StarCraft II has been around for nearly a decade now and Blizzard has decided to celebrate with a fairly massive 5.0 update. They are currently in public testing for the update, which introduces new campaign achievements for every mission in the base game and all three expansions. The update also improves the map editor tool, putting more power into the hands of players who are looking to create their own custom campaigns.
Absorbing several features from Warcraft III's game editor, Blizzard has made the tool easier to use for SCII players, which they detail in a news post on their website. Technically, these improvements were released last week with v4.13, but it seems like some additional improvements may also be included in v5.0.
One of the other features introduced in the anniversary update is the frequently requested transitioning lobby, which makes it easier to move between maps in multiplayer. They also added Custom Campaigns as a new Arcade map genre. According to their update post, this means that custom campaigns will now support map-to-map loading, which means that previously offline-only campaigns will now be accessible through StarCraft II Arcade. Players will be able to introduce co-op custom campaigns that branch beyond the single-player experience.
The new achievements that Blizzard have added to the campaign encourage players to re-live the campaign and discover new ways to play. Players who earn every new achievement will unlock the Stone Announcer. There's quite a lot in this update, so be sure to read the details over on Blizzard's website if you'd like to learn more.
Are you a StarCraft II player, and have you made any custom mods before?