September 17 Hotfixes, Blue Posts, BlizzCon Opening Week, Twitch, Overwatch Teasers

[chaud]

Datamined Patch, Tamplier's Diablo Fanart

Ben Brode Interview - Deck Slots, Secretadin, Internal Stats; Strength in Numbers, HS Probability Guide

BNet and Twitch Integration, New Maps, Blizzcon Schedule Revealed, Top 5 Fails #16

Patch 6.2.2a Hotfixes - September 17

Raids and Dungeons
Hellfire Citadel

• Gorefiend
  
  • Increased the duration for Digest and Resisting to 35 seconds (up from 30 seconds) on Mythic difficulty.

Grimrail Depot

• Fixed an issue where players were incorrectly able to reflect damage for a number of abilities during the Nitrogg Thundertower encounter.

Icecrown Citadel

• The Lich King: Players that fall off the platform during the final stage of the encounter should no longer remain stuck in combat and be able to release their spirits.

PvP
Ashran

• Recreant is now applied if a player does not accept the prompt to enter Ashran.

Mercenary Mode

• Fixed a situation that could cause the Mercenary mode buff to not be applied correctly on a character.

Achievements

• Master of the Seas: The title associated with this achievement is now account-wide for level 100 characters.
• Rumble in the Jungle: The title associated with this achievement is now account-wide for level 100 characters.

Blue Posts

Matchmaking Normal Difficulty Groups
Very unlikely, the extra convenience of having an automated queuing system for normal mode would be immediately defeated by the lack of coordination that these groups are usually accustomed to.

LFR's difficulty level is tuned exactly to match the level of coordination that one can expect (on average) from a group formed by an automated system.

Let people queue for Normal if they want to - but don't change mechanics to accommodate random queueing. Leave Nm as it is, difficulty-wise.
Given that extra option, I believe very few would be satisfied with queueing for LFR only.

What you said actually sounds reasonable at first, but once such an option becomes available, it creates false expectations. If such content isn't properly tuned for random grouping, it will only lead to nerf requests. We see that happening all the time even in LFR as I'm sure you're all aware, especially when new raids launch and they're slightly over-tuned.

There's also this issue with automated systems and their detrimental effects on the social potential of a game, which is an essential factor for any mmorpg, so we want to be very careful whenever we expand or change such systems. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

BlizzCon Opening Week – October 28 to November 1

Last year, we needed an extra weekend for all the World Championship eSports. This year, we need a week! The Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, and WoW Arena World Championships, along with the StarCraft II WCS Global Finals, will launch from Burbank, CA between October 28 and November 1.

The BlizzCon Opening Week will host 96 elite eSports players from across the globe battling for the opportunity to be crowned World Champion at BlizzCon. This is eSports you need to watch, and you’ll have plenty of streaming options available on BlizzCon.com for each game.

So, which matches will be played at BlizzCon Opening Week, and when? We’ve broken it out for each game below:

Hearthstone World Championship
Prize Pool: $250,000
Number of Players: 16
Schedule: October 28-31, 9:00 a.m. PDT

Matches: The Hearthstone World Championship kicks off with four groups of four players vying against each other in a dual-elimination format. Match 1 of each group will play October 28, with Match 2 and the first eliminations on October 29. October 30-31 will see each match advancing a player to BlizzCon, as we make our way through the winners and decider matches of each group.

Heroes of the Storm World Championship
Prize Pool: $500,000
Number of Players: 8 Teams (5 players per team)
Schedule: October 28, 1:30 p.m. PDT

Matches: The Heroes of the Storm World Championship features 2 dual-tournament groups in the first round. No teams will be eliminated during Opening Week, but each team will get to show their stuff in the initial matches of each group.

WoW Arena World Championship
Prize Pool: $250,000
Number of Players: 8 teams (3 players per team)
Schedule: October 30-31, 1:30 p.m. PDT

Matches: Each of the 2 dual-tournament groups in the Round of 8 will compete October 30-31. Two teams will advance to the Round of 4 bracket (played at BlizzCon November 6) based on the results of these matches, while the other two Ro4 teams will be determined at BlizzCon.

StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals
Prize Pool: $250,000
Number of Players: 16
Schedule: November 1, 10:00 a.m. PST

Matches: The Global Finals will follow last year’s tried and true format. The top 16 players in the WCS Global Standings will be seeded into a single elimination bracket. All matches of the Round of 16 bracket will take place November 1. Eight of the 16 players will advance to the Round of 8 matches (played at BlizzCon November 6).

You’ll also be able to watch coverage of the BlizzCon opening ceremony and all of the StarCraft II, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, and Heroes of the Storm matches taking place at BlizzCon for free in HD at www.blizzcon.com. The StarCraft II finals will also be available to watch via the official WCS website.

Twitch Battle.Net Integration
Twitch has added the ability to link your Battle.Net account to your Twitch account and Blizzard is giving away a Heroes of the Storm portrait to those who link it and watch some of a Heroes of the Storm regional championship. Some kind of reward could be added for WoW in the future!

Twitch and Blizzard are teaming up to reward those who not only love to play Heroes of the Storm, but watch it, too!

Secure your portrait
For a limited time, anyone who watches a Heroes of the Storm regional championship while logged into Twitch with a linked Battle.net account will receive a special “Storm Watcher” portrait in Heroes of the Storm.

Your first opportunity to secure this portrait is quickly approaching. Tune in to the Americas Championship on September 19 and 20, and you’ll be among the first to receive the new portrait. After watching the Americas or other regional championship events, the portrait will be awarded to qualifying players starting in October, when it will appear in your in-game portrait collection.

• Log in to your account on Twitch.
• Navigate to the Settings menu by clicking your account name in the top-right corner of the home screen.
• Click on the Connections tab.
• Follow the instructions after selecting a region and clicking Connect next to Battle.net.

Click Here to go straight to the Twitch.tv settings page!

Do I need to keep my accounts linked to receive the portrait?
In order to make sure we're able to properly grant the portrait award, please make sure you leave the accounts linked until the portrait has been awarded to your Battle.net account. We hope to offer additional promotions using this technology in the future, so we recommend leaving the account link in place if you’re interested in participating.

If I watch another region's championship and have my account linked, will I receive the reward in my home region?
Yes, watching the Americas, Korea, Europe, or Taiwan championships on Twitch will grant you the in-game portrait in all regions.

If I watch the event on a mobile device will I receive the portrait?
Yes, as long as you are logged in to Twitch and your accounts are linked while you watch the event, you will be eligible for the portrait reward.

Will other Blizzard games offer similar promotions?
The Heroes of the Storm “Storm Watcher” portrait is the only active promotion currently available. We’re considering rolling out similar promotions for our other games, but we don’t have any additional details to share at this time.

Visit HeroesoftheStorm.com/eSports to learn more about the Americas Championship and our other regional championship events!

Overwatch - More Teasers and Hints
Some more teaser images appeared today, along with a note to check back for a special report next week. You can get all of the details on Overpwn.

[Zabatakis]

I had imagined more people would have watched wow twitch streams (at least among those who visit this site).

Color me surprised.

[Kopykat]

for me wow is incredibly hard to follow than say HotS or LoL. I can only tell how people are moving, but no way to tell what spell they used and what the intention is. Wow is very "busy" compared to MOBAs. With Mobas there are only a few spells to keep track of and they are visually obvious most of the time. Add to that the fact that the screen isn't cluttered with addons and random stuff, and is basically the same across all streams, they are far easier to follow and appreciate via streams due to clarity and consistency.

On the other hand, I can see the appeal to streams for folks that want to listen to someone live as they play, but I watch streams mainly to learn. With Wow I find that easier to do by reading something and then making it happen in game.

[Zabatakis]

All good points.

