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This Week in WoW: April 26, 2024
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Dragonflight and Season of Discovery Hotfixes - April 25, 2024
D3 Anniversary Buff, Basic Whirlwind IK Barbarian
HTC Invitational this Weekend, New Cards Old Faces Design Competition
Matchmaking Changes, Into the Nexus #50Patch 6.2 - Apexis Crystal Gear for Gold
Patch 6.2 will change the Apexis Crystal gear prices to gold rather than Apexis Crystals. Gearing up alts will be easier, but not cheap! Each item level 675 item is 20,000 gold, so it will cost you 120,000 gold for all 6 slots. Hellfire Citadel Normal loot ranges from item level 690 to 705 depending on the boss / item.
As always, keep in mind that PTR prices are not final until they are live.
| Item Level | Name | Item Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 645 | Crystal | 5000 |
| 645 | Exceptional | 5000 |
| 655 | Flawless | 10000 |
| 675 | Ethereal | 20000 |
Patch 6.2 - Skip Mission Complete Animations
If you aren't using Master Plan and still doing missions manually for some reason, Patch 6.2 adds a nice way to skip the Mission Complete animations from garrison missions!
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Ghostcrawler Tweets
While the developers have been pretty quiet since @WarcraftDevs appeared, Ghostcrawler still occasionally talks about WoW. Remember that he no longer works for or speaks for Blizzard.
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Subscriber Loss InterviewVery curious as to your take on Watcher's interview yesterday.
I do think / know the challenges of creating content faster than players can consume it are very real. (OccupyGStreet)
If I was going to make an MMO (I'm not) I think I'd shoot for something episodic with the expectation players come and go. (OccupyGStreet)
Do you think "it's cyclical" is a good or even fair way to summate it tho?
Yes. Players come for content and leave when they run out. "But I should never run out of content," feels unrealistic to me. (OccupyGStreet)
Neverending content leads to making things so difficult you can't progress or asking you to run the same content 100 times. (OccupyGStreet)
Is there something to be said for the staying power of the content? Or implementing it in a way that allows for a medium?
If there were 40 boss raids, maybe. I get tired of killing the same ones over and over no matter how great they are. (OccupyGStreet)
How does the social aspect play into that, though? Sounds like it would be hell on guilds.
I agree, but I think players are episodic already so the business model might as well be. Social hard either way. (OccupyGStreet)
Classes
If the WoW devs read this, how likely would it be for them to agree? http://t.co/CIM3r2TTrL
I never felt like all classes had to be equal in all things. Can't someone just be better at burst AE? (OccupyGStreet)
Does Blizzard worry most about dps balance as raid tiers open, and not that much about balance as ppl start farming the tier?
Can't speak for it now, but when I was there, we worried more about new content than farmed content balance. (OccupyGStreet)
The idea being that a low performing spec might get sat on a new boss, but unlikely when stuff was on farm. (OccupyGStreet)
At some point we as a community started worrying about an individual's "right" to high DPS rather than the DPS of the entire raid. (OccupyGStreet)
Rather than "Did we beat the boss?" it became "Did I beat my warlock friend?" (OccupyGStreet)
by the way, I cannot even begin to fathom how hard balancing scaling in MMORPGs is.
Balancing *scaling* isn't hard. Balancing classes overall is pretty hard. (OccupyGStreet)
Dungeons
than blizzard can produce it. Its a design flaw that began in Woltk when took over
Nah, remember I'm the guy who always rails against lowering the barrier of entry too low. (OccupyGStreet)
well then I stand corrected mr street
NP. I still get shit for my "Dungeons should be hard" blog. But I still feel that way. (OccupyGStreet)
man do I miss hard dungeons
The challenge is can't just make hard dungeons and call it a day. You need content for everyone else too. (OccupyGStreet)
I'm not convinced asking everyone to master hard dungeons or making easier versions of them is the way to go. (OccupyGStreet)
And to clarify, I am criticizing my own work, not armchair quarterbacking my old employer. (OccupyGStreet)
Developer Communication
things don't feel the same at WoW without you. You were easily The best communicator Blizzard had.
