Up next in 10
This week our hosts mostly focused on everything that's coming soon in WoW and a few other games. Patch 12.0.5 got a release date -- April 21 -- so our cohosts discussed all the stuff coming up in that patch, from Decor Duel to fishing to transmog. All the endgame activities. But WoW isn't the only game with endgame -- there was a new (expensive!) cosmetic gatcha pet in Hearthstone. As always, the first one is free.
Plus, a new season and Hero came to Overwatch. Sierra is still not dodging the charges that she's Dollar Store Cammy. In fact, her backstory just makes her seem more like Dollar Store Cammy. Joe is a little irked about it!
Cory was cohosting, so there was another edition of Cory's Heroes of the Storm Copium Corner.
Subscribe to Blizzard Watch in your podcast player for more of the latest news:
RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/656a381dff3911001256c7bf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blizzard-watch/id964696892
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2mRiUSalfnFAUfKO2yh4RG
Visit us at https://blizzardwatch.com for the latest news on Blizzard games, and don't forget to subscribe on Patreon to support our efforts! https://www.patreon.com/blizzardwatch
Discord: https://discord.gg/MY9p4d7t8U
Bluesky: @blizzardwatch.com
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:11
Hey everybody and welcome to the
0:12
Blizzard Watch podcast. This is where we
0:14
talk about Blizzard Entertainment and
0:15
its mini games. Uh I am Matt Rossi. I'm
0:20
hosting and not guesting. I I had a
0:23
problem with that at the opening, but I
0:24
realized I'm not guesting this week as I
0:26
have never guested because I usually
0:29
because I work here. It it it doesn't
0:31
happen that way. Uh but with us this
0:33
week first off is a fantastic special
0:35
guest star who didn't feel like using
0:37
his own name, so he used me and confused
0:40
me.
0:41
>> No, I just said me. I didn't say Matt
0:44
Rossy. I just said
0:45
>> No, you said me,
0:46
>> but with an exclamation point, which I
0:48
feel is kind of my brand. No, that's all
0:50
you matter.
0:52
>> Well, I as far as as far as Blizzard
0:55
watch, Corey does have a tendency to use
0:57
a number of exclamation points which I
0:59
then edit out and frown at him about.
1:02
>> This is Liz, by the way. Liz Harper
1:04
site.
1:05
>> I'm Liz.
1:06
>> Yes. And Joe's here, too. I'm here, too.
1:11
>> It's just a clown car of podcasters.
1:14
Speaking of clown cars of podcasters,
1:16
April 21st is going to be the release
1:18
date for patch 12.0.5 in World of
1:20
Warcraft. I wanted to get that right out
1:22
there because I've been waiting for this
1:24
one because I want to do void assaults
1:26
and I think they will help me. So, yay.
1:29
>> Well, you know what? For for those of us
1:32
that haven't been paying attention to
1:33
this particular feature, would somebody
1:35
like to explain to me what a void
1:36
assault is, please?
1:38
>> No. No one wants
1:41
Matt, you're the one excited about them.
1:43
Tell us.
1:44
>> I here's the thing about why I'm excited
1:46
about them and I'm going to talk about
1:47
it really frankly.
1:49
>> I have been behind in in World of
1:52
Warcraft for several reasons. One of
1:54
them is personal. It's health related.
1:56
You guys don't need. The other is the
1:58
fact that the computer I'm currently
1:59
running barely runs World of Warcraft.
2:02
So, Void Assaults feel very similar to
2:05
what we saw back in Legion with the
2:07
Legion invasions. if you all remember
2:10
those where there'd be spots in the
2:11
world where like in this case void stuff
2:14
is happening and you can go to them. I
2:16
mean I believe the ones that I know
2:18
about are going to be either Everong
2:20
Woods or Zullon and there's going to be
2:22
a weekly rotation between those two
2:24
areas. Um when they get completed the
2:27
new one starts at the other part in
2:30
another part of the zone and this
2:32
continues through that cycle. Um, I
2:35
don't remember exactly how long the
2:36
cycle is because I mean the post that
2:38
I've seen about it doesn't actually tell
2:40
you how long before it moves to the new
2:42
location, but regardless,
2:45
I like them because they are familiar to
2:48
me. They remind me of those those those
2:51
Legion attacks that we got in Legion and
2:55
for that matter the stuff we did on
2:56
Dranor when we were running around
2:58
finding incursions and stopping those.
3:00
And these are void incursions, so
3:02
they're better because they're shadowy,
3:03
I guess, and goths might like them more.
3:05
Uh, that part I don't know. But there's
3:07
going to be a quest. Um, uh, Ranger
3:09
Captain Oh, bloody heck. What is her
3:11
name?
3:12
>> Lil Latha. Is it Latha or Lila? I don't
3:15
remember.
3:15
>> I I've seen the character, but I've
3:17
never actually heard the name spoken.
3:19
Uh, but uh, Kul Amara the Fierce, who,
3:22
you know, troll. Um, they're the ones
3:25
hanging out in the bizaar and they're
3:26
the ones giving the quests to to do this
3:30
because you get a rers's case for
3:32
completing it. So, you get some loots.
3:34
Uh, also good. Not that this expansion
3:37
is hurting too much for ways to get
3:40
loot. I'll be upfront on that one as
3:43
lazy as I am.
3:44
>> There's a lot there's a lot going on
3:46
these days. But this is this is
3:48
basically just it's a pick up and play
3:51
as soon as you see it type event which I
3:54
mean it's you don't have to go and do
3:57
like you know a specific thing all the
3:59
time like a delve that you go yourself
4:01
whatever. This is something that's
4:03
happening in the world and other people
4:04
are doing it and I I find those fun. I
4:08
always have. One of the reasons I loved
4:10
them, the times I've seen them in the
4:12
game, is because a lot of times there'll
4:14
be something that I can't solo, but I
4:17
don't have to solo it because there's
4:19
like 30 people trying to get it done.
4:20
And since we can all tag the same
4:22
things, uh, it's not as horrible as it
4:25
has been in the past. So, in terms of
4:27
what these are, they're like void
4:29
strikes or void incursions, the void
4:31
strikes are the part that you really
4:33
kind of have to figure out. They're like
4:35
branching out from the main incursion.
4:37
you have to go do them first and then
4:39
the incursion is the big main part. So
4:42
again, it's very similar to the Legion
4:44
ones if you remember those. However, I
4:46
am fully aware that Legion was almost a
4:48
decade ago.
4:49
>> Oh god, don't say that.
4:50
>> That can't be right. That it was surely
4:52
just yesterday.
4:53
>> No, I mean
4:54
>> sounds very wrong.
4:55
>> That was Legion uh re was it releion?
4:57
Was that what we were calling it? I
4:58
don't
4:59
>> re re I'mix going remix
5:05
that's what the guild called it. Lyric
5:07
sounds
5:07
>> sounds like a stooda.
5:08
>> It does.
5:09
>> It also sounds like Tuvac and Ne.
5:14
>> No, I will shut this podcast down. I
5:17
will turn this podcast around.
5:23
>> There is a line.
5:25
>> There is a line on things we will
5:27
discuss on this podcast. Cross the line.
5:30
>> Well, I know what I'm clipping for the
5:32
soundboard.
5:36
I'm sorry. In my defense, I'm on a lot
5:39
of pain medication. Anyway, um now that
5:42
we've terrified everyone, I think the
5:44
basic premise is pretty simple. go to um
5:48
either Everong or Zolan depending on
5:51
where they are. Uh go to the zone, see
5:54
what the the strikes are, go do the
5:56
strikes, then you go to the central part
5:58
of the zone where they where by central
6:00
I mean the central hub for the incursion
6:03
and you go and deal with that and you
6:05
get goodies and then you leave and yeah,
6:08
that's it. That that's the deal. And
6:10
it's going to be on a rotating basis so
6:12
you can keep doing it which is another
6:14
thing I really like. That's it. I that's
6:16
that's the thing that's but I like them
6:18
because that's what they are. They're
6:20
simple and they they feel like a thing
6:22
to do.
6:23
>> Blizzard does have kind of a formula
6:24
that they've been working on here for a
6:26
lot of events and this this does feel
6:27
like it follows it. So there's something
6:30
good about having something familiar
6:31
that you can go and do and not not
6:35
dedicate too many brain cells to
6:37
something new that you have to figure
6:39
out and learn from scratch.
6:40
>> Yep. I mean and that's the thing. There
6:42
are a lot of systems in Midnight.
6:44
>> Oh yeah. So lot of different ways to get
6:47
loot and I get really like I don't want
6:50
to say overwhelmed but I can't think of
6:51
another word for it. Like it's just so
6:53
much to keep in my head. I I like this
6:55
because I don't feel like I'm need to
6:57
keep much of anything in my head. I'm
6:58
just going to go do the things and be
6:59
done.
7:00
>> That's fair.
7:01
>> Yeah. Okay.
7:02
>> I didn't know if anyone else had
7:03
anything to say, so I stopped talking.
7:04
I'm sorry. I won't do that again.
7:08
But we should talk about ritual sites
7:09
because these I don't know anything
7:10
about uh and just found out about them.
7:13
Um, but they look kind of cool. Uh, can
7:16
somebody do the the ritual sites
7:17
explanation because I mean right now I'm
7:20
looking at it looks kind of like a it it
7:22
looks familiar, but I can't think of
7:23
anything I've done with like it in the
7:25
game before. So, somebody talk about
7:26
ritual sites. So, it's
7:28
>> Go ahead.
