The Back2Warcraft Podcast: Recent Episodes

Back2Warcraft

Podcasting all things Warcraft3 related! Neo & Bidoux talk about Blizzard's RTS Classic and discuss the recent devolpments of the game and introduce you the competitive Esports side of things.

Welcome back to the podcast everybody!

Today Neo talks about:

Remo's recovery from his knee surgery
the announcement of RCADIA World Series
W3Champions Finals
Why Patch 1.33 could actually ruin the game
Blizzard sends a cease and desist letter to a community member

Visit our Homepage: http://www.back2warcraft.com Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2EHFIG2 Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/back2warcraft Subscribe on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft Check our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/back2warcraft Connect via Discord: http://discord.Back2Warcraft.com

Support us: On Patreon: http://Patreon.com/Back2Warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8AUf3tg5Id7kZjfsjkILMA/join Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com Amazon Referral: http://amazon.Back2Warcraft.com

We have the absolute honor to be joined by two members of the W3Champions Team. W3C has saved competitive Warcraft3 after the disastrous Reforged launch and delivered what Blizzard couldn't do for 2,5 years: Ladder, new Maps, additional functionality, Quality of Life improvements and so much more.

What's the state of W3Champions? - Do you have enough manpower? - How's the financial situation? - Are you happy with the status quo? - Recent developments - Future Updates - When will we finally have automated tournaments? - Will W3C ever touch balance?

Blizzard to introduce Ranked Ladder - Will W3Champions continue? - Did Blizzard ever reach out? - Your opinion on the team lead Holli Longdale - What's the relationship to Frost Giant? + Gym Newbie League, the scene as a whole & so much more

Play on W3Champions: https://www.w3champions.com/ Join the W3C Discord: https://discord.gg/uJmQxG2 Support W3Champions on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/w3champions

Neo & Carson reunited and a lot to catch up on!

Remo out of action after breaking his tibia twice
Blizzard delivers the 1.33.0 PTR that brings Ranked Ladder, Profiles and Leaderboards
Blizzard President Mike Ybarra reveals the team lead for the Warcraft 3 team
Doug Polk's take on if we need W3C after Battle.net introduces a native ladder
AWL & Showmatches - Is UD vs. NE slowly changing?

Warcraft3 is wildly known for the content that came out of the World Editor, namely funmaps like DotA, Funman Frenzy and Tower Defense.

Today, we interview three of the most famous and influential content creators of this day and age, coming from the project Re-Reforged and Chronicles of the 2nd War.

What did Reforged change for them? What drives them to do Blizzard work? Why is the new graphic not as bad as the melee community says - and how can we make them fit better for melee matches?

This and many more from InsaneMonster, Shadi & Eugene. Warcraft Re-Reforged: https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/warcraft-3-re-reforged-the-scourge-of-lordaeron-act-i.337516/ Chronicles of the Second War: https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/chronicles-of-the-second-war-updated-demo.327574/ Sorry for the audio quality, which is not up to our standards in this release.

A PACKED week for RTS fans! Neo and Carson discuss:

RARALAND: The first Back2Warcraft offline event. What's planned? What to expect?
STORMGATE: Former Blizzard employees reveal the next big RTS. Our first impressions.

Also:

New Show Cup Format: Happy plays random
Our FoM season recap

and much more!

A bunch of former Blizzard employees decided that it's time to make a proper, new RTS that competes with, and is inspired by, Starcraft2 and Warcraft3. We sat down with Frost Giant's Lead Designer Kevin Dong to discuss the newly revealed Stormgate.

What are your influences? What makes an RTS good? Will there be heroes? Is it Free 2 Play? What's the eco system? The four Pillars: Campagne - Coop - Esports - UGC How will you treat Esports? Editor and User Generated Content and so much more!

Sign up for beta access now via https://playstormgate.com/

Put Stormgate on your Stream Wishlist

Sorry for skipping last weeks episode due to illness! Neo & Carson are back for a PACKED episode talking all things Warcraft3:

Mike Ybarra promises WC3 News Update in June -- What we expect & What we want to see
Frost Giant to reveal their game -- What kind of game do we expect to see?

