Blizzcon is back after a four-year hiatus. And with it, Blizzard Entertainment came out swinging. While Starcraft and some other relegated Blizzard properties got sidelined this year, at least they got some acknowledgments. The biggest Opening Ceremony also had the biggest reveals for Blizzcon 2023. For Diablo, Overwatch, and especially Warcraft fans 2023 was a big year for all kinds of new things coming. Here were the biggest announcements and reveals from the Blizzcon 2023 opening ceremony.
Overwatch 2 – Meet Mauga
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Overwatch 2 revealed its next tank hero, Mauga. Mauga is Samoan and comes packed with two massive machine guns set to tear through the enemy team’s front lines. Each of Mauga’s machineguns have their own specialty, like Gunny focusing on incendiary ammo and “Cha-Cha” landing lots of critical hits. Mauga also comes with lots of unique abilities including a crowd-control-proof charge called “Overrun”, and his ultimate ability called “Cage Fight” where he traps enemies and allies in a field that cannot be penetrated by outside heals or damage, and everyone gets unlimited ammo”. Mauga joins the Overwatch 2 hero roster on December 5th along with Season 8.
In addition to the next new hero, we also got looks at two of the three new heroes coming in 2024, a new damage hero called “Venture”, and a support hero codenamed “Space Ranger”. Next year Hanamura is getting a new sister-map called Hanaoka for its new game mode “Clash”. “Clash” will be a new five-point capture map where teams fight over five different areas over the course of the match, with the goal being to either capture every point or hit the score limit. Blizzard also confirmed new cross-promotional events, similar to the One-Punch Man event will be coming next year, and new seasons that will put new twists on the roster and the story.
Diablo IV – Devling into the Forsest
Diablo IV was the sole focus of Diablo’s section this year. For the main game, many major quality-of-life updates have been and are being implemented. Including faster leveling, more impactful gear, gems FINALLY becoming a crafting material to free up inventory space, and an enchanting window that will show what enchants are possible for a piece of gear before you spend gold on it. Diablo 4 will also be getting its first seasonal event, “Midnight Blight” on December 12th, turning its snowy zone into a winter hellscape full of holiday fears.
The biggest reveal was Vessel of Hatred, the first expansion for Diablo IV. This will continue our chase after Mephisto to Diablo 2‘s zone of Nahantua, a foresty zone full of pyramids and mysteries. This is coming Late 2024, and will not only bring a new zone but a brand-new class that has never been seen before in the Diablo universe.
Warcraft- The Trifecta of Reveals
Warcraft definitely had the biggest focus this Blizzcon with major updates and reveals for all three of its pillars. Hearthstone is getting a new western-themed expansion called Showdown in the Badlands and will be introducing catch-up packs for all new and returning players for everyone to quickly get caught up on allowable cards. Hearthstone’s spin-off, Hearthstone Battlegrounds is getting a two vs. two mode so you can play with friends. Warcraft Rumble is officially out, and with it, we got a look at its new figure, Sylvanas, and its co-op mode, raids.
World of Warcraft had a lot of major reveals. World of Warcraft Classic kicked off the long-running MMO’s reveals with the reveal of World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic, the re-release of the third expansion that brought along changes to Azeroth. World of Warcraft Classic proper is also getting a major update in the Season of Discovery on November 30th. Season of Discovery will introduce a new way to play with a level cap of 25 and bending how classes played, like playing a tanking Warlock or a Mage healer, all capping off with a raid to try out these new spins. The level cap will increase over time with new content as well.
World of Warcraft retail ended Blizzcon with the reveal of not one, but three expansions under its new World Soul Saga that is poised to tie up what we’ve been fighting for over the first twenty years of the game. We got brief summaries of the second and third expansions, Midnight and The Last Titan, with each taking us to an old zone like Quel’Thalas and Northrend respectively to reunify the night elves and delve deep into a conspiracy about the true goals of the Titans. The next immediate expansion is World of Warcraft: The War Within, where we dive into the subterranean depths of Azeroth to fight the shadows including the newest enemy, Xal’atath. This next expansion will also come with lots of new features like four new zones, Azj-Kahet, and Hallowfell with Anduin, Alleria, and Thrall. Accounts will get an overhaul with Warbands which will let you share reputation and banks between characters. Every class will also get classic twists with new Hero Talents. The War Within comes Fall 2024 to kick off the next era of World of Warcraft.
Stay tuned to But Why Tho? for all kinds of Blizzcon 2023 reveals, news, including interviews with developers and hands-on opportunities of the newest reveals.
