PTR 9.1.5 Development Notes

[Toppy]

So at this rate patch 9.2 is everyone waking up in Boralis and Zandalar after having a horrible dream right?

Waking up in Pandaria most like.

All these bad system changes and standards started with Legion. Let's not pretend these problems are new. Time gating, having to always have some new expansion feature, over long grinds for mandatory power, removal of good catch up mechanics, the far to large gear gaps in a tier (due to mythic+ and forging), proper pvp gear balancing, so on and so on.

[Soikona]

Did you watch the video? He used publicly available numbers to present a compelling video about the topic of WoWs subscribers. He did the research. It's the closest we have to actual sub numbers. Since Blizz no longer tell us.

How long have you been playing? I play on Silvermoon EU, Alliance. One of the biggest Alliance servers. Oribos is void of players. The only chat you get are bots and boosters. I don't need Bellular to make me realise the game is nothing like it once was. Blizzard did that when they stopped /flexing their sub numbers.

Please don't presume you know me.

All data is invalid and based on assumptions. Blizz keeps the actual numbers under lock and key. Some mic screecher is not going to fix that or get the key.

No I don’t want these people. I don’t care for their opinion, and it’s exactly that. Their opinion which you are taking as fact and quoting as fact. Think for yourself.

I also play on Silvermoon, and Ori is full of people so you are just straight up lying for some odd reason. Every sever is also full of boosters spamming /2. It’s a change of community from engagement to paying someone to not engage. That’s not a blizz problem, but they can fix it. Again, not some screecher.

[Archmage Alodi]

Did those dungeons have any great gear to grind for now that it’ll be shadowland level in m+. Wondering if it’ll make an impact

There's a ring in CoS with auto attack speed increase.

[Doffen]

In my enjoyment of getting Court of Stars m+ I first didnt see Vault of the Wardens with the best dungeon boss in Cordana Felsong is also in!

Legion m+ ftw!

And, super stoked for 9.1.5 Some great changes to Shadowlands, especially for alts. I enjoyed 9.1, I bet I enjoy 9.1.5 even more.

[Gemazarus]

All data is invalid and based on assumptions. Blizz keeps the actual numbers under lock and key. Some mic screecher is not going to fix that or get the key.

No I don’t want these people. I don’t care for their opinion, and it’s exactly that. Their opinion which you are taking as fact and quoting as fact. Think for yourself.

I also play on Silvermoon, and Ori is full of people so you are just straight up lying for some odd reason. Every sever is also full of boosters spamming /2. It’s a change of community from engagement to paying someone to not engage. That’s not a blizz problem, but they can fix it. Again, not some screecher.

Wow. You really don't like him do you? I'd sure love to check your video on the same subject?

Erm, where did I say what he said was fact? Please link it to me? His evidence was based on the most viable numbers that are publicly available. It's the best we can do. Even he said, that the numbers are not solid, but they are a good indication. Never stated as fact by either of us. You disagree with him. I don't. That's thats fine. It makes neither of our opinions less valid, as neither of our points can be proven either way. Since, for some strange reason, Blizz stopped /flexing their sub numbers some years ago...

You also play on Silvermoon. Great. If you think Oribos is full then you are deluded. You call me a liar. I call you deluded. Both are opinions. I don't know how long you've been playing, but I'm 16 years in, and I know a full city when I see one.

Lets agree to disagree.

[Quaade]

Lets not pretend this same shit didn't happen in the last two expansions.

Ion only became the game director after Legion. And while it did happen before it has never been as bad as it was in BfA, which had a new system every patch and then in SL

- - - Updated - - -

Good point. I'm not sure Ion is the problem myself. I think the decisions made that have destroyed the soul of WoW are above his paygrade. But either way, somebody is listening, and hopefully, maybe, learning. Things NEED to change. They haven't got the subs to be running WoW like a mobile idle game anymore. If they don't do something, WoW is in trouble.

And this patch is them desperate, scrambling, trying to bucket the water out of the sinking Titanic.

I think of it this way.

You hate the company you work for. You are not paid enough. You find another company offering the same role for more money. You tell your company you are leaving. They immediately match the offer from the other company. Do you stay?

Ion is the root of the problem as nothing gets into the game without his approval. The people above him only dictate, "make WoW successful." Anything else would be gross mismanagement as the people above Ion has the job of making macro-level decisions.

These are clearly micro-level decisions and given Ion's previous stance, and him outright saying that what has been done was impossible to do, this has to be the direct result of someone above him stepping in and making micro-level decisions as the macro-level one has failed badly as, short of life-altering events, no one can change their beliefs this fast.

