Battle for Dazar'alor Mythic Progression, Jeremy Feasel Interview, Blue Posts

Battle for Dazar'alor Mythic Progression - Limit, Method, and Pieces at 8/9
Method and Pieces have joined Limit at 8/9.



Developer Interview - Jeremy Feasel
Taliesin & Evitel has the opportunity to talk to Jeremy Feasel, who has moved off of Island Expeditions onto a general oversight and planning role.


Crestfall
  • Crestfall is a new Island Expedition coming in Patch 8.2, with elements of the Warcraft map.
  • There will be dragon skeletons, gryphon rider hammers, cannon towers, destroyed battleship, and more.
  • It will tell micro stories, such as "This is where the Humans would have built their barracks", but now it's a rundown and destroyed castle.

Island Expeditions
  • A lot of stories were started on islands with one time questgiver quests, such as something going on with the Mantid. Those are setting up stuff.
  • Some of those threads will get pulled on as we go through the patch process. It'd be interesting to look at those and figure out which of them will take off and where they will go, because a couple of them will go to some pretty interesting places during this expansion.
  • Maybe in some Normal Island Expeditions, you could have more time to do exploring and less time pressure. The team may experiment with this in Patch 8.2.

New NPC AI
  • The new brawl in Patch 8.1.5 that puts players up against AI in Arathi Basin will be the first big use of the new AI tech outside of Island Expeditions. This is an opportunity to give the AI meta battleground strategies. Should the AI jump off the cliff and Slow Fall down to the Blacksmith?
  • They could use the NPC AI to make a new bodyguard buddy, jumping around you, climbing up rocks and looking off into the distance.

Story and Nazjatar
  • Whenever the team develops the story, they keep in mind the story that is going throughout the entire expansion. One in this expansion is Sylvanas's rise to power, how she is using it, and how people react to it. That's a key to how we get to Nazjatar and what happens there.
  • You'll start to see links between what people are doing and how it is impacting our story and where we are going really start to come out during the Nazjatar questing.
  • You will have some impact on your surrounding area in Nazjatar. You'll be meeting a group that is indigenous to Nazjatar and helping them out, which has it's own local impacts.
  • The effects of what's going on with the greater story may not necessarily take place in Nazjatar, but in other places across the world.

Allied Races
  • The team loves the Allied Race system and thinks it is a strong system.
  • The team does plan to add more Allied Races, but nothing to announce right now.

Systems
  • The team is pulling away from gating content with quests that require you to collect thousands of shards and instead focusing on big story quests that you can complete and feel like you got an awesome story reward for playing through a space.
  • In addition to that, there are a significant number of people working on sandbox systems and overworld systems, as well as an updated world quest system across the entire zone.

Nazjatar and Mechagon Content
  • You'll be introduced via big cinematic moments, unlock your hub, meet your new friends, and then you've got the new bodyguard system.
  • Your bodyguard will be leveled up, gaining additional stories and abilities as you are leveling them up. The new quests will tell you about the new races, giving you drips of story.
  • You'll have a whole new set of world quests, unlike anything the team has done previously.
  • There may periodically be public events that pop up, similar to the Legion Assault system. You can join in on the scenario in the world with everyone and finish it.
  • It should feel like there is stuff happening all over the place.
  • What were some of the coolest sandbox systems of Timeless Isle? Every once in a while you would see a shrine that you could click on and spawn a mini event. Things that you don't see every day, but will come upon occasionally when playing through a space.
  • The team wants to double down on the feeling of an exploratory sandbox. You should still see things for the first time, even a couple months into playing.
  • Mechagon is going in an entirely separate direction in terms of how content is unlocked and what it turns into.
  • You can gather all sorts of crafting materials across the space, and it has a local crafter with lots of mechanical rewards. If you bring him a battery, spare parts, and some scraps, he can build a spider bot.
  • It should feel like a breath of fresh air in terms of how content is being delivered and what you are getting over time.
  • There isn't a dedicated team working on secrets added to the game, they are just passion projects.


Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Kul Tiran and Zandalari Unlock Requirements
I think one of the major worries was if a dungeon/raid would also be part of the requirements.
I’m really glad there not along with having to being exalted with the other factions too just to unlock those two.
We clarified that raiding wasn’t needed and people immediately wanted clarity on what was needed down to specifics. I put this together to help ensure everybody was on the same page and if they aren’t exalted or avoid doing quests, they can hop on those right away.

Since the zones are separated, will unlocking KT humans also unlock the Zandalari?
If you have unlocked Kul Tiran and you want a Zandalari then you need to do all of the horde requirements on a horde character. The mag’har/dark iron worked this way as well if I’m remembering right.

Serious question: I have an Alliance toon that has met the requirements for Kul Tirans. If I faction swap to Horde before unlocking Kul Tirans, will I still be able to complete their scenario and unlock them? I do not have another 120 Alliance character.

