Just when Geoff Keighley had started to fade from your memory, he comes rubber-banding back with a vengeance - snap! It's Gamescom week and it kicks off with Opening Night Live this evening from 7pm UK time (other Opening Night Live timings here). A pre-show with additional announcements will begin at 6.30pm UK. We'll be watching and reporting on it live, as always, right here, so you can either keep abreast of announcements while you do something else, or you can join in with your thoughtful and amusing comments. Please keep us company. Please.

What do we expect to see today? Well, probably Geoff Keighley, but also the new Indiana Jones game, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Dune Awakening. We're also expecting Little Nightmares creator Tarsier to unveil its new project, which could be exciting. On top of that: Diablo 4 expansion Vessel of Hatred, Civilization 7, hero shooter Marvel Rivals, Lost Records (the project made by the creators of Life is Strange), Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (which was recently delayed), and Black Ops 6. Keighley's best pal Hideo Kojima has also been tweeting enigmatic silhouetted pictures of actors who are presumably playing roles in Death Stranding 2.

And before you ask, "Yes, there will be new game announcements," Keighley said on X.

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Get your dog today: “Priority Quest: Faithful Companion” in Kyovashad Diablo 4 Unleashes a Furry Surprise: Claim Your Free Pet Now! In an unexpected and delightful twist, Diablo 4 has introduced pets into its dark and mystical world. The latest season, which is already being hailed as the most successful yet, has been further enlivened […]

The post Hurry and Claim Your Diablo 4 Doggy Before It’s Too Late appeared first on 360fov.net.

Activision and Microsoft have reportedly approved the creation of a new "smaller" team within Blizzard Entertainment - mostly comprised of employees from Activision's mobile-focused King division - to develop new "AA" games based on existing Blizzard properties.

That's according to Windows Central's Jez Corden, whose sources say the new initiative reflects an eagerness at Microsoft to "explore and experiment" with smaller teams within the larger organisation, in response to the "monstrously ballooning costs" of AAA game development.

Corden notes Microsoft has seen success with the likes of Sea of Thieves and Grounded, both built by comparatively small teams - and, of course, 2023's Hi-Fi Rush, created by a small team within Tango Gameworks, was heralded as a "break out hit" by Microsoft after its release.

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Activision and Microsoft have reportedly approved the creation of a new "smaller" team within Blizzard Entertainment - mostly comprised of employees from Activision's mobile-focused King division - to develop new "AA" games based on existing Blizzard properties.

That's according to Windows Central's Jez Corden, whose sources say the new initiative reflects an eagerness at Microsoft to "explore and experiment" with smaller teams within the larger organisation, in response to the "monstrously ballooning costs" of AAA game development.

Corden notes Microsoft has seen success with the likes of Sea of Thieves and Grounded, both built by comparatively small teams - and, of course, 2023's Hi-Fi Rush, created by a small team within Tango Gameworks, was heralded as a "break out hit" by Microsoft after its release.

Read more

• Category: gamescom

August 1, 2024

Xbox @ gamescom 2024

• Maxi Graeff, Gaming Marketing Lead DACH

Summary

• Xbox returns to gamescom with over 50 titles to check out.
• The Xbox booth will also include a theater, photo ops, a Gear Store, and more.
• For those who can’t attend, check out the Xbox @ gamescom: Live From the Showfloor Broadcast on August 21-23.

Following this year’s jam-packed Xbox Games Showcase, we’re excited to return to gamescom and connect with fans in Cologne, Germany from August 21-25 to show off even more of what Xbox players have in store. 

The community is what makes gaming – and gamescom – so special and there will be something for everyone this year, whether you’re on the show floor in Cologne or watching at home via our livestreams. This year the Xbox booth will be overflowing with exciting upcoming titles, one-off experiences and fantastic photo opportunities for games coming to Xbox, PC, and Game Pass this Holiday and beyond. We’ll also deliver three days of broadcasts live from the show floor, join up with our amazing community for another FanFest, and plenty more. Keep reading for more details on everything we’re up to at gamescom 2024.  

