Chapter Summaries

Longsword players petitioned Chen Xu to buff their weapon, arguing that its low damage and tendency to interrupt teammates made it unwelcome in difficult co-op hunts. Chen Xu defended the Longsword as a weapon that rewarded skill, leaving Qin Yi persuaded while planning to respond to the uproar.

• Longsword players complained that they struggled against Diablos and Rathalos alone and were often excluded from groups because their attacks could disrupt teammates.
• Players flooded Chen Xu’s blog and the community forums with complaints, including a petition titled “Ten Thousand Signatures to Buff Longsword!”
• Qin Yi, a Longsword player, asked Chen Xu whether Nebula Games would change the weapon because its damage seemed too low.
• Chen Xu argued that the Longsword’s damage rose sharply after Unsheathing and that skilled players could use Guard Point and Rising Dragon Slash to deal strong damage.
• Qin Yi accepted Chen Xu’s explanation and returned to his workstation, while Chen Xu decided he still needed to address the players’ complaints.

Chen Xu livestreamed Monster Hunter: World with members of its development team to answer players’ complaints about the game’s difficulty and weapon balance. He denied promising a mowing-down game and prepared to demonstrate the weapons and mechanics, while his team anticipated another round of sweet-talking.

• Players spent two days demanding nerfs for Diablos and Rathalos and buffs for the Longsword before Nebula Games announced Chen Xu’s livestream.
• Viewers and game streamers gathered in Nebula Games’ livestream room to hear Chen Xu address questions about Monster Hunter: World.
• Chen Xu introduced Qin Yi, Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin, and Lin Tao, then said he had never called the game a mowing-down game and reminded players that they had once asked for more difficulty.
• Chen Xu claimed the game was manageable with armor, items, traps, and knowledge of its mechanics, prompting viewers to flood the chat with question marks.
• Chen Xu opened the game and said he would demonstrate its weapons and mechanics as his team braced for him to sweet-talk the players again.

Chen Xu demonstrated a Longsword hunt against Diablos during a livestream, explaining combat techniques and item use while performing them with exceptional skill. He killed Diablos, leaving viewers stunned and doubtful that his methods were attainable for ordinary players.

• Chen Xu arrived at Diablos's nest and used a sliding attack to start the hunt, quickly building his Longsword's blade level while explaining how to fight.
• Chen Xu demonstrated Guard Point counters against Diablos's Burrow and roar attacks, reaching Red Blade as the Palico healed the Hunter.
• Chen Xu used a Sonic Bomb to stagger Diablos after it burrowed, then launched a series of attacks that broke one of its horns.
• Chen Xu followed Diablos into another area and killed it with a final Dragon Piercer, prompting the viewers to fall silent in disbelief.

Chen Xu demonstrated how players could defeat Diablos with safer Gunlance and Light Bowgun tactics, showing that beginners could use game mechanics to skip class. He explained that these strategies were limited and that Veteran Monsters would eventually force players to improve.

• Chen Xu defended the Longsword’s high skill ceiling and recommended shield weapons and useful items for less experienced players.
• Chen Xu used a shield, shelling, and a Healing Smoke Barrel to defeat Diablos with a Gunlance.
• Chen Xu demonstrated a Light Bowgun strategy using Slash-Explosive Ammo and Sonic Bombs to defeat Diablos from a distance.
• Players copied the tactics and reported that they had cleared Diablos, though some struggled with low defense or gathering materials.
• Chen Xu explained that Slash-Explosive Ammo was deliberately kept useful but limited, and that multiplayer use could annoy teammates.
• Chen Xu expected Veteran Monsters and endgame challenges to push players beyond these beginner tactics.

Song Ren and other players defeated Diablos and Rathalos with easier weapons, while Chen Xu reopened his system and discovered it had advanced to a new stage. The upgrade made rewards more comprehensive but costly, and Chen Xu decided to save his points while planning a game to test the system’s new industry-influence criteria.

• Song Ren defeated Diablos with a Gunlance and posted a picture, prompting Zhang Yi to tease him about abandoning the Longsword.
• Players used Gunlances and Light Bowguns to defeat Diablos and Rathalos, then grew confident about hunting stronger monsters.
• Chen Xu spent five hundred draws and found a Keyboard Spitting Milk Card and a Self-Service Store Key among his rewards.
• After using skill books, Chen Xu met the requirements to unlock the system’s second stage, where points depended on players’ emotions and a game’s positive industry influence.
• Chen Xu tried a five-pull and received directing expertise, psychology expertise, and two ancient-civilization history books.
• Chen Xu realized the Nebula Game Platform and his previous games could have earned industry influence, then chose to save his points and plan a game to test the upgraded system.

