Watching Blizzard: Friday, Friday… (Patreon)

With apologies to those of you who now have that song stuck in their heads, let’s take a look back at the news of the week.

Before the Storm is due out next week!

• The novel leading us into Battle for Azeroth is nearly here, and we have an excerpt and a spoiler-free review for you to enjoy.
• If you haven’t pre-ordered it yet, you can snag a digital or physical copy from Amazon.

Have you booked your Battle for Azeroth time off yet?

• You may have to change it, because the game will launch in all regions world-wide at the same time. That means a slightly earlier launch in North America, where it will go live at 3pm PDT on August 13. Maybe you can take off early that day?

All things beta

• This week, our beta tourist trip continued through Dazar’alor, visiting Halls of Strength, Ritual, and Terrace of Crafters as well as the Zocalo and finally some of the more conventional parts of town.
• We now know what the Kul Tiran Druid flight form is. Which is to say it is amazing.
• There is D&D in Warcraft. You heard it here first. (Or maybe you heard it somewhere else first. That’s okay too.)

Soon you’ll be able to do the Mage Tower challenge whenever you want to

• With only a few weeks until the Battle for Azeroth pre-patch, Blizzard is tweaking the challenge so you’ll have more chances to complete it.
• Still trying to get your challenge appearance? We have a few tips to help out.

I want this unicorn. No, I need it.

• Blizzard changed the reward for getting 100 exalted reputations to a beautiful white unicorn. It’s just a recolor, but it’s a pretty stunning recolor.

New stuff coming to your (other) favorite games

• Yrel is joining the Nexus lineup in Heroes of the Storm. And, yes, she can bubblehearth.
• Symmetra 2.0… or is it 3.0 now?… is now live on the Overwatch PTR, and she can throw turrets from the moon all the way to earth, which is pretty awesome.

Want to rack up some Hearthstone wins this month? How about get some free cards?

• If you’re in need of some wins, we’ve put together a list of the most successful decks in the game’s new meta.
• There’s also been some drama around the recent nerf — and subsequent un-nerf — of Tess Greymane. And the drama has overshadowed the really important stuff happening in Hearthstone: namely, that Toki is taking over the Arena next week and we’re all getting a free golden pack. Woohoo!

This week in lore

• Rossi talks about the rise of the Arathi Empire (look for more of the story next week) and Anne contemplates the undiscovered continents of Azeroth.

Could Blizzard take on Steam?

• Adam has an op-ed on how Blizzard could step up and show some moral leadership in gaming just as Valve is stepping down.

Looking for something to do this weekend?

• Running of the Trolls, benefiting the Trevor Project, starts this Saturday at 6pm PDT on Feathermoon-US.
• And if you’re still trying to get your Violet Spellwing, the Perky Pugs are doing a 24 hours of free Spellwing runs — and they’re already happening. Check out the details and jump on to Twitch to join the fun.
• While Blizzard probably won’t be making an appearance, the E3 press conferences are kicking off this weekend. Here’s the schedule if you want to watch live.

We are definitely not holding our breath for a Diablo 4 announcement at E3

• Sure, sure, the Diablo team is hiring, but that doesn’t mean they’re actually doing anything.

And that’s all for this week. Until next week, this is Liz, signing out.