Xbox Booth 

This year the Xbox booth will feature over 50 gaming titles from Xbox Game Studios, Blizzard, Bethesda, and our amazing third-party partners – spread across more than 240 gaming stations – alongside amazing photo ops and experiences, and specially constructed theaters for exclusive looks at upcoming titles.  

Attendees will be able to go hands-on with upcoming Xbox releases, including: 

• Age of Mythology: Retold  

• Ara: History Untold 

• Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred 

• Fallout 76: Milepost Zero 

• The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road 

• Towerborne 

We will also host exclusive theater presentations of Avowed, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Starfield: Shattered Space.  

Joining the Xbox booth for the first time, Blizzard Entertainment will make their return to gamescom with multiple offerings for Diablo and World of Warcraft. Ahead of the launch of the Vessel of Hatred expansion in October, Diablo will bring an exclusive public hands-on gameplay demo of the Spiritborn class to the gamescom show floor, with a Diablo Immortal Helliquary boss tournament taking place as well. World of Warcraft celebrates the launch of The War Within on August 26 with the power of a special immersive experience, giving gamescom attendants the chance to feel the thrill of Skyriding in Azeroth.  

The Xbox booth will also have playable titles from our third-party partners, including Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws, Saber Interactive’s Space Marine 2, Rebellion’s Atomfall, and the return of GSC Game World’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl with an all-new demo. And in our Indie Selects area – dedicated to diverse, exciting upcoming titles from independent developers – we’ll host games including Maximum Entertainment’s Squirrel with a Gun, Noodlecake’s Winter Burrow, 11 bit Studios’ Creatures of Ava, and more. 

The above is just a small selection of the titles playable on the Xbox booth. For the full list of playable titles visit here. Whatever you’re into, we’ll have something for you. 

You’ll be able to find us in Hall 7 of the Koelnmesse, North entrance. See below for the consumer show opening times:   

• Thursday, August 22 – 10am – 8pm CEST   

• Friday, August 23 – 10am – 8pm CEST   

• Saturday, August 24 – 9am – 8 pm CEST   

• Sunday, August 25 – 9am – 8pm CEST  

Beyond the Xbox booth, Overwatch 2 will also have a joint stand with Porsche, highlighting their new collaboration by featuring a life-sized D.Va statue modeled after the new all-electric Macan, along with an invitation for fans to enter a real-life rendition of an iconic Overwatch 2 map. 

Game Pass @ Gamescom  

This year at gamescom, Game Pass is turning up the fun with an exciting setup reminding players that they can discover their next favorite game across devices. Guests will have an opportunity to explore different sections dedicated to PC, Console, and Cloud as they learn about all the different ways to play their favorite games. In addition to exclusive gamescom 2024 prizes available through claw and gacha machines, guests have the opportunity to play the Big Green Button for a shot at winning exciting prizes like:  

• Game Pass tokens (PC and/or Ultimate) 

• NVIDIA GeForce Now cards 

• WD_BLACK PC and Console Storage 

• Cloud Gaming devices (e.g., Amazon Fire TV Sticks, and Meta Quest headsets) that can directly stream Xbox games 

• OMEN monitors 

• HyperX headsets, microphones, mice and keyboards 

Gaming for Everyone 

Xbox remains committed to the belief that gaming should be safe, inclusive, and accessible for all. We are ensuring that all areas of the booth are wheelchair accessible, Xbox Adaptive Controllers will be available upon request, and there will be select demo stations with adjustable-height desks and monitors. We also have multiple American Sign Language (ASL) and German Sign Language (DGS) interpreters and Audio Description tours in English and German for guests who are blind or visually disabled.

Additionally, we’ll have sensory aids and a quiet room for everyone who needs them, as well as “Here to Help” staff to assist players of all abilities navigate our booth and game experiences. Please check out the Accessibility “Here to Help” desk at our booth for support. 

Other Booth Elements

Gear Shop 

Check out the official Gear Shop at the booth to get the latest with gear from Xbox Game Studios, Blizzard, Activision, and Bethesda! 

