Blizzcon 02.21 Speculations/Leaks?

[RemasteredClassic]

Something tells me we are going to hear about things along the lines of:

- Retail becomes the central game version where players convene. Retail achievements are linked to classic game versions, so any achievement that only exists on a classic version will be added to the retail version upon completion. This would help keep classic versions alive and consolidate all players on retail.
- All previous WoW expansions are planned for release on a single layered server per expansion per server type per region for better management and consolidation of players - all phases of a given expansion are released within one year giving players one new-old-expansion every year.
- Retail gives quests to complete achievements on classic versions for a remastered version of the classic gear sets/mounts...etc. Instead of scaling old content to max level on retail, this is the approach that is likely to be chosen. Old gear sets obtainable only from the BMAH remain exclusive to it and won’t compete with the new high quality remakes of the same gear designs.
- Pet battles are available on the mobile app, both dungeons and PvP battles.

[Scifix]

Alot of people would probably get pissed, but i would absolutely KILL for classic to somehow be linked with retail, my single greatest regret is that i didnt grind rank 10 back in the day to get that transmog for my paladin, been trying casually to get 1800 RBG rating for it in the years since, but always end up at 1700 and my groups disband

[Toybox]

- Pet battles are available on the mobile app, both dungeons and PvP battles.

I think this ship has long since sailed, but it'd be a nice addition to the game. I never bother gaming on mobile, but I'd probably do some pet battle stuff every now n then.

[salate]

Actually I wouldnt get pissed if they linked classic gear to retail. But I dont think they would make that possible, because BMAH t3 stuff would become so utterly useless. and that really would make people pissed.

Well, personally I'd play for Hand of Adal, because for some reason I just forgot to pick up the last vial and turn it in... Still have flashbacks from that time. Or Champion of Ulduar, where I had to kill only yoggsaron to get that achi (sad stuff). Or Immortal... Yeah, I would just repeat all WOTLK Stuff to get titles I'd like to see. The best time I guess for cool titles farming (the Chosen from the Legion is the best tho)

Still waiting for 3rd neutral faction or faction dissolve, because... Well I'm always up for that kinda stuff. If Cenarion Circle can live together no matter if you are a tauren or a night elf, why cant we?

And dunno. Clues for the next addon? Dont think so. They'd rather show us next moves and patches during the SL.

I just hope they dont make Sylvanas as next Kerrigan. This would be so lame.

[Xalvia]

Literally the last thing I expect them to do, they already denied having plans for that back when classic released. Terrible idea imo.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

I'm guessing three things.

1. 9.1 reveal

2. TBC Classic reveal

3. D4 releasing 2021.

[RemasteredClassic]

Actually I wouldnt get pissed if they linked classic gear to retail. But I dont think they would make that possible, because BMAH t3 stuff would become so utterly useless. and that really would make people pissed.

Not really because they wouldn’t be getting the old original t3 sets but remakes of them done with the latest and greatest texture quality.

[haiyken]

Due to Classic success among the playerbase, I'm convinced that something like this will never become reality. There is absolutely no incentive for Blizzard to start merging the two games with the risk of losing the core Classic playerbase. It would betray the core idea behind them releasing Classic in the first place. Both games are more rich and interesting separately anyway, because they cater to different type of people and playstyle.

As for TBC servers and so on, I'm sure Blizzard will simply make new servers and allow players to move their Classic characters onto it. I'm not sure if they will allow a copy of the character to remain on a Classic server, and with Blizzard track record, probably not. I'm sure Classic servers will remain for players to experience and for those who want to keep playing this version of the game. TBC servers will also probably allow to start directly on them is some players want to (and for new races). I'm sure they will keep it as simple as possible.

Personnaly, I think BlizzcOnline will be more of a showcase of upcoming projects for each IP. Update or teasing on 9.1 feels obvious but Blizzard need to work on the pacing of the expansion to not rush out all the content from the get go. Maybe a 9.0.5 type patch with new story content could be enough to showcase, with only hint towards 9.1. Blizzard will probably make a large update on Diablo 4, them trying to mend fences with a lot of communication for this IP over the past year. I'm guessing they will also showcase Overwatch 2 gameplay and, perhaps details on the overall storyline we'll play through. I'm not expecting anything on the Starcraft front, sadly, as I think Blizzard struggle to maintain all of their IPs at once. Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm will showcase their next content releases, as usual.

Overall, I'm sure the online convention will be quite straightforward, enjoyable but with no big reveal or announcement. It's a tough year and Blizzard should not over-extend right now, risking to promise more that they can handle. More than ever, they should manage expectations, work on streamlining their content releases accross all IP to keep players engaged with them. Overwatch 2 announcement with a 1 year gap with no information what so ever was a really bad move on their part and, I think, dented their image.

