Category Archives: Overwatch

Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, Starcraft, World of Warcraft

Gamescom 2017 Highlights

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Gamescom, one of the largest European gaming conventions, has been going on for several days at this point, featuring huge announcements from many different gaming companies. On Wednesday, it was Blizzard’s turn, and they did not disappoint. New content was revealed for nearly every one of their major franchises, all of which I’ll cover in the sections below.

 

Hearthstone

Knights of the Frozen Throne was released just a few weeks ago, so no one was really expecting any real announcements—which meant that everyone was surprised when the Hearthstone team debuted a new cinematic entitled “Hearth and Home”.

In this cinematic, a young girl named Ava finds a Hearthstone box on the ground in a frozen forest. Upon touching the box, Ava is teleported to the Hearthstone Inn, where she is met by a large cast of friendly characters, who tell her that ‘Hearthstone is Home’. This cinematic is of a much higher quality than the previous Hearthstone animations, and according to the Hearthstone team, several more videos and comics featuring these characters will be released in the months to come.

Heroes of the Storm

It’d been several weeks since Garrosh was released, which meant that Heroes of the Storm was due for another character. Due to the prominence of Gamescom, everyone was hoping that we’d get a famous character, and we were not disappointed, as the Archlich Kel’thuzad was revealed to be the next hero coming to Heroes of the Storm!

In addition to the arrival of this powerful new hero, Heroes of the Storm will also be getting several new skins (Dreadlord Jaina, Death Knight Sonya and Crypt Queen Zagara) and a new event, the Call of Kel’thuzad. During this event, players will be able to unlock several brand new cosmetic items by securing 30, 60 or 90 takedowns in Heroes of the Storm Matches.

Finally, it was announced that Blizzard will be releasing a 5-part documentary entitled ‘Resurrecting Kel’thuzad’, which will show much of the process involved in bringing this much-loved character to Heroes of the Storm.

Overwatch

Overwatch also got quite a lot of content, including a pair of new animated shorts and a brand new map! The map, Junkertown, is set in Australia, and showcases the home of everyone’s favorite criminal duo, Junkrat and Roadhog. Junkertown is an Escort map that starts in the Australian desert before entering a futuristic domed city full of guns and gold.

To go along with this new map, we got a new animated short entitled “Junkertown: The Plan”. This short is more of a trailer than an actual animated short—as its quality isn’t quite as good as that of the other cinematics—but it’s still a lot of fun to watch.

In addition, we got a second animated short called “Rise and Shine”, which features Mei, the Chinese climatologist. Unlike “Junkertown: The Plan”, “Rise and Shine” is an actual cinematic, and it shows what happened to Mei after she was woken up from her cryosleep.

StarCraft

StarCraft announced a brand new Co-op Commander in the form of Dehaka, the Primal Zerg leader. Like most of the other Zerg commanders, Dehaka appears as a hero on the battlefield, and while he starts out on the weak side, if he can consume enough of his enemy’s essence he will quickly turn into an unstoppable juggernaut of destruction. In addition, Dehaka commands large packs of Primal Zerg, which he can use to destroy his enemies while he builds his own strength.

World of Warcraft

Some people were hoping that the next expansion for World of Warcraft would be announced at Gamescom, but it was not to be, as we instead got a detailed description of Patch 7.3. In this patch—which is entitled “Shadows of Argus”—we are going to travel to the Legion’s homeworld and end their threat once and for all.

At Gamescom, we learned about all the story elements coming in this patch, such as the three new zones on Argus (Krokuun, Mac’Aree and the Antoran Wastes) and the two new factions, the Army of the Light and the Argussian Reach. Both of these factions have a large number of special items you can purchase from them as your reputation goes up, so grinding reputation with them will bea  top priority.

The game will also be getting a new feature called Invasion Points, where players can use large portals to teleport to Legion-controlled worlds and battle the demons there. These worlds include a Blood World, a Fire World, an Ice World and a March World, and if you can defeat all the demons on these planets, you’ll receive powerful items as a reward.

In addition, a new progression system will be coming in 7.3, which will allow you to empower your relics with the aid of a device called the Netherlight Crucible. This means that players will be able to modify their artifact relics, which should help to improve the power-level of previously weak relics.

Finally, World of Warcraft will be getting a new dungeon (Seat of the Triumvirate) and a new raid (Antorus, the Burning Throne), which will be coming out some time after the patch releases on the 29th of August.

