BlizzCon 2016 Roundup (So Far)

November 5, 2016 Papa Dom

If you didn’t know already, Blizzard’s annual conference – BlizzCon – is well underway. Taking place from yesterday until today, BlizzCon draws in lifelong Blizzard fans from all around the world to get a first look at any and all new content that Blizzard might reveal. We here at Wicked Good Gaming Global HQ (well, y’know, just me from my iPad in my bathroom) know you aren’t trying to open up 82 tabs to get all your BlizzCon news, so I’m about to break this shit down for you nice and simple. Selfishly, its tough to write blogs when you’re three Bloody Marys deep – so I need to keep this quick in the interest of quality control. Here we go.

World of Warcraft

Everything about Patch 7.1.5 and 7.2 was discussed. Mists of Pandaria Timewalking Dungeons are being introduced, as well as dozens of new encounters for the Brawler’s Guild. Also, raid-level bosses will be introduced at random to keep Brawler’s Guild waiting room patrons busy, which is pretty fucking sweet! As far as loot goes, Blizz says there’s gonna be some new shirts and a Rockspine Basilisk Mount from the Brawler’s Guild. There are also a bunch of tuning and balancing stat changes that we don’t have room for here (but they have room for here).

Oh you want a new raid? YOU GOT ONE. The Tomb of Sargeras raid will be introduced in 7.2! Also in 7.2 will be new Class Order Hall campaigns, new factions, Class-focused World Quests (dope) and, AND a return to the Broken Shore. Yep. Blizzard decided that they didn’t want to just waste an entire fucking zone on one scenario, so we’re heading back there to check out new quests. Legion Invasions will also be returning – this time in all of the Broken Isles zones. This time, once you defeat the invasion on the ground, you join a 3-player scenario where you take the fight to the Legion ship in the sky. HOLY. BALLS.

1383478641225 — “Chief what are you doing?!” “Giving the Burning Legion back their bomb.”

BUT WAIT? HOW ARE WE GONNA GET UP THERE!? FLYING IS COMING in 7.2! (If you’re planning on finishing the Broken Isles Pathfinder Achievement…) At first, I was like “meh” to this news, but then I found out that Blizz is giving us class-specific mounts. Most of them are amazing, so check out the gallery on WowHead right here if you wanna know what your class got.

Diablo III

The Priests of Rathma—or necromancers, as outsiders call them—have long remained shrouded in mystery. Deep within the jungles of Kehjistan, they train to preserve the delicate balance between the forces of life and death. Now Sanctuary has need of their unique power, and the Priests of Rathma will answer. -Blizzard

New class alert! Blizzard – you smart, you loyal, you a genius. I appreciate that. The Necromancer is described as a “master of the dark arts” and looks like it’ll be focused on summoning armies of undead warriors! Blizzard also promises that we can make corpses explode. So I expect them to make good on that. Expect the Necromancer to arrive in a new expansion pack sometime soon.

Heroes of the Storm

New Heroes! Both of which are from Warcraft, and it seems like a few people are a little annoyed that there’s less love from Blizzard’s other franchises. Varian Wrynn and Ragnaros are joining the fray, and there’s a whole mess of other new features and modes coming as well. There’s a new Brawl, Blackheart’s Revenge, which is the first attack/defend style Brawl in HotS. Attackers gather cannonballs, load them into the cannons, and light up Blackheart’s ship in hopes of killing him. Defenders assist Blackheart by trying to stop the other team from loading up the cannons. Sounds pretty awesome. There’s also a new giveaway – The Nexus Challenge – which lasts from November 15th until January 4th. Blizz promises an “epic set of in-game loot in both Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch” as a reward. More on all of that right here.

Hearthstone

Hearthstone is getting a new expansion! Mean Streets of Gadgetzan is set in a city “where gangs rule the streets.” Three new classes are being added to Hearthstone alongside the expansion. The Grimy Goons, The Jade Lotus, and The Kabal. Some highlights of these new classes, per Eurogamer, is that The Grimy Goons offer a “piranha launcher” attack card. The Lotus’ Assassin provides a stealth bonus after destroying a creature, and the Kabal’s “Talonpriest” can be used to give friendly monsters a boost to their health. There’s also a great new trailer, so check that out below.