Hi, I'm Dr. X.
How much love can come back, how many people are worth waiting for, even Blizzard and NetEase can get back together, so do I still have a chance with her?
Last week, the news of the successful reunion of NetEase and Blizzard shocked the entire game circle, and made us all "return".
But in this wave of Blizzard's return, the heat has faded, leaving our old players in the national server with a lot of chicken feathers: can WLK Ulduar be reopened? How can formal clothing keep up with the progress? How to compensate for the many card packs missing from Hearthstone? Who will make up for the missing 7 seasons of Overwatch?
Today, Dr. X won't talk about anything else, let's review how many Blizzard "good" games and how many super COOOOL versions have been missed by our national server players during the suspension of the national server?
1. The official server of "World of Warcraft".
In terms of the official server, from version 10.05 to version 10.2.6, we have missed a total of 8 versions, putting aside the absence of the entire "Rise of the Dragon" story line, the biggest regret of national server players is that they missed the entire 14 issues of the business stack.
This stack, as the name suggests, is a pure perk-oriented content that earns tokens through game activity in order to purchase cosmetics in a specific store. And the 14 issues of content missed by the national service also mean that you can't redeem a large number of mall appearances, color-changing out-of-print props, and small toys that can be obtained in only 2 or 3 days on the liver.
Among them, the color-changing version of the Ghost Tiger Mount is the most popular item among so many merchant stack rewards, and foreign server players are the most unwilling to miss it, while our national server players have missed it entirely.
As for the rest of the official server?Considering that the major version 10.1 "Ashes of Nesario" itself is not doing well, there is a high probability that the special version of the national server will also be on the gameplay and plot of 10.2. Relatively speaking, the official server players did not miss anything important.
But one thing to say is that the limited-time gameplay of Warcraft Chicken Eating Chicken that is popular all over the Internet "Storm Storm", if NetEase can't get it back, the planning of the return project of the national service can basically wash and sleep.
After all, this thing has attracted at least 1.4 million players online at the same time and played 640,000 games in more than 3 weeks, which can be called the most successful limited-time event in the history of Warcraft.
2. Warcraft WLK nostalgic suit
Considering that it was Blizzard who was the demon at the beginning, it deliberately postponed the opening of the P2 stage, resulting in the national server being absent from the complete experience from P2 to P5 again.
Let's not say much, if in terms of nostalgic clothes, NetEase really insists on the global synchronous cataclysm version, and it is estimated that players will have to send a truckload of report letters to the Consumer Association.
By the way, this version of WLK has always been hailed as the pinnacle of Warcraft, and the national server has missed the complete experience twice in a row because of the suspension of operation, which is really difficult.
3. Warcraft hardcore suit
In fact, the potential of the hardcore server, which is a one-life customs clearance game, is quite huge.
As long as Blizzard knew something at that time, and gave players a few halls of fame, some global standings, or held official level competitions, it would not have fallen to the point where it is now where uncles don't hurt and aunts don't love.
Therefore, after NetEase and Blizzard reunited, Dr. X is looking forward to the emergence of hardcore servers with national server characteristics, and I believe that with the blessing of NetEase's ability to do things in game marketing and promotion, it will definitely not be a problem for this gameplay to maintain the popularity of major live broadcast platforms for a year and a half.
Of course, considering the various "ways to die" that hardcore servers are more likely to make people have high blood pressure, and the purpose of some people playing hardcore servers is to make trouble, Dr. X still doesn't recommend non-anchor players to go into this pit.
Fourth, the Warcraft exploration suit
At present, the positioning of the exploration server is embarrassing, because after the update of P1, P2, and P3, most old players have figured out the routine of the exploration server.
In addition to adding runes to equipment, there are several remastered "new" team books, several new PVP battlefields, and a pitiful number of new PVE branches, all other gameplay of the exploration server is no different from the 60 nostalgic suit, and it does not achieve an independent plot that is completely parallel to time and space.
Especially after the P3 stage was launched, not to mention that everyone was full of enthusiasm to level up, you can't even find a few teams in the new team of the Open Desert Temple.
It can be said that if Blizzard doesn't make a little bit of a fork operation in the P4 stage, the popularity of this exploration server will soon be on par with the hardcore server.
But from another point of view, the Warcraft Exploration Service is the most suitable opportunity for new players to enter the pit, make up for the plot of the 60s, and experience some "non-traditional Warcraft" gameplay.
