Tag Archives: World of Warcraft

Digital Playground

PC Gaming is a Gift 2023

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Introduction

You may notice the word “console” missing from the title PC Gaming is a Gift 2023. This year saw several things happen that explain that omission. First, Aiden tried to fix the XBox by soldering the HDMI port back in and ended up soldering through the motherboard. Second, I never got around to buying a PS5 as I planned. We really want to play both Spider-Man games. I also wanted to play MK1. Neither of those happened because I came to my senses and decided to wait until a price drop for the purchase. Finally, we played almost no Mario Kart this year. Liam, Quinn, my brother Tim, and I played some of the new Mario game.

However, I fixed my old gaming laptop. The charging port broke a couple of years ago. I did some research to see how tough it might be to fix it. Turns out, not difficult at all. The hardest part was that because it’s a laptop, everything it jammed in there. So, it took some finesse to fit it in properly. Other than that, though, no problem.

Train Sim World 3

One of the reasons I wanted to fix the laptop was I remembered a Humble Bundle that I purchased several years ago. It contained a train simulator game. I don’t remember the original reason I wanted to play the train sim game. However, going to Germany and seeing first hand the famous European rail system sparked something inside of me. I came home with a new appreciation for the game.

That appreciation lasted for a few months. Then, I discovered another simulation game that caught my attention. When asked the other day by one of my classes what my favorite genre of game was, I had to admit that right now I’m obsessed with simulation games. They made the usual comment that people made (in jest), “Oh, you want to play a game of something you can do in real life?” Well, not quite. I’ve never driven a train.

Euro Truck Simulator 2

I also never drove a tractor trailer through the countryside of Europe. I drove a mid size SUV through Germany. So, when I saw this game, it took me back to that trip and time. I saw things that reminded me of being in Germany. And, so, the game became like a cozy blankie for me.

I played the hell out of the game. Started in Munich and branched out slowly to the neighboring countries. Eventually, I drove across the continent, took a ferry to the UK and drove into England and Scotland. After going back to school, I got busy and neglected the game for some time. I just said to my family the other day, “I haven’t driven my truck in a while. My employees probably think I’m dead.”

The Verdict

Truly, PC gaming is a gift 2023. I also flirted again with World of Warcraft, especially after the announcement of the next series of expansions. I saw the advancement of a plan that I came up with decades ago. The USFL of the 1980s is back through my USFL Distant Replay page. We are 12 weeks into the 1984 season and looking to bring some big things for 1985 in a couple of months. Join us over there for more.

Digital Playground

Hearthstone BattleGrounds June 2020

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Introduction

I was taken by surprise by yesterday’s Hearthstone Battlegrounds June 2020 update. But, I put together a quick article with my thoughts. It was close to dinner time and then we were maybe going to go to the lake. So, I didn’t talk about the minions because there were a good amount of them being added. We didn’t end up going to the lake, but I hung out in the front yard with Quinn and his stuffed Pokemon. Therefore, I’m going to take some time this morning to give my thoughts on the minions.

Hearthstone Battlegrounds June 2020 Minions

Both of these are decent minions even without any synergy. Exactly what you want from a 1 star.

Deck Swabbie: Reducing your tier cost by 1 is huge, especially if you get it early. It’s like getting a token, but you don’t have to sell a minion to get the benefit. I think that this is going to be one of the strongest early game minions.

Scallywag: This isn’t as strong as the tier 1 murloc token because it doesn’t give the extra gold. However, 3/2 are good early game stats and trade well with almost everything.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, these are all decent to good, too. Compared to other tier 2 minions, I would not mind seeing any of these in the tavern.

Freedealing Gambler: A free 3/3 early game? Sign me up.

Southsea Captain: A bit of a whiff if you aren’t already in pirates and early game is too early to commit to a tribe of minions. This is probably the weakest of the tier 2 pirates.

Arcane Cannon: Aside from being the new tier 2 minion sure to be sniped by your opponent, this one is pretty good early game especially if you can get a token and guarantee first attack.

Monstrous Macaw: There are some decent early game deathrattles. Selfless Hero, Rat Pack, Harvest Golem, Kaboom Bot. Heck, even Ghoul is good against a low health board, but it could backfire against you, too.

The only one decent here is Yo-Ho-Ogre. The other two are too reliant on synergy.

Salty Looter: These types of minions are always a trap.

Bloodsail Canoneer: This is a strictly worse version of Deathwing’s old hero power. Hard pass unless you get it late and are already in pirates.

Yo-Ho-Ogre: This is a good card. The stat are insane. You’re virtually guaranteed to get at least 3 attacks from it. Late game, unless you get some buffs on it, it falls off, but this is a great tier 3 minion.

Tier 4 continues to be the forgotten tier of battlegrounds.

Southsea Strongarm: Stats are decent, but the battlecry is only good if you’re in pirates already.

Goldgrubber: Strictly worse Razorgore and honestly, that card isn’t all that great to begin with.

Ripsnarl Captain: Stats aren’t awful and could potentially get better. Similar to Waxrider and that card falls off quickly. I feel like this one would never get going.

Tier 5 is where you solidify or potentially shift your strategy. These achieve the first but not the second.

Seabreaker Goliath: This one might be good enough to switch strategies. I guess it depends on how sold you are on what you have and what else is offered in the pool.

Cap’n Hoggar: Reducing the cost of pirates by 1 is pretty good. It’s like having a better Millhouse power if you are offered pirates.

Nat Pagle, Extreme Angler: I don’t know what a treasure chest does. I guess I could always check out reddit, since I got my answer to the digging for a golden minion. But, I’m just not in the mood right now.

Pirates don’t have a great late game.

