Hi there, Patrons!
Join us as we discuss the arrival of the Brutosaur auction-house mount in the WoW cash shop, the revamp of the WoW anniversary token reward system, the introduction of much-welcomed accessibility features in Diablo 4, and the reintroduction of 6v6 mode in Overwatch2. Seems like everything old is new again. But more expensive.
In our exclusive preshow, we talk about the mixed, but generally positive reviews for Dragon Age: The Veilguard and how Bioware’s lack o...
2024-11-01 16:12:27 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Here is your early, ad-free access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.
Matt and Joe are joined by Liz as they dive into what you need to know about the Dragon Age 2 storyline to prepare you for this week's launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. They cover the major events and characters of the title as well as the themes of power, agency, and moral ambiguity the game explores. And, of course, the introduction of everyone’s favorite spicy novel writing scoundrel...
2024-10-30 16:20:38 +0000 UTC
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Between the WoW Anniversary and Halloween, we’re still in celebration mode. Now that I’m thinking about it, that also serves as a convenient excuse for any typos I may make. I should use that line more often.
What Happened This Week?
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Almost 10 years ago we rolled out episode 1 of the Blizzard Watch podcast when we launched the site and here we are now with our 500th recording. Kids these days, they grow up so fast. What? I'm not crying, you're crying!
Join us as we discuss, shocker, the latest news from the Blizzard universe and beyond including the cost to collect all of WoW’s 20th anniversary cosmetics, Hearthstone’s flip flopping quest design, Diablo 4’s Meat or Treat Halloween even...
2024-10-25 14:45:13 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Here is your early, ad-free access to the latest episode of Lore Watch.
Matt and Joe are joined by Liz as they wrap up their discussion of the events in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred. They cover how the final confrontation of the campaign sets up the next chapter in the game’s story, the larger motivations of Mephisto, and the influence of corporate monetization strategies on the depth of storytelling.
Also, multitasking with your mouth. No, really, it make...
2024-10-23 14:08:04 +0000 UTC
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We’re at the end of another week of news, and it is finally officially spooky season, so let the hauntings commence. This week the Halloween-themed events went live in most of Blizzard’s games, from the expansive fan favorite Junkenstein’s Revenge to the minimal Hearthstone event where you earn a few card packs and the background of the main menu is sprinkled with candy corn — the most evil of all confections, to be fair.
This is our weekly rundown of the events th...
2024-10-18 22:03:36 +0000 UTC
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Matt, Joe, and Liz discuss their further adventures in D4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion, the strange rollout of Cataclysm Classic Phase 3, Hearthstone’s new spaceship-themed expansion, overpriced WoW-themed cosmetics in Diablo 4, and Sunderfolk, the upcoming couch co-op tactical RPG by ex-Blizzard boss, Mike Morhaime.
In our exclusive preshow, we talk about which of the many, many games releasing soon we are looking forward to as well as reminiscing about attending BlizzCon, and dino...
2024-10-18 15:54:01 +0000 UTC
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Matt and Joe delve into the narrative, characters, and villains from the latest Diablo 4 expansion, Vessel of Hatred. They cover everything from Neyrelle’s continued story arc to the spiritborn’s connection to the spirit realm to the most memorable moments in the game. And, most importantly, how the appearance of a certain spirit was absolutely, totally not inspired by C. S. Lewis. Not one bit. /riversongvoice Spoilers, darling. /riversongvoice
We hope you enjoy your early access t...
2024-10-16 15:13:04 +0000 UTC
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The week’s biggest Blizzard news is the semi-successful Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred launch, but we also have news of the next WoW patch and Hearthstone expansion — both of which I’m looking forward to.
Here’s a rundown of everything you might have missed this week, plus what’s on deck for next week.
What happened this week
Join us with special guest Liz Patt as we discuss this week’s launch of Diablo 4’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred. We cover its delayed start, what’s new in Season 6, the new mercenary companions, new runewords, and the new Spiritborn class.
