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I Didn’t Know I Needed Blizzcon - Ep 45 SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU  Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 45! – 2:03  Let’s just get to Blizzcon stuff. News – 8:03 Blizzard news is dominated by Blizzcon announcements and the follow-up announcements.  Here are the non-Warcraft announcements in order of how they affect me multiplied by their hype factor.  Then we get into the good stuff. Overwatch Reveal – 16:54 I am not an Overwatch person.  They announced a new somebody after a cool cinematic.  Don’t ask me the name of the hero. Heroes of the Storm Reveal – 18:22 You can ask me the name of the new hero in HotS, it’s Xal’atath!  With another on the horizon, HotS is back! Hearthstone Reveal – 23:30 Hearthstone was my entry to Blizzard games.  There is a new expansion coming soon diving back into the Black Empire.  Also, I invent my second Blizzard game in back-to-back episodes—Hearthstone Classic!  Who’s with me?! Diablo Reveals – 29:10 Never really played Diablo, but with a Netflix show and an intriguing announcement of Diablo V, I’m open, or will be in 2029 when it arrives. Starcraft Reveal – 35:27 Also not a Starcraft player, but dude…did you see that cinematic?!  An open-world, story-driven shooter game just might pull me into the SC universe. Retail WoW Reveals – 49:12 All of the news related to the five remaining patches coming in Midnight. 12.2 news – 49:44 12.2.5 news – 1:02:53 12.2.7 news – 1:04:57 12.1.5 news – 1:06:04 12.1.7 news – 1:06:58 Talebound Game Mode – 1:07:12 New standalone game mode that is definitely not Plunderstorm.  Looking forward to this as a solo player! Next Remix is…Wrath! – 1:13:33 Not Shadowlands, we are heading back to Northrend to speedrun it all before the story returns to Northrend for The Last Titan. The Last Titan Teaser – 1:14:56 Slightly unexpected and thin on any details, this brief cinematic definitely teases what’s on the horizon.  Giant titan robots. Warcraft III…What? – 1:22:22 An expansion for what now?  The new campaigns added to Warcraft III give us insight into the fall of Lorderon and set up the story at the opening of the next new way to play World of Warcraft… WoW Forever! – 1:28:43 Finally, we put the moniker “Classic+” to bed once and for all.  WoW Forever has enchanted a large portion of the WoW player base and this is only beta.  Launch is November 4.  So excited for this sweet spot combination of Classic and Retail, possibly greater than the sum of its parts. So, What is the Character Limit in WoW Forever? – 1:58:40 There are 52 possible combinations of race and class in WoW Forever as of the beta.  Does the character limit allow you to try them all?  At this moment, yes!  Seems the cap is 70, just like Retail. “What have you done lately?” – 2:05:18  A little bit of my bumping around in retail and switching the main back to feral druid for the rest of Midnight and beyond. Main Topic – Highlights of My Blizzcon! – 2:13:26  Talking through my own experiences with the people I met at Blizzcon! Closing Thoughts – 2:39:21 What Blizzcon meant to me.  Go figure, set the announcements and the decorations and the hype aside.  Blizzcon is about the community and the people you know or are about to know.  I fully intend to return.  And if you need to know someone at Blizzcon before you commit to going, I will be that person.  And, a couple of changes coming to the show, the kind that might make it more interesting to watch on YouTube.  Stay tuned. Outro – 2:24:51 • Thanks to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, Podbean for hosting the show, and YOU for listening.  • Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow   • Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Metacognition, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak! • And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, AehanNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Eric, Wednesday, Case, TJ, Denethar, TheChampz, Michelle, Donald, AggroManagement, Brian, William, Uihu, and welcome to Bob, Matthew, Willis, Aaron, Greyborn Herc, and Taco Makes Noods! • Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. • You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.  I am @sweeperdave on Discord (and also Twitch…) where you can join the Solo Queue Discord channel.  “I will see you out there."

