Blizzard hasn't had the best time when it comes to news lately, but Blizzcon is always sure to create a lot of buzz. In the case of last year, it wasn't so great (unless you had a phone, then it was fantastic). This year, however, is different. We've got info about Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, a new Hearthstone mode, and even some new stuff for StarCraft II.
Diablo IV
Unsurprisingly, with the leaks and rumors, Diablo IV was announced. It promises five regions to explore, multi-phase world bosses, new graphics, new story, and the gameplay many have come to love.
So far, three classes have been revealed: Barbarian, Sorceress, and Druid. Two more will be announced in the future. Barbarians have a new Arsenal system, allowing them to switch quickly between four different weapons at a time for different attacks. Druids of course make a return after their absence in Diablo III. Sorceresses, well, they blow up, freeze, burn, and obliterate their foes as usual.
As for customization, there will be talent trees and skills, legendary items, sets to collect, runs and runewords make a return, and now there are mounts to collect as you travel the world.
Diablo IV is open world and you'll run across other players as you explore. Instead of porting to the different Acts, Diablo IV is one continuous world with the Kehjistan desert, the forests of Scosglen, the wilderness of Dry Steppes, the mountainous Fractured Peaks, and the swamplands of Hawezar.
Diablo IV has no release date or window yet but is being developed for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2 was announced, and it's taking a unique approach as a sequel. First, don't worry—your skins and other cosmetics are safe and will carry over to Overwatch 2. Overwatch and Overwatch 2 will have a shared mulitplayer, meaning the original maps will still be available to sequel owners and all the time you've spent on your account will carry over.
A new hero, Sojourn, was announced but Blizzard said they aren't ready to talk about her much yet. They also said more heroes would be coming to Overwatch 2, so we'll have to wait to hear about those as well. They also said every new hero and map released for Overwatch 2 will also come to the original game as well.
A new competitive mode, Push, is coming to the game too.
The big thing that many players have asked for, however, is on the way too: story missions. Blizzard promises a robust story with story missions and hero missions that are repeatable. You'll also be able to upgrade your heroes as you go through the story.
Overwatch 2 does not have a release date yet and is being developed for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
The next expansion for World of Warcraft was announced for release next year. With it came a new cinematic featuring Slyvanas and the Lich King. As with every expansion, there's a lot of new content coming to the game, including new areas to explore.
Of the big new features, players will be able to form bonds with one of the four Covenants that rule over the Shadowlands. This will open up a Covenant Campaign unique to that group you ally yourself with, and carry with you over the expansion. As they level up, they get new abilities and grant traits and bonuses as well.
There will be the Tower of the Damned to contend with too, which is a procedural dungeon inspired by roguelikes and meant to be highly replayable.
Interestingly, there's a new leveling system as well, with players entering the Shadowlands at level 50 and working towards the new level cap of 60.
Pandaren and allied races can now be Death Knights as well. The Lich King has risen heroes from the dead from all the races, so expect to see some familiar faces return.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands releases sometime next year.
Hearthstone
The new expansion of cards, Descent of Dragons, was announced. Some cards were shown off, as well as some unique mechanics. More than that, a new mode was announced: Hearthstone Battlegrounds.
Hearthstone Battlegrounds is an autobattler in the same vein as autochess. You select a hero with a unique ability and build your team around that with the various units you'll employ on the battlefield. There will be 24 different heroes available when the beta begins on November 12th.
Starcraft II
A mighty challenge will soon be available to players as Google's DeepMind AI has beefed up some bots to play against in Starcraft II's arcade. Blizzard expects it to be an insurmountable task to beat the AI for most, with it reportedly being better than 99.8% of players. It is available to Blizzcon attendees now and will be coming to Starcraft II soon.
As Blizzcon continues, keep an eye out for a ton more details. There are panels for pretty much every game that will get into the specifics on much of what's coming soon to Blizzard's games.