Can´t make it? Don’t worry, find your new favorite gear online in the following stores: 

• https://shop.callofduty.com/

• https://gear.blizzard.com/

• https://gear.xbox.com/  

Community Area 

This year the Xbox booth will also include the Community Hub! This more chilled out space within the Xbox Booth will be a perfect place for attendees to stop and hang out during the show, and will also feature special programming and activities from titles and teams across Xbox taking place throughout gamescom. Activities will include cosplay meetups, trivia games, meet-and-greets with game developers and voice actors, and more! Be sure to stop by and see what’s on! 

Live from the Showfloor with our Broadcast Teams 

If you can’t make the trip to Cologne this year, we’ll bring the show to you with a series of daily streams from the Xbox booth. Join Team Xbox and friends on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for a deeper dive into some of the highly anticipated games at gamescom 2024, with first-look gameplay, developer chats, new trailers and more. The Bethesda team will also have daily content streaming live from the booth over on their Twitch channel: twitch.tv/bethesda_de.  

Whether you join us for every stream, or just dip in for the latest on your most anticipated titles, we’re looking forward to connecting with fans across the globe and showing off some of the amazing games coming to Xbox.

Wednesday August 21  

• Xbox @ gamescom 2024
  • Start: 6am PDT / 9am EDT / 2pm BST / 3pm CEST 
  • Featuring S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Atomfall, Age of Mythology, plus others  

• Bethesda MainStream 
  • Start: 5am PDT / 8am EST / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST  

Thursday August 22  

• Xbox @ gamescom 2024 
  • Start:  6am PDT / 9am EDT / 2pm BST / 3pm CEST 
  • Featuring Star Wars Outlaws, World of Warcraft: The War Within, Towerborne plus others
• Bethesda MainStream 
  • Start: 5am PDT / 8am EST / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST

Friday August 23  

• Xbox @ gamescom 2024
  • Start: 6am PDT / 9am EDT / 2pm BST / 3pm CEST
  • Featuring Avowed, Ara: History Untold, plus others

• Bethesda MainStream 
  • Start: 5am PDT / 8am EST / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST 

Keep an eye on Xbox Social channels for the full content schedule in the days leading up to gamescom.  

The live English-language broadcast from Xbox’s gamescom booth will be available in German, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Czech, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, Mexican Spanish and Turkish, along with ASL and English Audio Descriptions. You can catch the Xbox @ gamescom Livestream on regional Xbox channels on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and elsewhere.   

Livestream Channels:  

• Twitch.com/xbox 
• Facebook.com/xbox 
• Youtube.com/xbox 

Xbox FanFest  

On Wednesday, August 21, Xbox FanFest is returning to host a special community event to kick off gamescom week! We’ll be bringing players together to connect around their shared love of gaming. If you’re planning to attend gamescom or will be in the Cologne area, you can enter for a chance to win tickets to attend.

Login at xbox.com/fanfest and use code FANFEST to unlock the sweepstakes. No Purchase Necessary. Open only to registered Xbox FanFest members. 18+. Ends 08:59 CEST on 5 August 2024. Click here for Official Rules. 

Xbox Coverage  

Our social media teams will be on the ground bringing you live coverage, updates, news, new videos, and lots of fun stuff too. And make sure to keep an eye on Xbox Wire for coverage of the Opening Night Live show, and articles about many of the games on show. 

For all the latest updates on Xbox at gamescom this year, stay tuned to the Xbox channels on X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube social channels, or the @XboxDACH X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube social channels for German-language coverage. We’re using #Xboxgamescom as our event hashtag.  

Editor’s Note: ARK 2 was originally listed as playable on the Xbox booth – this mention was made in error, and has been removed.

The post Xbox @ gamescom 2024 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Diablo 4's Season 5 will introduce a new wave-based rogue-lite mode.

By using an Infernal Compass – which scales in difficulty and world tier – players will be able to unlock the Infernal Hordes mode wherein they'll earn Burning Aether "to unlock powerful weapons and rewards".

Successfully slay the Hordes, and you'll be asked to take on the powerful Fell Council, which consists of three random minibosses. Successfully defeat them, and you'll be able to spend your Burning Aether on "Spoils of Hell" – Spoils of Equipment, Materials, Gold, or Greater Equipment – which guarantees an item with a Greater Affix.

