Here are all the big announcements from BlizzCon 2019
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BlizzCon 2019 was last weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center and Blizzard didn’t hold back with the announcements as they started their opening ceremony with the reveal of Diablo 4, the new Hearthstone expansion called Descent of Dragons, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, and Overwatch 2.
Here’s a quick rundown in case you missed it.
Diablo 4 now official - Lilith now the big bad
They start BlizzCon by immediately showing the 9-minute long cinematic trailer to Diablo 4 that to me, felt like a return to the dark depressing tone that was more prominent in the first two games. It was just pure horror for the most of it until Lilith was revealed in the most angelic way but looked intimidating with her blank stare. The cinematics team at Blizzard will forever be the best group of people to produce cinematic trailers to perfectly capture the theme of each Blizzard game.
We are also given our first look at Diablo 4’s gameplay which features three classes; the Barbarian, the Sorceress, and the Druid. It’s still the same old isometric action RPG we know and love but now with PVP (no details yet), and a shared world that’s no longer segmented and randomized. Based on the PR sent to us by Blizzard, “Sanctuary will be a contiguous, seamless landmass comprising diverse regions ranging from the burning dessert of Kejhistan, to the verdant werewolf-infested forests of Scosglen, to the harsh and rugged wilderness of the Dry Steppes.”
Not much details were given to the first three classes in terms of skill trees and such but when it comes to item builds you can expect a similar approach seen in Diablo 2 - Legendary set items and rune word combinations. Oh, and you have mounts now.
No release date at the moment but Diablo 4 will be coming to the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. No word on a Switch version or if it’s coming to next-gen consoles like the PS5 or Xbox’s Project Scarlett.
World of Warcraft’s next expansion is called Shadowlands
World of Warcraft's next expansion brings players to the realms of the undead thanks to Sylvanas triggering a series of events that force the Horde and the Alliance to take action. This is Blizzard’s way of returning long-time favorite characters like Uther the Lightbringer or Kael’thas back into the fold thanks to Shadowlands steering the ongoing narrative to the afterlife.
Here are the key features for the expansion.
Explore the Realm of the Dead: For the first time ever in World of Warcraft, players will cross into the Shadowlands and experience the wonders and horrors of the afterlife across five new zones—the gleaming fields of Bastion, the scarred battlefields of Maldraxxus, the eternal twilight of Ardenweald, the opulent keeps of Revendreth, and the horrific Maw.
Claim a Covenant’s Power: Players will be called upon to forge a bond with one of four Covenants that rule Shadowlands’ new zones, setting the tone for their journey through the expansion with a full Covenant Campaign. As they level up, they’ll get new abilities based on their choice, including class-specific abilities for each Covenant—as well as developing Soulbinds with specific Covenant members, which grant them access to that character’s specific traits and bonuses.
Ascend the Tower of the Damned: At the heart of the Maw lies Torghast, Tower of the Damned, a cursed otherworldly prison where the wickedest souls in the universe are locked away. Highly replayable and inspired by roguelike games, heroes are invited to explore its ever-changing halls and chambers and do battle with the minions of the Jailer, Torghast’s vile ruler. Those who brave its trials can claim legendary treasures and help free the heroic spirits wrongfully trapped within.
Every Level Is Meaningful: Shadowlands will introduce a new leveling system, meant to provide a meaningful sense of advancement with every level achieved. Current max-level characters will begin Shadowlands at level 50 and work toward the new level cap of 60.
A New Army of the Dead Rises: To combat Sylvanas’ assault on Icecrown, Bolvar Fordragon— the revered former paladin who took on the mantle of Lich King to keep the Scourge at bay—has raised heroes from among all the peoples of Azeroth to bolster the Death Knights of Acherus. With Shadowlands, pandaren and all allied races will now be able to become Death Knights.
Improved Character Customization Options: A host of new appearance options for all races will be made available to players when they create new World of Warcraft characters (or alter existing ones at the in-game barber shop).
