Blizzard Quote [source]

Blizzard in eSports

Blizzard made an announcement at the BlizzCon last year that they will be coming out with Diablo Immortal, an entirely fresh and mobile-only extension of the well-known PC-based role-playing action game. The launch will be in collaboration with mobile developer NetEase games. eSports has always been a major focus of Blizzard and Diablohub is their only the franchise which isn't involved in it yet.

Keeping in mind that mobile is the most rapidly growing segment in the gaming world, and the fact that mobile eSports are still in the nascent stages, with Diablo Immortal, Blizzard is hoping that they will be able to extend their eSports ambitions to the mobile space as well. Here's more on why Blizzard is creating Diablo Immortal.

Furthermore, anyone who enjoys the rush of eSports and games like Diablo, World of Warcraft, StarCraft and others, should definitely try out live dealer games at some of the most prominent casinos on the internet. In fact, if you are a Canadian, the ideal option for you will be to sign up for the free slots Canada has to offer, at the best online casinos (listed on the linked-to page). Let's now tell you about Blizzard's current involvement in the eSports scene.

StarCraft

This was the first big eSports hit by Blizzard and their current StarCraft II Remastered Edition has successfully ignited the same kind of interest that was garnered in South Korea, during the times of the original Brood War. In fact, the StarCraft II World Championship series has more than $ 2 million to be won in prize money each year.

Heroes of the Storm

This one is Blizzard's alternative for people who love Dota 2 and League of Legends. The MOBA or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena can use characters from all its IP addresses and the Heroes of the Storm Global Championship League (now ended) involved a prize money of a whopping $ 5.4 million awarded in the year 2017. Their competitive card game named Hearthstone has also become increasingly popular over the past few years, with $ 1 million being awarded in each one of its last two World Championship tournaments.

Overwatch

This one is presently Blizzard's most prominent endeavours in the field of eSports. The Overwatch league involves 20 different geo-located teams and there are plans that each one of these teams will establish their home base for multiple local matches, starting from the year 2020. There is an Overwatch World Cup held as well, involving top players of various national teams.

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft isn't like the other competitive eSports games in the Blizzard's portfolio. This MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) takes two different approaches to eSports - Speed Running Type Mythic Dudgeon Races and Arena Mode. The former has the potential of "Player vs Environment" type of eSports titles

Final Word

Blizzard currently has different games, with each one having their own eSports scenes. However, in all of them, it's the Blizzard that runs the show. Their Overwatch League is a very good example of Blizzard showcasing their unique approach of running a competitive scene.

Blizzard Quote [source]

Le Monde Reports Blizzard Diablo 4 in France

According to the Le Monde newspaper (article here in French) Blizzard has demonstrated a version of Diablo 4 to developers in France.

According to Le Monde, the demo took place in Versailles but was overshadowed by talk of job cuts as Blizzard tries to cut its workforce in 2019.

Most of Blizzard's current titles, World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo etc are gettin g long in the tooth now but the latest version of Diablo isn't expected until 2020.

Originally released in 1996, Diablo is one of the biggest games in the world, with a massive online community contributing to Activision Blizzard's profit margin.

In 2016, the 20th anniversary of Diablo, two former developers David Bervik and Bill Roper tweeted hinting at an imminent release of Diablo 4;

At the same time there were rumours of an announcement at BlizzCon 2018 with talk of a release date for Diablo 4. This was apparently removed at the last minute and replaced with a version of Diablo for a Smartphone instead. The same article discusses the many different directions the new version has taken whilst in development have caused the current delays.

At the same time fans were left frustrated when a goody bag containing a Diablo4-branded set of dice leading many to speculate that a release of version 4 had been planned but withdrawn at the last minute.

Despite all this controversy and uncertainty at BlizzCon 2018 though, some argue that version 4 is imminent.

What do we know about Diablo 4 then?

Well, again from Screenrant we can assume that expectations are high! We also know that Blizzard is taking as long as it deems necessary to get this version right after the internal disappointment with the release of Diablo 3.