 

Overall, there was a lot of really exciting stuff announced at Gamescom, and I can’t wait to check it all out! What do you all think of these exciting announcements? Leave a comment below with your thoughts!

Overwatch

Overwatch Hero Overview: Zenyatta

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Character Overview is a series that introduces readers to the Heroes of the Overwatch Universe. This week, we’re going to be talking about Zenyatta, the Omnic Support hero.

Bio:

Deep in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal lies a secluded Monastery, home to the Shambali, an order of Omnic Monks. Founded shortly after the end of the Omnic Crisis, the Shambali believe that—like Humans—Omnics have a soul, and that both Humans and Omnics can be united through the Iris.

Zenyatta—or Tekhartha Zenyatta, his official title—was once one of these monks, and shared the beliefs they did. He was an avid student of Tekhartha Mondatta (the leader of the Shambali), and worked hard to promote the order’s ideals.

When Genji arrived at the Shambali Monastery consumed by hatred, it was Zenyatta who helped the young man understand that revenge would accomplish nothing. In order for Genji to gain true healing, Zenyatta explained, he had to forgive his brother. This was a difficult teaching, but eventually Genji came to accept it, and he left the Monastery a changed man.

For many years, Zenyatta continued in his role at the Monastery. However, over time Zenyatta came to believe that merely preaching about Human-Omnic equality wasn’t enough. If there was to be true peace between Omnics and Humans, the Shambali needed to go out into the world and build relationships between the two factions.

Zenyatta brought his ideas before Mondatta in the hope that his mentor would see things the way he did. To Zenyatta’s surprise, however, the leader of the Shambali completely disagreed with the younger monk’s assessment. A heated argument ensued, and in the end, Zenyatta decided that he had no choice but to leave the Monastery that had been his home for so long.

Since then, Zenyatta has traveled the world, helping those in need. Everywhere he goes, relationships between Humans and Omnics improve, and the two factions actually begin to work together, instead of against each other. Zenyatta was actually beginning to make a true difference—but then, everything changed.

Tekhartha Mondatta was assassinated by a lone sniper during a visit to King’s Row, and immediately, tensions between Omnics and Humans soared. Without anyone to keep the peace, violence quickly broke out all over the world, as Humans and Omnics clashed in the streets.

Zenyatta was saddened by the loss of his former mentor—however, he refused to let that stop him. His help was needed now, more than ever before, so he continued on his mission of peace, a mission that he still pursues to this day. 

Weapon and Abilities:

In battle, Zenyatta wields his Orbs of Destruction, which are powerful energy balls that deal heavy damage on contact with an enemy. Normally, Zenyatta fires these orbs one at a time, but he can also charge up to five orbs at a time for a devastating Orb Volley.

Zenyatta’s first ability is Orb of Harmony. Zenyatta casts a golden healing orb onto an allied hero, and as long as that ally remains within Zenyatta’s line of sight, the orb will restore 30 health per second to the targeted hero. Orb of Harmony isn’t as powerful as some heals, but it can be used from long range, which allows Zenyatta to support flankers such as Tracer or Genji.

Zenyatta’s second ability, Orb of Discord, is the complete opposite of his Orb of Harmony. Zenyatta casts a dark purple orb onto an enemy hero, and they take 30% increased damage as long as they remain inside Zenyatta’s line of sight. This is a very powerful effect, as it allows teams to quickly burn down even the toughest enemy targets.

Once Zenyatta has received enough Ultimate charge (either from healing or using his Orbs of Destruction to damage enemies), he can use Transcendence. This Ultimate makes Zenyatta immune to damage, massively increases his movement speed and causes him to heal nearby allies for 300 health per second. This is an incredibly powerful Ultimate, and can be used to shut down nearly any offensive ability.

Gameplay:

Zenyatta is a challenging Support hero, who dishes out a lot of damage at the cost of reduced healing and no mobility. He can kill most non-tank characters with 3-5 shots, and with the help of Orb of Discord Zenyatta can even chew through Roadhog’s 600 health without much difficulty.

Zenyatta’s Orb of Harmony only heals for 30 health per second, which is much lower than what Mercy’s beam (50 health per second) or Ana’s gun (75 health per shot). As a result, he isn’t a good solo healer, but he’s a great secondary support thanks to his ability to spot heal.

Transcendence is one of the strongest Ultimates in the game, as it can singlehandedly shut down multiple offensive Ultimates at once. Has Zarya used her Graviton Surge, and Genji is coming with Dragonblade? Zenyatta just has to use Transcendence, and all the damage is neutralized. Unfortunately, because Transcendence just heals (rather than granting a shield) instant burst abilities like Junkrat’s Rip-Tire will kill heroes even if they’re inside the healing field.

