll be linking the European and Russian StarCraft II communities together; North America and Latin America will also be linked together, as will Korea and Taiwan.



Region linking will benefit players in the connected regions in a number of ways. First and foremost, a linked community means a larger pool of players to improve our automated matchmaker. Whether you're an elite Grandmaster or a Bronze-league all-star, more players in the mix means that we'll be able to find you a matchup more quickly and more accurately. Players will also get access to a broader range of custom map games, which in turn means wider audiences for mapmakers. Those of you who have friends in the linked region will also be able to add them to your Battle.net friends lists once the region linking is complete.



For the vast majority of players, the process will be seamless. Just log in, play, and say hello to all of your new friends (with a sneaky drop in their mineral line). For more information about region linking, check out the FAQ.

Region Linking FAQ


Q. What is region linking?

A. Region linking is the process of connecting multiple Battle.net regions to each other for multiplayer matchmaking and communication purposes. The North America and Latin America regions will be linked, Europe and Russia will be linked, and Korea and Taiwan will be linked. In effect, the players within the linked regions will be put together into a single group instead of two separate ones -- benefitting players in these linked regions in a number of ways.



Q. Why are you doing this? What are the benefits of region linking?

A. Having a larger pool of players means the automated matchmaker for ladder games will be faster and more effective at finding opponents at or near your skill level. Similarly, more players means faster queue times for custom games, which benefits both players and map creators.
From a social perspective, players will be able to create character and Real ID friendships with people from the newly linked region, which they couldn’t have before.



Q. When will this happen?

A. The region linking process will happen at the same time as StarCraft II Season 3, which is currently scheduled for the week of July 25.



Q: Will region linking affect which game-client languages I have access to or the payment methods I use?

A: No. The client languages and game-access methods available to you in your region will not change when regions are linked. You will simply be able to play and connect with an even larger group of players.



Q. Do I have to do anything?

A. No -- linking will happen automatically.



Q. Does this mean that the ladders of linked regions will be combined?

A. Yes, players from linked regions will be combined into a single ladder. This means you'll have access to a larger pool of players at all skill levels to play against, which will improve the experience for players no matter what league they play in.



Q. How will this affect my matchmaking rating (MMR)? Will I need additional placement matches?

A. Your MMR will be unaffected by region linking. Placement matches will be handled the same way for the start of Season 3 as they were for Season 2.



Q. Will playing with players from the linked region impact my in-game latency?

A. All players in the linked regions will be connecting and playing through the same data centers that they were using prior to region linking, which is the main reason why linking these regions together is fairly straightforward. There should be no impact on game performance.



Q. I'm a map creator -- do I have to republish my maps or do anything differently?

A. No special action is required. All of your published maps will be retained during the region linking process.



Q: How does region linking affect the Grandmaster league?

A: After region linking, players from linked regions will be combined into a single ladder. This applies to the Grandmaster league as well, and there will only be a single Grandmaster league between the linked regions.

No they are not. 1) SEA got free access to NA. 2) SEA is linked with Aus and NZ anyway.

indeed sea is too small @.@

Link SEA to KR server please

oh wait

then they need copper league, plastic league and paper league.

Lol, people started to stop playing SC2.

i had about 10 friends who play sc2 when i just bought my account and now it just left 1 who log in once a week

I've this game and my playtime with sc2 got lessened because of a  crushing 8 in a row defeat. Not only that, one of the matches I already practically won, then the opponent like complimented me and started asking how I play. Then I stupidly started to chat and share tips, he proceeded to build his army and then crush me.

That was the trigger point. Crushing 8 streak loss and one of them was personally humiliating.

Now I play on and off, but only when my friends invite me for team. Currently absorbed with magicka, with what limited time I have for gaming in the first place.

You've to figure out why are you getting defeated in 8 rows then, this game isn't just "oh today play, tomorrow forgot what happened" if you wanna get strong, you have to review on your own replay for what's goes wrong with yourself.

You've to figure out why are you getting defeated in 8 rows then, this game isn't just "oh today play, tomorrow forgot what happened" if you wanna get strong, you have to review on your own replay for what's goes wrong with yourself.

This is why I dislike SC2, you need to actually put time into learning the game. Not just playing, you need to watch replays, commentaries, read online to the point where playing SC2 is a huge time sink.

It's not worth playing MP that need so much time poured in it. It's not like you can play other games at same time because you need all the time you can get to learn one game.

Is it worth it? Not for me because there are other great games out there to enjoy and SC2 is not the only game out there. 

I probably won't buy HoS as the MP would still be the same time consuming deep MP.

This is why I dislike SC2, you need to actually put time into learning the game. Not just playing, you need to watch replays, commentaries, read online to the point where playing SC2 is a huge time sink.

It's not worth playing MP that need so much time poured in it. It's not like you can play other games at same time because you need all the time you can get to learn one game.

Is it worth it? Not for me because there are other great games out there to enjoy and SC2 is not the only game out there. 

I probably won't buy HoS as the MP would still be the same time consuming deep MP.

This is why I dislike SC2, you need to actually put time into learning the game. Not just playing, you need to watch replays, commentaries, read online to the point where playing SC2 is a huge time sink.

