Blizzard Watch Week in Review: It’s lore as far as the eye can see

Happy weekend, everyone! In case you missed anything this week, we’ve rounded up the best of the week’s happenings for your perusal. Starting, of course, with the week’s lore bombs…

It’s been a big week for WoW lore

• Datamining has given us our first look at Antorus the Burning Throne in patch 7.3.2 with spoilers, so many spoilers.
• And if you thought that datamining was packed with story just wait until you listen to the latest WoW audio drama, A Thousand Year War, now on YouTube.
• Put on your tinfoil hat, because it’s Know Your Lore time! This week, Anne contemplates the life cycle of the Naaru while Rossi discusses Argus and the Twisting Nether.
• And in the latest Lore Watch podcast, Anne, Rossi, and Joe discuss Xe’ra and Illidan.

There’s a lot happening in WoW (other than lore)

• Get ready for another upgrade grind: ilevel 1000 Legendaries are coming.
• Brewfest is back with more ram racing that we can all totally mess up.
• Pandaria Timewalking has returned, so get to work on your Emperor Shaohao rep grind (or whatever rep grind you prefer).
• Demon Hunter Mione has soloed normal Helya. And not just Maw of Souls Helya — which is way too easy for Mione — we’re talking about Trail of Valor Helya.

It’s time to dive into Overwatch

• Junkertown and some hero changes are now live in Overwatch. The Blizzard team celebrated with cake and explosions cake.
• And everyone can play Overwatch for free this weekend, on any platform.

This week in esports

• Check out this weekend’s esports schedule, because there’s plenty to watch.
• And in WoW esports, the Mythic Dungeon Invitational enters its second week.

In oddball Hearthstone news…

• Need a new phone case? FabZat is here to help… as long as you want your phone to look like a Hearthstone card.
• The official Hearthstone cookbook is coming out November. And, yes, there is an official Hearthstone cookbook.

Jeff Kaplan asked you all to play nice in Overwatch

• Surprise! Some players have found that being nice makes other people be nice, too. Is this gaming toxicity, solved? Probably not, but it can’t hurt.
• And if you aren’t so nice? Permanent competitive play bans are coming.

There’s a ton of new stuff coming to Heroes of the Storm

• It’s Overwatch season in Heroes of the Storm, with Volskaya, Ana, and Junkrat coming to the game. Ana and Volskaya are already on the PTR now and due on the live realms next week.
• And don’t forget the new skins and sprays coming, including the Deathwing D.va skin and Pachimari sprays. Pachimari. Sprays.
• And if you’re looking to up your game this weekend, Mitch has you covered with a guide to quick casting, which will save you precious seconds in combat.

The BlizzCon pre-show has begun!

• There may still be six weeks until BlizzCon, but pre-BlizzCon has already begun with a new series of videos that talk cosplay, Ezra Chatterton, and more.

Some long reads to keep you busy this weekend

• Rossi talks about weapon restrictions and how they’re tied into class identity.
• Can you believe we’ve been playing on Battle.net for over 20 years? We take a look back on its past and ponder its future.