When is the 8.0 Beta?

[Deleted]

You really think they don't have Internal Alpha builds this close to announcing an expansion?

Who cares? There's no way we could know what their internal build state is at this point?

What matters is when they release and no one here, including you and your friend Jay know this.
Throwing around terms like "internal alpha" or "beta" like we were somehow privy to their fucking scrum backlog is just incredibly pretentious and not to mention completely futile. It simply doesn't matter what their internal status is - because there's no way for us to verify any of it.

Once they start publishing public builds we can start speculating.

[Coffeh]

Alpha in like March, beta in early Summer, release in September-November.

As always.

This is the correct answer. Buckle in for the content drought.

[schwarzkopf]

Just so we are clear, the public test started before Christmas 2015 for legion

Indeed - but the public beta didn't start then, they sort of had an open alpha which is the beta you have when you don't have a beta.

[Tris822]

I'm calling a summer release sometime around June. Leaves perfect timing for Antorus raid tier.

[Arthzull]

This is the correct answer. Buckle in for the content drought.

Again this won't happen, April Release Date.

[Nyel]

How soon after the next expansion is announced do you think the Beta will begin?

Isn't there an Alpha stage before the Beta?

My guess is Beta will begin sometime in January. Last 6 months and expansion will be released in June / July.

When did MoP Beta start? When did Legion Beta start? That's exactly the date when XPAC 7 Beta will start because all three expansions share nearly identical schedules.

Beta end of Q1/Q2, release end of Q3 (=September).

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Again this won't happen, April Release Date.

April release with a <5 months "drought" and the shortest final tier ever and one of the shortest tiers ever... yeah sure.

[Ragnarocket]

Again this won't happen, April Release Date.

April seems optimistic....WAY too optimistic.

[Release]

Alpha in like March, beta in early Summer, release in September-November.

As always.

You can quote me if i'm wrong but I absolutely think your time scales are WAY off. Blizzards commitment to quicker content will continue with an expansion. I think your looking at a full release in May sort of time.

[Zentail]

Thats a little too quick of a timeline, especially since Antorus will be released at or around Blizzcon. a 5 month final tier is never a good idea.

9 month final tier seems ideal.

For an expansion that has focused solely on actual content releases for the first time, I wouldn't be surprised at all by a final tier only being 5 months. Maybe 6. In fact, I hope it is. Would sure stop that dry people that every player in this game hates so much between expansions.

[Makorus]

I thought the alphas were always friends and family

Legion Alpha was for people that beat Mythic Archimonde before a certain date, so probably the same thing this time, maybe with KJ, maybe with ARgus.

[Casthiel]

Alpha in like March, beta in early Summer, release in September-November.

As always.

It happens every time and every time people believe 'this time it will be different, this time it will be faster', etc etc. It's kinda funny

[Nyel]

Every Legion tier has been ~ 5 months. Nighthold (January) -> Tomb of Sargeras (June) -> Antorus (November). I really don't think that they'll make Antorus the shortest final tier ever with another 5 months to release the next expansion in April or May. And even then, as soon as pre patch hits live servers (which will take place 4-6 weeks prior to xpac release) we're looking at a <5 month final tier which is very unlikely (and wouldn't make sense tbh). Beta must start right after Blizzcon which is another thing that is incredibly unlikely because releasing Antorus on live servers and bringing beta online at the same time doesn't make any sense.

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It happens every time and every time people believe 'this time it will be different, this time it will be faster', etc etc. It's kinda funny

This. I mean we read this EVERY xpac and in the last decade it did never happen.

[Tartys]

Alpha in like March, beta in early Summer, release in September-November.

As always.

Not always. Alpha Legion was in November/December, Beta in May and release in August.

http://www.wowhead.com/news=252926/w...ation-now-live

[Release]

It happens every time and every time people believe 'this time it will be different, this time it will be faster', etc etc. It's kinda funny

This time isn't the same though is it as they've stuck to their promise of faster content why would that not continue post legion? Your lack of original thought is kinda funny.

[Ragnarocket]

This time isn't the same though is it as they've stuck to their promise of faster content why would that not continue post legion? Your lack of original thought is kinda funny.

Mists also had a better patch release pace and look at how long we ended up in Siege of Orgrimmar.

[Nyel]

This time isn't the same though is it as they've stuck to their promise of faster content why would that not continue post legion? Your lack of original thought is kinda funny.

It's exactly the same, nothing changed. They just decoupled patch and raid release (which is a very bad decision). Overall it might have been a little bit more content than in MoP but that doesn't mean we're getting a shorter drought.

Mists also had a better patch release pace and look at how long we ended up in Siege of Orgrimmar.

^ this

[Release]

Mists also had a better patch release pace and look at how long we ended up in Siege of Orgrimmar.

I could see it being somewhere in between optimism and pessimism. Let's say the pre release patch in May for a final release at the end of June. An expansion is a little different but I don't think Blizzard will want the sub bleed they always get in the final tier pre expansion.

[Polarthief]

Thats a little too quick of a timeline, especially since Antorus will be released at or around Blizzcon. a 5 month final tier is never a good idea.

9 month final tier seems ideal.

9 months is too long.

I'd like to see 6 months of actual progression and a month of 8.0 pre-patch, leading to a ~7 month tier. That would be more than acceptable methinks, given how they keep claiming faster patch cycles and everything.

Ending an expansion is part of that too.

TBH even 6-7 months is too long. I'd love raid tiers to last no more than 12-16 weeks if possible to get as much content as we can, but we all know that'll never happen.

[Dartz1979]

8.0 is gonna be pre patch event

[Ragnarocket]

It's exactly the same, nothing changed. They just decoupled patch and raid release (which is a very bad decision). Overall it might have been a little bit more content than in MoP but that doesn't mean we're getting a shorter drought.

I honestly don't hate the idea of staggering content out a little bit more like I think they are trying to do. Wrath was a good example of a time where they could have extended their raid cycles out just slightly longer and Icecrown wouldn't have felt so....awful. Ulduar never really had time to breathe before Trial of the Crusader was out.

I really just wish they had something in place that made old content relevant. I love FF14 for this reason - none of their content is ever really "out of date". But I digress, that's totally not the point of this thread.