BlizzCon, for the uninitiated, is a two-day festival in Anaheim, California that brings in fans of “Diablo,” “World of Warcraft” and “Starcraft” under one roof for new announcements and fan service for the most dedicated (and those than can afford the $200 a ticket price tag).
But for those fans that couldn’t make it out to Orange County, the news trickling down from the Con was the most sought-after information (I myself got a little giddy when the new "Diablo" update was announced.) And let’s be honest — there was a ton of info coming from BlizzCon this year: a new “Warcraft” expansion, some new “Overwatch” details and even a fresh trailer for the “Warcraft” movie slated for next year.
So to the tune of keeping things simple, here’s the biggest news to come from BlizzCon.
Overwatch not free-to-play, coming to consoles next year
“Overwatch” is Blizzard’s first take into the realm of first-person shooters, and early results from the closed beta have been pretty positive. Not so positive have been the reactions on the news that the online shooter won’t be free-to-play as initially believed. The game will retail for $40 for the standard edition on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, with an Origins Edition loaded with extra content set for $60.
The thing is, while I can agree that Blizzard should’ve made this clearer either during or before the beta, at the very least they aren’t charging full price for a multiplayer-only game — an idea that hasn’t had great results in the past. We just have to hope there’s enough content to warrant the charge.
New “World of Warcraft” expansion “Legion” and class announced
The MMO that just won’t die keeps trucking along with a new expansion due in summer of next year.
“Legion” sees the Alliance and Horde finally setting aside their misunderstandings to join forces against a bigger threat. According to PC Gamer, the expansion will start with a 40-person scenario with equal teams of Horde and Alliance heading to the new realm, the Broken Isles.
The expansion will introduce a new class, “Demon Hunter,” as well as boost players to level 100, under the new cap of 110. Players will also have a new “legacy” weapon with content scaling to it, allowing for more open-ended journeys than previous iterations.
"Diablo III" 2.4 version update — new… everything, essentially
Blizzard announced a wealth of new content coming to the action-RPG at the con this weekend, with tweaks to some of the current systems.
A new zone, Greyhollow Island, will incorporate itself into the game’s Adventure Mode and will feature new enemies. Additionally, two current locales, The Ruins of Sescheron and Leoric’s Manor, will expand into the Eternal Woods and Royal Quarters, respectively.
Legendary items (the highest grade you can accrue) are getting a slight overhaul in the new update. “Seasons” are months-long events where players complete challenges to gain rewards at the end either through story or Adventure Mode, with some of these rewards being exclusive armor items. In the new update, players will no longer gain these armor items, but will collect full armor sets upon completion suited to their character class.
Also coming are Season Rebirths, where players can transfer a previous season character to a new one without needing to start from scratch. Any items and Paragon levels (levels gained after the cap), will shift to non-season characters for 30 days, allowing players to keep working with the current character.
The above just scratches the surface of the content — the "Diablo" blog goes into greater detail of what’s to come, with GameSpot reporting that a public beta will be arriving in the coming weeks.
New "Starcraft II" details
Blizzard announced a few new bits coming to the real-time strategy game post the launch of the new expansion, "Legacy of the Void." Among these announcements were episodic mission packs, the first of which featuring popular Terran (read: human) character Terra Nova. She'll star in "Nova Covert Ops," which are nine missions that take place after the expansion's story. Additionally, new tweaks are being introduced to the multiplayer modes and their ladder systems, as well updated support for the new co-operative missions announced in late October. The Starcraft blog has all the details here.
“Warcraft” film trailer debuts
Already hitting 10 million views just two days after its reveal, the “Warcraft” trailer debuted on BlizzCon’s first day. It’s quite exciting to see the movie finally coming to fruition, and it's looking fantastic already. The movie itself is set to hit theaters June 10 next year and sees the Orc horde looking to make a home in the already-populated human realm Azeroth. Naturally, disagreements follow.
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