Blizzard Watch

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: What happened with Blizzard’s cancelled untitled survival game?

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss Diablo 4 coming to the Xbox Game Pass soon, the Nintendo Direct event this week, the launch of the latest ARPG competitor to Diablo, Last Epoch, and what we’ve learned about Blizzard’s ill-fated untitled survival game.

In our exclusive pre-show, we talk about the tumultuous 50-year anniversary of D&D and what the...

Lore Watch Podcast: The mystery of Northern Lordaeron

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we discuss the origins of hearthstones and their connection to Meeting Stones as well as the Brokers, if there is a way to wield the void without being corrupted by it (asking for a friend), and the mystery of Northern Lordaeron, the unexplored region between Ghostlands and Western Plaguelands that may get the spotlight in upcoming Midnight expansion.

You can enjoy this epi...

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Should every race be open to every class in WoW?

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss the new “no trading/no auction house” mechanic coming to WoW Classic Hardcore, Hearthstone’s 10th anniversary along with its just announced Whizbang’s Workshop expansion, and why all the race/class restrictions should be lifted from WoW. Spoiler: because Liz wants a gnome druid that could shapeshift into a kitten.

Lore Watch Podcast: What Angry Keanu Reeves can teach us about WoW lore

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we use Cyberpunk 2077 as a jumping off point to explore character building in video game storytelling, settings as characters, what power means in these worlds, the history of immortality and how many of these elements are reflected in WoW lore.

You can enjoy this episode either through the Patreon audio player or 2024-02-12 23:53:36 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Why no PTR for WoW patch 10.2.6?

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss Blizzard’s efforts to maintain the secrets of WoW patch 10.2.6 by not hosting it on the PTR, why we approve Diablo 4’s delay in its new gauntlet and leaderboard feature, the new dragon riding mount armor in WoW’s current seasonal content, and why we love our transmog a little too much.

In our exclusive pre-show, we...

Happy birthday to us! Celebrate Blizzard Watch’s 9th anniversary with brand new phoenix merch

This month is the 9th anniversary of Blizzard Watch’s launch, when we built this website on nothing but hope after WoW Insider was shut down. When we made our plans for Blizzard Watch, we had no idea if it would get off the ground, as we huddled around our computers, watched our new Patreon page, and recorded our very first Blizzard Watch Podcast.

We had a whole lot of hope, but we didn’t know what was going to happen: until you showed up, overwhelming us with your support and encou...

Lore Watch Podcast: Are Forsaken Death Knights the secret to infinite anima?

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we go on a wilder tangent than usual (and that’s saying a lot) about the connection between the Forsaken and Death Knights through pain and suffering and how that could be Azeroth’s own perpetual energy source (because science!) Yeah, hope you’re strapped in for this one. Bonus: Worgen talk.

You can enjoy this episode either through the Patreon audio player or 2024-02-05 20:01:48 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Record profits and record layoffs at Blizzard

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss the devastating layoffs that hit Blizzard while Activision leadership exits with mind boggling payouts. We also cover WoW Classic’s Season of Discovery phase 2 starting next week and Diablo 4’s upcoming Lunar Awakening event as well how the Diablo 4 dev team quickly addressed concerns about Season 3 mechanics.

In our...

Lore Watch Podcast: Deep diving into the new Gilneas storyline

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we explore WoW patch 10.2.5’s Gilneas storyline including Lillian Voss's struggle with what’s left of her humanity and Calia Menethil grappling with her family’s dark legacy. We also dive into evolution of key characters in WoW, the impact of in-game events on the lore of Warcraft, and the relationship between Superman and Shazam in the comics.

You can enjoy this epis...

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: The glory of respecs and robots in Diablo 4’s Season 3

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss the new features that have rolled out in Diablo 4 with the launch of Season 3 including the revamped respec system and the new robot companion. We also cover the new Gnomeregan raid coming WoW Classic’s Season of Discovery level cap raise, and our favorite superhero teams.

In our exclusive pre-show, we explore the Palw...

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Should Warcraft have romanceable characters?

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss the charm and challenges of implementing a Bioware/Baldur’s Gate romanceable companion feature to WoW (and how Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO pulled it off.) We also cover Diablo 4’s upcoming Season 3 that grants you a robot companion, if WoW’s patch 10.2.5 Gilneas storyline redeems Genn Greymane’s cowardice during th...

Lore Watch Podcast: Who are the key elves in the Emerald Dream storyline?

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we explore the key elven NPCs in the WoW patch 10.2 Guardians of the Dream campaign, the possible plans of the First Ones to prevent the universe from being devoured, and the tinfoil hat theory that the leaders of each the four Shadowlands’ factions are actually Titan constructs.

You can enjoy this episode either through the Patreon audio player or 2024-01-16 19:28:10 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: The age of community driven raid tier sets is upon us

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss the insane announcement that WoW players can vote on tier set bonuses and appearances for Dragonflight Season 4, the launch of the last Wrath Classic phase, Diablo 3 Season 30 mixing the three previous season themes together, and the winding down of Hearthstone’s Duels mode.

In our exclusive pre-show, we talk about the...

Lore Watch Podcast: How the ending of Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion changed everything

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we explore how the ending of Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion reframes everything you understood about the game. We also cover the stories of A.I., Mr. Blue Eyes, and the Methuselah cult.

You can enjoy this episode either through the Patreon audio player or 2024-01-09 18:30:51 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: All about that WoW patch 10.2.5

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss all the features coming to WoW with patch 10.2.5 including new AI-party dungeon running, the new Azerothian Archives public event, an epilogue to the Dragonflight storyline, and a quest line to reclaim Gilneas. We also cover Overwatch 2’s new Hero Mastery courses, the new WoW goldsink vendor items, and our favorite in-game t...