Zenyatta synergizes very well with Offense characters such as Genji or Tracer, as he can toss out his Orb of Harmony to quickly heal them up from a distance. His Orb of Discord also synergizes really well with Offense characters, as once he marks an enemy hero, his allies can quickly burn the enemy down.

On the other hand, Zenyatta is also very weak against characters such as Genji and Tracer, as once they set their sights on his robotic body, there is no way for him to escape. Zenyatta’s only chance is to stand and fight, and while occasionally he’ll get lucky and pick off his attacker, he’ll usually just end up dead.

Zenyatta is a very versatile hero, so he fits in on most maps. He’s especially strong on King of the Hill and Capture Point maps, as Transcendence can easily protect everyone in the capture zone, but he’s just fine on the Escort and Hybrid as well.

Overall, Zenyatta is a challenging hero to play, but his power easily makes him one of the better characters in the game.

Overwatch

Fall of the Shimada Clan: Part 1 — Rebirth

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A heavy rain pattered down across the tiled roofs of Hanamura. In the darkened streets, nothing stirred, as the residents of the Japanese city sought shelter from the roaring storm. In the center of the metropolis, the bright walls of Shimada Castle loomed, striking a sharp contrast against the stormy grey of the sky.

Within the Castle walls, all was quiet, as the majority of the Shimada family were out of the country on a vacation to the Alps. The few servants that remained stayed quiet and out of sight, giving the imposing structure an air of antique elegance. Inside the shrine at the Castle’s very center, however, the situation was very different.

The ancient hangings adorning the shrine’s walls were ripped by vicious sword blows, and pools of blood dotted the walls. All this was nothing, however, compared to what lay in the center of the room’s floor—a young man, shredded by countless sword wounds. Despite these grievous injuries, the man was still alive, but unless he got medical attention soon, he would soon die.

Genji Shimada was the man’s name, and he was the son of the Castle’s master. For years, his name had granted him anything and everything he could have wanted—but now, his name had cost him his life.

Darkness began to encroach at the edges of Genji’s vision, and despite his best efforts, it refused to leave. Panic—which had always been lurking in the shadows—began to consume the young man’s thoughts, and in a fit of desperation, he began crawling towards the room’s exit. He didn’t get far before his screaming limbs gave out and he collapsed on the floor in a heap.

Giving up, Genji succumbed to the darkness, and as the final vestiges of life left his body, a single thought consumed his mind: “Why, Hanzo—why did you kill your brother?”

The blackness swirled, all-consuming and all-encompassing. Genji reached out, trying to grasp anything that could give him an anchor in this void, but there was no use—he was utterly alone in the darkness. So this is what it feels like to die…

Suddenly, a faint light broke through the darkness. Immediately, hope flared up in the young man’s soul—there was still a chance! Struggling with all his might, Genji attempted to push himself through the dark morass in the direction of the light.

For what seemed like hours, Genji made no progress through the darkness, but then, slowly, the light drew closer. Invigorated by this progress, Genji struggled harder, pushing through the viscous void.

Over time, the light came closer and closer, and eventually, a faint noise began to accompany it. At first, it was indistinct, but then… “Give me a scalpel!” a distant feminine voice commanded, “And go see…so long…implants aren’t ready…lose the patient…”

I’m being operated on, Genji realized, They’re trying to save my life. Immediately, a true hope began to dawn in the young man’s heart, and he pushed onward with a renewed vigor. He would survive—no matter the difficulty.

“Oh, there you are,” the feminine voice broke through the silence again. It was closer this time, which meant that Genji was heading in the right direction. “Do you have everything?”

“It’s all here,” a heavily accented male voice replied, “But are you sure you want to do this? We’ve never made such heavy modifications to a human body.”

“You see the state he’s in,” the first voice replied, “It’s his only chance at survival.” There was silence for several seconds, then the woman continued, “Perfect. Just leave the implants on that table—I’ll take it from here.”

After this, all noise faded away, leaving Genji alone with his thoughts. Implants…why would I need implants? Was my body that badly damaged? Confused but still determined, the young man continued to struggle, getting ever closer to the ring of light.

“…need to cut…out, and replace…” the voices came again. They were even clearer than before, but many of the words were drowned out by a mechanical whirring. What are they doing to my body?

