Ion Hazzikostas is showing a lack of leadership right now regarding BFA key features

[Tradu]

Apparently you missed BC launch.

Okay, so a launch from over a decade ago was worse. And here I thought things like that were meant to get better as they implement better workflows/prioritization over time as they learn what works and what doesn't.

[Aleksej89]

I dont know how much Ion is to blame for the awful mess that BfA is.

What i do know is that BfA is the first wow expansion i quit 3 weeks after its release (mid-subscription no less), completely bored with max-lvl content and utterly disappointed in the gutted shallow classes.

I would not be surprised if Blizz abandons BfA in favor of the next expansion even faster than they abandoned WoD.

[Tradu]

I dont know how much Ion is to blame for the awful mess that BfA is.

What i do know is that BfA is the first wow expansion i quit 3 weeks after its release (mid-subscription no less), completely bored with max-lvl content and utterly disappointed in the gutted shallow classes.

I would not be surprised if Blizz abandons BfA in favor of the next expansion even faster than they abandoned WoD.

He's the WoW team lead, so in the end it's all on him(even if he didn't actively make every minor decision). The only people above him really are the guys deciding the launch timeline, and even then he apparently decided/agreed with the launch timing this time around, which is kinda insane considering how unpolished the expansion has been.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

But he IS in charge of the whole of WoW. He might not personally know literally all the details, but every pixel by the art team and every number by the design team has to be signed off by him first.

You think ion is sitting there looking at every single pixel of art?

[MoanaLisa]

I think what a lot of white knights and Blizzard super-fanatics forget is that in some cases players have been playing their class for the better part of 15 years(if you count early vanilla alpha/beta). While players don't have access to the same kinds of data as Blizzard does with their internal systems, players DO have VERY good tools for measuring performance and balance.

It's sophist to imagine that these experts on class balance take into account the other 35 specs in the game when talking about the balance of their particular axe to grind at that moment. And you're right: players do not have access to Blizzard's data for the entire game and generally have no idea at all what the developer goal for a particular class/spec really is. Vague generalities do not translate well to very specific percentage differences that can change on every fight.

Nonetheless, it's easy to agree that the complexity inherent in all of this is extremely difficult to manage and their recent partial reversal on homogenization is only going to add to the problem. I wonder if Ion and his fellow EJ cohorts now regret making theory-crafting this powerful an aspect of how the game is viewed. "Fuck the fun of trying out new and strange ideas, we've got to be in balance". How they can be as conservative as they are about staying within proscribed boundaries and still go about completely changing everything every expansion is truly a mystery. Also, this attitude toward fluidity in class design has diminishing returns for player stability and ever more resembles deck-chair moving instead of innovation.

[oathy]

You think he cares? They always just brush it off or say "we'll look into it" or "our data says otherwise"

100% lawyer speak,
Its like everything else today the only thing companies take notice of is money.
If quite a large number of people have unsubbed change will happen and fast.

[Malikath]

This will go the same way as WOD went, 2 raid tiers and an upcoming great expansion by team a

that's if it doesn't kill the game like WoD almost did.

[SirCowdog]

It's sophist to imagine that these experts on class balance take into account the other 35 specs in the game when talking about the balance of their particular axe to grind at that moment.

That's a blatant over-exaggeration. Players don't NEED to know how EVERY other spec in the game is working in order to make a fair judgement. If they're a DPS they only need to know how other DPS are performing, with a potential sub-group of MDPS and RDPS. The same goes for tanks and heals, with their respective sub-roles of MT-healer vs raid heals, MT and OT.

And you're right: players do not have access to Blizzard's data for the entire game and generally have no idea at all what the developer goal for a particular class/spec really is. Vague generalities do not translate well to very specific percentage differences that can change on every fight.

Nor do players NEED to know what the goal for each class is. They only need to compare actual performance in a particular environment that all players and classes operate in. If Blizzard wants to take a dump on a class(shaman) and design them for some super-specific niche role that only actually exists 1% of the time, the players are NOT wrong to complain and criticize about the other 99% of the time their class is sub-par!

If some player wants to complain that they're not constantly topping the damage meters, and how that 4% nerf do their damage ruins their class, then you're absolutely right. Those types of posts can DIAF. But things like the review of the shaman class are based on not only data gathered in beta, but continue to be proven in the live version of the game. At some point even the devs have to acknowledge that players are not ALL idiots, and sometimes their data is good.

Because if all the devs are going to do is ignore anything but their own echo chamber, then that's a problem that creates situations EXACTLY like what we're seeing in BfA RIGHT NOW!

[Malikath]

That's a blatant over-exaggeration. Players don't NEED to know how EVERY other spec in the game is working in order to make a fair judgement. If they're a DPS they only need to know how other DPS are performing, with a potential sub-group of MDPS and RDPS. The same goes for tanks and heals, with their respective sub-roles of MT-healer vs raid heals, MT and OT.



Nor do players NEED to know what the goal for each class is. They only need to compare actual performance in a particular environment that all players and classes operate in. If Blizzard wants to take a dump on a class(shaman) and design them for some super-specific niche role that only actually exists 1% of the time, the players are NOT wrong to complain and criticize about the other 99% of the time their class is sub-par!

