BfA Patch Speculation thread (8.3 and later).

[Eurhetemec]

WoW almost always has one big patch per expansion

What's your dataset here? I don't think this is even slightly true, looking back through WoW's history, they've been all over the place on this - some expansions have multiple significant patches in terms of world content/zones/etc, others have none that really stand out.

Sure we can go back to each expansion, and retroactively say each expansion had one patch which added the most stuff. Obviously. Just like we could go back through your TV viewing habits in a year, and find that each year you watched one show more than others. That doesn't mean you had "one big show" each year.

So unless you have some compelling data here, more compelling than the obvious fact that, technically, each expansion has a biggest patch (...), I'm going to have to say this seems like a complete asspull of a claim.

I mean just looking at Legion, Broken Shore seemed pretty big until Argus came out. I wouldn't be shocked to find 8.3 to be a similar size to 8.2.

[AngerFork]

What's your dataset here? I don't think this is even slightly true, looking back through WoW's history, they've been all over the place on this - some expansions have multiple significant patches in terms of world content/zones/etc, others have none that really stand out.

Sure we can go back to each expansion, and retroactively say each expansion had one patch which added the most stuff. Obviously. Just like we could go back through your TV viewing habits in a year, and find that each year you watched one show more than others. That doesn't mean you had "one big show" each year.

So unless you have some compelling data here, more compelling than the obvious fact that, technically, each expansion has a biggest patch (...), I'm going to have to say this seems like a complete asspull of a claim.

I mean just looking at Legion, Broken Shore seemed pretty big until Argus came out. I wouldn't be shocked to find 8.3 to be a similar size to 8.2.

When I say big patch, I'm talking about patches that really add to that expansion's setup. New land masses with evolving quest hubs are a must IMO for what would be a "big patch", along with Raids, Dungeons, system overhauls...things that truly add to the size of the expansion. Things like quests that carry the story forward are somewhat of an expectation, so I often don't count those. That's not to say that the non-big patches are nothing, they tend to add in important things that stick around like Transmog and LFG. But with that in mind, let's look at these expansion by expansion, shall we? I won't be counting the x.0 patches as those are specifically the expansion, nor will I be counting the .5 patches. In each of these expansions (save one), there's one patch that is not just larger than the others for that expansion, but exceedingly larger.

Legion: Of the major patches, only 7.3 added any sort of land mass to the map, that of course being Argus. 7.2 brought quests to the Broken Shore, but the Broken Shore was largely already there aside from the villages. Aside from the Broken Shore WQs, 7.2 was really a raid, a dungeon, Invasions, and Mage Tower. 7.1 brought us ToV (Nighthold was already in, but not unlocked) and Karazhan. It's hard for me to call 7.1 or 7.2 a big patch, but 7.3 was more than enough size-wise to make up for any of that.

WoD: 6.2 was the only patch of any substance, and arguably was not a big patch in itself. But it looks massive compared to the lack of content that was 6.1. At least 6.2 added a land mass and a raid.

MoP: This is the exception noted above, as there are arguably two big patches here, 5.2 and 5.4. 5.1 was mostly the fighting on the shores of Krasarang and the Brawlers Guild, whereas 5.3 was the mini-fighting in the Barrens alongside a new BG. Both 5.2 and 5.4 had new land masses added, new ways to spend your day within WoW, large raids, and good system improvements to the game. 5.4 probably outshines for giving us Flex Raiding (which led to our current setup) as well as a massive 14 boss raid. That being said, this is very much "the exception to prove the rule." One thing to note here though is unlike 8.2 and 8.3 that we'd be talking about, MoP had an extremely small 5.3 patch in between the two big ones.

Cata: Only one patch here added any sort of land mass/expandable questing hub, 4.2. This was also where we got the Molten Front dailies and a 7-boss Raid. 4.3 brought in quite a few dungeons and QoL stuff that has stuck around for some time, but given that the raid itself alongside one of those dungeons used mostly Dragonblight, it's hard for me to really call it a big patch. And given how far 4.2 outshines it, it still fits into this discussion.

WotLK: Wrath didn't add in any land masses during the patch, but 3.1 was far and away the big one here. Argent Tourney, Dual Talents, not to mention the massive raid that was Ulduar (complete with in-raid adjustable difficulty settings).

BC: Only one patch here added a solid land mass/evolving quest hub, that being the Isle of Quel'Danas in 2.4. It was also the only one to add in an extra dungeon (Magister's Terrace), plus it added in a pretty solid raid as well.

I suppose the TLR; version of what I'm saying here is that we are unlikely to get a massive 8.3 due to the size of 8.2. Each expansion (aside from MoP) has had one patch that was not just a little bigger, but greatly outshone the others. And even with MoP, there had to be a patch worth of space between the two large patches.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

It's certainly not going to be small, but I expect it to atleast gameplay wise improved over what BFA usually has(Since we're sorta moving away from the old way Azerite worked). As for what theme, your guess is as good as mine.

