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BlizzCon 2013: Diablo Lore and Story Q&A
The universe of Diablo has a surprisingly rich backstory, and on the first day of BlizzCon, some of the writing team for the new Reaper of Souls expansion sat down on the panel stage to answer attendee questions. Many of the questions dealt with those little minutae and side characters of the world lore nerds (such as myself) love so much, but there were also fun and interesting insights into Reaper of Souls and future stories in the Diablo world. Q: Could we have a failure cinematic if we die to Malthael? It would be too expensive and time consuming, and would require dropping other features. That said, the team is considering special events if you die or fail, but can't promise or reveal anything on that front yet. Q: While Bul'kathos appears to be the main Barbarian hero, the Immortal King set refers to someone called Worusk. Who is the true supreme Barbarian and who is Worusk?
BlizzCon 2013: Huge changes coming to itemization
In the gameplay and systems panel, Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street just revealed some massive changes to gear itemization in Warlords of Draenor. The fabled item squish is finally coming, stats are being removed, new stats are being added, and reforging is gone. There's a lot to cover so let's get right down to it. Enchanting, reforging, and gems They feel like there is too much modification needed to be done every time you get a new piece of gear: enchants, gemming, and reforging your caps. There will be fewer items which can accept enchants, but the items which can still be enchanted will have more powerful enchants and more choice. Fewer gem sockets, but gems will be much more powerful. No more socket bonuses or metagems. Sockets are a bonus which can appear on gear and do not count towards item budget. Reforging is gone!
BlizzCon 2013: Warcraft movie panel liveblog
Welcome back, folks! We'll be liveblogging the Warcraft movie panel, which is set for 4:00 pm EST/1:00 pm PST. We're pretty curious to hear about what's been done so far, because there hasn't been a lot of solid information floating around, so this promises to be an interesting panel. Join us past the cut.
BlizzCon 2013: Diablo III's adventure mode, avenger kills detailed
At this year's BlizzCon, eager attendees learned that Blizzard is adding myriad new features to Diablo III's Reaper of Souls expansion; specifically, the PlayStation 4 version of Reaper of Souls will enable legendary item gifting. "Even though you and I are not adventuring together," explained level designer Matthew Berger to Polygon, "I can give you something and still make it feel like we're playing together." Reaper of Souls also features a new mechanic called Avenger Kills. In a nutshell, it allows for monsters who kill one player to teleport into the game of a player on the deceased's friends list. Whenever player two comes online, the NPC will appear via a special event. If the monster kills player two as well, the cycle continues. Whenever a player manages to slay the creature, the victor and the friend who spawned will get a piece of loot. Also at the con, Blizzard released more information about the game's adventure mode, and our sister site WoW Insider has a special look at the Reaper of Souls BlizzCon preview panel, at which the team addressed concerns over the post-Auction House economy, lag spikes, and the possibility of an offline mode. Massively's on the ground in Anaheim during the weekend of November 8th, bringing you all the best news from BlizzCon 2013. Whether you're anticipating World of Warcraft's and Diablo III's next expansions or reveals from Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, we aim to have it covered!
BlizzCon 2013: Ghostcrawler's infamous Systems Panel liveblog
I refuse to take responsibility for the title. Angry letters can be sent to Adam Holisky. Unless people like it, then I'll take all the credit for running it. Such is the way of the world. For all those of you who are new to BlizzCon, "systems" is a catch-all term for the raids, gameplay, quests, and UI likely to be covered at this panel, which begins at 2:30 pm EST/11:30 am PST.
Blizzcon 2013: Iconic Characters of Warcraft
The Voice Actor Stage is a new addition this year at BlizzCon, and I certainly hope it becomes a staple. I sat down for the 3:00 - 4:00 panel "Iconic Characters of Warcraft" which, as the name implies, featured the voice actors for several of the most influential WoW characters in the Mists of Pandaria expansion. Our esteemed guests were: Keone Young, voice of Chen Stormstout James Sie, voice of Taran Zhu Patrick Seitz, voice of Garrosh Hellscream Aaron Phillips, voice of Wrathion Josh Keaton, voice of Anduin Wrynn Laura Bailey, voice of Jaina Proudmoore In addition, the panel was hosted by Andrea Toyias, Casting and Voice Over Director at Blizzard, and two writers whose names were announced but unfortunately not written on the projector. Andrea hosted the panel by asking each of the actors, one by one, a series of questions about the characters they voiced -- how they saw that character, how they got into the appropriate headspace to play that character, and so on. Each answer was unique and very interesting. Keone Young spoke about how his experience growing up on Hawai'i, before and during its annexation by the United States, influenced the way he perceived the struggles of the pandaren people, and also how his knowledge of the Hawai'ian patois informed his development of Chen's unique accent.