Going to California With a Blizzcon in My Heart - Ep 44   SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU   Show Notes    Welcome to Episode 44! – 5:23         Summer is at a close.  There is a buzz in the land.  The fog of the Coiled Isle has lifted.  The Blizzcon stage is set.  The Race to World First is reaching its crescendo.  And I managed to kill my first Delve Nemesis.  Also, sorry to Spotify listeners who got two versions of Episode 43 or was missing the episode altogether.  On the other side of the ledger, Solo Queue hit an all-time high ranking of #79 on the Apple videogame podcast charts!   News – 20:52 1 content and Season 2 are live, including beloved Story Mode Race to World First update, followed by numerous updates throughout the episode (be sure to listen through the end credits) 1.5 is on the PTR, but no official news yet, which I find nice Blizzcon 2026 is coming!   “What Have You Done Lately?” – 33:36 I actually killed Nullaeus in the final day of Season 1!  Add-on troubles at 12.1 launch.  And the first thing I did?  Take a level 44 Undead Warlock to 55 because.  In the Barber Shop, I saw the Azure Somnowl druid flight form and immediately headed to Amirdrassil to hunt it down!  Neighborhood activities are a bit of a chore.  Not awful, but…   Playing 12.1 – 54:45 I am digging the storytelling methods employed in 12.1, including the flashbacks used with Nek’zali and Valeera.  One suggestion from the SQ Developer Bench for identifying the abilities when playing as a different NPC in game.  Zone music is great.  The Vaults are dangerous.  I appreciate the lore connections being established on the Cursed Isle.   Side Quest – Boss Encounter Design – 1:33:24         YouTube channel of @Candlesan is Wyatt Cheng, Senior Design Director at Second Dinner and former Blizzard game designer.  The video “How I Designed Patchwerk the Naxxramas Boss” is the one that caught my eye.  He has others on WoW design and other game design as well.  Check it out at:  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b2Jw4rsbnpk   Main Topic – Blizzcon 2026! – 1:38:02          September 12-13 is the height of hype in the Warcraft and Blizzard world!  My thoughts on possible announcements, things I’m hoping for, what I would like to see in Classic+ (and why I cannot wait to stop calling it that), and a bold prediction of a brand new IP.  I will be there and will post updates of my trip to the Solo Queue Discord.  If you want to meet up, reach out by socials or Discord or email or something.  I hope to literally see you out there…in Anaheim!   Outro – 2:24:51 Thanks to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, Podbean for hosting the show, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow   Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Metacognition, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak! And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, AehanNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Eric, Wednesday, Case, TJ, Denethar, TheChampz, Michelle, Donald, AggroManagement, Brian, William, and Uihu! ONE FINAL RtWF UPDATE CRAMMED IN HERE!  DON’T MISS IT! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.  I am @sweeperdave on Discord where you can join the Solo Queue Discord channel. If you are attending Blizzcon, reach out.  I would love to say hi to you. “I will see you out there (maybe even in Anaheim)."

Shieldwalled Off Cooldown, Part 2 with Jason Lucas! - Ep 43   SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU   Show Notes    Welcome to Episode 43! – 1:22         A few news updates and then back into the conversation with Jason Lucas.   News – 3:48 We got word that Décor Duals will get some feature changes, but only until it gets removed when 12.1 arrives spurring my own speculation of the fate of other possible game systems with a similar style of name. The M+ cheating scandal gives Blizzard a funny opportunity next April. “Legacy of Rage” comic has been released; check it and all sorts of other media out here at the WoW media page: https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/media . Dungeons & Dragons has embraced Azeroth with a ruleset for WoW coming in November. 1 launches on Tuesday with all its new content, though Season 2 begins arriving one week later on Aug. 18.   What Have You Done Lately? – 22:18 I did earn the Spawn of Vyranoth mount for Timewalking and the Sporefall raid mount! Finally got a second character to level 90. Pandaren Heritage Armor questing completed, with a brief review here. Good story and story presentation.   SQ Development Bench – 34:05 An idea for Blizzard: characters who have something new or updated in their text dialogue box should get a visual indicator such as a yellow outline across all questing, like they did for the end of the Pandaren HA questing.   Main Topic – Part 2 with Jason Lucas – 36:30           The rest are topics and questions posed in the second half of the conversation.   10 Years Hosting TSZ – 38:11 The most consistent weekly Warcraft podcast out there, through the ups and downs.   A Solo Player Asks About Raiding – 54:25 I share my observations about raiding from a non-participant perspective and ask some whys and why nots.   Value of the Race to World First – 55:31 What is the value of the RtWF to the game?  Who benefits?   Raid Difficulty Levels and Nerfing – 1:09:49 Why is there so much nerfing over the course of a season?   Social Responsibilities of a Raid Leader – 1:21:23 Leading a productive group requires some firm decisions and conversations (also known as why I don’t do group content).   Variance in Encounter Design? (He says no) – 1:29:58 Why does the boss do the same thing every time?  Why not add some variance in abilities?  Oh, that’s why.   Current State and Future of WoW and Azeroth – 1:37:06   Lightning Round! – 1:56:29   Closing Thoughts – 2:10:08   Outro – 2:15:11 Big thank you to Jason Lucas for joining me for a monster conversation! Thanks to you, to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow   Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Metacognition, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. Find me at sweeperdave on Discord and at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Find Jason on Twitter as @shieldwalled, on Bluesky as jlucas.bluesky.social, on Twitch.tv/shieldwalled, and on Youtube.com/shieldwalled, and of course weekly on The Starting Zone podcast. Behold, the Cursed Isle arrives on Tuesday (or rather, we arrive at it). “We will see you out there."