[EbaumsTipster]

I think it's likely that 8.3 will be just one new "zone" and the last raid, similar to Siege or HFC. The tradeoff will be there will also be new ARs to grind out plus the last warfront (whatever it is, still betting on it being Azuremyst and the raid/zone being Silvermoon and/or Ghostlands)

[Zandalariprelate]

...Except they aren't, they're pretty active and they don't take feedback from just their own forum.

I don't even see Golden or Danuser being very active in twitter, besides the new patch is getting way too much time which means they are already working in the last patch and the next expansion to show at blizzcon.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

I don't even see Golden or Danuser being very active in twitter, besides the new patch is getting way too much time which means they are already working in the last patch and the next expansion to show at blizzcon.

Twitter activity really is not indictive of any lore developments or any game development...like at all. Furthermore Golden isn't soley working on just Warcraft stuff, her role is in all the franchises.

[Zandalariprelate]

Twitter activity really is not indictive of any lore developments or any game development...like at all. Furthermore Golden isn't soley working on just Warcraft stuff, her role is in all the franchises.

But those 2 have a high rank alongside Afrasiabi, the others guys probably has less influence in the main plot, maybe at best some can do their own questline. Besides do you have any source for all the franchise? I know she wrote the rastakhan rumble song and a lot of heartstone trailers but that is probably just a bonus and not her main role.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

But those 2 have a high rank alongside Afrasiabi, the others guys probably has less influence in the main plot, maybe at best some can do their own questline. Besides do you have any source for all the franchise? I know she wrote the rastakhan rumble song and a lot of heartstone trailers but that is probably just a bonus and not her main role.

She had the description of what she does in her twitter profile but I see that's gone and I know it was there at least once(Like around 8.0 or when 8.1 was on PTR).

[TaliaKirana]

I still think N'zoth is being built up to be BfA's final boss. And that it's Sylvanas who will slip away to lead us into whatever's next after BfA.

[eduwneso]

So Ion is doubling down on the statement that 8.2 is basically this expansion's 7.3/Argus patch. Honestly, what do they have in store for 8.3 then? It's super unlikely 8.3 will top 8.2 when it comes to content and all that stuff. They're putting so much into 8.2 that one must come to the conclusion 8.3 will be rather small and act more like a cataclys for 9.0 than a wrap up for BfA.

Just let's think about this, what can 8.3 basically be? I think we can quite agree it won't be N'zoth as he's too big of a villain to be wasted in a small(er) patch. So it'll be most likely faction war related or some weird Dragon Island stuff?

I think it will be a full on last frontline between the alliance and the horde in a "new zone", later on anduin will want to make peace with the horde and Tyrande will say fuck you and then the alliance will start 9.0 fractured.

I've noticed this expansion that blizzard is reversing the start and end from the horde and alliance constantly, so that means that the horde "reforms" now while the alliance fractures.

[Nyel]

I mean just looking at Legion, Broken Shore seemed pretty big until Argus came out. I wouldn't be shocked to find 8.3 to be a similar size to 8.2.

What was big about Broken Shore? It recycled a zone already in the game and just had one raid and one dungeon (plus the tower). From a content perspective 8.2 wasn't very much especially due to the horrible timegating back then. It was no small patch but it wasn't that content-rich either.

To expect 8.3 to be as big as 8.2 is quite optimistic (not to say naive) at this point. Just look at how much effort they put into 8.2 and with their notion that it indeed is this expansion's Argus (and Argus is regarded by Blizzard as their biggest patch ever) there is no point to make 8.3 as big as 8.2 or even bigger.

FYI: the "biggest" patch in WoW for me was 5.2 and the Isle of Thunder. That was hell of a patch with a lot of great new content and a fantastic raid.

[Sondrelk]

What was big about Broken Shore? It recycled a zone already in the game and just had one raid and one dungeon (plus the tower). From a content perspective 8.2 wasn't very much especially due to the horrible timegating back then. It was no small patch but it wasn't that content-rich either.

To expect 8.3 to be as big as 8.2 is quite optimistic (not to say naive) at this point. Just look at how much effort they put into 8.2 and with their notion that it indeed is this expansion's Argus (and Argus is regarded by Blizzard as their biggest patch ever) there is no point to make 8.3 as big as 8.2 or even bigger.

FYI: the "biggest" patch in WoW for me was 5.2 and the Isle of Thunder. That was hell of a patch with a lot of great new content and a fantastic raid.

While 7.2 was pretty lackluster overall. It did absolutely have a lot of content. Beyond the raid and dungeon. It had questlines for each class, a mount a challenge each spec could attempt, sure it was pulling from a pool of a few challenges instead of being completely custom tailored, but it was still content.

The problem with 7.2 over Argus was really just that the content was spread out over each class instead of being centralized to one big blowout of a patch story for every class equally.

[Nyel]

While 7.2 was pretty lackluster overall. It did absolutely have a lot of content. Beyond the raid and dungeon. It had questlines for each class, a mount a challenge each spec could attempt, sure it was pulling from a pool of a few challenges instead of being completely custom tailored, but it was still content.

The problem with 7.2 over Argus was really just that the content was spread out over each class instead of being centralized to one big blowout of a patch story for every class equally.