Lore Watch Podcast: Will The Worldsoul Saga reboot WoW’s lore?

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we explore the idea that the upcoming three expansion Worldsoul Saga may be setting the stage for a new era in WoW storytelling, the mystery behind the son of Medivh and Garona Halforcen, Med’an, and the questionable actions of Diablo 4’s Sister Octavia.

You can enjoy this episode either through the Patreon audio player or 2024-01-02 19:10:41 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: The trouble with transmog

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss all the winter holiday events coming to an end for Blizzard titles, our frustration with the WoW January Trading Post transmog reward, how WoW should let us put our pets in a cosmetic backpack, and how the curse of flesh would affect inanimate objects in game. Because who doesn’t want a version of Pee-Wee’s playhouse court...

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: All about that WoW 2024 Roadmap

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss the newly released 2024 content roadmaps for WoW and WoW Classic from Blizzard. With 10.2.5 Seeds of Renewal, a mystery 10.2.6 possibly pirate-themed mini content drop, Season 4 of Dragonflight, 10.2.7 Dark Heart, then 11.0.1 The War Within pre-patch, the expansion launch, and 11.0.5 the first expansion patch all rolling out n...

Lore Watch Podcast: Did we forget about Gnomeregan?

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we explore the future of Gnomeregan. Can it get the reclamation that is coming to Gilneas in patch 10.2.5? We also talk about how deep and wide the roots of the World Tree go. Probably not as deep and wide as our tin foil hatting about it, that’s for sure.

You can enjoy this episode either through the Patreon audio player or 2023-12-20 00:23:17 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: All I want for Christmas is an armor dye system

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss the benefits of the faster LFR rollout for both casual and hardcore raiders, the avalanche (zing!) of winter seasonal content we are buried under, and how the Trading Post transmog items put a spotlight on how difficult it is to color coordinate outfits without an armor dye system.

In our exclusive pre-show, we talk abou...

Lore Watch Podcast: Concerning dragon histories, Titan origins, and World Trees

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we delve into the history of the dragon flights, the idea that the Titans may not be all about Order, and the hotly debated question of the location of the first World Tree.

You can enjoy this episode either through the Patreon audio player or 2023-12-12 19:26:22 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Tis the season…for a massive amount of new content

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss the roll out of, deep breath, Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 6, Overwatch 2 Season 8 with Mauga, Diablo 4’s Abattoir of Zir, Diablo 3’s Season 30 PTR, and WoW Dragonflight’s Amirdrassil LFR Wing 4 next week as well as Warcraft Rumble Season 2. If that weren’t enough presents under your tree, we also cover the Rune co...

The state of the site as we head to the end of 2023

It’s been a tough year for Blizzard Watch, particularly in the last half of the year when reduced advertising revenue forced us to drastically cut down on posting. You’ve probably noticed that we’re only doing a couple of posts per day, because that’s all the budget allowed. But as we head to the end of the year, things are looking pretty good for the site — and that’s thanks to you, our community.

You probably read 2023-12-05 13:15:40 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: WoW Classic’s Season of Discovery is upon us

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

Join us as we discuss the new features coming with the launch of WoW Classic’s Season of Discovery on November 30th including crazy new class abilities, lower initial level cap, new custom raids, and more. We also explore Diablo 4’s upcoming Abattoir of Zir and Midwinter Blight events, the Race to World First Mythic Fyrakk kill, and what makes ...

Lore Watch Podcast: Is Azeroth heading to a Ragnarok reset?

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we delve deeply into the idea that Azeroth's races may be programmed to protect the planet by the Titans and if they fail, the Titans will reset the world and let it play out all over again. Plus, the possible impact of non-druid classes entering the Emerald Dream.

You can enjoy this episode either through the Patreon audio player or 2023-11-28 05:38:08 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: What you need to know before returning to WoW

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Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

In this episode, we discuss changes to the talent system and professions as well new accessibility options for those looking to return to Azeroth. We also cover the Race to World First for the new Amirdrassil raid content, WoW’s 19th anniversary, Diablo 4’s Mother’s Blessing buff, and the surprise patch to Heroes of the Storm. We also give an...

Lore Watch Podcast: The legend of the first World Tree, Elun’Ahir

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we delve into the newly introduced story of the first World Tree, Elun’Ahir.

You can enjoy this episode either through the Patreon audio player or 2023-11-20 23:31:50 +0000 UTC View Post

Blizzard Watch Weekly: World of Warcraft turns 19 and Hearthstone heads to the Badlands

The news never stops, does it? Things from Blizzard have been pretty busy in the lead up to the holiday season, and I’m back to doing this roundup to help you keep up with it all. But if you’re looking to catch up on news that’s a little bit older, we also have a roundup of everything that...

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Blizzard Watch needs your help

Hi there, Patrons!

Early access to the latest uncut Blizzard Watch podcast with the exclusive bonus pre-show content is now available.

In this episode, Liz Harper explains our need for additional Patreon revenue to keep the site going. The team also discuss the launch of Dragonflight Season 3 the Amirdrassil raid (including the LFR tier!), the very grumpy new world boss, the launch of the Hearthstone: Showdown in the Badlands expansion, the newly announced Diablo TTRPG, and the ne...

Lore Watch Podcast: Can the World Soul be trusted?

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Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.

Join us this week as we, per usual, take a simple, innocent question and use it to wildly speculate about its implications to WoW’s lore! In this case, we take the information presented in The War Within’s BlizzCon cinematic and connect it to WoW lore including (deep breath) a fifth old god, titans, the Naaru Colossal, life and void lords, what Elune is, the pantheon of death, the big lightbulb i...