There are some one-of-a-kind minds on the Hearthstone dev team. These are the folks who spent hours arguing about the number of holes in a straw, came up with a Battlecry that reads "wish for the perfect card", and orchestrated a rambunctious pep rally, complete with banners and gladiatorial chants, for their favorite Rastakhan’s Rumble teams.

Over the years the devs have come up with multitudinous ways to shenaniganize the tavern, and many of their concoctions are now only playable in Wild. Just in time for the Wild Bundle, we asked a selection of Hearthstone developers for their favorite card outside Standard—but like the Choose One keyword, sometimes it’s difficult to pick just one.

Dean Ayala, Lead Card Designer

Dean Ayala,...

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Every week when players log in to Overwatch, it should feel fresh and different.

That’s the dream Principal Game Designer Scott Mercer has for Overwatch—and, starting in Competitive Season 21, it’ll become a reality. With the introduction of Hero Pools, a rotation curated by the Overwatch team will be available in Competitive Play, and one tank, one support, and two damage heroes will be unavailable from the roster each week with the intent to keep the meta fresh and encourage hero diversity in matches.

Interested in the philosophy behind the newest change to Competitive play? Mercer provided some insight into how Hero Pools will shake things up in Season 21.

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Where did the concept of Hero Pools come from?

Scott Mercer: We get feedback from our players about how the meta doesn’t change often enough. Especially at the highest ranks of the game, like Master and Grandmaster, we’ve seen the meta become mor...

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Below you will find the final patch notes for the most recent update for Diablo III, Patch 2.6.8. Changes specifically from the last version of the PTR have been highlighted in RED.

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Last updated February 28 @ 10:00 a.m. PST.

Below you will find the patch notes for the most recent update for Diablo III, Patch 2.6.8.

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PATCH 2.6.8

Table of Contents:

• General
• Seasons
• ...

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Do you have what it takes to be a champion? It’s time to get your best crew together and sign up for the Arena World Championship (AWC) or Mythic Dungeon International (MDI) to test your mettle against the best of the best the world (of Warcraft) has to offer.

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Mythic Dungeon International

The Mythic Dungeon International (MDI) is making its return with a new dungeon and a new Affix to challenge competitors and put them through their paces. Gather your best dungeon runners and sign up today on Battlefy.

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Arena World Championship

We’re shaking things up for ...

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N’Zoth’s corruption is spreading across Azeroth, but with the legendary cloak— Ashjra’kamas, Shroud of Resolve—you can save your sanity and fight against the darkness. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, we’ve put together a simple step-by-step guide to help.

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1. Accept the starting quest “Return of the Black Prince” (Horde) or “An Unwelcome Advisor” (Alliance). You should receive this quest automatically if you meet the criteria.*
2. Meet with Magni in the Chamber of Heart to continue the introductory quest line.
3. Go with Magni into the Halls of Origination in Uldum and complete the challenge that awaits.
4. Meet with King Phaoris in Ramkahen and complete an Assault in Uldum.
5. Meet with Magni Bronzebeard in the Chamber of Heart and then speak with Wrathion about your new corrupt item to as a part of the quest Curious Corruption.
6. Speak with MOTHER about your corrupt item to unlock Titanic Pu...

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Before you looms a gateway to an untold land, minded by towering watchers who regard you from their pedestals with malevolence. Drawn by the call of the unknown, you steel yourself and pass through the portal, ready to explore this boundless world of magic and monsters.

World of Warcraft Classic returns you to a lost era of war and exploration, where you can enjoy a dynamic, immersive world filled with kindred adventurers all seeking to overcome the challenges that face them and make names for themselves as champions of Azeroth.

Ready to play? Here are some tips to get you started.

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Your Realm and You

Finding the right realm to suit your playstyle is the first step in beginning your Classic journey. While logging in and being faced with a slew of nigh-incomprehensible names might be daunting at first, understanding acronyms is key to settling on the realm you’ll call home.

• Nor...