[Teaon]

Literally the last thing I expect them to do, they already denied having plans for that back when classic released. Terrible idea imo.

They said never to classic before, guess what happened?

I mean, classic is going to be a barren server soon after Nax release, many people filled their nostalgia joy bar, the best way to keep classic servers alive is by incentivizing the retailers to maybe go and visit it to earn stuff that gets linked to retail, should keep it flowing and alive, pretty sure the old guys gonna be happy too, later on when they realize the server started to lack people for content.

[tankbug]

I'm guessing three things.

1. 9.1 reveal

2. TBC Classic reveal

3. D4 releasing 2021.

Seems plausible.
I'll also add:

4. Diablo Immortal launch

5. Overwatch 2.0 update and launch date

6. Hearthstone update

and if we are very lucky, though I have huge doubts, perhaps a teaser for a new project.

[RemasteredClassic]

I'm guessing three things.

1. 9.1 reveal

2. TBC Classic reveal

3. D4 releasing 2021.

All I really want is an Overwatch 2 Q1 2021 release.

- - - Updated - - -

They said never to classic before, guess what happened?

I mean, classic is going to be a barren server soon after Nax release, many people filled their nostalgia joy bar, the best way to keep classic servers alive is by incentivizing the retailers to maybe go and visit it to earn stuff that gets linked to retail, should keep it flowing and alive, pretty sure the old guys gonna be happy too, later on when they realize the server started to lack people for content.

You bring up a very good point. Classic servers will be deserted with no incentives especially once you start having multiple expansions running separately.

[Eazy]

Classic being connected to Retail is a bad idea no matter what.

[Viikkis]

No. Forcing retail players to play Classic so that they can get achievements is a terrible idea. Blizzard knows this and they specifically wanted to avoid it.

[RemasteredClassic]

No. Forcing retail players to play Classic so that they can get achievements is a terrible idea. Blizzard knows this and they specifically wanted to avoid it.

This is the same logic as saying blizzard is forcing all retail players to somehow make 5 million gold to buy a mount or force all retail players to no life the game so they can beat mythic raids so that they can get exclusive titles and mounts, gear...etc. Everything is a choice, including completely not playing WoW.

[czarek]

I'm guessing three things.

1. 9.1 reveal

2. TBC Classic reveal

3. D4 releasing 2021.

9.1 yeah
TBC for sure
W3 fix maybe?
D4 2021 ? No way. Maybe late 2022 imo. I bet they gonna show smth new and other mobile crap.

[skajaki]

This is the same logic as saying blizzard is forcing all retail players to somehow make 5 million gold to buy a mount or force all retail players to no life the game so they can beat mythic raids so that they can get exclusive titles and mounts, gear...etc. Everything is a choice, including completely not playing WoW.

It's not the same logic. Classic is its own game, while getting the brutosaurmount / clearing raids in retail wow is content of that game.

[Viikkis]

This is the same logic as saying blizzard is forcing all retail players to somehow make 5 million gold to buy a mount or force all retail players to no life the game so they can beat mythic raids so that they can get exclusive titles and mounts, gear...etc. Everything is a choice, including completely not playing WoW.

No. To get the 5 million gold mount you don't need to open up a totally different game. All the things you listed are done inside retail WoW. Don't you remember the whine people had when Hearthstone offered a WoW mount for few games of HS? Heroes of the storm did that too and people who didn't want to play those games hated it.

The point is: playing a different game should not be a requirement for retail WoW rewards.

[Enter Name Here]

the "do things in classic for retail stuff" wouldn't surprise me. i even wondered why they didn't do it yet. they've done that already with that pegasus mount for 3 hearthstone wins.

[VinceVega]

They will need to do something to keep classic players playing. Either with BC or something else.

Classic servers will most definetly be quite empty in a few month. Not totally empty. Some will always play it. But it will decline drasticly.
So they probably merge a bunch of servers and open up new BC servers where you can copy your character to.

Other stuff will be: Diablo 4 Release Date, Overwatch 2 Updates, Diablo Immortal release date, Heartstone stuff, absolutly nothing about HotS (sadHotsplayernoises) and MAYBE and annoucment trailer for something entirely new. Maybe in the Starcraft universe.

[Kolvarg]

- Classic TBC announcement + release window (second half of 2021 likely)
- Info on WoW 9.1
- Info on Diablo IV/Overwatch 2 development, probably no release windows yet
- Hearthstone stuff
- Diablo Immortal info + release date/window
- Probably some kind of "look guys we fixed Warcraft III Reforged, go buy it!"
- Maybe some new mobile game announced?