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Lore Watch Podcast

Blizzard Watch

Every week the Lore Watch podcast explores the story and lore of Blizzard titles including World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, or any other games that interest us. Join us for an in-depth look at the evolving stories of the games we all love.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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28 episodes
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Avg 1 hr 2 min
English

Episodes 28

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#436
Wednesday · 57 min
World-ending threats in Azeroth and making great villains
Do you remember back in vanilla WoW, when we were tasked with things like bringing a guard his lunch, or trying to find some guy's wife who was taking a while to get back, and now we're spitting in the face of god and saving the soul of the world? If you miss stories like the former, how on earth would we de-escalate from the current all-encompassing world-ending conflict to just hanging with the lads and picking peacebloom? And how would one of the archetypical villains we face fit into a less cataclysmic story? Our Lore Watch Crew Joe, Matt, and Eric, all have differing opinions on how much they'd enjoy a large or small story, as usual. Also as usual, there are a few places we go off the rails, but we always end up back on track. You know, mostly. From there they discuss the best villains of all time, then the villains from Blizzard's IPs, and what makes a villain good -- or deliciously bad. If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way). If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#435
September 23 · 1 hr 4 min
The never-ending faction war in World of Warcraft: Forever
World of Warcraft: Forever is the hottest title in Blizzard's catalogue, so of course we're diving in to some of the lore of Forever in this first post-BlizzCon episode. We start with a question on the war between the Alliance and the Horde, which makes for a great excuse to recap a lot of the conflict through the whole Warcraft series. From the moment the Dark Portal opened, Orcs and Humans have had conflict -- but is that conflict truly inescapable? But that's just the start of the rabbit hole. There's Trolls and Night Elves and Stranglethorn Vale and the Forsaken, and all of them have their part to play in the lore that makes up the rich world we'll be encountering again for the first time in Forever. Then, the loremasters address the whole elf-shaped elephant in the room thing. Are the Skyborne being added really less farfetched than just plunking down Blood Elves or High Elves or whatever and calling it good? Is there even a good justification for these guys? Joe, Matt, and Eric run down the lore bedrock behind the new race. If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way). If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#434
September 16 · 1 hr
A lore primer for The Green Lantern
With the new Lanterns show, Joe and Matt wanted to discuss the lore of The Green Lantern, though without spoiling the plot of the new show. They start off discussing the comic in its place in comics history and its parallels to the Flash. The core of the conversation discusses Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart, three of the more iconic Lanterns. The show centers on Hal and John, who have a mentor and protégé relationship, but in the continuity, Guy fell between the two. Matt and Joe discuss the inspiration for each of them, and what each represents to the continuity as a character. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#433
September 9 · 1 hr
How the Arathi might appear in The Last Titan (if they're in The Last Titan)
Lore Watch this week is all about what might be next for World of Warcraft which is quite apropos since we're waiting on BlizzCon. First is the predictions for what we might see in The Last Titan and beyond. The Arathi and Avaloren is one possibility, and Matt, Joe, and Eric explore how that could come to pass, either as a tentpole for the next expansion, or just a part of a patch. The Arathi makes a lot of sense, when we already know we'll see so many nostalgic beats in The Last Titan. Then we move on to the cosmology and the Titans. We've seen various circles from the cosmology chart from Chronicle represented by specific Titans -- Eonar and Nature, for instance, or Aman'thul and Order. One thing we haven't seen, though, is a Titan of the Void, or Disorder as per the Chronicle chart. What would a Titan like that look like, and how would it oppose the current Pantheon? Of course, because this is Lore Watch, one of these two responses invokes the Tacoma Narrows bridge. If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way). If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#432
September 2 · 1 hr
Xal'atath's true goals, and more light reading
