#400 - For Azeroth!: “BlizzCon on the Horizon"

Lex is recovering from BlizzCon and sits down with Manny to talk about all the announcements, the reveals, and surprises.

The BlizzCon schedule and floor plan are out but Lex and Manny are reading between the lines. The two discuss their progress through the Venomous Abyss raid. Is this the most difficult raid in modern Warcraft history?

Lex and Manny discuss the early phase of 12.1, what content is holding their attention and how they are enjoying the latest patch of World of Warcraft: Midnight.

With almost 10 years, 7 different hosts, 6 expansions and 1 amazing game, For Azeroth! celebrates 400 episodes and discusses BlizzCon and the future of Warcraft!

The gang dives into 12.1 and they have big feelings! From World Tours to Delve grinds, what should you be doing this week in Warcraft? The answer might surprise youWe also take a look at a pair of roundtables that were held with RaiderIO, Wowhead and IcyVeinsPaul Kubit and Rachel Vought:https://youtu.be/LtHBc9R2mic?si=trjSGtZxV4UoAE-wTaylor Sanders and Andrew De Sousa:https://youtu.be/QLRFBIXeiFw

Manny is under the weather so Sean and Lex struggle bus their way through the news. Or do they?!?Prepare for patch!Dyes are soulbound in preparation for the upcoming patch: https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/housing-dye-trading-temporarily-disabled/2332674The projected scores for Umbral Champion 1% and Umbral Hero 0.1% were posted:EU: 3962 / 4207NA: 3915 / 4183https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/m-umbral-champion-and-umbral-hero-scores-updated-august-4/2333001https://eu.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/m-umbral-champion-and-umbral-hero-scores-updated-4-august/625085The Addon Arms Race continues:Azta'rec memory game had been trivialized by two add-ons. Blizzard has now revised the API to disable these addons.https://www.wowhead.com/news/completely-automated-addons-for-memory-game-broken-on-azratec-delve-boss-382356Some World Activities will stay relevant in Season 2In the latest PTR build, the rewards from Invasions, Ritual Sites, Void Assaults, and their caches have been upgraded for S2. This should make alts that just hit 90 more options to gear up.https://www.wowhead.com/news/season-1-activity-rewards-updated-for-season-2-382324Additional Reward details for early Season 2During the pre-season week, the Great Vault will offer rewards based on your activities during the final week of Season 1. Season 2 Great Vault credit starts accruing during the pre-season week, with the rewards from those efforts available to claim on August 18.Crafting Sparks will also begin dropping during the pre-season.Voidcore bonus rolls will not be available in the first Great Vault of Season 2. They will become available during the second week of Season 2 (August 25) and can be selected by anyone who has unlocked at least 3 panes.For the first Great Vault of Season 2, the maximum gear level attainable from the World row will be Champion 3/6. Subsequent Vaults can reward gear from the World row at a maximum quality of Hero 1/6.https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/midnight-season-1-ending-and-season-2-information/2331696

The gang dives in to Snake Island and everything coming in 12.1!Blizzard Acts in GM Power Abuse IncidentLast week, we discussed the known details around an apparent abuse of admin powers. This week we get to tell you the fall out. The Blizzard employee was found to be in violation of their Code of Conduct and was dismissed from the company immediately.The players who were found complicit in the violation have had their accounts actioned upon. That has been reported to be a 30 day suspension of their accounts.LinksProhibited Gameplay Incident and Response - General Discussion - World of Warcraft Forumshttps://x.com/jdotb/status/2080799736915775742S2 Date AnnouncedAugust 11th the patch goes live!New Outdoor Zone: The Coiled IsleNew Activities:Vaults of Atal’UtekPublic EventsCurse SurgesCursed FishingNew Eight-Boss Raid: The Venomous AbyssNew Three-Boss Dungeon: Altar of FangsNew Lairs for Normal, Heroic, and Mythic World Boss EncountersThree New Delves including a new Nemesis DelveMidnight Season 2 Begins August 18thMythic+ Dungeon UpdatesNew Players vs. Bots ArenaPrey Season 2New Arcantina QuestsUser Interface Updates for Cooldown Manager and Ping SystemHousing Updates:Save, Export, and Import BlueprintsWelcome Pets!Four New EndeavorsClass UpdatesLinksCurse of Ula’tek Goes Live August 11! Journey to the Coiled Isle.The Clock is Ticking on Midnight Season 1 Achievements and Rewards

