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Blizzard Watch posts

Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 209

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Online gaming has always been a real place

Online gaming has always been a real place

By Matthew Rossi

One of the statements we see from time to time is the notion that the internet and by extension online spaces where people congregate and socialize are somehow less valid because they're not "real." We see it in numerous flavors and forms, from people bemoaning that kids today are glued to their phones to the idea that people should unplug from the net and get ou...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 208

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Kirigi, Chosen of Cenarius

Kirigi, Chosen of Cenarius

By Matthew Rossi

This character profile has been written for Kirigi, one of our supporters. If you enjoy it, you can check out the other profiles we’ve written, too!

“Breathe. Draw the string to your ear. Exhale and let go.”

He didn’t w...

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Lore Watch Episode 95: But you cannot kill hope

Lore Watch Episode 95: But you cannot kill hope

This week our Lore Watchers Anne, Matt, and Joe jump into the mailbag to answer your questions and end up in some lengthy discussions – but when do they not? On the topic list this episode are Bolvar/The Lich King and his current motivations and plans, Lilian Voss and her place in the Horde, and of course Sylvanas Windrunner and the future of the Forsaken. 

For Patrons, we're happy...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 207

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Gold sinks aren't to remove gold, they're to keep people playing

Gold sinks aren't to remove gold, they're to keep people playing

Gold sinks have always been a thing in WoW, mostly for the prestige of having something rare. After Warlords of Draenor, when many players used a bevy of alts and the Garrison Mission Table to make their millions of gold, gold sinks became a little more outrageous. We saw things like ...

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The toxic rot at the heart of gaming, and why we must resist it

The toxic rot at the heart of gaming, and why we must resist it

By Matthew Rossi

Why do we play games?

There’s no singular answer to this question. The answers vary as much as do the kinds of games we play and the variety of people who play them. I play games to entertain and distract myself, especially when I’m anxious or afraid. But it seems clear to me from recent events that some of us play games to hate them. Whether it’s gro...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 206

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Lore Watch Episode 94: Kaja’mite, Saronite….Azerite?

Lore Watch Episode 94: Kaja’mite, Saronite….Azerite?

This week our Lore Watchers Anne, Matt, and Joe take on your reader emails and dive into a lengthy discussion about the properties and similarities between a goblin’s favorite beverage and the blood of the planet, the past and future of the dragonflights, the whereabouts and origins of Helya, and more. It’s a grab bag of deep discussion and a lot of loose ends on the latest episode of Lore ...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 205

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Blizzard shouldn't nerf PVP mana regen when the real issue is healing from non-healers

Blizzard shouldn't nerf PVP mana regen when the real issue is healing from non-healers

By Michael Mitchell

Last week, Blizzard's World of Warcraft hotfix notes made a pretty big change to how healer mana regen works in PVP. The full notes are posted below, but the short version...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 204

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Lore Watch Episode 93: At the hour of her third death

Lore Watch Episode 93: At the hour of her third death

This week our Lore Watchers Anne, Matt, and Joe jump into the mailbag and take a closer look at the Old Gods and everything that’s been going on in Battle for Azeroth so far. What exactly is Azerite? Are we planning on pulling that giant sword out of Silithus eventually? Exactly who is being referred to when speaking about “her third death,” and what is that going to do to the world? All ...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 203

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 202

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 201

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Lore Watch Episode 92: Which came first, the Karazhan or the Medivh?

Lore Watch Episode 92: Which came first, the Karazhan or the Medivh?

This week our Lore Watchers Anne, Matt, and Joe dig into your reader emails and discuss some interesting theories. Who (or what) is living in the Lich King’s hat? What was Antorus really for? Where – or maybe more accurately – when is Medivh? It’s a dizzying dive into time travel, the void, and more on this week’s Lore Watch!

For Patrons, we're happy to give you access ...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 200

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Character Profile: Bluella, Death’s Engineer

Character Profile: Bluella, Death’s Engineer

By Matthew Rossi

This character profile has been written for Bluella, one of our supporters. If you enjoy it, you can check out the other profiles we’ve written, too!

She watched the Troll die, studying how it jerked and gasped, each hitching breath br...

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Lore Watch Episode 91: Maybe we should just throw out that whole cosmology chart thing

Lore Watch Episode 91: Maybe we should just throw out that whole cosmology chart thing

This week our Lore Watchers Anne, Matt, and Joe take a look at some reader emails, and inevitably go off on a bunch of different tangents – would you expect anything less? Subjects include Sylvanas and her many deals, the motivation and ultimate goals of the val’kyr, the nature of life and death in the Warcraft universe, if the faction divide is at this point a stale narrative, and whether ...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 199

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 198

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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Lore Watch Episode 90: The lore and continuing mysteries of patch 8.1

Lore Watch Episode 90: The lore and continuing mysteries of patch 8.1

This week our Lore Watchers Anne, Matt, and Joe jump right into a discussion about the lore surrounding patch 8.1. What does Tyrande’s embrace of the Night Warrior aspect of Elune mean for her future? What do Sylvanas’ actions say about her ongoing plans for the Horde? Is the Saurfang/Sylvanas dynamic simply Garrosh 2.0? And of course there’s a giant sidetrack into the nature of death, de...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 197

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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The challenge of narrative design in MMOs — and why you can hate good writing

The challenge of narrative design in MMOs — and why you can hate good writing

By Matthew Rossi

Writing a large MMO like World of Warcraft is a collaborative exercise that exists in a format unlike any other. Movies are collaborative, but generally have a designed and engineered stop point -- even with the advent of cinematic universes, there's always a sense of isolation between individual films. Single player video games, even those that are part of a s...

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Blizzard Watch Podcast Uncut: Episode 196

Hi there, Patrons! Here's this week's pre-show and episode of the Blizzard Watch podcast, uncut. If you'd like to download to your favorite device and listen to it later, you can head over to SoundCloud and nab it from there. Thanks for listening!

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You won't get Classic WoW rewards in retail WoW, and that's the way it should be

You won't get Classic WoW rewards in retail WoW, and that's the way it should be

By Anne Stickney

I like to think I got a lot accomplished back in vanilla WoW. I was in a top-end raid guild during the days of Molten Core and Blackwing Lair. I witnessed (and subsequently disconnected from) the opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, after months of effort. I went out of my way to do pretty much every quest available in the game, and even went on a hunt for quests...

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Lore Watch Episode 89: Tauren motivations and Windrunner’s ultimate plan

Lore Watch Episode 89: Tauren motivations and Windrunner’s ultimate plan

This week our Lore Watchers Anne, Matt, and Joe dive into the mailbag to answer your questions. On the table for discussion are some more musings about the Light, the Void, and the nature of undeath, as well as a deeper look into one Baine Bloodhoof and his choice to stick with the Horde. The episode wraps up with another exploration of Sylvanas and her ultimate intentions for the Horde, as well a...

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Nostalgia, WoW Classic, and the perils of moving backwards

Nostalgia, WoW Classic, and the perils of moving backwards

If you play a Hunter, Battle for Azeroth has been a mixed bag as expansions go. Yes, we're getting a host of new tameable pets and Marksman is getting buffed in 8.1, but to me the change that made my Hunter almost unplayable was the change to pet families. In Legion, any pet could be cunning, tenacity or ferocity as I desired. If I wanted a crane to tank for me? I could...

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