While I am not 100% sure on how the achievements themselves work with a faction change - the point that was mentioned above would be the primary issue: you would need a max level Alliance character to do the recruitment questline. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
This article was originally published in forum thread: Battle for Dazar'alor Mythic Progression, Jeremy Feasel Interview, Blue Posts started by chaud View original post
Published on 2019-02-01 10:20 AM
75 Comments
Comments 75 Comments
  1. iamthedevil's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Khallid View Post
    I'm confused what about the Allied Races is a "strong system"? The fact that race changing costs cash?
    Strong = easy to create content that people like.
  1. Silent One's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Khallid View Post
    I'm confused what about the Allied Races is a "strong system"? The fact that race changing costs cash?
    The fact they can slap 3-4 hairstyles on a different color'd model, get people to pre-order the next expansion to get the privilege to unlock, and make people spend hundreds of hours playing the game to unlock it, then play even more to level one up, or fork out the cash to race change.
  1. Joker of Muerte's Avatar
    Honestly they should make the Warfronts like they do the content in NAtural Selection 2 . Where one player is the Top down overview person who places upgrades and turrets and whatnot and everyone else makes sure they get built and takes the different areas for their side and repairs stuff and yeah.
  1. Drusin's Avatar
    The team loves the Allied Race system and thinks it is a strong system.
    The team does plan to add more Allied Races, but nothing to announce right now.
    Well I disagree. Why? Because there is still a 50 character cap. You can't keep this up, eventually achievement+mount+xmog collectors are going to hit that cap.
  1. Khallid's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by iamthedevil View Post
    Strong = easy to create content that people like.
    Damn it, I must be a robot then. You have uncovered my identity.
  1. Gratlim's Avatar
    I see some blue colour in this ranking. Must be a mistake :s...
  1. Kazadar's Avatar
    i'm glad there are more allied races coming i enjoy them. hopefully some of the new races they added this expansion will become allied. also i'm glad to see the bodyguard is returning in some form.
  1. lyphe's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Molis View Post
    Jesus Christ people. Let them try some new things and see how it goes.

    This is the first interview that actually had some new ideas and hope.
    I know right? So many depressed emo cynics walking these halls. Normally I make it past a page of comments at most before I end up logging off the site to retain my sanity lol. Cheers.
  1. javierdsv's Avatar
    Those new systems sound a lot like how Destiny 2 works, it is an incredible thing to be able to keep doing things everywhere and still have current relevant reasons to be there all the time. This would give new breathing air to the game and I'm all for it. They would even give them reasons to graphically update several places continuously too.

    I've always had the impression that when you leave a zone to never return it is a waste of content...
  1. Chickat's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Drynix View Post
    There are different ways to formulate criticism. Yours was filled with sarcasm and cynism. Both rub off as salt very very fast in written format.

    Can't blame the other guy for calling your first comment salty, because it reads like salt. Even if you want to be critical of things. Wording is key!
    You can't criticize what you haven't actually seen yet. I understand being skeptical, but we have no idea how any of this actually pans out. It's either going to be end up being hype or massively disappointing.
  1. Msshammy's Avatar
    Wow.. 6 guilds 8/9 mythic. That's pretty crazy.
  1. Chickat's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Kylie Hope View Post
    To me it looks like someone sends him out there to act excited and engage the crowd, but it just looks so fake.
    I think it's real but looks fake because he has no charisma.
  1. Gadzooks's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Molis View Post
    Jesus Christ people. Let them try some new things and see how it goes.

    This is the first interview that actually had some new ideas and hope.
    It's striking to me - salty even - to see so many devs speaking out NOW, when they were nowhere to be found during development of BfA. Is it a good sign? Depends on how much faith you have with Blizzard and the WOW team right now. From my perspective? Not any. They nuked a lot of bridges with the community, so I don't expect a couple of dev interviews to change things overnight. But they have to start somewhere. And, this is not exactly a great start, because it's more content that they are doing regardless of player's feelings and opinions. Islands are pretty much universally ignored if not outright hated, and from everything I've read, they're only done to catch up on Apexis...er...azerite power, or for a parrot mount. So instead of saying "Oh, okay, we hear you, we'll focus less on that, and do something else" they're doubling down on them. Woo. So much communication, right? Shouting at a brick wall has no effect - you're doing so much better, Bliz - the wall is higher! C'mon. All he did was tease some vague things, and we're all supposed to go "Everything is perfect, here's my $15." Right? Right?

    2019 is going to be a pretty challenging year for Blizzard - they're facing lower numbers across the board with the lack of any big releases, so of course, they're sending the troops out to rally players. The one big juicy carrot they have to lure players back in, and keep them in, is new content (and mounts), so the cynical side of me just sees this as Feasel waving a shiny toy at players and going "Look at the birdie!".

