Queuenanigans
The Queue: Gems are truly truly outrageous
I’ve written up two guides to gems this week, one for Cataclysm Classic and one for The War Within. And while they’re not hard to write per se, they require a lot of meticulous work and fact-checking which are not my favorite things to do. By the time I finish I want to immerse myself in a sensory deprivation chamber for an hour just so my eyes can listen to fragrances for a bit. Sadly I do not have access to one so I’ll need to content myself with my second favorite post-writing activity, video games.
ReMists is of course the big news alongside Cata Classic (which I’m skipping) but even though it’s been less than a week I’ve already made huge progress towards my goals. Which is good because I have a lot of other games to play — still need to finish Tales of Kenzera: ZAU and Persona 4: Arena Ultimax, and I’d like to get started on Unicorn Overlord. We’re also only a couple weeks out from Summer Game Fest 2024 — Assassin’s Creed: Shadows got a head start by announcing last week — and I’m sure there will more games added to my list that weekend. TL, DR: SO MANY GAMES.
So while I level my Goblin Hunter through remixed Pandaria let’s answer some questions!
The Queue: Voidform travel is all the rage
Telogrus Rift has solved the issue of transportation among floating rocks perched at the edge of the Void by transforming your character into some sort of Void or Shadow creature. While it’s surely a creative solution, I can’t help but think doing it too often will result in extra shadowy appendages over time or a one-way trip into the neighboring abyss — and neither result seems ideal. Maybe Gryphons and Wyverns aren’t fond of all that black and purple?
That said, despite the clear and present danger to your character’s existence I do recommend partaking in the new patch 10.2.7 questline. It doesn’t take very long and you see the pieces of The War Within start to come together.
While I ponder whether an Earthen covered in tentacles would actually be a roper — no, not those ropers — let’s answer some questions!
The Queue: Who’s afraid of little ol’ me?
Hey everybody! That’s right, little ol’ me is stepping in for Cory this Monday. Don’t worry, though, I’ll be sure to make it at Cory-ific as normal so don’t be distressed! That said, I tried to get song lyrics to work and I totally could not do so. He makes it look so effortless, too!
Anyways, why don’t we get right to it?
The Queue: Full Moon, Full Life
It’s full moon again, crazy how time flies
Sheesh what a week. Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is out. Persona 3 Reload soundtrack is finally released in its entirety today. Dragonflight Season 4 is in full swing. And while I know not everybody is into Sportsball, the NFL Draft starts tomorrow and that’s a big deal for a team owner like myself.
I also found out some genius put together a three-hour radio show of Johnny Fever from WKRP in Cincinnati so of course I’ve been listening to that.
So while I groove to some classic rock and repeatedly hit refresh on ESPN’s draft coverage, let’s answer some questions!
The Queue: LoFi Beats to Write the Queue to
I picked up the very chill game Spirit City: Lofi Sessions this week and I’ve been enjoying having it in the background while I play World of Warcraft and write articles for BlizzardWatch. It’s good to relax, especially since the rest of this month is giving us:
- New Hearthstone Battlegrounds season on April 16
- World of Warcraft Season 4 on April 23
- Cataclysm Classic pre-patch on April 30
- Patch 10.2.7 PTR Soon™
- The War Within Alpha Soon-ish Maybe?
And that doesn’t even include Tales of Kenzera: ZAU releasing on April 23 and Taylor Swift’s new album Tortured Poets Department arriving on April 19.
So while I try to figure out how to double the length of days so I have time for all of this, let’s answer some questions.
The Queue: Lazy Wednesday
Look, it had been a long day of running Mythic dungeons to complete the Taivan meta and I was tired. I was about to hit the final one I needed and decided to take a break while we recruited people. The fact I could summon via the summoning stone without getting up was a surprise but a welcome one and I took full advantage of it.
Speaking of Taivan it appears that RNG is against me and a couple of the quests I need to complete it won’t be up until next reset at the earliest. Since he’s a good boy, though, I’m sure he’ll patiently wait for me.
While I figure out how to attach rockets to Taivan to make him a flying mount too, let’s answer some questions!
The Queue: Next week will not be quiet
Dragonflight patch 10.2.6 did not arrive this week despite the eight-hour downtime yesterday, which means next week is a prime candidate for its arrival. Which wouldn’t normally be a problem, except this is the list of everything else happening in the video game world next week:
- Hearthstone is releasing their next expansion Whizbang’s Workshop
- Hi-Fi Rush and Rise of the Ronin are arriving on the PS5
- Princess Peach: Showtime! is arriving for the Nintendo Switch
- Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition is releasing for PC
- Alone in the Dark and Dragon’s Dogma 2 are coming out on all next-gen platforms (sorry, Switch owners) and PC
- And for sports fans it’s time for MLB The Show ’24 on all consoles
That’s an insane number of major titles to come out in the same week, especially in March. Perhaps everyone is afraid to release against South Park: Snow Day the following week?
While I ponder whether these game releases are the true March Madness, let’s answer some questions!
The Queue: Twas the Night Before Leap Day
Tomorrow is February 29 aka Leap Day. It feels like it should be notable in some way, but it really isn’t (unless you were born that day). Heck, “Leap” feels wrong too — it’s more of a Padding Day to keep the calendar aligned with the seasons. Maybe if February 29 was the norm and every four years we skipped it we could use the term Leap Year, but it’s honestly more a step back than a jump forward.
Julius Caesar is given credit for implementing Leap Day and frankly he does deserve it even if the math behind it wasn’t his own. What a lot of people don’t know is that 46 BC was actually 445 days to get the calendar fixed first — the Romans were off by almost three months in their festival timing before this was done. Forget being born on February 29 — can you imagine being born on one of those extra days? You’d never celebrate your birthday again!
In any case February gets an extra day this year so be sure to spend it with your loved ones.
The Queue: Happy Valentine’s Day!
If video games are to be believed, in Japan the tradition on Valentine’s Day is for girls to give a boy they like some chocolate. However, it’s generally considered a good idea not to have all the girls you’re interested in show up at the same time. Hoo boy.
While I try to remember what I’m supposed to do on this special day, let’s answer some questions!
The Queue: Anybody want a peanut?
I’m not one to put in a C-C-C-Combo Breaker when it comes to The Princess Bride, but I’m also not averse to doing a redirect either. So while the title is a quote from that amazing movie, the header image is of someone who would definitely want a peanut: Anya from Spy x Family. If you haven’t seen the show or read the manga yet I highly recommend it as it’s clever and adorable. There’s even a game coming to the West later this year, although I’m concerned it won’t be dubbed (fingers crossed it will be).
Speaking of games coming out, Persona 3 Reload is out on Friday! I’ve been heavily addicted to the Persona series this past year so it’ll be nice to have a new group of virtual friends to hunt shadows with. While I impatiently wait for my next obsession, let’s answer some questions!