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Blizzard has announced plans to run a second Public Test Realm for action role-playing game Diablo 4, this time for Season 5.

Diablo 4’s first PTR ran in April and let Battle.net PC players play the well-received Season 4 early. Similarly, the Season 5 PTR gives fans …

Microsoft and Blizzard have slapped a release date on Diablo 4's forthcoming content-o-season Vessel Of Hatred. It's out 8th October 2024, and sees you hooting and hollering down the road to the new region of Nahantu in search of Neyrelle, a character "who is both suffering the fate of her choice to imprison the Prime Evil Mephisto, and seeking a means to destroy him". In the process, you may choose to become "the apex predator of the jungle as the all-new Spiritborn class". You can also recruit mercenaries to help you, fight alongside other players in a new PvE co-op activity, "and more".

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Today I learned Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert is working on a new game, which he describes as "Classic Zelda meets Diablo meets Thimbleweed Park". Well, hello there!

Work on this project actually started several months ago, but it only came to my attention this afternoon thanks to TimeExtension. I have since done more browsing, and come across some posts on Terrible Toybox, as well as Gilbert's own Mastodon page.

Now, admittedly there still isn't a huge amount of information on Gilbert's upcoming project at this time. The game doesn't even have a proper name yet, and rather has been labelled as Game Name TBD on Terrible Toybox's website. Meanwhile, Gilbert has been using the hashtag #rpgtbd to tag his social media posts.

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Diablo IV’s Loot Reborn season isn’t quite a version 2.0 overhaul, but its major changes to the action-RPG’s loot and endgame have players falling back in love with the game and showering it with praise for the first time in several months. “Since the release of this season, I have played more than I slept lol,” wrote…

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Diablo 4's fourth season of post-launch content, Loot Reborn, arrives on 14th May and promises to be the dungeon-crawler's "biggest gameplay update yet".

As per Blizzard's lengthy announcement, Season 4: Loot Reborn is a little different to previous seasons; as well as delivering the expected limited-time seasonal content, it permanently overhauls "many core game systems" across both the Seasonal and Eternal Realms.

Itemisation is a particular focus, with Blizzard introducing changes to the way items "are earned, how they function, and how they improve" as players level through World Tiers during a season. "Dropped items are now simpler to evaluate," it explains "and we've moved their complexity and customisation to our new crafting systems, Tempering and Masterworking."

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The post Diablo IV: Galvanize Your Legend in Season 4 – Loot Reborn appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Today, the Diablo IV team sat down to discuss Season 4, player feedback, and future goals for the ever-changing aRPG.

Loot is the reason for the season

A main talking point during the stream was a focus on lessening time spent "sorting" through loot after a brief outing in, say, a Nightmare Dungeon. Less affixes, more meaningful drops, and a higher potential for customization via the new Tempering and Masterworking systems means far less time spent straining your eyes comparing every pair of pants.

Another change that aims to pare down useless loot drops is more guaranteed sources of item level 925 gear. Obol gambling will provide 925 gear, guaranteed, in World Tier 4 at level 100. Helltides, too, will drop maximum item level gear.

The team is also looking to increase the value of Rare and Magic items beyond salvage fodder, but this will come in a future patch. Right now, Legendaries are the star of the show, but even these are getting their own "jackpot" moments through Greater Affixes (1.5x the highest possible value), which are denoted by unique icons when they drop.

Armor and stat cap balance changes

The devs are aware that, currently, enemies that seem easy as players progress will suddenly begin 1-shotting them as the difficulty ramps up. Things like damage reduction and armor values are overly complex at the moment, and these knobs are being turned:

• In Season 4, the armor physical reduction cap is remaining at 85%, but scaling on the amount required will cap out at level 100 monsters
  • This means an armor value of 9,230 will be enough to reach 85% physical damage reduction against all enemies, no matter the level

• Cooldown Reduction's new cap is 75% (from gear)
• Increased Area Size's new cap is 100%
• Fortify Damage Reduction increased from 10% to 15%

Helltide Reborn

Helltide is getting a major facelift in season 4, with a focus on enemy density and activity variety. These changes are permanent, appear in World Tier 1 through 4, and will also be coming to the Eternal Realm.

