The Queue: No thanks, November

It’s not that I never have fun in November — I have a lot of fun things planned for this month already! — but I still don’t like November. To me, it’s always signaled the end of fall and the start of winter, and winter is something I absolutely cannot stand. It’s cold, it gets dark way too early, and oftentimes, driving is a nightmare because of snow.

So I say “No thanks!” to November and kindly ask that it be October again. I think that’s reasonable, right? Regardless, we’re not here to discuss blizzards — we’re here to discuss Blizzard.

Let’s have ourselves a Queue.

Honestly? It’s about in line with what I expected. Reforge Stones appear to be the only thing you currently can ONLY buy from the Shop — all other currencies can be earned in-game through some method or another — and while I don’t exactly love “shop only” items, it may also simply be so people don’t reforge their gear left and right until they get the perfect thing.

And the Battle Pass system running $5/month actually feels cheaper or at least on par with other F2P Battle Passes. (Most F2P games I play usually charge more for a Battle Pass but have seasons that last longer.)

So all in all, it feels exactly like what a F2P mobile Diablo game would be. There are a lot of currencies to wrap your head around — and they definitely look intimidating all written out — but it doesn’t feel especially egregious for the type of game it is, which I think is important.

Do I think that will matter to the Blizz community at large? Not at all. But Diablo Immortal has a different target audience, and it’s going to absolutely demolish sales because it’s doing what other successful (i.e., money-making) F2P games do.

• I’ll be honest, I’ve barely played WoW at all this year. 9.1.5 made a lot of nice QOL changes that I’m excited about — and I really want to do the Mage Tower — but my focus has been on other games this year, and I’m having fun with those. So I’m not in a rush to get back to WoW, but I am a little excited to see what it feels like to return.
• I think at this point, all the games I’m excited for are 2022 releases. Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, and the Bugsnax DLC are all on my radar, and I will absolutely not have time for them.
• I hope so! Mine has been crazy lately and I am very, very tired.

Well apparently humans have 78 organs, and since Abominations are at least 3 humans stitched together, I’d have to say at least 1,000.

I absolutely think they’re taking these things to heart. I’m less sure that players’ definition of “taking things to heart” is the same as the devs’. 9.1.5 brought a lot of great QOL changes, but they were also changes that were feasible within 9.1.5’s release timeline (relatively speaking).

Major changes to the factions or — going a bit further — something where one character can be multiple classes (a la FFXIV) likely would take a lot more work to implement by 10.0, and I don’t know how feasible those sorts of things are, especially knowing how far in advance these things are planned. You have to keep in mind that 10.0 was likely being designed and planned well over a year ago, so QOL changes may have to be triaged a bit — what ones can be done at launch, which can be done relatively easy post-launch, and which will take a major, major overhaul to make happen?

To answer your question specifically, I foresee change on the horizon, but I’m cautiously optimistic about those changes, with an emphasis on “cautiously.”

I went in not knowing what to expect at all, and I left feeling like it was the exact type of movie I wanted it to be. It hit the cinematic sci-fi notes I wanted it to and everything about its aesthetic was what I love.

Not having read the books, I’ve heard they ended at a logical place — but it still felt kind of… anticlimactic? It’s a movie I think most people need to go into knowing it has a second part, and the advertising didn’t really make that clear. But overall, really enjoy it (resolution issues aside).

I don’t think factions need to be removed, and I’m actually one of those few people who kind of likes the roleplaying element of making a big choice that matters and provides a unique experience (like picking your faction in WoW does).

But I’m also aware most players want to play with their friends regardless of faction, and I really don’t see a reason to stop them. I think factions work less and less the longer WoW goes on because the MMO world has evolved and factions are, technically speaking, a design choice from almost 2 decades ago.

I think the ideal solution for me would be to de-emphasize the faction conflict from a story angle and then just let players group with their friends for instanced content. I mean, if the factions effectively became an Aldor/Scryer-level choice, I think I’d be fine with that.

I had to re-watch the intro experience for Allied Races just to be sure, but my interpretation is twofold: 1) Bolvar did, in fact, raise you unwillingly but 2) because you were a champion in life who sacrificed yourself for your people, you welcome this as a second chance to serve those people and save the world as the champion you used to be. Technically, it’s a choice that the player makes to pledge fealty to Bolvar (although the alternative is to delete your character so…)

It’s not exactly an ethical choice, but it’s also not necessarily one that (to me) you’re being forced into 100% against your will.

That’s our Queue for today! I hope you all have a lovely day and the weather isn’t unpleasant for anyone. Be sure to leave lots of questions for tomorrow’s writer!