Happy giving balance suggestions - Pro Feedback vs. Community Feedback

Doubi Pro Max Cup Ends

Today Neo discusses:

All the updates at ESL Meisterschaft! New system, more content, more money
Do we have to region lock tournaments to support the EU / Western scene?
A video by OCDrummer that shows SD+ Graphics with Reforged environment
Tournament results (Showmatches & Doubi Pro Max Cup)
Viewer Questions

Carson joins us for our 39th episode! We all had a busy weekend with either ESLM Finals or more Happy showmatches. Also: Remo announces new balance suggestions!

- Custom Balance – Carson thoughts - Remo’s balance suggestions coming!

- ESLM Finals • Why no players in Berlin? • Mouz investigating Neo's apparel • Changes coming for the Fall Season?

- Showmatches • Happy vs. Infi • Happy vs. TH000 • Future of showmatches

- FoM starts – Pro Division & Neo & Carson's groups - Xperion Qualifier + Final Lineup

- WC3 Golden Era - When was it and whats your memories of it - Bands we love and why

The modder community is afraid of getting Reforged Graphics deleted and replaced by upscaled SD+ Graphics.

How likely is that? How much work would that be? Would Blizzard admit defeat?

We also review the feedback on our idea to balance the game ourselves and give a preview on ESL Meisterschaft finals! This week had 3 showmatches: Happy vs. Lyn & Soin as well as Foggy vs. Moon! How did the charity go, what's the drama around Happy's moves on Echo Isles?

We also give a detailed explanation to the question why Russian Players aren't banned from all competition.

Podcast is back!

A big XL-update on:

Blizzard & Reforged
Mike Ybarra teasing Reforged News
W3Champions Season 10 Finals
Doubi Cup, AWL & Show Cup
Restarted B2W Weekly Cup
Xperioncraft 5
Gym Newbie League & Neo's experience as a player
Fountain of Manner
Sp4rta's contributions to the community

The German homepage Readmore.de covered Warcraft3 for almost two decades and was one of the first online communities that Neo called home. We recap the early day history of the German Esports community and why Readmore.de was so important to the success of WC3 and Back2Warcraft as a whole.

We also look back at Happy's showmatches and preview the $60,000 Team League WCL, that starts next Wednesday!

How will the scene survive after ESL & Dreamhack end their support?

An important topic that must be covered! After ESL and Dreamhack end their support for competitive Warcraft in 2022, the scene has to carry itself once again.

What's important for a competitive scene?
How to keep the current playerbase active?
Cups, Showmatches, Leagues
How to do and what to prioritize?
Asian Scene in 2022 incl. a $200,000 Team League
European Scene in 2022
The infrastructure of the scene
Happy playing Chinese Cups & Showmatches soon

plus all your questions and how YOU can contribute to a healthy environment in the scene

The $130,000 Dreamhack Finals are over and you all seemed to be very happy with the product we produced throughout the past week from Sweden. Here I'll take some time to reflect on:

the importance of this event
the joy of working with Remo, Carson, ToD, Rotterdam, HajinSun & the entire production team
the emotions of seeing our friends again
the afterparty

and everything else i was able to fit into 60 minutes!

Sorry for the break! After feeling down a bit, WE'RE BACK and for good reason! The $130,000 DreamHack Global Finals start THIS Thursday!

Yoan "ToD" Merlo and Neo break down: - the importance of the event - who's playing and who's not? - Who's the favorite in their group? - What's the best story between the players?

and SO much more!

A lot of things happening in the World of Warcraft 3!

We start the episode with more bad news from Blizzard: - Blizzcon canceled - Co-Leader steps down after 3 months - Diablo IV & Overwatch 2 not releasing in 2022

- More roster updates on the Dreamhack Global Finals - W3IL & Nations League News

A deep dive into our new overlay, showing you everything from the first sketch to the final version, 60 iterations later! Why we did the things the way we did and what did we try prior beforehand.

