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by Published on 2021-08-26 03:44 AM

Sanctum of Domination Lag Update
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
For the past several weeks, we’ve received and acted on reports of lag in the Sanctum of Domination raid, particularly during the Sylvanas encounter. We’ve been working hard to understand and resolve the issues, but we overlooked telling you that. We apologize for that oversight, and we will strive to do better in the future.

The most common complaint we received was that there was a burst of lag when Sylvanas is first engaged. Our server performance group dug into those reports, and we found the cause – there are a higher-than-usual number of calculations being done at the start of the fight to facilitate the complex mechanics of the encounter. We’re looking into ways we can potentially improve this, but we have to be careful to not change the design or mechanics of the encounter. While this is something that we think we can improve over time, there will still be a few seconds of server lag on pull for now.

Outside of that moment, our main challenge in diagnosing these lag reports came from the fact that lag was reported in almost every phase of the fight, and we were unable to reproduce that lag in our test cases. In addition to examining our own internal testing, when we utilized our performance analysis tools on actual live raids that reported they were experiencing lag, the server always appeared to be functioning smoothly. This guided our focus elsewhere.

What we eventually discovered is that the Sylvanas fight in particular is very messaging-heavy, the mechanics involved require sending many frequent updates to the player’s game clients, which in itself isn’t a problem. However, we discovered that an unrelated change to how we organize and distribute server processes across our server hardware, combined with accumulated changes over time to how our hardware server infrastructure is organized, resulted in our server processes being more concentrated across our hardware.

We believe all of these factors combined to make the messaging overload happen more commonly and cause lag.

With our most recent weekly maintenance, we’ve deployed several changes to how we distribute server processes across our infrastructure, which should alleviate this potential source of lag. Please let us know about your experiences in Sanctum of Domination going forward, especially if you can capture video of any new misbehavior.

Thank you very much for your valuable feedback!
by Published on 2021-08-25 04:29 PM

Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Update - Contract Workers and HR Interference Added
According to an article from Axios, the state of California has expended its anti-discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard to cover temporary contract workers. They have also alleged that the company has interfered with the investigation by shredding documents. Below is the official response from Activision Blizzard on the updated lawsuit, and click the banner below for the full article.



Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Throughout our engagement with the DFEH, we have complied with every proper request in support of its review even as we had been implementing reforms to ensure our workplaces are welcoming and safe for every employee. Those changes continue today, and include:

  • Several high-level personnel changes;
  • Revamped hiring and recruiting practices requiring diverse interview panels;
  • Greater transparency on pay equity;
  • Expanded and improved training and investigative capabilities for human resource and compliance staff;
  • Created investigation teams outside of business units to support greater independence;
  • Restructured divisions to support greater accountability;
  • Enhanced review processes to include evaluation of managers by employees;
  • Clear boundaries on workplace behavior with a zero-tolerance approach to harassment and other actions that diminish or marginalize.

With regards to claims that we have destroyed information by shredding documents, those claims are not true. We took appropriate steps to preserve information relevant to the DFEH investigation.

We strive to be a company that recognizes and celebrates the diverse talents and perspectives that lead to the creation of great, globally appealing entertainment. We have provided the DFEH with clear evidence that we do not have gender pay or promotion disparities. Our senior leadership is increasingly diverse, with a growing number of women in key leadership roles across the company.

We share DFEH’s goal of a safe, inclusive workplace that rewards employees equitably and are committed to setting an example that others can follow.
by Published on 2021-08-25 01:15 AM

Patch 9.1 Hotfixes - August 24th, 2021
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Achievements
  • Players can now continue to give Rendle hats to complete Rendle’s Big Day after becoming his best friend.

Classes
  • Priest
    • Fixed an issue where Kevin’s Oozeling (Necrolord Soulbind) would not activate when Unholy Nova (Necrolord Ability) does not heal.

Dungeons and Raids
  • Sanctum of Domination
    • Kel’Thuzad
      • Glacial Spikes now properly kill themselves and apply Frozen Destruction even if they receive no damage from the players.

Items and Rewards
  • Runecarving memories which required reputation with a faction to use now instead require the reputation in order to purchase, allowing them to be used when obtained by Chronicle of Lost Memories without having the required reputation.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the Reinforced Stygian Shoulders to drop for non-plate classes when opening the Escaped Wilderlings’ Talon-Pierced Mawsworn Lockbox.
  • Credit for feeding Darkmaul will now be granted while in a raid group.

Quests
  • “A Suitable Demise” can now be completed while the Kyrian assault is active.
by Published on 2021-08-24 01:19 AM

Patch 9.1.5 - Lightforged Draenei and Nightborne New Customization Options
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Thank you for all of your enthusiasm and suggestions so far! It’s been a pleasure for the team to read how passionate you are about the looks of your in-game characters.

We wanted to share a handful of the customization options you’ll be able to choose for male Lightforged Draenei and female Nightborne, some of which have been requests from the community.

Lightforged Draenei New Customization Options


Nightborne New Customization Options

by Published on 2021-08-23 06:55 PM

Island Expeditions Soloable in Patch 9.1.5
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Afaik it was mentioned among the 9.1 features, no? I’m seeing the same lfg as before, even for normals. Had they canceled it?

The time has come, adventure seekers! We hear your requests for private queues in Island Expeditions, and are now assessing the work required to release this functionality in the upcoming 9.1.5 update.

Here’s our current plan: Once 9.1.5 launches, you’d be able to set sail on your expedition alone or with a party of up to three players on these seafaring voyages.

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