Bigger patches theory?

[princeofthawest]

Not sure if this has crossed anybody's mind, however I have a feel in my gut that Blizzard is working on changing the very core of the game with this expansion, meaning that patches will be actually bigger and offer more.

A simple and rushed out example would be introducing a class in 9.1 patch. Since the game is moving towards more dynamic style, they perhaps will focus on larger content updates and/or adding more meaningful stuff via patch cycle.

No big initial features to showcase kind of made me think about it the way I do. And before anyone bashes my skull in, I'd love to clarify that I am open for all sorts of discussion and would love to see what people think about it, whether it is optimistic or pessimistic, feel free to share it - though I'd appreciate elaboration and being constructive.

[Teekey]

I think it's the opposite. We're going to be getting less and less.

[Chickat]

This expansion definitely looks like a game update/maintenance expansion, and thats exactly what the game needs right now. Its so stale. Shake it up, fix the classes, fix the end game systems etc. Definitely fix the leveling.

Im at a solid 8/10 for hype.

[How dare you]

A simple and rushed out example would be introducing a class in 9.1 patch.

Not happening.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Patches have been bigger in bfa then most expan’s and will probably stay that way.

Getting a class in a patch doesn’t have a chance in hell though.

[owbu]

Patch content has already been insanely high for two expansions now. And since for the first time in forever they managed to do that consistently, I think shadowlands will also have big patches.

I highly doubt that they will do major changes like new classes or class overhauls within an expansion though. Patches are there to refine their new sysems and fix the initial oopsies that every expansion comes with (legendary droprate in legion, Azerite gear in BfA and so on)

[Huggykaze]

Not sure if this has crossed anybody's mind, however I have a feel in my gut that Blizzard is working on changing the very core of the game with this expansion, meaning that patches will be actually bigger and offer more.

A simple and rushed out example would be introducing a class in 9.1 patch. Since the game is moving towards more dynamic style, they perhaps will focus on larger content updates and/or adding more meaningful stuff via patch cycle.

No big initial features to showcase kind of made me think about it the way I do. And before anyone bashes my skull in, I'd love to clarify that I am open for all sorts of discussion and would love to see what people think about it, whether it is optimistic or pessimistic, feel free to share it - though I'd appreciate elaboration and being constructive.

The game is on maintenance mode, mate... It will be getting less and less updates.

[ReVnX]

They already said in an interview that they were not introducing a class in Shadowlands.

Maybe in 10.0

https://www.polygon.com/interviews/2...ll-human-dwarf

[Teflon]

Not sure if this has crossed anybody's mind, however I have a feel in my gut that Blizzard is working on changing the very core of the game with this expansion, meaning that patches will be actually bigger and offer more.

A simple and rushed out example would be introducing a class in 9.1 patch. Since the game is moving towards more dynamic style, they perhaps will focus on larger content updates and/or adding more meaningful stuff via patch cycle.

No big initial features to showcase kind of made me think about it the way I do. And before anyone bashes my skull in, I'd love to clarify that I am open for all sorts of discussion and would love to see what people think about it, whether it is optimistic or pessimistic, feel free to share it - though I'd appreciate elaboration and being constructive.

I think this is nonsense. That's about as polite as I can be.

[Muajin76]

I think it's the opposite. We're going to be getting less and less.

The shame on you for such thoughts...
This makes me very sad in the pants and now i'm going to go cry on my blizzard-themed pillow case.

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They already said in an interview that they were not introducing a class in Shadowlands.

Maybe in 10.0

https://www.polygon.com/interviews/2...ll-human-dwarf

OR maaaaaybe they are keeping it a surprise and WILL add a new class when we least expect it.

[ReVnX]

The shame on you for such thoughts...
This makes me very sad in the pants and now i'm going to go cry on my blizzard-themed pillow case.

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OR maaaaaybe they are keeping it a surprise and WILL add a new class when we least expect it.

I mean anything can happen, that's true.

I wouldn't hold my breath though. If they had a class in the works, they would have announced it like a game saver with all the bad press they have with BfA

[Firefox72]

The game is on maintenance mode, mate... It will be getting less and less updates.

Thats just BS now is it. A game in maintanance mode doesn't get full expansions with big patches. Or are you one of those people that said Pandaria will end WoW 8 years ago.

[princeofthawest]

Of course views can differ, but for some reason I tend to believe there is something happening behind the curtains we are not able to see.

This whole Blizzcon had a whole different approach than the rest, they seemed like they knew they were announcing smaller feature video for WoW, but on the other hand ready for backlash and surprise they have in store.

As stated beforehand, it's just something that crossed my mind and at least, I believe we can be somewhat optimistic on our own accord and complete right to wish/dream about it.