• New Threat system: the longer you fight, the more monsters will appear (including the player-favorite Hellworm that spits enemies onto the battlefield)
• New enemies: the Hellborn. These function a lot like the Blood Seekers from Season 2, which mimic players' abilities
• New boss: the Bloodmaiden. This boss can be summoned cooperatively with other players through the "Accursed Ritual," which requires 3 Baneful Hearts that drop from the Helltide

Iron Wolves content details

The Iron Wolves will fight alongside players during Helltides, with Seasonal players having access to a new questline involving the faction. This content isn't as juicy as proper, "seasonal" content, but it's a concession since most of the resources clearly went to balance changes and item reworks.

• 18 tiers of rewards, designed to push player power by providing high-stat loot
• Cosmetics including a new mount banner and mount trophy earned by completing the Iron Wolves reputation track
• New seasonal powerup: the Profane Mindcage. For the next 60 seconds, Helltide monster level increases by 10 and increases the amount of Abberant Cinders dropped

Changes based on PTR feedback

• No more fail chances on item Masterworking
• Bad luck protection applies to Baneful Hearts in the Helltide, so they drop more often
• Blood Maiden rewards increased, with more rewards if you contributed in the summoning
• The Pit's difficulty increased: Masterworking materials moved up 10 tiers each, monster health and damage increased
• Nightmare Dungeons and the Pit both drop increasing numbers of Murmuring Obols past level 46 and level 1, respectively
• Murmuring Obols cap increased to 2,500
• Glyph experienced granted by Nightmare Dungeons boosted by 25%
• Boss materials will drop randomly throughout the world as well as from their normal sources
• Ladder bosses have a small chance to drop Uber Uniques

Q&A

These are abbreviated (not quoted) from the Q&A segment of the stream:

• What does this mean for Season Powers in the future?
  • Season 4 is focused on changing major aspects of the game so killing monsters feels good. Seasons are for changing what the developers think is most important for the health of the game. "Big ideas" for the future, you will see powers again.

• Different beam color for items with Greater Affixes?
  • Being considered, but the special star icons feel adequate for now.

• Are Season 4 changes coming to Eternal?
  • Yes, everything besides the Iron Wolves rewards will be coming to the Eternal Realm.

• After itemization, what's the next big system you're looking to change?
  • Players are looking for endgame at level 100, and there are more opportunities for building on the endgame framework.

The post Diablo 4 devs talk player feedback, big balance changes, and more in today’s Campfire Chat appeared first on Destructoid.

Diablo IV is getting a major overhaul on the heels of its one year anniversary. Blizzard recently revealed almost every major change to come in season 4 later this month, and fans are excited for the action-RPG to finally fix some of the biggest complaints players have had since launch.

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Mayors in RPG games are rarely given the spotlight. They're mostly just there to give you an early quest involving goat banditry or windmill rats or some such other domestic drudgery. Or, in the case of Tristram’s mayor in Diablo, to fret behind the scenes about how to properly fit considerable cathedral repairs into this month’s budget. Well, no more must this valuable civil servant hide behind balance sheets, occasionally popping out to cut a big ribbon in celebration of a nearby mausoleum being turned into a Wetherspoons. Tristam is a 72 hour Ludum Dare project where you play as said town’s mayor. And this time: It’s ceremonial!

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Blizzard has finally delivered patch notes for Diablo 4 version 1.4.0 ahead of Season 4: Loot Reborn’s launch later this month.

The full list of changes coming to the studio’s latest dungeon crawler arrives immediately after an in-depth developer update livestream. Following a tumultuous beginning for Diablo …

I pretty much spent all of February ignoring WoW, Blizzard, or anything related.  The call of Valheim and the need for a break was strong I guess.  I suppose it is time to take a minute to catch up with a new month on hand.  And hey, it is Friday, so bullet points look like the path forward.

