The Queue: Wednesday keeps coming back

Let’s just hope that this week, it isn’t back for revenge. Let’s answer some questions while we stumble towards Friday.

You always have to vote for mama bear Queen Grazer, but I have to say that bear 901 is looking extremely rotund (as well as super fluffy).

Brewfest is a holiday for everybody, so just head outside of Orgrimmar for the Horde vision.

The Muppets bring color and personality wherever they go. They’re fun in lighthearted PG films, and they’re equally fun when they’re just a little bit mean.

In fact, being, let’s say inappropriate, is kind of in their DNA. The Muppet Show was not a kid’s show: it was sketch comedy with celebrity guests. In fact, before having their own show, the Muppets did skits on Saturday Night Live in the 70s. The pilot episode that ABC aired was The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, and Jim Henson explained, “Through this pilot, we hope to be able to demonstrate that puppetry can be very solid adult entertainment.”

The Muppet Show was full of surrealist humor, experimental art, and sometimes even violence — like Rita Moreno’s dance/bar fight in which possibly she murdered a Muppet. (It’s hard to say.)

I think the Muppets can be wholesome without always having to be PG, and it can be fun to put our favorite characters into weird situations.

If I had complete creative control, I would put Amazons into the game circa yesterday. I really enjoyed the javelin playstyle, which mixed melee slashes with thrown javelins for long-range attacks, which could leave clouds of poison behind or fire bolts of lightning. Amazons were also the bow-wielding ranged fighters in Diablo 2, I just personally enjoyed the melee/ranged hybrid playstyle, which felt more unique.

Of course, the problem adding this class to Diablo 4 is that there’s a lot of potential overlap with the Rogue, which has taken up the bow-wielding playstyle in the game, and already feels like a hybrid between the D2 Amazon and Assassin, just without the Amazon’s Javelins and many fewer traps than the Assassin. (Can you tell that I really liked the Amazon and the Assassin? You probably can.) Perhaps the Amazon could lean into the melee/ranged style, whereas Rogue really specializes in one or the other. Amazons might take some inspiration from the Barbarian’s mastery of weaponry, carrying an arsenal of spears, javelins, and bows for a mix of combat styles. And, really, I just love throwing a poison javelin and leaving a cloud of death in its wake that I can position for my enemies to walk through. It’s great!

However, I think this is unlikely to actually happen, or at least unlikely to happen now. Before Vessel of Hatred came out, there was a lot of hype for a heavily armored Paladin or Crusader type class, with a lot of hopium even though Blizzard kept saying the game was getting a brand new class to the franchise. I think the monk-like Spiritborn got a somewhat lukewarm reception from players who were big fans of the game who wanted more of that classic Diablo feel, and I think in the next expansion Blizzard is going to give us a fresh take on the Crusader that perhaps ties into the struggling remnants of the Zakarum in Hawezar. There are plenty of interesting story ties for such a class, whereas the Spiritborn came out of left field.

But you know, I love playing Paladins too and I’d be pretty happy with that. I alternated between Paladin and Amazon in Diablo 2, and the aesthetic of being a heavily armored warrior that can shake off demons can be a lot of fun.

What is even the point of player housing if we don’t?

That’s all for today, my friends. We’ve made it half-way through another week! Take care of yourselves and I’ll see you in the comments section.