The Tide Razor: These deathrattle fiesta cards are either good or bad, depending on what they pull. Right now, pirates aren’t strong enough to make this card any good, in my opinon.

Dread Admiral Eliza: Buffs are good, especially if they’re repeated. But, you’d have to be deep into pirates in order for this to pay off. I guess if you’re pulling a 6 star, you very well may be. Otherwise, this plus Megasaur with no murlocs and Nadina without dragons would be a huge whiff. I get that’s a single scenario, but I guarantee I’ll get it more than once with the luck I have

The Verdict

I don’t see anything in the Hearthstone Battlegrounds June 2020 update that makes me want to play pirates. They have a good early game, a decent midgame and then seem to fall off hard in the late game. I could be wrong. Often, I am. However, it still feels like murlocs, dragons, and even mechs are much stronger tribes. Granted, this is just the introduction of pirates and they have time to adjust or add new minions. See you on the Battlegrounds!

Note: All pictures taken from the official Hearthstone patch page. Please don’t sue me Blizzard. You’ve already taken enough money from my World of Warcraft habit and various pack bundles I’ve bought in Hearthstone.

Digital Playground

Hearthstone: FelFire Festival Week 1

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Introduction

What is the Felfire Festival Week 1? Well, I’m glad you asked. I wasn’t planning on doing any Hearthstone content for the near future. That all changed when I noticed the trailer waiting on my Battlenet client. If you haven’t already, you can watch the trailer below.

I know I’m not usually in the know, but this took me completely by surprise.

If you still haven’t watched the video, what can you expect from Week 1? Well, it’s a pretty big Battlegrounds update. You may remember a couple of weeks ago that I did an article on Battlegrounds because I was semi-obsessed. Well, that semi-obsession went the way of so many of my other semi-obsessions and I haven’t played a single game of Battlegrounds in a couple of weeks. That all looks to change tomorrow. What’s in store for me? If you want to see for yourself, the patch notes are here.

New Heroes

Captain Eudora: I’m not entirely sure what “Dig for a Golden Minion” means. Okay, I just did some digging and after the fourth hero power, it adds a golden minion to the tavern. This is an interesting hero power that you can set up for over multiple turns and get the payoff when you’re at an appropriate tier for a good golden. It is also reusable, so you could conceivably get multiple minions per game. I like it. Goofy and potentially broken. Right in my wheelhouse.

Skycap’n Kragg: While I like the hero power because it basically gives you a free turn of rolls, I don’t feel like it fits the personality of the character. It’s a utilitarian power on a hero that, at least from Hearthstone, feels reckless. Even so, another fun addition.

Captain Hooktusk: Peter Pan reference aside, this one is tough to assess. Initially, I wanted to say that it is a strictly worse Malygos, which is pretty bad to begin with. And, that might prove to be true. However, the discover mechanic (which is again my favorite in all of Hearthstone), makes it less likely that you will whiff. I need to play more with the hero to see if it is any good.

Patches the Pirate: Patches used to be a hero in Battlegrounds. His hero power was terrible. Then, they might have buffed it to bring him back. But, it was still terrible. He’s back again with a completely reworked hero power and it might be slightly less terrible. With a revolving minion pool, at least you’ll be able to avoid it if pirates don’t show up at all in the pool.

New Minions

There are something like 16 or 17 new minions being added to the pool. I’m not going to go over all of them right. It is getting close to dinner and then we are going to go over to the lake after dinner. If I get around to it later, I will leave a placeholder for the other article. You can see my thoughts about the pirates here.

Other Changes

The Rat King‘s hero power will now hit random minions from the beginning instead of constantly starting on beasts. I’m not sure what this does for the hero power other than making it more random. I suppose, by default, that makes it weaker. Since there are now 6 tribes, you can whiff completely from the beginning much more regularly, it would seem. Putricide has been removed from the hero pool. No big loss there. Holy Mackerel is also out of the minion pool. While everyone agrees that Mack was, by far, the strongest minion in the pool, I will miss it. It’s a fun design that, if properly balanced, makes for cool interactions. I will miss you, little Fishman. In any case, I can’t wait to play around with the new stuff for Felfire Festival week 1 starting tomorrow!

Bye, little fish man. You will be missed.

Digital Playground

WoW: Shadowlands Trailer Reaction

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIgReSFd3ZU

Thanks for watching my WoW: Shadowlands trailer reaction video. A couple of days ago, I recorded a reaction video for the new Mortal Kombat 11 expansion, Aftermath trailer. On the same day that I got the idea to do that video, I learned that there was a trailer for the new World of Warcraft expansion.

I have a long and somewhat checkered history with World of Warcraft. I won’t admit to being addicted to the game (because that just sounds sad). However, I played a ton of WoW and my /played time on that game is rivaled only by my played time on Skyrim. I haven’t played WoW in a few years. I sometimes miss it and feel the pull back into the game, though.

My most recent character was a Tauren (not this one pictured) named Karrne, because Carne is Spanish for “beef”. Cow man, beef, get it? Yeah, not many others did either. They thought I was paying homage to the Chieftain of the Tauren, Cairne. Oh well.

And, so, that’s how I ended up watching the trailer and texting my friend, “I just watched the trailer for the new World of Warcraft expansion and I think I’m back in.” He texted back about me being back out. You know, the old Godfather quote that everyone uses. I replied, “There’s plenty of time to change my mind.”

Honestly, I don’t think that I’ll end up playing World of Warcraft again. Sure, as I’ve mentioned more than once, I do have the time to play the game. But, I don’t think that it is one of those games that I need to play anymore. I have games that I play with the boys and those are more of a priority for me.

So, will this WoW: Shadowlands trailer reaction be the first in a series of dominoes that will send me spiraling back into the game? Stay tuned to find out!