Worried, Genji pushed even harder, and then he was there, right at the edge of the ring of light. Grabbing out, he pulled himself through—and let out a cry of pain and surprise as a wave of agony tore through his body. “The patient is waking up!” a voice declared, but Genji ignored it, his mind consumed by the terrible pain.

“Anesthetics, now!” the original feminine voice demanded, and a second later, Genji felt a sharp object push its way into his arm. For several terrible moments, the agony refused to subside, but then, slowly, the pain went away. “Put him back to sleep,” the voice continued, “He shouldn’t be awake for this part.”

Immediately, there was a second prick at his arm, and Genji felt the darkness descend once more. This time, however, it was the warm and welcoming darkness of sleep, and he let himself succumb to its embrace. Just before he closed his eyes, however, his gaze landed on the nametag attached to the head surgeon’s uniform.

“Dr. Angela Ziegler…” Genji thought as he drifted off to sleep, “What a nice name…”

Many hours later, Genji woke up again. This time, however, he was completely pain free, and was lying on a nice, soft bed rather than a hard hospital gurney. Looking around at his surroundings, the young man found that he was in a dimly lit room that was devoid of any furnishings save the bed he was lying on, a small mirror mounted on a nearby wall, and a tiny security camera up in one corner of the room.

“Where am I…” the young man muttered to himself. “And why am I being watched…” Curious, Genji pushed back the thin sheets covering his body…and let out a cry of surprise, as he saw that his legs were made of metal!

Convinced this was just a terrible prank, Genji reached out to feel the strange limbs—and gasped again, as he realized that his arms had suffered the same fate as his legs. Leaping out of bed, the young man ran over to the mirror, desperately hoping that this was all just a trick of the light.

Peering into the glassy surface, Genji froze in disbelief at the sight of the metal monstrosity staring back. “No…it can’t be…” the young man whispered in disbelief, “I’m a cyborg!”

 

 

To be continued…

Overwatch

Character Overview: Reaper

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Character Overview is a series that introduces readers to the Heroes of the Overwatch Universe. This week, we’re going to be talking about Reaper, one of the franchise’s main villains.

Bio:

Reaper is a murderous psychopath who is willing to kill anyone and everyone in order to get what he wants. However, the black-clad assassin wasn’t always this way. In fact, many years ago the man now known as Reaper used to be Gabriel Reyes, the original leader of Overwatch!

Back then, Overwatch had just been created, and Gabriel Reyes led the elite taskforce along with famous soldiers such as Jack Morrison and Ana Amari. Fighting in unison, these mighty warriors defeated many threats to the world, and it seemed that for the first time in a century, the world would be at peace. It was in the midst of this success, however, that the seeds of disaster were sown.

It all began when the United Nations appointed Jack Morrison to the position of Strike Commander, usurping Reyes’ role as the leader of Overwatch. Needless to say, Reyes was not happy about this. However, all he got for his trouble was a reassignment to Blackwatch, Overwatch’s covert ops division.

Angered by this perceived insult, Reyes decided that it was time to bring down the organization he had once led. Recruiting and training a whole host of unsavory characters, Reyes launched an attack on Overwatch headquarters.

To this day, no one knows what occurred during that fateful battle, other than the fact that it ended with a massive explosion that destroyed the entire facility and—supposedly—killed both Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Reyes actually survived the explosion, but his body was terribly damaged. In an attempt to survive, the former leader of Overwatch turned to some of the shadier contacts he’d made during his time at Blackwatch. With their help Reyes survived, but he was no longer a normal man.

Adopting the name Reaper, Reyes has gone on a dark crusade to rid the world of all who wronged him, starting with the former agents of Overwatch. Getting help from Talon (a terrorist organization) Reaper raided Watchpoint: Gibraltar in an attempt to recover a complete list of all Overwatch agents’ locations. This mission failed spectacularly, however, thanks to the intervention of Winston, the sentient gorilla who had been Overwatch’s lead scientist.

Undeterred by this failure, Reaper has continued to commit acts of terror all over the globe in his search for retribution.  

Weapon and Abilities:

Reaper wields a pair of Hellfire Shotguns, which deal massive damage at close range. Each Shotgun holds 4 shells, so Reaper can fire a total of 8 shots before he has to reload. As would be expected, Reaper’s damage falls off a good deal after a short distance, so he can’t effectively engage enemies at long range.

Reaper’s Trait is The Reaping, which generates small healing globes whenever one of Reaper’s enemies die. These globes will heal Reaper for 50, providing the hero with a means for self-sustain in a large team-fight.

