Development Update: The Road to Shadowlands

[OmedonIsAGenius]

Literally same maps, mobs (in most cases), and content, yes. Difficulty levels are not content. All content is available to all players regardless of diffcilty.

Do you agree or disagree that the way in which you play the content is wildly different based on the difficulty? Your experience changes based on the difficulty of said content.

[oplawlz]

excited for the pvp gear changes. Really hoping this expansion will let me play random bgs without feeling like im just wasting time like BfA did.

[munkeyinorbit]

Can't wait for them to pull the ripcord in 9.1

Like they did with azerite gear and legendaries and artifact weapons? Yeah, any fucking day now.

- - - Updated - - -

It doesn't matter if content is designed for all covenants to be able to do it - all that matters is what people will require when forming groups. We already see item level requirements and Raider IO scores - to think for a second that people won't also require BIS covenants would be silly.

Just avoid those three groups. It's pretty easy.

[Angrie]

I can't wait to be judged on my covenant choice. "why pick such a greedy covenant? you're supoosed to pick _____ to buff the DH/Mage" Every group is going to have this crappy discussion about your choice. It's going to be horrible.

Why not just give us ALL the covenant class abilities and the choice is just based on who we soulbind with (soulbinds+covenant ability)? Makes more sense. Save ALL of us from the dumb conversations from people who alt our class.

[Kathranis]

It doesn't matter if content is designed for all covenants to be able to do it - all that matters is what people will require when forming groups. We already see item level requirements and Raider IO scores - to think for a second that people won't also require BIS covenants would be silly.

I'm not sure that kowtowing to those sorts of group organizers is the right answer to anything in this game. Might as well just eliminate all choice and have everyone use templates.

[Moco64]

So let me get this straight, people are complaining because it takes too long to switch covenants, because they are afraid of not being picked up for mythics/raids?

I'm completely fine with making us work to change our covenants, it's supposed to be a meaningful choice not something you can just change on the fly. If you can't get a group then make your own, bam, problem solved.

I've already picked my covenants for my paladin, priest, and hunter. Based on what abilities sound helpful to me, thankfully they are all different too. I cannot wait for this xpac to drop, I'm getting myself prepared.

I also think that the prepatch will hit when the animation shorts are done, so I'm hoping for soon but not expecting until about September 21st.

[Broombot]

It seems to me that without outright saying it, the general message from Blizzard and the team, is pick the Covenant you want because we WILL nerf and buff around community outcry.

[Kallisto]

Difficulty levels are not content.

Difficulty levels have been content in gaming since the dawn of difficulty levels in games.

They were in the 80s
They were in the 90s
They were in the 00s
They were in the 10s
They are in the 20s

[Knight Meta]

You're reading it wrong. Twisting Corridors has always been limited to 18 floor runs at a time, to prevent your powers from scaling too far out of control. Once you've completed an 18 floor run, you can skip to floor 18 on your next run and begin there, with your anima powers wiped.

Torghast is broken out into 6 floor "blocks", and you can skip to any "block" you've completed on a previous run. i.e., once you've cleared an 18 floor run you can skip to Floor 7, Floor 13, or Floor 19 on your next run. If you then begin at Floor 19 and successfully complete floor 32, you can begin your next run at 33 (or any other block interval below that).

Well that still kinda kills the point, does it not? If I complete the first 18 floors then jump in to start at 19; I will miss all of the Rougelike buffs we get throughout Torghast; will I not? That sort of defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it? Floor 19 CANT be higher tuned than floor 18 at that since again; We would have no power ups / buffs. From the wording of it; you may as well just say that "It's 18 floors max and you can just run that over and over" - The fun would be to truly have an infinite run where Blizzard just tossed the scaling out the window to match the crazy amount of powers one would get as you climb higher. Apart from just being called "Floor 19+" I don't get what separates it from a fresh run from floor 1 again.

[gd8]

excited for the pvp gear changes. Really hoping this expansion will let me play random bgs without feeling like im just wasting time like BfA did.

too bad random BGs are completely unplayable due to all the premade teams ruining them

[Wuusah]

All in all these are really good news, except for covenants but that was to be expected.

Sounds like they are making a D3 style adventure mode leveling experience for alts. I’m excited for that. Going through story quests a second, third and fourth time is just so boring...

[Alcsaar]

I'm not sure that kowtowing to those sorts of group organizers is the right answer to anything in this game. Might as well just eliminate all choice and have everyone use templates.

Blizzard has made no attempt to prevent that sort of mentality. They actively support systems like Raider IO and even added their own gear score system. Until Blizzard actually does something to prevent it, it will continue to be the norm, and as such systems should be implemented with that in mind - because no one wants to be denied access to a dungeon group or whatever because of their "personal" covenant choice where they actively chose to make themselves 5-10% weaker by choosing a subpar covenant just because they liked the aesthetic, story line, or ability more.

[Doffen]

Speaking of Twisting Corridors, as we finalize tuning, Twisting Corridors should come into its own as the “Challenge Mode” wing of Torghast, offering eighteen-floor runs at a higher level of difficulty than the rest of Torghast, with cosmetic rewards for clearing certain thresholds.

Mhm, I like this. Now hoping it offers better cosmetic rewards than Horrific Vision, to be more like the feeling of getting a super cool weapon transmog like in Legions Mage Tower, or the transmogs from CMs in WoD and MoP.

[Argorwal]

Blizzard has made no attempt to prevent that sort of mentality. They actively support systems like Raider IO and even added their own gear score system. Until Blizzard actually does something to prevent it, it will continue to be the norm, and as such systems should be implemented with that in mind - because no one wants to be denied access to a dungeon group or whatever because of their "personal" covenant choice where they actively chose to make themselves 5-10% weaker by choosing a subpar covenant just because they liked the aesthetic, story line, or ability more.

Don’t worry, you’ll be denied based on experience, gear, class, and spec before covenant.

[Alcsaar]

Don’t worry, you’ll be denied based on experience, gear, class, and spec before covenant.

Yes, which makes it *another* layer of potential denial that you have to try to get around.

[Quincey]

I wonder how many systems they are going to have to usher in to fix this mess?

I 100% predict that the 9.3 patch notes will STILL be about covenant abilities and how they totally got it right this time.

The arrogance of the devs astounds me sometimes.

[chiddie]

Torghast needs an infinite mode. Its a roguelike/lite. It need to have a softcap rather than a hard cap. If they really want it at 18 floors then make floor 18 very challenging but doable but floor 19 and up impossible. Just implement the risk of rain 2 system and gg.

Thorgast needs to give high level gear as reward, else it will be put in a corner faster than corrupted Orgri/Storm.

[Nuciek]

Thorgast needs to give high level gear as reward, else it will be put in a corner faster than corrupted Orgri/Storm.

You get mats for crafting legendaries from Thorgast.

[Fkiolaris]

I guess all I can say based on what they wrote about Covenants is that I am not buying Shadowlands until they decouple player abilities from them. Shame, as in many ways I was hoping it would be a back-to-form expansion from Blizzard.

[glowpipe]

Apart from just being called "Floor 19+" I don't get what separates it from a fresh run from floor 1 again.

Harder. Floor 1 got floor 1 scaling. Floor 19 starts at floor 19 scaling and will be much harder without powers