BlizzCon 2013: Instant level 90 with Warlords of Draenor
Few details have been released on the system so far, but the Warlords of Draenor previews during the first day of BlizzCon revealed a level 90 boost system. When you purchase Warlords of Draenor, you'll receive a single-use level 90 boost to skyrocket a character directly to Mists of Pandaria's max level, allowing you to wade directly into the new content. The boost being single-use causes an interesting dilemma, however. If players want to boost an additional 90, there's nothing stopping them from purchasing a new World of Warcraft box, Warlords of Draenor license, and a character transfer to move additional, instant level 90s to their primary account. According to World of Warcraft's Production Director J. Allen Brack, Blizzard is quite aware of that loophole and is considering cutting out the mess in the middle and simply selling additional boosts to level 90. The ability to purchase level 90 characters will be welcomed by some and hated by others, so the Blizzard team is holding a wait and see position for themselves until the expansion nears release. Nothing has been confirmed for certain.
Warlords of Draenor Designer Q&A With Fansites
Last night the fansites got a chance to have an open Q&A with Blizzard designers about World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor. Curse grabbed a video of the Q&A, embedded above. Some highlights: Item Squish is happening. Item Levels are not changing. It's going live with the game unless there's a compelling reason to remove it. No new guild perks. They served their purpose in Cataclysm and there's no plans to do more of them. The guild system was never designed to make people want to be in a guild. The guild achievement system is designed to recognize the accomplishment guilds have achieved. New loot model in flex will scale the number of loot drops based on the number of people in the group who participated in the boss kill and haven't killed it yet during the week. Might be accessing Outland through the Caverns of Time. Access Draenor through the Dark Portal. More after the break.
No Free-to-Play World of Warcraft
Speaking to Eurogamer last night at BlizzCon, Production Director J. Allen Brack stated that Blizzard has no plans to make World of Warcraft free to play. "We didn't make the game to be free to play," he said. "We would have to rework the game pretty significantly in order to make it free-to-play. It's not something we're currently considering." This echos what Mike Morhaime said in an interview on the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket. He also said that WoW was not designed to be free to play. Many had thought that with subscriber losses and the introduction of an in-game Blizzard store on the PTR that WoW might be heading toward a free to play model, like many subscription MMOs are doing. But these statements by Blizzard developers allays those fears.
BlizzCon 2013 in pictures
If you're not on the BlizzCon show floor yourself, there's no reason you need to miss out on the action -- and all without having to trek around the show floor, because we've done the trekking for you. We've covered the show floor from corner to corner and braved the crowds outside the convention center to get photos of all the action. So if your virtual ticket hasn't given you enough of the convention-going experience, browse through our gallery to see just what it's like to be on the ground at BlizzCon. And if that's not enough BlizzCon for you, check out our BlizzCon 2013 Guide for all of the latest news from Anaheim.
Nope, World of Warcraft still isn't going F2P
Sorry, free-to-play fans; World of Warcraft still isn't your game. Eurogamer reports that Blizzard production director J Allen Brack ended speculation of a potential business model switch for the hugely popular MMO. "We didn't make this game to be free-to-play," Brack explained. "We would have to rework the game pretty significantly in order to make it free-to-play. It's not something we're currently considering." In other expansion news, the official WoW website has been updated with several new articles fleshing out yesterday's panel announcement. The first covers leveling from 90 to 100 in the new expansion, while the second is more of a general overview that also includes the Warlords of Draenor: Remaking a World video. View it after the cut.
WoW Insider/Wowhead party snapshots
Last night, WoW Insider and Wowhead hosted their annual party at the Annabella Hotel. The party was from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. PST, but the line began before 5. It was at capacity very quickly, leaving many people standing in line to get in. Gamebreaker.tv broadcast the event, conducting interviews and otherwise putting on a good show. At the same time, many people were lined up at the Anaheim Convention Center to pick up their BlizzCon badges. There were quite a few tweets from attendees complaining about how long the line was, but at least the weather was good and there were things to look at. Photos of the event and the BlizzCon badge line are in the slideshows below.
The cosplay of BlizzCon 2013
We've already seen the winners of this year's costume contest, but that's a long way from all of the cosplay that there is to see at BlizzCon. Just wandering around the show floor, you'll encounter plenty of talented cosplay -- and the occasional Deadpool, because Deadpool canonically fits in any universe. So without further ado, here's some of the very impressive cosplay we've run into in and around the convention center this year. And stay tuned, because we're sure to run into more costumes and cosplay during day two of BlizzCon.
The Daily Grind: Are you excited for Warlords of Draenor?