Back2Warcraft is powered by CORSAIR! ⭐ Check out their products: http://go.corsair.com/x9neLO ⭐ Get up to 40% discount on their Weekly Deals: https://go.corsair.com/c/2859155/955661/8513 ⭐ Use the Coupon Code "Back2Warcraft" for a 10% discount

Visit our Homepage: http://www.back2warcraft.com Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2EHFIG2 Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/back2warcraft Subscribe on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft Check our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/back2warcraft Connect via Discord: http://discord.Back2Warcraft.com

Support us: On Patreon: http://Patreon.com/Back2Warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com Amazon Referral: http://amazon.Back2Warcraft.com

Dreamhack World Finals at the end of November. Happy's complaints and the possible lineup
W3Champions Season 8 Finals kickoff
ESL Meisterschaft continues - Qualifiers packed
W3IL as big as never before
Nations League continues

Back2Warcraft is powered by CORSAIR! ⭐ Check out their products: http://go.corsair.com/x9neLO ⭐ Get up to 40% discount on their Weekly Deals: https://go.corsair.com/c/2859155/955661/8513 ⭐ Use the Coupon Code "Back2Warcraft" for a 10% discount

Visit our Homepage: http://www.back2warcraft.com Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2EHFIG2 Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/back2warcraft Subscribe on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft Check our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/back2warcraft Connect via Discord: http://discord.Back2Warcraft.com

Support us: On Patreon: http://Patreon.com/Back2Warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com Amazon Referral: http://amazon.Back2Warcraft.com

W3Champions and GYM Community leader Floss2xDaily returns to the podcast to spread some positivity!

Update on the financial situation around W3Champions
W3Champions Season 8 Finals with Hitman
Plans to release and implement automated tournaments
Ways to support your favorite content creators
125 signups for Gym Newbie League

and so much more!

Today we received the unfortunate news that the ESL Pro Tour & DreamHack circuit will not continue in 2022. These companies poured $220,000 per year into the scene, so obviously it's a big deal losing the support. Neo breaks down:

ESL & Blizzard Statements
Initial DreamHack plans & how we took over
Improving B2W thanks to ESL
History as WC3 as a "dEad gAMe"
The future of WC3

This week, we're joined by a true KING of the community. Floss2xDaily is the community manager and face of both W3Champions and GYM. We talk:

Floss's role in the community - does he know his value?
How did GYM discord start?
The pain and struggle as the main moderator of W3C
W3C's plans to bring the W3C experience to other games and make multiplayer environment their fulltime job
and SO much more! Patreon Q&A, time management, dealing with insults etc etc etc

We're joined a true sweetheart of the scene, ArminvB! The Dutch Orc and Twitch streamer joins Neo right after his trip to the Xperion LAN in Cologne.

We discuss: - Who is ArminVB? - Career threatening injuries - Xperion am Ring LAN - his take on balance and whining - how to stay motivated after losing a tournament - an outlook towards DreamHack Winter incl. MichaeL & Pink beef

You can find Armin on: - Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/arminvb90 - Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/TwitchArminvB90

Back to the regular content! Today, I'm overjoyed to share the episode I recorded with Human legend ToD! We talked about:

Upcoming movies Dune & Matrix - should you watch trailers or just ignore them?
The state of Human in WC3
Are earnings a good metric to messure balance?
The tournament landscape & a possible European Super League in WC3

Many of you probably saw that we parted ways with Bidoux over leaked screenshots and a long statement released by the WC3 streamer Tori. You probably also witnessed me releasing a statement earlier last week that I will not fire Bidoux over the leaks. In this podcast, I'll try to explain why and what changed my mind.

The accusations can be found here:

1: https://www.reddit.com/r/WC3/comments/pd1ftv/b2w_this_is_who_you_employ_toriidactyl/

2: https://www.reddit.com/r/WC3/comments/phl15h/welp_bidoux/

Bidoux's statements can be found here:

1: https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1srqhu3

2: https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1srqk30

My initial statement can be found here: https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1srqk49

Tori's statement can be found here: https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1srql7d

Ricky & Neo discuss the most recent W3Champions Season finals, including the miraculous resurgance of HawK and the reasons for the incredible viewership throughout the weekend.

It's also time to discuss the future of the W3C Season Finals, as B2W is taking over the orga from now on. LOTS of great fan questions about doing commentary, new casters and ways to help the scene and B2W as a whole.

