Blizzard pulls no punches this April 1st, with not one but four different pranks featuring pimped mounts, a new Diablo III class, the biggest StarCraft 2 unit ever created, and PVP dance battles.
The first prank to come across our desks this morning was the P1mp My Mount feature from the World of Warcraft European website, which while a bit amusing, really didn't seem up to Blizzard's generally high April Fool's standards. Adding racing stripes, neon hooves, and cannons to your mounts might have been funny a few years ago, but now it's a bit stale. Was Blizzard slipping?
No way.
Just as we were asking ourselves that question, the new Archivist character was introduced on the Diablo III website. A frail old man who fights with the power of knowledge, his Lorenado, Quest Bolt, and Shush attacks are as devastating as he is weak, killed by monsters or his own powers at the end of each demonstration video. The only thing more epic than his skills is his Radial Dialogue Tree, featuring such awe-inspiring phrases as "Have you seen my pants?" and "I smell like bacon and summertime." Brilliant.
They could have simply stopped there, but no. On the StarCraft 2 webpage they introduce Terra-Tron, the most powerful Terran unit ever created. With a role listed as "Omega Supreme Defense", Terra-Tron is an entire Terran base that transforms into a giant robot. It is a thing of beauty to behold, sure to bring a tear to the eyes of Transformers, Voltron, and StarCraft 2 fans alike.
So that's two out of three. Not bad, right? Not good enough for Blizzard, however. Just as I was writing this up, the North American World of Warcraft page updated with the new PVP Dance Battle system, complete with custom user interface and crew-based tournaments.
While some of the other April Fool's jokes we've gotten so far have been nice, I'm calling this year for Blizzard once again. Be sure to check out each individual page for videos and hilarious flavor text.