Forever Begins Now (Part 1) - Ep 46

SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU

Show Notes

Honestly, I can’t even with the show notes this episode, partly from exhaustion, partly from the fact that the new production process to create video does not easily offer up the info for timestamps. Hopefully that will return soon.

Welcome to Episode 46!

Video. Solo Queue hits video.

“What have you done lately?”

A bunch of stuff, actually.

• Warcraft 3
• Just a little Diablo 3
• Prey system in Retail
• I streamed on Twitch for the first time!
• 1.5 story content and the raid
• My thoughts on the events of the raid and cinematic – SPOILER WARNING HERE
• Labyrinths
• Talebound beta

And just before I could get to Forever, I listened to my lovely and supportive wife and cut this episode in two parts because editing the first video episode was taking forever. More to come.

Outro

• Thanks to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, Podbean for hosting the show, and YOU for listening.
• Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow
• Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Metacognition, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Pasta Matt, Luch, Rak, NotSoSlimJim, and Krucifix!
• And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, AehanNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Eric, Wednesday, Case, TJ, Denethar, TheChampz, Michelle, Donald, AggroManagement, Brian, William, Uihu, and welcome to Bob, Matthew, Willis, Aaron, Greyborn Herc, and Taco Makes Noods!
• Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue.
• You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. I am @sweeperdave on Discord (and also Twitch…) where you can join the Solo Queue Discord channel.

“I will see you out there."

I Didn’t Know I Needed Blizzcon - Ep 45

SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU

Show Notes

Welcome to Episode 45! – 2:03 Let’s just get to Blizzcon stuff.

News – 8:03 Blizzard news is dominated by Blizzcon announcements and the follow-up announcements. Here are the non-Warcraft announcements in order of how they affect me multiplied by their hype factor. Then we get into the good stuff.

Overwatch Reveal – 16:54 I am not an Overwatch person. They announced a new somebody after a cool cinematic. Don’t ask me the name of the hero.

Heroes of the Storm Reveal – 18:22 You can ask me the name of the new hero in HotS, it’s Xal’atath! With another on the horizon, HotS is back!

Hearthstone Reveal – 23:30 Hearthstone was my entry to Blizzard games. There is a new expansion coming soon diving back into the Black Empire. Also, I invent my second Blizzard game in back-to-back episodes—Hearthstone Classic! Who’s with me?!

Diablo Reveals – 29:10 Never really played Diablo, but with a Netflix show and an intriguing announcement of Diablo V, I’m open, or will be in 2029 when it arrives.

Starcraft Reveal – 35:27 Also not a Starcraft player, but dude…did you see that cinematic?! An open-world, story-driven shooter game just might pull me into the SC universe.

Retail WoW Reveals – 49:12 All of the news related to the five remaining patches coming in Midnight.

12.2 news – 49:44

12.2.5 news – 1:02:53

12.2.7 news – 1:04:57

12.1.5 news – 1:06:04

12.1.7 news – 1:06:58

Talebound Game Mode – 1:07:12 New standalone game mode that is definitely not Plunderstorm. Looking forward to this as a solo player!

Next Remix is…Wrath! – 1:13:33 Not Shadowlands, we are heading back to Northrend to speedrun it all before the story returns to Northrend for The Last Titan.

The Last Titan Teaser – 1:14:56 Slightly unexpected and thin on any details, this brief cinematic definitely teases what’s on the horizon. Giant titan robots.

Warcraft III…What? – 1:22:22 An expansion for what now? The new campaigns added to Warcraft III give us insight into the fall of Lorderon and set up the story at the opening of the next new way to play World of Warcraft…

WoW Forever! – 1:28:43 Finally, we put the moniker “Classic+” to bed once and for all. WoW Forever has enchanted a large portion of the WoW player base and this is only beta. Launch is November 4. So excited for this sweet spot combination of Classic and Retail, possibly greater than the sum of its parts.

So, What is the Character Limit in WoW Forever? – 1:58:40 There are 52 possible combinations of race and class in WoW Forever as of the beta. Does the character limit allow you to try them all? At this moment, yes! Seems the cap is 70, just like Retail.