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Table of Contents

Introduction to Quarterly Updates
Luis Barriga, Game Director

UI Design, Controller Support, and Co-Op
Angela Del Priore, Lead UI Designer

Monster Family & Design Highlight: Cannibal Tribes
Candace Thomas, Senior Encounter Designer

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Hello, and welcome to the new blog secti...

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2020 Ladder Season 1 brings new 1v1 and Team maps to ladder!

These maps will be available for playtesting or exploration in the Custom Games section of Multiplayer today. Below are some descriptions from the creators of the maps. Please click on the images to see the detailed views.

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Marras: “The map has 16 blue bases, two of which have a single Rich Vespene Geyser. The average rush distance is 37 seconds. There are rocks in the middle path and on the ramp leading into ...

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Jeff Kaplan and Michael Heiberg are debating the relative popularity of ice cream flavors.

“I always thought chocolate was the flavor everybody would like most,” says Kaplan, Overwatch’s game director.

Heiberg, a principal game designer, shakes his head. “Statistically, vanilla is more popular.”

“All right, so—statistically, vanilla is the flavor,” says Kaplan. “People have a propensity toward certain ice cream flavors, just like they do toward roles in Overwatch.”

They’re trying to explain how they came up with the Triple Damage (one tank, three damage, two support) team composition set to be tested in Overwatch’s new Experimental mode. It’s a significant change, and the team isn’t sure how it’s going to work out, but that’s the beauty of Experimental mode: allowing players across all platforms to test the dev team’s wildest ideas without leaving the client. 

Kaplan and Heiberg laid out the full ...

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Grab your beads and join the bacchanalia now through March 9 to earn unique, Mardi Gras-inspired rewards. Laissez les bons temps rouler! 

From now until March 9, players will be able to earn two limited-time player icons, 7 sprays, and the epic Mardi Gras Ashe skin, for a total of 10 new rewards.

• GET IN THERE - Learn how to unlock brand new Ashe rewards
• WATCH TO EARN – Earn special Ashe-themed cosmetics by watching Twitch streams
• COURTESY OF THE DEADLOCK GANG - Learn more about Ashe merchandise

GET IN THERE

Don your purple, green, and gold, and enjoy the celebration with special Mardi Gras content available to unlock in-game. Wins in Quick Play, Competitive Play, or Arcade will all earn you two limited-time player icons, a spray, and a new epic skin: Mardi Gras Ashe!

These speci...

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After careful consideration of the ongoing coronavirus, we have decided to relocate Masters Tour Indonesia to Los Angeles. We decided to make this move to protect the health and safety of our players, staff and everyone involved with the Masters Tour. We’re sad we won’t be able to hold the event as originally planned, but the safety of all participants is our top priority.

To acknowledge the incredible hard work of the players that earned an invite to Masters Tour Indonesia, we are excited to hold the second Masters Tour of 2020 at NGE Studios in Los Angeles, on March 20-22. Blizzard Entertainment and NGE Studios are inviting over 300 ...

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GENERAL

• War Chest 5 Skin Bundles are now available for purchase.
  • Terran Tyrador Units Bundle
  • Zerg Cerberus Units Bundle
  • Protoss Ihan-rii Units Bundle
• All previous War Chest skin set bundles have been made available for purchase in the Featured section of Collection.
  • Terran Special Forces Units Bundle
  • Terran Mira’s Marauders Units Bundle
  • Terran Umojan Units Bundle
  • Terran Special Forces Structures Bundle
  • Zerg Leviathan Brood Units Bundle
  • Zerg Primal Units Bundle
  • Zerg Simulant Units Bundle
  • Zerg Simulant Structures Bundle
  • Protoss Forged Units Bundle
  • Protoss Purifier Units Bundle
  • Protoss Golden Age Units Bundle
  • Protoss Forged Structures Bundle
• War Chest 5 “Classic” unit skins have now been made available for purchase.
  • Classic Marine
  • Cl...

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At Blizzard, we make games to bring people together, and yet it’s still such a wonderful surprise to learn of the players who stay together. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, we interviewed a couple of couples who decided to make their two-stack life-long after finding each other through Overwatch.