7:29
>> Uh, you go on Andrew.
7:30
>> So, the way that it read to me, uh,
7:31
ritual sites are like repeatable
7:34
content, but they're instanced. Uh,
7:37
they're kind of like delves. Um they
7:39
allow for like flexible group sizes uh
7:42
between one to five players. Uh and
7:45
there are like a series of challenges
7:47
that you know will will scale with the
7:49
group that you have. Um and it's
7:52
basically you're trying to disrupt the
7:54
rituals of the Naga which is relevant.
7:57
Go back and listen to lore watch uh in
8:00
Eversong Woods or the Twilight's Blade
8:02
Cultist in Zullean. Um and they
8:05
alternate between the two zones. Uh you
8:07
wind up basically going through you.
8:09
There's an obelisk. It teleports you or
8:12
essentially starts the instance. Uh you
8:14
go through and uh you select the
8:17
challenge. It's almost like a Diablo
8:19
Rift. And if you ever played the
8:22
Warhammer MMO, they had these things
8:25
called public quests. It's a lot like
8:28
that. Um, so the the thing that I like
8:32
about it, cool scalable content,
8:35
something that people can go and you can
8:37
adjust your your difficulty
8:39
um basically with uh different tiers.
8:43
Uh, and then the thing that I don't like
8:45
about it, as is with everything these
8:47
days, why does it come with a new
8:50
currency?
8:52
STOP. USE USE something you already
8:55
have. But there there's just there's a
8:58
new currency, field alkalades, which are
9:00
like the old war accommodations that
9:02
used to get in like Battle for Azeroth
9:04
um and stuff like it's it's a cool
9:07
little thing and I think it'll be fun.
9:10
Um but I don't know how much I will
9:12
personally engage with it after I'm done
9:14
getting through rank three or rank five.
9:16
>> Yeah, it feels it feels more like
9:18
something that you've already got. Like
9:20
you said, you mentioned delves. It feels
9:21
like if you're doing delves already, you
9:24
probably won't do this. I mean, I don't
9:26
mean to be like a
9:27
>> I think it depends. I think it depends
9:28
on what the the the actual rewards are
9:30
at the end.
9:32
>> And the other thing is there is so much
9:34
to do right now. You know, there are
9:37
tons of dungeons, tons of delves. Each
9:39
zone has its own zone event to do.
9:42
>> Uh you Mythic Plus has been really
9:44
heating up. The whole raid tier is open
9:47
right now, including in RaidFinder. So,
9:51
there's a lot to keep you busy in World
9:54
of Warcraft right now. And I about both
9:56
the the void assaults and the ritual
9:59
sites. What I really wonder is, wow, am
10:02
I going to find time to do this
10:04
alongside everything else I'm working
10:05
on? I don't know. I don't know how much
10:07
I'm going to engage with either of
10:08
these. I mean, I'll check them out, but
10:10
wow, I have tons of stuff to do. And I
10:12
I've been really enjoying delves. So,
10:15
yeah. I see. We will see.
10:17
>> I absolutely see that. Like cuz looking
10:18
at this right now, I'm thinking on the
10:20
one hand it sounds really cool. On the
10:21
other hand, it's got a pretty complex
10:23
difficulty structure. Like you have to
10:25
complete each tier and you just there's
10:27
five tiers and you can have multiple
10:29
player. It's like whoa. Okay.
10:31
>> Oh, what is it? What is it? Um the the
10:33
nightmare thing that we did the Black
10:34
Empire stuff. Um why can't I remember
10:36
the name of that now? That's what it
10:37
that that
10:38
>> horrific visions.
10:39
>> Yes, that's what it reminds me of.
10:41
>> It is it is not dissimilar to Horrific
10:42
Visions, although it doesn't seem to
10:44
have as much of the set pieces. Mhm.
10:46
>> Yeah. But I think the set piece this is
10:50
and again this is the lore side of it,
10:51
but like I think this is going to serve
10:54
potentially as backdrop or set dressing
10:58
for what comes into the like
11:00
transitioning between this uh tier and
11:03
the next tier and content drop because
11:07
we have to know what happens next. We
11:09
need something that starts transitioning
11:11
in between and now is about the time to
11:13
start, right? And this and this is a 0.5
11:16
patch. This is the time for all of the
11:19
middle of the
11:20
>> those connecting pieces and just small
11:23
fun things which we we have some small
11:25
fun things happening too.
11:26
>> Yeah. Like I'm I'm looking now at the
11:27
available challenges are I'm going to
11:29
read some of these and I'm not going to
11:30
go crazy here, but we've got tendrils.
11:33
You can choose to have some tendrils. Um
11:36
which means they're tendrils and they
11:38
attack you. They grasp you.
11:40
>> Slappy boys. Slappy boys.
11:42
>> Yeah. So, if you did if you do a uh if
11:46
you do a ritual site with that one in
11:47
included, it'll increase the spoils by
11:49
10%.
11:50
>> I also expect it'll sound very wet.
11:52
>> And that's for rank one. That's a rank
11:54
one one. There are several other rank
11:55
one possibilities. I'm not going to read
11:58
them all because again, then you've got
12:00
rank, you know, there'll be other
12:01
challenges in rank two, rank three, and
12:04
rank four. We only have the rank one
12:07
challenges. I'll mention that you can
12:09
also get manifestations, magical alarm
12:11
bells, um, malevolent boons, which is I
12:15
don't like I guess bad things for you,
12:17
good things for them. Uh, then my
12:20
personal favorite just for a name is
12:22
Tainted Corpses. Like, okay,
12:24
>> don't love it. Don't love it.
12:26
>> Doesn't sound like I was looking for,
12:28
but okay, great. So basically, you can
12:31
customize the difficulty by adding in
12:34
more complications. And there's a fair
12:37
amount just for ranks. You know, you can
12:40
you can go up to like rank one on a
12:42
number of these and then there are
12:43
probably going to be more because these
12:45
are just challenges for the first tier,
12:47
I think. Um yeah.
12:48
>> So yeah, there's a there's a fair amount
12:50
to there's I think the best way to put
12:52
is this is very customizable for a
12:55
group. Uh and
12:57
>> that's fine. I mean,
12:59
>> but do we already have heroic and mythic
13:02
and all that? I don't know.
13:04
>> Yeah, this could be I mean, this is
13:06
smaller group content potentially. This
13:08
is even soloable content if you want to
13:11
do that kind of thing. So, I mean, there
13:13
is some appeal to having I mean, I'm
13:15
talking about Mythic Plus, but you do
13:16
need to find five players who are
13:18
willing to commit to a dungeon and not
13:19
be jerks about it
13:21
>> to get to make it through.
13:23
>> Yeah.
13:24
>> Yeah. Or the impossible dream. the
13:27
impossible dream of running a pug M plus
13:30
without meeting any jerks. Yeah. Yeah.
13:32
It's it's a dream we'll continue to
13:34
have.
13:35
>> There is also a cosmetic equipment
13:36
salvager involved in that.
13:38
>> Yeah. And cosmetics. That's
13:40
>> Yeah, there's a bunch of transmog stuff.
13:42
Um there's void touched weapons, qua
13:45
void touched headgear, case of void
13:48
touched shoulders. And you you know all
13:50
the slots guys. I'm not going to read
13:51
all of this to you. They don't have
13:53
rings or trinkets because those don't
13:55
display on your character. Um, but
13:57
everything else that you can show is
14:00
available. Like you can get various void
14:03
touched versions of transmogs that kind
14:06
of exist already. It's like, you know,
14:08
they took a boot a transmog you've heard
14:09
of, like took a boot that, you know, and
14:11
now it's void touched.
14:12
>> So now it looks void, which is not bad
14:15
necessarily. I'm just saying that's what
14:16
that's what it is.
14:17
>> Sometimes sometimes you need a little
14:18
purple in your life. So
14:20
>> yeah. So,
14:20
>> purple does go with a lot of color.
14:22
>> Yeah,
14:23
>> I'm just tired of purple.
14:27
>> Well, you're in the wrong expansion,
14:29
buddy.
14:30
>> We are We are living in the purple
14:32
expansion right now.
14:34
>> I know. I just want to imagine like a a
14:37
blood elf who happens to look like
14:39
Prince just stepped out and was like
14:41
purple, right? And everyone's like, "No,
14:43
no, stop it."
14:46
I mean, I'm looking at my electric
14:47
guitar now and wondering if I can go get
14:49
my amp plugged in and start playing that
14:50
while you guys are talking. Anyway, uh
14:53
>> but yeah, that's that's that's also
14:55
coming. We're going to have the Abyss
14:57
Anglers Fishing Event, which to me
14:59
that's like literally kryptonite just
15:01
came out and I'm like
15:04
fishing. So,
15:05
>> well, but it doesn't read like a fishing
15:06
event. It reads like you're playing
15:08
Subnotica but in Warcraft.
15:10
>> I don't like that either.
15:11
>> Well, okay. Then you're not going to be
15:12
happy. Could we go Can we go closer to
15:14
Dave the diver?
15:17
>> Let's do dredge in Warcraft.
15:19
>> Oh, that's that's a whole thing.
15:21
>> No, thank you.
15:22
>> Let's do Vampire Survivors in Warcraft.
15:25
>> Stop it. They will do this, Matt. They
15:27
will put this in the game. Don't Don't
15:29
tempt Fate.
15:30
>> I love tempting fate.
