StarCraft II Co-op Commanders: A Field Guide for People Who Hate the Ladder
Weekly mutations, hero kits, and the commanders that still slap. No 200 APM required.
Opinion
StarCraft II Co-op Commanders: A Field Guide for People Who Hate the Ladder
Image credit: © Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Image credit: © Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. StarCraft II and related trademarks belong to their respective owners. Used for editorial coverage on GamePlayer.
Original abstract editorial illustration created for GamePlayer. No character likenesses and no official box art were copied. The title and trademarks remain with the rights holders named in the credit line.You do not have to ladder. That sentence has saved more RTS fans than any patch. StarCraft II co-op is the version of the game that still has a social life: two commanders, a weekly mutation, and an APM requirement closer to "pay attention" than "become a robot."
Commanders that teach the game
Kerrigan is the on-ramp — hero power, clear fantasy, a kit that forgives sloppy macro. Artanis teaches army control without a dissertation. Swann is for people who want turrets to do the talking. If you are bringing a friend from Age of Empires, start there.
Commanders that show off
Zeratul and Tychus are toys. Stukov is a logistics joke that becomes a religion. Mengsk is homework. Weekly mutations will humble all of them; that is the point. The mode is a puzzle box wearing an RTS skin.
How we play it in AU
Find a regular. Queue SEA or a custom if the matchmaker is feeling cosmopolitan. Treat prestige kits as new campaigns, not chores. And if someone tells you co-op is not "real" StarCraft, invite them to a brutal mutation and watch the theory evaporate.
Written by Tom Brennan, Video & esports. Covers Dota, StarCraft, and the LAN scene from Perth to the east-coast majors.
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