PCGamer Ion Interview - Make Dungeon/Raids Satisfying, New Battle.net Launcher

[Stoy]

PCGamer Ion Hazzikostas Interview - More can be Done to Make Dungeon/Raids Satisfying when not Getting Desired Loot
PCGamer recently posted a small interview with Ion Hazzikostas about Shadowlands. It didn't reveal much new information, but the most noteworthy aspect was Ion mentioning that more can be done to make dungeons and raids feel satisfying even when not getting a specific piece of loot that run. Click the banner to read the whole article, and here are some highlights:

• The article mentions more content later this spring, but it seems to be speculative and not certain as it isn't a quote from Ion.
• Ion says Blizzard has some big plans for the story of this expansion and is already working on addressing some big points of player feedback.
• Ion says Blizzard is thrilled to tell epic stories that interconnect the different powers of the Shadowlands, heroes and villains of Azeroth, and the inner workings of Death itself.
• The team is listening closely to the community as they look to shape future updates.
• When it comes to PvP itemization specifically, they're really happy with how that's playing out.
• Ion thinks they can do more to make the experience of running dungeons and raids feel more satisfying when you don't get a specific item you were hoping for.
• Balance remains an ongoing focus, both through "hotfix" adjustments to the live game and through more involved changes to player abilities, and especially new Shadowlands systems like legendary items and covenants, which will come in patches.

New Battle.net Launcher Live Soon
Blizzard recently revealed that the new Blizzard launcher that has been in beta for quite some time will be going live soon. Click here to see their official post. This new version includes:

• Improved navigation and layout—you can now favorite your games and arrange them for ease of access
• A much more expansive layout for news and game content in full-page view
• A revamped social pane so you can better see your friends and what they’re up to on each game tab
• Major accessibility improvements—they’ve added the ability to navigate most of the app with your keyboard, increased our screen reader support, and improved the color contrast
• A new, consolidated notifications hub for messages and download status

Dark Legacy Comics #756
DLC #756 has been released!

[Alanar]

Ouch.. the dark legacy one is bad this time.

[Aerisot]

Ion's interviews always crack me up, especially when he talks about listening to the community.

If that was true, Conduits wouldn't be so awful.

[A Chozo]

Dark Legacy one is funny as always, lol

[Sunblaze]

Ion's interviews always crack me up, especially when he talks about listening to the community.

If that was true, Conduits wouldn't be so awful.

Yea tbh i still dont see the fun in having a BIS damage conduit that you will never remove.

These systems can be fun if the conduits are utilitarian. Like, it can be an interesting bonus without feeling mandatory (finesse/endurance, although they feel watered down and are too irrelevant).

[TickTickTick]

I'm still waiting for them to address the question: "Why even add so many legendaries?"

What is even the point of each spec having multiple choices, if we can all agree that in practice there's no choice at all? One legendary will always be better than the rest (if even a bit) and it will always be a go-to. Then they implemented a limit to 1 legendary only. To me it feels even more underwhelming and useless system than conduits for specs you'll never be playing anyway. Because legendary powers were made to be this "epic power" that you must search the Shadowlands for, and then a powerful, ancient craftsman can infuse your item with this great power. In practice, some powers are easier to find than others, some powers can be bought from covenants (literal wtf. I'm here saving your world and you're telling me I first need to complete these stupid tasks 100 times until you find me worthy enough? Such power should never be gated behind reputation). And when you're done getting the most powerful one for your spec, you don't care about the rest. At all. You forget about Runecarver. Soul Ash, and with it Torghast, becomes utterly useless.

Yes, maybe they are going to increase the legendary limit later. Who cares, I'm not playing in the future, I'm playing now. Instead of cluttering this system with multiple useless choices, they should have made just one legendary for each spec or class and grant it in some epic questline.

It's really hard to believe there were many people, with long game dev experience, who thought it was a good idea.

[McNeil]

Just bring back the badge system, its that easy

[Grimalkin of Old]

I always wonder what kind of community Hazzikostas listens to

[Romanthony]

not a fan about the new battle net, it looks way to cluttered, but the image made me laughh because of magni, and arthas, is that a hint at something,Also really triggering seeing Tracers note for Arthas, what does it say?!

[ExtremelyCrusty]

More non answers from our buddy Ion.

[Captain Busybody]

In a nutshell: "We're not going to give away any extra loot, but we want to find ways to make you happy while you're waiting."
Um...isn't that the point of game design for MMOs in the first place?
WE'RE MAKING A GAME, GUYS. WE'VE GOT PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. CHECK OUT THESE ADS. PCGAMER . COM


Cool.

[aceperson]

is ion and his management team just a bunch of pure idiots?!

"Ion thinks they can do more to make the experience of running dungeons and raids feel more satisfying when you don't get a specific item you were hoping for."

JUST GIVE US THE LOOT WE EARNED! if we go in to a 4 boss dungeon and only get 1 or 2 pieces, that isn't proper distribution. it should be one piece of loot PER BOSS that is given at the end (and no, i don't mean one piece per boss for each person). and raise the amount of loot from raids from 3 pieces per 20 people back to 5 pieces per 20 people. it's so freaking simple! STOP TRYING TO REMAKE THE WHEEL EVERY FREAKING TIME!

[Army Dreamer]

More can be Done

Then faken do it!

[Wyshbonez]

I've always wanted a tokenish system, i guess kind of like the badges back in the day, but say you need something out of halls you run it 15 times and still dont get your drop, but while you're running it each end boss drops a revendrathian token say the item you want costs 15 tokens. It's not so much welfare gear as it is look i ran it anyway and did so a good amount of times. I also wish they would put something like this in for old raids, i swear ive ran SoO 100+ times and the shoulders of mannoroth still havent dropped lol

[Darkeon]

Ok, nice! It's cool guys, they are listening and learned from past mistakes!

[Darknessvamp]

And with the new launcher I bet we are still unable to hide the Call of Duty Icons and notifications that keep flashing if you don't open them up...

[Stormwolf64]

He says these things but its been the same through multiple expansions. Burden on proof is on you Ion. Not believing a word out of your mouth

[GreenJesus]

I can tell from Shadowlands that they are listening whether you refuse to notice it or not. They removed titanforging and brought back pvp vendors, and made legendaries with 0 rng like legion. There can be improvement to this system for sure regarding feeling rewarded for each activity you do rather than just waiting for the chest at reset, but hopefully they take this feedback for next patch. To say they haven't listened at all is just not fair.

[Kumorii]

I can tell from Shadowlands that they are listening whether you refuse to notice it or not. They removed titanforging and brought back pvp vendors, and made legendaries with 0 rng like legion. There can be improvement to this system for sure regarding feeling rewarded for each activity you do rather than just waiting for the chest at reset, but hopefully they take this feedback for next patch. To say they haven't listened at all is just not fair.

Get with the program...rationality is not welcome here.

[Dracullus]

I can tell from Shadowlands that they are listening whether you refuse to notice it or not. They removed titanforging and brought back pvp vendors, and made legendaries with 0 rng like legion. There can be improvement to this system for sure regarding feeling rewarded for each activity you do rather than just waiting for the chest at reset, but hopefully they take this feedback for next patch. To say they haven't listened at all is just not fair.

What kind of sorcery is this? Ion bad. Ion don't listen. We fire Ion, WoW good again.