Chen Xu chose Warcraft III as Nebula Games’ next major project, aiming to bolster player retention and counter rival platforms. He planned its campaigns and map editor, then left his office determined to make it a flagship game.

• Chen Xu planned future Monster Hunter: World content while considering how to retain players as its audience eventually declined.
• Chen Xu put MOBA games on hold because players lacked familiarity with the genre, while RTS games and esports already had established audiences.
• Chen Xu chose Warcraft to strengthen Nebula Game Platform and preempt moves by the Channel Alliance, NetDragon, and Tenghua.
• Chen Xu planned to include the Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne campaigns in the base game, with earlier stories potentially released as DLC or animated shorts.
• Chen Xu identified Warcraft’s heroes and map editor as key features, then left his office determined to make the game a flagship project.

Chen Xu announced that Nebula Games’ next project would be Warcraft, an ambitious RTS, and assigned the team its main responsibilities. He also outlined Monster Hunter: World’s update schedule and plans to promote a crossover with Warcraft.

• Chen Xu told Qin Yi, Yang Xin, and Ruan Ningxue that an afternoon meeting would cover a new project and future Monster Hunter: World updates.
• Chen Xu planned to add a new monster to Monster Hunter: World roughly every twenty days and schedule a crossover with the new game featuring equipment, weapon transmog, and Hunting Quests.
• Chen Xu revealed the Warcraft concept draft, surprising the team with its RTS genre and large setting, story, and scope.
• Chen Xu assigned Qin Yi to level maps and balance, Ruan Ningxue to art and CG animations, and Yang Xin to system interaction and story background.

Chen Xu refined Warcraft’s design, focusing on its distinctive races, units, controls, and map editor. He planned a more accessible, open editor and a healthy community platform as development continued.

• Chen Xu refined Warcraft’s designs for races, units, heroes, damage types, and their numerical values.
• Chen Xu assigned Qin Yi to build the damage model while Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin worked on art assets, and he took responsibility for the main characters.
• Chen Xu planned to improve player controls and fix issues such as awkward inventory keybindings and garbled text.
• Chen Xu decided Warcraft’s map editor should support both simple player-made maps and more advanced creations by skilled community creators.
• Chen Xu envisioned a community where players could share maps and rate creators, with careful official review to prevent low-quality or inappropriate maps from appearing.

At Nebula Games, Chen Xu showed the team concept sketches of Arthas as both a Paladin and a Death Knight, prompting questions about the game’s story. He explained that Warcraft had no single protagonist, but followed heroes and races across different eras, and said the team would begin a Monster Hunter: World collaboration and build a complex in Minecraft as an early warm-up.

• Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin, and Qin Yi discussed Warcraft’s scope and story, while Qin Yi praised the depth of its gameplay systems.
• Chen Xu told Qin Yi to rest, then gave Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue concept sketches and story introductions to review for outsourcing.
• Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue saw illustrations of Arthas as both a righteous Paladin and a Death Knight and asked Chen Xu whether he was the protagonist.
• Chen Xu explained that Warcraft had no single protagonist because each era and race had its own heroes and stories.
• Chen Xu told the team to continue developing Warcraft and begin a Monster Hunter: World collaboration and a Minecraft building complex as an early warm-up.

Monster Hunter: World players discovered a major event update featuring Frost Dragon, Chimera, and new weapon transmogs, while Minecraft players found the city of Lordaeron added to the Showcase Server. Zhang Yi began investigating the Coral Highlands anomaly and encountered Frost Dragon.

• Veteran Monsters frustrated players who had relied on easy hunting strategies, while skilled hunters began treating Zinogre as a measure of combat ability.
• Zhang Yi and Song Ren noticed a Monster Hunter: World update featuring new weapon transmogs and the quests “Evil Power: Frost Dragon” and “Chimera from Ashenvale.”
• Zhang Yi accepted the Commander-in-Chief’s quest to investigate strange frost and corpse-like monsters in the Coral Highlands.
• Zhang Yi fought Ghouls in the frozen highlands and encountered the flying Frost Dragon, which attacked him with its icy breath.
• Minecraft players discovered that the Showcase Server had added the majestic city-state of Lordaeron.

