First looks at Legacy of the Void’s new campaign and Co-Op features

Today’s November 10th, 2015, and that means Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void has officially launched internationally! There are tons of new features in Legacy of the Void, many of them released previously with Heart of the Swarm patch 3.0., and the subsequent hotfixes. As such, this article is going to focus solely on what is new with Legacy of the Void.

So what are we waiting for? Let’s dig in!

Campaign

Unlike previous Starcraft II installments, Legacy of the Void is divided into three separate campaigns. The first is Whispers of Oblivion, the prologue that was playable by anyone who pre-ordered the game, and recently available for Heart of the Swarm players. Legacy of the Void is the main campaign, focusing on Artanis’s journey to stop the “End War.”

Lastly, Into the Void is an epilogue that follows the adventures of Artanis, Raynor, and Kerrigan after the events of the game.

Artanis kicks off Legacy of the Void’s campaign on a high note with a mission to reclaim Aiur at any cost, even after his long-time friend – Zeratul – warns him of the return of Amon. Players who have completed the Brood War Protoss campaign may have flashbacks to that fateful mission where they had to escape from Aiur as this first mission follows much of the same gameplay rules – sans overpowered dark templar hero.

However, this mission ends with the Hybrid attacking the Protoss forces as they make their way to the final Warp Gate. With little choice left but to believe in Zeratul’s story, Artanis sends the dark templar hero to find James Raynor and the Xel’naga Artifact.

(Aside: You’re also an executor again – like you were in Starcraft: Brood War‘s campaign – not some floating god-hand. Huzzah!)

Personally, I can’t wait to get started. I’ll be sure to let you all know what I think upon completion soon enough in my next RR-sama Talks article!

Co-Op Mode

Co-Op mode is probably the most enticing feature of Legacy of the Void for anyone who isn’t a fan of competitive play. This feature allows you – and another online player – to play various Co-Op style campaigns while using one of six commanders: Raynor, Kerrigan, Artanis, Swann, Zagara, and Vorazun (above). Each character has a specific set of units, and each will gain new abilities as they level up after each mission.

What’s interesting to note is the themes of each commander. Raynor focuses almost solely on Brood War infantry, Kerrigan has all the bigger Zerg units, and Artanis has – once again – Brood War units like the infamous Dragoon. Swann, Zagara, and Vorazun all have much more interesting combinations such as solely factory and starport units, light units only, and Dark Templar-themed units.

This looks like a lot of fun, and the classic Brood War units are a plus, but I think I’ll wait until some friends get online before trying this out.

Have you got into Legacy of the Void yet? Are you excited to start playing some Co-Op missions with friends? What do you think is going to happen in the campaign? Leave your (spoiler-free) comments below!