How Do You Not Solo Interview, Part 1 with Jason Lucas! - Ep 42   SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU   Show Notes    Welcome to Episode 42! – 1:00         Pardon the ripoff of The Starting Zone intro, but welcome Jason Lucas to the Solo Queue Zone.   Talking Tanking – 4:13 Sure, as a solo player, I have little need for tanking, which means I don’t know much about it.  Who better to ask than @Shieldwalled? What is tanking, how has it changed through the expansions, how to learn the art of tanking, and other questions.   The Move Towards Solo WoW – 42:42 Asking the commensurate group leader about the addition of features for solo play in recent years.   WoW Game Design – 50:12 More general discussion of recent features and the 8-week patch cycle.   All Things Blizzcon – 1:11:27  What we can expect at Blizzcon 2026?  Will we see any mention of The Last Titan?  Any advice for a first-time attendee?   What will Classic+ Be? – 1:24:26       It seems likely that whatever Classic+ is it will be front and center at Blizzcon.  What will it be?   Jason’s First Blizzon – 1:37:24 Memories from Blizzcon 2015.   Intermission – 1:48:31 There is more Warcraft conversation including talking about the state of raiding, Jason’s experience co-hosting The Starting Zone for ten years, and a Lightning Round!   Outro – 1:49:47 Big thank you to Jason Lucas for joining me for a monster conversation! Thanks to you, to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow   Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Metacognition, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. Find me at sweeperdave on Discord and at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Find Jason on Twitter as @shieldwalled, on Bluesky as jlucas.bluesky.social, on Twitch.tv/shieldwalled, and on Youtube.com/shieldwalled, and of course weekly on The Starting Zone podcast. See you soon for part two! “We will see you out there." Jason Lucas will return in “Part 2:  Shieldwalled Off Cooldown”

Revelations:  WoW Storytelling and a Midsummer Resurrection - Ep 41   SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU   Show Notes    Welcome to Episode 41! – 4:22         I’m finding more time in game, a bit of a resurrection!  Update on my keybinds change and a preview of the episode.  Also, sorry speakers of Finnish for my appropriation of your language in the intro bit!   News – 15:45 Sticking to my prediction that 12.1 will arrive on August 11 at the end of TT and right on the 8 week cadence List of 12.1 features, courtesy of Blizzard Watch Discord integration coming for WoW Guild/Community Chat – look for it in the SQ Discord site Short story “The Bitter Truth” now available as PDF and 21 minutes of lightly animated audio narrations on YouTube; good flavor for the Amani-Blood Elf rivalry, but nothing you need to succeed in game   “What Have You Done Lately?” – 32:18 The Fire Festival brings all the boys to the yard, apparently.  I’ve been taking some of my own advice and running Dragon Soul, celebrating the Fire Festival, and doing both Timewalking dungeons for the cool mount and running the Sporefall raid four times for that mount.  Go me hitting the group content!   Drink of the Month – 43:30 Fiery Festival Brew is the Drink of the Month celebrating Midsummer Fire Festival!    Main Topic – Quality of Storytelling in WoW – 1:03:07       The 12.1 announcement spoiled some of the 12.0.7 story even before it hit the live game. Why is it difficult to tell the story of Warcraft in an MMO?  Discussion of those issues and a breakdown of the YouTube video “The Inherent Problems With World of Warcraft's Storytelling (And How To Enjoy It Anyway)” from Discordian Kitty.  Check it out at: http://youtu.be/B1USxjQUO4U   Side Quest – Are You Hiding in WoW or Healing In It? – 1:54:28     YouTube creator Saltynips posted a video discussing the nature of the solo experience in WoW.  It is thoughtful, though differs from why I play solo.  Check it out at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4f5Q0heiD0&t=54s   Closing Thoughts – 2:00:41 I haven’t been hiding in WoW, but am working on healing in it.  Thanks for all of you for supporting me and the show even in some slow WoW times for me.   Outro – 2:04:04 Big thank you to Spencer and JASON at The Starting Zone, the folks at Blizzard Watch, Discordian Kitty, and Saltynips for making great content that I used or commented on in this episode! Thanks to you, to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow   Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak! And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, AehanNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Eric, Wednesday, Case, TJ, Denethar, TheChampz, Michelle, Donald, AggroManagement, Brian, William, and Uihu! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads (it’s true). See you soon for a monsterously long interview coming next! “I will see you out there."