[Deleted]

The main reason I voted for "occasionally" is because I mainly watch streams for esports/tournaments, and whilst I sometimes try to watch GCDTV it starts at 2am GMT, so it isn't always feasible to watch that on a Friday night. I find myself watching a lot more Starcraft/HotS because there is more availability and tournament scene for those games, not through lack of interest in WoW streams. If there were more tournaments in WoW esports I would definitely watch them.

[Wayne25uk]

I cant stand twitch to be honest i dont find the joy in watching somebody play a game i already own. Its like the mrs cooking you dinner and you both having the same meal but saying "Nah ill leave mine and just watch you eat yours instead...."

[illza]

FYI, your Overwatch - More Teasers and Hints section is using a Diablo icon.

[Rioo]

I cant stand twitch to be honest i dont find the joy in watching somebody play a game i already own. Its like the mrs cooking you dinner and you both having the same meal but saying "Nah ill leave mine and just watch you eat yours instead...."

For things like WoW and other casual games I agree. Watching competitive game tournaments in Dota 2 and especially Starcraft 2 is a whole other deal though. We're talking about people who might play the game 10+ hours per day. They end up really good and can do some sick plays you can only dream about accomplishing. It's a bit like watching any normal sport, but since you also play the games it will also help you play better.

[Jasper Kazai]

I watch Twitch a lot (have it open on something almost constantly), but rarely watch WoW streams. They're just not interesting to me. The only times I have regularly watched them is when a raid is new, and I watch people who are farther than my guild is progressing on them a bit. I don't care about PvP so the tournaments do nothing for me.

[Deleted]

I cant stand twitch to be honest i dont find the joy in watching somebody play a game i already own. Its like the mrs cooking you dinner and you both having the same meal but saying "Nah ill leave mine and just watch you eat yours instead...."

If u watch a stream for a game , then u are doing it wrong. U come to twitch for the streamers , they are supposed to entertain u not the game.

[Deleted]

The only WoW streamer that I watch (although fairly regularly) is Nobbel. I don't really watch for him playing the game, that's just backdrop, but for his personality and for the Warcraft Lore, about which he talks 90% of the time, which I find really intriguing...

[Deleted]

Wow streams don't really interrest me unless they try something new like destro lock in arena or whatever

[Arvandor]

i am a player not a watcher!

[Triggered Fridgekin]

Streamers are awful in most cases because they can't go a half a second without saying 'rekt' 'get rekt' or 'rip'.

[Baneleaf]

I tend to watch streams when I am either at work or waiting in a long queue. I do normally play on a laptop but if I am at home I will run twitch streams on my tablet or phone just to have something to watch.

[mwiland]

I had imagined more people would have watched wow twitch streams (at least among those who visit this site).

Color me surprised.

color me surprised, but why would i want to watch a live stream (or pre-recorded) of someone else playing a game that i can just go play? i just dont see the point of it, unless it is to explain how to do something difficult (think achievement of some sort)

[Deleted]

I cant stand twitch to be honest i dont find the joy in watching somebody play a game i already own. Its like the mrs cooking you dinner and you both having the same meal but saying "Nah ill leave mine and just watch you eat yours instead...."

It's funny you mention cooking, because to me it's like a cooking show vs. doing it yourself.

[Deleted]

If u watch a stream for a game , then u are doing it wrong. U come to twitch for the streamers , they are supposed to entertain u not the game.

Huh, that explains why i never watch any streams. I don't care about people and i don't get why someone would rather watch gameplay insted of playing himself.

[Deleted]

I had imagined more people would have watched wow twitch streams (at least among those who visit this site).

Color me surprised.

too bad there isn't a 'do you watch any twitch streams of people playing games' question for reference, probably a lot of people who answered 'no' doesnt watch any streams (like me)

[Ruskey]

From the comments i take it that im in the extreme minority here, but I quite often watch WoW streams, but very rarely do i watch PvP focused streams. I love watching pve / mythic raiding, especially when a new raid comes out and guilds are struggling on bosses for the first time. Its really intense watching a guild work a boss down that they have been struggling on for weeks.

Ive always been a pve focused player, so i guess it makes sense that im only interested in that portion of the game.