Burning Crusade Classic - Drums Update, Bobby Kotick Takes Pay Cut

[Stoy]

Beta Development Update - Leatherworking Drums

Over the first few weeks of testing in the Burning Crusade Beta, we’ve found it useful to elaborate on and bolster the “some changes” philosophy that we expressed at BlizzConline (and in posts like this one). As we’ve said, we’re open to making further alterations to Burning Crusade Classic, and we’re guided by the goal of authenticity in how the game plays, especially given how players in 2021 approach a game that was designed in 2007.

We’ve decided make the following updates to Burning Crusade Classic:

• “Lesser” versions of Leatherworking drums will be available from the beginning of the expansion, and will approximate how drums operated in the first few patches of original Burning Crusade.
• “Greater” versions of the drums will become available with the phase that includes the Zul’Aman raid.
• Throughout Burning Crusade Classic, using Leatherworking drums will invoke the Tinnitus debuff, preventing reuse for two minutes.

This decision follows a great deal of consideration of the options available. Ultimately, the “some changes” philosophy is a method for identifying problems where specific design choices made in 2007 don’t completely match the design intent of 2007. Having identified a clear issue of that type with drums, we naturally look for changes that were made at the time to address the problem. Tinnitus is exactly such a fix. It was added to the game in the very next major update after the Sunwell patch.

Tinnitus simply limits the number of Leatherworkers that a guild will consider beneficial to one Leatherworker per party. It fits with the design of The Burning Crusade, which encouraged guilds to carefully plan their raid composition to ensure access to various buffs and to make the best use of various drops, such as Primal Nethers. This change should preserve Leatherworking’s unique niche without devaluing it too much compared to other professions, which was the goal of the overall profession design of The Burning Crusade.

Our next step is to test it, so we’re updating the Beta today to include Tinnitus, and it will be in place when we resume testing in Karazhan. As before, we’ll be carefully following what testers do with it, and feedback from testers. We encourage you to use the in-game bug report function in the Beta.

Thank you very much for all of your testing and feedback!

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Takes 50% Pay Cut
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has agreed to a 50% pay cut as well an an annual bonus percentage cut, according to an article on Gameindustry.biz. For the full details, visit the article!

[George]

When you take a 50% earnings cut and that means this year you'll be paid $2,625,000 less, you know you've made it in life.

[Dread Pirate Phayde]

Good thing his net worth is something like $8 billion or he might need a GoFundMe.

[Dald]

He still gets the massive 200m or whatever bonuses, so of course he'll take a 50% bullshit earnings cut to fluff the news and make him see like a good guy.

[Aqua]

Its a bit late bobby, we know you've hoarded as much as you could feasibly get away with and are just gonna move on after leeching the place for all its worth.

[Adam552]

Takes a 50% reduced base pay cut but can still earn up to 200% of base pay?

[Kagemarou]

Piece of trash tries to make himself look like less of a piece of trash by taking a pay cut, when people realize he's still a piece of trash regardless.

[Samuraijake]

give me 200 mil.. and i'll accept w/e future paycuts to make ppl happy n save face.

whats half of 200 mil btw?

[rhorle]

He still gets the massive 200m or whatever bonuses, so of course he'll take a 50% bullshit earnings cut to fluff the news and make him see like a good guy.

No he doesn't. The bonus is tied to his base salary and can not exceed 200% of that salary now. Wowhead does a good job of describing the changes in detail. Your views on corporate greed aside Mr. Kotick is a great businessman.

https://www.wowhead.com/news/activis...s-by-50-322086

[Garretdejiko]

Guess he won't be able to buy a new car this month. Stay strong Bobby!

[Smeeh]

I swear the guy could announce he's quitting and giving all his money to homeless LGBTQ puppies and people would still be mad.

[Frolk]

Now to see next month another 300 jobs been cut, wonder if people will still praise mr Bobby

[Ragnarohk]

Tinnitus debuff from drums?

Sadly I've had that debuff for a while IRL mmm...

[Gaidax]

Poor Bobby, would need to work part time now.

Though jokes aside, I'm actually impressed they/him agreed to drop down this feast during famine thing. I just wonder what they are going to do with these extra $200m that freed up - here's a thought, maybe split it between your non top-brass staff working in ActiBlizz.

Or maybe use it to make a fund and give a bit extra to the people they let go.

[deenman]

its a real shame they caved to the rabbid masses that complain about this,the problem isnt bobby and his bonuses,the problem is the sytstem itself of out of control corupt capitalism that alows for one person to be given such huge payoff for doing literaly nothing vs the people that actualy keep the company alive

[McNeil]

This just screams damage control. You can only go this far where you keep earning all these extra millions while also firing hundreds of employees, eventually people start to notice.

[deenman]

Guess he won't be able to buy a new car this month. Stay strong Bobby!

lol?i think you mean he wont be able to afford his luxury yacht this week

[Freedom]

I swear the guy could announce he's quitting and giving all his money to homeless LGBTQ puppies and people would still be mad.

LMAO, too true. Just wonder why I bother reading comments on news articles on this site anymore. Good posts like yours are too often drowned in "DAE BOBBY KOTICK'S YACHT???" type posts.

[Verdugo]

He still gets the massive 200m or whatever bonuses, so of course he'll take a 50% bullshit earnings cut to fluff the news and make him see like a good guy.

Well too bad, those photos with devil horns are not going to disappear.

[Orby]

Taking a 50% paycut after earning more money than god... too little too late. You never have to pay the guy again and he'd still be set up for life. His children's children will never have to work.

Also Blizzard are still not paying their taxes, and developers and employees on the ground level are still playing Russian roulette with a chance to keep their job. So forgive me if I am not happy about this news.