If my legacy in this industry ends up being communication with players, I will gratefully take it. (OccupyGStreet)
WoW and LoL have been huge in my life. Ty for involvement in both and taking a lot of flack from community during each.
.I'm happy to do it. I think players have a right to communication from developers. (OccupyGStreet)
I think "right" is a bit strong. I agree it's important, but sometimes it gets the developer threatened, not cool.
Well I think devs have a right not to be treated like shit too! (OccupyGStreet)
The issue when the two come to a head. Taking your ball home vs. "Deal with it". Something I struggle w/ as a dev.
I tried the head on a pike strategy somewhat, never with very good results. Mostly I ignore the haters. (OccupyGStreet)
Game Design
Greg, what does "accessibility" mean in terms of MMO's and WoW in particular?
I use it to mean how easily it is for someone to pick up and learn the game. It is a new player term not a casual raider term. (OccupyGStreet)
you once referred to the Mechanar syndrome. Do you think giving players the fastest route is worse than them finding it.
If you're talking about each player discovering what's most efficient for themselves, man that's the holy grail for WoW or LoL (OccupyGStreet)
Not sure there is much distinction bc only a very few players get the joy of discovery and then the others just follow them. (OccupyGStreet)
Unannounced Feature
Is the recently announced "Timewalking" WoW feature the one you said you were looking forward to in an interview long ago?
We had talked about Timewalking before we delayed it. It wasn't super secret IIRC. I don't know the status of the other feature. (OccupyGStreet)
Riot
You haven't gotten a new marine animal-type name now that you're at Riot?
Players and Rioters kept calling me Ghostcrawler so it seemed silly to try and change it. (OccupyGStreet)
Do you think you would ever return to Blizzard if something happened at riot games or any other reason?
I wouldn't rule it out. I mean I parted on good terms and everything. But I am very happy at Riot and believe in our future. (OccupyGStreet)
Misc
I have to say: After years of undeserved bashing you are now a hero at WoW foruns. Quite a turn.
The circle is complete. I just followed in the footsteps of Tigole and Kalgan. (OccupyGStreet)
Everyone and their mother said you were killing the game when you were here Now you're not and they all love you
It's almost as if players assume games are made by those few people whose names they know. (OccupyGStreet)
From hate to love: more forum nonsense http://t.co/YdgSoej6gd
Spoiler: I hired both and and for good reason. (OccupyGStreet)
Can "lackluster" and "abysmal" be the new "clunky" and "undertuned"?
I was always a fan of "gutted" as the hyperbolic term for nerfed. (OccupyGStreet)
Do you still play any Blizz games btw?
I am taking a break from WoW. I like Diablo and will play the SC expansion. HS was never my thing. I love Overwatch. (OccupyGStreet)
that's really cool! I hope the "one never quits wow but merely takes breaks" is true for you too
We'll see. I realize now I neglected a lot of good games in order to laser focus on WoW (and these days I play a lot of LoL too). (OccupyGStreet)
So many games these days (ours included) really ask players to invest tons of time. It's hard to play as many games total. (OccupyGStreet)
anyway my Mage friend Arthox is telling me every day how much he misses you and refuses to believe you play Holy Priest
I played Disc before it was cool and tried to stubbornly go back to it when it was (even though it was largely my fault). (OccupyGStreet)
Tried to stubbornly NOT go back to it. (OccupyGStreet)
Still trying to be lovingly crusty and sarcastic without drifting into cynical and burned out. (OccupyGStreet)
That explains MoP
I loved MoP but I think we overestimated how many people loved Pandaren. (OccupyGStreet)
Community Spotlight - Chaoyuan Xu
This week, we’ve cast the spotlight onto Chaoyuan Xu, who has been creating excellent Warcraft-themed art for quite some time. Yuan recently sent us the pieces you see below, and he also provided answers to our questions.
Q: What influences the designs of your artwork?
