Midnight’s pre-patch is changing how World of Warcraft is played, learned, and understood. This week, we dig into what that really means.

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Welcome back to Brutally Honest: A WoW Podcast - a weekly World of Warcraft roundtable hosted by Brutall. Each episode brings together top players, creators, and theorycrafters to break down class design, game direction, encounter philosophy, and the future of WoW.

🎙️ Episode 11 – Midnight’s Pre-Patch Is Here

Patch 12.0 marks a fundamental shift. With built-in meters, cooldown managers, UI changes, endgame reward restructuring, and new signals around class design, Blizzard is redefining how much responsibility the game itself takes on versus what players solve through addons and optimization.

Joined by Dalaran Gaming, Dvalin Gaming, and Lance from The Comeback Kids, this episode explores accessibility vs mastery, addons vs core UI, Mythic+ incentives, seasonal burnout, and what these changes say about Blizzard’s long-term vision for WoW as both a game and a world.

This Week's Guests:

Dalaran

► Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/dalaran_rogue

► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCobP8-RBCEPh4Bzsm02BNFQ

Dvalin

► Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/dvalin

► Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dvalin_Gaming

► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCxIAxsveK2KOdy_Wh4WcUsQ

Lance

► Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thecomebackkidsofficial

► Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ComebackKidsTV

► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC_ODNEPbkVolMCWSjchNdfA

► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCnOCo3AHlMBJQy6hzPUCu8g

► Here's the poll from the episode: https://forms.gle/29dDuPE9NRgnEcY87

⏱️ Timestamps, Chapters, and Key Moments

0:00 Intro

4:54 What version of WoW is Blizzard actively designing for right now?

11:59 What problem are they actually trying to solve?

18:07 Is this...forever???

21:02 Dvalin takes a stand

23:32 What worries you most about the pre-patch?

28:26 Viewer Question Round 1

32:45 Meters vs WCL - what's the right split?

40:56 Can Blizzard maintain?

42:52 Is serviceable "enough"?

49:31 How do these combat addon changes actually improve gameplay?

56:05 When it comes to addons, Blizzard should…

59:20 Midnight S1 raiding feels "easy"

1:03:33 Viewer Question Round 2

1:09:38 Does Lindormi’s Guidance meaningfully help players?

1:22:56 Is removing extra incentives above +10 healthy for the endgame ecosystem?

1:33:25 Does the seasonal reset model foster engagement or lead to long-term exhaustion?

1:36:14 Does Blizzard want the PvE endgame to be the focus of the game?

1:40:50 Is Blizzard designing for today’s players, or for WoW’s long-term survival?

1:45:08 DVALIN?!???!

1:46:56 What keeps you logging into WoW long-term?

1:47:57 Is Blizzard exploring new long-term class identity?

1:59:45 What should feel meaningfully better if it’s working?

2:02:50 Outro

If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a comment and share your thoughts. And, of course, hit like, subscribe, and turn on notifications so you’re ready for the next episode. See ya soon, gamers.