What do you miss most from in-person BlizzCon events?

Last week the Hearthstone team had a cosplay contest that was a lot of fun with some worthy winners, but what I found interesting was how much it made people miss BlizzCon. For those who have been chronologically dazed the past few years, it’s been more than two years since the last BlizzCon and while that one was chock full of announcements — Overwatch 2! Diablo 4! Shadowlands! — it’s been a long time since the community has had a chance to get together. Fortunately, all signs point to BlizzCon 2023 happening, and while we’re not sure when it’ll be we have some guesses.

I probably haven’t been facing the same drought as others, though, as my favorite part of BlizzCon has always been the stage announcements. BlizzConline and other online-only announcements were ok, but nothing tops the excitement of a live crowd reacting to a cinematic. I even found the panels exciting because on stage the presenters just had better energy — you could tell they and the crowds feed off each other. The World of Warcraft plan for 2023 was extremely detailed, but it would’ve been a lot more fun to have Ion on stage guiding us through it.

The announcement and deep dive panels weren’t the only ones I tuned in to, though. I’m always fond of the various small panels they have, such as the artist-at-work and soundtrack presentations. 2019 also had a cooking workshop and a crafting show, and I hope that when we get BlizzCon again they include similar shows as they’re a fun diversion.

Of course, the cosplay parade was one of the annual highlights of the in-person convention (although if they do bring anything back from BlizzConline I really hope it is the pet cosplay). I am always fond of the creative contests — I still need to figure out how to get the 2018 Art Contest winner hanging on my wall — but cosplay is a step beyond anything I can imagine doing myself so I’m always amazed what people are able to fabricate.

What do you miss from the live BlizzCons? Are you a fan of the Community Night events? Or are you mostly watching (or attending) for the announcements? And do you agree Darin DePaul should always host community night?