Reaper’s first ability is Wraith Form, which makes the hero invincible for 3 seconds and gives him a small boost in movement speed. During this time, Reaper can’t use any other abilities or fire his weapons, however Wraith Form is a perfect way to get up close to an enemy hero. Wraith Form also removes all negative status effects (such as Zenyatta’s Discord Orb), so it will often be the difference between life and death.

Shadow Step, Reaper’s third ability, allows Reaper to teleport across long distances. Reaper is highly vulnerable while casting this ability, so it shouldn’t be used in combat. However, it is perfect for getting up to places that Reaper normally wouldn’t be able to reach, which can lead to some very interesting surprise ultimates.

Speaking of ultimates, Reaper has Death Blossom, a powerful area-of-effect attack which deals massive damage to all nearby enemies over a period of 3 seconds. This ultimate can wipe entire teams in mere moments, making it one of the most potent in the entire game.

Gameplay:

Reaper is a powerful offense hero, who deals massive damage using his Hellfire Shotguns. Using Shadow Step to bypass enemy chokepoints and lines of sight, Reaper can sneak up behind his opponents and clear them out at close range. If he gets in trouble, he can simply use his Wraith Form to get away.

Because of his high damage, Reaper is especially effective against tanks such as Reinhardt or Roadhog. He’s also quite good against Bastion and Torbjörn, as Reaper can Shadow Step or Wraith Form up to the entrenched defenses without taking damage.

Reaper synergizes very well with a healer like Zenyatta or Ana, who can heal the Offense hero from a distance. He’s also very good with Reinhardt and Zarya, since they can pull an enemy team together for Reaper’s Death Blossom. Finally, Reaper is good with Tracer and Genji, as they can all jump on enemy healers to tilt a fight in their favor.

On the other hand, Reaper is weak against heroes such as Soldier: 76, Widowmaker and Hanzo, since he has no way to deal with enemies at long range. He’s also very bad against Pharah, for obvious reasons.

Reaper is good on virtually any map, as there will always be ways for him to sneak up on enemies. He’s especially good on King of the Hill and Point Capture maps, as Death Blossom is great at clearing a point.

Finally, Reaper is one of the easier heroes to play, so he’s a great pick in virtually any situation.

 

Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, Starcraft, World of Warcraft

BlizzCon 2016 Highlights

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BlizzCon—the largest source of news and reveals for Blizzard Games—opened its doors yesterday, and in the opening ceremony alone, a whole host of new content was announced for every one of their games. This information was only expanded upon in later interviews, and by the end of the day, Blizzard fans were left with a lot to look forward to in the months to come.

Hearthstone

As many suspected would happen, a new Hearthstone expansion was announced at BlizzCon. Entitled Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, this expansion focuses around the titular Goblin city and the crime that fills its bustling streets.

This expansion will be a full 100+ card content update, and it also features a lot of exciting new concepts. For example, Mean Streets of Gadgetzan has a new multi-class card system, where certain cards can be played by three different classes and have a unique effect on each. This expansion also features a brand new Legendary minion that lets you create a custom spell through a series of Discover effects.

So far, only a few cards have been revealed, but the full set will be shown over the next couple weeks before it releases in early December.

Heroes of the Storm

After last year’s surprise release of Cho’gall, everyone was wondering how the Heroes team could possibly top their success. Fortunately for us, however, they did just that by announcing two new heroes, Varian Wrynn and Ragnaros.

The High King of the Alliance, Varian Wrynn is a powerful warrior who can perform three main roles—tank, sustained damage or burst damage—depending on which ultimate he chooses. This makes him the first Warrior/Assassin in the game, and he’ll likely take the Nexus by storm (pun intended) when he arrives in a couple weeks.

Even more exciting than Varian Wrynn, however, is the announcement of Ragnaros the Firelord. A massive Elemental Lord from the Warcraft universe, Ragnaros is a Melee Assassin who uses his massive hammer (called Sulfuras) to strike down the mortal insects who dare to oppose him.

Ragnaros has two ways to kill enemies. In his Hero Form (which is what he starts the game in), he can move around like a normal Hero, killing minions and heroes if they get too close. If he is attacked near one of his forts (or near the destroyed foundation of an enemy fort), however, Ragnaros can use his trait—Molten Core—to take over the fort and turn into a giant-sized version of himself.

In Molten Core form, Ragnaros gets a whole new set of abilities, which allow him to easily defeat an entire enemy team. In addition, while he is in this form the structure beneath him cannot be damaged, so Molten Core can buy time for your team to respawn and make an amazing comeback.