School’s Out!  Report Card Time - Ep 40 SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 40! – 2:13         40 episodes!  Happy 25th birthday to my Alex!  Big thanks to Rak and Kael for inviting me to celebrate episode 20 of The Ready Check!  Good to finally claw some time out to get this show out to you all!   Corrections – 9:44 Ep. 39 had a few stinkers. Sorry.   SQ Mailbag – 16:43 Rak’s review, Cyn checks in, Vantacor writes once more, Wooley, Jerzey, and Sorchaduin have comments on Spotify brewin’   News – 26:17 Another Grrgle housing décor item as a Twitch drop from June 16-July 14 0.7 arrives today with extended maintenance, along with extended extended maintenance Story portion of 12.0.7 drops July 7 Turbulent Timeways will run from June 30 until August 11 I’m calling it, 12.1 will arrive on August 11 at the end of TT and right on the 8 week cadence   Drink of the Month – 32:29 In Pandaria and I have to sadly settle for a Flagon of Dwarven Mead - oof   SQ Development Bench – 34:52 Free ideas for Blizzard - A stable of NPCs that can gain experience and power available for Follower Dungeons and #FollowerRaids   “What Have You Done Lately?” – 42:53 Testing out Midnight features and systems, but most recently, IRL boss has wiped me day after day from playing   Guiding Principles for Time-Crunched Players – 56:09 How to navigate not having enough time in Azeroth, not getting overwhelmed, and staying productive – all advice I need to take myself   Top 10 List – My Favorite WoW Activities – 1:06:59 These are my go-tos   Main Topic – Midnight report card – 1:22:28           I posed the question to the SQ of how long are your breaks from WoW? Times varied, but it is becoming clear to me that it is okay to take some time away.   Closing Thoughts – 2:12:04 Overall grade for Midnight so far and wondering what it is I can’t put my finger on that isn’t pulling me into Midnight as heavily as other expansions   Outro – 2:16:35 Thanks to you, to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. OGRE’s May 15, 2026 show video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uto-Zlk3Z1Q Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow   Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, , Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak! And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, AehanNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Eric, Wednesday, Case, TJ, Denethar, TheChampz, Michelle, Donald, AggroManagement, Brian, William, and Uihu! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Enjoy the 12.0.7 content or wherever you are in Azeroth! “I will see you out there."

The Keys That Bind Us - Ep 39 SOLO QUEUE DISCORD available at: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 39! – 2:13         Feeling lots of gratitude and a little sadness which we will talk about. Big thank you to you for supporting long-form audio content! Gratitude for the recent wave of growth of SQ, which has been downloaded in 57 countries, including a small wave in Vietnam. And, my wife and I have a strange, yet predictable real-life WoW interaction at a car dealership, of all places. Listen on, my friend!   News – 6:37 Race to World First update, really? Don’t look here for final scores, but I love the surprise secret phase which generated excitement in WoW and even in the wider gaming community – WoW in the wider culture! And then they released 12.0.5 which launched many features and many more bugs to fix. What is going on at Blizzard that this gets released in this state? I suggest the 8-week patch cycle be returned to the 11-week model of the Legion era.   A Farewell to Bricco – 34:57 April saw the loss of former WoW podcaster and bright light in the WoW community Bricco. What started as sad news went deeper for me the more I looked into his WoW life. Husband, father, friend, and so much more, he will be missed by many, especially for his unending positivity. The Third Faction podcast’s tribute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-v6QITm9Mo   Drink of the Month – 49:51 This real glass of Jack Daniels Single Barrel Barrel-Strength Rye checks in at 130.1 proof. I tip the glass in honor of Bricco.   More Than a Quest Giver – The Chronicle of Lesser Known Azerothians – 51:35 The first of hopefully many short introductions to below top-tier NPCs beginning with the badass orc Ritssyn Flamescowl!   Emergency Bonus News – 56:34 0.7 gets announced chock full of features, but will it be another 8-week patch cycle fiasco? Bellular 12.0.7 preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzQuzJtQfqk&t=180s I invent the Running of the Kul Tirans community event with a sweet customization as a reward – make it so, Blizz! TurtleWoW gets shut down and I get a content creator invite to a brand new “private” server – I call them illegal servers.   Main Topic: Changing Keybinds After 11 Years – 1:13:57 One-button rotation breaks the logjam of not wanting to change my keyboard commands and keybindings. The images will appear in the SQ Discord. I claim no expertise on this topic, but hope you enjoy me explaining my process that took nearly as long as this segment.   “What Have You Done Lately?” – 2:00:11     Crickets. Busy time of year. Getting alts to work on side questing. The debate about getting time in game led me to actually say the b-word out loud, burn out.   Question Queue – 02:09:27   I posed the question to the SQ of how long are your breaks from WoW? Times varied, but it is becoming clear to me that it is okay to take some time away.   Closing Thoughts – 2:15:26 But, I am still loving making this show, even when it’s difficult. BlizzCon is in 4 months! One last thanks to Bricco…   Outro – 2:18:25 Thanks to you, to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, , Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak! And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, AehanNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Eric, Wednesday, Case, TJ, Denethar, TheChampz, Michelle, Donald, AggroManagement, Brian, and William! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Take time for yourself, whether in the game or out. “I will see you out there."

