Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Nymrohd]

Still more assumptions and I'm not buying it.

I'd love to see alternate explanations. Why do people buy, play for 2-3 months and then leave? What brings them back for 2-3 months but not for longer?

[rhorle]

I'd love to see alternate explanations. Why do people buy, play for 2-3 months and then leave? What brings them back for 2-3 months but not for longer?

It is just the way most video games seem to be played. They buy the game play the story and then move on. I don't think it is a reflection of any games specific design or what content gamers prefer. It is just the nature of how things are consumed. People hit an "end point" even if it isn't technically the end. It might not be that more prefer the story/leveling but simply it being new anything that is played until some implied "end".

[Aeluron Lightsong]

It is just the way most video games seem to be played. They buy the game play the story and then move on. I don't think it is a reflection of any games specific design or what content gamers prefer. It is just the nature of how things are consumed. People hit an "end point" even if it isn't technically the end. It might not be that more prefer the story/leveling but simply it being new anything that is played until some implied "end".

Personally I think the design matters a lot but a gamer's feelings on a game varies and well there's no one way to design like a King.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

I mean you're never going to see features by this team that are about "Immersion", "Social Building" or "Roleplaying".

There's no real reason to stay connected to the World of Azeroth because Blizzard has never utilized that strength in any way shape or form due to what I assume is the Teams feeling on the subject matter being "Roleplayers bad"/"Too costly" and the management stance is to stay firmly in the "Content Checklist" (Hi, Timeless Isle forever) territory until the product fades into the blue skies yonder.

The modern WoW model is literally competing with the likes of Fortnite and other types of session based games just like WoW where the update rate is far higher due to better profit margins for continuous development compared to WoW's old school development of Patches. (Masking it as seasons to stay up to date with the industry is just silly.)

When you boil down WoW's content to just instanced content it does push the game in a direction where it cannot compete with other titles due to its production pipeline being fucked and the management of the company knowing that and echoing it to investors since Legion. The concepts and creativity that a MMORPG does give to the developers is just not utilized at all anymore and instead they've pidgeonholed the game into New Raids+New Megadungeon+2/3 Content Islands.
(iterated on from Mists of Pandaria that don't even have any connection to the user beyond "New place we go to due to writers telling you so rather than even introducing the concepts of them in the base product and so forth.")

Besides it is uncertain if the spiky nature of the engagement as we've seen in the modern era is bad or not. It may be that it is benefitial for the company in ways that we don't realize and is why they did move into this direction in the first place.

It doesn't mean its benefitial for the consumers but the company may have found this model of WoW Token + Spiky Engagement with Marketing around Seasons to be the best solution with least amount of cost issues.

[Dracullus]

I mean from the fact that there is a massive surge of subs every new xpac that recedes just as much after a couple of months we can extrapolate that the most popular content in WoW is the new zones and storylines. People do that, try the dungeons a few times (probably on Heroic), maybe check the raid in LFR then logout until the next xpac with maybe checking for a month during patches but not staying for long and not all at once like with an xpac release.

Most people just don't like repeating the same content ad naseum in different difficulties, slowly grinding for gear, waiting for timegated stories. They treat the game like a CRPG with a social aspect and once the content for that dries out and depends on grind to get you anywhere (or it's only a few hours of gameplay every 4-6 months), they are gone.

Of course, and it gives clickbaiters like Bellurar perfect material few months after release: HALF OF PLAYERS LEFT GAME IS END NEAR??? while most of these people are usual tourists.

[Vasoka]

>Buttload of D4 and OW news
>Nothing about WoW / DF

Nice.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

>Buttload of D4 and OW news
>Nothing about WoW / DF

Nice.

I mean it could be worse, we could have no talent trees to look at.

[Vasoka]

I mean it could be worse, we could have no talent trees to look at.

>It could be worse

Yeah like 2 years ago I'd agree with this statement. Not anymore though.

[8bithamster]

I really wonder with the community here some times. Have they only played WoW and the few more popular MMOs? Or just WoW and have seen other games in streams?
Dragonriding is just flight simulation gameplay. I logged hundreds of hours in Pilotwings before anyone even dreamed of a Warcraft MMO.

Exxactly this.. people claim that their <insert favourite game here> invented <mechanic X>. This is especially the case lately with the GW2 playerbase, it's really frustrating. Objectivity goes out the window.

[Marlamin]

>Buttload of D4 and OW news
>Nothing about WoW / DF

Nice.

Not sure why there would be WoW specific news at an Xbox/Bethesda specific conference. The only exception would be if it were to come to Game Pass which I (at the very least) don't see happening before the acquisition completes.

