WRUP: This weekend, no one at Team Blizzard Watch has critically acclaimed MMORPG FOMO, nope!

Welcome to another edition of WRUP — What aRe yoU Playing? — the place where we talk about everything we here at Blizzard Watch are up to in the coming days. This week is not only the first WRUP of December but also the launch of Final Fantasy XIV’s new expansion, Endwalker.

Of course, there’s a lot more going on than an MMO expansion launch. So let’s dive in and chat about everything coming up for Team Blizzard Watch!

Liz Patt: Happy December! I’m questioning what mysterious entities Mitch is encouraging us to game with. Picturing some eldritch horror from beyond with firey, blazing eyes, entirely too many tentacles, and a little anime mouth going “uWu.”

I hope to make our weekly Candlekeep game because I miss my bright-eyed little druid and apparently my adventuring group left me with a Medusa in favor of their own spa day? She’s probably having a grand old time splashing around with the snakes. Plus, I need to pack, because…

On Saturday, I’ll be attending the birthday party for a friend’s child turning 1 and immediately heading to the airport afterwards for my first air trip in two years. Holy cannoli. Gaming wise, travel means I’m restricted to my phone, tablet, and Switch. So, you know, not all THAT restricted. I’m expecting lots of time in D2R, Hades, and of course, ACNH. I’ve fallen back into the Animal Crossing hole and eight hours in the air means a LOT of time to customize my island.

Anna Washenko: I have so many things in my to-be-played queue these days, so obviously I started a second playthrough of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I’m heading up the Black Eagle house this time around. Thus far, I’m less enamored of the characters (other than Petra, who is my fabulous huntress buddy) than I was of any of my precious Blue Lions. But I suppose we’ll see where things go.

And since it’s December, my mission to watch as many ridiculous Christmas movies as possible is underway. Bring on the mistletoe and wacky meet-cutes and schlocky non-copyrighted carols!

Matthew Rossi: I am a creature of habit.

I’m playing Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, as Xbox always knew I would.

Phil Xavier: Real life hit me with a ton of stuff at the same time over these past two weeks; so much that I couldn’t even find time to continue playing games that I had already been enjoying, such as SMT V. I’m not finding time to watch anything either, and my reading of 2666 has slowed down to a crawl.

So, what am I playing? I’m pretty much doing nothing but answering trivia and killing Doomwalker in WoW, and if I still have any time left after/during that, playing a game or two of Hearthstone.

It’s been tough to be so overwhelmed with things that you have no free time, but this too shall pass! Only a couple more days!

Deb Montague: Maybe I’ve mentioned I walk dogs part-time and the past two weeks have been very, very busy. I’m already nearly booked for Christmas. After a full day, I come home and how did it get to be 9 p.m.?

In the Win Gimm’s Mount department, the last two weeks were unsuccessful and I’m going to be changing it up to explore older raids which have a mount on the final boss. There’s tmog in them thar raids, you know. The evidence is high that the drop rate for special items has increased in Legion supply boxes. After I have no idea how many years, the Stormdrake finally arrived in a Valajar supply box. Court of Farondis and Army of the Light are the two remaining supply mounts I don’t have.

Otherwise, I’m playing Civ V and a friend gave me a couple cat-themed puzzles for my birthday. I don’t think anyone has knocked any pieces off the kitchen table where the puzzle sits. My cats aren’t counter/table sitters. Big sportsball event this weekend and I have a bet with a guildie on it. I need to make sure I have ingredients for chocolate chip cookies.

Joe Perez: Re-discovering Minecraft with the new Caves and Cliffs updates. Having fun exploring and building in a new world with my friends. Building a new Commander deck around Rin and Seri, a Dog and Cat legendary creature that is all about the Goodest boys and most regal floofs and making so many of them! Finishing up some of my to do list in wow on my Shaman and still trying to get that Normal Sylvanas kill on my hunter. I want that bow dangit!

Anna Bell: I got myself Green Hell for my birthday, and so far the name delivers… it’s Green and it’s kinda Hell.

This weekend is mostly going to be spent decorating for Christmas. Of course, the major hurdle will probably be cleaning everything to a blank slate in the first place. I’m also trying to find some good, interesting Christmas-y classic literature short stories that aren’t too depressing (Little Match Girl) or preachy (Little Match Girl) and man, it’s tougher than I thought. No wonder the Victorians went with ghost stories instead.

Christian Thoma: This weekend I’m mostly about Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. I do plan on continuing my journey in Hades (I’ve almost escaped!), and besides gaming I am reading the new Critical Role novel Kith and Kin.

Mitch “Mitch” Mitchell: My plans this weekend are getting BOOSTED against that nasty Covid bugger. The rest of the weekend depends on how well I react but I’m mostly planning for two days of video games. I recently wrapped Horizon Zero Dawn, so I’m thinking of giving Ruined King a go. GF and I have also been playing It Takes Two here and there, and what a fantastic co-op game it is! Highly recommend for anyone who’s looking for a fun game to play with a partner or friend or mysterious entity.

Ted Atchley: I am also mostly playing SWTOR. I’m clearing out old quests from my max level Jedi Knight Guardian in preparation for the expansion. I’m also working back into the stories of my lower level characters to remember where I was at. The new Combat Styles, coming in the expansion, have so many interesting combinations, I can’t wait to play them all. For TV, my sportsball team is taking the weekend off, and frankly, with how terrible they have been playing they need it. I’m also totally hooked on the new Hawkeye series.

The Candlekeep D&D game continues on Friday. THX, my Warforged Artificer, nearly got the party killed last time, but fortunately Kalshera was able to find a less aggressive end to the encounter. After that, I’ve got plans with my son. We’ve been playing Mario Golf Super Rush and we are going to try to continue his supervised watch through of the MCU. He only wants to see the movies with “The Big Guy” A.K.A. Hulk. We watched Age of Ultron so Thor: Ragnarok is up next.

Andrew Powers: Mostly playing SWTOR, leveling up a Jedi Knight, to go with my Sith Inquisitor and Trooper, in preparation for the upcoming expansion, Legacy of the Sith. After looking at the other MMORPGs still producing content, I’m highly tempted to download Guild Wars 2.

On the TV front, I just watched Netflix’s live action Cowboy Bebop, and really enjoyed it. I’m now watching the original anime, and really appreciate what they remade, sometimes in a perfect shot, what they changed, and what stories they elaborated on. I think it’s an example of a remake, with a different take, done right. Though I know opinions on it are split.

That’s all for this week’s WRUP! I hope everyone’s December is off to a good start and the cold isn’t getting you too down (if it’s cold where you are). We’ll be back again next week — until then, why not let us know what you’re playing?