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)."

Shieldwalled Off Cooldown, Part 2 with Jason Lucas! - Ep 43

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

Show Notes

Welcome to Episode 43! – 1:22

A few news updates and then back into the conversation with Jason Lucas.

News – 3:48

• We got word that Décor Duals will get some feature changes, but only until it gets removed when 12.1 arrives spurring my own speculation of the fate of other possible game systems with a similar style of name.
• The M+ cheating scandal gives Blizzard a funny opportunity next April.
• “Legacy of Rage” comic has been released; check it and all sorts of other media out here at the WoW media page: https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/media .
• Dungeons & Dragons has embraced Azeroth with a ruleset for WoW coming in November.
• 1 launches on Tuesday with all its new content, though Season 2 begins arriving one week later on Aug. 18.

What Have You Done Lately? – 22:18

• I did earn the Spawn of Vyranoth mount for Timewalking and the Sporefall raid mount!
• Finally got a second character to level 90.
• Pandaren Heritage Armor questing completed, with a brief review here. Good story and story presentation.

SQ Development Bench – 34:05

An idea for Blizzard: characters who have something new or updated in their text dialogue box should get a visual indicator such as a yellow outline across all questing, like they did for the end of the Pandaren HA questing.

Main Topic – Part 2 with Jason Lucas – 36:30

The rest are topics and questions posed in the second half of the conversation.

10 Years Hosting TSZ – 38:11

The most consistent weekly Warcraft podcast out there, through the ups and downs.

A Solo Player Asks About Raiding – 54:25

I share my observations about raiding from a non-participant perspective and ask some whys and why nots.

Value of the Race to World First – 55:31

What is the value of the RtWF to the game? Who benefits?

Raid Difficulty Levels and Nerfing – 1:09:49

Why is there so much nerfing over the course of a season?

Social Responsibilities of a Raid Leader – 1:21:23

Leading a productive group requires some firm decisions and conversations (also known as why I don’t do group content).

Variance in Encounter Design? (He says no) – 1:29:58

Why does the boss do the same thing every time? Why not add some variance in abilities? Oh, that’s why.

Current State and Future of WoW and Azeroth – 1:37:06

Lightning Round! – 1:56:29

Closing Thoughts – 2:10:08

Outro – 2:15:11

• Big thank you to Jason Lucas for joining me for a monster conversation!
• Thanks to you, to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, 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!
• 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.
• Find me at sweeperdave on Discord and at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
• Find Jason on Twitter as @shieldwalled, on Bluesky as jlucas.bluesky.social, on Twitch.tv/shieldwalled, and on Youtube.com/shieldwalled, and of course weekly on The Starting Zone podcast.
• Behold, the Cursed Isle arrives on Tuesday (or rather, we arrive at it).

“We will see you out there."

How Do You Not Solo Interview, Part 1 with Jason Lucas! - Ep 42

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

Show Notes

Welcome to Episode 42! – 1:00

Pardon the ripoff of The Starting Zone intro, but welcome Jason Lucas to the Solo Queue Zone.

Talking Tanking – 4:13

Sure, as a solo player, I have little need for tanking, which means I don’t know much about it. Who better to ask than @Shieldwalled? What is tanking, how has it changed through the expansions, how to learn the art of tanking, and other questions.

The Move Towards Solo WoW – 42:42

Asking the commensurate group leader about the addition of features for solo play in recent years.

WoW Game Design – 50:12

More general discussion of recent features and the 8-week patch cycle.

All Things Blizzcon – 1:11:27

What we can expect at Blizzcon 2026? Will we see any mention of The Last Titan? Any advice for a first-time attendee?

What will Classic+ Be? – 1:24:26

It seems likely that whatever Classic+ is it will be front and center at Blizzcon. What will it be?

Jason’s First Blizzon – 1:37:24

Memories from Blizzcon 2015.

Intermission – 1:48:31

There is more Warcraft conversation including talking about the state of raiding, Jason’s experience co-hosting The Starting Zone for ten years, and a Lightning Round!

Outro – 1:49:47

• Big thank you to Jason Lucas for joining me for a monster conversation!
• Thanks to you, to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, 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!
• 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.
• Find me at sweeperdave on Discord and at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
• Find Jason on Twitter as @shieldwalled, on Bluesky as jlucas.bluesky.social, on Twitch.tv/shieldwalled, and on Youtube.com/shieldwalled, and of course weekly on The Starting Zone podcast.
• See you soon for part two!

“We will see you out there."

Jason Lucas will return in “Part 2: Shieldwalled Off Cooldown”