    And don't get all salty at my cynicism, they earned it. I've watched Blizzard and the WoW Dev team build hope and crush it utterly since WOD and it's fiasco, and failing to learn anything meaningful from it. And, with the Reign of Ion, it's only gotten worse. One dev interview with some shinies revealed isn't going to do much to stem the tide of anger and resentment Blizzard themselves created among their customers. People have every right to their feelings, these new "emotions" Ion recently discovered, and I always find it a bit rude when someone thinks they have the right to tell people how to feel.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Chickat View Post
    I think it's real but looks fake because he has no charisma.
    A lot of the devs are hard to read, because...well, they just tend towards certain personality types at times, and they're not hired for their personalities as much as their abilities. (Not trying to throw some hot button descriptive words around here)

    I actually have nothing against Jeremy, I just wish the CM team would get their act together and put a decent video interview studio together, with good camera angles, microphones, and lighting - but looking at the last minute put together effort they do for Ion, their game director, I'm not holding my breath. Podcasters all across the board have put together excellent studios - E&T's video quality and production is excellent, as an example.

    Part of an effective PR strategy is maintaining quality across the board when the company speaks, and a lot of their devs are shown in a bad light, because of their lack of a platform for them to speak from. Jeremy would probably come across much better with a proper camera, mic, and setting. Plus, he doesn't look comfortable with that format, when E&T do this kind of thing every day, and are comfortable and know how to present themselves effectively (plus, they have a theater background, no?)
  1. VeraeliaBlack's Avatar
    *looks at World First Mythic Progression List*
    *Two Alliance Guilds*

    Looks like it's still business as usual. But no, no bias to Horde or anything, nope.

    *eyerolls, closes tab*
    Wake me up when Blizzard actually gives Alliance something notable for longer than 2 weeks (until Horde QQ about it and get it nerfed).
  1. Weeps's Avatar
    All I hope for is a few things.

    Revert the GCD back to Legion style.

    Do not create more Island Expedition content in next expansion.

    Open flying for each patch. When you get a mega content patch like 8.2, you can’t fly in those new zones until you do the “pathfinder” for that patch.

    Dump WarFronts or make it actually immersive. There’s A LOT of potential in WarFronts. It’s just wasted AF. Half assed LFR crap. If you could make WarFronts have varying difficulties it’ll be very interesting.
  1. matheney2k16's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by VeraeliaBlack View Post
    *looks at World First Mythic Progression List*
    *Two Alliance Guilds*

    Looks like it's still business as usual. But no, no bias to Horde or anything, nope.

    *eyerolls, closes tab*
    Wake me up when Blizzard actually gives Alliance something notable for longer than 2 weeks (until Horde QQ about it and get it nerfed).
    If your tired of the imbalance then you create an alliance guild and go for world first? Faction imbalance ain't blizzards fault anymore it's the players.

    People love the Zug zug
  1. Eleccybubb's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by matheney2k16 View Post
    If your tired of the imbalance then you create an alliance guild and go for world first? Faction imbalance ain't blizzards fault anymore it's the players.

    People love the Zug zug
    Yes it's the players fault that Blizzard designed racials that benefit Horde more in a PvE setting hence why world first pushers go it.....
  1. matheney2k16's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Eleccybubb View Post
    Yes it's the players fault that Blizzard designed racials that benefit Horde more in a PvE setting hence why world first pushers go it.....
    What racials are imba atm?
  1. Hexme's Avatar
    Honestly they could announce Naga as a playable race and it would still not get me back into playing this pos abomination of a MMO. Oh look FF14 ARR just released a new class which all you have to do is complete the ARR story line, with a new race coming in the new expansion which you can play day 1. Oh look ESO is releasing a new class in June which all you have to do is buy the expansion. Oh look BDO released a new class in Dec and all you had to do was own the game.

    Damn remember when all you had to do was own/sub to WoW for BE, Draenei, Worgen, Goblins and Pandas?, damn it's been that long since WoW was an actual good MMO.
  1. Niwes's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Ophenia View Post
    How can we believe this when...



    ...

    Everything seems rather straightforward, no risk taken, a new hub with World Quests, Invasions and Shrines, they don't seem to be willing to take risks anymore after the Azerite/Islands/Warfronts fiasco.

    Edit: Wow these blue answers. If I'm remembering right, While I'm not 100% sure. Why not checking before answering ? Should be like a 10-seconds research.
    yes lol. thought exactly the same.

    - - - Updated - - -

    when i remeber how hyped jeremy feasel was about island expeditions at blizzcon and when he told us how completely new and cool they are because of AI ...

    sorry bro, you and your company just sucks and completely lost touch and only drive the cost effective route. all stuff that can be templated and is cheap in design and development is what you are doing. since its all only for good quarter numbers and serving the activi$$ion blizzgreed share holders.

    PS: yeah, level up bodyguards. another endless brain dumb grind stuff i have to repeat on every alt. and big new story quests. yeah, another pile of a quadrillion quests i have to do on every alt, to transport horrible lame story and 1% lore. yeah baby, all for the cheap grind. maybe ppl stay subbed, eh ?

    Fuck that.
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