Ptr build coming up yet?
The only hot water Blizz would get into is if there can be a considerable case made against them that the expansion was planned to be three major patches and they lied/went on their word. All that has been mentioned is "it's not another WoD' which can be construed as anything from "it's not an unfinished expansion" to "it's not a camera patch and a single patch".
A minor patch in the drought could accomplish lasting much longer than a pre-patch. Afterall, a minor patch like that can last for easily upwards of 5-6 months. A pre-patch meanwhile doesnt really last longer than a month, even Cata with it's longest ever pre-patch was only so long because they split the content in pre-cata and post-cata EK/Kalimdor.
The world revamp dream will never die!
That's exactly it. A 10.0 requires the next expansion to be done by the time you release it. A 9.2.5 you can drop somwhere in the middle of the wait for 10.0, which could be everything from 8 to 14+ months after 9.2 (if we don't see a 9.3), and that is just going by historical data. .5 patches could also be hot fixes, it doesn't really matter how you label it.
You are welcome, Metzen. I hope you won't fuck up my underground expansion idea.
The problem with this plan is that waiting between 9.2 & 10.0 is going to take a long time. It's part of what Blizz has constantly gotten hit by in every expansion...the long wait between the final raid patch & the next expansion coming out. Not having a 9.2.5 means not having something to keep the momentum going, and WoW feeds on momentum strongly. Having a 9.2.5 gives at least a small bump to keep players a bit more interested and/or with things to do until 10.0 comes out.
I'm not saying it has to be huge, but it should do something to keep the players interested. A couple story quests, maybe some heritage armor, perhaps even an early release of a new BG or races/classes if any are slated for 10.0. After all, look how good 7.3.5 did with the Allied Races & Seething Shore to keep people playing until BfA was released.
You are welcome, Metzen. I hope you won't fuck up my underground expansion idea.
Apparently a good number of story devs are hinting about the patch. I think its very possible it will have a story continuation, just not part of the "campaign".
The world revamp dream will never die!
Hmm that shutdown was around 9:15, but no PTR yet. How long does it normally take to deploy?