How to watch Starcraft 2 Replays without beta access 

Updated for Beta Patch 8 (April 9th)

     So you weren't picked for the Starcraft 2 Beta but can't wait any longer ?

        Here's a guide on how to watch Starcraft 2 Beta replays. Some arguee that it is illegal, some say that it's tolerated.

My opinion:   It does no harm whatsoever to Blizzard if people can watch replays, all the opposite, it builds up more hype for Starcraft 2 and allows people to have something to watch while they can't play the game. I'm going to describe two methods to watch SC2 replays without beta access:

• The 1st method is a lot easier but requires you to download a program and to run an .exe file. I've virus tested it and used it for weeks, it's clean. But if you don't trust it, use the other method.
  
  
• The 2nd method requires a bit of fiddling around with the Starcraft 2 folders, but it's easy enough if you follow my instructions carefully.
   

I - Method #1  

A - Download the following 2 files:

1. Starcraft 2 Beta Client, from one of the following sources:

• Torrent   (if you never used torrents before, download and install uTorrent first)
• Direct download from BigDownload

2. Download LazyLauncher. Simply follow this link and click on the "Download Latest" button on the right side of the page. LazyLauncher is a launcher for StarCraft II which allows the starting of the game directly into loading a replay.

---

B - Installation

1. Install the Starcraft 2 Beta Client :
To do this, simply double-click on the Installer.exe.It's a standard installation procedure, nothing special here. Once the installation is completed, move on to the next step...

---

C - Watching Replays

1. First, you need some replays!  Go download some Starcraft 2 replays here on starcraft-replay.com, you can also use our Starcraft 2 Replay Search function if you want to get replays from a specific player, on a specific map or a specific matchup.

Once you've got some replays, put them in any folder of your choice...

2. Extract the LazyLauncher2.zip somewhere, go to that folder, launch the Lazylaunch2.exe, this will open a new window. Now all you have to do is go to the folder where you put your SC2 Replays, pick a SC2Replay file and open it. That's it!

II - Method #2 

A - Download the following 3 files:

1. Starcraft 2 Beta Client, from one of the following sources:

• Torrent (if you never used torrents before, download and install uTorrent first)
• Direct download from BigDownload

2. Modified Battle.net Folder

• Direct download from Starcraft-Replay.com
  

3. Cache Files

• Direct download from Starcraft-Replay.com

B - Installation

1. Install the Starcraft 2 Beta Client. To do this, simply double-click on the Installer.exe.
It's a standard installation procedure, nothing special here.

2. Once the installation is complete, you must put the Modified Battle.net folder we just downloaded earlier at the following location:

• For Vista/Windows 7 Users: 
  C:\Program Files (x86)\StarCraft II Beta\
• For Windows XP Users:      
  C:\Program Files\StarCraft II Beta\

Simply drag and drop the Battle.net folder there (after you've unzipped it). A window will pop up to ask you if you want to replace the original folder files, say yes to all occurences.

3. And finally, you must put the Cache folder we also downloaded earlier at the right location:

• Vista/Windows 7 Users:
  C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData\Local\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net\
•  XP Users:
  C:\Documents and Settings\Your_Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net\

Simply drag and drop the Cache folder (after unzipping it) into the Battle.net folder at the location specified above.

Note: If you can't find that folder, it means that it's HIDDEN. To make those folders visible, you have to right-click, go to properties and remove the "hidden" option and then apply.

C - Watch Replays

             And that's it , now you can launch the Starcraft 2 client with the shortcut from your desktop, you'll access the battle.net interface:

Once you're in the replay menu, go to "Multiplayer":

                You won't see any replay there of course, since you haven't got any yet. Go download some Starcraft 2 replays here on Starcraft Replay, you can also use our Starcraft 2 Replay Search function if you want to get replays from a specific player, on a specific map or a specific matchup.

Once you've got some replays, put them in the following folder:

c:\Documents\StarCraft II Beta\Replays\Multiplayer

You have to create the "Replays" folder and the "Multiplayer" folder yourself, and then put the SC2Replay files in the Multiplayer folder :

By that I mean that you have to:

1. Go to: C:/Documents/StarCraft II Beta/
   
   
2. Right-click and choose "New > Folder" and name that new folder "Replays"
   
   
3. Then go inside the "Replays" folder you just created.
   
   
4. Once inside, right-click and go to "New > Folder" and name that new folder "Multiplayer"
   
5. Put the replays you want to watch in that "Multiplayer" folder.

                         After that, you should be able to see the replays and to play them directly from the Battle.net interface. If you encounter troubles to watch replays, please ask your questions here.

Enjoy!

FAQ

Coming soon.