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Patch 9 has been highly anticipate, largely due to the rumoured inclusion of the StarCraft II Galaxy Editor (map editor), and Blizzard did not disappoint. Along with the editor, achievements, portraits and rewards have been added to the mix.

There are only a few balance tweaks implemented, with the Zerg receiving most of the tweaks. Perhaps this indicates that Blizzard is drawing close to being satisfied enough with the unit balancing, at least for the initial release.

The UI appears to have received a number of tweaks, with features such as 'Friends-of-Friends,'  'Match History,' and a 'Community Page' added. Within the game, a hotkey template system has been added, catering to both right and left-handed players. A grid based hotkey system and classic StarCraft keys have been introduced.

Finally, a new 1v1 map has been added - '(2)Incineration Zone.' The '(2)ScrapStation' map has been tweaked to allow for better defence of the early base expansion location. The ladder maps rotation has been adjusted.

Patch notes

StarCraft II Beta Patch 9 v0.11.0.15097

The StarCraft II Editor is now available!

Players will now be able to begin creating trigger maps in preparation for map publishing which will be made available in an upcoming beta patch.

Achievements & Decals are now live!

Players will now be able to earn achievements, browse the list of available achievements, and view achievements earned by friends.

Players will be able to highlight favourite achievements in their Showcase.

Earning certain achievements will unlock portrait and decal rewards.

The updated Homepage now includes a Recent Broadcasts panel and a News & Community panel.

A new Match History page is now available which will allow players to browse and filter their last 1,000 games played.

A new Community page is now available which features an in-game version of RSS news feeds.

A new Friends-of-Friends feature has been added, which allows players to easily find and connect with more real life friends on Battle.net through existing friends.

Additional friends' presence details are now available from the Friends' list.
Improvements have been made on the Voice Chat system in game.

Please use the new voice chat and provide feedback via the StarCraft II beta forums.

The score screen now features a new graph tab.

The art for many parts of the user interface has been updated.

Hotkey templates have been added.

In the gameplay options menu select from standard name based hotkeys for right and left - handed players, grid based hotkeys for right, and left-handed players, and classic StarCraft keys.

Several hotkeys have been changed to avoid conflicts with the "Select All Warpgates" UI button:

The Set Worker Rally Point has been changed from W to R.
Build Sensor Tower has been changed from W to N.
Terran Infantry Weapons have been changed from W to E.
Terran Vehicle Weapons have been changed from W to E.
Weapon Refit has been changed from W to R.
Burrow has been changed from W to R.
Spawn Larva has been changed from R to V.
Neural Parasite has been changed from R to E.

Balance Changes

TERRAN

Marauder:
+ Concussive Shells research cost decreased from 100/100 80 seconds to 50/50 60     seconds.

PROTOSS

Immortal
+ Build time increased from 40 to 55.

ZERG

Infested Terran
+ Damage increased from 5 to 8.
+ Speed decreased from 1.5 to 0.9375.

Queen
+ Speed off creep decreased from 1.5 to 0.938. (Speed on creep unchanged.)

Spine Crawler

+ Attack period decreased from 1.6 to 1.85.

Infestor

+ Neural Parasite range increased from 7 to 9.
+ Fungal Growth projectile removed; Units in the target area are now instantly hit.

Maps

We've made a change to the (2)ScrapStation map to make the natural expansion easier to defend.

New maps have been added to the ladder rotation while others have been removed as follows:

1v1
Added (2)IncinerationZone
2v2
Removed (4)LostTemple
Removed (4)Metalopolis
Added (4)AridWastes
Added (4)Coalition
Added (4)Decena
Added (4)ScorchedHaven
1v1(Novice)
Removed (4)NoviceKulasRavine
2v2(Novice)
Removed (4)NoviceKulasRavine
Removed (4)NoviceShakurasPlateau
Added (4)NoviceDecena
Added (4)NoviceScorchedHaven
Added (4)NoviceTwilightFortress

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