BfA Patch Speculation thread (8.3 and later).

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

8.1 barely offered more than 6.1 so... I know 6.1 is branded as the Selfie Patch and that's deserved but 8.1 was far from being a meaningful content patch to the game either.

- - - Updated - - -



It won't and it doesn't have to. 8.2 is the big patch this expansion, 8.3 will be rather medium if at all.

- - - Updated - - -



Extending the duration of an expansion with failed features like the Heart of Azeroth, Island Expeditions and abysmal class design doesn't make any sense. The last expansion that had a .4 patch was MoP and before that only TBC and WotLK.

And besides that, just look at a calendar: 6 months between 8.1 and 8.2. From end patch of an expansion to intro patch of new expansion it's usually 11-12 months. Let's say it will be just 8 months this time which already brings us to February 2020. And you have to fit 8.3 / 8.3.5 somewhere between February and the expansion release (and no tier lasts usually less than 5 months).

They're already late several months compared to Legion's schedule and if they don't delay the next expansion until Oct/Nov it will be quite a tough schedule until 9.0 with 8.3 and 8.3.5.
_____

I'm still curious what Azshara meant with the "Rise of the Black Empire" line. Still hoping this is foreshadowing the next expansion and N'zoth unleashes his full power instead of wasting him in 8.3.

The fact that Lor'themar's parting words to Jaina implies that the Horde is about to have a bad time specifically because they NEED to get their shit together before N'Zoth finishes awakening tells me N'Zoth is 9.0.

- - - Updated - - -

I think the issue now is that there are so many people with such varied opinions on how to make classes 'better'. It has become pretty apparent that there isn't a way to 'fix' class design really, because there is no actual goal. Its just 'make this better' 'make this more fun' and that is impossible to do anything with.
The solutions offered on this and other forums tend to be based around making things like they were in (insert my favourite expansion) for the most part. The ones that aren't are wildly inconsistent.

I mean they literally cannot make everyone happy. Even if they didn't touch classes at all 50% of the population would be mad they didn't. Best they can do is try to sort through the noise (see: your forum line) and try to find the actual things people miss and try to bring that back.

[Alixie]

No, they're not. I have more than that baseline, and i'm using all of them constantly. Getting a little tired of people massively exaggerating class issues.

Balance Druid might even be my favourite incarnation in BfA.

Balance was my main in BFA, and one of the few specs I liked. But it still the same 4 button rotation, with a 3 min cooldown thrown in, which doesnt change your rotation at all. This is how most specs work now. I have moonfire/sunfire on a spell sequence macro, build astral power with wrath and strike, spend AP on Starsurge, rinse and repeat. That's a 4 button rotation.

[huth]

Balance was my main in BFA, and one of the few specs I liked. But it still the same 4 button rotation, with a 3 min cooldown thrown in, which doesnt change your rotation at all. This is how most specs work now. I have moonfire/sunfire on a spell sequence macro, build astral power with wrath and strike, spend AP on Starsurge, rinse and repeat. That's a 4 button rotation.

No, that's a 5 button rotation, and putting MF/SunF on a spell sequence macro is bad practice. Also, if you have decent gear, the CD does change your rotation or rather makes more stringent adherence necessary.

[rrayy]

i highly doubt it. since they are doing a level squish they need massively more time to not fuck it up(they will anyway) so 9.0 will be November.

Level squish is in no way confirmed. They only said it was something they were thinking about.

[Makabreska]

Level squish is in no way confirmed. They only said it was something they were thinking about.

Well then why in the survey they sent to players we had question:

"Are you aware that the maximum level of 120 will be reduced in the future (ie Level Squish)?"

and

"The "Level Squish" will reduce the total number of levels required to access the most current game content. The new level cap will be dramatically lower than the current level cap of 120. How much would you like or dislike a reduction in character levels?"

[rrayy]

Well then why in the survey they sent to players we had question:

"Are you aware that the maximum level of 120 will be reduced in the future (ie Level Squish)?"

You mean a survey that only two people in these forums seem to have gotten? That is likely fake. As it is, if they were doing a survey it would be to the temperature of the player room on the possibility of the level squish because they are having internal discussions about it. However, nobody at Blizzaard has confirmed the level squish is coming.

[Makabreska]

You mean a survey that only two people in these forums seem to have gotten? That is likely fake. As it is, if they were doing a survey it would be to the temperature of the player room on the possibility of the level squish because they are having internal discussions about it. However, nobody at Blizzaard has confirmed the level squish is coming.

Was on front page of MMO-C, WoWHead, covered by all YouTubers, but you claim it's fake? Yeah, ok.

[rrayy]

Was on front page of MMO-C, WoWHead, covered by all YouTubers, but you claim it's fake? Yeah, ok.

Then the question was worded poorly. But thte fact still remains, niobody at Blizzard has actually confirmed it was coming. Unless of course, you can find me a direct quote from Ion or anyone else at Blizzard that state a level squish is coming in the next expansion. You won't because the only time Ion has said anything about it, he stated that they were talking about it.

