Why ion hazzikostas is the best Game Director

[Shakou]

No, they just don't know how to articulate their displeasure for him. I don't like him myself. Are we really giving him all the credit for Legion? Seems his apologists shtick is when a good decision is made "it's because of Ion" but when a bad decision is made "oh well Ion is game director but he doesn't decide EVERYTHING." He's all right but I'm pretty sure WoD was a f'n disaster because they gave up on it halfway and started to focus on Legion. If that was his decision, another bad one. Fuck up a whole expansion just to make the next one great isn't exactly great decision-making.

I don't know how much of a yes man he is or how much thought process goes for him, he just comes off as a corporate stooge, and not particularly a good one. He's dry as fuck, has no charisma when talking in front of a camera, shows no passion, and those are all fundamental traits necessary to make a likable face of a company (like Chris Metzen) and he's an arrogant prick and often talks down to the player base. Of course people aren't going to like him.

I have nothing against his supporters, I just don't like the guy myself because there's not enough evidence one way or another how much he is behind the great decision-making since we don't know the behind the scenes process and how much his role entails beyond "sounds good, let's do that. Nah, sounds bad." He could just be the corporate stooge reporting back to his higher ups. It wouldn't surprise me one bit how he carries himself.

Dude do you know who Ion is in-game? He's the GM of Elitist jerks, you know the guys with the legendary forums that did basically all the theory crafting before simming was a thing? He's a lot of things but that guy is no corporate stooge, although he was a lawyer at a big shot corporate law firm before joining blizz.

[yjmark]

compared to Ion they lived in the Forums.

you find a blue tracker page for Ion where he shows up as much as this
https://blue.mmo-champion.com/catego...ndaria/?st=840

I didn't think Ghostcrawler was ever Game Director....was he? I thought he was just a lead designer or something like that...

[Archmage Alodi]

He's a stubborn arrogant cunt sometimes but i like him most of the time.

[Akibaboy]

Ion Hazzikostas was one of the Lead Game Designers of WoD, does that make sense?

He was Lead Encounter Designer for WoD's development - WoD launced in 2014.
"In 2015 he rose from Lead Encounter Designer to Assistant Game Director, under Tom Chilton, and in late 2016 was promoted to Game Director when Chilton left the team for another Blizzard project."
So for WoD's entire development and for some time after launch, the only thing he was in charge of was raids. And raiding was the one good thing about WoD... actually the raiding was pretty great. He became Assistant Game Director over half way through WoD, after the damage was done... and did take some small steps to make the general game better. Mythic dungeons were a good addition. Seems like most of the better ideas of WoD and Legion were ones he had a hand in - WoD started with trivial dungeons and no world content, ended with some alright dungeon activities and a bit of a de-emphasis on camping out in your garrison... those changes that happened halfway through WoD, coincidentally as Ion was taken out of being just a raid designer, are the same ones that breathed life into Legion - dungeons were great via Mythic+, and WQs gave a reason for the world to exist beyond leveling - each reflections of what was changed in WoD when Ion was promoted.

Since Ion has taken over, the biggest shift I've seen in how the game works is that it seems like everything is going back to a design of requiring actual gameplay and engagement to reach a milestone or receive a reward. Mage Towers were fantastic, leveling dungeons aren't "follow the guy soloing it with heirlooms", tons of optional content and events like Chromie, Lucid Nightmare, hidden items, Uuna... all on top of a solid raid and dungeon scene. Everything feels tuned around going out and actually doing things now. Every time I hear a complaint about a change, that someone is now "forced" to do something... I have to wonder why they're so adamant about asking to not have to play the game. If people don't like playing the game, then don't.

[Bas Prime]

I agree, Ion is awesomedary

[Stened91]

Ion Hazzikostas was one of the Lead Game Designers of WoD, does that make sense?

As he was not game lead, he was encounter lead.. so he made the raids (best thing about wod)... like check facts?

[Sanguinerd]

I'm quite pleased with Ion, though I wasn't displeased with the others.

[dwarven]

I think Chris Metzen would be ideal, but Ion is really good too.

[Soon-TM]

Mr. Hazzikostas is great when he designs raids, but he blows when he designs classes. Come on, not a single new spell or talent from 100 to 120... /facepalm

[Axaion]

Because GC was axing the shit ideas like artifacts and randomly distributed legendaries that I'm certain were proposed in his time as lead and encouraging great QOL changes for the game. His team introduced systems that helped negate RNG (badges for one) instead of increasing RNG in every possible corner of the game. In other words, GC led a design team that made the game fun, accessible, and challenging at the high end all at the same time. Ion leads a design team that made mythic raiding a full time job, introduced boring as fuck grinds everywhere, and sent classes and specs back to ridiculous levels of simplicity and hid the good gameplay behind artifacts and having the right legiondary.

At least for my tastes, Ion and his team have not taken the game in an enjoyable direction for me and the frustrating part is that I feel like his team is making mistakes which were corrected by GC's design team years ago. For example, GC firmly believe that "increase damage by X%" type talents were boring, pointless, and really not a choice at high levels of play. Ion re-introduced an entire pointless, grindy, and very damaging (balance wise) tier of exactly that type of talent with paragon traits, which Legion would have been MUCH better without.

Just because Ion did a great job with Ulduar (and I mean that genuinely) doesn't mean he's suited to be game director.

- - - Updated - - -



https://wow.gamepedia.com/Developer_Watercooler

I count 14 entries by GC, and he also used to actually go on the forums from time to time to discuss issues. He also did class specific Q&As which he personally participated in (at times). I pretty much guarantee those were FAR more effective than the PR stunt Q&As Ion does. So, GC basically invented the Q&A and Ion has now turned it from something useful to something useless.

Here's a quote about GC I found randomly from way back when he was actually the lead designer:

"For all the times I've disagreed with what GC has to say, I do respect him that much more for actually answering a lot of the communities posts. It's a shame some think that just because he doesn't answer their opinions or questions that he must be ignorant. I'm sure he reads but he's also a systems designer for the game. Posting on the forums isn't their first priority.

I can't wait for the Death Knight, Warlock, Warrior and Paladin Q&A sections. But I'll probably read all the classes regardless."

Neat
/10char

[ShiyoKozuki]

game is still too heavily raid focused because of ion

[ElitistNoob]

Well considering Legion is the only expansion since Wotlk that kept me playing from beginning to end.... I'd say that he is doing a pretty good job. I have left cata, mop & wod a month after their launch coming back from time to time, but never really got invested in them.

[Oneirophobia]

Could use a lore lesson or two, but yeah, he is a good game director. Willing to admit mistakes and problems when they occur, lead through the majority of Legion, which was a pretty phenomenal, engaging expansion.

He kind of seems like the quintessential wow player. He couldn’t give two shits about lore and just wants to play the game.

I’m a lore fan myself so I’m metaphorically growing a few greys every patch lately but he does seem to at least enjoy the game still, which is tough to do if you’re the one making it.

[Neversage]

I agree with OP. Ion is the real deal and does a great job, despite what the vocal minority cries about.

[Curlyfry]

Ion is great, people just need to realize not all decisions made on a team are done by one person. Hes just the current face, before him was Ghostcrawler who also got shit for things he didn't do. You gotta appreciate these guys who are willing to take what the idiots in the community throw at him.

[Xath]

i mean, you are aware that Ion Hazzikostas has been a prominent figure of the wow community since the game launched, right? Iirc, he was involved with/ran the theorycrafting website formerly known as "Elitist Jerks", where the hardcore raiders went to discuss the ins and outs of the game. At the very least, he knows what "Classic" WoW was, because he was there.

He was an arrogant sod then too. I interacted with him back then and he hasn't changed. He's always been very inflexible and about numbers over fun. It's a great personality to have for a theorycrafter not so great for a game dev. Every change he makes is to increase metrics or decrease work needed he doesn't worry about whether or not it's fun.

He's also an unabashed horde fanboy which is really bad for alliance and the token efforts of a title are going to make no difference in raid population balance. He has so many public relations disaster I'm amazed he's kept on, "The horde is there waiting for you" "We would rather you not play demonology" being two of the big ones.

[Byleth]

I have no issue with Ion. He seems to just say it like it is, which I respect.

[Tic Tacs]

As he was not game lead, he was encounter lead.. so he made the raids (best thing about wod)... like check facts?

Wrong, he was a Lead Game Designer in WoD, here you can listen him talk about garrisons, outdoor content, gear, raiding and so on:

He already prove his mental defficit by the lawyer comment.

But im sure he gets fired like the 200 IQ experts here suggesting

very interesting.

[Nnyco]

He is fucking asshole.

oh my are you an unique indiviual, better not cut yourself on all that edge you have there

[Weeps]

Important ideas that Ion implemented in wow so far that I really REALLY like:

1) Transmog closet. Freed up so much room and I love mogging.
2) Artifact weapon. That's a cool idea. I don't like how it is GONE now though.
3) M+. This is easily the greatest thing about Legion.
4) WQs. I liked them wayyyyyyy better than old school dailies (Think: skettis, netherwing... zzz)
5) Mission tables. I know some people hate it but I liked it. Especially the WoD version where they had a ship yard. That was cool.
6) Mage Tower challenge. On the toons that I played on regularly (3 of 'em), I enjoyed it a lot