The same article also speculates that the next version will be "dark and more gothic", in contrast with what many people see as the cartoon-like graphics in some parts of version 3; particularly the Gothic World of Sanctuary.

Apparently, v.4 will be designed to be much more social the previous versions, where players will be able to gather and trade online.

What do Blizzard say about Diablo 4?

Some would say remarkably little.

In their announcement of BlizzCon 2019, there doesn't seem to be any mention of Diablo 4, only a promise of "the latest news on everything Blizzard".... Watch this space!!!

Blizzard Quote [source]

Many of you will have seen this screen when trying to access the Battke.net website;

We've been following these problems that have resurfaced in recent days.

Clicking on the "Retry" button above set off a redirect that took us to this Twitter post;

Here's the discussion we found;

Diablo 3 Server Status? General Discussion Conners 4 days ago Diablo 3 Servers down at 12:57 PM on a Friday? Why can't Blizzard do server maintenance at like 3 am on a monday instead? When will the Diablo 3 servers be back up? I'm guessing the Diablo 3 servers are 100% down right now? If I'm wrong someone please post here, or post in this thread when the servers are back up? Rnclock 4 days ago @BlizzardCS 1h1 hour ago We apologize once again for the inconvenience caused by today's outages. We're working to resolve this as quickly as possible! @BlizzardCS 3h3 hours ago We're currently investigating an issue affecting our authentication servers, which may result in failed or slow login attempts.

Here's what else we uncovered;

BlizzardCS- the Americas tweet on 29th of May "We're currently investigating an issue affecting our authentication servers, which may result in failed or slow login attempts." As a result of the authentication servers having issues, players may have trouble logging into their Blizzard-related accounts. Players may be placed in a virtual "queue" to log in. And due to the issues, these queue times are enormous and not accurate whatsoever. Some Overwatch players were notified of estimated queue times ranging from three hours to nearly eight hours. r/Overwatch - 7.5+ hour wait to log-in? Just say the servers are down, Blizzard. r/Overwatch: Subreddit for all things Overwatch, the team-based shooter from Blizzard Entertainment. Initial reports of server outages began appearing at approximately 11:30pm CT on Reddit and other social media outlets. Predictably, within the hour, frustrated players had made some pretty good memes about the server issues. BlizzardCS- the Americas tweet We apologize once again for the inconvenience caused by today's outages. We're working to resolve this as quickly as possible! At 1:50pm CT, Blizzard apologized for the outages and reminded players that the company is working on a resolution. For now, players can keep attempting to log into games, but it may be a lengthy delay before the servers are working as intended. Update June 7, 3:00pm CT: Blizzard Entertainment has released another statement apologizing for the outages and offers no estimated time that they will be resolved. Update June 7, 5:00pm CT: Blizzard Entertainment announced the server issues have been resolved for most customers. They recommend restarting the Battle.net app for optimal performance. The outages lasted upwards of five hours in some areas.

Many people suspect that the login problems are due to DDOS attacks that have taken the server down.

We had a look at some server checkers and found the following;

Clearly Blizzard are having server problems that they are struggling to resolve. Let us know your thoughts!

Blizzard Quote [source]

Legendary: An Ancient & Primal Guide

Ancient items play a pivotal role in Season 17.

Each Ancient you kit out will yield a huge 750% increase to damage inflicted and a 4% decrease in damage sustained.

First, for those of you who've taken a rest from collecting loot, let's step back and take a refresher to clear up any mis-understandings regarding the differences between Legendary, Ancient and Primal Ancient items.

Essentially, Ancient Items and Primal Ancient items are more powerful variations of Legendary items. They are equivalent to Legendary items but for the fact that their essential attributes (damage or armor) and all their potential values can yield boosted results for lowest and highest possible rolls.

