Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Dracullus]

Eh, we're not even in alpha yet, and it's one week till May. They'd have to rush testing to get it out this year, and that's never a good idea, especially when you're fiddling with the foundation.

I think talents will be easier to test than BfA/SL systems. They already know how it will work, community accept this and from balance perspective all they have to worry about is synergy with tier sets.

[Holdodlig]

True, but then there's still RSG's info.

And I think another leak said 2023 that got the rest right.

Makes me think even Blizzard isn't sure of when it's launching, hence why they really want to act like talents/evoker are far along when it looks like from what they showed us... they really aren't.

Maybe Scaleface was told WotLKlassic's release window instead of Dragonflight's ? Since both announcement were made at the same time, it could be a possibility.

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I think talents will be easier to test than BfA/SL systems. They already know how it will work, community accept this and from balance perspective all they have to worry about is synergy with tier sets.

Wouldn't jump on that kind of conclusion myself. Talent means they have to rebalance the whole class progression. They also have to balance each talent to make sure they fit into the talent tree, consider each spells you get during leveling + the one you get in the talent tree. This is a lot harder to design than it looks.

[Kagdar]

Oh no no, be precise man. Scaleface said 10.0 is November AND "season 4 looks like cancelled". Season 4 looks cancelled to you? And they would make whole effort to what, run this season for 2 months?

Season 4 is essentially Season 1 of DFL : old dungeons made into m+ with the addition of "m+" affix for raids we already have, should't take too much time to implement. What will take longer is the 9.2.5 zone revamps and quests. We won't have a full new raid so i don't expect the new season to last as long as other seasons.

[huth]

I think talents will be easier to test than BfA/SL systems. They already know how it will work, community accept this and from balance perspective all they have to worry about is synergy with tier sets.

On the other hand, this is explicitly planned as a long-term system. So they have to make sure it works right, because if it doesn't, they'll be stuck with it for years.
There's likely also some under-the-hood stuff that was changed for it which needs testing.

BfA/SL systems didn't need as rigorous testing since they knew even if they didn't work, they'd no longer be an issue in the next expansion.

[rhorle]

Oh no no, be precise man. Scaleface said 10.0 is November AND "season 4 looks like cancelled". Season 4 looks cancelled to you? And they would make whole effort to what, run this season for 2 months?

Why not? It really isn't that much effort to do Season 4. It also can be using stuff that would exist in 10.0 so even if it is cancelled it might still show in-game or at least on the PTR.

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Maybe Scaleface was told WotLKlassic's release window instead of Dragonflight's ? Since both announcement were made at the same time, it could be a possibility.

Scaleface said classic in September and retail in November.

[Varodoc]

The stories of Alleria and Turalyon are intertwined. They are basically like yin and yang, even Alleria says it herself. There is no shadow without light. So if one dies, the other will follow.

Blizzard will not kill Alleria and Turalyon, they are too popular, iconic, and beloved amongst the Alliance playerbase.

Actually they can kill Turalyon, I don't really care about the Lightforged.

[Alexjimithing]

At the close of the final WoW xpac

We defeat Corrupted Azeroth

Cutscene starts, fade out to white, fade in on Kerrigan (terran) asleep (starting to wake up)

She turns to Raynor (Raynor unseen laying next to her until she turns to speak to him)

"What a strange dream I just had..."

[Khaza-R]

Scaleface said classic in September and retail in November.

Which is still possible, although unlikely. Assuming at least the Phase 5 of TBCC is released by late May or early June and lasts 90-120 days like most other phases.

Still, that might have just been the original plan and shifted since he was given that information. Release dates are controlled by higher ups so even if Scalefaces source is a dev it might not be 100% up to date.

[rhorle]

Eh, we're not even in alpha yet, and it's one week till May. They'd have to rush testing to get it out this year, and that's never a good idea, especially when you're fiddling with the foundation.

Depending on internal testing and how quickly they get systems implemented there is still plenty of time for alpha/beta. Though they seem to be working at a glacial pace for Shadowlands PTR testing so who knows.

[Ersula]

Maybe Scaleface was told WotLKlassic's release window instead of Dragonflight's ? Since both announcement were made at the same time, it could be a possibility.

