Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Wangming]

Yeah, imo it's gonna be Ion talking, showing us the CGI cinematic then the "what's new" trailer, finishing with the "Pre-orders are open as we speak" blabla, nothing really long, but hopefully exciting (even if we say that every time)

I kinda hope we will have some slides as well. We need stuff. Unless the november release is legit and beta start immediately, we need a whole bunch of pictures to overanalyze. Granted we will have the trailers so I might be a greedy little shit. But I like the slides that come with every major content reveal.

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Why would they ever get rid of WQs? I don’t think anyone hates them, they just want more things to do outside of combat instances.

Hence why housing is very likely. Their last 3-4 combat gamemodes have either been hated or had mixed results... so why not do a system with no combat?

We need two things.

1) Things to do outside of combat

2) Engaging open world content

Housing would help with the former.

[Ferlion]

I kind of figured Season 4 is just going to be arbitrary length to fill the gap as a way to make the content draught feel like it's not as long.

It can be 4 months, it can be 8 months. Blizzard is very good at PR answers and "a season typically lasts 6-8 months" is very intentionally a non answer that feels like an answer.

[Polybius]

The “World” part is entirely different actually, all the letters have been touched up.

Could just be a modernization, but maybe they are trying to reboot the brand?

Lately it’s a trend to change popular game titles to a bolded font.

[Wangming]

I saw like 3 system designers from WoW team hyping tweet reveal, so I guess we can expect some new system-type-thing in new expansion. But i guess that's expected either way. I hope they improve and iterate over group finder feature more.

It better be something more than the new borrowed power.

[Sondrelk]

I'm sorry but that's a terrible idea. Only a very, very, very small fraction of players would want that.

Just give us the greater crux of info in one go, as per usual. It will be a really lacking experience to have to wait several weeks for each feature to be explained.

It hasn't been done before though, so it's really impossible to say whether it would be worse than what we usually get.
There are several ways to go about it as well. Maybe we get told only the bare minimum for each individual feature, with a more comprehensive one coming at later dates.

Usually what we get is everything worth telling at that point, which is both not that comprehensive, or necessarily correct by the time the expansion comes out.
This version would instead give us better understanding of each feature, while only really coming at the cost of a less than ideal initial presentatio. Which given those presentations tend to be mostly irrelevant by the time the alpha opens might be in need of a better approach.

[Alexjimithing]

I'm expecting them to go back to a bare bones expansion after all the borrowed power complaints.

- Level to 70
- New Talent row at 70
- Gear up thru Mythic + / Raid / PvP
- Only way to get gear is thru the above
- 1 new rep per zone that'll have a few daily quests to do; no player power.
- Flying purchasable with gold upon reaching max level.
- 3 new raids; 1 with 8 bosses and 2 single boss raids that'll have a hard mode type activation like Sartharion.

World quests will be removed due to being unpopular, just a few dailies to advance reps in each zone. No new expansion feature like Garrisons/Order Halls/Islands/Covs. No more Emissaries or Callings.

If you actually want to see the WoW playerbase die completely, this is a good way to do it!

[Vakir]

Nozdormu: This Garrosh was merely the worst of all possible timelimes..... which means all iterations are going to be tortured forever *jerma sus face*

A heroic alternate Garrosh dies chronologically after the events of the Shadowlands. He gasps his last surrounded by his loved ones, exalted in his good deeds and tears rolling down his cheeks believing that he will find peace at last.

Faster than being able to mentally process anything at all, he is melted into oblivion and becomes +1 spec of ash on the pile sitting there in the Sanctum.

Fucking bravo, writers.

[Amstrup]

If you actually want to see the WoW playerbase die completely, this is a good way to do it!

And yet the game reached 12 mil players doing that.

[Wangming]

I'm sorry but that's a terrible idea. Only a very, very, very small fraction of players would want that.

Just give us the greater crux of info in one go, as per usual. It will be a really lacking experience to have to wait several weeks for each feature to be explained.

You would hate the way FFXIV reveals expansions, wouldn't you?

[Alexjimithing]

And yet the game reached 12 mil players doing that.

In the year 2008. If you haven't noticed gaming trends, and what the average consumer wants out of a game, has changed tremendously since then.

[Dracullus]

My hype level will increase when reveal will hit one of these spots:

- revamp (although I have almost 0 expectations for this after name drop)
- housing
- class skins
- heroic version of world
- official support for organizing groups similar to old openraid

And every time I'll hear 'account-wide'.