• Season of Discovery Season 2 and XP Boosts

WoW Classic: Season of Discovery hit phase 2 early in February, so that is hardly news I suppose, except to acknowlegde that it happened and that I haven’t logged in since before that occured.  I had done the WoW Classic zones already a few times, and for anybody who was neither raiding nor interested in PvP, Season of Discorvery doesn’t have much new to offer.  The idea of “Classic Plus” was always a fantasy.

The Gnomeregan raid was the headline of phase 2

Well, Blizz has apparently at least realized that making everybody grind through vanilla yet again… they’re on a mission to make us do this once a year I guess… so will be introducing the Discoverer’s Delight buff, which brings a 100% xp boost for level 1-39 characters.

They have also decided to cut the price of level 40 mounts in half and to increase the coin reward for all level 1-39 quests, because while penury was all fun and laughs back in 2004, asking us to scrimp and save to just buy our basic class skills yet again is turning into a non-starter for some.

That will all land next Tuesday next week, March 5th, which is also “Super Tuesday” (of “Stupid Tuesday” as it may turn out) here in the US.

The team did say they won’t change the price of epic mounts, but I am not convinced they will stick with that.  Grind for that fast mount just on a server that will go away soon enough?

Blizz is also going to adjust a bunch of raid related things, because raiders are always the main concern of the company.  There is also some discussion of level 60, end game, and what happens to these characters with all the special skills and runes when Blizz ends the season.  My bet is that they will managed to make people angry somehow when they shut down the Season of Discovery servers.

Read all about it here.

• Diablo IV on XBox PC Game Pass

Microsoft… and I should probably just stop using “Blizzard” or “Activision” now, it is all the Microsoft show, layoffs and all… has announced the first formerly Blizzard title to show up on the Microsoft XBox PC Game Pass:  Diablo IV.

Diablo IV

Coming March 28th, you will be able to play Diablo IV by just subscribing to the XBox PC Game Pass, which last I checked was $10 a month, though rumor has it that price will be going up before the end of the year.

Announcement here.

• Prime Gaming WoW Tabard Give Away

Blizz has another WoW item available on Prime Gaming, the tabard of frost.

The promo shot for the tabard

While a tabard is kind of small potatoes, it still looks better than what you can make with the guild tabard generator, a bit of the game still stuck in 2004.  Also, only available for retail WoW.

Find out how to claim the tabard of frost here.

• Harder WoW Classic Hardcore

Is WoW Classic Hardcore not challenging enough?  Want to prove you’re even tougher than the run of the mill no-lifers who made it to level 60?  WoW Classic Hardcore introduced “self found” mode so you can prove you’re a step above the average hardcore survivor.

Hardcore for all your… something… needs

Self found mode restricts your character from using the auction house, recieving in-game mail, or trading with other players so that you can prove the purity of your efforts.

If you decide you have made a horrible mistake in choosing that mode, you can turn it off.  But once turned off, it can never be restored.

Read all about it here.

• The War Within Hero Talents Preview

I feel like I should be interested in what Blizz has going on when it comes to the next retail expansion… though I also feel like I shouldn’t care since I haven’t played since early Shadowlands… so I did poke my nose into the early look at the hero talent trees for The War Within.  So, for example, Paladins will have hero talents that work between spec pairs it seems.

This is one piece of a giant chart, let me assure you

And, at some level, “hero talents” sounds pretty cool.

But then the history of the game starts to weigh on me.  Specs and talents get thrown in the air and redone with EVERY expansion.  Nothing ever builds on the past, everything is a complete rug pull, changing up what you’ve grown used to in order to try and be fresh and new.  Also, anything with “hero” in the name is doomed to be nerfed it is as all useful.  The history of the game demands it.

Still, they have something in play.

More on that available, including large and complicated charts, here.

• Hearthstone Anniversary Rewards for WoW

Remember when Hearthstone came out… oh… ten years ago!  Yeah, back then for launch to get WoW players to try it out, they gave away the Hearthsteed.  I will admit, that was enough to bribe me to try it out.

Well, now that Hearthstone is turning ten, they are doing it again, this time offering the Fiery Hearthsteed mount to WoW players who log in between March 11 and May 14 2024.

