Episode 3 - Are the Seeds of Renewal Worth Planting?

Solo Queue - A World of Warcraft Podcast

Episode 3 is up and focused on the breadth of features in 10.2.5. Are you liking the breadth or wishing for more depth? Ever completed a Superbloom but forgot to pick up the quest first? Comments, answers & help for all of it, along with an expansion announcement! (SQ, not WoW) SQ Ep. 3 is on your podcast platform of choice. I'll see you out there!

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Episode 3 Show Notes:

Opening:

Tyrande and Shandris talking about the future of the Night Elves in a Bel'Ameth in-game cinematic.

Welcome to episode:

Welcome to January, to 2024, and to Episode 3 of Solo Queue!

Starting in Bel'ameth to celebrate the drop of 10.2.5 and the opening of the new Night Elf capital city.

• Big news of the week is the arrival of 10.2.5. My first content update as a content creator. A fair amount of early online reactions seemed to be on the negative side, and I do not want to get drawn into that.
• I will look for the positives because I think there are positives in 10.2.5 and I think there are realistic limits to what we can expect from a .5 patch, from an MMORPG in terms of story, and from a development team that I do believe is trying to turn a very large ship towards a better future.
• In the show, we are going to talk about the big activities of 10.2.5:
  • The arrival or return of two capitals for two Alliance races
  • Some Azerothian Archives
  • A little bit on the Follower dungeons
  • My adventures in the Season of Discovery
  • The news
  • A video for advice on gearing as a solo player
  • And my mostly positive thoughts on 10.2.5 overall, despite some of the negative feedback that may be out there.
• Some extra big thanks.
  • Big thanks to the Thrall's Balls podcast for support of Solo Queue on their own show. Check out their recent episode #124 on Spotify, Apple, or your own podcast feed or say hello @Thrallsballspod on Twitter
  • Thanks to my first two Patreon subscribers! Andrew and Righteous Bandy have taken the leap and are supporting the show with actual money! Some firm Patreon goals and rewards, including extra episodes, are coming.
  • And, thanks to you! Yeah you. I see you listening and reading these show notes! I want to hear from you with feedback and suggestions. soloqueuewow on socials, at gmail, and even at the Patreon.
• I will be recording occasional interview episodes entitled "How Do You Solo?" I am going to be reaching out to players and content creators alike to hear how they play the game. There just might be another episode in your podcast feed before the February episode scheduled for the 21st.

News and updates:

• 10.2.5 is out. Remember that dynamic flying is now available anywhere normal flying is offered in the Warcraft universe. That includes Outland, and the Outland Cup. The event ends on February 1st.
• 10.2.6 is on the PTR, as was reported in December, but it is fully-encrypted, so there has been no data-mining and still, no one knows that that mysterious black pirate flag hanging off the 2024 roadmap actually means. Visually, it sits between winter and spring, so possibly March? We will see. Looks like it may be followed shortly by The War Within Alpha. And season 4 looks to be spring, so likely April at the earliest.
• On the Classic side, the next phase of Season of Discovery arrives February 8. The level cap will rise to 40 and a fresh slate of runes will be waiting to be found. And the Gnomeregon raid will be the end-game content for level 40 characters. If you are of the PvP persuasion, Stranglethorn Vale will once again be the most dangerous place to take a casual walk in Azeroth!

Side quests:

On being bad at video games, SoD, and HC Self-found mode

• I am not very good at video games. Have played games for decades. Now I find myself still alone at a desk playing games, but there are potentially millions of other players running by and "watching". Not quite as alone as before.
• Because of not wanting to either actively compete or passively be judged, I work to play alone. In SoD, I am trying to be self-reliant by creating more characters that can help outfit and supply the first character. That becomes the game within the game.
• Self-Found mode is interesting to me. It is how I tend to play, although HSF takes away the support of alt characters. SF has my interest piqued.

Popping in to a tavern or inn for a local drink:

I don't think the Night Elves are big drinkers, but if you head to the Silver Feather, the inn at Bel'ameth, you can grab an Azure Leywine that refresh, but still leave you clear-headed to help get the city set up.

Today I Learned:

You can accept all of those pesky weekly quests from the Adventure Guide (Shift-J, second tab after Traveler's Log).

Main topic:

What do we want from these video games? Reviews of Bel’Ameth and Reclamation of Gilneas. What the addition of these two capital cities might mean.

• Talk through the Bel'Ameth experience. Difficult to find the quest. What and who is in the new zone. This is the capital city, but might it serve as a new starting zone in the future? Music is amazing and reflects that changes Night Elves have experienced since initial WoW zones. Cinematics associated with Bel’Ameth are looking ahead in the story.
• Playing the Reclamation of Gilneas. Not the most engaging questing, but the story is interesting. After recapture, the city is quite empty, but that is how it should be. Feels like both cities are being seeded and renewed to play a part in the expansions and stories to come, a long-term view of the developers. I am optimistic about that.

Quick hits

• Azerothian Archives: Early feedback was it was buggy and not very engaging and I sadly have to agree. The activities seem more like pushing buttons and do not yet feel like an improvement over old archeology. Admittedly only halfway through the initial quest chain. Will come back to it, but so far feels like a miss for something I was looking forward to as solo content.
• Follower Dungeons are as promised. Did a Halls of Infusion and was able to clear three dungeon quests. These quests are from stories from much earlier in the expansion. Only now continuing them makes for disjointed gameplay. It will be nice when they are in place already in The War Within. AND, Blizzard, give us Follower Raids for all the same reasons.

Solo-friendly roundup:

• Dungeon Dojo works to make dungeons and raids more accessible for those who do not like group content for various reasons. Check them out on Discord.
• Useful video from SignsofKelani on YouTube - How To Gear Up ILVL 476 ALL BY YOURSELF - No Group Content Needed! Good advice to get you to 447 ilvl. Feels like it gets a bit crazy and confusing after that with crafted gear and all the crests and such.

Outro:

• Music credits: all in-show audio from Blizzard; intro and outro music by my real friends in the doom metal band OGRE. Check them out at ogrereal.bandcamp.com.
• Thanks to my lovely, supportive wife and to Podbean, the host for Solo Queue.
• Huge thanks to Andrew and Righteous Bandy for their support at Patreon.com! You can support Solo Queue there as well.
• Subscribe at any of the podcast feeds. Please leave reviews and 5-star reviews when possible, as they will help grow this little podcast adventure.
• Solo Queue is at soloqueuewow on all the socials, Gmail, and Patreon. Send me feedback on the show, as well as your solo play tips and stories. I want to feature them on the show.
• Coming soon, and possibly ahead of the February episode, I am launching a new interview series on how people play this game called “How Do You Solo?” Players, fellow content creators, and I am close to announcing the first guest, but not quite yet!
• Back again in the Solo Queue in a month, possibly sooner! I’ll see you out there!