And Ion was already on thin ice after the debacle that was BfA as his attitude shifted dramatically from the BfA beta to the SL one. This is a sign that he was chewed out since, again, short of life-altering events, no one changes their beliefs that fast and so completely without outside pressure. This current direction just showed that he's learned nothing from the experience.

I would in no way be surprised if we in a few months see a tweet from Ion announcing that the time has come for him to seek new opportunities and he, therefore, has made the decision to step down as WoW director and quit Blizzard. The Assistant Game Director is gonna get bumped to Game Director as it's obvious that AB is sidelining him because no fucking way they would ever hire an assistant game director to lessen his mental burdens. They would hire an Assistant Game Director who understands the game in order to keep Ion in line and protect their RoI.

[Toppy]

Ion only became the game director after Legion. And while it did happen before it has never been as bad as it was in BfA, which had a new system every patch and then in SL

- - - Updated - - -



Ion is the root of the problem as nothing gets into the game without his approval. The people above him only dictate, "make WoW successful." Anything else would be gross mismanagement as the people above Ion has the job of making macro-level decisions.

These are clearly micro-level decisions and given Ion's previous stance, and him outright saying that what has been done was impossible to do, this has to be the direct result of someone above him stepping in and making micro-level decisions as the macro-level one has failed badly as, short of life-altering events, no one can change their beliefs this fast.

And Ion was already on thin ice after the debacle that was BfA as his attitude shifted dramatically from the BfA beta to the SL one. This is a sign that he was chewed out since, again, short of life-altering events, no one changes their beliefs that fast and so completely without outside pressure. This current direction just showed that he's learned nothing from the experience.

I would in no way be surprised if we in a few months see a tweet from Ion announcing that the time has come for him to seek new opportunities and he, therefore, has made the decision to step down as WoW director and quit Blizzard. The Assistant Game Director is gonna get bumped to Game Director as it's obvious that AB is sidelining him because no fucking way they would ever hire an assistant game director to lessen his mental burdens. They would hire an Assistant Game Director who understands the game in order to keep Ion in line and protect their RoI.

He was made game director in 2016. Same year Legion launched. He was likely being prepped for it before that as well as thats normally how such things work.

And no, his stance hasnt changed.

This EXACT bullshit has happened in both Legion and BfA: claiming to listen to feedback and making changes and that they wont make the same mistakes again, and then making the same mistakes again.

Its happened before, its happening again, and the pathetic thing is its working.

[froschhure]

"Legion Mythic+ dungeons accessed in this way have their own set of affixes, reward loot of the same item level as Shadowlands Mythic+ dungeons, and count toward weekly Great Vault reward options.

Items acquired from Legion Mythic+ dungeons can be upgraded with Valor points, but will not appear in the Great Vault."


It really is happening (still can't believe it <3) and they will add bfa m+ dungeons to the next "event"
Later on this Keystonesystem will get baseline, allowing us to chose the expansion with the same item level as reward of the current expansion
awesome to see that they read all these posts and started developing into their golden future

[Gemazarus]

The people above him only dictate, "make WoW successful."

I agree with your whole post, but I think it would be more like, "Make WoW successful. Here are your resources to do so. And we also expect this, this, this and that."

I'm a Store Manager, and yeah, I'd love to get more money for wages so I can hire people, or be able to make my own decisions on what we sell, or even the locations in the store products are merchandised. I'd love to set my own targets for my KPIs, or for my feedback on what is reasonable, or even possible to be listened to.

It doesn't work that way.

1 man cannot ruin a game the way Ion has, and most certainly a game like WoW for so long and keep his job. It doesn't work like that.

[ulululu]

please tell me who asked for legion m+....... we need less of this stupid system not more rest are good changes

m+ is the best content currently available. Yes, you might consider it a little bit repetitive but let's be honest here: What isn't?

I personally can hardly wait for legion m+, to experience MoS and BRH again lul

[Quaade]

He was made game director in 2016. Same year Legion launched. He was likely being prepped for it before that as well as thats normally how such things work.

And no, his stance hasnt changed.

The timeline, as you mentioned, goes to prove the sentiment of what I sad. Due to how developmental cycles all the important work was done BEFORE he was made Game Director, and as such, he would only have had input on it. Someone else decided it. A lot of the people he worked for also remained on the team for the duration of Legion. They only really quit it after the expansion ended. Social dynamics dictate that he would have listened to their input. Once they left he would feel no need to listen to anyone. This also explains the sharp drop of quality after Legion.

