Big Change of 5.4?

[gaymer77]

I remember reading that there was this totally secret unannounced change of 5.4 and wondered if they finally announced it or not? I've been out of the game playing other MMOs and haven't played WoW since March so I've missed quit a bit. I tried keeping up with MMO-Champion so I've kept up with most of what's planned but don't remember hearing about if its been announced yet or not.

[SunspotAnims]

It's complicated.

Shortly before the PTR of 5.4 was released, Ghostcrawler admitted that he regretted speaking about an unannounced feature so cryptically, because it led to so many different people setting up so many different expectations that they may end up disappointed when they learn that the feature is not what they expected. He then said that 5.4 has multiple big features, and the players should just pick which one they feel should be the biggest addition in the patch.

When the patch notes for 5.4 were released, three different features came up that will likely have a long-term impact on the game: Virtual Realms (pretty much low-pop server merges that don't force name changes and whatnot), Flexible Raiding (a new raiding difficulty between LFR and Normal that has its difficulty scale for any player amount between 10 and 25), and Proving Grounds (a wave based solo scenario intended for inexperienced players to practice new roles/specs without prejudice, or to get a score based on their skill in a role they're already familiar with through "endless mode").

Technically, we don't actually know what GC was specifically referring to when he mentioned a big feature early in MoP. It could be any of the new features in 5.4, or it could even be something else that was unknowingly pushed back from 5.4- we'll never really know.

[Mormolyce]

I think it's safe to say the big feature is Flexible Raiding.

[CosmicGuitars]

There's multiple 'big features' in 5.4. Take your pick, really.

[gaymer77]

Thanks. I just found out about virtual realms today and was really shocked about it. I wonder how that's going to go since you can join guilds from another server & its possible that someone with the same name as you could get that guild invite. Optimistic just curious about the possible bugs attached to it.

[Doombringer]

Flex Raiding is probably it.

I think, in the future, they'll be more frugal about the details they give out. The whole "major feature" thing gets everyone speculating and salivating, and for many it ends up being a let-down. Heck, it could be a very fundamental change to the game... definitely a major feature... and people would still say, "that's it?" Or more specifically, "That's it? I wanted more."

[Dys]

If you paid attention, GC also tweeted "There are many big features in 5.4. Pick the one you like the most, and that's the big "secret" feature."

Completely paraphrased, but spot on to what was said.