“What have you done lately?” – 2:05:18 A little bit of my bumping around in retail and switching the main back to feral druid for the rest of Midnight and beyond.

Main Topic – Highlights of My Blizzcon! – 2:13:26 Talking through my own experiences with the people I met at Blizzcon!

Closing Thoughts – 2:39:21 What Blizzcon meant to me. Go figure, set the announcements and the decorations and the hype aside. Blizzcon is about the community and the people you know or are about to know. I fully intend to return. And if you need to know someone at Blizzcon before you commit to going, I will be that person. And, a couple of changes coming to the show, the kind that might make it more interesting to watch on YouTube. Stay tuned.

Outro – 2:24:51 • Thanks to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, Podbean for hosting the show, and YOU for listening. • Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow • Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Metacognition, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak! • And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, AehanNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Eric, Wednesday, Case, TJ, Denethar, TheChampz, Michelle, Donald, AggroManagement, Brian, William, Uihu, and welcome to Bob, Matthew, Willis, Aaron, Greyborn Herc, and Taco Makes Noods! • Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. • You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. I am @sweeperdave on Discord (and also Twitch…) where you can join the Solo Queue Discord channel.

“I will see you out there."

Going to California With a Blizzcon in My Heart - Ep 44

SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU

Show Notes

Welcome to Episode 44! – 5:23

Summer is at a close. There is a buzz in the land. The fog of the Coiled Isle has lifted. The Blizzcon stage is set. The Race to World First is reaching its crescendo. And I managed to kill my first Delve Nemesis. Also, sorry to Spotify listeners who got two versions of Episode 43 or was missing the episode altogether. On the other side of the ledger, Solo Queue hit an all-time high ranking of #79 on the Apple videogame podcast charts!

News – 20:52

• 1 content and Season 2 are live, including beloved Story Mode
• Race to World First update, followed by numerous updates throughout the episode (be sure to listen through the end credits)
• 1.5 is on the PTR, but no official news yet, which I find nice
• Blizzcon 2026 is coming!

“What Have You Done Lately?” – 33:36

I actually killed Nullaeus in the final day of Season 1! Add-on troubles at 12.1 launch. And the first thing I did? Take a level 44 Undead Warlock to 55 because. In the Barber Shop, I saw the Azure Somnowl druid flight form and immediately headed to Amirdrassil to hunt it down! Neighborhood activities are a bit of a chore. Not awful, but…

Playing 12.1 – 54:45

I am digging the storytelling methods employed in 12.1, including the flashbacks used with Nek’zali and Valeera. One suggestion from the SQ Developer Bench for identifying the abilities when playing as a different NPC in game. Zone music is great. The Vaults are dangerous. I appreciate the lore connections being established on the Cursed Isle.

Side Quest – Boss Encounter Design – 1:33:24

YouTube channel of @Candlesan is Wyatt Cheng, Senior Design Director at Second Dinner and former Blizzard game designer. The video “How I Designed Patchwerk the Naxxramas Boss” is the one that caught my eye. He has others on WoW design and other game design as well. Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b2Jw4rsbnpk

Main Topic – Blizzcon 2026! – 1:38:02

September 12-13 is the height of hype in the Warcraft and Blizzard world! My thoughts on possible announcements, things I’m hoping for, what I would like to see in Classic+ (and why I cannot wait to stop calling it that), and a bold prediction of a brand new IP. I will be there and will post updates of my trip to the Solo Queue Discord. If you want to meet up, reach out by socials or Discord or email or something. I hope to literally see you out there…in Anaheim!

Outro – 2:24:51

• Thanks to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, Podbean for hosting the show, and YOU for listening.
• Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow
• Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Metacognition, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak!
• And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, AehanNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Eric, Wednesday, Case, TJ, Denethar, TheChampz, Michelle, Donald, AggroManagement, Brian, William, and Uihu!
• ONE FINAL RtWF UPDATE CRAMMED IN HERE! DON’T MISS IT!
• Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue.
• You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. I am @sweeperdave on Discord where you can join the Solo Queue Discord channel.
• If you are attending Blizzcon, reach out. I would love to say hi to you.

“I will see you out there (maybe even in Anaheim)."