Midnight Meanderings - Ep 38 SOLO QUEUE DISCORD now available:  https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 38! – 2:13         Time to pin you down and force you to listen to what I think of Midnight so far.  Or maybe just entertain you while you work or commute or mow the lawn or whatever it is you are doing.  Thanks for bringing Solo Queue along!  By the way, the countdown checklist idea on a podcast on the day that the U.S. launched four astronauts towards the Moon is sheer coincidence.  In fact, my intro preview came out to Patreon supporters days ago.  Serendipity, baby!   News – 6:37 SQ Socials news Horde neighborhood – Desolate Collective – finally figured out how to add members beyond those on the original charter; not great for momentum, but the key was, as I suspected, strip down to no add-ons and the invite button on the roster actually functioned properly! The test was Gershom and she is the first new member; reach out in game or out if you want to move your Horde house to the Desolate Collective The SQ Guild Solo Together is strong and growing. You can find it in the Alliance Guild Finder, but it is open to both factions.  We have an Alliance side Guild Neighborhood that is open to members of the guild.  If you want to join, just reach out and we will get you an invite, Horde or Alliance.  It is a bunch of cool people of many different backgrounds hanging out, checking in on each other, all very casual.  New Discord link: https://discord.gg/N86fhRkDem  If you are good people, come check it out.  I am @sweeperdave on Discord and of course, soloqueuewow on everything else out there. GT change/delay – yeah, life finds a way into all of my plans; GT on hold, but will return; also quietly on hold is this year’s 64-competitor single-elimination tournament among Warcraft characters will take a year off. Rufus is available, Habitat for Humanity; through May 12; The mini war hammer in the mouth is amazing. Music video/marketing from WoW and the musician Aurora is fantastic S1 – what is open, what is left? A lot of S1 is now open with the arrival of M+ keystones last week and the Darkway delve. For raids, the Voidspire and the Dreamrift both opened on Mythic difficulty.  All other diff of the Dreamrift, the one-boss raid, opened the previous week.  For the Voidspire, LFR wing 2 is available, as is the as-yet-unimproved Story Mode version. Coming this week with the March 31 reset is wing 3 of LFR for VS along with the Normal, Heroic, and Mythic versions of the 3rd raid of Midnight, March on Quel’Danas. This is a 2-boss raid.  The Raid Finder/LFR and SM versions arrive the following week on April 7.  And the final delve, the Parhelion Plaza opens this week as well.  New nemesis for the season is Nullaeus, and Valeera Sanguinar is here to help you through all of the Delves. A Race to World First update? On Solo Queue? 9 bosses from all 3 of the raids, with of course the final 2 bosses taking the stage on Tuesday with the launch of the March on Quel’Danas. As of the time of recording, there are three familiar names that have cleared the first two raids and are awaiting the penultimate boss: Liquid, Echo, and Method.  Six more teams are trying to take down the final boss, identified as the Crown of the Cosmos in the Adventure Guide. Spring sale on Bnet – pets and mounts and packs of stuff, along with certain game services Twitch drop is the Cuddly Void Grrgle; before April 23; watch 4 hours of WoW on Twitch 0.5 preview of what is interesting No release date yet, but an 8 week cycle would be April 28, so there is still plenty of time. The Voidforge will help to upgrade gear. That said, the Nebulous Voidcores that you will need to upgrade gear come from M+ d, raids, Bountiful Delves, and Nightmare level Prey Hunts.  More open-world activities launch with 12.0.5 with Void Assaults comprised of Void Strkes and Void Incursions. Another activity is Ritual Sites, a tiered scenario that can be tackled solo or with a party of up to five players. Add the underwater fishing activity called Abyss Anglers and it seems like there will be a lot of options to freshen up your routine midway through Season 1 of Midnight.   Class Identity Challenge – 27:45 On Azeroth Morning Radio, Jibbs described his connection to the Paladin class to his own life and that got me thinking about why I identify with my favorite class, Druid of course.    Hero’s Call Co-Opted – 36:33 And continuing with AMR-adjacent content, I low-key (as my 9th grade students say) stole the Hero’s Call Board segment from them for a good reason, to highlight someone awesome in the WoW community.   “What Have You Done Lately?” – 53:56        Honestly, not enough Warcraft, but both Haranir characters have been created bringing the active roster to 69.  My oldest active character, and possibly my first character, is the first Horde character to start an expansion for me, and he has hit 90 and already wiped once in the “Story” Mode raid.  Oof.   Main Topic:  My Midnight Experience – 1:29:19 Walking through the leveling campaign going through my thoughts on the zones, storylines, music, graphics, and selected systems in Midnight. Silvermoon City – 1:39:22 Eversong Woods – 1:45:20 Arator’s Journey – 1:55:22 Zul’Aman – 1:59:48 Harandar – 2:07:41 Voidstorm – 2:17:40   Closing Thoughts – 2:25:26 Wrapping it all up, including my brief thoughts on the so-called “Story” Mode raid for the Voidspire and a potential reveal of the final boss…   Outro – 2:37:10 Thanks to all of you for your patience in waiting for this episode, Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Case, Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak!  And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, Aronaar, AedinNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Wednesday, Eric, and TJ! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Race to World First is…still a thing.  Go team. “I will see you out there."