Players speculated that new Monster Hunter: World and Minecraft content hinted at an upcoming Nebula Games title while Chen Xu stayed silent and continued developing Warcraft. He focused on designing CG storyboards for key scenes, leaving Warcraft’s framework and outsourced assets steadily taking shape.

• Players debated whether the Kingdom of Lordaeron, the Frost Dragon, and the Chimera came from Nebula Games’ new game, and flooded Chen Xu’s and Nebula Games’ Official Weibo seeking confirmation.
• Chen Xu chose not to respond to the speculation yet and continued working on Warcraft’s development.
• Chen Xu coordinated with familiar outsourcing companies on Warcraft’s models, art assets, and animations, while insisting they meet his quality requirements.
• Chen Xu decided to design Warcraft’s CG storyboards himself and use CG for major plot points rather than throughout the entire game.
• Chen Xu planned CG scenes for Arthas’s transformation, Illidan and Arthas’s final battle, and the events involving Jaina, Rexxar, and Daelin on Theramore Isle.

Chen Xu and Nebula Games developed Warcraft, investing heavily in its campaign, models, and cinematic animation while refining the RTS experience. Nebula Games announced the game as a fantasy epic that would redefine RTS, leaving players excited and industry designers questioning its enormous development budget.

• Chen Xu hired the studio behind Dark Souls' animated promotional cutscenes and approved a Warcraft CG budget of more than 400 million RMB.
• Ruan Ningxue's outsourced models were completed, and Chen Xu added a close-up camera setting while keeping RTS match cameras fixed for fairness.
• Chen Xu adjusted Warcraft's campaign difficulty and retained cheat codes such as Whosyourdaddy and greedisgood 99999.
• Nebula Games announced Warcraft as a new fantasy epic that would redefine RTS, claiming development costs exceeded 700 million.
• Players and industry designers reacted to the announcement, and some designers began to consider the implications of Chen Xu's ambitious RTS.

The gaming industry debated Nebula Games’ decision to enter the RTS market with Warcraft, while Hero Entertainment prepared to defend its hit Human Warfare. Nebula announced a free Warcraft trial for November 11, leaving players eager to judge the game for themselves.

• Industry figures discussed the difficulties of making a successful RTS and speculated that Chen Xu was targeting the Channel Alliance with Warcraft.
• Zhou Qi dismissed the claim that Warcraft cost 700 million to develop, while Yang Hong worried about the threat it posed to Human Warfare.
• Zhou Qi proposed remastering Human Warfare and using paid promoters to accuse Nebula Games of false advertising, and Yang Hong approved the visual upgrade plan.
• Hero Entertainment began promoting a free visual upgrade for Human Warfare and promised future updates.
• Nebula Games announced that Warcraft would have a free trial starting November 11.

Chen Xu oversaw Warcraft’s final development and teased its competitive features while players clamored for more information. He released an in-game CG trailer whose stunning quality left players and industry designers astonished.

• Chen Xu tested Warcraft with Qin Yi, Ruan Ningxue, Lin Tao, and Yang Xin, and judged its four races to be nearly balanced.
• Chen Xu planned to finish Warcraft’s campaign and polish its matchmaking, replay, spectator, achievement, and friend systems before releasing the Map editor.
• Players repeatedly asked Chen Xu for more Warcraft news, and he responded by releasing a short promotional video.
• The trailer showed a Human soldier and an Orc Grunt fighting before joining forces against a flaming stone giant, introducing the Reign of Chaos.
• Players and industry designers marveled at the trailer’s in-game CG and wondered how much of Warcraft’s budget had gone into its visuals.

After Warcraft’s spectacular CG trailer stunned players and industry insiders, many questioned whether its gameplay could match its presentation. The free trial unlocked on November 11 ahead of the full release on November 15, giving players a chance to judge it for themselves.