Overall, Ragnaros sounds like an amazing Hero, so when he arrives in the Nexus in early December, I will definitely be trying him out.

Overwatch

The Overwatch announcements during the Opening Ceremony started out simply enough, but then Sombra hacked into the proceedings, and everything turned upside down. (Wow, who saw that coming…)

Fortunately, Sombra looks like an incredibly fun hero, as she has a kit that focuses entirely around disabling your enemies’ capabilities before your team attacks. Using her hacking skills, Sombra can hack turrets (turning them off), health packs (preventing them from being used by enemies), and even hack enemy heroes to stop from using their abilities.

Sombra is the game’s first stealth hero, however her damage output is surprisingly low, so she won’t be able to sneak up behind squishy enemies and take them out in a couple shots. Instead, Sombra can lurk near hacked health packs, killing any low-health enemies who fall back for healing.

In addition to Sombra, a new map was announced. Called Oasis, it is a beautiful city in the Arabian desert that represents the pinnacle of modern science. Like Ilios, Nepal and Lijiang Tower, Oasis will be a control-style map, featuring 3 points that teams will vie over. (This map also contains the game’s first jump-pad, which is sure to generate a lot of highlights.)

The weekly brawl system is also being completely revamped. Instead of a weekly brawl, there will be a new Arcade section, where you can choose to play a variety of games with special rulesets. This change will bring several new game modes (including 1v1 and a 3v3 elimination modes), and a small new map to play them on.

Finally, Quick Play is going to receive a one-hero limit similar to what Competitive Mode received a couple months ago. For players who still want to stack heroes, a new, hero-stacking game mode is being added to the Arcade.

StarCraft

StarCraft didn’t receive as many announcements this year, however there were still two points that are worth noting. First, Alexei Stukov—the infested Terran Admiral—is coming to the StarCraft co-op mode as a new commander. Secondly, Blizzard announced that they are going to release the StarCraft AI program to the public to aid in furthering studies into Artificial Intelligence.

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft didn’t get any major announcements during the opening ceremony—however, in a panel a couple hours later, some very big changes were revealed.

First, it was announced that World of Warcraft would start getting mini-patches, which would add more content to the game without necessarily moving forward the main storyline. The first of these mini-patches will be 7.1.5, which will add Mists of Pandaria Timewalking Dungeons, new holidays, some class balance changes and the return of the Brawler’s Guild.

Next, Patch 7.2—The Tomb of Sargeras—was announced, and with its arrival a whole bunch of exciting new content will come to the World of Warcraft. First, the Broken Shore area will become a new questing hub, as the forces of all the united Class Halls marshal their forces and march on the Tomb of Sargeras.

In addition, 7.2 will feature the return of the Legion invasions from the pre-launch event—this time, however, the Burning Legion will be invading the Broken Isles, and you’ll need to stop them before your new allies are destroyed. To help deal with these new invasions, 7.2 will add flying to the game, along with Epic Class Flying Mounts that will be awarded at the end of the new questing experience.

Of course, no major patch would be complete without a raid of some kind, and in this case 7.2 will add the titular Tomb of Sargeras raid into the game. In this raid, players will use the Pillars of Creation to seal the Legion’s path into the world of Azeroth, while battling powerful foes such as Naga, Undead and even Kil’jaeden himself!

For those ardent PvP players, Patch 7.2 will add new PvP ‘Brawls’. Similar to the Brawls from Hearthstone and Overwatch, this new game mode will be the classic PvP you know and love, but with a couple changes to make things interesting.

Finally, at the very end of the presentation, World of Warcraft Game Director Ion Hazzikostas made an exciting announcement: Patch 7.2 would not be the end of Legion—in 7.3, players will go to Argus.

Diablo

I don’t normally cover Diablo news—however, the announcement made at BlizzCon was too exciting to not talk about. To honor the 20th anniversary of Diablo, the original Diablo game is going to be added into Diablo 3 as a whole new set of zones.

These new zones will play like they did back in the old days, with pixelated graphics, limited movement and old music. You will get to use your current characters, however, so you won’t have to learn a new playstyle.

In addition, it was announced that Diablo will get a new Necromancer class. Based on the old Diablo 2 Necromancer that fans of the game loved, this character will harness all the fan-favorite abilities as he fights to defend the world of Sanctuary.

 

So, what do you all think of these exciting announcements? Leave a comment below with your thoughts!