Solo Queue - A World of Warcraft Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode 13 - Early or Not, Here it Comes The War Within launches Full episode notes to come after I get a little sleep and get bored during a meeting at work. Dave

Episode 12 - You Still Want to Start WoW NoW? Part 2 Show Notes Opening Bit •Official Apology letter from Solo Queue HQ for the delay of Part 2   A Few More Words on the WoW Map •The whole screen map, zooming in and out •The quest log and small map, explanation of different types of quests and all the new symbols added to the map legend   A Few More Words on Gear and Gear Upgrades •Gear is the heart of WoW, but it can be very confusing •Soulbound and Bind on Equip gear historically •Transmog and learning appearances to change your character’s look •The addition of the Warbank and Warbound gear in TWW, sharing with all your characters •End game gear and the complicated upgrade track system. A good visual and explanation of the upgrade system here:  https://epiccarry.com/blogs/wow-war-within-gear-upgrade-guide/   Modification and Customization Inside the Game •Settings, suggestions ◦Use mouse for movement – 2 buttons and steer ◦Set autoloot – first thing I do on all new characters ◦Going through Menu items •UI/addons ◦WoW edit mode ◦UI replacements – I use ElvUI, one of many ◦Source for add-ons – Curseforge, other sites ◦Advice for new playera: just start with the custom UI in the game; perhaps a future episode segment on solo Add-ons •Keybinds – Setting what you keyboard keys do •Macros – Shortcut buttons that simplify tasks, but I'm not the one to ask   The Many Ways to Play WoW •Getting to current content, important or not? •Dungeons/Raids and “end game” ◦Grouping ◦Levels of content ◦What solo players can expect and missing out on content ◦Follower Dungeons now, raids next? •PvP the other end game ◦I am not the expert ◦Rankings, seasonal rewards ◦War mode ◦Podcasts for more info, Technically PVP •Great Vault from various play; will add Delves (solo play) to vault in TWW •Bnet friends, social, guilds (who am I to talk about that?) •Warbands, after talking about guilds •Solo content, including out-leveling old content •Collections ◦Types of mounts including utility mounts ◦Transmog •Lore/history ◦Loremaster path ◦Know that much of the story is not in-game ◦Books, comics, etc. outside of game ◦Content creation community for lore ◦Podcasts - Live, Laugh, Lore Ep. 101, Nobbel87 ◦Chronicle I-IV •RP – role-playing in WoW •Professions, primary and secondary, gathering and crafting, playing the auction house   Where to get help? •YouTube videos ◦Lore: Platinum WoW for quick lore; Nobbel87 for in-depth lore ◦News channels: Taliesin & Evitel among the most popular, Hazelnutty, SoulSoBreezy, Bellular •Websites: Wowhead, MMOChampion, BlizzardWatch, IcyVeins, Petopia for Hunter pets •PODCASTS ARE THE GREATEST!!! The Starting Zone a great resource; Live, Laugh, Lore; Unshackled Fury; Girls Gone WoW; Thrall’s Balls •Discord groups •Twitch streamer communities •WoW Forums   Outro Thanks to Blizzard and OGRE for audio, my lovely wife, and you for listening. If you want to support the show, SoloQueueWoW at Patreon.com Thank you to current supporting patrons, Andrew, Righteous Bandy, and ThatSkyGuy!  Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Good luck diving into TWW launch this week or next. “I'll see you out there."

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!  Don't mind this:  SKmW1OYni0tWQd9S8iYc 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!

Ep. 2 Show Notes News: 2024 Roadmap; Community Council Interview, 10.2.5 soon! Side Quest: PTR Follower Dungeons review My Month in WoW: Many levels from XP boost, trivia; breaking down & joining SoD Question of the Month: What excites you about WoW’s future? Next Month: What are you using your boost on? Main Topic: Is WoW entering a Golden Age? YES! Contact me at soloqueuewow at Gmail, social media, Patreon

New podcast about adventuring alone in WoW with Dave Gagne
Main Topic: Why this podcast at this time?
Question of the month: What has you excited about WoW?
News: Features for solo players; CoT trivia; Gear Updates
Roundup of resources for solo players
Next month: testing Follower Dungeons
Thanks to my loving, patient wife
All music/sound effects property of Blizzard
Intro/outro music courtesy of my friends in OGRE
soloqueuewow at Gmail & socials

The introduction episode of Solo Queue, a new monthly podcast about adventuring alone in Azeroth.  Host Dave Gagne will share his experiences playing the massive multiplayer game World of Warcraft while steering clear of other players.  Coming soon to a podcast feed near you and info on most social media platforms at soloqueuewow.  See you out there!

