It’s Saturday again which means a podcast! Sadly on the WoW front things have been dead quiet, so instead we’ll talk about what WoW can learn from Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls!
It’s time for another Heroes of the Storm Shoutcast! This time we go back into the Haunted Mines!
It’s Saturday again, technical issues have been solved so it’s time for a new podcast! This week we talked about history of WoW Beta’s and their starting times, the changes to cross realming Siege of Orgrimmar and why do we still play World of Warcraft?
In a rather unexpected move blizard has now allowed players to group up for Siege of Orgrimmar Normal and Heroic crossrealm! This change is already live in the US and should go live in the other regions in the next few days.
Quote from: Blizzard
We’ve recently implemented an often requested feature to enable cross-realm raiding for Siege of Orgrimmar. Cross-realm BattleTag™ and Real ID friends can now raid together and take the fight to Garrosh on Normal or Heroic difficulty. Players will be able to earn greater rewards such as Reins of the Kor’kron War Wolf or the title of Conqueror/Liberator of Orgrimmar; both of which aren’t available to be earned within Flexible or Raid Finder difficulty.
This change is currently live.
Ion Hazzikostas (Watcher) clarified a few things:
Quote from: Blizzard
Current-tier Mythic raiding in Warlords will still be limited to players from a single server. In the meantime, though, this change may help guilds that are trying to recruit and grow in preparation for Mythic raiding.
As for realm firsts, realm firsts are guild achievements; you need to be in a guild group, which is by definition 8/10 or 20/25 members coming from a single guild on a single server. You could theoretically have a couple of guests from a different server and still claim the realm first, but ultimately 80% of the group still has to be from the same guild.
It’s Saturday again (well it was 29 minutes ago!) which means a new podcast. This week we talk about the alternate progression paths in WoD, some fun facts that were talked about in the interviews from the past weeks and the Heroes of the Storm Hero buying system. After the podcast we noticed the audio is not great in all parts, since then we have discovered one of us had a defect sound card. Sadly it was too late for this podcast, but as the static is not in the entire podcast we hope you’ll still enjoy it nonetheless. However we apologise for the parts where there is static. If you feel the static is too much but you haven’t listened to episode 25 yet, we highly recommend you check it out! You can find it here.
Blizzard seems to be getting more into the habit of making how to/tutorial videos as today they posted not one, but two videos! One on how the starting experience will be in Heroes of the Storm Alpha, and the other on how you can get the Hearthsteed. They didn’t stop there but they also posted an article on how the instant lvl 90 boost works. Check it all out below!
Quote from: Blizzard
A Character Boost can be used on any character on your Battle.net® account that isn’t already level 90—even a brand new one. The only condition is that the character must be on a Mists of Pandaria® or Warlords of Draenor® game account.
World of Warcraft®: Warlords of Draenor includes a Level 90 Character Boost for one character on the upgraded game account. If you want to purchase a Character Boost without the expansion, the service is available in the World of Warcraft Shop.
How it works
After you get a Character Boost for your account, whether it’s the boost included with Warlords of Draenor or through the World of Warcraft Shop, you’ll see the option to boost a character when you log into the game and visit your character selection screen.The Level 90 Character Boost icon will appear near the top of your character list. When you click it, the game will walk you through boosting a character and choosing their talent specialization.Note: Character Transfers will not be available to boosted characters until 72 hours after the boost. If you try to transfer a recently boosted character, you’ll see Error 20078.
After you get a Character Boost for your account, whether it’s the boost included with Warlords of Draenor or through the World of Warcraft Shop, you’ll see the option to boost a character when you log into the game and visit your character selection screen.The Level 90 Character Boost icon will appear near the top of your character list. When you click it, the game will walk you through boosting a character and choosing their talent specialization.Note: Character Transfers will not be available to boosted characters until 72 hours after the boost. If you try to transfer a recently boosted character, you’ll see Error 20078.
What you get
Gear, Gold, and BagsAfter boost a character to 90, they’ll receive a set of spec-appropriate gear, a set of bags, and some gold to get started. Any gear the character already had will be moved to their bags. If there isn’t enough space in their bags, their old gear will be mailed to them instead.Professions
Gear, Gold, and BagsAfter boost a character to 90, they’ll receive a set of spec-appropriate gear, a set of bags, and some gold to get started. Any gear the character already had will be moved to their bags. If there isn’t enough space in their bags, their old gear will be mailed to them instead.Professions
| Character Armor Class | Professions Granted |
|---|---|
| Cloth | Enchanting Tailoring |
| Leather/Mail | Leatherworking Skinning |
| Plate | Blacksmithing Mining |
If the character is at least level 60 before the boost, their primary professions and First Aid will be leveled up to rank 600. Other secondary professions will not be affected. If the character doesn’t have primary professions, they’ll be given class-appropriate professions according to the table on the right. Characters who receive this profession boost will need to learn recipes from a profession trainer in-game.
If the character you choose to boost is not at least level 60, their professions will not be boosted.
Mounts and Riding Skill
Boosted characters will receive all riding skills up to Artisan (up to 280% flying speed) and all regional riding skills up to Pandaria (Cold Weather Flying, Flight Master’s License, etc.).
If your Battle.net account doesn’t have any flying mounts, your boosted character will receive their faction’s basic flying mount (gryphon for Alliance, wyvern for Horde).
What happens next
Your character will be moved to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms in Pandaria and their action bar will be populated with the most essential skills for their class and spec. When the boost is done processing, they will be ready to play immediately.
If you’re a returning player, welcome back! We have guides available for new, returning, and veteran players alike who want to know more about World of Warcraft:
Customer Support
Please be careful when you select a character to boost. Level 90 Character Boosts are irreversible. Once a boost is complete, Customer Support will not assist with altering anything relating to the boost.
