How do I play Starcraft 2 offline?

Question

How to I play StarCraft 2 offline?

When I start StarCraft 2 offline (my network connection disabled), it prompts me for my Battle.net account name. After entering my account name, I select play offline. It then tells me that offline play authorization is required.

When I'm online, I can login to Battle.net with no problem and play. I searched around and couldn't find anything within the game to authorize my game client.

I'm running StarCraft 2 on a Mac OS X 10.6.4.

^{Edit: I can login and play online. Afterward it still doesn't let me play offline.}

^{Edit 2: This appears to be a common problem, see gamespot, yahoo and blizzard.}

Answer 1

This is a known issue with Blizzard. The issue is that the StarCraft 2 authenticator relies on the hostname. On OS X the hostname changes depending on the network configuration. Until Blizzard fixes this, the workaround is to edit /ect/hostconfig (as superuser, so use sudo) and add:

HOSTNAME=hostname_of_your_computer

This works on my Mac.

Edit: Where hostname_of_your_computer is the hostname of your computer.

Answer 2

So, right when the game is installed, you can't press "play offline" until you've logged in once. Having done that, you should be able to play offline now.

Update: This sounds like a bug. Talk to Blizzard Tech Support. It might just be an issue with the Mac Client.

Answer 3

Found the problem in windows. You need to remove the HOSTNAME entry from your host file if it is there. Then you can play offline.

Answer 4

I'm on Mac OS X and had the same problem, this is what I did to make it work:
1) go into batte.net and reg the game
2) start the game with internet connection active
3) kill internet connection
4) play a mission
5) end the game (it'll say that the battle.net connection is lost and something something about Offline playing)
6) be generally positive about playing Offline (dont remember what I answered)
7) restart the game without internet connection
8) Bob's your uncle.

Best of luck.

Edit: addition to point 2 - start playing the game in window mode (ie not fullscreen) before you kill the internet connection.

Answer 5

Hey guys,ok check this out........I had this very same problem myself and I believe I have a solution. What you want to do is first connect to the internet. Then go to the log in screen as normal and input your account/email name. When it pops up and asks for your password, disconnect your internet and continue while being totally offline. After this is done and it SHOULD work if you have already made an account etc. You should be able to quit the game, re-initialize it while offline still, then log in and press the play offline button, this time it should bring up your account, but w/o your little picture. This has worked for me and I hope it works for you! Enjoy =)

Answer 6

I've had the same problem and have communicated with tech support. The basic problem appears to be Blizzard's definition of "Playing Offline". So basically it is not a problem by design that you have to have an internet connection to login in to start the game. Once you've logged into start the game (which is the authentication) you can then disconnect and play without being online. This apparently is their definition of "Offline". It was apparently a mode intended for intermittent / problematic internet connectivity and not what the rest of us seem to think of as "Offline".