Pre-purchase is already available digitally and you can check them out here at Blizzard’s online shop.
Hearthstone gets an additional 135 cards from the Descent of Dragons expansion
The next expansion is themed around dragons in the Warcraft universe. League of Explorers and League of E.V.I.L were the first two expansion released this year and have an ongoing narrative that is said to conclude in Descent of Dragons.
in this expansion, each Hero class in the game gets a Hero card that invokes the power of Galakrond, who in Warcraft lore, is the “progenitor of dragonkind”. Each of these Hero cards are 7-cost cards that provide crazy value if pulled off correctly with the use of the new Invoke keyword, which allows you to upgrade your Galakrond Hero card into two stronger forms. This feature will be free to all players as a login reward once the expansion goes live.
Sidequest is also a new feature found in the Druid, Mage, and Paladin class. It serves as a minor version of the Quest card mechanic as you can have two in your deck and it does not start in your opening hand. Just like a quest card, all you have to do is fulfill the requirement to earn the sidequest’s reward.
Descent of Dragons will also feature 10 new legendary Dragon cards as well as a dragon Breath card for each class, which earns a bonus if you’re holding a dragon in your hand.
Hearthstone’s Descent of Dragons will go live on December 10 for PC and mobile.
Hearthstone Battlegrounds announced - Blizzard’s take on Autochess
Blizzard is also adding a new game mode for Hearthstone called Battlegrounds. It’s pretty much their take on the famous Autochess genre with the use of Hearthstone as you have 8 players battling it with the cards you’ve placed on the board to see who will be the last player standing.
There will be 24 characters based on Hearthstone history and was available for play at BlizzCon. The game mode will be available very soon as an Open Beta will be available on November 13 (GMT+8).
Weirdly enough, you get bonuses to Battlegrounds if you buy Descent of Dragon card packs, like a comprehensive stat-tracking for Hearthstone: Battlegrounds if you buy 10 packs. Buy 20 and you get to pick three bosses at the start of Battlegrounds instead of two, 30 packs to earn the ability to “taunt or playfully communicate with their opponents”, as Blizzard states in the PR provided. Funny to see these basic features locked behind a paywall but what can you do.
Overwatch 2 confirmed and will feature PVE content
Overwatch 2’s cinematic trailer is yet another example of how the world deserves an Overwatch show/movie.
Overwatch 2 focuses on giving players more of the world of Overwatch with the inclusion of cooperative, narrative-driven missions called Story Missions. This is where they will move the game’s story forward while Hero Missions are said to be challenging coop missions that are tailored to be heavily repayable.
Customization in Overwatch 2 goes beyond cosmetics this time around as players can level up their preferred heroes and customize their abilities in coop play.
For the PVP side of Overwatch 2, the 6v6 competitive modes will return with all of the original game’s heroes, maps, and game modes. The new Push game mode debuts in Overwatch 2 and will be in the main rotation even for the Overwatch League. New heroes are coming to the sequel as well as new maps.
Also, players of the first game will be given the ability to play with Overwatch 2 players and the new maps and heroes coming to the sequel in order to prevent a divide in the community. More details will be revealed soon but it’s great to see Blizzard expanding Overwatch further through in-game storytelling and PVE content.
This is pretty much the big hitters that were revealed at this year’s BlizzCon.
Heroes of the Storm were given small updates like the inclusion of the hero Deathwing and other balance changes. Plus, Starcraft 2 gets a new Commander for the game’s Co-op Commander mode - Arcturus Mengsk. They are also adding in a new co-op difficulty called Brutal+.
It’s easy to describe Animal Well as a puzzle-focused Metroidvania eschewing traditional combat, where nearly every room is a puzzle room, but that falls so far short of describing just what this game is and how expertly it defies genre and classification that it feels like a disservice. Animal Well is a paragon of the art form, a game that simply must be experienced.