Hearthsteed, hearthsteed, burning bright…

This reward, like the frost tabard above, is only available to be redeemed in retail WoW.  Classic players can suck it… which makes me wonder if I should bother.  Oh, who am I kidding, I do Twitch drops for games I’ll never play again, I can log into Hearthstone for this.

For all the detail about that and the Hearthstone anniversary click this link.

So it goes, here on the first day of March.  Spring is in the offing, at least here in the US, but so is Daylight Savings Time, so your mileage may vary.

I pretty much spent all of February ignoring WoW, Blizzard, or anything related.  The call of Valheim and the need for a break was strong I guess.  I suppose it is time to take a minute to catch up with a new month on hand.  And hey, it is Friday, so bullet points look like the path forward.

• Season of Discovery Season 2 and XP Boosts

WoW Classic: Season of Discovery hit phase 2 early in February, so that is hardly news I suppose, except to acknowlegde that it happened and that I haven’t logged in since before that occured.  I had done the WoW Classic zones already a few times, and for anybody who was neither raiding nor interested in PvP, Season of Discorvery doesn’t have much new to offer.  The idea of “Classic Plus” was always a fantasy.

The Gnomeregan raid was the headline of phase 2

Well, Blizz has apparently at least realized that making everybody grind through vanilla yet again… they’re on a mission to make us do this once a year I guess… so will be introducing the Discoverer’s Delight buff, which brings a 100% xp boost for level 1-39 characters.

They have also decided to cut the price of level 40 mounts in half and to increase the coin reward for all level 1-39 quests, because while penury was all fun and laughs back in 2004, asking us to scrimp and save to just buy our basic class skills yet again is turning into a non-starter for some.

That will all land next Tuesday next week, March 5th, which is also “Super Tuesday” (of “Stupid Tuesday” as it may turn out) here in the US.

The team did say they won’t change the price of epic mounts, but I am not convinced they will stick with that.  Grind for that fast mount just on a server that will go away soon enough?

Blizz is also going to adjust a bunch of raid related things, because raiders are always the main concern of the company.  There is also some discussion of level 60, end game, and what happens to these characters with all the special skills and runes when Blizz ends the season.  My bet is that they will managed to make people angry somehow when they shut down the Season of Discovery servers.

Read all about it here.

• Diablo IV on XBox PC Game Pass

Microsoft… and I should probably just stop using “Blizzard” or “Activision” now, it is all the Microsoft show, layoffs and all… has announced the first formerly Blizzard title to show up on the Microsoft XBox PC Game Pass:  Diablo IV.

Diablo IV

Coming March 28th, you will be able to play Diablo IV by just subscribing to the XBox PC Game Pass, which last I checked was $10 a month, though rumor has it that price will be going up before the end of the year.

Announcement here.

• Prime Gaming WoW Tabard Give Away

Blizz has another WoW item available on Prime Gaming, the tabard of frost.

The promo shot for the tabard

While a tabard is kind of small potatoes, it still looks better than what you can make with the guild tabard generator, a bit of the game still stuck in 2004.  Also, only available for retail WoW.

Find out how to claim the tabard of frost here.

• Harder WoW Classic Hardcore

Is WoW Classic Hardcore not challenging enough?  Want to prove you’re even tougher than the run of the mill no-lifers who made it to level 60?  WoW Classic Hardcore introduced “self found” mode so you can prove you’re a step above the average hardcore survivor.

Hardcore for all your… something… needs

Self found mode restricts your character from using the auction house, recieving in-game mail, or trading with other players so that you can prove the purity of your efforts.

If you decide you have made a horrible mistake in choosing that mode, you can turn it off.  But once turned off, it can never be restored.

Read all about it here.

• The War Within Hero Talents Preview

I feel like I should be interested in what Blizz has going on when it comes to the next retail expansion… though I also feel like I shouldn’t care since I haven’t played since early Shadowlands… so I did poke my nose into the early look at the hero talent trees for The War Within.  So, for example, Paladins will have hero talents that work between spec pairs it seems.