Ancient & Primal Ancient Items

• The stats on these items will (generally) be tailored to the character class you are playing when the item drops
• Set items are also able to roll as both Ancient and Primal Ancient
• You can't equip more than one item with the same name, even if one is Ancient and the other isn't
• Any percentage-based affix will not be boosted (such as Attack Speed, bonus % to skills or % Critical Hit Chance/Damage)

Ancient Items

• Only drop for characters who have reached level 70, and only on Torment level difficulties
• When dropped, Ancient items share the same orange glow as regular Legendaries
• You must identify the item to see if it's an Ancient
• Once identified, Ancient items have an orange border (or green for Set items) around the item tooltip and say "Ancient" in the item description.
• They drop from all sources including monsters, chests, Kadala, Horadric Caches, Kanai's Cube, and even crafting at the Blacksmith or Jeweler

Primal Ancient Items

• When dropped, Primal Ancient items have a red beam and glow
• Drops from any source of Legendary item in the game, including Horadric Caches, Kadala, and Kanai's Cube, but only after having successfully completed at least a level 70 Greater Rift solo
• These items are much rarer than Ancient items and have perfect Ancient-level stats on all affixes, including the item's Legendary Power

Primal Ancients & Developer Philosophy

Primal Ancients are intended for Diablo III players who have mostly finished their build or finished their Season 17 Journey but want to carry on in this Season. They're also intended for non-Seasonal players who have awesome kit and spend most of their time gaining Paragon Levels and upgrading Legendary Gems. We wanted to extend the excitement of seeing gear drop or spending Blood Shards at Kadala beyond obtaining Ancients in every slot. Primals provide an avenue for dedicated players to complete a build, without feeling like required upgrades. We hope that answers any questions you may have about Ancients and Primal Ancients.

Now off you go!

Blizzard Quote [source]

eSports betting Starter

eSports have grown tremendously over the past one decade and are also bet upon excessively these days. In fact, competitive gaming has never been this popular. It's no longer only a pastime activity, but has transformed into a million-dollar industry, actively indulged-in in every part of the world.

If you're someone who is planning to bet on eSports, you must first ascertain if it is really for you. Are you ready to accept the wins and losses that come inevitably with it? You'd need to learn a great deal about sports betting odds, and how to use them to your advantage. Here's a brief introduction to the world of eSports betting for you.

What is eSports betting?

Simply put, placing bets on the various outcomes of eSports matches is referred to as eSports betting. As highlighted above, with the massive popularity of eSports, eSports betting has also grown tremendously over the past one decade.

eSports are no longer only about playing to win, but are also about banking on other people's plays. A great number of reputed bookmakers today offer attractive odds on outcomes of eSports matches, and a huge number of punters bet actively on them. In fact, there are millions of people out there, who although don't play eSports, are constantly fixated on the online video gaming portals, as they have bets on the digital sportsmen.

Top bookmakers to bet on eSports

Not every bookmaker offers eSports bets, but there are some who are seasoned campaigners in this domain. We have done all the hard work and research for you, and have figured out some of the bookmakers you must definitely check out. Bet365, Sports Interaction, Betway and PowerPlay are a few that definitely deserve a mention.

ESports betting strategy

Betting on eSports is a lot of fun, as there's plenty of cash on the table. However, as is the case in any betting endeavour, you must know about some important things before starting to place your punts. These are:

Some of the most popular eSports games that people actively bet on are:

• Dota 2
• League of Legends
• Hearthstone
• CS:GO
• Counter Strike
• StarCraft
• Call of Duty

Read up well about the teams and players before putting your money on them. You should constantly stay on top of the latest news stories related to the eSport and become a part of the social network gaming communities on platforms like Reddit, Facebook, Twitter etc. For instance, Saahil Arora is a well-known eSports player who nets around $ 1 million per year and travels all over the world. You can reap great rewards by following him online and betting on his matches.

It will become very hard to predict the outcomes of the eSports matches if you're not much of a gamer yourself. Please note, you don't necessarily need to be a top-notch gamer; all you need is a good knowledge of the basics. The idea is to not feel completely lost when you see the live streams on Youtube or Twitch.