StarCraft 2

Not lucky enough to have gotten a key through Opt in or any other means? Well you can watch StarCraft 2 Replays without beta access! We've created a guide on how to do it. In the close future we'll have our StarCraft 2 replay system released and you can find all the replays you need there. Enjoy watching!

No doubt you have seen the buzz around StarCraft 2 related sites about people outside of the beta testing group being able to watch replays. With rumours mingled in with facts in a variety of partial guides, it is easy to get confused. Here is what we hope will be the definitive guide, allowing you to get in on the action!

• Firstly, there are several things you will need to download to get this working. I suggest downloading these before you start, so everything is ready for you to use as and when it is required.
  
  StarCraft 2 Beta client:
  This can be found in both direct download, and torrent form. Whichever is most applicable to you should be used.
  Torrent
  Direct Download courtesy of FilePlanet
  
  Modified Battle.net directory
  This will replace the default Battle.net directory during the install. You can download this here.
  
  Cache Files
  These will be placed in the new Battle.net folder, and are available here.
  
  Update: For patch 1 & 2, here are some updated cache files
  
  Ok, now if you have all of these files, you are ready to go!
  
  
• Your first step should be to install the beta client. To do this, simply double click on the .exe file that was part of your client download. This should start up a wizard that everyone has seen before with very simple steps to follow and will give you a standard install on your C drive. Assuming this goes well, these are the next steps to follow.
  
  
• You need to make the main menu accessible. This is achieved using that different Battle.net folder you downloaded earlier. Navigate to your StarCraft 2 beta folder, which could be in one of two places.
  
  For Vista/Windows 7 Users: C:\Program Files (x86)\StarCraft II Beta\Battle.net
  For XP Users: C:\Program Files\StarCraft II Beta\Battle.net
  
  Drag and drop your Battle.net folder into the StarCraft II Beta folder, and when prompted, replace all files. You can make a copy of the original folder if you wish to be prudent.
  
  
• Now you must place in this new Battle.net folder the Cache files you downloaded earlier. Find the folder in the Battle.net folder located at either:
  
  Vista/Windows 7 Users: C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData\Local\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net\Cache
  XP Users: C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net\Cache
  
  Place in it all of the files you downloaded into the Cache folder, there should be about 19mb worth.
  
  
• These two steps should have allowed you access to the main menu, but to watch replays you need to place the files with the suffix “.SC2Replay” into a created folder in this directory.
  
  Documents\StarCraft II Beta\Replays\Multiplayer
  
  You will have to create the Replays and Multiplayer folders, but any replay files in this folder should then be accessible from the main menu, so you can start catching up on the StarCraft 2 action you have missed so far in the Beta!

Discussion topic can be found in our Starcraft 2 replay forums

UPDATE:

Step One: Download the SC2 Client
You can download the file directly, or you can download a torrent.

Step Two: Patch the SC2 Client
First, download the SC2 Replay Installer tool, a 48MB zip file. Extract the files and run install.exe. Next, click the Patch button. After a short delay, your copy of StarCraft 2 will be patched to allow you sign in as a guest. The installer will also copy over 200 replays.

Step Three: Download Some Replays
Now, you can download some replays from GameReplays. Once you've gotten the files, just put them in the My Documents / StarCraft II Beta / Replays / Multiplayer folder. If you'd like to watch a replay immediately, you can also drag the replay file onto the StarCraft II desktop shortcut.