As I sat and watched the news pour in about World of Warcraft's fifth expansion, I was of two minds. On the one hand, when you start diving into the past, it's often a sign that the present is less interesting. On the other hand, this is a time that has been alluded to but never explored, and this trailer is not forgetting draenei. On the third hand, there's some interesting stuff here even without a time skip. On the fourth hand, where did all of these extra hands come from? The point is that I'm not sure if I'm excited about Warlords of Draenor yet. Maybe you're a bit more clear-headed than I am, ladies and gentlemen of the audience. Are you excited for this new expansion? Were you sitting in your chair looking forward to another chapter for World of Warcraft? Or are you ready to declare it a failure from just the title alone? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Blizzard just saved the World of Warcraft
Yesterday I asked the question if Blizzard was going to pull it off at BlizzCon. I asked if they were going to be able to deliver a product that would take the gigantic ship that is WoW and right its course, steering it into another nine years of prosperity. Cory Stockton, the Lead Content Designer of Warcraft replied to me on Twitter Friday morning: "Workin' on it!" I feel my question was legitimate and necessary. Looking at the truths of a game like WoW is important; and it's important to do it even more so when you have so much invested in it. I have spent the majority of my professional life reporting on it. I want to see it to succeed, but I want that success not to come with flashy words and spin, but with legitimately good gameplay and long-lasting fun. I know for a fact that many people at Blizzard feel the same way I do; and many of them are more critical of WoW than any of us ever could be. Comments in yesterday's post surprised me -- most thought that Blizzard wouldn't be successful at BlizzCon. They thought the series is headed for its sunset. Others on Twitter were more optimistic, most feeling that the answer was an obvious 140-character yes. Those on Facebook ended up somewhere in-between. Having seen the first day's activities, it's time to answer the next logical question: did Blizzard pull it off? Did they light the spark to save WoW from a slow and painful population decline that seems to be happening? Have they done what they need to do to ensure that the World of Warcraft will be around in 10-years time? While only the coming years will tell us for sure, I believe that they have -- if for only one reason: nothing is sacred.
BlizzCon 2013: First Look at Heroes of the Storm
The first day of BlizzCon 2013 brought us a healthy taste of what to expect from Heroes of the Storm -- or "BlizzCon, the Game," as several folks at Blizzard are apparently referring to it. A crazy, wacky mash-up of virtually every major Blizzard game currently in existence, Heroes will be a real-time, team-based, multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game in which groups of players must combine strategy with mastery of their characters to win matches on a diverse range of battlegrounds. In an hourlong panel discussion, Game Director Dustin Browder, Production Director Chris Sigaty, Senior Art Director Sam Didier and Lead Software Engineer Alan Dabiri guided us through the main aspects of the game, introduced many of the heroes we'll be playing -- which include Arthas of WoW, Kerrigan of Starcraft and Diablo of ... well, you know -- and even provided play-by-play announcing while showing us a couple of sample battleground gameplay videos. The second day of BlizzCon will feature a panel with nitty-gritty details on the game. In the meantime, flip through these 150+ moments from the overview panel to get a sense for what Heroes is all about! (You can also get a glimpse of the kind of damage that an Elite Tauren Chieftan can deal, and see what Uther Lightbringer would look like if he accidentally got locked in a Starcraft character's dressing room.)
BlizzCon 2013 costume contest winners
Another BlizzCon, another great costume contest. A huge number of wonderful costumes were on display tonight. I lost count of the total number, but out of them all there were 7 runners up, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, and Grand prize winners. Check out our enormous 100+ image slideshow below! Continue reading after the break to see who won the top prizes.
BlizzCon 2013: Warlords of Draenor pre-launch event
In the World of Warcraft: What's Next panel, Cory Stockton, Lead Content Designer, announced that Warlords of Draenor will have a substantial pre-launch event to introduce players to the story of Warlords of Draenor. Pre-launch events sort of fell by the wayside with Cataclysm and Mists. The last time we had a really involved one was with Wrath of the Lich King's scourge invasion and zombie plague. This event will be a very "guided" experience similar to the death knight class introduction. This will be more than a simple quest. It will begin in the Blasted Lands when something strange happens with the Dark Portal, causing it to turn red. Players are sent on on a suicide mission through the Dark Portal (yes, before the expansion even launches) to help prepare for the real journey into Draenor when the expansion launches. Those of you who played before BC will remember when the demons started pouring through the portal in the days leading up to launch. It sounds like it will be like that, except we actually get to venture into the portal ahead of time. I've always missed the pre-launch events and was extremely excited to hear this news. The question is will there be any "gameplay disrupting" events like the zombie plague, or will it be isolated to the events surrounding the portal itself?
BlizzCon 2013: The new level 100 talents for all classes and specs
Players are getting some peeks at the new level 100 talents at BlizzCon, and Perculia from Wowhead and our own Olivia scrambled to write them down for us. Unfortunately, they weren't allowed to take pictures, but to the best of our knowledge these are all the level 100 talents in their present form. As with all early glimpses at content, keep in mind that many of these will probably change by the time the beta hits, and the numbers are likely to be tinkered with as well.
Warlords of Draenor: New world PvP zone
New to Warlords of Draenor will be a world PvP zone called Ashran. It will be a PvP sandbox zone with an ongoing battle. Its staging area will be near the Dark Portal. Included in Ashran will be faction bases (that can be reduced to rubble) and other hotspots. You'll be able to create siege vehicles of various sizes that may be started at one point and finished when you return to the zone. Ashran is being described as being close to the old school Alterac Valley. There will be a variety of objectives that may take a lot of time to achieve. Also, cross-realm technology will be applied so that servers or server clusters with faction-imbalances will have fair battles. This is a departure from their current PvP options in that there is no end. Fans of the old AV and of world PvP will hopefully find that Ashran satisfies those desires.
