Before I get started on the topic at hand, I just wanted to say thank you to all the readers who checked out last weeks post. It was by far my most read post and I got a lot of great feedback on Reddit and Twitter. It really got me excited about writing and keeping things going so once again, thank you!
It's just over two weeks until Blizzcon at the time I'm writing this. The official schedule is out so it's time to diligently analyze every aspect for any secrets it may hold! I will be referring to the official Blizzcon site version. Feel free to pull that up and compare so I can save time listing individual times and stages.
Hearthstone:
There are only two Hearthstone panels this year and it seems a majority of the focus will on the World Championships just like last year. This falls in line with what we should expect so closely following a true expansion release. I do expect to see a new Adventure announced at the opening ceremony, and detailed at the Friday panel. Very clever by the way Blizzard "come warm yourself by the fire and hear a tale of adventures yet to come". I see what you did there. If I were a betting man I would put my money on Karazhan being our next Adventure. Some people have used The Grand Tournament as evidence of Icecrown Citadel being next, but when they announced TGT they framed it as what the denizens of Northrend were doing after the events of WotLK. Team 5 has been very lenient with the time frames and pacing of content releases so I don't think on expansion points to the next. However, the Blizzcon 2015 card back does have a very "Sindragosa's Fall" look to it if you ask me. I think the eventual addition of Death Knights, however distant it may be, is the biggest argument for them holding off on ICC. I could be wrong though.
Heroes of the Storm:
Heroes is a tough game to really hype up at a single event. Sure, we will get a video at the opening ceremony detailing the next few heroes and/or battlegrounds, but because the game is based around constant smaller updates there isn't much they can do to knock peoples socks off. They could announce an unranked draft mode or a new in-game event, but they have on record in saying that those things won't be coming this year. The only feature I can think of that they would announce is a true in game draft mode with bans. The tournament scene, including Blizzard run events, has used a two ban system and it is absurd that people need to use an outside client to run the draft for these events. Blizzard knows this and I think they are doing everything they can to bring a true draft system into the game. We should also find out when Season 1 will finally start. We have been in "preseason" for far too long. Grandmaster League as well as some kind of reward system should accompany the start of any official season because people need to know what they are striving for besides a higher rank. As far as new heroes go, we don't have much to go on. There is a Hero Deep Dive panel on Friday that promises a closer look at all the new heroes coming our way. If I had to throw out some guesses I would say Zul'jin, Cho'gall, and Zamuro the Blademaster based solely on work in progress stuff from forever ago. They are developing heroes so far in advance at this point that we have no way to know if another hero just happened to become release ready before the ones we have already seen screenshots of. Finally, there is a Battlegrounds panel on Saturday afternoon. I'm interested to see if Blizzard will return to more neutral maps like the first 7 or continue to branch out into their traditional universes. I don't know which I would prefer since I don't really like Battlefield of Eternity or Infernal Shrines very much. The idea of an Alterac Valley style map does peak my interests, but I really like the original maps and their takes on traditional fantasy. Either way I am excited to see what Heroes has coming.
Starcraft:
With Legacy of the Void set to release immediately following Blizzcon, I don't expect many surprises. Story bits will be kept secret, WCS is going on during the event, and the new units won't be changed this close to release. I think this years Starcraft coverage will have two sides. First, they will take the opportunity to give the trilogy the celebration it deserves heading into its final chapter. Then they will assure people that they will continue to balance and support the game for years to come. It should be common knowledge at this point that Blizzard values the most diehard of their fans. There are still periodic updates to Diablo 2 people should not be worried about losing support for Starcraft 2. I am very curious what the future of the Starcraft universe will bring. Real-time strategy games are pretty much nonexistent outside of SC2, and a SC3 would be years away at this point. I have some tin-foil hat theories about a potential new game in the Koprulu Sector but I will save that for another post. Either way I am excited for the story of this series to come full circle despite my RTS ineptitude.
