How will 8.3 keep casuals occupied for 9+ months?

[Clara777]

Horrific Visions?

[Monster Hunter]

EDIT: sorry, this was meant for the general discussion forum.

With 7.3 lasting 9 months, it is safe to assume that 8.3 will also be around for at least just as long, especially with such a big raid. So the real question becomes, what is going to motivate the casual playerbase to stick around for 9+ months?

No new outdoor zones, no new dungeons. Just the same WQ's and assaults formula from the last 5 patches. What is Blizzard expecting casuals to do after 9 days, let alone 9 months?

And the worst part is, it doesn't even seem like those cut development resources have made their way into Shadowlands either, which is spreading content just as thinly.

Depends on the visions and how repayable they are.

Tbh though I wouldn't mind the time to invest in cyberpunk 2077.

[Grazrug]

EDIT: sorry, this was meant for the general discussion forum.

With 7.3 lasting 9 months, it is safe to assume that 8.3 will also be around for at least just as long, especially with such a big raid. So the real question becomes, what is going to motivate the casual playerbase to stick around for 9+ months?

No new outdoor zones, no new dungeons. Just the same WQ's and assaults formula from the last 5 patches. What is Blizzard expecting casuals to do after 9 days, let alone 9 months?

And the worst part is, it doesn't even seem like those cut development resources have made their way into Shadowlands either, which is spreading content just as thinly.

Friendly reminder. We had mop SoO for 13 months.

[Elias01]

No it won't. it's part of the MMO cycle. everyone here & at blizzard know that content drought are inevitable to make expansions. no damage here, just part of the subscription cycle.

We didnt had content droughts in vannila, TBC and WOTLK. Most people wasnt cappable to even finish current content when blizz droped update. It all started getting worse with Blizzard chase after acessability and content no longer lasted more than few weeks after release. Game is way too fast and way to easy to complete nowdays with all welfaregear, catch ups and easy mods.

Hunting cosmetics and achiemevemts is no longer lucrative. It was ok back in Wotlk where it was possible to actualy be more less done with this type of content. But Blizz now just throw so many mounts, pets and achievemets for all kind of nonsense that by the time you are close completing some part of the game blizz throws on you 30+ new mounts with 0.01% drop and 200+ new achievements.

[cparle87]

We didnt had content droughts in vannila, TBC and WOTLK. Most people wasnt cappable to even finish current content when blizz droped update. It all started getting worse with Blizzard chase after acessability and content no longer lasted more than few weeks after release. Game is way too fast and way to easy to complete nowdays with all welfaregear, catch ups and easy mods.

Hunting cosmetics and achiemevemts is no longer lucrative. It was ok back in Wotlk where it was possible to actualy be more less done with this type of content. But Blizz now just throw so many mounts, pets and achievemets for all kind of nonsense that by the time you are close completing some part of the game blizz throws on you 30+ new mounts with 0.01% drop and 200+ new achievements.

*looks at the 10 months between 3.3 and 4.0* *questions claim that there was no content drought in WotLK*

Also I'm rather puzzled by another thing. You claim hunting cosmetics is no longer lucrative. Then follow it up by saying that they make sure to add enough with every patch that it's very difficult to be "done"? Confusion?

[EternalBany]

Classic and WC3
LUL
new age boy

[Kaibhan]

Casuals play current content all day every day? I don't think so. Most casuals will continue to play like they always do. Farming mounts, pets, and transmog. Most casuals don't play the endless grind for current exapc numbers game, they go after the stuff that will stick to the account.

[slime]

Likely collecting up gold for the "about to be moved to BMAH", AH mount.

[Elias01]

*looks at the 10 months between 3.3 and 4.0* *questions claim that there was no content drought in WotLK*

Also I'm rather puzzled by another thing. You claim hunting cosmetics is no longer lucrative. Then follow it up by saying that they make sure to add enough with every patch that it's very difficult to be "done"? Confusion?

Amounth of months betweem patches have nothing to do with content droughts. Content drought starts counting when most people consume all viable major content which never happed in wotlk.

[Sondrelk]

I don't think Blizzard expects players to sustain themselves on WoW for the full duration of the content drought, even considering 8.3.5 and a hefty pre-patch.

it is easy to forget but a content drought at the end of the expansion is perfectly healthy for the game.
I am sure that if Blizzard really wanted to they could push the dev team hard enough that we essentially have no content drought, or at the worst only a month longer than the usual content cycle, but this would not necessarily be healthy for the game.

Usually players hit a point of burnout in the game. For instance i tend to get burnt out around halfway into the .2 patch. The .3 patch is then spent riding the initial wave of new exciting content, then a nice relaxing wait for the new expansion.
Had the next expansion come out much earlier i might end up feeling too stressed about having to do everything and feeling forced to grind up all my alts in time for the next expansion, leaving me burnt out by the time the next expansion opens,


Obviously, this is not true for everyone. But there is most definitely a level of content drought we have to accept if we are expecting a healthy playerbase.
The content drought in short allows players to leave WoW and build up excitement for the next expansion instead of waiting in WoW getting burnt out.

[Will]

Lol wut. It's not casuals u wanna worry about keeping occupied. They're the ones who play on-off and are happier with mixed forms of content of varying difficulty.

It's the hardcore players who are gonna lose interest first. Outside of mythic raids and +, there's bare challenge to be found for them.

[lockybalboa]

They will add another shiny 9 month sub mount. Suckers will still fall for it. Problem solved.

[Dracullus]

Lol wut. It's not casuals u wanna worry about keeping occupied. They're the ones who play on-off and are happier with mixed forms of content of varying difficulty.

It's the hardcore players who are gonna lose interest first. Outside of mythic raids and +, there's bare challenge to be found for them.

Usually on and off people play at the start, then quit until few months before next pre-patch - at this point all stuff is released and they can "finish" expac. I think Blizzard want to counter that with seasons, so in the future they may expand that, add some items available only during season etc.

[Steelangel]

No, but WoW Classic will.

And that's if WoW still has any player base after the great Blitzchung betrayal.

I don't think that the average WoW player cares about a temporary overreaction to a Hearthstone player who decided to get political.

[Apeachy]

Blizzard just need to take some resources out from the toy team to the content team and they can easy make more content

[cparle87]

Amounth of months betweem patches have nothing to do with content droughts. Content drought starts counting when most people consume all viable major content which never happed in wotlk.

And there we have the loophole by which any current retail hater can say current sucks while WotLK which did the same thing was awesome. Each person will define what they consider "viable" content to be. YOU say all the content wasn't consumed in Wrath ergo there was no drought, but turn around and say that in BFA, where there is objectively much more to do, can somehow be a drought because "viable" content has been consumed. You get to decide the standard to make yourself right.

[thilicen]

They won't. Just like in previous expansions things will calm down quite a bit 4-5 months into the last patch before we go into pre-patch 9.0. Nothing new.

[Vampyr78]

Between 7.3 and 8.0 there were two patches: 7.3.2 and 7.3.5. So you can assume some of thet after 8.3.

[Dziubla]

Just a heads up, this entire thread is basically pointless, since it's based on the assumption that Shadowlands will drop around november-december. It won't. It will be the same as with BfA - end of summer. You should look back on the previous expansions, and learn what placeholder dates are for.

[Zequill]

8.3.5 midway then 9.0 a month before Shadowlands