I see Ion as a purist, he thinks that his opinions are perfect, and he also plays no other games than WoW that he can be inspired from, GW2 has account-wide currencies which makes playing an alt feel so much better.

[chiddie]

Imagine that 9.1.5 isnt even content patch, but they are adding actual content.

Imagine that you can say "Oh, I don't like Corthia, Tazavesh and CoD, there is no content in 9.1!"

I can imagine it, but Corthia, Taz and CoD are indeed NEW things, not 200 years old dungeons added to a master system “I” don’t like.

[Quaade]

I agree with your whole post, but I think it would be more like, "Make WoW successful. Here are your resources to do so. And we also expect this, this, this and that."

I'm a Store Manager, and yeah, I'd love to get more money for wages so I can hire people, or be able to make my own decisions on what we sell, or even the locations in the store products are merchandised. I'd love to set my own targets for my KPIs, or for my feedback on what is reasonable, or even possible to be listened to.

It doesn't work that way.

1 man cannot ruin a game the way Ion has, and most certainly a game like WoW for so long and keep his job. It doesn't work like that.

It does work that way. Are you a store manager on a franchise or a self-owned business? It sounds like a franchise. While you as the manager make micro-decisions for the team, you also have a boss and their job is half between micro and macro as they are tasked with implementing the broad things coming down from corporate. A campaign, for example, has to be implemented the same way across the franchise.

Your boss also has a boss, and as long as they get no complaints from your boss all is fine, they're probably even unaware of your existence. If your boss' boss gets told that there's a problem then they'll instruct your boss to solve the problem. Your boss then has the autonomy to solve the problem as they see fit as long as it does nothing to harm the brand.

And he absolutely can if he sucks up to the right people and those people then defended him. I've got a feeling that Brack defended him while the new co-leader, who plays the game, has a far dimmer view of him and essentially revoked any and all protection of him, leaving him to be far more exposed than before. His boss is telling his boss about the issues with Ion as the WoW Game Director.

As the recent lawsuit shows, people who act in a horribly way can get away with it if they know the right people who'll, in turn, defend them.

[Gemazarus]

It does work that way. Are you a store manager on a franchise or a self-owned business? It sounds like a franchise. While you as the manager make micro-decisions for the team, you also have a boss and their job is half between micro and macro as they are tasked with implementing the broad things coming down from corporate. A campaign, for example, has to be implemented the same way across the franchise.

Your boss also has a boss, and as long as they get no complaints from your boss all is fine, they're probably even unaware of your existence. If your boss' boss gets told that there's a problem then they'll instruct your boss to solve the problem. Your boss then has the autonomy to solve the problem as they see fit as long as it does nothing to harm the brand.

And he absolutely can if he sucks up to the right people and those people then defended him. I've got a feeling that Brack defended him while the new co-leader, who plays the game, has a far dimmer view of him and essentially revoked any and all protection of him, leaving him to be far more exposed than before. His boss is telling his boss about the issues with Ion as the WoW Game Director.

As the recent lawsuit shows, people who act in a horribly way can get away with it if they know the right people who'll, in turn, defend them.

Excellent points. Didn't think of it like that. Touche

[Empower]

As death approaches terrible visages of nothing flash before the eyes. As they do blizzard will implement changes they should of since beta.

Still it will be to little to late.

[Progenitor Aquarius]

Weather effects should be everywhere not just two cities. Please add also snow on Xmas during the Winter! Let’s make it realistic!

[shimargh]

The worst of this all will be the elitist it will spawn:

"oh, you didn't get X when it was hard"
"nah man, I got this when it counted"
"yeah, you just got his now that is extremely easy and fast"

Yeah, you know one or two of these.
-and then Blizz will cry about toxic players and remove some emote to feel good about themselves.

Weather effects should be everywhere not just two cities. Please add also snow on Xmas during the Winter! Let’s make it realistic!

If you want it to be realistic you will need hemispheres, so snow for one half and scorching heat to the other.

[iinverse]

I can imagine it, but Corthia, Taz and CoD are indeed NEW things, not 200 years old dungeons added to a master system “I” don’t like.

Timewalking keys is a new system too, even if it utilizes old dungeons.

[Asrialol]

m+ is the best content currently available. Yes, you might consider it a little bit repetitive but let's be honest here: What isn't?

I personally can hardly wait for legion m+, to experience MoS and BRH again lul

Bruh the bat stairs in BRH. It's suffering I didn't know I wanted back.

[Cena]

PTR 9.1.5 Development Notes[*]Shaman

• Elemental
  
  • Storm Elemental’s (Talent) Eye of the Storm

LOL why isn't chain lighting uncapped?