Blizzard came out with a blogpost today giving a lot of details on how you’ll be able to play and unlock heroes in the upcoming Heroes of the Storm game.
Quote from: Blizzard
We recently announced the upcoming Technical Alpha for Heroes of the Storm, and in the meantime we wanted to dig into the details surrounding our current plans for heroes, skins, mounts, our experience and progression system, and more!
Heroes and Gold
In Heroes of the Storm, you’ll be able to take control of a variety of powerful heroes from across Blizzard’s expansive universes. These heroes can be obtained in a variety of ways.
If you’re itching to try out a new hero or wreak havoc with a familiar favorite, each week you’ll have the option to choose from five heroes that will be freely available in our weekly hero rotation. Once you accumulate enough experience and reach Level 7, you’ll also unlock an additional weekly hero rotation slot, giving you a total of six free heroes to choose from each week. The hero rotations are updated every Tuesday, so make sure to check-back often to see which weekly heroes are available for free-play.
If you’re interested in adding a hero to your arsenal permanently, you’ll also be able to purchase heroes using a currency called gold which you’ll be able to earn by completing in-game objectives. Players will unlock the ability to start earning gold at Level 5, and you will be awarded more of this valuable currency as you level up, as well as for completing Daily Quests, which are unlocked at Level 6.
Whether or not a hero is currently on rotation, you’ll also be able to take them out for a test drive using our “Try Me” system. This system allows you to test out individual heroes on a closed custom map where you can try out different abilities and talents at your leisure, away from the non-stop action of regular games. You’ll be able to toggle minions and bots, refresh forts, repick Heroic Abilities, and clear cooldowns to your heart’s content, which should give you a good feel of what to expect when you take your favorite heroes out onto the field of battle.
If you’re eager to unlock a hero, you’ll also be able to purchase one with real money. Additionally, players whopre-order Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will be granted a future unlock of Valla the Demon Hunter at no additional cost.
Skins and Tints
If a plethora of iconic Blizzard characters wasn’t enough, you will also be able to unlock and purchase a variety of custom appearances that will help you stand out among friend and foe and infuse your personal flavor into the Nexus universe.
Each skin, including a hero’s starting skin, will have at least two additional tints available, for a total selection of three or more available tints per skin. A hero’s original tint is immediately available, and each of the two additional tints can be unlocked for individual heroes through Hero Quests. The first unlockable tint is awarded after completing an individual hero’s second Hero Quest, and the second unlockable tint is awarded after completing an individual hero’s fourth Hero Quest.
While each hero will have a free base skin associated with it, there will also be a variety of exciting additional skins available for each hero! These skins can be obtained in several ways. Some can be purchased with real money, and going forward we plan to not only give away skins at events, but we also intend to eventually award an additional skin for heroes after players have completed an individual hero’s sixth Hero Quest.
Like a hero’s original color tint, each skin’s two additional tints can be unlocked for individual heroes through Hero Quests.
Mounts
Eager for a little extra speed? Our fresh take on the team brawler also includes a mount system that is a sure-fire way to get you where you need to go in the Nexus. A variety of exciting mounts will be available to players to customize their look as they charge into the fray of battle, or chase down that fleeing enemy hero.
Each mount will include at least three available tints. The first is immediately available, and the remaining two tints will be unlocked for individual heroes after completing their fifth Hero Quest. All players will start with a free horse mount, and additional mounts can be purchased with real money. In addition, a unique mount will also be given as a reward to players who make a real money purchase during the Alpha and Beta phases of testing.
Experience and Progression
As you can see, increasing your overall Level carries with it some great perks, such as being able to earn gold, which enables you to unlock heroes and work towards completing their individual Hero Quests, which in-turn awards you with unlockable skins and tints.
You will be able to increase your Level by earning experience, and there are a number of ways to do so. Each time you play a game of Heroes of the Storm, you’ll have the ability to earn experience based on your achievements in-game, as well as a win bonus for players of the winning team, and a friend bonus that is granted when you are teaming up with your Battle.net friends.
Players will also be able to gain experience by completing quests. Daily quests are unlocked at Level 6, and from that point onward, players will be able to get one daily quest per day, and they will have the option of having up to a maximum of three daily quests active in their log at any given time.
In addition to completing daily quests for bonus experience, players will also be able take up the challenge and embark on Hero Quests, which are unlocked at Level 10 and 20. The first set of these quests, unlocked at Level 10, will allow players to dig into individual heroes and complete a series of three Basic Hero Quests (Hero Quests 1, 2, and 3). After reaching Level 20, players will be able to progress their individual characters through a series of Epic Hero Quests (Hero Quests 4, 5, and 6). Keep in mind that completing Hero Quests will not only award you with experience, but completing specific Hero Quests will also unlock additional ways to further customize the appearance of your favorite heroes and mounts this side of Azeroth, the Koprulu Sector, Sanctuary, and beyond!
We’re excited for the months ahead, and we hope you enjoyed this first look into our current plans for heroes, skins, mounts, and our experience and progression system in Heroes of the Storm! Please keep in mind that as Heroes of the Storm is still under development, our plans may evolve as the game moves towards release, and we’ll be sure to share additional details with you as they become available.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Technical Alpha, please make sure to check out our FAQ.
The most interesting information from this post is that you’ll earn extra experience if you play with friends. Which is similar to the bonus valor points (if they stick) blizzard talked about implementing in heroic dungeons in Warlords of Draenor. Showing a push in company philosophy to get players to be social and play with others (Diablo 3 already has this where you get extra experience and magic/gold find by grouping up with others).
Blizzard design philosophy aside it looks like they’ll go for more of a League of Legends approach to playing with heroes than a DotA 2 approach, where you can play each hero no matter what.