Sean sat down with Neek of Fates Reforged, RollieRodz from Dayglow, Broccoliz of Euphoric and FTM and Luka from This is Fine to talk about the challenges of being a GM.Recruiting, raid prep and why do they put in so much extra work for a video game. It's a great talk!Follow Guests:Neek: https://x.com/NeeK2323Rollie: https://x.com/RollieRodzBroccoliz: https://x.com/yeslikeagirlzFTM: https://x.com/FtmjgtdeLuka: https://x.com/lukaripnw

The gang gets excited for Blizzcon with the release of the in-game bundles! Everyone is talking about Mythic+ this week as a potential breach of trust took place in a Nexus Point Xenas 23 with a GM and some title pushers.BLIZZCON BUNDLE REVEALEDWith Blizzcon now less than 2 months away, Blizzard has unveiled the in-game bonuses that all ticket holders will be receiving. For those of us not attending, these are now purchasable on the bnet store.There are 6 bundles:- The Warcraft Bundle- Overwatch BlizzCon Bundle- Diablo IV BlizzCon Bundle- Diablo Immortal BlizzCon Bundle- Hearthstone BlizzCon Bundle- World of Warcraft: Murk'atath PetOverwatch: Lich Queen Mei Player Icon and Name CardDiablo IV: Indigo's Light Trophy and Indigo's Master TrophyDiablo Immortal: Astral Celebration Portrait FrameHearthstone: 5 Standard Card PacksCelebrate BlizzCon® 2026 with the World of Warcraft BlizzCon Bundle!DARKNESS DESCENDS UPON DECOR DUELSDecor Duels will end with the release of the 12.1 patch. With this week's reset Blizzard has made a few additional changes to help players looking to earn rewards.- Hiders will no longer be automatically revealed when thirty seconds remain in the match.- Flies have been removed from Hiders who stay in one location for too long.- The energy increase rate for Seekers has been reduced by 20%.- Players will earn double the rate of Illusionary CoinsOnce the dust settles and Decor Duels is no longer available, players will still be able to purchase Decor items from the vendors in Silvermoon City.Join the Final Surge for Decor DuelsGM FOUL PLAY?A redditor on a supposed burner account, called attention to suspicious entry in warcraft logs. Acrobatic_Pianist688 points to the allegedly unsalvageable key, which then had many mobs dying due to GM admin abilities.Blizzard GM death touching mobs in M+23 for their favorite streamer. LOG linked. : r/wowhttps://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/JcfwTd4L19Agx3NX?fight=4&type=resources&hostility=1&source=100.4&eventstart=4705300Alleged Cheating in +23 Nexus Point Xe'nas Log - Wowhead NewsKaivax responds

This week the gang talks lore clarifications, 12.1 dungeon tuning and they discover the identity of FAZ Dev - or did they?NewsThe Truth is out There!Senior Quest Designer, Keith Riley went to X to clarify some misconceptions about last week’s Lore debate. The cinematic at the heart of the controversy depicts the in-game Haranir perspective. The thread goes on to point out that the visions of the Haranir paints can have gaps, and/or inaccuracies. Keith concludes that a definitive account was not presented.Linkshttps://x.com/Boogily_Woogily/status/2076007096341192929Season 2 Dungeon Testing ContinuesBlizzard has taken a look at the feedback provided over the first 2 weeks of dungeon testing and made many of the adjustments players were asking for including increased difficulty on bosses like Mchimba and The Golden Serpent in Kings Rest. As well they continue to tweak the final boss in Sethraliss to make it more engaging and require a higher level of group coordination. All dungeons are available for mythic+ testing this week.LinksFeedback: Midnight Season 2 Dungeon Test July 14th - July 20thiTunes // Bonus Roll Production Directory ThanksSpecial thanks to Rak and all our patrons. FAZ will always be free, but if you enjoy the content we produce, consider pledging to our Patreon at Patreon.com/FAZSubscribe to For Azeroth! PCGamesNLauren Bergin of PCGamesN sat down with Game Director, Ion Hazzikostas to check in on the state of WoW.Ion reiterates that the story of modern WoW is broadening what is on offer for different audiences.The team was fixing bugs too close to release without reviewing to see if there were knock-on effects of the last minute pokes at the code. Fixing an elevator bug in SoO caused a major issue in housing.The Team prioritizes issues based on a number of factors including the severity of the issue, the number of people affected, and balances that against the efforts required to address that issue vs others. They gave an example of “ghost-town” Silvermoon.Ion spoke on loud voices in the community not understanding who content is directed to and dismissing the content outright.As the team iterates on WoW, they are worried about being too formulaic.12.1 might at first seem like a side story but Ion reassures that it ties into the overarching plot of the World Soul Saga.LinksIon Hazzikostas on Midnight, addons, housing, and the state of World of Warcraft in 2026OutroBe part of the conversation and join us on Discord bit.ly/fazdiscordThank you so much for supporting the show!