The Queue: But it was just Friday last Friday

Really, weren’t we just here? Huh. I guess we’re back. Let’s Queue.

I think this is definitely happening, and I don’t think they’ll stop at just doing one of them. Microsoft knows the power of the franchises it bought beyond just World of Warcraft, and when Blizzard announced Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct (coming next week) it specifically said the event would have something for fans of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. In which case this info about Warcraft 2 is a little surprising, but not a lot surprising.

The only question in my mind is what form it will take. Blizzard got very ambitious with ideas for the Warcraft 3 remaster. The company made big promises while not giving the team actually making the game the resources to fulfill them and pushing them to meet a fixed release deadline. The result was a buggy mess that looked nothing like what the company had promised.

But that doesn’t mean Blizzard can’t do it. The company just has to commit to doing it, set a scope of work, and give the team the resources to complete it. It could be great. And I think Microsoft knows exactly how many original Warcraft RTS fans are out there, and is willing to set the team up for success.

Whatever’s happening, we’ll find out next week.

Blizzard is pretty bad at tying threads together like this across expansions, but it would be neat to see that conversation.

I admit, it is clogging up my bank and I don’t know that I’m ever going to have alts to use it all, but I’m compelled to keep it nevertheless. What if I need it later? I have to hang on to it!

I always start the expansion with big goals. I’m going to level all of these characters to max! I’m going to do the highest Delve difficulty and finally get that Mythic+ achievement that I never bother to get!

And at some point it’s like, Liz, you don’t really enjoy the Mythic+ grind, content that’s too difficult tends to frustrate you, and there are only 24 hours in a day.

So I’m not doing much as I thought I would (there’s never as much time as I expect to have, and always more distractions). But I think I’m doing alright. My raid group is close to AotC, I can clear tier 8 Delves on my own for the best rewards, and I’ve been having fun doing it. I still don’t know if I’ll level all of these alts, most of which are still sitting at 70 or 71, but we’ll see how it progresses. (This is also why my bank is full of Warbound gear, see above.)

I think I’m happy where I am, though.

Yes. Wasn’t that easy?

I think it’s a very fun game. The combat is action-oriented and engaging, with combos that will impact your team choices. Gear is interesting and can change how you approach your build, and the talent system is expansive and allows for different playstyles and synergies. It’s a different style than previous games, but I think it’s fun.

Narratively is where people are most likely to get hung up on the game, I think, for various reasons. Approach it as a game about making friends, because that’s always the core of BioWare stories. Meet new people to awkwardly flirt with, then kill dragons with them. I think the companions are all interesting with great voice acting, though my compatriot Dan thinks there’s not enough conflict between them. I just know I am having fun hanging out with them, and we’ve got some dragons (and maybe some other things) to slay.

That’s all for now, friends. Take care of yourselves, hug your loved ones, message a friend to say hi, and have a good weekend. I’ll see you back here next week when we can talk about how wrong I was about Warcraft remasters. I’m looking forward to it!