BlizzCon 2019 - Developer Interview

[Ielenia]

It will be expensive to change Covenants.

^ I have said this a few times but this is a massive mistake that they will regret. They know absolutely nothing about their playerbase and if you pick the wrong Covenant then you have voluntarily gimped your class and are asking to be carried.

The leveling in Shadowlands is linear in Shadowlands for your first character, different from how it was in Legion in BfA. And in each zone you will "test drive" the Covenant within that zone. So by the time you reach 60 you'll have a good feel which Covenant best suits you.

On top of that, you can be sure there will be guides explaining which Covenant is "best" for min-maxers before you reach max level.

So I don't know what's the point of your complaint is.

Worse yet once they nerf the most popular Covenant abilities you will have your entire playerbase stuck in a Covenant that will be expensive to swap out of.

You can still change covenants. You're not "locked forever" to a single Covenant.

[Lurker1]

Covenants, loot chest, and new leveling system were all features for that idea. This time they took the art team time that would have gone towards a new race or class and spent it on character customization.

Seriously? Who wanted cosmetics? Who?

raises hand

[Jasper Kazai]

Oh good, another expansion feature that is important, involves choice, and is cumbersome and expensive to change. That worked out so well for Azerite traits.

[Namalia]

PvP

• We removed PvP from the game

I would be ecstatic.

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stop putting classic fanboys wishes into retail.

Yes, YES, YES!!!

Classic is good for what it is, but it's still a niche. Leave that stuff in Classic where it belongs.

If I want to play with Classic systems, I'll play Classic.

[Aekero]

8 Expansions later (well, 7 I guess) they decide it doesn't make sense to make tier because bla bla bla. You could have made that argument after the first expansion Ion! "Tier doesn't make sense because this expansion is not class focused"

I get that they don't want everyone shoehorned into tier sets, so remove bonuses or make them cosmetic, I'm sick of "greetings plate wearer"!, Give us class identity back, the logic for not having them is weak. BFA will by far be the least played expansion for me, Shadowlands shows promise, bring back class sets.

edit: it's frustrating because they're walking back lots of changes they've made in the past when the feedback was overwhelmingly against it in the first place, like pruning class defining abilities, whoever wanted that?? Listening to the shadowlands discussions, it felt like there was more and more of this, and it was nice to hear.

Yet with things like tier, it's "slap on the blinders and look straight ahead" again. Was there ever significant, or any demand from the _players_ to remove class aesthetic???

[Nerovar]

I would be ecstatic.

Why? /10char

[twothe]

Classic is good for what it is, but it's still a niche.

Classic had at some point more active players that retail, I wouldn't call that a niche.

[Xarama]

Flying

• Flying will work similar to previous expansions, with a variation of Pathfinder.

I don't mind having to earn flying, but can blizz just let us earn it right away and not have to wait for a year.

[Namalia]

Why? /10char

Because PvP (and the attitudes it brings with it) are terrible and should not be in MMORPGs. Leave it to FPS, Fighting games, MOBAs, and Battle Royales.

PvP players are ALWAYS demeaning PvE players, and it would make me exceedingly happy to see that taken away from them.

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Classic had at some point more active players that retail, I wouldn't call that a niche.

When it first came out, and lots of people decided to check out what the hubbub was about.

The population has steadily declined (hence the removal of layers), and is beginning to settle into the niche market it is.

[Nerovar]

Because PvP (and the attitudes it brings with it) are terrible and should not be in MMORPGs. Leave it to FPS, Fighting games, MOBAs, and Battle Royales.

PvP players are ALWAYS demeaning PvE players, and it would make me exceedingly happy to see that taken away from them.

Maybe they're demeaning PvE players because they want their content taken away?

[Namalia]

Maybe they're demeaning PvE players because they want their content taken away?

More likely they're demeaning PvE players because they seem to think they're better than them, and that PvE players don't belong. So, I'd prefer that PvP be completely removed (or at the very least made to matter none at all much like FFXIV.)

[sourlol]

Because PvP (and the attitudes it brings with it) are terrible and should not be in MMORPGs

I hate to break it to you. But every seminal mmorpg prior to wow—you know the ones that defined what an mmorpg was before wow cannibalized the mmo market—all had pvp as core components of the game.