Episode 11 – Up All Night Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 11! – 3:25 (10:00 pm) The goal of this episode was to throw age to the wind and unwisely pull an all-nighter enjoying the final days of Dragonflight and recording an episode.  The segments of the show are broken up by hours in the all-nighter!  Stick around to find out how it goes.    July News – 7:43 (11:00 pm) 1.Midsummer Fire Festival – I did lots of levelling and proved that the new bad luck protection system works perfectly fine by getting the Fire Festival Drake armor on my very first attempt. Sorry Jason from the Starting Zone.  Thanks Blizz, but remember me again at Brewfest. 2.Pre-patch for The War Within, the tenth expansion, launches this Tuesday (today)! Long maintenance is a guarantee.  Be patient.  Remember two things.  1.First, the pre-patch event for 11.0 is called the Radiant Echoes and it DOES NOT LAUNCH on Tuesday. 2.Second, Warbands launch when you log in and creating yours will take time on your first login. 3.Preview of pre-patch – Really, the only other news worth mentioning at this moment is the rest of the pre-patch. Wowhead article: https://www.wowhead.com/guide/the-war-within/pre-patch-overview 1.All DF raids and world bosses become awakened 2.Skyriding is available 3.Cross-realm guilds are available 4.Leveling requirements reduced, especially from 60 to 70   End of Dragonflight – 31:32 (12:00 am) 1.End of expac checklist. What’s yours?  Mine is being pieced together as we chat 2.Thoughts on Renown - felt like a big burden and tell me how it is different from reputations, Derek Zoolander. If I make a Blue Steel joke in the show notes, does it ever get read? 3.WoD and DF similarities based on comments by Denathar on his podcast Azeroth United – 2 expansions when developers were looking ahead to a game-changing next expansion, one more successful than the other 4.Follower dungeons – all benefit, no downside, which means…wait for it…#giveusFollowerRaids   TWW Topics – 52:40 (1:00 am) Really just a rant about Pathfinder and support for “Steady Flying”   Delve Testing and Preview 1:01:54 (2:00 am) 1.Playing beta characters is tough 2.Hanging with Brann as your support 3.Delves are a bit of a puzzle, a series of quests, objectives, etc. as we have seen in instanced scenarios/activities before, but maybe the best version of its predecessors 4.Has some Torghast like power-ups here and there. 5.Brann suggests pausing to sit by the fire after combat to hear and get you well fed. 6.There are boxes and chests with helpful gear and respawn points. 7.Boss at the end with a treasure room full of rewards   Hearing voices and then a Remix update – 1:12:01 (3:00 am) Wait, did we make it?  Man, it felt good to buy out the mount vendor!  Also, I didn’t mind running groups in MoP Remix because there is literally no interactions with others and no challenge to the content, virtually at any level.   Raid of the Month:  Mogu-Shan Vaults – 1:22:12 (4:00 am) The primary drop is the Astral Cloud Serpent mount, one of my faves and a previous target of mine.  Lorewalker Cho and some slow to come to life bosses make this a slow farm, but the mount is great if you didn’t get it in MoP Remix.  And in Remix, there is an amazing golden version called the Astral Emperor’s Serpent.  Go get it!   Final thoughts on Dragon Flight and the direction of WoW – 1:34:10 (5:00 am – close to dawn of a different day) DF saved WoW as Blizzard pulled itself out of a terrible place; Blizzcon 2023 ended my debate over whether to continue with the game and it resurrected Solo Queue because of the three pillars:  Delves, Warbands, and Follower Dungeons. Dragon Flight brought the story of WoW back to Azeroth and the familiar after the Shadowlands. Follower Dungeons might be one of the few features launched in WoW to have no real negative reaction, benefits for solo players, and even benefits for group players. Extend that Follower Dungeon tech to a Raid setting. Coming solo features remind me of Mage Tower in Legion, my single proudest moment (beating the Feral Druid challenge).   Idea of adding a small level of challenge to old dungeon/raid farming, but not before Follower Raids! Lastly, Warbands, the big change that arrives with pre-patch.  Denathar of Azeroth United said this is the shift from a game that recognizes what the character accomplishes to a game that recognizes what the player accomplishes.  61 characters will be in my Warband soon, all sharing their loot. DF brought WoW back and the future looks great!   Outro – 1:48:20 (Sunrise!) •Thanks to Blizzard and OGRE for audio, my lovely wife, and you for listening. •If you want to support the show, SoloQueueWoW at Patreon.com •Thank you to current patrons, Andrew, Righteous Bandy, and ThatSkyGuy! And welcome free patrons Max and Eddie! •Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. •Sounds from Blizzard and OGRE #dontplaymuted •You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. “I will see you out there."