It can only be said that this thing still depends on how NetEase operates, and Dr. X estimates that the exploration server will not be placed on the list of the first batch of returning gameplay, and it should become a popular move for NetEase in Q3 to use?
5. Hearthstone
In terms of Hearthstone, the national server owes even more, missing a total of 4 major versions, 3 mini-packs, and a whole lot of welfare activities and catch-up mechanics.
The things that players spontaneously counted include 4 free orange cards, 56 free gold cards, 6 special card backs, 4 special skins, and more than 10 event art cards.
And for a card battle game that has been updated, the various cards that players worked hard to collect a year ago have long been far behind the current version of Immortal Fight.
Therefore, even if NetEase is really ready to send free catch-up packs to help players catch up with the rhythm of the latest version, it will still be difficult for old players to collect those old cards before the suspension of service if they cannot return to dust in full.
In addition, in addition to Hearthstone's standard and wild modes, we also missed seven seasons of Tavern Wargame, and faced the sad news that the "Duel Mode" was about to be discontinued when we returned.
In terms of compensation plans, Dr. X thinks that Hearthstone will most likely be the most complicated one.
Because if NetEase gives more, it will have a great impact on Hearthstone's revenue in the past 2 or 3 months, but if NetEase gives less, players might as well just die of old age, otherwise you will have to collect a bunch of cards when you return to the national server, and you won't have that energy.
By the way, with the assistance of GZS, the gold coin number of Hearthstone Asia has been sold for 2 yuan, and the ultra-low price of 2000 gold coins comes with 8 catch-up packs, and the cost of going to the foreign server is ultra-low.
6. Overwatch 2
"OVERWATCH 2" is also facing the same dilemma as "Hearthstone", the national server is absent from all the content from Season 3 to Season 9, which also includes a bunch of crossover activities with "One Punch Man", "Cowboy Bebop", "LE SSERAFIM" and a bunch of other brands, even if the national server wants to make up for it, it is difficult to make up for it.
Of course, "Overwatch 2" as a competitive game has much less resistance to its return than Hearthstone, and players can return to their previous state after touching one or two.
But let's just say, this "Overwatch 2" is back, does Blizzard really not consider making a "Overwatch 1" nostalgic costume?
7. Diablo 4
After more than a year of paid testing on the foreign server, the quality of the game of "Diablo 4" is now a bit "thriving". Now it's XGP for members to play for free, and it's a new DLC coming out at the end of the year, so it has a very bright future.
As for what players on the national server missed, in addition to the opportunity to sell gold and sell accounts in the month before the start of the service, it may be a bunch of balanced class patches that persuade people to quit the pit, and the boring brushing gameplay of Blizzard.
But can "Diablo 4" be on the national server? In addition to the issue of version number review and picture harmony, there are also negotiations between NetEase and Microsoft, after all, we can't really spend more than 500 oceans to buy "Diablo 4" as a big wrong, can the XGP of the national special version be on!
Eighth, the Warcraft arc battle
As the protagonist of the last BlizzCon and a "popular" mobile game with 5 major versions in 5 months, "Warcraft Arc Wars" is currently performing relatively average on the Internet, which can be regarded as a subordinate replacement for "Clash Royale".
Of course, this is not only related to the poor quality of the game itself, but also to the lack of Blizzard promotion resources it has received. If Blizzard could have promoted "Hearthstone" in the first place, and continued to carry out linkages and give away cosmetic props in its major games, "Warcraft Arc Wars" might still be able to compete with "Clash Royale".
Of course, if NetEase takes over this game, it is estimated that it will be updated from the first season, and at most some catch-up mechanisms will be added for players to quickly practice the main general. But if NetEase is willing to put a lot of effort into it, it may not be able to make the national server's "Warcraft Arc Battle" surpass "Clash Royale".
9. Heroes of the Storm / StarCraft 2 / WAR3 Remake
During the suspension of the national server, these MOBA and RTS games have basically not been updated, and they are also the easiest games to return.
But judging from NetEase's current promotion of the KK battle platform, it is possible that the operation of e-sports events will be delegated to this official battle platform in the future?
Summary after class:
To sum up, the Warcraft Exploration Suit, Diablo 4 and Warcraft Arclight should become the "Blizzard big names" held by NetEase this year. But in order to play these cards, you still have to get the return compensation of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Overwatch right.
Otherwise, it is still unknown how many of the 2 million players who have pre-ordered the return of Warcraft to re-download the game.