This week's Lore Watch kicks off with a question based on a datamined spoiler which will be revealed as we come to toward the end of patch 12.1, as we finally uncover the goal Xal'atath has been working toward since before she was besties with a nameless Shadow Priest (Mitch). As usual, her now-revealed motivations may have a knock-on effect on certain aspects of both far-ranging lore and small details of our characters' daily lives. If, of course, that datamined info comes to pass. Then we go to Magister's Terrace and the Lycaneum, which we've noticed is packed with all kinds of bookish clutter. This includes stuff that represents travel, like ships, but also a few artifacts you might not expect for a Blood Elf location, even if they are global scholars, like statuettes of Moonkin. Is this just set dressing, or is there something more significant these props are meant to signify? Or, one step further, are they foreshadowing a return to something Moonkin-y, like Elune? If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way). If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#431
August 26 · 1 hr 2 min
Necessity is the mother of Gnomish invention
Anduin Wrynn's kingship — and distinct lack thereof — is the first topic this week on the Lore Watch Podcast. He's been off either having adventures or healing from those adventures for nearly his entire reign, so what could happen for Anduin to truly embrace his throne as a ruler? Joe, Matt, and Eric run down the series of events that led him here, and conjecture about his future. Then, we talk Gnomes and their inventions. Gnomish inventions tend to run the gamut from great to accidentally explodey. Even human inventions run on a bit of a sliding scale, from earth-shattering ones like the wheel to the mediocre, like the pet rock. What should the next gnomish invention be, and what could spur that inventor to create it? If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way). If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#430
August 19 · 59 min
Anima, Mana, and the forces of Azeroth
The very forces that underpin the World of Warcraft universe itself are the topic of this week's Lore Watch Podcast. We're all familiar with mana, from the earliest days of playing the first Mage that got absolutely destroyed by troggs outside Anvilmar. Anima is its newer, redder... cousin? How do these two things interact with each other? Are they related? Joe, Eric, and Matt take a deep dive across the leylines and into the anima pools, discussing not only the nuts and bolts of the Azeroth versions, but also the real-world inspiration for these concepts. They also take a stab at some of the other forces in Azeroth we've come into contact with, like the Chi used by Monks. Or, maybe more like a staff than a stab. If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way). If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#429
August 12 · 1 hr 3 min
The Lore of Doom: A deep dive (into hell)
Doom's gore-fueled Hell was one of those games Tipper Gore woke up in cold sweats dreaming about in the 90s when they were all about censoring things for the good of the children. The story of Doom was initially a bit light on the ground (of Mars), being mostly just a vehicle for good ol fashioned wanton violence. But there have been so many entries in the series that now that Doom has several different alternate timelines worth of story. Joe and Matt rip and tear their way through the lore of Doom, from the early days through the Dark Ages and beyond. Oh, and Isabelle from Animal Crossing and Doomguy are married. It's canon now. I don't make the rules. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#428
August 5 · 53 min
Dwelling on the Shadowlands in World of Warcraft
Lore Watch Podcast starts off with a dive into the lore of the Midsummer Fire Festival, particularly since so much was added over the past few years. How has this little event about a melting ice stone grown to reflect the culture of fire and summer in the different races? Then, we go back to the Shadowlands for the rest of the podcast. We start with actually getting there. If we were the only Maw Walker, why is there a whole portal in our capital cities for any rando to traipse into Oribos? As long as we're in Oribos, let's chat First Ones. What do we know about them, exactly? How has the lore we know about them changed what we used to think we know about Azeroth? We wrap it up by touching a figurative third rail: what would it take to make it feel like Sylvanas coming back was earned, and not a "somehow, Palapatine returned" cop out? If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#427
July 29 · 1 hr
Vol'jin's family, and Fandral in hindsight