Episode 10 – How Do You Solo Interview with Gin! Show Notes    Welcome to Episode 10! – 3:25 Introducing…Gin! – 4:37 1.Finding WoW 2.Warcraft II music holds up  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwWh1xy6gvU  3.History as a raider and social aspects of WoW – 15:30 4.How does Gin solo?  Story or single-player challenges, like Delves – 28:30 5.Delves as the evolution of WoW’s single-player experience and the Great Vault 6.Content creation, introverts, milkshakes, and a love of history/lore – 37:20 7.What it takes to buy into the lore – 46:10 8.Kyndi!  By the way, Dave apologizes for the mistake.  Kyndi is a gnome, not a goblin. 9.What it takes to be a successful content creator (asking for a friend…) – 54:10 10.A little love for Ali! – 56:06 11.Future of WoW podcasting and content creation and the Gin’s Joint channel – 59:45 12.The challenge of…distance running, Boston, and the marathon nerf bat – 1:07:50  https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/qualify 13.Lightning Round! – 1:16:08 14.Final Thoughts:  TWW outlook, WoW moving in a good story direction – 1:22:28 Outro •Thanks to Blizzard and OGRE for audio, my lovely wife, and you for listening. •If you want to support the show, SoloQueueWoW at Patreon.com •Thank you to current patrons, Andrew, Righteous Bandy, and ThatSkyGuy! And welcome free patrons Max and Eddie! •Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest. •Sounds from Blizzard and OGRE – the laughter was for me rocking the OGRE shirt on camera. #dontplaymuted •You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. (I know, for the first time, I misspelled “soloqueuewow” leaving out the extra “ue”.  Bully for you if you caught that, super-listener.) •Follow Gin on Twitter/X @ginsjoint and check out his work on the podcast Live, Laugh, Lore or at his YouTube channel Gin’s Joint (not Rick’s Café, ifykyk) “We will see you out there." See you real soon for Episode 11, the July monthly episode!