15:32
>> That That monkey paw will curl.
15:35
>> I'm just waiting for them to Somebody
15:37
listen going, "Wait, have we done
15:39
Vampire Survivors yet?"
15:40
>> Not yet. Yeah, you're
15:42
>> if Warcraft if Warhammer can do it,
15:44
Warcraft surely can.
15:45
>> War although um I I have to say this,
15:48
they have done it in Diablo.
15:50
>> Diablo Immortal is all over the place
15:51
creatively. I mean they do a ton of
15:54
stuff.
15:54
>> Someday we will talk about the Doom
15:56
event in Vampire Immortal. I mean
15:58
Vampire Diablo Immortal
16:01
>> which is way better than the one in
16:03
Diablo I. How do they keep knocking it
16:06
out of the park with that game? It
16:08
astounds me. They do so much great
16:10
stuff. Um, I don't think it's that much
16:13
better having on them both of them, but
16:14
I do think it's it is better. I can't I
16:16
cannot argue it is better. Anyway,
16:19
that's not what we're talking about
16:20
right now, though. So, there's also the
16:22
void forge, which is going to be giving
16:23
bonus loot roles, um, additional upgrade
16:25
levels for gear, which is just another
16:28
way to make your gear better, but but I
16:30
like those.
16:31
>> I should we talk about the decor duel
16:33
because that feels like it's got stuff.
16:35
I want to I want to I want to talk at
16:36
least a minute about the uh void uh void
16:40
what's its void forge. Yes, I I know
16:43
what I'm talking about. You know, we got
16:46
rid of bonus rolls in the past and now
16:49
they're back. We have returned to the
16:52
day of bonus rolls. Um
16:54
>> in pog form.
16:56
>> Did you say in pog form?
16:58
>> Pog.
16:58
>> Uhhuh.
16:59
>> Pog.
17:00
>> My god,
17:01
>> it is.
17:04
I mean, so like and one of the things
17:08
that was kind of replacing uh bonus
17:11
rolls was the great vault because that
17:13
was kind of giving us our bad luck
17:15
protection and giving us a chance for
17:17
loot that we didn't get lucky enough to
17:18
drop. And now we're going to have we
17:20
still have the great vault, but also we
17:22
have bonus rolls. And then you also have
17:24
the extra gear upgrade levels, which are
17:26
kind of like um it's it's slipping my
17:28
mind. the the thing that comes at the
17:31
end of seasons lately,
17:32
>> the cartel coins.
17:34
>> I It's totally slipping. Anyway, uh so
17:37
we're kind of we're kind of bringing in
17:39
the extra the extra upgrade levels
17:41
early. We're bringing So, this already
17:43
feels like an expansion where it's
17:45
really easy to get looted gear up pretty
17:48
fast, even solo with the number of
17:51
content options available to us. So,
17:53
it's interesting that now they're also
17:56
rolling this out and they're rolling it
17:58
out really early in the season patch
18:00
1205.
18:02
So, I don't know. I don't know. It's
18:04
It's always good to be able to get more
18:06
loot to get it easier and to One of the
18:09
things that's nice about this and I'm
18:10
curious what y'all think is, you know, a
18:13
lot of us have been playing this game
18:14
for 20 years. We're older than we were
18:17
when we started. I'll just leave it at
18:19
that. And the the this expansion really
18:22
feels like it lets us limit our time.
18:25
Like we don't have to go in and play
18:27
24/7 to go in and get, oh, I'm going to
18:29
get the very best Pinnacle gear. It's
18:31
like I could do that. I could do that
18:33
and get better gear than I have. But I
18:35
can also come in and pick the content I
18:38
enjoy, which is I do some raiding, I do
18:40
some delves, and that can be that can
18:43
just be what I do. I can do what I enjoy
18:45
and get good gear and not have to do
18:47
everything. and my time commitment can
18:50
be lower than it might be if I'm like,
18:51
"Oh, I've got to do this much raiding.
18:53
I've got to do this much mythic plus.
18:55
Oh, you know, if you had to do
18:56
everything, what do you feel that the
19:00
game is this like the game respecting
19:02
your time by giving you more options or
19:04
do you feel like you have to do all the
19:06
things?"
19:07
>> I'm I'm going to start because nobody
19:08
was speaking. Um, I feel like they're
19:12
trying to respect my time, but I know
19:15
how these games work to the point where
19:17
I know there will be pressure to do
19:20
more. And I'm at the point where I just
19:22
have to I have to not give into that
19:25
pressure.
19:26
>> That's on me at this point. I cannot
19:28
expect the game to not be a a gigantic
19:31
time vortex of of like just eating my
19:35
day. If I if I let it, it will eat my
19:37
whole day. I have to realize, you know,
19:40
Matt, you haven't actually stood up in
19:42
three hours. That's that's on you. You
19:45
have to get up and walk around. Put them
19:47
in the middle. No, you have to get out
19:49
of there. Put the characters somewhere
19:52
where they won't be immediately eaten
19:54
and and go and embrace the limitations
19:57
of your physical form. Purge purge
20:00
toxins, ingest food, speak to human
20:04
beings. So, I I get it. I get what
20:06
they're trying for. I do still think
20:08
that there's going to be issues. Um I do
20:11
I do think the pressure is still there,
20:14
>> but the pressure is always there.
20:16
>> No escape. Uh what do you feel, Joe
20:18
Corey?
20:18
>> It's uh it's it's the they're giving you
20:21
the choice of how you want to spend your
20:22
time and in theory everything you do is
20:24
going to be something that rewards you.
20:26
Like yes, there is a lot of options and
20:28
that means that you can spend your time
20:29
playing a lot of different ways and you
20:31
can spend a lot of time playing. But I
20:32
don't think it's their job to save us
20:34
from ourselves. As much as I think that
20:38
they try to,
20:39
>> they do try, they make their best
20:41
effort.
20:42
>> I We've talked about this before. I
20:43
agree with Corey. Like, it's one of
20:45
those things where like they could give
20:47
us a perfect idyllic situation that has
20:51
no way for us to spend, you know, 24
20:54
hours solid in game and somebody's going
20:57
to still spend 24 solid hours in. It's
20:59
human nature. We're we're like some our
21:02
brains will fixate and we'll do certain.
21:04
So at a certain point they I think have
21:08
stopped running damage control on that
21:11
aspect so much as making everything just
21:14
easily accessible. And there's been a
21:16
discussion about this particular thing
21:18
that the fact that they're giving us so
21:20
many choices actually plays into that
21:23
because instead of saying well now we
21:26
have everything that's going to trap
21:28
them forever. It's we're going to give
21:29
them choice paralysis and eventually
21:31
they're going to log off
21:33
>> for their own health. Here's 8 billion
21:35
things and there's always going to be
21:37
that one person uh that will do all 8
21:39
billion things, but then for the vast
21:41
majority of people, we're picking and
21:42
choosing what we engage with, which is
21:45
probably the healthier way of doing it.
21:47
That said, I think that giving players
21:50
options to get rewards from the way they
21:53
play their game, as always, is good. I
21:57
think ultimately it is a benefit. So I'm
22:00
happy to see it. I think I answered the
22:01
question.
22:02
>> Yes. Now
22:04
you're the only person left who needs to
22:06
answer it.
22:07
>> I I started I started off.
22:09
>> I know. But I I otherwise we're going to
22:11
have to move on and talk about the the
22:12
decor duel.
22:14
>> And I haven't even been doing the house
22:16
stuff because I'm so afraid of it.
22:19
>> Like I cannot explain how terrified I
22:21
am. Like I do not want to look up one
22:24
day and realize that my own house has
22:26
turned into like, you know, rubble and
22:28
forlorn dreams while inside the computer
22:31
I have the best house ever. I've done
22:33
this in other games already, guys. I
22:35
don't want to do it again.
22:36
>> Matt, I've I've already torn apart my
22:38
house in WoW twice. I'm on the second
22:41
time to redo the entire thing from the
22:43
ground up. Run. Run while you can. I I I
22:47
have a voice from the past in my ears
22:50
going they just stopped peeing and I I
22:53
keep hearing it and I don't want to be
22:55
that person but I know
22:56
>> I understood that reference.
22:58
>> Yes, we're both very old. Um but yes,
23:01
regardless I just I I am I'm terrified
23:04
of this. So somebody who knows what the
23:06
decor duel is, please please talk about
23:08
it.
23:08
>> It's prop hunt. It's Go ahead.
23:10
>> And and it's actually not particularly
23:14
related to housing. It's just it's it's
23:17
kind of there. It's basically a game of
23:19
hideand seek where the people hiding can
23:22
disguise themselves as furniture
23:24
>> that you quue into. Let's let's make
23:26
that perfectly clear. It is something
23:28
you queue into
23:29
>> in the PvP window.
23:32
>> Yeah. So, it's it's a it's a very weird
23:37
game of hideand-seek, but that's what it
23:38
comes down to really.
23:40
>> Yeah. I don't think I don't think you
23:42
need to be afraid of this, but I also
23:44
don't think you need to participate in
23:45
it if you aren't into it.
23:47
>> Yeah. And it's it's team based. So, it's
23:49
uh two teams go at it and it's up I
23:51
think it's teams of four,
23:54
I think. Uh where one is the hiders and
23:57
one is the seekers. The hiders can turn
23:59
themselves into
24:01
uh illusions of objects that are out in
24:04
the world. um or in this particular
24:07
instance um I don't know the mechanics
24:09
of how they choose what they turn into
24:11
and then the other group has to find
24:12
them.