Looking back and knowing what we do about Harandar and the deep roots of the World Trees, do we owe Fandral an apology in hindsight? Matt and Joe have a lot of lore to back up their answer, which is like 20 minutes worth of "lol, no." A stopped clock may be right twice a day, but it's still broken, and Fandral Staghelm didn't just ask us humbly for Morrowgrain. All bets are off when you try to re-summon Ragnaros. But starting off the show is a discussion on Vol'jin and his family, and why we don't really see them in the game. We don't have a ton of Darkspear characters, and that difference is pretty stark in an expansion packed with Amani. So, why might Blizzard not be making Vol'jin's family front and center when they're some of the few other representatives of the canon baseline Trolls? If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#426
July 22 · 1 hr
Fractured worlds and world souls
In World of Warcraft, we've come across several shattered worlds, in varying degrees of obliteration. From Outland to K'aresh, these worlds have been corrupted with various forces, were shredded into near-oblivion, and some looked as though they may have some kind of shot at redemption against all odds. But what about their world souls? How does each world soul relate to the creation of these worlds by the Titans? And how worried should we therefore be about the fate that may await Azeroth? This one gets pretty deep into the weeds of tinfoil hat theorizing, pulling elements from several different expansions for reference. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#425
July 15 · 1 hr 1 min
The Hand of Hatred and an Azerothian Fermi Paradox
Lore Watch kicks off with a discussion from Diablo 4 this week, which breaks the seal on the Lord of Hatred spoilers. This question concerns the Chekov's Gun that was Neyrelle's lopped off arm. Matt and Joe discuss the possibility that Neyrelle isn't truly, fully dead, as through the lens of that arm, which apparently washed up on shore in Skovos, despite being cut off in a very different place. Is it really a hint that she may come back, or is this just more residual echoes of hatred? Then, Eric gets to flex his astrophysicist street cred with the next question, which asks, if we can time travel, where are all the time travelers in Azeroth? Shouldn't we be crisscrossing all over the cosmos, or whatever, running into each other all the time? He posits a pseudo-connection to the Fermi Paradox, which essentially asks the same question, but about non-humans in real life, and where all the spacefaring civilizations are. And yes, contemplating this is truly terrifying. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#424
July 8 · 1 hr 6 min
Alan Wake, Control, and the lore linking the Remedy universe
The lore of the games from Remedy and how the two series Alan Wake and Control are linked is the topic of this week's Lore Watch Podcast. Both games are about events that shift from what the main characters know to be true, into something which couldn't possibly be true, if what they already knew to be true was real. Both games have a sense of wrongness and eerieness — Alan Wake's is more weird, like Twin Peaks, while Control's veers into horror. Joe and Matt unpack the plots of both series as individual works, and then delve into the mysteries and themes that connect them. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#423
July 1 · 58 min
In the Amani Loa-fest, where is Bwonsamdi?
The Loa of death Bwonsamdi is the first topic in this week's Lore Watch Podcast. Bwonsamdi was everywhere in Battle for Azeroth, even being a major driver of events in that expansion. But now that we have a whole Troll area packed with Loa in Midnight, he hasn't joined the party yet. Why? He seems like a party kind of guy. And where is he, if he isn't here, and what is he up to? Then, we move on to the second of two listener-submitted questions. The second part of the show concerns the Tree of Whispers from Diablo 4, and the lore fallout from the events of the most recent expansion. I don't want to say exactly what all happened with the Tree of Whispers, because spoilers, so if you're diving in this far, be warned. The Loremasters go from the events from the base game, all the way into the nature of Mephisto and his offspring. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#422
June 24 · 1 hr 2 min
Azshara: A lore deep dive
This week we take a deep dive — pun obviously intended — into the lore and psychology of Azshara, the ruler of the Naga on Azeroth. But first, we have a lighthearted question from a listener, asking for the lore justification against being able to Skyride on the sad little ghost gryphon when you're dead. I agree. This feels extra bad. Clearly there must be a lore reason why we can't. Then we turn to the bulk of the podcast, which is about Azshara and her power. How she gained such influence in the Zin Azshari empire prior to the War of the Ancients, all the way to how she ended up in the mess N'Zoth saved her from. Azshara's history is long and complex, and includes an analysis of her as a character -- what could make someone so sure they're always right? Well, when you're told you're going to be someone special by people who count from the second you're born, things kinda turn out that way sometimes. And then, we veer off into tinfoil hat territory, talking about the future and what those golden eyes might mean. Why do all her followers still follow her, anyway? If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#421