Episode 9 – First Raid Clear of…Dazar'alor? Show Notes  Welcome to Episode 9! – 3:27 •Sound issues lately - I think I have them resolved. •Goodpods listed Solo Queue was as a Top 50 video game podcast last month! •Upcoming episodes: 10 will be an HDYS interview with Gin of Live, Laugh, Lore podcast.  Ep. 11 will be just the second half of the introduction to playing WoW.  Sorry to leave you hanging, ThatSkyGuy!   News – 8:37 1.TWW launches Aug. 26 - I was only one day off!  Early access on Aug. 22, Season 1 activities on Sept. 1.  2.I broke down and went all in on the 20th anniversary collector's edition. 3.TWW beta access was June 5, with codes for collector’s edition people arriving June 12.  I am holding out against spoiling the Day 1 experience for myself, so no beta coverage here. 4.Mid-Summer Fire Festival begins today, June 21! 1.You can travel from zone to zone, city to city, and lighting your factions’ bonfires and extinguishing those of the rival faction.  Do this to collect Burning Blossoms, the currency for the Fire Festival.  There are buffs you can get and vendors to spend your blossoms on.  In addition, there are festival related quests and achievements to check out. 2.Holiday boss is Frost Lord Ahune 3.This also brings in a big change to how holidays work in general.  Now, you can only get one of these premier rare drops on the first attempt of the day per Bnet account.  4.To balance out the reduced availability, Blizzard have introduced bad luck protection, with chances rising after every failed attempt.  5.Once per day per account, Ahune will drop the Satchel of Chilled Goods - chance at the new Cliffside Wylderdrake armor, along with blossoms, Ahune's staff, and other items.  6.Festival runs until July 5, so 14 attempts. 5.10.2.7 patch was released May 7 with various small story questlines, content. 1.Dranei HA 2.Troll HA 3.Harbinger questline - setting up the TWW, good stuff. 4.Sins of the sister - difficult to remember or find, is in Bel'Ameth.  5.Be Yourself Visage Day - issues with not finding the NPCs is due to you not having done the questing related to those NPCs.  Frustrating, but understandable, but frustrating. 6.All DF quests previously locked behind Renown levels are now available to all level 70 characters. 6.WoW Remix - MoP of course is live!  59 days left and counting.  Once 70, I hear it is quicker for any Timerunner alts that you make AFTER achieving 70. 7.BfA Raids now soloable 8.Is the first TWW raid soloable?  Not quite.  Blizzard announced Story Mode as a new Raid difficulty.  Neru'bar Palace, first TWW raid, will feature a new difficulty called "Story”.  It is not Follower Raids.  Party of 1-10 for a pared down battle with only the final boss.   Popping in to a tavern or inn for a local drink – 40:01 Pandaren Plum Wine at The Lazy Turnip.  We are drinking the local this month.   Question of the month – 40:56 After giving the news and drama of Remix, have I been paying too much attention to headlines and nerf news and not enough time just playing and enjoying?  What is your opinion on MoP Remix?  Do you like this different style of content in this period leading up to a new expansion?      Introducing the Raid of the Month! – 42:55 One big part of many solo players game is waiting literal years for Blizzard to open up old end-game content to solo players.  With the news that BfA raids are now soloable, I chose Battle of Dazaralor for my first Raid of the Month on my Night Elf Feral Druid main, ilvl 484, 499 weapon. Dazaralor is a 12-boss raid and was the second raid of BFA.  It launched in January of 2019, so I waited five and a half years to be able to solo it.  That is too long.  I chose it because it has two rare mounts that can drop on Mythic, both are pretty cool.  The GMOD is a massive robot mech suit mount, the Goblin Machine of Death.  It can drop in Normal, Heroic, or Mythic difficult.  The Glacial Tidestorm, a very cool elemental off Jaina, only drops on Mythic. First 9 bosses gave little trouble.  A 3% wipe after 5 minutes on Mekkatorque, but second time was fine.  No GMOD.  Stormwall Blockade was very difficult and took some research and four deaths.  Jaina was easier, but no Glacial Tidestorm.   Final tally 11 new appearances, no mounts, bunch of five-year-old achievements, 2,471 in gold, minus 250 in repair costs.  Profit of 2,221 gold for roughly an hour of time, maybe less.  I did eat dinner in the middle.  Difficulty was a satisfying level, but I want this in less than five year.  #FollowerRaidsWoW   Outro Thanks to Blizzard and OGRE for audio, my lovely wife, and you for listening. If you want to support the show, SoloQueueWoW at Patreon.com Thank you to current patrons, Andrew, Righteous Bandy, and ThatSkyGuy!  Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Good luck with your own old raid farming! “I'll see you out there."  

  Episode 8 – So You Want to Start WoW NoW? Show Notes The Basics of WoW •What is an MMORPG (and why is this a solo podcast?) •What is WoW? ◦Scene - Azeroth, Draenor, Argus and other planets in the universe ◦High-fantasy world of physical combat, magic, cosmic forces, politics, conflict, and the lives of various everyday characters of many races ◦Timeline of WoW ◦Predecessors RTS I, II, III •Retail vs. classics ◦Retail since 2004, expansions 2 years or so; next in late summer, trilogy, so great time to begin! ◦Classic flavors ▪Classic ▪Advancing classic flavors, now WotLK, soon Cata ▪Hardcore mode ▪SoD   Into Azeroth for the First Time •Server types and populations and choosing ◦Character creation screen ◦Factions ◦Races, classes, specs, roles, armor classes ◦Customizations •Talents - points every level that enable choice of new spells, abilities •Who are you playing with and how do you want to play? •Exile’s Reach vs. starting zones – both have their benefits •How to level ◦Chromie time after first character. Will be leveling right now through BfA for first time.  Can also start in WoW Remix MoP. ◦Expansion summaries and history ◦Suggestion for leveling ◦This is a good place to list all of the expansions and give a brief rundown. ◦Quests, XP, gold, reading text or not ◦Gear – levels, BoE, BoP, Soulbound, Warbound, Account-bound   End of Part I of Starting WoW NoW - but more to come!   Outro Thanks to Blizzard and OGRE for audio, my lovely wife, and you for listening. If you want to support the show, SoloQueueWoW at Patreon.com Thank you to current patrons, Andrew, Righteous Bandy, and ThatSkyGuy!  Subscribe to the podcast at your podcast feed of choice, Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.  You can contact me at soloqueuewow at gmail.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Good luck choosing which version of WoW to immerse yourself in. “I'll see you out there."