24:13
>> So you're a chair, you're a plate of
24:15
fruit, you know, it's obviously
24:18
obviously
24:20
>> it'll be interesting. Uh depending on
24:21
what the reward structure is, I may do a
24:24
lot of it and uh it may just annoy me. I
24:26
don't know. I have to give it a try.
24:28
>> I'm actually really excited that it's a
24:30
cued content. Um, one of the things that
24:32
one of the things that I was really
24:33
concerned about I I I will not engage
24:36
with this as a player.
24:37
>> I am happy that it exists for people
24:39
that do, but Prop Hunt's not my thing
24:41
>> and that's okay. Um, but I was worried
24:45
that it was going to be a thing that
24:46
just happened in neighborhoods as an
24:50
event
24:50
>> and because they weren't really clear
24:53
about that for a while and now seeing
24:55
that it is cued content, I'm like,
24:57
"Okay, cool. All my fears are gone. I'm
25:00
a happy person.
25:01
>> Yeah, this one is actually it's not
25:03
really I mean they're using some of the
25:06
housing interface stuff that I think
25:08
housing has made this possible, but it's
25:11
not exactly housing related.
25:14
>> It's more adjacent.
25:15
>> Yeah,
25:16
>> they just needed a lot more doodads to
25:18
look at or to disguise yourself.
25:20
>> Yeah. See, now they have a lot of
25:21
doodads and they have an interface for
25:23
arranging doodads so that you can, you
25:26
know, decide that you're going to be a
25:27
chair and then carefully place that
25:29
chair in the environment where it's
25:30
going to fool everyone.
25:32
>> 50% of the time it works every time.
25:35
>> It's not going to fool me. I know all
25:38
about mimics. I am suspicious of every
25:40
chair.
25:41
>> I was thinking of prey.
25:43
>> I was going to say after Liz tried to
25:44
kill me with a chair. I have never
25:46
trusted any furniture. Says the man that
25:48
tried to kill an entire party with a
25:49
house. about fine.
25:53
>> But I think at this point we can move on
25:55
to talking about how to get a delightful
25:57
purple murloc pet. Um even though it's
26:00
it's kind of it's not a pet. It's it's
26:02
decor, right?
26:03
>> It's Did I write pet? I apologize. It is
26:06
a piece of decor. It's a It's a murloc
26:09
plushy to put inside your house.
26:12
>> You didn't say you just said plush
26:14
purple murloc. So I
26:16
>> And you don't you don't need to be
26:18
afraid of it, Matt. It's fine. It's uh
26:22
embrace the madness.
26:23
>> Well, I think it's a very system.
26:25
>> It's a cute little Merurloc plushy. I
26:27
mean, I don't feel like anybody could
26:28
say it isn't. Um, but I also like its
26:30
name. The Cuddly Void Gurgle uh decor
26:34
item is available from March 26th to
26:37
April 23rd. So, you're still in there,
26:40
guys, if you haven't done this already.
26:42
>> And it's, you know, Go ahead. Let's
26:44
>> This is getting up on last call, but you
26:46
can still grab it.
26:47
>> Yeah. Um, basically you got to watch
26:50
four hours from any participating World
26:52
of Warcraft streamer on Twitch and they,
26:54
you know, you go to Twitch, they'll have
26:56
a category, you know, the people that
26:57
they are telling you are qualified, are
27:00
qualified, watch four hours of their
27:01
stuff, and you get yourself a like a
27:06
little purple murloc plushy to put in
27:08
your house.
27:09
>> Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
27:10
>> Which of course then you means you're
27:11
going to have to build a house. And then
27:12
you're going to be like, "Oh, the house
27:14
is wrong. I got to tear the house down
27:16
and build it again bigger." And wait,
27:18
no, I gota tear it down again because
27:19
they need the house to float.
27:21
So, don't be mean.
27:22
>> That's
27:23
>> don't be that's fair.
27:25
>> Um, but you know, I I do say want to say
27:28
I do like the idea of them putting decor
27:32
um through this kind of Twitch drop
27:34
situation. I I feel like I'm very
27:37
worried about decor and stuff being
27:40
purely, you know, stuff people buy from
27:42
a store. Anything they do to make it
27:44
something you do instead. Yeah, there's
27:47
I
27:48
>> there's there's a lot of like there is a
27:50
there is a real money shop for decor and
27:53
some of it is absolutely gorgeous. Um,
27:56
and I'm not going to begrudge anybody
27:57
who spends money on it if that's their
27:59
thing. Um, but there are so many ways to
28:02
earn decor in game that it is downright
28:06
goofy. Whether it's you're having
28:09
professions craft it, which honestly,
28:12
and I'm going to say this because I
28:14
think it it's true and it might be a hot
28:16
take. I think decor single-handedly
28:19
saved professions this expansion because
28:22
I I think over the last few expansions
28:25
your um crafting, your skills, your your
28:29
professions have largely been useless.
28:32
And like Ado and I were talking, our our
28:35
raid leader and I were talking about
28:37
this a little bit a while ago. Uh I
28:40
actually level jewel crafting. And
28:42
normally Ado just he levels jewel
28:45
crafting. I don't worry about it. I just
28:47
mine and send him raw materials and I
28:49
get whatever I need out of it and we
28:51
supply the guild that way with stuff.
28:53
But I'm getting I love jewel crafting to
28:56
make decor
28:57
and a lot of people are making a ton of
29:00
money off of decor like inscriptionist
29:04
with like the grand bookcase. It's
29:08
selling for 50,000 gold on the auction
29:10
house on our realm at least. And
29:13
>> I mean it needs it requires like 50,000
29:15
gold worth of
29:16
>> it. It does, but you but you can go farm
29:19
the lumber. You can go get it yourself,
29:21
right? Like it doesn't And in fact, in
29:24
fact, you have to,
29:25
>> right? But I'm saying like it's it's a
29:27
cost effective like the value
29:30
proposition for it makes sense. You
29:32
spent the time doing it. It commands a
29:34
high value and people buy it. I bought
29:37
four of them because I didn't feel like
29:38
farming. So, congratulations to that
29:40
person on your 200,000 gold from me. I'm
29:43
very happy with my purchase. But like I
29:45
think that decor and the ways to get
29:47
decor have single-handedly saved a bunch
29:51
of weird content as well because now
29:54
when decor is like hooked up with older
29:56
content or other things that you can go
29:59
do to go get it, people are engaging
30:01
with that more when they would have just
30:02
left it on the table. So like now they
30:05
can go earn the table to go put it on
30:06
the table. Like it's it's great. like it
30:10
it for all of its shortcomings, I am
30:13
extremely happy with what this is doing
30:16
for the rest of the game, whether it's
30:19
the economy or people engaging with
30:21
other content. It's really neat. So, I
30:25
wanted to say something very positive
30:27
because we're going to be talking about
30:29
Overwatch soon and man am I going to be
30:30
bitter.
30:33
>> But Joe, don't you like Legally Distinct
30:35
Cassie?
30:35
>> I mean, can you? Anyway, before we talk
30:38
about that, we still have Hearthstone to
30:40
talk about. Uh, and I think that that's
30:43
a good thing to talk about even though I
30:45
I am not necessarily a big fan of the
30:48
topic that I see here. Um, so I'll just
30:52
introduce that topic and we'll just go
30:54
on. Uh, you guys you guys like games,
30:58
right? You like swarms of things and
31:00
swarms of gota games. Um because now
31:03
we've got one for for Deathwing and and
31:06
his have he has wall eyes. I I don't
31:08
understand what's going on with this
31:10
whole deal. But Liz, you you do and
31:12
Corey might. So somebody explain to me
31:15
what's going on with yet another gadget
31:16
game for for Hearthstone cuz I'm so
31:18
happy.
31:18
>> Well, this is legalize gambling. Sorry.
31:22
I this is just Hearthstone has a thing
31:25
called the Dark Moon Fair which it puts
31:28
pets in and it's spin a wheel get a
31:31
prize. You can get each prize only once.
31:34
So as you spin the wheel your chances of
31:36
getting more things are better and the
31:39
rarest thing is typically a pet. The
31:43
pets are the most adorable things you
31:45
have ever seen in your entire life. You
31:48
want those pets. Your first spin is
31:50
free. After that, spins have an
31:53
increasing cost and the chance of
31:55
getting the pet is so low. Even after
31:58
you've done so many spins, even after
32:01
you've done every spin except for
32:03
getting the pet, it's like I like that
32:07
>> five or six%.
32:08
>> Yeah, it's five or six%. So, even if you
32:11
have two things left and you spin, you
32:13
have like a 5% chance of getting the pet
32:15
and a 95% chance of getting what you
32:18
don't want. So, uh, it can be it can be
32:22
very frustrating going all the way up
32:24
and buying all the things to get this
32:27
pet. It costs something like $160.
32:31
$160 American dollars. So, it's it can
32:34
be really expensive. Maybe you'll get
32:36
super lucky and get it the first try,
32:39
but likely not. And because Hearthstone
32:42
keeps doing it, I have to assume it's
32:43
successful. I have to assume people are
32:45
paying the money that it takes to get
32:47
these, which just is is kind of sad.