[Cethix]

I'm pretty sure that they won't release a new class mid-shadowland since they'd lose much playtime on it and its' speccs. Playtime is necessary to elaborate if balancing has to be done. That said, they'd make it harder to themselves to release something like a new class in the middle of an already existing addon.

[Huggykaze]

Thats just BS now is it. A game in maintanance mode doesn't get full expansions with big patches. Or are you one of those people that said Pandaria will end WoW 8 years ago.

Nah, I actually had no strong feelings about Pandaria. I mean... yeah, furries, but otherwise it looked interesting. A game in maintenance mode will not get full expansions with big patches, but should I remind you that the last truly big patch was LFR in Cataclysm? A bunch of new zones and a new raid don't exactly compare to new systems. And expansions? Last time an expac brought new mechanics was Legion. Bringing back the big names did not bring back enough players in the long-term and the infinite grind just made a lot of people leave, so for the second time in a row now, we're getting rehashed mechanics and no real ground-breaking changes, but instead there is a lot of lore/world hype-building by bringing back the kinds of Uther and Kael'thas...

Please, next time you call somebody on bullshit at least provide some arguments...

[Nyel]

Patches have been bigger in bfa then most expan’s and will probably stay that way.

Getting a class in a patch doesn’t have a chance in hell though.

What? Compared to which patches? 8.1 and 8.3 are pretty middle of the road. 8.1 is significantly less content than 7.1 and 8.3 is less content then 7.3. So not sure what you’re talking about. 8.2 might be slightly more content than 7.2 though but that really doesn’t make up for the missing things from 8.1 and 8.3.

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This expansion definitely looks like a game update/maintenance expansion, and thats exactly what the game needs right now. Its so stale. Shake it up, fix the classes, fix the end game systems etc. Definitely fix the leveling.

Im at a solid 8/10 for hype.

A maintenance expansion shouldn’t come without features or cost the full price. I want maintenance constantly over the lifetime of the game and not bundled up in an expansion that requires me to pay $40.

[KOREAN DAVE]

Nah, I actually had no strong feelings about Pandaria. I mean... yeah, furries, but otherwise it looked interesting. A game in maintenance mode will not get full expansions with big patches, but should I remind you that the last truly big patch was LFR in Cataclysm? A bunch of new zones and a new raid don't exactly compare to new systems. And expansions? Last time an expac brought new mechanics was Legion. Bringing back the big names did not bring back enough players in the long-term and the infinite grind just made a lot of people leave, so for the second time in a row now, we're getting rehashed mechanics and no real ground-breaking changes, but instead there is a lot of lore/world hype-building by bringing back the kinds of Uther and Kael'thas...

Please, next time you call somebody on bullshit at least provide some arguments...

I didn't know that adding a new rogue-like scalable dungeon was a rehashed mechanic... You're so disingenuous with your argument it hurts. I'm no fan of BFA myself, but to say Azerite was a rehashed Artifact mechanic is incredibly dishonest.

[micwini]

I instantly thought the same after the expac was announced, but I'm not going to hope for it. Might be some smaller things coming that haven't been announced yet (think world quests, M+) or that covenants are just a bigger feature than they look.

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What? Compared to which patches? 8.1 and 8.3 are pretty middle of the road. 8.1 is significantly less content than 7.1 and 8.3 is less content then 7.3. So not sure what you’re talking about. 8.2 might be slightly more content than 7.2 though but that really doesn’t make up for the missing things from 8.1 and 8.3.

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A maintenance expansion shouldn’t come without features or cost the full price. I want maintenance constantly over the lifetime of the game and not bundled up in an expansion that requires me to pay $40.

We haven't had big patches since MoP

[Daedius]

This expansion definitely looks like a game update/maintenance expansion, and thats exactly what the game needs right now. Its so stale. Shake it up, fix the classes, fix the end game systems etc. Definitely fix the leveling.

Im at a solid 8/10 for hype.

If they ditch Shadow Priest's Void Form insanity mechanic it would sway me to come back to WoW. Vulpera was a start...

[raz98]

What? Compared to which patches? 8.1 and 8.3 are pretty middle of the road. 8.1 is significantly less content than 7.1 and 8.3 is less content then 7.3. So not sure what you’re talking about. 8.2 might be slightly more content than 7.2 though but that really doesn’t make up for the missing things from 8.1 and 8.3.

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A maintenance expansion shouldn’t come without features or cost the full price. I want maintenance constantly over the lifetime of the game and not bundled up in an expansion that requires me to pay $40.

Activision

I didn't know that adding a new rogue-like scalable dungeon was a rehashed mechanic... You're so disingenuous with your argument it hurts. I'm no fan of BFA myself, but to say Azerite was a rehashed Artifact mechanic is incredibly dishonest.

To me torghast is their biggest feature. Covenants are just rep factions with extant steps, and you're kinda right about the azerite thing. It was the artifact system but tremendously worse in execution. Functionally same system.