BlizzCon 2019 Recap

[Stoy]

Blizzcon 2019 Recap
BlizzCon 2019 was full of announcements, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, Hearthstone: Descent of Dragons, and more!


World of Warcraft

• World of Warcraft: Shadowlands expansion announced!
  
  • Cinematic Trailer
  • Features Trailer
  • Press Kit Screenshots
  • Highlights
    
    • 2020 Release Date
    • 5 New Zones
    • Level Squish to 50, Level to 60 in Shadowlands
    • Revamped Leveling Experience - Level 1-10 in a new zone, 10-50 in any expansion, 50-60 in Shadowlands.
    • Choose a Covenant - Gain two abilities, one class specific. Changes your gameplay.
    • Torghast, Tower of the Damned - Endless ever-changing dungeon that can be played solo or with up to 4 players
    • Improved Character Customization for existing races - Hide bones on Undead, Wildhammer Dwarf Tattoos, and more
  • Prepurchase Today
    
    • Prepurchase versions and bonuses announced!
  • Shadowlands Preview: Bastion and the Kyrian Covenant
  • Official Blizzard's What’s Next Panel Recap
  • Make a Wish Foundation and We.org Charity Pet - Dotty the Baby Alpaca
  • WoW 15th Anniversary Event Live Tuesday, November 5th, 2019.
  • WoW Classic - World Bosses and PvP Honor System Live in a Week
  • See the full MMO-Champion World of Warcraft - What's Next Panel recap by clicking here.
    
    • Pre-patch - Scourge are marauding across Azeroth. Scourge invasion 2.0.
    • 8 dungeons in addition to Torghast - 4 level up and 4 max-level.
    • Castle Nathria - 10 boss raid in Revendreth
    • Less RNG - Professions tweaked, weekly loot chest gone (choose from options), legendary items are crafted.
    • Class abilities are coming back, the unpruning!
  • MMO-Champion World of Warcraft: Deep Dive Panel Recap
    
    • Each Covenant has a sanctum.
    • Shared Covenant ability is not a direct combat ability, but a utility one such as a movement speed increase.
    • Soulbinds - Bind your soul to a powerful member of your Covenant at max level to gain new talents.
    • New Starting Zone - Exile's Reach. An island where all new players go to learn the basics of the game.
    • New players must level to 50 in Battle for Azeroth after Exile's Reach.
    • Existing players can level in Exile's Reach or the old starting zones and pick any expansion to level to 50.
    • Allied races start at level 10.
    • Iconic class defining abilities such as Paladin Auras and Shaman Totems are returning.
  • Blizzard's Official World of Warcraft: Deep Dive Panel Recap
  • World of Warcraft Q & A Panel Recap
    
    • Heritage armor will be obtained by reaching the new level cap.
    • War Mode is still in Shadowlands.
    • Flying will be unlocked the same way in Shadowlands as it was in Legion and BfA.
    • Legendaries will soon be transmogable
    • More realm connections coming
  • Designers at Work: World of Warcraft World Creation
  • World of Warcraft: Developers' Tales Panel

Diablo

• Diablo IV announced!
• We got a Diablo Immortal gameplay trailer.
• Cinematic Trailer
• Features Trailer
• Diablo IV - Classes, World, Story, and more!
• Highlights
  
  • No release date
  • Dark non-linear campaign
  • Shared open-world with 5 distinct regions
  • 5 powerful classes, the 3 announced are Sorceress, Barbarian and Druid.
  • Being developed for PC, Xbox One, and Playstation 4.
• See the full MMO-Champion Diablo IV Unvieled Panel recap by clicking here.
• Diablo Group Q&A
  
  • Treasure goblins will return
  • Base game supported by expansions as the business model for Diablo IV.
  • Diablo IV is using a brand new custom built engine that uses physical based rendering
  • Skills will be bound to classes, you may have an item or two that procs another class’ skill, but still no plans for another enigma.
  • There will be a Hardcode mode
• Art of Diablo IV Panel Recap
• Diablo IV World and Lore Panel Recap
• Diablo IV Systems and Features

Overwatch

• Overwatch 2 announced!
• Cinematic Trailer
• Features Trailer
• Highlights
  
  • New Game Mode - Push
  • New Hero- Sojourn (More unannounced heroes to come)
  • Story and Hero Missions
  • New Maps - Toronto, Gothenburg, Monte Carlo, Rio De Janeiro
  • Character Talents and Progression System
  • PvP Crossplay with Overwatch 1
  • All Earned cosmetics carry over between games.
• See the full MMO-Champion Overwatch 2: What's Next Panel recap by clicking here.

Hearthstone

• Hearthstone: Descent of Dragons expansion announced!
• New Game Mode - Battlegrounds announced!
• Reveal Trailer
• Battlegrounds Trailer
• Release Date - December 10th, 2019
• Prepurchase Today
• Check out Hearthpwn's Expansion Announcement Details
• See the full Hearthpwn's Hearthstone: What's Next Panel recap by clicking here.
• Hearthstone: Telling a Year Long Narrative Panel

Heroes of the Storm

• Deathwing is free to anyone with a Virtual/BlizzCon 2019 ticket purchase.
• See the full MMO-Champion Heroes of the Storm - What's Next Panel recap by clicking here.

Warcraft 3: Reforged

• Warcraft III: Reforged Deep Dive
  
  • Single account system with race based MMR
  • Different MMR for 2v2, 3v3, and FFA.
  • Team colored heath bars
  • New camera tools for map maker
  • High Elf swordsman models
  • Cinematic previews
• Warcraft III: Reforged beta is available to anyone with a Virtual/BlizzCon 2019 ticket purchase.