[Dreen]

Does someone have a list or a clue on how to track with nzoth voicelines have already been used from the 8.1.5 datamined voicelines? (wowhead.com/news=289637.3/8-1-5-ptr-old-gods-broadcast-text-nzoth-and-xalatath-spoilers)
they probably implemented some for the azshara fight in the patch before so people dont try to track it, maybe some are for a mythic only version

[Aeluron Lightsong]

I don't think we should just ignore the possibility of a level squish, them talking about it and now a survey out. Thats a bit weird and I cannot ignore it. I'm still going to go into Blizzcon(At least right now) there may be a level squish, who knows. As for classes, I'll try to be to the point. To my main that I've noticed, from Legion to BFA, there wasn't that much change. So I have the same feelings on it since Legion.

I like the feel of it, its good enough where I'm happy. Not in anyway perfect and there are moments where I feel like I'm waiting and I rather be doing stuff(No not Defensive Cooldowns, rotational abilities).

[Eurhetemec]

Is it really relevant though.

Yes. When people wildly overstate their arguments just to be as dramatic as possible, that is very much worth pointing out. It's a big problem and very damaging to any kind of sensible discussion or reasonable criticism of a product or system. If we tried out a system internally at my company and people acted like gamers here, if it was slightly subpar, like ever slightly worse than another system (even if better in some ways), all the responses would be "WORST EXPENSES SYSTEM EVAR *insert Comic Book Guy picture*" "This system literally made me quit my job!" "I will kill myself if you do not change this expense system" and so on, and it would all be useless trash that didn't help us improve or refine the system.

Yet that is how people on the internet have learned to criticise a lot of games, and it's how the vast majority of people here criticise WoW.

Yes people are being dramatic.

Indeed. To the point where it's making their criticisms into a bad joke, rather than anything sane. They've devolved into self-parody.

But you can easily make an argument that class gameplay feels worse than it was in the equivalent point in any of the previous three expansions (and yes, I include WoD).

An rational argument with evidence, facts, gently-stated opinions and an open-minded stance? If you can, please go ahead and do so, because all I have seen is wildly overdramatic bullshit which boils down to screaming "WORST EVER" whilst lying on the floor and kicking their legs in the air, whilst completely ignoring any nuance or complexity. I believe you could make a case that BfA is worse than Legion (if you include Artifact weapons as part of class design), as I said (WoD is hard to do but not impossible) and in most cases worse than MoP (not universally). But I don't see any rational argument that the gap is a particularly large one, and the "WORST EVER" stuff is dramatic, meme-y nonsense.

And things will always be relative to what we had immediately before. Because the issue is whether class gameplay is as exciting as it was before BfA which forces a comparison with 7.3; that is with full artifacts, stacked relics, tier and most people having multiple legendaries to choose not just for their main but for their alts. Add to that the fact that Legion had people play multiple alts at an unprecedented level because of all the class specific content and that means people also had a very strong opinion not just for their main but many specs of other classes as well. 7.3 was just a very tough act to follow.

I concur. If you stripped out all that and just had people play base Legion vs base BfA, BfA has objectively superior gameplay. Trouble is, you can't strip it out.

And that's the mistake Blizzard made. They stripped out the Artifact weapons, keeping very few abilities, and the gameplay that had eventually STARTED working in later Legion (it was shit in early Legion - this is a big part of why the initial reception to Legion was not amazing) was now fucked.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Im hoping the next expansion comes sooner than later because major class changes wont happen until then. You can have all the content in the world, but if the gameplay is boring, then it doesnt matter. Every spec right now is 4 buttons. The talent system is a barebones boring replacement for the Legion artifact/legendary system.

And the story is so painful. It needs to end and pretend it never happened.

No spec is 4 buttons if your not using the tools of your class it’s only your own fault.

- - - Updated - - -

8.1 barely offered more than 6.1 so... I know 6.1 is branded as the Selfie Patch and that's deserved but 8.1 was far from being a meaningful content patch to the game either.

8.1 was comparable to 7.1 content wise with new islands new world content new quest lines a new warfront a new raid ect.

You not liking the content doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist And your comparisons hold no water even on a basic level.

[Nathanyel]

Was on front page of MMO-C, WoWHead, covered by all YouTubers, but you claim it's fake? Yeah, ok.

Yeah but all I saw was word of mouth. I don't remember any popular person seeing the survey themselves, only screenshots.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Yeah but all I saw was word of mouth. I don't remember any popular person seeing the survey themselves, only screenshots.

Probably because all the "popular people" are still subscribed.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Probably because all the "popular people" are still subscribed.

I don't think the two are even related at all.

[huth]

I don't think the two are even related at all.

You have to admit that the question is very oddly worded, since there's no real way for anybody to actually know about a coming squish.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

You have to admit that the question is very oddly worded, since there's no real way for anybody to actually know about a coming squish.

Nope, it's really up in the air. I assume at least based on whats going on the level squish isn't exactly done deal. Whatever features that are in X8 are probably going to be there. The squish may not. I'm no prophet either, I don't know how people will feel about the squish if it happens(Although I swear some articles headlines make it seem like its a done thing).

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

I don't think the two are even related at all.

No they are. The survey was sent out to unsubscribed players. The popular WoW players are all still subscribed, thus they wouldn't get the survey.

[Drekmar]

Oh god, someone forward the time pls.

[George Costanza]

Oh god, someone forward the time pls.

why?/10char