Nick, Rei, Eric, and Kurabara are back this week to talk about World of Warcraft! But first, Nick is excited and they talk about football for a bit. Go Eagles!

Next, Rei talks about how OoCS almost has Queen Ansurek down on their alts. She also talks about how people are relearning the raid on their alts and how she and Eric are getting each other’s drops. They talk about not getting rewards from LFR and this leads to Nick suggesting that people focus on enjoying the activity and not the reward. He wonders if the game has become too reward-centric. Kurabara talks about how he enjoys the activity of mining and farming. He also mentions he got most of the stuff on Siren’s Isle.

Rei talks about timewalking and she and Kura commiserate over healing ungrateful pugs. Nick jokes that Court of Stars is bugged. The gang talk about making sure to use your self-heals and interrupts to help your healer. Rei also talks about how they had to go all around the raid when dying. Kura points out the raid skip made it harder to run back when dying. Rei talks about finishing the Stormchaser achievement.

Eric talks about having the raid on farm and working on Dragonflight achievements. He also got Dragon Isles loremaster. They also talk about some of the new UI features including event timers, which would help Eric.

They mention that guild banks are still eating items, so be careful. They talk about tracking add-ons to make sure they don’t overwhelm your system. They are excited to be able to fly on Siren’s Isle.

Kura talks about stealing all his guilds crafting orders. He talks about how players need to complete all purple quests.

Nick talks about how Plunderstorm can force players into odd situations for rewards. He wonders what else players will begrudgingly do for rewards. He also proposes that Blizzard make a class that has no flavor and always tops the charts so that people won’t feel compelled to play the flavor of the month.

Next, they take a look back 100 episodes ago when Jeff Kaplan left Blizzard.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for February 10th 2025 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us onBluesky @wowtalk.mash.gg. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: mtb.gg/3mj

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick, Rei, Eric, and Kurabara are back this week to talk about what’s been going on in World of Warcraft lately. Rei begins by talking about some headset trouble and then wonders about how undead paladins would work. This leads to Nick coming up with a dumb idea for a game mode where you are constantly randomly switching classes. They also mention that Plunderstorm is returning.

Rei mentions that she’s working on snail rep for the Dragonflight meta-achievement. She also talks about how she got the $90 auction house mount. This leads to a discussion about the anniversary event which has now ended and how the anniversary currency is converting to timewalking currency. They also discuss the ongoing Turbulent TImeways event.

Eric talks about an experience he had running Dire Maul timewalking with a healer that left at the wrong time. He also talks about spending time in previous expansions and how they have the Nerub’ar Palace raid on farm.

Kurabara talks about gearing up his alts. He has making a ton of money off guild orders. He also talks about skinning the superbeast. He brings up the Kirin Tor questline that is now live and complains about the lack of a tutorial for dragon riding.

In the news, Nick talks more about the changes to the reward structure for Plunderstorm. Kura mentions that he has been spending his Siren’s Isle currency. There’s also a Plunderstorm twitch drop available, and Kura mentions that he got the gift for owning Vessel of Hatred and the War Within. They also talk about Ion’s interview about M+ dungeons. Finally, they talk about the 30th anniversary event coming to only 6 cities around the world.

Finally, they look back at episode #182 which was back in the middle of the 9.0 content drought.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for January 27th 2025 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us on Bluesky @wowtalk.mash.gg. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: mtb.gg/3mi

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy New Year!!! Nick, Rei, Eric, and Kurabara are back to talk about what’s been going on in World of Warcraft as we transition from 2024 to 2025. First, Rei talks about how she wasn’t able to go right to Siren’s Isle because she technically never completed the campaign questline in 11.0. She was finally able to get there and talks about some of the bugs the guild has encountered. Everyone also discusses how they feel about Cyrce’s Circlet, the new ring from the island. Rei also talked about how the warband bank is not working properly when she wants to put items into specific tabs. She also talks about finishing all the Anniversary Event content.

Eric talks about how he still hates mythic+ and is glad that he got to 2000 rating so he is done for the season. Rei mentions that she tried mythic+ with two healers. Eric also talks about killing heroic Queen Ansurek, and they talk about the last time they failed to get Ahead of the Curve which was way back in Highmaul in Warlords of Draenor. He and Rei also spent lots of time going through Dragonflight content to complete achievements for mounts and pets.

