The Queue: Release the Quacken!

I went and saw one of my favorite bands last week, Alestorm!

They put on one heck of a great show. The standout is, of course, this giant inflatable duck, but they also had a singing parrot and a rapping shark come out for a couple of songs, so it was a pretty wild time. There was crowd surfing, and a mosh pit, and at one point the mosh pit sat on the floor and all rowed in unison with the singer, and a whole bunch of songs about drinking rum! What’s not to love?

I’m a little sad that they didn’t do their cover of The Last Saskatchewan Pirate, written by a local band, but I can understand not changing the tour setlist for just one stop.

While I dive deep into the pirate metal rabbit hole, it’s time for our daily question and answer column — The Queue!

I’m betting you’ve got between 100 and 150. For specificity, I’m going to say you’re returning to 132. That’s 26.4 emails, all surely of the utmost importance and highest priorities.

My record in a week was 77, I read a fraction of that number and deleted the rest.

For something on the scale of a longboi? I’d bet you gotta spend a month and a half getting exalted with a faction, and only then can you start the month-long grind to grow one yourself. I still think it would be worth it.

You gotta be careful about bringing giant fungal things around places, though. Think of all the invasive spores that could be being shed with every step. You could annihilate entire ecosystems without even trying to! Think of the Fjarnskaggl! Not that there’s much call to go back to Legion stuff these days, but you could be looking for some decor and cause a major ecological disaster.

Y’know, other than the one that’s involved with harvesting all that lumber.

Odds are good.

It would let Microsoft show off its big acquisition on a big stage, especially with the rumors of a Warcraft-related Games Pass tier. What better way to introduce people to that than by showing the new hotness coming on the horizon?

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a teaser for any of the unreleased products that they’ve got cooking. Something small, like the Elder Scrolls 6 teaser that came out many years ago. Something to just say; hey, we’re more than just the big three current games we’ve got on the go right now.

I’d also lay even money on getting a good tease or early look at the next Diablo 4 expansion. They didn’t really explicitly set anything up at the end of the new campaign, so they can send us anywhere they want to go. I said before that I think a trip to the Heavens after all this time mucking about in the Hells, and I still think that’s a good bet. There’s a lot of room for activities up there.

And yes, of course, Heroes of the Storm 3.0! Stop just trickling content out, and return to full-throated development with new characters and full events. Give players a warm welcome back to the Nexus with Lilith, Xal’atath, and Vendetta joining the roster.

I can picture the cinematic now. Open on a big brawl of the three new characters trading blows until they see Murky, Raynor, and Thrall trying to sneak past them. Cut to Murky, Raynor, and Thrall being launched out of windows like Charlie Brown failing to kick a football. Cut back inside to the three big villains deciding to work together and conquer the Nexus. Title: By Three They Come… to the Nexus.

I want a return to preferred damage types against enemies. Like a physical does more damage to mundane things, flame does more damage to flammable things, and light does more damage to shadow things. Not like a lot a lot, but maybe a percent or two. They could have different sound effects or spell effects to really sell the fantasy. Which could be even more important than any actual mechanical changes on the backend. Feeling like a big damn hero can be just as good as actually being one.

Have a loaf. A loaf perched on the end of a couch. A loaf staring directly at you menacingly. This is what you get for sitting in Bacardi’s spot. Maybe if you get up and move, it’s not too late to get something nice in your vaults.

Would you rather

Go to a book faire

Or

A farmers market

Today’s Anna Earworm™: Hangover

I hope you all have an excellent week, and you get to do something fun that surprises you with how much fun it is. Make sure to leave Anna lots of questions for tomorrow so she also has lots of time to do fun stuff.