It's not worth playing MP that need so much time poured in it. It's not like you can play other games at same time because you need all the time you can get to learn one game.

Is it worth it? Not for me because there are other great games out there to enjoy and SC2 is not the only game out there. 

I probably won't buy HoS as the MP would still be the same time consuming deep MP.

study more on IRL war strats and improvise it in SC2

i dont think watching commentaries or readings are essential, replays though are necessary if u wanna know the details inside out. u only need to actually put time into thinking about the game. The pros replays that u watch, some1 have to create the strats in the 1st place 

This is why I dislike SC2, you need to actually put time into learning the game. Not just playing, you need to watch replays, commentaries, read online to the point where playing SC2 is a huge time sink.

It's not worth playing MP that need so much time poured in it. It's not like you can play other games at same time because you need all the time you can get to learn one game.

Is it worth it? Not for me because there are other great games out there to enjoy and SC2 is not the only game out there. 

I probably won't buy HoS as the MP would still be the same time consuming deep MP.

i dont think watching commentaries or readings are essential, replays though are necessary if u wanna know the details inside out. u only need to actually put time into thinking about the game. The pros replays that u watch, some1 have to create the strats in the 1st place 

This is why I dislike SC2, you need to actually put time into learning the game. Not just playing, you need to watch replays, commentaries, read online to the point where playing SC2 is a huge time sink.

It's not worth playing MP that need so much time poured in it. It's not like you can play other games at same time because you need all the time you can get to learn one game.

Is it worth it? Not for me because there are other great games out there to enjoy and SC2 is not the only game out there. 

I probably won't buy HoS as the MP would still be the same time consuming deep MP.

This is why I dislike SC2, you need to actually put time into learning the game. Not just playing, you need to watch replays, commentaries, read online to the point where playing SC2 is a huge time sink.

It's not worth playing MP that need so much time poured in it. It's not like you can play other games at same time because you need all the time you can get to learn one game.

Is it worth it? Not for me because there are other great games out there to enjoy and SC2 is not the only game out there. 

I probably won't buy HoS as the MP would still be the same time consuming deep MP.

Same can be said for any game.

Wanna be good at FPS? You gotta learn how to dodge, twitch, jump and thats just 1/3 of the equation. You need to know the map layout much more than SCII, you gotta know sniper nests and camp spots. Even in Quake III, you gotta learn where the weapons, health packs, armor and armor shards are and what their respawn rate is.

Wanna be good at driving games. Same shit. Course layout, chicanes, when to brake, when to floor the gas.

In the end, if you want to be good at something, you've gotta learn.

SEA link to KOREA is the best!

Low Ping and Playable!

they should link SEA and Taiwan.

Nowadays after 3AM, sumtimes u'll fight with the same person 3 matches in a row in SEA ladder.. LOL

i fought 4 times in a row before lol

happens so many times. somemore most of my playtimes now are after 1am, i always meet back the same few ppl.

so Blizz should consider linking SEA with Taiwan.. 
or Korea perhaps.. 

guys if we get SEA edition can we go US server?

kinda true...
i love watching whitera's stream when he do english commentary about his play, decision making etc...
really learn a lot...

the best for beginner to learn is always day9
like any sport, u gotta sink time and effort to be good in it...
the same is true for any other games...
still u can take sc2 as casual as u want as the matchmaking will match u to similar opponents (or jz custom games)

This is why I dislike SC2, you need to actually put time into learning the game. Not just playing, you need to watch replays, commentaries, read online to the point where playing SC2 is a huge time sink.

It's not worth playing MP that need so much time poured in it. It's not like you can play other games at same time because you need all the time you can get to learn one game.

Is it worth it? Not for me because there are other great games out there to enjoy and SC2 is not the only game out there. 

I probably won't buy HoS as the MP would still be the same time consuming deep MP.

Playing so much SC2 makes me feel forever alone sometimes. All my friends feel this game is hard to play and they quit at bronze/silver lvl. Some of them migrate to 2v2 and never come back bcos they stated they cannot accept the pressure of playing 1v1. I can only play 1v1 in bnet nowadays.

Even my friend's BW skill is so far behind compared to me now. I remember we used to have a good time in playing BW when our standard is kinda same. Now they all refused to play SC BW or SC2 with me anymore. 
Btw, I will still continue to play this game. I like the adrenaline rush it brings to me.

Some roads are meant to be walk alone

Playing so much SC2 makes me feel forever alone sometimes. All my friends feel this game is hard to play and they quit at bronze/silver lvl. Some of them migrate to 2v2 and never come back bcos they stated they cannot accept the pressure of playing 1v1. I can only play 1v1 in bnet nowadays.

Even my friend's BW skill is so far behind compared to me now. I remember we used to have a good time in playing BW when our standard is kinda same. Now they all refused to play SC BW or SC2 with me anymore. 
Btw, I will still continue to play this game. I like the adrenaline rush it brings to me.

Some roads are meant to be walk alone

What else .. Join DOTA 2 looo .. DOTA 2 now a lot of competition with more $$$ than starcraft 2 cause people prefer teamwork more than solo.

Suggest you to follow mainstream also.

YES!