Kura talks about getting all his gear to 626 and then some add-ons he uses to track his professions. He mentions that he’s been disenchanting purples on the island to get lots of crystals. He’s also been doing PVP to get blacksmithing recipes. He complains about some quests in classic that are hard to navigate.

Nick talks about the Trading Post and how the Last Hurrah tasks make completion at the last minute so easy. They also talk about a bug that has some people having unlocked the January transmog early.

In the news, patch 11.1 notes are up and a PTR is coming in the new year. Nick in particular is interested in the changes coming to Marksman Hunter. Also, there was a holiday comic released featuring Alleria.

Finally, they look 100 episodes back at episode #181, when the Patch 9.0 content drought was becoming apparent.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for January 13th 2024 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us on Bluesky @wowtalk.mash.gg. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: [episode_short_url]

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick, Rei, Eric, and Kurabara are back this week to prepare for the imminent Patch 11.0.7 Siren’s Isle release on 12/17 by taking the Patch 11.0.7 Quiz! But first, Rei talks about the struggles with the changes to crest acquisition and Kura agrees with her. Then, she talks about a guild member who quit because the guild was not social enough, and that leads to a discussion of ways that guilds can be social and how being soclal requires both participation and inclusion. Kura talks about getting invited to a party and then getting whispered about the invite. They discuss discord as an alternative to Guild Chat. Rei mentions that she has not heard back about her harassment report. She also mentions that she is working on the anniversary achievements and that the voice actress for Nola, the Tortollan from Battle for Azeroth, passed away last year.

Eric then discusses the guild working on phase III of Queen Ansurek in the Nerub-ar Palace raid. He also mentions he has levelled more alts and then gets into a discussion of his struggles with Mythic+. He talks about a tank that quit after one pull and admits that he hates PUGs. He then talks about the secret questline in the anniversary event and Nick talks about how quickly it can be completed since time is starting to run out.

Kurabara talks about working on his crafting skills and that he rolled a vulpera priest. He is playing discipline and stressing out in dungeons as he learns the spec. He also talks about having a death knight ability that he just learned needs to be in melee range.

Next, Nick administers the Patch 11.0.7 quiz. Please send your quiz results to [email protected] with the subject “I want the transmog” For a chance to win the Waveborne Diplomat’s Regalia Transmog.

They then talk about recent events such as the secret hunting discord finally finding the felcycle and the supposed survey that Blizzard sent out asking about which classes people would like added to the game.

Finally, Nick takes a quick look back at episode #180 where they talked about struggling with PUGs.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for December 30th 2024 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us on Bluesky @wowtalk.mash.gg. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: mtb.gg/3lj

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick, Rei, Eric, and Kurabara are back this week to talk about what is going on in World of Warcraft. Rei begins by talking about some mythic+ runs and then they get sidetracked talking about the Felcycle mount that can be earned through completing several secrets. The secret finding discord is still trying to solve all the puzzles and Nick comments that getting the Hateforged Blazecycle through the Mountain Dew promotion may be easier. Rei also talks about running some mythic+ dungeons with underskilled groups and struggling to help get them up to a level to complete the dungeon.

Eric talks about how the guild is working on heroic Queen Ansurek but has not made much progress due to people missing raid for the holidays. He also mentions that he is working on his eighth level 80 character.

Kurabara talks about playing some WoW Classic instead of retail and compares that with his recent experience playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. He and Nick talk about why TOR is just an okay MMO when compared to WoW. They both do mention that they enjoy it. They talk about how the game struggles trying to marry story with MMO trappings without properly innovating in the space.

Nick talks about playing WoW with his kids and introducing them to classic as well as retail. He talks about how his son was struggling with the game because he lacks experience playing only Minecraft and tablet games.

In the news, they talk about the December Trading Post and also how Blizzard is now banning players for regularly leaving Mythic+ runs. They talk about how this is a deserved banwave.

They also discuss a reddit comment about saying hi when starting a Mythic+ run and then kicking anyone that does not respond. They agree this is acceptable as responding to a hello is a bare minimum ask of someone you are running a dungeon with.