00:00 - 11:00 - Intro 18:00 - 22:40 - W3Champions - HawK 22:40 - 27:40 - W3Champions storyline / B2W Record 30:00 - W3C giving up? / B2W taking over project tournament 46:00 - Reddit Feedback thread 47:30 Q/A

Follow Neo: https://twitter.com/JannesOfficial Follow Bidoux: https://twitter.com/RickyRobidoux

Visit our Homepage: http://www.back2warcraft.com/ Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2EHFIG2 Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/back2warcraft Subscribe on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft Check our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/back2warcraft Connect via Discord: http://discord.back2warcraft.com/

Support us: Become a Patron: http://patreon.com/back2warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com/ Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com/ Amazon Referral: http://amazon.back2warcraft.com/

In this episode, Bidoux talks about how his "staycation" has been going. ESL Asia 13.5k peak / addressing viewbot accusations. The boys discuss the need for a possible in game overlay revamp and react to Happy's balance suggestion stream. Followed by questions from the Patreon.

Follow Neo: https://twitter.com/JannesOfficial Follow Bidoux: https://twitter.com/RickyRobidoux

Visit our Homepage: http://www.back2warcraft.com/ Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2EHFIG2 Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/back2warcraft Subscribe on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft Check our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/back2warcraft Connect via Discord: http://discord.back2warcraft.com/

Support us: Become a Patron: http://patreon.com/back2warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com/ Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com/ Amazon Referral: http://amazon.back2warcraft.com/

In this episode, Neo & Bidoux talk about: - Ricky's plans for his 3 week vacation. - Pete Stilwell's new job and Neo booing at old Blizzcons - The community rallying together for HoT's Cancer Fundraiser - Sky playing W3C? - Bidoux rants about Youtube negativity and - Your Patreon questions about old WC3 Teams and Neo & Remo's first meeting

Visit our Homepage: http://www.back2warcraft.com/ Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2EHFIG2 Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/back2warcraft Subscribe on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft Check our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/back2warcraft Connect via Discord: http://discord.back2warcraft.com/ Support us: Become a Patron: http://patreon.com/back2warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com/ Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com/ Amazon Referral: http://amazon.back2warcraft.com/

Jannes and Bidoux talk about DreamHack Fall and the relationship between B2W and ESL and how the collaboration improves production.

DreamHack Finals in China?

J. Allen Brack is out, Activision-Blizzard has two new Presidents!

Bidoux's "genius" idea to funnel players into W3Champions.

Bidoux goes off on the situation with Miker (gg.ru) and DuSt League being re-streamed.

Lastly a question from the Patreon on who they believe influenced a lot of the meta throughout the years per race. Follow Neo: https://twitter.com/JannesOfficial Follow Bidoux: https://twitter.com/RickyRobidoux Visit our Homepage: http://www.back2warcraft.com/ Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2EHFIG2 Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/back2warcraft Subscribe on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft Check our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/back2warcraft Connect via Discord: http://discord.back2warcraft.com/ Support us: Become a Patron: http://patreon.com/back2warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com/ Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com/ Amazon Referral: http://amazon.back2warcraft.com/

Jannes and Bidoux talk about the new changes to DreamHack fall production, including the new sleek design and the "media day" player videos. Neo recaps his time at the Xperion LAN, meeting new and old faces and EnTe’s attempt to kick ToD out of the venue.

The boys talk about the recent Bloomberg article on Activision-Blizzard admitting to releasing Reforged knowing it was a failure. The lawsuit against Acti-Blizz for harassment in the workplace and other negative things. Finalizing with Q/A from the Patreon.

Bloomberg Article on what happened during Reforged Launch: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-22/inside-activision-blizzard-s-botched-warcraft-iii-reforged-game

Jannes and Bidoux recap WGL Summer, with Colorful taking his first major title and 15sui having a deep run. DreamHack recap talking about the new faces and followed up by some Q/A from the Patreon.

Support us: Become a Patron: http://patreon.com/back2warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com/ Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com/ Amazon Referral: http://amazon.back2warcraft.com/

Jannes worships his new birthday present donut pillow he got for his sore butt. The boys discuss the horrific week on Twitch and Youtube relating to whiners about the reforged graphics for WGL Summer. How the new BO2 system for WGL is rad and makes the tournament more exciting and watchable. Followed by some Q/A from the Patreon.

The boys celebrate the Corsair sponsorship for Back2Warcraft and give a little behind the scenes on how it all transpired. Neo takes a workshop on social media during his vacation and Bidoux emphasizes the importance on capitalizing on marketing opportunities in WC3. Followed by some Q/A from the Patreon.