[Dracullus]

Wow, I'm more surprised about Overwatch 2. Free to play (including single player, right?) and coming October this year? So 2023 is pretty easy to guess: 1st half Dragonflight, 2nd half Diablo IV. Hopefully normal Blizzcon '23 in November after merger with 10.2 (I hope not 10.1) news and new survival game full reveal.

Not sure why there would be WoW specific news at an Xbox/Bethesda specific conference. The only exception would be if it were to come to Game Pass which I (at the very least) don't see happening before the acquisition completes.

Same reason why would there be Diablo 4 or Overwatch news. But right now there is nothing to announce for broad audience. Beta or pre-order is something important for WoW community, for rest only release day or something like releasing game on pass would be big enough.

[Marlamin]

Wow, I'm more surprised about Overwatch 2. Free to play (including single player, right?) and coming October this year? So 2023 is pretty easy to guess: 1st half Dragonflight, 2nd half Diablo IV. Hopefully normal Blizzcon '23 in November after merger with 10.2 (I hope not 10.1) news and new survival game full reveal.

D4 should be on or before June 2023 since all games shown at the conference were "planned to release in the next 12 months" (though plans can change ofc).

- - - Updated - - -

Same reason why would there be Diablo 4 or Overwatch news. But right now there is nothing to announce for broad audience. Beta or pre-order is something important for WoW community, for rest only release day or something like releasing game on pass would be big enough.

Both of those are on Xbox.

[Dracullus]

D4 should be on or before June 2023 since all games shown at the conference were "planned to release in the next 12 months" (though plans can change ofc).

Maybe, although I think Diablo 4 and Dragonflight are paradoxically even more direct competition than retail and classic. But Dragonflight could release really early into 2023.

[Raetary]

D4 beta and release year, OW release date, guess we are getting wow beta and preorders soon.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

Based on the preliminary release date of the Prequel book, the expansion would be placed in March 2023 based on previous estimations of Prequel book to Expansion release.

[manypillars]

Never said it does, that was someone else. my only comment on other max level progression systems was on ESO and how bad that is.

Oh, I was agreeing with you. Content has a shelf life. Blizzard can't escape that with seasons and affixes any more than ArenaNet can with masteries and legendaries.

[Nymrohd]

Oh, I was agreeing with you. Content has a shelf life. Blizzard can't escape that with seasons and affixes any more than ArenaNet can with masteries and legendaries.

Really there is only one good solution. Make more content.

I will wonder forever if they good create evergreen content by making use of timewalking or an old world revamp and then add it on a rotation to cover time between patches.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

Really there is only one good solution. Make more content.

I will wonder forever if they good create evergreen content by making use of timewalking or an old world revamp and then add it on a rotation to cover time between patches.

I mean it is an issue of management and cost. The management has recognized that the fanbase will stick around for the bare minimum for the first 3 months regardless. Those who stick around longer or return will not mind the specific content checklist that has been in place for a while. Seasons are effective marketing for big spikes of 1-3-6 month subs that remain dead until the next season.

A team that is dedicated to EK and Kalimdor would be too expensive and while it is very surprising to see them not utilize Timewalking for 10.0 with a massive revamp with the 20K+ DisplayIDs that are left unused that could be put on a vendor for free engagement. I mean, they may just be too crunched in their current position to have any resources beyond getting Dragonflight out the door, collect the shipped game bonus and fucking off leaving a Shadowlands scenario available for us to go through once more and since the community are totally okay with the concept of "Cut & Run". It may occur once again with full acceptance from everyone.

[manypillars]

Really there is only one good solution. Make more content.

I will wonder forever if they good create evergreen content by making use of timewalking or an old world revamp and then add it on a rotation to cover time between patches.

Simply: no. We've lived through Cata- no world revamp will ever be evergreen. It will become as worn through as vanilla and cata. If scaling and events were an answer, then we'd have seen that work in GW2 and every other game that's employed them. Timewalking certainly hasn't. Next weeks Cata dungeons are not as fresh now as they were years ago simply by having to suffer them once more. If Timewalking was evergreen, then why ever have new dungeons and raids? Scale Black Temple for every season. Adding old dungeons to the current season rotation is nothing more than a sad sleight of hand, trying to pretend there's something new here when it's just old ass dungeons.

You can never reexperience novelty. You only have a first time once. Unless you have a severe head injury or drop acid.

[rhorle]

Same reason why would there be Diablo 4 or Overwatch news. But right now there is nothing to announce for broad audience. Beta or pre-order is something important for WoW community, for rest only release day or something like releasing game on pass would be big enough.

Diablo and Overwatch are on Xbox/consoles where as WoW is not. So it makes sense that OW2 and D4 would have some information released during the Microsoft event.