You’re entitled to your opinion, but it’s about as out of touch as saying football shouldn’t have tackling—leave that to mma.

[phattsao]

This seems EXTREMELY light on content. Like, way less than any other xpac, even WoD. If it weren't for the new art I'd say this is basically a content patch and not a full xpac.

[Namalia]

I hate to break it to you. But every seminal mmorpg prior to wow—you know the ones that defined what an mmorpg was before wow cannibalized the mmo market—all had pvp as core components of the game.

You’re entitled to your opinion, but it’s about as out of touch as saying football shouldn’t have tackling—leave that to mma.

And I hate to break it to you, but most of those games are either gone, or on life support at this point. So, PvP obviously doesn't have the staying power some people try to say it does. PvP is bad, PvP players should feel bad.

Nothing anyone says (especially those that like PvP) is going to make me think otherwise. Those that are out of touch with the modern MMORPG are the ones that think PvP is worth doing, and mean anything to the MMORPG genre as a whole.

[Nerovar]

More likely they're demeaning PvE players because they seem to think they're better than them, and that PvE players don't belong. So, I'd prefer that PvP be completely removed (or at the very least made to matter none at all much like FFXIV.)

So let me get this right: Because you feel like other players think they're better than you (which they probably are... at PvP at least), you want their content removed? That's the most childish and vain thing I've heard all day.

[Namalia]

So let me get this right: Because you feel like other players think they're better than you (which they probably are... at PvP at least), you want their content removed? That's the most childish and vain thing I've heard all day.

Actually, the word you're looking for is "vindictive", and yes it is.

Having dealt with the harassment and spitefulness of PvP players for over a decade, you can sure as heck believe that I want their content removed to spite them.

It's the least they deserve for harassing PvE players so much over the years.

[Molis]

So, THIS was the Blizzcon 2019 that everyone was waiting for?

Meh, pretty disappointing. Seemed pretty much the same Blizzcons and worse, seems pretty much Blizzard has not learned no shit.

Lore, still sucks. Why the fuck they destroy a good lore like N'Zoth and Nylotha in a single patch and come up with stupid stories out of thin air like Shadowlands?

Why so Negative?
Why so Edgy?

You do realize that expansion ideas are years ahead of current content?
So no they didnt just come up with stories out of thin air

[Gleem]

I hate to break it to you. But every seminal mmorpg prior to wow—you know the ones that defined what an mmorpg was before wow cannibalized the mmo market—all had pvp as core components of the game.

You’re entitled to your opinion, but it’s about as out of touch as saying football shouldn’t have tackling—leave that to mma.

I'm not here to get embroiled in the PVP Good/PVP Bad debate, but as someone that played Everquest (the biggest MMO before WoW) from launch until WoW released, it did not have PVP as a core component. Everquest had a couple pvp servers, and they were definitely not where the majority of the player base gravitated. There certainly weren't core mechanics to pvp. Balancing was never done with PVP in mind. There was never major content patches geared towards PVP or adding additional PVP features. I don't know what you're on about.

[KYZ123]

Literally everyone does hate it though.

Speak for yourself. I don't hate titanforging.

[Eapoe]

Actually, the word you're looking for is "vindictive", and yes it is.

Having dealt with the harassment and spitefulness of PvP players for over a decade, you can sure as heck believe that I want their content removed to spite them.

It's the least they deserve for harassing PvE players so much over the years.

How have they harassed you? Guessing you turned PvP mode on and thought you were awesome until people started jumping you. Doing the thing that, you know, happens in PvP.
Do you mean verbally? Have PvP players told you that you suck? Have they ridiculed PvE content to you? If that’s the case then guess what, they have the right to do what you are doing now.
Kind of a laughable stance you are on.

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Actually, the word you're looking for is "vindictive", and yes it is.

Having dealt with the harassment and spitefulness of PvP players for over a decade, you can sure as heck believe that I want their content removed to spite them.

It's the least they deserve for harassing PvE players so much over the years.

How have they harassed you? Guessing you turned PvP mode on and thought you were awesome until people started jumping you. Doing the thing that, you know, happens in PvP.
Do you mean verbally? Have PvP players told you that you suck? Have they ridiculed PvE content to you? If that’s the case then guess what, they have the right to do what you are doing now.
Kind of a laughable stance you are on.