We also talk about WoW’s upcoming 20th anniversary event, the Starcraft franchise coming to Xbox, and question why Dragon Age: The Veilguard won’t utilize the Dragon Age Keep system bringing your choices from the previous three ti...
2024-10-10 23:56:33 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch, ad free!
Matt, Joe, and Liz cover everything you need to know about the lore of Dragon Age: Inquisition in preparation for the upcoming release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. They cover topics ranging from the main Inquisitor storyline to the history of the elves to the deceitful companionship of trickster god himself, the Dread Wolf. Spoilers abound if you haven’t played the Dragon Age titles. Also...
2024-10-08 23:10:44 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Join us with special guest Cory Taylor as we discuss the uncertain future of Warcraft Rumble, our love of October’s WoW Trading Post transmog options, and what we are looking forward to with next week’s Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred expansion.
Plus, the most important question of the week: Who would be the best and worst Warcraft character to give voice directions for driving? My vote is a holographic Khadgar head in a bubble. Who’s with me!?e!?
The main...
2024-10-03 22:38:20 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch, ad free!
Join Matt and Joe as they explore how the plight of the Nerubians of Azj-Kahet may provide insight into other groups corrupted by the Old Gods, more potential underground regions that could be explored in Azeroth, the history and destruction of Dalaran, and the burning question keeping us up at night: Why don’t the Earthen have Scottish accents?
As always, let us know what you ...
2024-10-02 15:08:24 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
We have a special episode of the podcast for you today.
Join us for this special edition of the Blizzard Watch Podcast as we sit down with investigative journalist Jason Schreier to talk about his upcoming book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment.
Covering the 33-year history of Blizzard, we discuss the truth behind many of the scandals that rocked company, the real influence Activision had on game development, and are...
2024-10-01 12:00:13 +0000 UTC
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Last week was busy, the week after next is busy, but this coming week? Not so much.
Here’s our weekly roundup of the news we reported you may have missed, the stuff that’s coming up, plus a few suggestions for things to keep you busy over the weekend.
What Happened This Week
After a whole 2024-09-28 00:54:55 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Join us as we discuss how missing items in guild banks may or may not get restored, the rollout of WoW Classic’s Season of Discovery Phase 5 with new content, the introduction of LFR Raid Wing 3 in The War Within, and the continuing saga of the Race to World First.
Instead of an exclusive preshow this week, we hosted a live recording of an upcoming special Lore Watch episode dedicated to the story behind the Dragon Age series of games. Your court advisors reco...
2024-09-27 16:19:44 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch, ad free!
Join Matt and Joe as they explore the theory that Xal’atath may have began as a Titan construct, the surprisingly inclusive beginnings of the Scarlet Crusade, and the recent influence of the most terrible, evil, and loathsome Old God of them all, daily grinds— uh, Y’Shaarj.
As always, let us know what you think and thank you for your continued support
2024-09-25 14:10:23 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Join us as we discuss the latest Race to World First news (as of the recording on Tuesday), if/when Blizzard will announce Mists of Pandaria Classic servers, the agony and the ecstasy of Delves, the bittersweet upcoming arrival of Arcane Season 2, and why we are convinced that the black blood of earth in WoW is cranberry flavored. Plan ahead for your Thanksgiving spread now.
In our exclusive preshow, we discuss the problems with toxic fandom, particularly of the...
2024-09-20 16:47:21 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch, ad free!
Join Matt and Joe as they untangle the history and origin of the Arathi from their establishment of the Seven Kingdoms to their alliance with the high elves to their war against the trolls. Plus an overview of which faction in WoW canonically beat major dungeons and raids in the game and how the unholy mixture of void magic and old god corruption pushed forward the monstrous evolution of the...
2024-09-18 14:03:22 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Here's the latest Tavern Watch episode, our podcast devoted to news and discussion in the world of tabletop role playing games.
In this episode, we are joined by Phil “The goblin with the dumb name that you all love” Ulrich as we go in-depth on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the new Player’s Handbook. Also the trend of more open development by TTRPG game designers, what upcoming games we are looking forward to playing, and what we want from Wizar...
