The Queue: Entirely, 100% focused on Blizzard games

Adam and Alex are still out of the office, so of course the rest of us are being very diligent in covering all aspects of Blizzard gaming. So diligent. So very diligent. No non-Blizzard games to be found here. You’ll just have to look elsewhere.

So, let’s get on to today’s questions, shall we?

Honestly, I don’t think subscriber loss has rattled anyone’s confidence at Blizzard. There are ups and downs during every expansion and patch cycle, and even if the swing has been wider during Warlords — with a high jump when the expansion released followed by a steep decline — ups and downs are normal, and Blizzard knows this better than anyone.

But I also don’t necessarily think Legion‘s feature list was part of a long-term plan. It feels like the fanservice expansion: Legion is a conglomeration of expansion rumor and wishlist we’ve ever heard since the game launched. It’s no surprise there’s a lot of excitement over it. Legion is everything we’ve ever wanted.

Still, I don’t think this is a sign that Blizzard is rattled: instead, I think they’re listening. Even though the company hasn’t been great at communicating to players over the past expansion, there are still signs that they’re listening as much  as (or more than) ever. Even Warlords of Draenor seems like it’s taken some sharp right turns in response to player feedback, from making it less of a “boy’s trip” to the shifted stance on flying. Even if they’re not talking to us, they’re certainly listening.

Legion suggests, to me, more of the same: Blizzard is paying attention to what fans of the game want, and they’re building around that. And while we aren’t getting everything we ever wanted (player housing, anyone?), what we’re getting makes me think Blizzard’s been paying a lot of attention to what players want — and that’s a good thing.

Though it really sounds like we’re leaving AU!Draenor behind, Blizzard has said that Faralhon might be something they might revisit in the future… so maybe? But at the end of every expansion we seem to leave behind a land that’s full of unanswered questions, unexplored places, and the potential for more. Unfortunately, it feels like Draenor will be one more such place… but I’ll be thrilled to be proven wrong.

I do think that Blizzard will keep up with the legendary quest tradition — even if you ignore the rewards, the legendary chain has become hugely involved in telling the story of each expansion. I don’t think Blizzard’s going to give that up.

As to what slot… anyone’s guess is as good as anyone else’s, really.

This year’s BlizzCon is a tough one because there’s no obvious big reveal on the horizon. We already know what the next WoW expansion is. We already know about Overwatch. We just had a Hearthstone expansion launch and another seems unlikely this quickly. StarCraft 2 is nearing the end of its life. While I certainly expect more details about all of these things at BlizzCon, none of those makes for a big reveal… so what could Blizzard be planning as the show piece of BlizzCon 2015?

I think the most likely is a new Diablo expansion. Blizzard’s been very quiet about what’s coming next to Diablo, but we know they’re working on something. Less likely is a new Warcraft RTS, which Blizzard mentioned as a future possibility after Legacy of the Void‘s release, but since Legacy doesn’t even have a release date yet it feels too soon for that. A new franchise would also make for a splashy showing on the BlizzCon stage, but that seems the least likely of all considering Overwatch arrived on the scene just last year and still isn’t released.

But, of course, all of this is pure speculation — we just don’t know what Blizzard has planned for BlizzCon, and we may not know until the event itself.

As a fan of the old-school Zergling rush strategy in StarCraft, I’d love to see some kind of Zergling unit… though I’m not sure how it would really work in the context of Heroes. The whole concept of a Zergling rush was that Zerglings were incredibly weak, but could be created quickly and in great numbers, allowing you to overwhelm your enemy before they had a chance to properly build up defenses. In Heroes, would this be something akin to the three-in-one Lost Vikings? I’m not sure how it would translate, but I think I’d enjoy seeing the Heroes team give it a try… in part because they’ve done such a great job preserving the “feel” of characters from other games. If they tackled the Zergling, I’m sure it would be awesome, too.

Garrus Vakarian. If anyone has a different answer, they’re wrong.

Sorry. But not that sorry.

I admit, my very first playthrough of the series I romanced Liara, too — and she’s great. After I-don’t-even-know-how-many playthroughs, I’ve romanced just about everyone and, honestly, Garrus was one of the last I got around to because when you first talk to him he’s so awkward about it. It almost seems like it’s something neither of you actually want and it weirded me out to the point that I never got through the dialog options. (Mostly I’d start giggling inanely and couldn’t stop. It was a legitimate gameplay hurdle.)

But I was wrong. I was so wrong. Garrus is the best, closest, most loyal friend you’ll find in these games. He’s always got your back — and you’ve got his. That friendship turning into a romance is unexpected, but perfect.

Garrus and Alistair. Just imagine the elevator conversations. Do it. Dooooo ittttttt.

It’s great, right?

That’s all for today. As always, leave your questions in the comments and come back tomorrow when Anne Stickney will probably be refuting everything I’ve said today.