June 17 · 1 hr 3 min
What else lurks inside Azeroth, and Happy Father's Day Mephisto
We start off Lore Watch this week wishing Mephisto a Happy Father's Day -- but are there any other fathers among the evils of Diablo? Then, we pivot to World of Warcraft and another set of world-shaking entities. We saw what happened when we killed a Titan and kicked off Shadowlands, but what happens when a world soul dies? Do they just get to hang out in Ardenweald forever? Because that kinda sounds better than having a sword stuck through you since Legion. Then, we turn beneath the surface of Azeroth, to the Rift of Aln and the Nightmares it may hold. Also, is Xal'atath beneath the surface of Azeroth now, too? Was that some kind of weird portal magic through the Voidwell, or is she and her void baddies just Silver Surfering it up down there? If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#420
June 10 · 1 hr 2 min
The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer to Warhammer 40k
This week, our hosts Matthew Rossi and Joe Perez are tackling the absolutely massive universe of Warhammer 40,000. It's so massive that they can only scratch the surface of it in the time they have, so this is a great primer of one big facet of the setting -- The God-Emperor of Man. They cover a bit of the Horus Heresy, all the way up to the current events happening in the universe. Who is the God-Emperor of Mankind? How did he get to be stuck on the Golden Throne? Why are some of your friends always talking about skull thrones and blood gods? What are the Primarchs, and how do they affect the current events happening in the universe? These are just a few of the topics that are covered in this look at the grim dark future of humanity in the 41st millennium. It's time to say a prayer to the God-Emperor and steel your soul against the dark gods who lurk behind the universe as we dive into one of the largest and longest-running tabletop universes of all time. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#419
June 3 · 1 hr 3 min
Lilith, the knife, the void, and Diablo
In this Diablo 4 spoiler-laden lorefest, Joe and Matt discuss the end of the campaign from Lord of Hatred and where it may lead next. The link between Lilith and Mephisto and us was a core element in Lord of Hatred, and we're discussing the nature of that link, and what that knife had to do with it, anyway. And speaking of that knife, where is Lilith now? Come to think of it, where was she at the start of Diablo 4, before Elias took his three willing participants to give the Daughter of Hatred blood and flesh again? Could that knife be leading us to another future expansion? As usual, it's a deep dive. And when it's at the end, we ask the real question: Where in the seven hells is Diablo? It's supposed to be his game! If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#418
May 27 · 1 hr 11 min
The story of Diablo 4, through the end of Lord of Hatred
Diablo 4 lore junkies are in for a treat this week as Matt and Joe run down a spoiler-filled recap and analysis of the story of the latest expansion, Lord of Hatred. Did I mention that it's spoiler filled? Because it's truly spoiler filled. From the shocking death in the opening cinematic Blizzard posted to the official YouTube channel, to the shocking death toward the end of the expansion, we discuss the implications of the events of Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred. We also run through some of the details, like the role of the prophecy from the start of the base game. Also, Zoltan Kulle? Sure, why not. Let's see what Zoltan Kulle has to say about it. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#417
May 20 · 1 hr 2 min
Who is Astalor Bloodsworn, and what's the deal with Anguish?
Astalor Bloodsworn is the character at the center of the Midnight expansion's Prey feature, but this isn't the first time we've seen him. Matt, Joe, and Eric discuss his history, which dates back to the release of The Burning Crusade 20 years ago. They're answering listener questions this week, and the next topics diverge from that pretty wildly, examining how the WoW timeline gets a little wobbly when we go revisit things from the past, like old zones. But certain things we revisit in the game, specifically Hemet Nesingwary's entourage, seem to be pointing toward something sinister. Then we come to Elune and the World Trees, and how we seem to keep finding the blood of either Old Gods or the planet itself. Put together, this week's episode seems a bit more into blood than a usual show, which isn't really a high bar. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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