StarCraft II Ladder Season 3 Has Begun

BY Andrew Miesner / July 26, 2011

This morning, after several days of waiting, the StarCraft II ladders have unlocked and Season 3 has begun. With the start of Season 3 players can expect several changes. First of which is that you’ll need to play one placement match before you can start laddering. The other major change is that the map pool has been modified.

The new map pool includes:

  • Xel’Naga Caverns (2)
  • Backwater Gulch (4)
  • Shakuras Plateau (4)
  • Tal’Darim Altar LE (4)
  • The Shattered Temple (4)
  • Typhon Peaks (4)
  • Nerazim Crypt (4)
  • Searing Crater (4)
  • Antiga Shipyard (4)
  • Abyssal Caverns (4)

The maps that were removed are:

  • Scrap Station (2)
  • Slag Pits (4)
  • Delta Quadrant (4)
  • Metalopolis (4)

One thing that is sure to upset a lot of SC2 players is the removal of Metalopolis, one of the oldest, most popular and highly regarded maps. It’s also kind of strange that Xel’Naga Caverns is the only remaining 2 player map in the pool.

What do you guys think about these changes? Are you going to miss Metalopolis? What do you think about the new maps? Let us know by leaving a comment below.