State of Warcraft with Gershom 2, This Time It’s Midnight - Ep 37 SOLO QUEUE DISCORD now available:  https://discord.gg/N86fhRkDem Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 37! – 3:13         Gershom is back for our second annual State of Warcraft conversation!  Here are some of the topics we get into:   Looking back at TWW – 9:06 Midnight First Impressions – 16:18 Revamp of Zones – 39:42 Troll Talk – 48:48 Arator's Journey – 57:44 Looking Ahead – 1:06:34 Housing – 1:14:58 Overall State of Warcraft – 1:42:04   Outro – 1:53:12 Thanks to Gershom for joining me once again, to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, to my lovely and supportive and healing wife, my PodBean for hosting the show, and to YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Case, Pasta Matt, Luch, and Rak!  And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, Aronaar, AedinNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Wednesday, Eric, TJ, Denethar, TheChampZ, Michelle, Donald, and AggroManagement! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. You can contact Gershom on Twitter @huntergershom or on Instagram @huntergerrshom. You can check out Thrall’s Balls at thrallsball.com for links to socials and the Discord, and the show comes out every Tuesday with WoW news and opinions. “We will see you out there."

Seeking Acceptance - Ep 36 SOLO QUEUE DISCORD now available:  https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU   Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 36! – 2:49         Who knew it was so hard to get four player signatures to start a guild?  A sign from the universe, perhaps?  Too late, we started a guild!   News – 13:05 Solo Together Guild open – Yes!  But, RANT #1 INCOMING – the long road to 4 signatures Loner’s Run, the ST Guild neighborhood open Solo Together Community up and running Community neighborhood for Horde side houses? Desolate Collective needs only 1 more signature! Discord is alive and running at https://discord.gg/N86fhRkDem Mini-Mailbag Johnnietips from TB Jibbs from AMR Rak nice comment; R not just a fan, not just a member of that SQ Discord, R and Kael have started up… Welcome Ready Check podcast to the community; Weekly show of 2 friends talking WoW and tackling what is going on in game Meggoart – 4th Interlude is out at https://interludecomicanthology.carrd.co/ and her WoWKEA YouTube channel is going strong at https://www.youtube.com/@meggoart The Jan. 29 WoW Showcase event with the 2026 roadmap   “What Have You Done Lately?” – 32:51        RANT #2 INCOMING. Short version is yes, I lost all 800,000+ bronze that I collected when Blizz shut down the Remix event earlier than two of the three times is announced.  Me not happy, for sure. Pre-patch event nearly done and maybe not the best of these events Void Elf DH unlock relatively brief; Devourer DH seems cool, but only doing 1-button rotation Catchup experience not useful after a level 70 boost   Main Topic:  Grand Tour Actually Announced – 1:05:19 This will be a recurring segment exploring the dungeons and raids of each expansion   Grand Tour:  Classic Kalimdor – 1:16:14 The ten dungeons and two raids of Classic on Kalimdor discussed in an overview   Raid(s) of the Month – 1:33:33 The Temple and Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj are the two raids in Classic Kalimdor.  Are they worth farming?   SQ Book Club warm-up:  The Void Between – 1:39:13 The recently published short story written by Alex Acks is a great little story before Midnight arrives   SQ Book Club:  Blood Ties – 1:47:24 The latest novel by Christie Golden is a great read, but one you do not have to finish before the launch of Midnight.  Read it now or read it later, but read it.   Outro – 2:37:10 Thanks to all of you for your patience in waiting for this episode, Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Case, Pasta Matt, Maccus, Luch, and Rak!  And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, Aronaar, AedinNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Wednesday, Eric, and TJ! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Gershom is up next in the Queue.  Enjoy early access for those who celebrate! “I will see you out there."