Katja and Chris

After a rough breakup, Katja truly believed she would never find a romantic partner again. Then she met her future husband, Chris, on a fan-art Twitch stream. Katja, born and raised in Germany, says she was brought to that particular stream because the artist was painting her favorite hero, McCree (who she has 600 hours of playtime on), in his 2017 Halloween Terror event skin: Van Helsing.

Katja talked to Chris for the very first time on that Twitch stream, and joined the artist’s Discord server afterward to continue talking to him. What made Chris stand out, Katja says, was how kind he was on an internet that wasn’t always so friendly...

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Arm your photon cannons, stack up your spider mines, and sharpen your zergling claws. StarCraft: Remastered Season 6 begins today, with an updated map pool and new rewards to earn on the ladder.    

Ranking reset and new rewards

You’ll need to complete five placement matches to see where you stand. For the first two weeks, ranks will be based off the previous season’s Matchmaking Rating (MMR) ranges. After that, we’ll move to a percentage-based system, as outlined below.  

• S – Top 1% 
• A – 7% 
• B – 21%
• C – 21%
• D – 21%
• E – 21%
• F – 8%

Your valiance in battle will not go unnoticed. Four earth-shaking Ultralisk portraits are available to those who distinguish themselves on the ladder, including an animated portrait for those who make it all the way to S-Rank.   

...

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As the final season of Battle for Azeroth gets underway, we’re planning something truly spectacular for 2020 with some of the largest LANs we’ve ever held. The Mythic Dungeon International and the Arena World Championship are both bound to provide some of our best esports action yet.

The Big Change

World of Warcraft Esports is moving to YouTube! This means that all the content for the Mythic Dungeon International and Arena World Championship—our live broadcasts and our VODs—will be hosted on the same great platform to make it easier for esports fans to watch.

Tune into our MDI broadcasts starting April 11^th here: ...

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The latest WoW Classic update includes the addition of the Blackwing Lair raid dungeon, new reputation rewards, new class quests, and more.

Blackwing Lair

Delve into the dark recesses of Blackrock Mountain to uncover the dark secrets waiting in this 40-player raid dungeon—for fame and glory! [Learn More] 

Class Quests and New Reputation Rewards

With the latest update to WoW Classic, players can earn new reputation rewards and take on a class quest chain leading into the dark passages of The ...

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Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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Quick Navigation:

• Heroes
• Bug Fixes

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Heroes

TANK	...

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In the dark recesses of Blackrock Mountain’s peak, Nefarian, the eldest son of Deathwing, conducts some of his most awful experimentation, controlling mighty beings like puppets and combining the eggs of different dragonflights with horrific results. Should he prove successful, even darker pursuits rest on the horizon.

The ominous depths of Blackwing Lair are waiting for those brave enough to face its dangers. Gather your staunchest allies and prepare to undertake a treacherous journey into the heart of the mountain to reap the treasures within.

Raid Bosses: 8
Level: 60
Location: Burning Steppes

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How to Get There

Blackwing Lair is located at the very height of Blackrock Spire. You can enter the mountain from either the Burning Steppes or through Searing Gorge.

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Getting Attuned...

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With the latest update to WoW Classic, players can earn new reputation rewards and take on a class quest chain leading into the dark passages of the Temple of Atal’Hakkar.

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Earn New Reputation Rewards

With the latest update, players will be able to earn new reputation rewards with the Argent Dawn, Timbermaw Hold, Thorium Brotherhood, Silverwing Sentinels, and Warsong Outriders.

• Argent Dawn
• Silverwing Sentinels (Alliance)
• ...

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World of Warcraft Classic provides players the opportunity to delve into a faithful recreation of the original WoW® experience, but no one needs to go it alone. We’ve gathered together some of the best resources from around the community to help.

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World of Warcraft Official Site News and Forums

Stay on top of all the official World of Warcraft Classic news by visiting the official site using the ...

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