• Players and industry designers marveled at Warcraft’s CG trailer, while Zhou Qi at Hero Entertainment doubted that impressive visuals could make it a good RTS.
• RTS fans discussed whether Warcraft’s gameplay and balance would live up to its trailer and agreed they could try the free trial.
• Nebula Games opened Warcraft’s pre-download, with a free trial featuring the first chapter about the disaster that befell the Kingdom of Lordaeron while multiplayer remained locked.
• Chen Xu announced that Warcraft would launch on November 15 for 198 yuan domestically or $39.9 overseas, with pricier collector’s editions also available.
• Players debated the price and downloaded the trial, planning to decide whether to buy the full game after trying it.

Zhang Yi started Warcraft’s single-player campaign and found its opening cinematic and visuals far more impressive than he had expected. He began the tutorial as Thrall, with the identity of the Burning Shadow and the Mysterious Wizard still unclear.

• Zhang Yi and his friends discussed Warcraft, and Zhang Yi argued that its single-player campaign could be a major focus.
• Zhang Yi launched the demo, watched the opening CG, and found that only Campaign was available in the demo.
• Zhang Yi chose Easy difficulty and discovered that Chapter One contained twelve subchapters, with only “Thrall's Illusion - Seeking the Prophet” unlocked.
• A cinematic showed Thrall’s nightmare of humans and Orcs fighting before green-flamed fireballs fell from the sky, leaving Zhang Yi curious about the Fire Being, the Burning Shadow, and the Mysterious Wizard.
• Zhang Yi controlled Thrall through the Prophet’s tutorial and was impressed by the detailed models, water, and grass.

Zhang Yi was captivated by Warcraft’s distinctive heroes, strategic systems, and cinematic campaign as he played through the Orc prologue. After the Prophet warned Lordaeron that darkness was returning and urged humanity to travel west, Zhang Yi eagerly anticipated the story’s next chapter.

• Zhang Yi explored Thrall’s hero abilities, troop attributes, and control options while advancing through the campaign with Wang Han watching.
• Thrall rescued Grom Hellscream, and the Horde set sail aboard human ships for Kalimdor.
• A CG showed the Prophet warning King Terenas that darkness threatened humanity and urging him to lead his people west, but Terenas refused.
• The Prophet left Lordaeron, saying he would find someone willing to accept the task.
• Zhang Yi praised Warcraft to Old Song over voice chat, then left to avoid hearing spoilers.

Players were captivated by Warcraft’s story and gameplay as Zhang Yi followed Arthas’s descent into darkness. The trial ended after Arthas killed King Terenas, leaving Zhang Yi eager for the full game.

• Song Ren excitedly posted about Warcraft after Zhang Yi left the voice channel.
• Players across the community praised Warcraft’s innovative RTS mechanics, story, cinematics, and generous trial content.
• Zhang Yi watched Arthas pursue Mal'Ganis to Northrend, take Frostmourne despite Muradin’s warning, and kill the Demon King.
• A cinematic showed Arthas returning to Lordaeron as an undead warrior and murdering King Terenas.
• The trial ended with a notice that the full version would launch on November 15, frustrating Zhang Yi.

Warcraft’s trial demo impressed players with its story, visuals, and new RTS mechanics, prompting widespread excitement and preorders despite the demo ending before they could continue. At Hero Entertainment, Zhou Qi acknowledged the game’s strengths but hoped its multiplayer balance would still give his company a chance.

• Players who tried Warcraft’s demo preordered the game and complained online that the chapter had been cut short.
• Players praised the demo’s epic cutscenes, intertwined faction stories, hero system, and refined RTS controls as Warcraft’s popularity soared.
• Zhou Qi played the demo and recognized that Warcraft’s mechanics and production quality could make it a top-tier RTS.
• Zhou Qi reassured himself that Warcraft’s multiplayer balance might be flawed, especially because its hero system could disrupt competitive play.

Chen Xu and the Nebula Games team prepared Warcraft for release, balancing ranked maps and discussing the game’s strong domestic pre-orders. Warcraft went on sale on November 15 after its story and demo had built widespread anticipation.

• Chen Xu finalized Warcraft’s separate matchmaking and ranked map pools and added a map ban-and-pick feature for ranked matches.
• Yang Xin, Ruan Ningxue, Qin Yi, and Lin Tao struggled against an Orc opponent while playing Warcraft together.
• Chen Xu told the team that domestic pre-orders had exceeded three million, while the overseas release would follow a week after the domestic launch.
• Warcraft officially went on sale on November 15 after its demo and story had attracted substantial attention from players and content creators.