Kicking off 2026 with Denethar! - Ep 35 SOLO QUEUE DISCORD now available:  https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU   Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 35! – 1:24         Welcome to the Solo Queue to Denethar, host of Azeroth United, another fantastic podcast started in 2023   “What Have You Done Lately?” and a bit of news – 14:57   Projects and spreadsheets and Housing and Remix   Grand Tour Kind of Announced – 18:29 Over the course of 2026, I will be diving into every dungeon and raid in World of Warcraft.  Each month another expansion’s worth of end game to report on.  Stay tuned.   News – 38:16 Pre-patch is nigh. Blizzard video explains it all: https://youtu.be/fp8Ngxzrwxg?si=isQBdEBmsZSiTf7U Legion Remix ends January 19 at 1:00 (this turns out to be utter b******t – tune in next time, rant incoming) Haranir introduction video from Blizzard: “Everything You Need to Know, featuring Fiamma” https://youtu.be/Jk1t4FhXyyc Customization of races imbalance Burning Crusade Anniversary pre-patch rollout Solo Queue Discord site now open to fans of the show; here is the invite code: https://discord.gg/nXQVqERcSU Twitch drop now available is the Cuddly Green Grrgle Housing Décor Item, from Jan. 20 to Feb. 17. Sad news that podcast Live, Laugh, Lore will be stopping its run next month as it hits episode 200; Gin and Ali, you will be missed by many!   Drink of the Month – 1:24:53 Without prompting, Denethar created the first original drink for the Solo Queue, the Nightwatcher!  Try it. 2 oz. Bourbon 1 oz. Chambord or other blackberry liqueur ¼ oz. simple syrup ¼ oz. lemon juice 2-3 dashes of bitters (experiment, the world’s your oyster) Top with ginger beer   Main Topic:  Denethar – 1:28:06 A conversation about WoW, Classic, names, life, podcasting, and so much more.   Lightning Round! – 2:18:38 Will Denethar survive the relentless assault of my inquisition?   Outro – 2:37:46 Thanks to Denethar for this long overdue conversation, Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Case, Pasta Matt, Maccus, and Luch!  And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, Aronaar, AedinNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Wednesday, Eric, and TJ! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. Find Denethar on Twitter @denethar Find the Azeroth United website at azerothunitedpod.com and on Twitter @azupodcast You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Enjoy the pre-patch everyone, it’s going to be a 12.0 world. “Take care.  We love you all.  And we will see you out there."

We had some technical difficulties at Solo Queue Headquarters as the year came to a close.  Fortunately, lost data was recovered and the episode is ready!  But, given it is New Year's Eve (here), I am skipping the show notes for now.  Enjoy and on to 2026! Dave

HDYS Interview with Jibbs and Kash of Azeroth Morning Radio! - Ep 33 Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 33! – 2:29         We dodged two goblin toughs for a few moments, but we will need to get the show going before they return.   “What Have You Done Lately?” and a bit of news – 3:07     Great response to Episode 32 and in particular the profile of my deceased uncle Did anyone notice the missing intro and outro music in Ep. 32?  Had to do a quick fix and re-upload 11.2.7 is out and I have not jumped into Housing Exciting to see all the creativity around Housing Will drive players into a lot of old content Please be patient while it all gets sorted and adjusted – this is a monumental addition to WoW I need to get into the 11.2.7 questline before it gets spoiled all over the place for me Main Topic: Interview with Jibbs and Kash – 14:54 We chat about the success of Azeroth Morning Radio, its inspirations, and all the work behind it.  Of course, we mix in plenty of WoW talk along with some 11.2.7, our outlook on WoW in general, possible systems improvements, what they identify with in game, and, yes, Housing (they snuck in before we recorded without me – see if they ever get invited back to this show)   Lightning Round with two people! – 1:27:52 This is my chance to pit co-host against co-host and see who know whom better.  Will it be quick?  No.  Will it cause a podcast divorce?  Maybe, but if so, we have that covered, too.   Outro – 1:43:28 Thanks to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Case, and Pasta Matt!  And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, Aronaar, AedinNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Wednesday, Eric, and TJ! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. Find Kash on Twitter @kashquests; email AMR Find Jibbs on Twitter @jibbsirl Contact Azeroth Morning Radio by email at [email protected]; visit the website azerothmorningradio.com You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Happy Winterveil and Merry Christmas! “We will see you out there."