I forgot about the (mostly very good) class quests, so you're right. I enjoyed 7.2 and played it a lot, it just never felt that huge to me. But in retrospective it was a decent content patch. Maybe the time gating ruined it for me afterwards (well Argus was barely better in that regard and I never liked 7.3).

[Sondrelk]

I forgot about the (mostly very good) class quests, so you're right. I enjoyed 7.2 and played it a lot, it just never felt that huge to me. But in retrospective it was a decent content patch. Maybe the time gating ruined it for me afterwards (well Argus was barely better in that regard and I never liked 7.3).

I also didn't much enjoy 7.2 when i was playing. In every expansion there is a point where i hit the wall and get burnt out on the game. And 7.2 was definitely that. I did get a new appreciation for it after 7.3 had been out for a while though, and i started levelling alts and going their class quests for all the unique rewards.

Again, the problem with 7.2 was not really that there was no content, just that the content was poorly spread out. So saying that Legion had only 1 big patch and that is evidence of BfA not likely having one is pretty poor argumentation.

That being said though, i do tend to agree with the general gist of the argument. 8.3 is going to take time, and BfA has already had so much extra dev time put into it to try to salvage some of the failed experiments that i think they might have to cut some corner on 8.3 to have 9.0 ready for Q3 release next year.

[Eurhetemec]

I guess for me a big patch is more about adding a lot of content rather than specifically adding landmass or populating existing landmass. For me 7.2 was big for sure. The quest lines and class mounts felt like a big, cool deal on top of everything else.

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I don't even see Golden or Danuser being very active in twitter, besides the new patch is getting way too much time which means they are already working in the last patch and the next expansion to show at blizzcon.

This is tea leaf reading of the most unhelpful kind. What next, cut open a rabbit and examine the entrails to determine if 8.3 will suck or not?

[Queen of Hamsters]

I guess for me a big patch is more about adding a lot of content rather than specifically adding landmass or populating existing landmass. For me 7.2 was big for sure. The quest lines and class mounts felt like a big, cool deal on top of everything else.

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This is tea leaf reading of the most unhelpful kind. What next, cut open a rabbit and examine the entrails to determine if 8.3 will suck or not?

No need to cut open a rabbit, just visit MMO-C and you shall have the verdict. The game sucks, next patch will suck, the next expansion will suck (unless there is no new expansion because let's face it, dead gaem) and everything just sucks because it's new rather than old. :3

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While 7.2 was pretty lackluster overall. It did absolutely have a lot of content. Beyond the raid and dungeon. It had questlines for each class, a mount a challenge each spec could attempt, sure it was pulling from a pool of a few challenges instead of being completely custom tailored, but it was still content.

The problem with 7.2 over Argus was really just that the content was spread out over each class instead of being centralized to one big blowout of a patch story for every class equally.

7.2 was one of those patches that was best if you arrived to it after x amount of time had passed. The timegating was out of this world, but as far as patches go it was no doubt huuuuge. The Class mount questlines and the Mage tower alone carried a lot of my enjoyment.

[Sondrelk]

No need to cut open a rabbit, just visit MMO-C and you shall have the verdict. The game sucks, next patch will suck, the next expansion will suck (unless there is no new expansion because let's face it, dead gaem) and everything just sucks because it's new rather than old. :3

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7.2 was one of those patches that was best if you arrived to it after x amount of time had passed. The timegating was out of this world, but as far as patches go it was no doubt huuuuge. The Class mount questlines and the Mage tower alone carried a lot of my enjoyment.

Pretty much. At the end of each expansion during the content drought i usually spend my time levelling alts in preparation for the next expansion in case i get a hankering to play another class. And during Legion, 7.2 content was pretty much the endgame for each class. I went to 7.3 content for catchup gear, sure. But i figured i was done with each class when i had finished mage tower and gotten the mount, it literally gave that much content.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Got a bad feeling about this(Not about the game just one small thing.

Pretty much. At the end of each expansion during the content drought i usually spend my time levelling alts in preparation for the next expansion in case i get a hankering to play another class. And during Legion, 7.2 content was pretty much the endgame for each class. I went to 7.3 content for catchup gear, sure. But i figured i was done with each class when i had finished mage tower and gotten the mount, it literally gave that much content.

I didn't really do the Mage tower thing. At the time frustration was very easy for me to get to with it. Not worth getting that angry.

[Nathanyel]

Talanji wouldn't be the one to resolve the war. She'd still feel bitter over the Alliance's assault on Dazal'alor. Baine is more likely to be Warchief

Talanji may not forgive the Alliance per se, but she will eventually realize, if she hasn't already, that ultimately Sylvanas is to blame for the conflict in general. Speculating a bit here, since we've only known her for a few months, but: she is headstrong, but not vengeful. She'll prefer to broker a peace for her people instead of throwing even more of them to a death in war, just to avenge one death, even if it was her father's.

[Gurahk]

Talanji is too new to be Warchief, and I doubt many people care about her as they do about Thrall, Baine and Saurfang. She has also had no part in this rebellion thing going on, so she's pretty much out of the question.