Follow Neo: https://twitter.com/jannesofficial Follow Bidoux: https://twitter.com/RickyRobidoux

Visit our Homepage: http://www.back2warcraft.com/ Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2EHFIG2 Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/back2warcraft Subscribe on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft Check our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/back2warcraft Connect via Discord: http://discord.back2warcraft.com/

Support us: Become a Patron: http://patreon.com/back2warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com/ Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com/ Amazon Referral: http://amazon.back2warcraft.com/

warcraft3 #back2warcraft #b2wpodcast

Neo is back from vacation and quickly goes off on a Reddit post for its controversy towards politics in gaming. Should politics be allowed in esports? The boys recap DuSt League, WGL and DreamHack Fall coming up as well as take Questions from Patreon.

Follow Neo: https://twitter.com/jannesofficial Follow Bidoux: https://twitter.com/RickyRobidoux

Visit our Homepage: http://www.back2warcraft.com/ Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2EHFIG2 Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/back2warcraft Subscribe on Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft Check our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/back2warcraft Connect via Discord: http://discord.back2warcraft.com/

Support us: Become a Patron: http://patreon.com/back2warcraft Make a Donation: http://donate.back2warcraft.com/ Buy our Merch: http://shop.back2warcraft.com/ Amazon Referral: http://amazon.back2warcraft.com/

warcraft3 #back2warcraft #b2wpodcast

History Lesson ahead! Neo & Bidoux talk about the most influential community members of all time and cover the very early beginnings of ESL & Warcraft3 broadcasting as well as put a spotlight on the saviors during Warcraft3's darkest times.

Also: More on Neo's vacation and how Bidoux's cross-regional hosting solution worked out during DuSt League Qualifiers

Neo is finally happy in his time off Ricky continues to lead the B2W ship and encounters some issues here and there Both recap ToD's DRAMA-townhall episode.

You WON'T BELIEVE what Neo's comments on Bidoux's performance is!

Ricky & Neo discuss why neighbours throw salami at us, what sacrifices you have to make to cover tournaments & the Western Qualifiers for Chinas's biggest tournament

Neo talks about how his vacation is going and Bidoux’s role of being in charge of the channel during the hiatus. The boys discuss players dodging cross server tournaments, a new server hosting standards for cross server tournaments and answer Patreon Q/A

The boys recap DH and ESLM, talk about Neo’s upcoming month long vacation in June, iNSUP’s 14 day twitch ban and share some good news of old faces returning to the scene.

Neo rants his frustrations dealing with negativity within the community and twitch chat. Neo and Bidoux talk about team leagues and why they're in a rough spot and the boys take questions from the Patreon Q/A

In this episode, we look back on current drama surrounding Bidoux, Hitman, CrunCher & Duck. And if that isn't enough, XlorD and iNSUP go at each other as well! We comment on your feedback and look back at the current Dreamhack Summer.

Neo and Bidoux talk about getting back into the Dreamhack groove as day 2 of Summer circuit approaches and give their take on the W3Champions Season 6 tournament.

Ricky & Neo are back with a small follow up on Dreamhack controversies, an overview over grassroots tournaments, why they are succesful and a big discussion if Warcraft3 is getting stale and repetitive.

Neo and Bidoux recap the DreamHack Summer Qualifiers, the impact of DH Anaheim's EPT points 14 months later, not well thought out replacement matches, and Neo gets annoyed about channel point predictions.

Neo and Bidoux recap DuSt League, Improved players in the scene, What makes a good WC3 broadcast and what any streamer can do to improve their production value.

Neo and Bidoux talk about the 100k celebration stream, The pros and cons of the new AM ESL Cup, Negative mentality of WC3 competitive players in the scene & Handicap tournament mentality, KraV's creative use of social media and the problem with disorganized tournament organizers.

Neo & Bidoux talk mistakes during the first podcast, BLizzard's approach to patching the game and try to give their opinion on everything that happened on and off Twitter between ToD, EnTe, the community and us

Back2Warcraft's Podcast Debut!

In this premiere episode of the Back2Warcraft podcast, Neo & Bidoux recap the past year in Warcraft3, Dreamhack Anaheim, talk the differences in casting on- and offline and discuss the recent developments on PTR