Starcraft II

• Arcturus is the next Co-Op Commander.
• Gameplay vs Deepmind AI Coming

[Godric]

Well, at least Diablo 4 looks nice! Interested to see the other classes.

[SuBw00FeR]

Did they ever announce when the level squish would happen? Is it when shadowlands releases or sooner?

[Rotted]

New players must level to 50 in Battle for Azeroth after Exile's Reach.

So this seems odd, any new players to wow just jump straight into BFA after a new starting zone? Blizzard have always stood their ground about wanting people to see the content they've created. This seems weird as hell to introduce.

[kornek21]

Did they ever announce when the level squish would happen? Is it when shadowlands releases or sooner?

Pre-patch m8.

[twothe]

So this seems odd, any new players to wow just jump straight into BFA after a new starting zone? Blizzard have always stood their ground about wanting people to see the content they've created. This seems weird as hell to introduce.

They want the story to be consistent, and if you want to understand who Sylvanas is and why she ripped the crown apart, you need to play BfA.

[Rotted]

They want the story to be consistent, and if you want to understand who Sylvanas is and why she ripped the crown apart, you need to play BfA.

Well no you don't. That's like saying if you want to understand why Guldan was about in legion you need to play wod. In every expansion theres massive lore characters who just show up or cross over from a previous expansion etc. It's always explained in quest text or more recently cinematic flash backs. Theres 0 reason why you need to play BFA to get the story if its done right. BFA core events should have been a bulk patch at the end of legion before the pre patch. Like how we had in Wrath with ruby sanctum (albeit that was just for a time waste waiting for cata). BFA never needed an entire expansion dedicated to it

[Velzen]

Well no you don't. That's like saying if you want to understand why Guldan was about in legion you need to play wod. In every expansion theres massive lore characters who just show up or cross over from a previous expansion etc. It's always explained in quest text or more recently cinematic flash backs. Theres 0 reason why you need to play BFA to get the story if its done right. BFA core events should have been a bulk patch at the end of legion before the pre patch. Like how we had in Wrath with ruby sanctum (albeit that was just for a time waste waiting for cata). BFA never needed an entire expansion dedicated to it

They also want new people to see modern graphics and not classic graphics.

[Difuid]

They also want new people to see modern graphics and not classic graphics.

I wish they revamped the whole of Azeroth, some zones show their age by being the same as they were close to 15 years ago. 2D texture ropes and fences look really disheartening compared to how the new zones look.

[duster2]

I think Shadowlands might be pushed back to 2021 when Blizzard has got all the money anyway now... I support that feeling by the huge number of things that will need to change and nothing of it was actually playable at Blizzcon. Total rewamp of leveling alone is a major change that needs to be done properly. I think we might even be in for a very late 2021 release... Blizzard really doesn't care cause they managed to fool alot of ppl buying the expansion without release date.

[Velzen]

I don't think this will ever happen.
They just made a new starting zone and let new people only play through BFA before Shadowlands.
So new people will 100% only play with new graphics now.

They fixed the problem, but instead of remaking the whole old world they just made a new starting zone and put people in BFA afterwards.

[Outofmana]

Covenant abilities...another shit idea. "Oh for Mythic+ I need x ability, but for raid I need x covenant ability, oh pvp I need z ability. Annoying bloat like essences yet again

[Declaron]

Covenant abilities...another shit idea. "Oh for Mythic+ I need x ability, but for raid I need x covenant ability, oh pvp I need z ability. Annoying bloat like essences yet again

I was literally just about to post nearly this exact thing, only its actually worse than this. Lets say the Covenant abilities are as follows:

Covenant X: 300% speed buff for 5 seconds, 2min cd
Covenant Y: 500% damage reduction buff for 10 seconds, 2min cd
Covenant Z: 200% increase of all base stats for 10seconds, 2min cd
Covenant A: Heals you for 33% of your overall HP a second, for 10 seconds, 2 min cd

Every tank will pick Covenant Y, and every DPS/Healer will choose Covenant Z.

[siin]

Flying will be unlocked the same way in Shadowlands as it was in Legion and BfA.
f*ck

[Darknessvamp]

So this seems odd, any new players to wow just jump straight into BFA after a new starting zone? Blizzard have always stood their ground about wanting people to see the content they've created. This seems weird as hell to introduce.

I have a feeling BfA is the "wow story" that the current developers and writers on the team want to tell/be told and all prior expansions content either detracts or confuses that story. Heck play through Cata Silverpine or Legion Stormheim and you'll be confused as hell why Sylvanas wants everyone dead in BfA and Shad and where all the set up for that it. Because it doesn't exist. Obfuscate the past to create their future.

[|Dexter|]

Starcraft II sure got a lot of love, lol

[Ferrair]

Can someone explain the story since I stopped in 8.1

What's the deal again with Sylvanas? I was not convinced at all when she burned the world tree, like "i suffered now you suffer too" ????

And now she's all about that Shadowlands life? what is going on..

[BUdoubleG]

I wish they would do more horns for Tauren / Draenei or a no horns option for character customization..

[Mojo03]

Wasn’t deepmind AI for Starcraft just a Blizzcon thing or is it actually coming to live?

[Playintrafic]

Well I guess I will be skipping this expansion unless the seriously beef it up before release.

Nothing new besides zones and quests. Not worth 40$ or whatever the new prices is. Will play the zones whenever it hits private servers or once a good expansion with enough content to justify spending my money comes out.