Blizzard Watch Weekly: Almost another patch day

Last week was quiet, but this week is packed with new things to do as World of Warcraft launches patch 12.0.5 and we gear up for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred’s launch next week. We’ve got plenty of content coming up on both, so stay tuned, because I’m pretty excited about some of the things we’ve been working on.

But while we wait on the next big thing, let’s take the time to look back at what happened last week (not much) and what’s happening this week (possibly too much). Here’s what’s going on in Blizzard games.

What happened last week?

• Put on your tinfoil hat, because we’re speculating about where Xal’atath actually came from.
• We’ve been delving into the Voidspire raid for a few weeks now, so it’s time to talk about the important things: how everyone is looking in their new class sets. Here are our fashion ratings of the Voidspire’s tier sets.
• Just announced: Tempest Keep, Serpentshrine Cavern, and a whole lot more are coming to The Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary realms in Phase 2, launching on May 14.
• Season 2 of the newly renamed Overwatch is now live with new hero Sierra (who unfortunately does not seem to have anything to do with defunct Sierra Entertainment).
• Diablo 4’s next expansion, Lord of Hatred, is launching on April 28, and it will launch with Season 13, which we do not yet know anything about. But Blizzard has announced a developer update this week on April 23 which should tell us more about the season and the launch.
• This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl is Heroic Brawliseum, and frankly we have trouble recommending it. However, we do have some tips on how to enter this pay-to-play Brawl.

What’s happening this week (and beyond)

• April 21: WoW patch 12.0.5 launches, and it’s piled with features for an x.0.5 patch, including The Voidforge to upgrade your gear and Abyss Anglers to hone your spear-fishing skills. That really covers all of your gaming bases, and it’s launching this week.
• April 23: Diablo 4 pre-Lord of Hatred developer update
• Through April 23: You only have a few days to get the latest murloc plushie decor as a WoW Twitch Drop, so act fast!
• April 27 – March 4: WoW Children’s Week goes live, though we haven’t heard if this year has anything new.
• April 28: Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred launches
• May 14: WoW Classic Anniversary realms TBC Phase 2 launches
• Until they’re gone: BlizzCon 2026 tickets are on sale

Other things we’re playing, watching, and more

• This week’s Epic Games Store freebie is The Stone of Madness, a tactical stealth game in which you and your compatriots attempt to escape from an asylum — hopefully with your sanity intact.

Our latest podcasts

• Blizzard Watch Podcast: Decor Duel, fishing, and transmog: The real end game
• Lore Watch Podcast: The Midnight Elf-O-Rama
• Tavern Watch Podcast: From cozy robots to wizard colleges

We have some great podcasts coming up this week, too, with Lore Watch Podcast and Blizzard Watch Podcast both focusing on Diablo. Tavern Watch Podcast is taking the week off, but we’ll be back next week with a new actual play for you to enjoy.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back next week with another weekly news recap!