Also I unironically would prefer August '23 release. Best (imo) launches happened this month, expac must be ready (not only launch, but also solid patch plan), game have ocean of content and S4 should be start of new philosophy. M+ at least for MoP and WoD. Introducing timewalking earlier. Making bonus tiers in between or at the end that would bring back some best modern raids like BRF or Nighthold.

And yet the game reached 12 mil players doing that.

Let's ignore that WoW was fresh game back then and most people tried and quit (in 2013 they revealed that 100 million accounts were made since 2004). Wrath good, retail bad.

[Vakir]

You would hate the way FFXIV reveals expansions, wouldn't you?

Unpopular opinion but getting the Sage CGI teaser with vocals sounding like they were in a wind tunnel on a bad Bluetooth mic...and then waiting like 5 months for the actual trailer with the same Emet-Selch voiceover kinda dulled some of the awesome factor, though.

Imagine if the first time we heard Footfalls, saw the moon, heard "tolling the coming of the end" was JUST the full experience? Even more goosebumps.

I feel similarly to reprising the cinematic themes as final boss battle tunes. I can't imagine how much I'd lose it if the first time I heard Shadowbringers was when we grabbed Arbert's axe. There's definite downsides and upsides to the way Blizzard drops info largely at once.

[Santandame]

You would hate the way FFXIV reveals expansions, wouldn't you?

I wouldn't know how they reveal them as I've never played FF.

Edit- tell a lie, I tried the trial. Wasn't for me. Never looked into anything about the game.

[Nymrohd]

Honestly from the many speculations we have had I think the most intense system the game could add would be a more permanent change to the leveling with something akin to paragon levels.
At the same time, I dread that happening in WoW because it would completely mess up the tuning and would likely be designed in such a way that in order to keep up you'd have to log every single day, if only for a while, just to keep up with chores

[Polybius]

It hasn't been done before though, so it's really impossible to say whether it would be worse than what we usually get.
There are several ways to go about it as well. Maybe we get told only the bare minimum for each individual feature, with a more comprehensive one coming at later dates.

Usually what we get is everything worth telling at that point, which is both not that comprehensive, or necessarily correct by the time the expansion comes out.
This version would instead give us better understanding of each feature, while only really coming at the cost of a less than ideal initial presentatio. Which given those presentations tend to be mostly irrelevant by the time the alpha opens might be in need of a better approach.

It’s been done in game x_x

Jokes aside. Not necessarily a bad approach but the audience needs to have the core features lined out. it works best with interviews attached and consistent posting. It helps bring confidence in their work.

[NikolaiShade]

Honestly from the many speculations we have had I think the most intense system the game could add would be a more permanent change to the leveling with something akin to paragon levels.
At the same time, I dread that happening in WoW because it would completely mess up the tuning and would likely be designed in such a way that in order to keep up you'd have to log every single day, if only for a while, just to keep up with chores

It could work with a weekly cap and a catch-up system

[Nymrohd]

- heroic version of world
- official support for organizing groups similar to old openraid

Those two are probably on the top of my dream list but I don't even mention them anymore because I've seen no movement from Blizzard that would suggest either would be likely. A system that would let them scale up the world and make it much more challenging, perhaps with a sister talent system that helps round up all specs so they can close in power in solo content (Because let's face it, some specs are VASTLY more capable in dealing with world content fast or doing world content intended for groups solo) would be amazing and offer a completely new way to play the game were what are now chores would suddenly be engaging.
And I loved Open Raid.

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It could work with a weekly cap and a catch-up system

True. Add making it either account wide or at least having a strong catch up system for alts (think MoP Valor)

[Wangming]

I wouldn't know how they reveal them as I've never played FF.

Edit- tell a lie, I tried the trial. Wasn't for me. Never looked into anything about the game.

Well the fanfest (their BlizzCon) is across three events. Japan, North America and Europe. They space out content. And even the CGI trailer. Mostly two versions, but for Shadowbringers, it was three. Events are cut out, sometimes scenes are rearranged and the music is muffled. For the first time anyway. Usually the first event doesn't reveal the new jobs and just provides hints. All info gets revealed in a space of three months, with the final story patch between them.

[NikolaiShade]

True. Add making it either account wide or at least having a strong catch up system for alts (think MoP Valor)

And crazy idea: add a "point storage system" so any point earned beyond the weekly cap is automatically spent the next week

[Nymrohd]

And crazy idea: add a "point storage system" so any point earned beyond the weekly cap is automatically spent the next week

That's how ESO works. When they raised the cap, any XP you had earned past the cap was automatically awarded so some people would just end up in the new cap instantly.