Overwatch:
We already know that the Overwatch Beta will begin on October 27th. There was some worry that Blizzard would have it start immediately following Blizzcon, but I think that would have taken too much of the attention away from Legacy of the Void. Overwatch will still steal a good amount of the Thunder however as everyone and their brother heads to Twitch to see the lucky few fight for some payloads. The Blizzcon slate for Overwatch is a slightly more sparse than I thought it would be. Friday's "What's New" panel will no doubt feature new maps and heroes (presumably Green Robot Ninja will make his debut finally), but that doesn't offer anything more than what we got at PAX East months ago. I am very excited for the World of Overwatch panel on Saturday. Lore isn't something everyone cares about but I can't wait to dive into another Blizzard world. The stream from Blizzard HQ last week looked really polished and seemed to have a good baseline version of the game in place. While I don't like how limited the initial beta phase is going to be, I love that it will be launching with in-game voice chat as well as a spectator mode. Despite how little there seems to be on the schedule, the good news is pretty much everything we learn about Overwatch at this point is exciting new information.
World of Warcraft:
This year there is a 90 minute panel on the world of Legion immediately following the opening ceremony. This, along with the lack of a mysterious open slot in the schedule, rules out any big unknown release and cements Legion as the big ticket item for this year. Friday we will get a deeper look at the zones of the Broken Isles and the dungeons and raids therein. Metzen will likely be there as well giving information on the various story threads teased at Gamescom. After that there is a cinematics panel. This is a nice secondary panel considering how awesome the in-game cinematics were throughout Warlords. If we don't get the Legion opening cinematic at the opening ceremony then I would expect to see it here. Saturday we have the usual panel detailing the changes to in-game systems and the new features of the expansion. I think this panel will be when we find out more about the changes in store for talent specs as well as more insight into Artifact weapons for other classes. Follow that up with the good ole Q&A and that's a wrap on the World of Warcraft coverage. This year seems as though it will be very similar to last year. We'll get a lot of information but nothing that isn't already a known quantity.
Diablo:
Finally we get to the biggest disappointment on the schedule. I have gone on record more than once predicting a Diablo 3 expansion first at Gamescom, and then again at Blizzcon after Legion stole the show in Germany. Unfortunately, here we are on the eve of Blizzcon and we find a single panel on the entire schedule. Rather than discuss a newly revealed Act 6 and new playable class, it will instead feature "New Content and Features for Reaper of Souls". Don't get me wrong, I love the work the Diablo team has put into Reaper of Souls. It is in a fantastic place compared to where it began and they continue to release quality updates at no new cost to players. But that doesn't take away from the disappointment of no second expansion. New legendary and set items can only do so much to keep the game fresh. I love the newness of a season rollover but I find myself wearing out as things progress and the time to gear ratio continues to grow. Maybe Diablo is to a point where they are happy to cater to the more hardcore crown who grind 500+ paragon every season and who enjoy a season long grind. I find myself just on the outside of that group. I get to Paragon 400 or so but then lose interest once I have seen what the new items have to offer. I enjoy that part of the game but I want more from Diablo than that. New lore, a new class, new areas and tile sets to keep things interesting. I want to know what threat the Nephalem ultimately pose to the Sanctuary. I want to know where Itherael went. I want to know what happens when Diablo is eventually resurrected in the Burning Hells. I want to know what's going on in other parts of the world. And apparently some people want to know what happened to Leah's soul, but I honestly never grew attached to her character. I could go on forever about what a new expansion could mean for Diablo, but for now all we can do is see what new things Blizzard is working on for Reaper and hold on to some hope for Gamescom next year.
I think Blizzcon should be a blast as always, but I think this year will be a bit on the tame side.
TL;DR for predictions:
Hearthstone Adventure. Guessing Karazhan but could be Icecrown based on the card back.
Zul'jin, Cho'gall, and Zamuro (WC3 Blademaster) and a map or two for Heroes.
Story bits and hype builders for Legacy of the Void.
Green Robot Ninja, one other Hero, and a new map or two for Overwatch. More Story!
Legion details across the board. Opening cinematic?
Diablo disappointment. jk jk
Thanks as always for reading and welcome back to those checking back in after last weeks post. I hope to keep you coming back. Until next time,
Chris
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