Finally, Nick looks back at episode 179 when they reviewed Blizzconline and got ready for patch 9.0.5.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for December 16th, 2024 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us onBluesky @wowtalk.mash.gg. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: mtb.gg/3li

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Nick, Rei, and Eric are joined by Kurabara and his wife Blythe who only recently started playing WoW and is here to talk about the new player experience. She talks about rolling a dwarven fury warrior and mistakenly attempting to tank. She also shares her experience learning about dragonriding and discovering that she can add more action bars. She talks about rolling an evoker and not understanding what was happening. She compares WoW and Diablo IV.

Next, Rei talks about running mythic+ dungeons and getting tanks that don’t pay attention. Rei and Kura ran some dungeons and they complain about Necrotic Wake.

Eric mentions that Order of Corrupted Souls has downed Silken Court and is struggling on Ansurek. He also talks about learning to play his Havoc Demon Hunter and how he’s still figuring out their enhanced mobility. He talks about finishing the Earthen campaign and he and Kura complain about Jewelcrafting.

Kurabara continues talking about his struggles with crafting this expansion and in particular questions the usefulness of inscription. He also complains that getting Best-in-slot gear has been difficult, and he and Rei discuss how current loot rules can be a problem.

Kura and Nick talk about the Warcraft Direct and how Warcraft Reforged was supposed to get some fixes in a new patch, but more bugs were introduced. Also, Warcraft I and Warcraft II Reforged were released with plenty of bugs as well. Then they discuss the Patch 11.1 announcement and go over what is coming in the 2025 Roadmap. They also talk about the Player Housing announcement and Nick cautions everyone to lower their expectations. Kura brings up the Mountain Dew promotion and how scalpers have made getting the Hateforged Blazecycle difficult and expensive.

Nick takes a quick look back at episode #178 when they were preparing for Blizzconline.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for December 2nd 2024 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us on Bluesky @wowtalk.bsky.social. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: mtb.gg/3l5

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick, Rei, Eric, and Kura are back to talk about all the news that has come out over the last two weeks! First Rei talks about her struggles with acquiring crests and then talks about people not answering questions in a timely fashion in discord. She then explains her character’s transmog as she talks about chatting with someone after five and half years. This segues into a conversation about Amazon deliveries gone wrong. Then she talks about how she is not enjoying Xal’atath’s Bargain in Mythic+.

Eric talks about the guild being six of eight in Nerub-ar Palace. He’s also working on leveling up his death knight.

Kura talks about the twentieth anniversary event and he and Nick talk about how Blizzard was slow to correct the Token acquisition rates. They also talk about how some of the events are hit or miss but there’s plenty of time to get everything. Next, Kura mentions that he got the ninety dollar brutosaur mount. Nick ribs him for getting a Pay-to-win mount before debunking the notion that a mailbox is a pay-to-win feature.

Next, they talk about what’s been going on in the news. They talk about the Mountain Dew, Rockstar, and Doritos promotion that will let you earn points to buy items for World of Warcraft including the Fel Cycles that have been in the game files for a long time.

Then, they talk about the upcoming Warcraft Direct on 11/13. And then they talk about the announcement for Patch 11.0.7 which will focus on Siren’s isle. They talk about the new ring on the isle, but they are more surprised by the appearance of former WoW! Talk! host Katie who is now a developer on the Warcraft team!

Next, they talk about watching The Remarkable Life of Ibelin on Netflix, which focuses on the life of Ibelin who suffered from Duchenne syndrome while being an active guild member.

Finally, they take a quick look back at episode #177 which was about the upcoming Blizzconline.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for November 18th 2024 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us on X @wowtalkmtb. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: mtb.gg/3kw

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick, Rei, Eric, and Kurabara are back this week to talk about the upcoming Patch 11.0.5 celebrating the WoW 20th anniversary, and of course in order to prepare for that, its time for a quiz! But first, Rei talks about how the Xalatath buff only says it heals for a “certain amount” which is not very specific. She also talks about joining various PUGs to see what they are doing with their specific group requests, like an all girl PUG. She also talks about how people have not adjusted to the new scaling for Mythic+ dungeons: a +8 is not a +8, and a +10 is the new +20. They talk about how Delves have affected players normal gearing rotations for Mythic+, and point out that you should not be going into Mythic+s that you are not ready for.