32:50
>> Who whoever came up with this idea and
32:52
keeps greenlighting green lighting it is
32:54
currently standing in their office with
32:56
an anime villain laugh going, "Yes, my
32:59
pretty spin spin. Spend your money." And
33:03
then just laughing all the way to the
33:05
bank. It's probably single-handedly
33:06
keeping Hearthstone in production. I'm
33:08
not going to lie. I mean, I Hearthstone
33:11
packs, they've got packs, they've got
33:12
battle passes, they've got two different
33:14
battle passes, they have uh an arena
33:17
system, which costs money. It can cost
33:20
gold or it can cost real money depending
33:22
on how you want to play it. Um, so
33:24
Hearthstone has a lot of monetization in
33:26
it. There are lots of ways for Blizzard
33:28
to make money. This is just a new one.
33:30
And the latest pet is Deathwing, and he
33:32
is bizarly adorable. He is a a tiny
33:36
dragon with tiny wings and big eyes and
33:39
the giant oversized jaw. Yeah. Yeah. So,
33:42
he is so adorable. I can't stand it.
33:46
It's hard to say which of the pets
33:47
they've done so far is the most adorable
33:50
because they are all just so adorable.
33:53
Uh and they cost $160 American dollars.
33:57
So,
33:59
man, that's a tough one. It's so
34:02
>> funny. Some good news is that
34:03
Hearthstone Battlegrounds season uh
34:06
season 13 began today. And that one has
34:10
been confusing me since Blizzard
34:11
announced it because it's season 13
34:13
launching on April 14. And that one just
34:16
gets mixed up back and forth in my brain
34:19
constantly. So, New Hearthstone
34:21
Battleground season. I love
34:23
Battlegrounds because it's completely
34:24
free to pay to Whoa, whoa, whoa.
34:27
Completely free to play. You can give
34:30
them money for it. You don't have to.
34:32
It's just an auto battler. You draw
34:34
cards. You play them. And it is
34:36
completely free. You can just grab
34:37
Hearthstone and play it. You don't need
34:38
to buy cards. You don't need to buy
34:40
packs. You just need to click on the
34:41
battlegrounds buttons and go for it. And
34:44
don't don't believe them when they say
34:46
spend money because you don't have to.
34:48
You can have a lot of fun without
34:49
spending money. And that is pretty
34:51
great.
34:53
uh some new mechanics coming in this
34:55
season, which we talked about last week,
34:56
but you've got uh some cool new things
34:59
for demons, some cool new things for
35:01
dragons, which will make those warb
35:03
bands feel more compelling, give you
35:05
some more options. We have a new gen
35:07
hero who gets to pick two hero powers.
35:10
And we have Mr. Clockworth, uh a new
35:14
hero who can uh make triple cards with
35:18
only two cards. So, I both of those
35:20
sound really interesting. could have
35:22
interesting play styles. Uh so yeah,
35:24
we'll see how it goes. It's just kicked
35:26
off and uh there you go. You can go play
35:29
free. You don't have to spend $160 to
35:32
play Hearthstone. You can go and play
35:34
Battlegrounds for free. And that's
35:36
pretty great.
35:37
>> I don't even play Hearthstone that
35:38
often, but man, do I want that little
35:41
Deathling pad.
35:42
>> I know.
35:44
>> And I just I just used my free roll and
35:46
I did not get him. If you can believe
35:48
that.
35:48
>> Okay, what did you get instead? Did you
35:50
get something cool?
35:52
>> I got one golden pack of Cataclysm cards
35:54
that contain
35:55
>> Yeah, that's
35:56
>> just one rare.
35:57
>> Okay. Well, that's it. Sure is
35:59
something. I mean, that's that's the
36:02
thing. You're going to get one thing you
36:03
really really really want and a lot of
36:06
other things that are Well, that's fine.
36:08
That's fine.
36:10
>> Yeah, we had Destiny at home. They told
36:11
me,
36:16
>> but I I do also like we should probably
36:19
mention I'm sure you did mention Liz,
36:21
but I was also frantically trying to get
36:23
a book to work. Um, Hearthston's
36:25
battlegrounds are open. They're open
36:28
soon. When are they coming out?
36:30
>> Now. Right now. Available immediately.
36:33
>> So, if you're wondering like, you know,
36:35
when do you get to do all this stuff?
36:36
It's now. Go do it now if you choose to
36:39
do it. Um, I I certainly don't want to
36:43
be seen to be supporting or suggesting
36:46
you play a gacha game that could cost
36:47
you $158 for a very cute Deathwing, but
36:51
I'm not going to stop you. Um,
36:53
>> I mean, that's the thing. You might get
36:55
that Deathwing on the first try. That's
36:58
how And if you don't get it on the first
36:59
try, maybe you could pay them $2 for the
37:01
next roll and get it on the second try.
37:02
And if you don't get it on the second
37:04
try, maybe you could pay them I think
37:05
it's $8 for the third try. And you know
37:09
it you get that sunk cost in there and
37:12
you feel like you got to keep spinning.
37:14
It is it is a dangerous game.
37:16
>> You the only way to win is by not
37:18
playing to quote a famous
37:20
>> indeed.
37:22
The first one of these
37:24
>> though. He is a
37:25
>> He's so cute. So cute. He's so cute.
37:28
That's the problem.
37:29
>> And look 30 bucks. I would probably just
37:31
give them 30 bucks for this guy. Same
37:33
with like Arfus when the the Lich King's
37:36
undead dog showed up. Super cute. Here's
37:39
30 bucks. Thank you for my cool pet.
37:42
>> Super adorable dinosaur. There was a
37:44
void bunny. Uh yeah, all of these things
37:48
were great. And it would just feel if it
37:50
was just a straightup payment, it would
37:52
feel it wouldn't feel exploitive. I
37:55
wouldn't feel bad about it. It'd just be
37:57
like, "Okay, that's $30. I think I I
38:00
think this would bring me $30 worth of
38:02
joy. Or I don't think it would bring me
38:04
$30 worth of joy. But I'm pretty sure
38:06
this wouldn't bring me $160 worth of
38:09
joy. So here I am.
38:12
>> Yeah, I got I got other things to spend
38:13
my money on like brace changing and wow
38:15
because I have a new a new fixation.
38:20
>> We're going to all be harir. The the
38:23
cadence of this is absurd, too, because
38:25
this is the third or fourth of these
38:28
this year.
38:29
>> They're doing this almost monthly. It's
38:32
not monthly, but they're getting pretty
38:34
close to monthly. So, just bad.
38:37
>> I just realized they're following the
38:39
the the Magic the Gathering release
38:41
schedule because this thing releases at
38:43
the same time the next Magic set does
38:45
every time. It's every six weeks. Oh my
38:47
god, my mind is blown.
38:49
Okay, I I just used my free roll and I
38:53
will say I got a hero skin, which
38:56
actually actually this is pretty great.
38:58
I have a hero skin for a hatchling raon
39:02
for warrior. So, if I play warrior, I
39:05
can be I can be a baby Rathon in there,
39:07
but not the Rathon pet. This and this is
39:10
actually this is probably the first time
39:11
I've gotten something in this game that
39:13
I will actually use in some way.
39:15
>> I am very happy for you. cute. But
39:17
>> you got you got something useful.
39:19
>> He's useful is variable when you're
39:22
talking about skins in a game mode I
39:24
don't usually play,
39:25
>> but he is very cute.
39:27
>> Okay, I'm This is all true, but um I I
39:30
basically feel
39:32
>> we're just trying to avoid setting Joe
39:34
off before he gets set off.
39:37
>> I'm going to actually ask you to write
39:39
Oh, go ahead. Every time Every time
39:42
Hearthstone there's a new Hearthstone
39:44
pet, I feel like we say the exact same
39:46
thing. But
39:48
>> it's so cute and it's so expensive and
39:50
it's I I can't help myself saying it
39:53
again because
39:54
>> it really is so cute and so expensive.
39:59
Okay, let's move on.
40:00
>> Are you saying that the solution is they
40:02
just need to make an ugly Hearthstone
40:03
pet and then we can just get over this
40:05
>> so we can
40:07
>> Oh, yes. Mix it up. made a cheap one.
40:11
I just turned and gave it that that
40:13
husky staring at the camera smile thing
40:15
and then I remembered you can't see me.
40:17
That was a waste.
40:18
>> Okay, John settle down podcast.
40:21
>> I want to give Joe maximum time to go.
40:23
So, I'm going to ask you if you could do
40:24
the uh news now.
40:26
>> Let's let's I want to say thank you to
40:29
everyone out there listening to the
40:31
Blizzard Watch podcast or any of our
40:33
other podcasts. You guys keep us going.
40:37
And I want to give an extra special
40:39
thank you to our supporters on Patreon
40:42
because that financial support really
40:46
helps keep the site afloat. We are a
40:48
little low on Patreon these days. Um
40:52
yeah, we're just a little lower than I
40:53
would like on Patreon. Site's doing
40:55
okay. I mean, we're not going anywhere.
40:58
We would not leave you. We would never
41:00
leave you, but it's uh Patreon support
41:02
is lower than I'd like. So, if you are
41:05
able to, I would really appreciate it if
41:07
you'd kick us a few dollars on Patreon.
41:09
Even a small amount really helps us out
41:11
so much. So, if you can go to
41:14
patreon.com/bizzardwatch
41:16
and give us a buck. Uh, for $3 a month,
41:20
you get early access to all of our
41:22
podcast ads. And for $5 a month, you get
41:26
that, but also adsree access to the
41:29
website. And of course, you can always
41:31
ask us questions for our podcast or for
41:33
the queue if you enjoy reading the
41:34
queue. That's our daily Q&A column where
41:37
we all sorts of weird conversations go
41:39
on there. If you like the Blizzard Watch
41:41
podcast pre-show, also only available to
41:44
supporters or people who listen to us
41:45
live on Twitch, uh that's it. The queue
41:48
is very similar in that we go off in all
41:50
sorts of random directions talking about
41:52
things with you guys. Uh but if you
41:56
cannot support us financially, I totally
41:58
get it. It's a It's a weird time out in
42:00
the world. You can also support us by
42:03
just listening to our podcasts. Blizzard
42:06
watch, Tavern Watch, about tabletop
42:08
games, and lore watch about video game
42:10
lore. When you tune in, that helps us
42:13
out. And uh share our stuff with your
42:15
friends if you think they might enjoy
42:17
the podcast. Share it. Leave us a
42:19
rating. Leave us a comment. That really
42:21
helps us out. You can also follow us on
42:24
social media where you can share things
42:26
and comment on things as well. It really
42:28
feeds the algorithm which helps us get
42:31
to more people. So if you want to follow
42:34
us on social, we are Blizzard on
42:36
Instagram, Facebook, and Mastadon at
42:38
gamepad.club, blizzardwatch.com on Blue
42:42
Sky, Blizzardwatch podcast on YouTube,
42:45
Blizzard.watch on Tik Tok. So follow us
42:48
for the latest news, for podcast clips,
42:51
uh, and I hopefully just good
42:54
old-fashioned entertainment. That's
42:55
that's the goal. And uh so if you have
42:59
questions for this or any of our
43:00
podcasts, please send us your questions.
43:02
We love questions and all of the random
43:05
weird tangents we get into when
43:08
answering your questions. You can send
43:09
them to podcast at blizzardwatch.com.
43:12
Specify the show and the subject line
43:14
and any special pronunciation of your
43:16
name. Can also contact us on Discord,
43:19
which is a nice place just to hang out
43:21
and chat. And if you are a Patreon
43:23
subscriber, you can do th so through the
43:25
patron q andpodcast question channel as
43:28
our little way of saying thanks. So just
43:32
a reminder, if you can support us
43:33
financially, patreon.com/blizzardwatch.
43:37
And uh if you can't, you know, thank you
43:39
so much for listening. I appreciate you
43:41
guys for tuning in.
43:42
>> Thank you, Liz. Uh, and now I think
43:45
we're all ready to turn to Joe and say,
43:49
um, we we don't need to get Cammy. Joe,
43:51
we we
43:52
>> tell tell us about tell us what's going
43:55
on with the new Overwatch hero. Joe
43:57
>> or anything involving season 14 because
43:59
I swear I'm swear I'm not going to just
44:01
rant. Um, because I'm just disappointed.
44:05
Uh, but Overwatch season 14 has begun.
44:09
if you are listening to this live, April
44:11
14th, uh was the start date of season
44:14
14. And it's got all of your what you
44:16
would normally expect. So, it's the
44:18
reset of your your battle pass to zero.
44:21
Uh your rolling over of whatever rewards
44:24
you've received, and then a brand new
44:26
battle pass to engage with cuz battle
44:28
pass. Um, and then we now have more
44:32
information on our 51st hero, Sierra,
44:37
who the community is still referring to
44:39
as Great Value Cammy. Not just me, it's
44:42
everywhere, folks. Um, the information
44:45
that we found is two things, or at least
44:47
two things of of major note. One, we got
44:50
a little bit of her backstory. Her
44:52
backstory, her mother was the first test
44:54
subject in the program that resulted in
44:56
Soldier 76 and Reaper. And then she
44:58
joined Overwatch looking for answers
44:59
about her mom's past. That that really
45:04
like that's I promised I wasn't going to
45:06
rant, but that just feels so phoned in.
45:08
Like it's as phoned in as vendetta. I'm
45:11
searching for my mom's mysterious past.
45:14
I will avenge my father's death with
45:16
vengeance. Like the these these are not
45:18
exactly these are not exactly deep
45:20
things.
45:20
>> I want to I'm also going to make a point
45:22
here. Um, Cammy was originally
45:26
considered her Street Fighter origin was
45:28
that she was genetically engineered
45:30
>> clone doll assassin. It's like,
45:33
>> yep,
45:33
>> they might as well have just said, "Yep,
45:35
>> she's looking for her mom, who is
45:37
literally Cammy
45:39
>> from Street Fighter. They just took they
45:42
took Cam's origin and made that her
45:44
mom's origin." I I still have the
45:47
strategy guide uh from Street Fighter 2
45:50
when Cammy was introduced that has all
45:52
the the character backgrounds. I was
45:53
literally going to say that. Um but
45:55
anyway, outside of the the set dressing
45:58
of the character, she's actually
46:01
mechanically a little bit interesting.
46:03
Uh so she's a recon DPS hero. So what
46:05
that means is that she is a DPS hero,
46:07
but as a recon hero, you have a higher
46:09
level of mobility. Your idea is for you
46:12
is to be getting in and out. You're not
46:14
essentially made to be in a firefight.
46:16
You're not made to be on the front line.
46:18
You're more of a tactical DPS. So, think
46:20
of like your Tracers, your Widowmakers.
46:23
Um, they're more uh that recon DPS
46:27
style. Uh, her little butterfly is an
46:29
anchor drone. What is an anchor drone?
46:31
I'm glad you asked. Uh, she can send it
46:33
into the sky and use it as an anchor
46:34
point to then grapple from. She's got a
46:36
grapple. This is great. Um, so it's a
46:40
little bit like that Widowmaker cuz
46:41
Widowmaker has a grapple that she can
46:42
pull herself up to stuff and a little
46:44
bit of Sombra with her like getting in
46:46
and out. Uh, and a little bit of the
46:48
high-tech thing which is really cool.
46:50
And then during her ultimate, her drone
46:52
also operates. And this this I think is
46:54
maybe in poor taste in the current
46:56
climate. Um, the drone drops bombs.
46:59
Maybe we could have left that out. Just
47:01
going to throw that out there. Um, but
47:04
yeah, she she at least mechanically
47:06
feels interesting. Um, and I'm I'm
47:10
excited to see that. I just wish the set
47:12
dressing was a little more a little more
47:15
unique, I guess.
47:16
>> I do think her butterfly is pretty cool.
47:19
That's all I got. I think that's pretty
47:21
neat. I I do think it would be kind of
47:23
funny if they now introduce at some
47:25
point, I don't know, somebody who's
47:27
looking for their dad who was
47:29
mysteriously vanished after his parents
47:30
were killed in Crime Alley or something,
47:33
you know? I
47:33
>> And now he's a bat.
47:35
>> Yeah, I'm a bat. Yeah,
47:37
>> it's like now the new person is also a
47:38
bat, but for unrelated reasons. I just
47:41
found the outfit. I really liked it. Um,
47:44
now there there I was going to say
47:45
there's there's more to there's more to
47:47
this. So, if you want to say anything
47:48
about this, I want to I I do want to get
47:49
into the uh the the the good stuff, I
47:52
guess I would say, after. All right. Um
47:56
Stadium, which apparently seems to be a
47:58
popular uh way to play the game now,
48:00
which I think is is interesting because
48:02
I I wasn't I wasn't too sold on it to
48:04
begin with. Um has getting a new uh map.
48:07
It's the night market uh from Li Jang.
48:11
Uh Raada is joining stadium and Jetpack
48:13
Cat is joining stadium at mid-season.
48:17
uh which is really cool. I think that I
48:19
we I like when game modes uh get
48:24
expanded and stadium if you are not
48:27
familiar is a mobile inspired mode for
48:30
Overwatch uh where it's a permanent 5v5
48:33
mode with item shops hero upgrades uh
48:36
done in a third-p person view. So very
48:38
much like smite uh the moa smite but uh
48:43
you know actually not vaporware. So,
48:45
there's that. That's good. I There's a
48:49
big controversy which we'll talk about
48:50
at some point with Smite 2, which is not
48:52
for this one, but that's a whole other
48:54
thing. But I'm I'm excited to see it.
48:55
I'm excited to see that they're actually
48:56
putting time investment into it and
48:58
they're continuing to develop it because
49:01
it shows that the developers do still
49:03
care about the product they're putting
49:05
out and it is seemingly being received
49:08
well from players. because I can
49:10
guarantee you this, if players weren't
49:12
engaging with this, they would not be
49:14
greenlighting the developers to work on.
49:15
So excited to see that. And then the
49:19
last thing to note is that this
49:21
mid-season or at mid-season, we're going
49:24
to get our anniversary event because it
49:26
is once again the anniversary of
49:27
Overwatch. Uh, which how old is
49:30
Overwatch now at this point? Uh,
49:32
>> I mean, are we talking about Overwatch
49:33
or Overwatch 2 or Overwatch?
49:35
>> I mean, Overwatch. Uh Overwatch 2, which
49:38
is now just Overwatch again, uh has been
49:41
around for 10 years. Literally 10 years
49:44
as of May 24th.
49:46
>> Again, that can't be right. Surely it
49:48
was just yesterday.
49:48
>> Yeah.
49:49
>> Yeah. So, they are making changes. They
49:52
are making updates. We still have a a
49:55
large number of heroes. I think there's
49:58
four more heroes that have silhouettes
50:00
that have not been reviewed or revealed
50:02
yet. Um, and hopefully they are not just
50:04
copies of other Street Fighter
50:06
characters or characters from other
50:07
games like they've been doing so far
50:09
with the exception of Jetpack Cat who is
50:11
my absolutely perfect cinnamon roll son.
50:13
And you cannot tell me anything else
50:15
like that. Although he still pales in
50:16
comparison to Jeff, who is my favorite
50:18
child. Jeff the Land Shark, baby. Jeff
50:21
the L Shark.
50:22
>> Yeah, that's it's tough to beat Jeff the
50:24
Land Shark.
50:25
>> Yep. Uh, so that's it. That's that's all
50:27
I've got for Overwatch. If it's your
50:29
thing, uh, it is now the time for
50:31
everybody to be happy about it. And if
50:33
it is not your thing, well, there you
50:35
go.
50:35
>> There are lots of other things to do out
50:37
there.
50:37
>> She seems like a perfectly chronulent
50:39
hero. It it she she shoots, she jumps.
50:42
>> I mean, be upfront. Um, it's not like
50:46
she is the only character to remind us
50:50
of other characters. It's just that the
50:52
hair and clothing looked a little bit
50:54
more
50:55
>> it's it's really it's it's a little
50:59
uncanny. You know, she has she has the
51:02
whole look
51:03
>> in in the Street Fighter games as of
51:04
like the ones that come out most
51:06
recently. Cammy has changed up her look.
51:09
>> So maybe they just forgot that she used
51:10
to be infamous for a beret and you know,
51:12
I get you. But regardless, we are going
51:15
to make fun of it. I'm sorry. I'm I'm
51:17
five. This is forever funny to me.
51:20
It's just uncanny how much she looks
51:22
like Cammy. Everyone you Yeah. Anyway,
51:26
>> moving on. Moving on with our lives like
51:30
we have to do sometimes.
51:31
>> We've got enough time and Corey is here.
51:34
So, um
51:35
>> we have enough time too that we want to
51:36
talk about this and then we should get
51:38
to a question because we have questions
51:39
this week.
51:40
>> Yeah. Yeah.
51:41
>> All right. Well, Cy Corey, do you mind
51:43
quickly talking about Heroes of the
51:45
Storm Kobe? Did you look that we had
51:47
that? It's the Heroes of the Storm
51:49
Hopium Corner. Let's not call it Copium.
51:51
It's Hopium.
51:52
>> I think it's B. Corey,
51:54
>> you got anything? You got to talk. I
51:55
don't know if Cory's still here.
51:56
>> Oh, I muted myself. I was coughing.
51:59
>> I I was so funny, too. Ah, this this
52:02
kills me.
52:03
>> I don't think you were as funny as that
52:04
was, though.
52:05
>> That's No, that's live production,
52:08
folks. Ha. And you can't see the jazz
52:11
hands there because that was a visual
52:12
bit on a podcast. Um, hey, here's the
52:15
storm is still doing stuff. We love to
52:17
see it. Uh
52:19
>> so much balance.
52:20
>> The very so much balance. Uh the team is
52:22
hard at work uh twisting levers, turning
52:26
knobs, doing whatever they can to try
52:28
and bring the game into complete
52:29
balance, which as we all know is only
52:31
possible in World of Warcraft on April
52:33
Fool's Day. Uh well, interestingly
52:36
enough, they have removed an entire mode
52:38
this time. uh they've pulled out the
52:40
unranked mode which was a stepping stone
52:43
between quick match and the ranked mode
52:47
uh that let you still have the
52:48
experience like it still played a lot
52:50
like the ranked mode did in that you got
52:54
your team and then you all drafted and
52:56
you had hero bands and stuff so it
52:58
played very much like a your first
53:00
introduction to Storm League's first
53:02
Storm League but they've just gotten rid
53:04
of it. I that must mean that like not a
53:07
lot of people were playing it. It uh
53:10
sure it always felt kind of like if if I
53:13
want to play Heroes of the Storm quick
53:15
match for like no bragging rights, then
53:17
at least I can choose the hero I want
53:19
and not have to run the risk of like
53:21
having one of them banned. Or if I want
53:24
to get really hard into it, I go Storm
53:27
mode and then I'm going to like raise up
53:29
the ranks. So it it had a weird middle
53:31
ground. didn't quite uh seem to be what
53:34
anyone really really liked, which is
53:36
fine. It's gone now. We'll we'll never
53:38
mention it again until in Heroes 3.0,
53:41
they bring it back newer, better, and
53:42
stronger. Uh the other biggest
53:45
>> or they turn it into a board game like
53:47
Starcraft
53:47
>> or it could turn into a board game.
53:49
Yeah. And yes, Heroes 3.0, we're going
53:51
to see the announcement in five months
53:54
at Blisscon.
53:55
>> Cory's calling the shot. He's calling
53:58
the shot right now.
53:59
>> Call the shot. Heroes 3.0. Yeah.
54:02
And if it doesn't happen, the next one
54:10
happen.
54:11
>> No, no, no. This is just uh leaving room
54:13
for, you know, the whims of cosmic fate
54:16
and the industry at large. The other big
54:19
change this patch is going to bring is
54:21
that they have reduced the respawn
54:24
timers. So when you die, you go back to
54:26
you you wait the 20, 30, 40, 50, 60
54:28
seconds depending on how long the game
54:31
has been going on. They've reduced them
54:34
so that the m middle to the late game is
54:36
a little snappier. You're not going to
54:39
be dead as long, which hopefully should
54:41
speed things up, but they say that by
54:43
when once everyone has reached level 22,
54:46
it's back to the way it was at the end
54:48
game. So just a little bit faster middle
54:50
section of the games. They've also
54:52
brought back Haunted Mines to quick
54:54
match which was the
54:57
>> I love Haunted Minds.
54:58
>> Haunted Minds was so great. It was one
55:00
of the showcase maps from the very very
55:03
first version of Heroes of the Storm.
55:05
>> I when when I you one of the ones that
55:07
was available when you got to play it at
55:08
Blizzcon for the first time, too.
55:11
>> Exactly. Uh, it was the one where you
55:14
go, every so often you go down into a
55:17
mine beneath the main pair of lanes,
55:18
>> beat up some ghosts,
55:19
>> and you kill
55:20
>> beat up some ghosts, beat up some
55:21
skeletons, collect their skulls for the
55:23
skull golem, and then um they they've
55:26
tweaked it a little bit so that whoever
55:28
gets to 55 first uh will spawn will
55:30
start the event and then you get a big
55:32
golem. He walks down the lanes and he
55:34
breaks stuff for you and it's back.
55:37
Yeah.
55:39
>> Otherwise, you know, lots of balance
55:40
changes. Arthus got a lot of touches
55:42
there. They reworked one of his uh
55:45
ultimate abilities to just have charges
55:47
now. So, when you summon Army of the
55:49
Dead, you can kind of choose how many
55:51
little extra footmen you want to summon,
55:53
which is fun. And they they've just
55:55
tweaked some of his other stuff. K uh
55:57
Chen got some love. Deathwing is getting
56:00
reigned back in a little bit because his
56:02
last balance changes made him maybe a
56:05
little bit too strong. And uh yeah, it
56:07
it's it's what we've seen from all these
56:09
patches so far. It's been about 2 weeks
56:12
since this went onto the PTR, so I would
56:15
guess it's going to be we're going to
56:16
see it hit the live servers probably in
56:18
two more weeks. If not April 28th, I
56:21
would say May 5th. Uh so right around
56:23
the corner. Not like there's anything
56:25
else coming out around the end of the
56:27
month that you may be playing.
56:28
>> Yeah. No universe.
56:30
>> I mean, I can't think of anything.
56:33
But also at this point, um, not to cut
56:36
you off, Gary, but we did want to ask
56:37
answer a question, I believe.
56:39
>> Yeah, I think I think I think we should
56:40
answer a question. We haven't we haven't
56:42
done one in a while. We've we've got
56:43
two. So, pick your poison, Matt.
56:45
>> Um, okay. I'm going to flip a coin. Oh,
56:48
I don't have any coins.
56:50
>> Ah, cursis.
56:52
>> Call even call even or odd, Matt.
56:54
>> Odd.
56:55
>> All right, we are doing Daijus.
56:58
>> Okay. Uh this question is from Daikaiu
57:01
who has you know asked us many a
57:03
question and also rampaged through many
57:05
a city. Um question for Blizzard watch.
57:08
Should BOP recipes be discontinued? I
57:12
have been a leather worker since
57:13
vanilla. I'm so sorry. Um aside from not
57:18
being able to make normal bags, uh the
57:20
base backpack is obviously leather. One
57:23
of my biggest nitpicks is that the best
57:25
pieces of crafty gear have always been
57:27
bindon pickup. as far back as Burning
57:29
Crusade. Everything else gets outclassed
57:32
by dungeon loot and weekly satchel drops
57:35
as soon as you hit max level. And the
57:37
one possible revenue stream we could
57:40
have gear to get you ready for raiding,
57:43
our mythics uh gets gutted because we
57:46
literally can't even give them away.
57:47
Also, why are we chained to crafting
57:50
tables? Um
57:51
>> yeah, I got I got a response for this
57:53
already. I've been thinking about this a
57:55
lot.
57:55
>> Okay. Uh go ahead.
57:58
So, part of it has already been solved.