My WoW Family (Part 2) and the Story of Norm - Ep 32 Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 32! – 1:06         After the first part of My WoW Family dropped, I was sidelined by some horrible throat cold.  Hard to record without a voice.  Having mostly recovered, it is time to continue the journey.   “What Have You Done Lately?” and a bit of news – 6:53     I am going to Blizzcon! Tickets and hotel acquired!  Will I see you there?  Let me know. Beta access has launched but I don’t have access because unlike when you buy a Blizzcon ticket, your Battle.Net account is not connected to your purchase of the Collector’s Edition. Will I have early access to Housing on December 2? Little progress in Legion Remix; wouldn’t screenshots from the game make for great wall paintings for Housing décor? Surprise! I am NOT actually participating in the 21st anniversary events; stopped after a single trivia question   Main Topic: On Final WoW Family Story – 20:44 The most recent member of my WoW family appeared when helping me kill a K’aresh rare and hung out to teach me about Devourer Invasions   Raid of the Month:  Manaforge Omega? – 29:11 Now a few weeks ago, but the Lion’s Pride Tavern raid team was kind enough to let me run through 6 bosses of Heroic with them!  They might not have known it was my first ever current content raid, but they might have guessed from a few of my actions or inactions.   Profile of My Uncle Norm – 57:01 My uncle Norm was 9 years older than me and took me under his wing when he didn’t have to.  Then we drifted apart, and even stayed apart despite both playing WoW.  And then he passed away.  This profile dives into his WoW roster to see what I can learn about my uncle in his final years.  Thanks for listening along.  And thanks to my Aunt Connie for sharing Norm’s story and his account with me.   Drink of the Month – 1:46:13 Straight from my uncle’s bank, we crack a couple of Nethergarde Bitters and toast those who we all have lost.   SQ Mailbag – 1:47:37 Apple and Spotify and email – we finally catch up in the SQ Mailbag; keep the feedback coming!   Big Solo Queue Announcement! – 2:01:36 Why not start a Solo Together Housing Neighborhood and maybe even a guild?  Interested?  Let me know.   Outro – 2:05:33 Thanks to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow Thank you to contributing patrons Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, Greybeard, Case, and Pasta Matt!  And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, Aronaar, AedinNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Wednesday, Eric, and TJ! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Lots of gratitude as we approach American Thanksgiving.  See you in December for an interview episode. “I will see you out there."

My WoW Family (Part 1) - Ep 31 Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 31! – 3:13          After playing World of Warcraft alone for many years, it turns out that I have made some listeners, supporters, and friends along the way.  This episode (and the second half to follow shortly) aims to introduce you to my WoW family, the people who fit into my somewhat unsolo solo WoW life.   “What Have You Done Lately?” – 7:39            Grateful to have guested on Lion’s Pride Tavern, episode 450! Roster changes, now up to 66, but still leveling through Headless Horseman and candy buckets Have jumped into Legion Remix, but not quite to the crazy bronze grabbing level – close Couple of Headless Horseman encounter stories   News – 27:52 A second new podcast alert – The Journey – A World of Warcraft Podcast has launched with a couple episodes; Winkari found inspiration for his casual WoW podcast from right here in Solo Queue! 2.7 coming with various features Midnight news includes beta testing on Nov. 11, portal room changes New Xbox will run on Windows, which can run Battle.net, which can run WoW Add-on culling; will I soon have to give up my Elvui? My thoughts on Blizzard’s push to reduce WoW complexity, including my Three Game Analogy where I compare WoW with the board games Scrabble, Risk, and my personal favorite, The Longest Day from Avalon Hill   Main Topic:  My WoW Family – 54:04 My first WoW friend Kraise Two partitions on a Dell Precision M6800 17” that were my first two WoW computers Solo from 2015 to 2023 for various reasons Birth of Solo Queue Fellow WoW podcasters begin connect with me beginning with Gershom from TB; also Gin, Ali from LLL, Ease from RM, Denathar from AU, briefly Scott Johnson, and Jason from TSZ Snek of Vol’dun is my far away friend! Running M+2 keys with CasualCoo – check him out on Twitch SQ patron Case runs me through some Legion Remix dungeons and raids, including getting my M+30 achievement transmog!   Announcement Going to split this big topic into two halves and return shortly with a unique Raid of the Month, my profile of a special WoW player in my life, the SQ mailbag, and a big announcement!   Outro – 1:47:51 Thanks to Blizzard for the amazing music and sound, to OGRE for intro/outro music, my lovely and supportive wife, my family, and YOU for listening. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/soloqueuewow Thank you to contributing patrons, Andrew, Righteous Bandy, ThatSkyGuy, Cyn, Snek of Voldun, Jon, Scott, Jeru, Raven, and Greybeard.  And thanks to free members Max, Eddie, Bear, Friends of Wumpus, Sean, Curro, Aronaar, AedinNahkriin, Guardian Sandy, Alice, Don, Kamil, Case and welcome to Wednesday, Eric, and TJ! Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  Leave a 5-star rating and a written review to help grow Solo Queue. You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Solo Queue will return in My WoW Family (Part 2). “I will see you out there."