Next, they talk about how players are not using all their utility in the Mythic+ dungeons. Kura talks about how he has different talent builds on his evoker with different utility talents selected depending on the boss fight. Nick points out that Mythic+ is intended for players to communicate, and being open to switching your build and using your interrupts is part of that. They also talk about how players can be defensive and think each other is being needlessly toxic. They also talk about how interrupts and dispels are just as much boss mechanics as standing in fire or dodging attacks are.

Next, Eric talks about how the guild has defeated the Nexus Princess boss. He was the only player left alive when he did it.

Kura talks about several bugs he has encountered in game (not Nerubians!). He also got a new mouse and his wife is excitedly digging into the lore.

Next, its time for the Patch 11.0.5 quiz, talking about the various events that will be part of the upcoming celebration.

In the news, Diablo IV has some awesome WoW skins available, and there is a new 12-month subscription mount/pet bundle.

Finally, Nick takes a quick look back at episode #176.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for November 4th 2024 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us on X @wowtalkmtb. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: mtb.gg/3kh

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick, Rei, Eric, and Kura are back this week to talk about what is going on in World of Warcraft! First, they talk about the ongoing guild bank issue where Blizzard has lost several items from player’s guild banks, including completely wiping out some banks entirely! They talk about how this issue is getting more and more attention each week and it’s a shame that Blizzard is unable to recover the data. They also point out that for the most part its just old mats but in some cases some unique items from the game’s history were also lost and cannot be recovered.

Next, Rei talks about her experiences with the weekly quests and working to catch up on some of them. Kura talks about how a recent mining quest was prohibitively expensive for the materials it was asking for. Rei also talks about running the new Deephaul Ravine battleground with Kura and trying some +6 Mythic Dungeons.

Eric talks about how the guild is halfway through Nerub’ar Palace. He also mentions that he is working on leveling up his jewelcrafting profession but that seems slower this expansion.

Kura talks about how he found the cause of his low DPS – his pets were set to passive. He also talks about the ease with which he can complete delves as a blook DK. He mentions that his wife has made a new WoW character and is playing an Evoker.

Nick talks about how the quickest way to complete delves is to not focus on finding the little containers that have experience for Bran and instead just rush to the end.

In the news, Limit won Mythic World First for Nerub’ar Palace. Also, Echo is stepping back from some events. And Thrall’s voice can be used with your Waze navigation app.

Finally, we look back 100 episodes at January of 2021 when Limit won World First for Mythic Castle Nathria.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for October 21st 2024 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us on X @wowtalkmtb. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: mtb.gg/3kg

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick, Rei, Eric, and Kurabara are back with a surprise episode to talk about the release of Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier which releases today! The gang was lucky enough to receive an advance copy and having read the book we are able to share our thoughts.

First, we talk about whether we enjoyed the book and enjoyed the Rise, Fall, Future format. Nick mentions that the rise and fall portions of the book feel like different books, as the stories change from one of an up-and-coming company to a series of corporate battels. The last part of the book is also tough to read as the stories Schreir is telling are from the last half decade when Blizzard has been in turmoil, and as it becomes evident which story he is setting up, the anticipation of knowing what he’s about to discuss can be discomfiting. Nick also comments that the last chapter stands out since it addresses the layoffs from January.

We talk about how Schreier’s writing style which works for telling these narratives, although Nick and Rei were pressed to try to fit everything into chronological order.

Rei also talks about her experiences working for Gamestop and Activision and how they compare with the experiences under Activision’s bad management.

We also talk about some of the more interesting anecdotes, like how Brian Birmingham quit because of the implementation of stack ranking. They talk about Ben Brode’s path to joining Blizzard. And Nick mentions his disdain for Armin Zerza.

Play Nice is now available at bookstores everywhere.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show is scheduled for October 21st 2024 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us on X @wowtalkmtb. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback to [email protected].

Episode URL: mtb.gg/3k6

Hosts:

Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Rei Liou

Eric Knutson

Cory Treadway
twitter.com/kurabaras

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices