Live Developer Q&A with Game Director Ion Hazzikostas

[Mrbleedinggums]

But they don't want you get what you want. They want you stay and try every week to get what you want with RNG low chance. There is a milion ways how loot system can work better, but they want this way and they are quite happy with it and that is the problem.

Oh no I understand it but they understand they're losing numbers and happiness with their shitty RNG thing that's why they put in Azerite vendors. I was just giving a compromise if they don't want a vendor but want to add some bad luck protection then that was an idea I made. The only downside for them is that it gives the guaranteed item isntead of an RNG random item re-roll, but you have to kill the boss to get the item versus rolling that random chance item to potentially get an end-boss item.

[eduwneso]

Its 20 plants per potions but you get at least 5 plants per spawn... it doesnt change almost anything, I farm 2h/week of 3 raiding nights and I prepot + use a pot every single pull/wipe... Are you even playing this game ?! With alchemist procs and "super procs" with the new item, I got 85+ potions from 35 pots material I farmed in less than 1 hours... b*tch please

Omg mmo-c forums are worse than ever...

Yes I'm playing this game, where I have other professions and not alchemy, neither the time to farm gold. Prepots where better in legion and gold was easier to get and that's a fact, so for me, it's more difficult to buy prepots for my 8 hours a week of raiding, since apart from raiding and doing some M+ I don't spend much time in WoW because I have more things I want to do.

[klaps_05]

Is that you, LORE?

Nah, if that guy was Lore he would just repeat what he quoted and then ignore others on twitter.

[therealbowser]

No one and I say NO ONE has a sub to only get exalted to play allied races. AR are just reskin of existing races it's a "nice" bonus but its no way something that keeps you playing... If not then you're just ultra casual even more casual than the average casual player...

Just here to call you out on this ignorant, moronic nonsense.

First of all, while I have kept my sub active, I was playing extremely actively for the first month of the game exclusively to max out 7th Legion to unlock Dark Iron Dwarves. (I was probably one of the first ~50 players to unlock Dark Iron dwarves on my server.)

After unlocking the race, I went down to barely logging in at all until Uldir, and even then I was playing pretty inactively. It wasn't until we started closing in on Zandalari trolls and Kul Tirans that I got active again to do the same thing for my Horde character with Zandalari Empire for a month (less grindy since there's only one zone as opposed to three, and I would have done the same for Kul Tirans but I was already exalted with Proudmoore).

I guarantee I wasn't the only person doing this.

And then we go into heritage armor. Not every set appeals to everyone, but some of the armor (looking at Kul Tirans in particular) is very badass, and I literally leveled a Kul Tiran from 20-110 just to get the armor on my main, whom I race changed. And it was worth it TBH. I did the same for Lightforged Draenei (albeit far more casually), and I may eventually do the same for Dark Iron dwarves. I dunno if Elec even brought this up, but it's another thing keeping people subbed, for sure.

"They are just a reskin of other races hurdur" just shows that you are incredibly ignorant and have awful taste. But that's okay. I don't want to judge too harshly, some people prefer vanilla and that's technically okay. However, you trying to shit on people for liking new races is a complete joke, lol.

First of all,Dark Iron Dwarves are one of the most requested races in WoW's history (up there with High elves which are never going to happen), and personally I was ecstatic to unlock them since I fully intended to race change to this amazing group of bad ass dwarves on my main.

Second of all, void elves and nightborne are more than 'reskins'. They are literally giving a form of blood elves to the Alliance, and an enhanced form of night elves to the Horde.

Lastly, Zandalari and especially Kul Tirans (who have entirely unique animations) are not even remotely close to being 'reskins'; I hope I don't have to elaborate on that part further.

I want to emphasize also the fact that you acknowledge that you know you are wrong but try to shield yourself with your little shit comment "lolol they must be super casual if they don't play the way I do" is adorable. Why do you even play this game?

While I play FFXIV and you are blowing up and exaggerating everything in your post about it, there is some small hint of truth in what you are saying in that FFXIV not having a bigger population than WoW, however, I don't think Elec was saying that FFXIV has more players than WoW, simply a ton of WoW players have definitely moved onto FFXIV or quit the genre entirely which is 100% true.

By the way, FFXIV doesn't have world quests. They have FATEs, which are used almost exclusively for leveling up. I wish they would have endgame FATEs with similar rewards to WoW, that would actually be very healthy for the game as it lacks strong single player endgame content right now (IMO), but that's a discussion for another thread and definitely not one I would enjoy having with you.

I just needed to correct you on that, as you don't seem to have hardly any idea about how FFXIV plays, and appear to be going entirely off of second hand information.

[cface]

It's totally not bullshit WoW "used" to be good and fun before they started all their bullcrap pruning, FFXIV is quite possibly 10 times more fun to play than current iteration of WoW, Though personally I have given up on the MMO genre much better games to play out there ie The Division 2, Devil may cry 5, hell Apex has more quality assurance than this piece of shit game.

[off-topic]
I just can't get past FFXIV horrible UI. It looks absolute dogshit compared to wows even standard UI. Isn't there a lot of restrictions on what addon can do in these games compared to wow?
If it weren't for the amazing UI/addon community in wow, and what is allowed, I would have stopped many expansions ago.

Also the developer talk is as usual horrible. These interviews should have a theme, so that customization is it's own theme, and m+/raiding/classes its own.

[therealbowser]

On topic, I'm disappointed that Blizzard is basically dodging the topic for allied races, and especially disappointed to hear no allied races are planned for Azshara. I want to plan ahead so I don't have to blow money (i.e., gold for WoW tokens) on race changes later if they have some cool races coming up in the near future.

I was fully expecting junker gnomes and vulpera, and if we don't get those, I'll be pretty disappointed (mainly in the former, as those steampunk gnomes look awesome to me). If those were the last allied races of BFA, I'd be okay with that. Then again, if Kul Tirans and Zandalari were, I'd be okay with that, too. I just want to know for certain.

[Eleccybubb]

[off-topic]
I just can't get past FFXIV horrible UI. It looks absolute dogshit compared to wows even standard UI. Isn't there a lot of restrictions on what addon can do in these games compared to wow?
If it weren't for the amazing UI/addon community in wow, and what is allowed, I would have stopped many expansions ago.

Also the developer talk is as usual horrible. These interviews should have a theme, so that customization is it's own theme, and m+/raiding/classes its own.

See least you gave some honest/actual criticism of it.

Most people go "lol weeb game". So thank you at least.

[Nazjir]

So I have two opinions I take away from this. 1 leaves me with a good feeling, the other is quite bad.

Level Squish = Great Idea
Continuing the RnG = Catastrophic

I think the level squish is a great idea. For the people that have a huge issue with it, please realize 120 is just a number. The pace at which you level doesn't change, nothing at all changes really except the number. Condensing 120 to 60 has so many advantages that would make leveling feel so much more satisfying, and the only downside is players will complain that their number is lower. With half as many levels, each level will actually MEAN something, and you can FEEL your character getting stronger. Imagine each 1-2 levels you learn a new spell, or learn a new passive that you can actually see makes a difference while leveling. Right now, there are points where you'll go over 10 levels without any changes to your playstyle! There is a reason leveling feels dull, and I think the primary reason is you don't feel the progression. I think making this change will make waaaaay more people happy than it'll make people mad, and it will be way more satisfying to new players to the game leveling for the first time. I love the fact they are considering making this a reality

The other take away is they seem to be 100% onboard with continuing RNG progression, as well as doubling down on how easy the gearing process is. Alot of people seem to think the raiders that have a problem with how easy gearing is now a days are upset due to elitism. I can assure you, this is not the case. The issue is for many is that we grew up to love this game early on largely due to a 'culture' that's been missing for some time now. The culture was built largely on the foundation of 'pride' in one's character. It didn't matter what level of content you did, but as you played the game and went from horribly bad to decent to good, your gear would be a reflection of your growth. Your gear was your badge of honor, your pride displayed. You would look up to someone with a full set from a raid in Stormwind and think, man that guy's really something, I wanna be like him one day. But gear was only the visible pride of a raider. There were millions of players that took their pride from other things. I still remember to this day the #1 enchanter on our server, who all of my guildies went to for their needs. He'd always had everything, and was always available when we needed him. He had never done a raid in his life, hardly did dungeons, but his pride was on his craft, and he loved the game because of the reputation he built for himself. There were similar players to him with different professions. There were mount collectors back then who wowed everyone in major cities with the sheer number of mounts they had. People had their 'thing' in the game that they were truly proud of. As a raider myself, gear was my pride. It was every raiders pride, for the first 4 or 5 expansions of this game. Sadly though, it seems Blizzard has lost touch with the culture it's game was founded upon. They have fostered an environment where gear should be the focus of every player. Gear is no longer 'earned' like it once was. Gear is an 'entitlement' now. A large amount of players truly believe they deserve a reward for paying a subscription, and only paying a subscription. They truly believe that doing a world quest in 5 minutes should earn you the same piece a gear a normal raider spends 6 to 9 hours a week to obtain. Raiders have no pride to put on display anymore. I think the worst group suffering from this are normal and heroic raiders, because they have no way to display their pride nowadays. The hours and hours they devote to killing bosses every week will earn them the same reward as someone that traced a circle on the ground for a turtle lady. People that have no use for such gear, other than to kill the same mobs for WQs everyday 1 second faster, walk around with the same gear that player devoted part of his life to earn. It's not just gear either. There are no enchanter masters on my server. There's no jewelcrafter everyone knows and respects on US-Illidan. There is no badass that's known for running around Boralus on the sickest mounts in the game. There is no pride we can display anymore. There are 2 groups nowadays. Those of us who long for the old days, and those of us who feel entitled to rewards we truly have no use for. I don't see how this sort of system can last 5 more years. Without pride, we're truly just doing the same exact thing, one tier to the next, one expansion to the next. We will burnout, and when we do, I don't know what will happen to the game.

Blizzard, please listen. Sometimes you have to do what's best for the game, not just the loudest minority of your base. Take things away from us, I'm begging you, if you know it will help reignite the culture that made this game great. You may have some people that log on for 2 hours a week complain that they cannot get the same piece a heroic raider gets from doing the war campaign. You may have Mythic + runners complain they can no longer farm a 10 to be more geared than a heroic progression raider. You may have people that want to spend 1 hour a week on professions complaining that making the best items is too complicated or time consuming. But what you will have in time Blizzard, is a culture. A culture built on pride, where your players can log into their character, 'see' what they've accomplished, and nod in approval.

[Leaf4Prez]

Uh yes! Level squish please!

[Unholyground]

I just wish they would put boss specific loot back as a starter and have group wide gear that drops on top of your chance for personal loot. WoW is losing its magic because they keep removing things like that from the game. Also a vendor would be nice, rng has its place, but its place is now everywhere with very little control.

[Daan]

No words about current class balance and upcoming tweaks...

[wolvenfuere]

Please level squish us to 50 in 9.0 ... 120 its too much

There simply is no point for a level squish this late in the games life-- if it even makes it to 9.0. One more expansion left, if lucky and actiblizz doesn't drive the rest of the playerbase against them.

[Ielenia]

while "levels" might not exist the power gained in leveling does...

"Leveling" does not exist. One does gain experience as they grow old, of course, but it's not "experience" in the sense of "leveling". You don't become a "level 2 vendor" after vending a few items.

Levels, and the required "experience" to reach the next levels, are completely arbitrary numbers, and not representative of the pace of growth and learning one character goes throughout their life.

taking my 120 down to a 20 is just wrong imo.

You're just making numbers up here as Blizzard never mentioned "removing 100 levels" or any number to squish, at all.

And yes I was/am against the stats squishes and world scaling.

That was not my question. I asked if you believe the "item squish" also requires a lore explanation.

IMO they missed the best chance to do a squish and explain with legion to -> BFA ... maybe they can do it again BFA -> next expac and some sort of story behind it but i doubt it, and figure they will just do it :/

There is absolutely no need for "lore explanation" for something that does not exist in the lore. We don't need a "lore explanation" for why the game's maintenance happens on Tuesdays. We don't need a "lore explanation" UI changes.

[cuafpr]

"Leveling" does not exist. One does gain experience as they grow old, of course, but it's not "experience" in the sense of "leveling". You don't become a "level 2 vendor" after vending a few items.

Levels, and the required "experience" to reach the next levels, are completely arbitrary numbers, and not representative of the pace of growth and learning one character goes throughout their life.


You're just making numbers up here as Blizzard never mentioned "removing 100 levels" or any number to squish, at all.


That was not my question. I asked if you believe the "item squish" also requires a lore explanation.


There is absolutely no need for "lore explanation" for something that does not exist in the lore. We don't need a "lore explanation" for why the game's maintenance happens on Tuesdays. We don't need a "lore explanation" UI changes.

best thing about opinions they can be different, you don't think it matters i do. I think it takes away from the game to just do a squish (and yes i randomly chose numbers never said other wise...) UI doesn't impact my perception of my characters strength levels do.

[ashblond]

No words about current class balance and upcoming tweaks...

Blizzard: We are happy with the class balance in game right now. But a new pet will be added in Battle.net soon.

[Ielenia]

best thing about opinions they can be different, you don't think it matters i do. I think it takes away from the game to just do a squish (and yes i randomly chose numbers never said other wise...) UI doesn't impact my perception of my characters strength levels do.

Except you're espousing the idea that changes of gameplay/UI elements, like character levels, affects/is affected by the lore, which is just objectively false. If Blizzard did a level squish tomorrow, and the max level was reduced from 120 to, say, 60, my character would not be any less "experienced" in the lore (as in, life experiences) than it was prior to the level squish. Just like your character did not become any weaker, in the lore, when the stat squish happened, or when the level scaling was introduced.

[The Dwarf]

Ion must play a hunter because he's really good at kiting.

[GUZ]

Gold
The team did not like what Warlords and Legion did to the economy and tried to pull back in BfA. They have reintroduced gold rewards after some changes in the beginning of the expansion such as the emissary rewards.

Yup thanks for that 250 gold for a mission and a 5 million gold mount I’ll never get.

[Nerevar]

Leveling needs help. 120 is a big number and giving a reward at every level would be overwhelming and impractical.

WTF? No, it would be exactly the opposite. Leveling to 120 with the amount of rewards we have now is overwhelmingly boring.

[Optio82]

And once again the Elephant in the room is not even mentioned --- there are currently several different versions of WOW going on ---- there are those playing on the dead servers with pops of less than 5,000 people and then there are those playing on the 10 or so servers that actually have a healthy pop size.

That is unacceptable. They need to fix that. The advantages of being on a low pop server have been dead for years. Hunters cannot go tame a rare pet anymore without being shard'd in with 25 other hunters doing the same thing. Only the disadvantages remain -- like 900 gold for one Agi pre-pot. And it makes guild recruiting almost impossible if you want to raid Mythic. And PVP servers are pointless at this point.

"We lost the tech know how on merging servers" yeah right. BS

You want people to pay money to get off the dead servers you've allowed to happen is more like it. And stop recommending new players join the multitude of dead low pop servers, its bad for the game.