That makes sense because even internally Blizzard is hardly sure of any of these dates.

Oh no no, be precise man. Scaleface said 10.0 is November AND "season 4 looks like cancelled". Season 4 looks cancelled to you? And they would make whole effort to what, run this season for 2 months?

Dude had right info about expac, doesn't mean he have correct info about release plans. Last time I checked red shirt guy doesn't work at Blizzard as well.

At some point November could be original date, who knows. Patch got sniffed just 2 months later than SL in 2020. Although with new class we could have longer Alpha, like with Legion.

It seems like Scaleface was making a few assumptions. He forgot that in the past few expansions the previous expansion's last season ends right before the next expansion's first raid tier starts. And the time between pre-patch & actual expansion release could, historically, be up to 3 months. They said the pre-event is 2 weeks, but Shadowlands & BFA also had a good amount of time between the pre-patch & the actual start of the special pre-patch event. So what Scaleface didn't take into consideration when he assumed season 4 is cancelled:

The End of Shadowlands Season 4 could be several months after 10.0

They said seasons are ideally between 6 - 8 months so barring delays, a prospective timeline is:

Shadowlands Season 1 begins: December 2020
Shadowlands Season 2 begins: July 2021
Shadowlands Season 3 begins: March 2022
Patch 9.5.2 is released: June 2022
Shadowlands Season 4 beings: September 2022
Patch 10.0 is released: November 2022
Dragonflight formal release date: January 2023
Dragonflight Season 1 begins: March 2023

[rhorle]

The End of Shadowlands Season 4 could be several months after 10.0

That seems unlikely given the over haul to talents. If they have most of the content ready for 10.0 then they should just launch the expansion.

[Ersula]

No. Why would anyone do Shadowlands content when Dragon flight will give higher gear from quests and its own end-game?

??? Because there's always a period of time after a new expansion releases & the first raid teir beings? The entire point of the Season 4 affix is the added incentive to get people to play it. How is a two month period where the latest raid tier is dead anything new for this game?

Especially if they add a mini-raid at the beginning of Dragonflight, like WoD & Legion, the time before the first season starts could be even longer.

[JDBlou]

Actually they can kill Turalyon, I don't really care about the Lightforged.

Actually they can kill Turalyon and Alleria, I only really care about the Drogbar.

[rhorle]

??? Because there's always a period of time after a new expansion releases & the first raid teir beings?

Yes there is a delay because people are busy doing the new expansion content. However I edited my post to focus on if 10.0 systems are in place to be released the expansion can be launched instead.

Season 4 isn't about adding something new to the game but keeping existing content fresh by mixing it up a little.

[Ersula]

Yes there is a delay because people are busy doing the new expansion content. However I edited my post to focus on if 10.0 systems are in place to be released the expansion can be launched instead.

Season 4 isn't about adding something new to the game but keeping existing content fresh by mixing it up a little.

Exactly: In other words, my timeline is perfect if the expansion has to be delayed. And if it doesn't, then they can just end S4 early. That's why its the ideal prospective timeline for the developers.

[Syegfryed]

There are bunch of High Elves left even after Alleria is dead.

yeah, like 2 of then

[huth]

Depending on internal testing and how quickly they get systems implemented there is still plenty of time for alpha/beta. Though they seem to be working at a glacial pace for Shadowlands PTR testing so who knows.

Remember the window closes in early december. They're not going to release over christmas so they can do damage control if needed.

[Three Faced Goddess]

I've warmed up to Dracthyr a lot this week. The news of being able to choose face shape and the possibility of future classes for them really helped.

[boyzma]

I've warmed up to Dracthyr a lot this week. The news of being able to choose face shape and the possibility of future classes for them really helped.

Same here..can't wait...well guess I'll have to but, yeah. It's just disheartening to see so many people bashing it with knowing so little about it.

[Nightshade711]

I've warmed up to Dracthyr a lot this week. The news of being able to choose face shape and the possibility of future classes for them really helped.

Same to an extent.

Just really hoping the "more bulky" torso option they said we haven't seen yet.
If it's at minimum something like this I'll be happy.