58:00
So, what you're asking about was
58:01
definitely a problem before work orders
58:04
became a thing in Dragon Flight. Uh,
58:05
which is, for those of you at home,
58:07
there's plenty of gear that you could
58:09
craft that was very, very good, uh, for
58:12
leveling or for even endame content that
58:16
was crafted. And it was a holdover from
58:19
the vanilla woow days where the single
58:22
greatest crafted items that like a
58:24
blacksmith or a leather worker could
58:27
make were bind on pickup. They were
58:29
stuff that you made for yourself. And at
58:32
the time they were huge investments of
58:35
time and materials.
58:38
We have since multiple times changed how
58:42
gear has been done, how recipes have
58:44
worked, the importance of of crafting
58:46
professions.
58:48
>> And now with the introduction of work
58:50
orders, they have solved this exact
58:53
problem. Anything that is bindon pickup
58:56
is now available for somebody to put in
58:58
a work order for at the work order
59:00
table. And you can fulfill that and you
59:03
can earn a commission and you can, you
59:06
know, earn that commission based off of
59:08
whatever the materials cost or whatever
59:10
the time is or whatever somebody wants,
59:12
you know, to to give you as a tip or
59:14
whatever the case is. In a lot of cases,
59:16
they can provide all of the materials
59:18
themselves so that you don't even have
59:20
to go farming for the materials. you can
59:22
literally go to the window, click the
59:23
button, earn a few hundred gold or a few
59:25
thousand gold or whatever the case is
59:28
passively just by being that profession
59:30
and having that recipe which is really
59:33
really cool and I think that that has
59:36
largely solved the exact problem that
59:38
you are are describing here. Now, that
59:41
said, the thing that I I do agree with
59:44
you with and I do think is something
59:46
that they need to re-evaluate now is the
59:48
being chained to crafting tables. I I
59:53
don't like it and that maybe that's just
59:56
me. Um, but and obviously you, but it
1:00:01
feels weird because very clearly my
1:00:05
character like and I'll use jewel
1:00:07
crafting as an example. I have wet
1:00:09
stones. I have the apron that I put on.
1:00:12
I have the jeweler's loop that I put on
1:00:13
when I'm doing the profession. My
1:00:15
character literally has all this gear. I
1:00:17
have bags of literal holding where like
1:00:21
I have elephants tucked into them and I
1:00:23
have like weird idols and like full sets
1:00:25
of armor and like all these random
1:00:27
things. You can't tell me that I can't
1:00:29
put a table in my backpack that folds
1:00:31
out so I can do a little jewel crafting.
1:00:33
They literally make that in real life.
1:00:34
They make folding tables you can carry
1:00:35
with you for camping. Um, so I agree
1:00:38
with you. I think that it's it should be
1:00:40
re-evaluated. I do think that it makes
1:00:42
cities feel a little more alive and that
1:00:44
is a benefit of it, but having to say
1:00:48
teleport back to a main city to go craft
1:00:51
something for somebody that just got an
1:00:53
upgrade or needs an upgrade or needs a
1:00:56
recraft or whatever the case is is
1:00:59
timeconuming and feels boring. Um, so
1:01:03
again, I think that they've largely
1:01:05
fixed the one problem and have created
1:01:07
another one that is annoying but far
1:01:10
less backbreaking. What do you guys
1:01:12
think?
1:01:12
>> I to me recall they used to be able to
1:01:14
like make anvils and forges that you
1:01:16
could just carry around in
1:01:18
>> they still do. And some of the some of
1:01:19
these summonable uh minions act as
1:01:22
anvils or or things like that as well.
1:01:24
Yeah. And for or fires. I just don't see
1:01:27
a reason you couldn't just make
1:01:28
something that could do that for other
1:01:30
crafting professions.
1:01:32
>> Yeah, I mean I could cook on little
1:01:33
Ragnaros the pet. I can literally cook
1:01:34
on that pet.
1:01:37
>> Cory,
1:01:37
>> that's my take on it.
1:01:38
>> Otherwise,
1:01:39
>> I mean there's there's nothing to say
1:01:40
about it except well, this is how they
1:01:42
designed it, so this is how it is. I do
1:01:45
feel like you could say, okay, the
1:01:47
profession tables, you need to be in
1:01:49
town to get work orders and do that.
1:01:52
That kind of makes sense. You've got to
1:01:53
be here with your crafting consortium
1:01:55
guys. You've got to be near a mailbox to
1:01:59
to get your work orders in and just let
1:02:02
any other actual crafting just be in the
1:02:05
crafting menu. Uh so yeah, it it does
1:02:07
feel a little clunky. I don't find it
1:02:10
super disruptive, but it is it is a
1:02:13
little clunky. It's a little extra step.
1:02:15
>> I liked getting the rare mount the rare
1:02:18
drop recipes out of raids. Uh, but it
1:02:20
was also very frustrating because you,
1:02:22
you know, every, in my guild, it was
1:02:24
always everyone can roll on it no matter
1:02:26
who as long as they have profession
1:02:28
skill to max. And then you'd see
1:02:29
somebody that won it that never did
1:02:31
anything outside of raid and you're
1:02:32
like, well, now it's going to be
1:02:33
impossible to get because they're never
1:02:35
on except for the two hours, three hours
1:02:38
that you raided and that was a little
1:02:40
frustrating.
1:02:41
>> Yeah. I mean, this wasn't just limited
1:02:43
to BOP recipes because there's stuff
1:02:45
like enchants. Uh before they made the
1:02:48
scrolls, you basically couldn't get an
1:02:52
enchant if the enchanter wasn't there.
1:02:54
>> Yeah.
1:02:54
>> Um like I had the crusader enchant
1:02:56
before anybody else in my guild just
1:02:59
because I gotten it. I farmed it. And so
1:03:01
I had it and I was the guy who could do
1:03:04
it and the the the AI enchant for for
1:03:07
two like all one hand weapons that that
1:03:09
every hunter used. Um, I was like the
1:03:12
first guy to get that too because he had
1:03:14
to farm for it and I went and didn't I
1:03:16
did that because I was married to a
1:03:17
hunter and if you think I was going to
1:03:19
survive that marriage without the
1:03:20
ability to enchant her axes, you you did
1:03:23
not understand the the the test. But I
1:03:26
think that they they need to start
1:03:28
making like ways to get around it. And I
1:03:32
think one of the ways to get around it
1:03:34
would be the the fact that I I get that
1:03:37
crafting table for work orders. That's
1:03:40
that's cool. I think I agree with
1:03:41
everybody saying it may it's good to
1:03:43
have a central location for that, but I
1:03:46
do think I'd like to see them like be
1:03:48
more flexible about what exactly is bind
1:03:51
on pickup and and how do you get around
1:03:53
it? Like could you make a scroll like
1:03:56
when they made scrolls for enchants that
1:03:57
was great. I I don't have any problem
1:03:59
like I never had a problem with that
1:04:00
because I still am the one making the
1:04:02
scrolls. Does that make sense? Like if
1:04:04
if you made like a bind on pickup thing,
1:04:06
but you could make like the work orders
1:04:08
are basically that. They're that for,
1:04:11
you know, like I have from when
1:04:13
Dragonfly came out, I I went and got
1:04:15
myself the best um legendary action,
1:04:18
they're not legendary, the best epic
1:04:19
action you could get um for raiding. I I
1:04:22
had it like the week it came out because
1:04:24
I I knew someone who could make it
1:04:25
because M Matt Fawson, you're great, by
1:04:27
the way. That guy was crazy. And he had
1:04:29
the recipe like in the like the second
1:04:31
day. Um, so yeah, I I think we're in a
1:04:34
good place in terms of bind on pickup
1:04:36
and in terms of how it works and how
1:04:38
this how you can still get it and in
1:04:40
terms of like being on the crafting
1:04:41
tables. I get why you feel like it's a
1:04:44
problem to be stuck to them, but you're
1:04:46
not really stuck to them. You're just
1:04:48
stuck to them for this one purpose.
1:04:50
>> Well, I mean, right now you are stuck to
1:04:52
them to ju to do a lot of basic
1:04:54
crafting. It would be nice if you were
1:04:56
not stuck to them to be do basic
1:04:58
crafting. There are a few things you can
1:05:00
make without being at a table, but most
1:05:01
things, especially the higher level
1:05:03
things, nah, you got to be at a crafting
1:05:05
table. So, you're right. You are right.
1:05:06
>> That feels it feels unnecessary.
1:05:08
>> But I guess that answers your question.
1:05:10
So, um I think we're we're good. We're
1:05:14
done. This has been the podcast. So,
1:05:17
>> I'm going to do that thing. So, here it
1:05:20
goes. Thank you guys for being here.
1:05:22
This has been the Blizzard Watch
1:05:23
podcast. Uh, thank you to Corey for
1:05:25
being our special guest and, you know,
1:05:28
for claiming exclamation points in the
1:05:31
way that he has. We we love his ability
1:05:33
to be emphatic at at will. Um, someday
1:05:36
perhaps we'll all learn to use them.
1:05:38
Although, I don't think so because Liz
1:05:39
is standing right there and she might at
1:05:41
any moment growl at me.
1:05:43
>> Yes, that noise. So, on behalf of Liz's
1:05:48
discomfort with this concept, uh Joe's
1:05:52
ability to rant really effectively about
1:05:54
Overwatch, uh Corey's ability to make us
1:05:57
believe that Heroes of the Storm is
1:05:58
going to come back any any day now, and
1:06:01
my ability to to basically tell a really
1:06:04
weird joke in the opening. This has been
1:06:06
the Blizzard Watch podcast. Thank you
1:06:08
guys so much for being here, and we'll
1:06:09
be back. Thank you.