This is one piece of a giant chart, let me assure you

And, at some level, “hero talents” sounds pretty cool.

But then the history of the game starts to weigh on me.  Specs and talents get thrown in the air and redone with EVERY expansion.  Nothing ever builds on the past, everything is a complete rug pull, changing up what you’ve grown used to in order to try and be fresh and new.  Also, anything with “hero” in the name is doomed to be nerfed it is as all useful.  The history of the game demands it.

Still, they have something in play.

More on that available, including large and complicated charts, here.

• Hearthstone Anniversary Rewards for WoW

Remember when Hearthstone came out… oh… ten years ago!  Yeah, back then for launch to get WoW players to try it out, they gave away the Hearthsteed.  I will admit, that was enough to bribe me to try it out.

Well, now that Hearthstone is turning ten, they are doing it again, this time offering the Fiery Hearthsteed mount to WoW players who log in between March 11 and May 14 2024.

Hearthsteed, hearthsteed, burning bright…

This reward, like the frost tabard above, is only available to be redeemed in retail WoW.  Classic players can suck it… which makes me wonder if I should bother.  Oh, who am I kidding, I do Twitch drops for games I’ll never play again, I can log into Hearthstone for this.

For all the detail about that and the Hearthstone anniversary click this link.

So it goes, here on the first day of March.  Spring is in the offing, at least here in the US, but so is Daylight Savings Time, so your mileage may vary.

Diablo 4 is coming to Game Pass this March.

Xbox's Sarah Bond made the announcement this evening, as part of the company's business update podcast.

In a follow up post on social media, Xbox said Diablo 4's upcoming Game Pass debut is part of Microsoft's "promise to offer Activision Blizzard games" on the subscription service, following its acquisition of the Diablo and Call of Duty makers last year.

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Diablo 4 is coming to Game Pass this March.

Xbox's Sarah Bond made the announcement this evening, as part of the company's business update podcast.

In a follow up post on social media, Xbox said Diablo 4's upcoming Game Pass debut is part of Microsoft's "promise to offer Activision Blizzard games" on the subscription service, following its acquisition of the Diablo and Call of Duty makers last year.

Read more

There’s a new Vitreous Scourge mount and Platinum currency bundle people can buy for Diablo IV, and it may call to mind the Horse Armor from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It costs $64.99 for a mount, armor for it to wear, trophies, and Platinum currency on Battle.net.

Essentially, this is a currency bundle that includes a Crystal-Clad mount and related items for it. The horse has crystal and demon bones on it, and players get immediate access to it at the Stable once they complete the “Donan’s Favor” quest. There is matching Crystal and Bone Cage armor to equip to the horse, which can be used by anyone and is also at the stable after acquiring the add-on. The two Mount Trophies Banner of Crystal and Bone and Crystal Capita also come with the pack. 

As for the Platinum included in the Vitreous Scourge mount bundle, Diablo IV players get 7,000. According to Battle.net, 5,700 Platinum costs $49.99, while 11,500 Platinum comes out to $99.99. To offer more context, the Premium Battle Pass is 1,000 Platinum, with the Accelerated version that gives an emote and 20 tier skips costing 2,800 Platinum. 

This isn’t the first time a bundle that pairs a mount with currency appeared. However, the past ones were less expensive. The Crypt Hunter Pack was $6.99 and gave people a Beginning’s End dagger, Liath Icehowl mount, Protean axe, and 800 Platinum. The $39.99 Beckoning Thunder pack offered a Fulgur's Courser mount with armor and two mount trophies for it and 1,800 Platinum. 

Diablo IV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. 

The post Activision Blizzard Selling a $65 Diablo IV Mount, and Platinum Bundle appeared first on Siliconera.

Xbox revealed its "vision for the future" today in a podcast featuring executives Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty, who did their best to articulate the path forward for the platform amid reports of plans to embrace a third-party publishing strategy.

The business update confirmed that four …

Diablo 4 is headed to Game Pass, Microsoft have announced. It'll be the first Activision Blizzard game to arrive on the subscription service since Microsoft acquired them, and it'll arrive on March 28th.

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