If some player wants to complain that they're not constantly topping the damage meters, and how that 4% nerf do their damage ruins their class, then you're absolutely right. Those types of posts can DIAF. But things like the review of the shaman class are based on not only data gathered in beta, but continue to be proven in the live version of the game. At some point even the devs have to acknowledge that players are not ALL idiots, and sometimes their data is good.

Because if all the devs are going to do is ignore anything but their own echo chamber, then that's a problem that creates situations EXACTLY like what we're seeing in BfA RIGHT NOW!

exactly, alot of sycophants try to act like players can't see the forest for the trees when we've had meta-boards as a community tool for over a decade.
we can see the forest just as well as blizzard can because we self-record and self-report generating a massive database for judging DPS, HPS, and damage taken.

[Deleted]

Ion looks like a pedophile.

[Deleted]

You think ion is sitting there looking at every single pixel of art?

Who suggested that? Is he the face of the expansion though and does he take money for it? If he doesn’t agree how it rolls, he is free to either change it or change his job. He doesn’t, so he is either a soulless salesman or he’s fine with the course. In both cases - he takes money and other benefits for convincing people shit ain’t stinky so can’t be shit so must be candy.

[kamuimac]

That's a blatant over-exaggeration. Players don't NEED to know how EVERY other spec in the game is working in order to make a fair judgement. If they're a DPS they only need to know how other DPS are performing, with a potential sub-group of MDPS and RDPS. The same goes for tanks and heals, with their respective sub-roles of MT-healer vs raid heals, MT and OT.



Nor do players NEED to know what the goal for each class is. They only need to compare actual performance in a particular environment that all players and classes operate in. If Blizzard wants to take a dump on a class(shaman) and design them for some super-specific niche role that only actually exists 1% of the time, the players are NOT wrong to complain and criticize about the other 99% of the time their class is sub-par!

If some player wants to complain that they're not constantly topping the damage meters, and how that 4% nerf do their damage ruins their class, then you're absolutely right. Those types of posts can DIAF. But things like the review of the shaman class are based on not only data gathered in beta, but continue to be proven in the live version of the game. At some point even the devs have to acknowledge that players are not ALL idiots, and sometimes their data is good.

Because if all the devs are going to do is ignore anything but their own echo chamber, then that's a problem that creates situations EXACTLY like what we're seeing in BfA RIGHT NOW!

we dont see any problems besides +/- 100 people on forums posting the same shit everyday in very coordinated way .

rest are playing and enjoying the game.

if it wasnt for mythic raiders bitching the overall view on game would be very different.

i say its time to get rid of negativity from game and remove mythic raiding alltogehter as well as people who bring nothing but toxicity to game and forums

[SirCowdog]

we dont see any problems besides +/- 100 people on forums posting the same shit everyday in very coordinated way .

rest are playing and enjoying the game.

if it wasnt for mythic raiders bitching the overall view on game would be very different.

i say its time to get rid of negativity from game and remove mythic raiding alltogehter as well as people who bring nothing but toxicity to game and forums

Mythic raiding is not inherently toxic. Telling people their completely valid and substantiated concerns about the game "just don't matter and you should shut up and quit", however, is VERY toxic.

Rampant super-fanatics constantly making excuses and attacking anyone who speaks up, or points out flaws with the game, are likewise just as toxic. Always trying to downplay, ignore, troll, or otherwise dismiss anything other than positive praise of the game is exactly the type of echo-chamber I was talking about. There's nothing about that which is good for the game.

[Jinzuru]

BfA (Blizzard f@cks Azeroth)

[kamuimac]

Mythic raiding is not inherently toxic. Telling people their completely valid and substantiated concerns about the game "just don't matter and you should shut up and quit", however, is VERY toxic.

Rampant super-fanatics constantly making excuses and attacking anyone who speaks up, or points out flaws with the game, are likewise just as toxic. Always trying to downplay, ignore, troll, or otherwise dismiss anything other than positive praise of the game is exactly the type of echo-chamber I was talking about. There's nothing about that which is good for the game.

it really isnt . people who dont treat WoW as their 2nd life dont have problems with stuff like ap or azerite traits.

Ion almost officialy confirmed it that its the fault of wow junkies who simm everything is why this stuff got blown way out of proportion

[xalai]

Ion is the new Jay Wilson

[Perkunas]

Huh. Never knew. I didn't follow him in Everquest -- given that I didn't play Everquest -- I was more referring to Alex though. I don't know much about Jeff.

Tigole and Furor were pretty notorious whiners back during the EQ days.

[Evilmoo]

That's what happens when you give a game director position to the numbers and theoricrafty person, instead of a creative person. Blizzard pretty much appointed an Excel guy to guide the game. Enjoy the grand scheme.

[Protean]

we dont see any problems besides +/- 100 people on forums posting the same shit everyday in very coordinated way .

rest are playing and enjoying the game.

if it wasnt for mythic raiders bitching the overall view on game would be very different.

i say its time to get rid of negativity from game and remove mythic raiding alltogehter as well as people who bring nothing but toxicity to game and forums

Stop targetting my prefered playmode because you can't handle a bit of whining.

[Deleted]

/facepalm

this two team thing needs to die.

Legion had all of Diablo 3's staff working on it. In partiuclar John Wang who worked on the legendaries, some of which the effects/ideas are straight out of diablo 3

Now those Diablo staff have moved back to working on diablo projects.

So you saying that without the diablo team we can't have a good expac?