2024-09-16 22:14:15 +0000 UTC
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It’s been a busy week in World of Warcraft, with Season 1 and our first news about the next patch. Yes, I know, it’s only been a couple of weeks since the last patch, but we’re already getting ready for the next one.
If you’re having trouble keeping up with what’s going on with Warcraft (and everything else) right now, here’s what happened over t...
2024-09-15 17:30:36 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Join us as we discuss the content rolling out with the launch of Season 1 in The War Within, what we know about patch 11.0.5 and it’s connection to the 20th anniversary of WoW, the new Hearthstone mini-set which takes puns to a whole new level, and how the upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro looks shiny, but the price tag…in this economy??
In our exclusive preshow, we discuss Liz’s upcoming D&D murder mystery campaign recording this weekend. Get your affairs in...
2024-09-13 16:40:48 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Hope you are enjoying the first week of Season 1 in The War Within.
Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch, ad free!
Join Matt and Joe as they explore the repeated use of echoes and memories through the storyline of the current expansion leading to a discussion about the cyclical nature of WoW’s storytelling as well as the subversion of tropes in recent narratives in the game. (Spoilers for the War Within main campaign.) Also, the ...
2024-09-11 16:47:35 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Join us as we discuss the best new features in The War Within. From Delves improving on the promise of Torghast to better choices for players completing weekly quests to… uh, bees? I don’t know. I just work here, ma’am.
Also how Diablo 4 tried not to be Diablo 3 but now is slowly morphing into it confirming our belief that we all turn into our parents eventually. And, honestly, nothing in the game could be more terrifying than that revelation.
In o...
2024-09-06 15:23:36 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch, ad free!
Join Matt and Joe as they explore the history and culture of the Arathi Empire, speculating on its transformation from a human-led nation into a society of mixed human and elven heritage. Tin foil hatting ensues about the empire's leadership, the role of prophetic visions from the Sacred Flame, and their new expansion zone, Hallowfall. And this leads to a discussion of the role of the Titans...
2024-09-03 19:24:29 +0000 UTC
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Well, not really since we do take occasional breaks from gaming to write, but the past week has really been dominated by The War Within’s launch. Most of us here at Blizzard Watch have been binging our way through the latest expansion, and we’ve written a ton of guides along the way.
If you haven’t jumped into the game yourself — or if you’ve been playing so much that you can’t keep up with what else is going on in gaming — here’s a rundown of what...
2024-08-31 15:35:54 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
The War Within has launched and we have a lot to talk about.
Join us as we discuss Blizzard’s move to slow down leveling in The War Within, how much we are enjoying the new underground zones, more details about Diablo 4’s upcoming Mercenaries system, and our favorite titles coming out of Gamescom including the aptly titled, Date Everything. I believe Matt summed it up when he said, “I want so bad to date Cyclops as a toaster.”
In our exclusive pr...
2024-08-30 18:15:00 +0000 UTC
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Hi there, Patrons!
Here is your early access to the latest episode of Lore Watch, ad free!
Matt, Joe, and Liz have been playing through early access of The War Within and have tHOuGhTz & oPiNioNz on the new lore info in the expansion. Topics include the extra depth we're getting on the lead lore characters and themes of mental health throughout the game as well as how you can see the Earthen's Titan roots throughout their story, the environmental storytelling in the game and t...
2024-08-27 22:08:27 +0000 UTC
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I felt like this post was worth highlighting for those of you leveling through TWW this week, which I imagine is most of you who play World of Warcraft. More guides and news (hopefully better news) can be found on the site. — Liz
Apparently leveling in The War Within&nb...
2024-08-27 19:55:08 +0000 UTC
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It's a busy week in Blizzard games — and in games in general. Practically every game in the Blizzard stable has something new this week, and Gamescom has brought a mountain of trailers and announcements to our eager eyes. Frankly, I can barely keep up, and I'm sure I've missed plenty of Gamescom events in the middle of all the excitement.
But to help you stay on top of the latest, here are the highlights from Blizzard (and beyond) from the last week.
New this week...
2024-08-24 01:33:01 +0000 UTC
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