A: I really love World of Warcraft, with all its gameplay and the design. I especially love the exploration of the game, as it involves a lot of adventure and story - which I very much enjoy. It enhances the experience of roleplaying, and this is something that other games lack. As you can see, several of my pieces focus on Pandaria - the continent I love the most - with races like blood elf or dwarf dressing in pandaren-style clothes.
Q: What sort of gamer are you?
A: In general, I am more of a PvE gamer, and as you can see most of my works are focused on the world. Even "Martial Competition" was done as a "friendly duel" sort of mood, rather than fighting to death. (In a way, it fits the pandaren's life philosophy!)
Q: About how long does it take to create something like these?
A: It depends on how much detail I want to go with the piece. For example, it took me one full week to work and finish "Martial Competition."
Q: What is your process?
A: First is brainstorming and drawing the concept. I need to envision how the finished art would look in my brain. And then I start working on the sketch - a lot of changes might happen during this step and sometimes it's the hardest part of creating an art piece. After I think the sketch has met my standards, I start working on the details, including color, background, and lighting.
Q: What other works inspire you?
A: I like Assassin's Creed, Game of Thrones, and the animation of Studio Gibli. I enjoy different games and movies. No matter what kinds of style the artwork is, I reinvigorate my innovation with whatever I learn and see.
Q: What do you like to do in-game?
A: I enjoy exploring the world the most. I love how the Warcraft team built the world with all their innovation and creative minds. The astonishing landscape and environment we see in game is just fantastic and really inspiring. Sometimes, I dream of living there.
Q: If you could add one thing to the game, artistically, what would it be?
A: I'd like to add an NPC (probably a pandaren) to the game, and he would give you a daily quest to ask to take photos around the world for him so that he could finish his great masterpiece of drawing scenes for Azeroth!
Thanks goes to Yuan from all of us at Blizzard for sharing his talents with us. If you’ve seen a great piece of fan art lately, e-mail us at fanart@blizzard.com and tell us all about it.
Q: What influences the designs of your artwork?
A: I really love World of Warcraft, with all its gameplay and the design. I especially love the exploration of the game, as it involves a lot of adventure and story - which I very much enjoy. It enhances the experience of roleplaying, and this is something that other games lack. As you can see, several of my pieces focus on Pandaria - the continent I love the most - with races like blood elf or dwarf dressing in pandaren-style clothes.
Q: What sort of gamer are you?
A: In general, I am more of a PvE gamer, and as you can see most of my works are focused on the world. Even "Martial Competition" was done as a "friendly duel" sort of mood, rather than fighting to death. (In a way, it fits the pandaren's life philosophy!)
Q: About how long does it take to create something like these?
A: It depends on how much detail I want to go with the piece. For example, it took me one full week to work and finish "Martial Competition."
Q: What is your process?
A: First is brainstorming and drawing the concept. I need to envision how the finished art would look in my brain. And then I start working on the sketch - a lot of changes might happen during this step and sometimes it's the hardest part of creating an art piece. After I think the sketch has met my standards, I start working on the details, including color, background, and lighting.
Q: What other works inspire you?
A: I like Assassin's Creed, Game of Thrones, and the animation of Studio Gibli. I enjoy different games and movies. No matter what kinds of style the artwork is, I reinvigorate my innovation with whatever I learn and see.
Q: What do you like to do in-game?
A: I enjoy exploring the world the most. I love how the Warcraft team built the world with all their innovation and creative minds. The astonishing landscape and environment we see in game is just fantastic and really inspiring. Sometimes, I dream of living there.
Q: If you could add one thing to the game, artistically, what would it be?
A: I'd like to add an NPC (probably a pandaren) to the game, and he would give you a daily quest to ask to take photos around the world for him so that he could finish his great masterpiece of drawing scenes for Azeroth!
Thanks goes to Yuan from all of us at Blizzard for sharing his talents with us. If you’ve seen a great piece of fan art lately, e-mail us at fanart@blizzard.com and tell us all about it.
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