[Speculation] There Won't Be 9.3 Patch

[Myradin]

That's the biggest tragedy. The main gameplay was the travelling. Even places you visited countless times were still enjoyable to walk through.

Somewhere along Legion, Blizzard got this new philosophy that every square inch of the game needs to be a point of interest, meticulously crafted, with its own history.

It's an admirable idea, but when it trades density for spatial quantity it robs the game of the very thing that gets people addicted.

Travelling is gameplay. Players moving from point A to B, even just sitting on gryphon offers that escapist thrill that people sign up for.

Honestly its what made flight fun for me.

Now everything's so busy and cramped that I just feel like hiding from the world and taking FP's.

[Cæli]

But wow is still generating shitton of money on a quarterly and yearly basis. So far nothing suggest they aint making money. In fact, it makes them ALOT of money.

Even during BfA & SL, both xpacs considered bad.

even if they generate a shitton of money, they will stop development if that profit is a small % of what they could get if they're working on something else (that is, something that is not wow retail)

why having a team working on wow expansion X to get 20 mil, if they can make those people work on game X and get 200 mil?
if mobile games are always x5 more profitable than wow, and a trend, then no reason to bother with wow

[Nyel]

That's the biggest tragedy. The main gameplay was the travelling. Even places you visited countless times were still enjoyable to walk through.

Somewhere along Legion, Blizzard got this new philosophy that every square inch of the game needs to be a point of interest, meticulously crafted, with its own history.

It's an admirable idea, but when it trades density for spatial quantity it robs the game of the very thing that gets people addicted.

Travelling is gameplay. Players moving from point A to B, even just sitting on gryphon offers that escapist thrill that people sign up for.

So much this. I barely can’t remember any names for hubs or cities or villages from BfA or Shadowlands whereas I can recall every flight point or hub in each of the Classic zones. And no, this has nothing to do with flying, but with how… I don’t know, unimpressive or uninteresting the new continents just have been. Particularly in Shadowlands I remember nothing although I read every quest once on my main character. I just recall nothing, no important NPCs and no hub names. I just couldn’t care enough to really remember all of this stuff. In expansions like Legion, TBC or Wrath this was completely different. In Legion especially I wanted to interact with the world. In BfA and Shadowlands I was happy when I was done with the zones and hadn’t had to return. This is the exact opposite of good game design.

[Adamas102]

This is NOT a fantasy, just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen (like a lot of things I'm sure you're against). As far as I'm aware you're not supposed to be told about it. I was told this, nearly verbatim from a manager in an IT department at a hospital 10 years ago.

He pulled me aside after my panel interview and said the following : "Hey so we think the interview went really well. You make a great fit with the team and you have what we are looking for but I can't offer you the job. I'm not supposed to tell you this and I could probably get in hot water but this isn't fair and I want you to know why you aren't being hired. I was told this morning to hire a female applicant with nearly zero experience plainly because she is the only female that applied and we have to fill a quota. To put it plainly, you have the wrong genitals. I'm sorry."

I find it funny that you'd call affirmative action fantasy though.

And you bought that story? That a company large enough to have corporate mandated hiring quotas had only a single (apparently fresh out of college) woman apply to this job posting? That was more believable than a disgruntled manager bitter about getting overruled on a hiring decision stepped out of line to tell you something that wasn't quite true? Yeah, ok.

It's always the same story; this manager just HAS to quietly tell you this thing they're not supposed to say, that someone with absolutely no qualifications or experience was the ONLY viable candidate they got and this was the ONLY position that could be filled by X type of candidate but they still went through all the trouble of interviewing these other apparently "perfect" candidates who they weren't allowed to hire.

Can it happen? Sure, anything can happen. But the situation you describe is pretty outlandish and if true would be exceedingly rare. A company that doesn't understand how to use diversity hiring strategies properly, a single position to fill a quota, the only candidate that fits that quota also happens to be extremely unqualified, and of course the requisite manager to give you the inside scoop.

[crusadernero]

even if they generate a shitton of money, they will stop development if that profit is a small % of what they could get if they're working on something else (that is, something that is not wow retail)

why having a team working on wow expansion X to get 20 mil, if they can make those people work on game X and get 200 mil?
if mobile games are always x5 more profitable than wow, and a trend, then no reason to bother with wow

What else do they have that generate more money or have the potential for it? Theres no IP coming from Blizzard that generates anything remotely close to wow. At best we are looking at some half assed mobile game as a new IP from them.

If you look outside of just Blizzard, the only other juggernaut in the ActiBlizz portfolio is CoD and probably Candycrush. But we are talking about Blizzard here, and they aint got anything else big. Not now, not coming in the next couple of years.

Also, last time Blizzard took a chance it was with Overwatch. It has gotten a mixed review and aint that popular now(I really like it still). Besides that, its been the same old and safe IPs the last decades.

To your last question - why risk millions of dollars on a game that might flop from the beginning when you can shuffle out wow xpacs and make millions on a steady basis?

And yes, why should any game company even bother with making anything else than mobile games? as you said, that makes most money. Why are we not seeing that then?

Seems to me you just want to wow to shut down, go bust and never be playable again. You might dislike the game and you might like something new(as do I), but fact is they are raking in the big bucks with this game. So far anyway, and nothing suggests they wont in the future either.

[Cæli]

What else do they have that generate more money or have the potential for it? Theres no IP coming from Blizzard that generates anything remotely close to wow. At best we are looking at some half assed mobile game as a new IP from them.

If you look outside of just Blizzard, the only other juggernaut in the ActiBlizz portfolio is CoD and probably Candycrush. But we are talking about Blizzard here, and they aint got anything else big. Not now, not coming in the next couple of years.

Also, last time Blizzard took a chance it was with Overwatch. It has gotten a mixed review and aint that popular now(I really like it still). Besides that, its been the same old and safe IPs the last decades.

To your last question - why risk millions of dollars on a game that might flop from the beginning when you can shuffle out wow xpacs and make millions on a steady basis?

And yes, why should any game company even bother with making anything else than mobile games? as you said, that makes most money. Why are we not seeing that then?

Seems to me you just want to wow to shut down, go bust and never be playable again. You might dislike the game and you might like something new(as do I), but fact is they are raking in the big bucks with this game. So far anyway, and nothing suggests they wont in the future either.

I'm just realistic, and it's probably not a good idea to invest your life into that and then suddenly they stop producing content and you're disappointed, better expect it

[crusadernero]

I'm just realistic, and it's probably not a good idea to invest your life into that and then suddenly they stop producing content and you're disappointed, better expect it

That goes without saying for any game.. Most games sooner or later are stopped development on. Thats how it is with most entertainment.

[ashblond]

After the current controversies I'm more inclined to agree that there will be some disruption to the patch cycle. I certainly wouldn't rule out 9.3 yet completely.



Classic is already dead. TBC died within 3-4 weeks after the launch and classic era is a deserted wasteland.

9.3 is highly unlikely atm.

[Nyel]

9.3 is highly unlikely atm.

No idea why you're bumping a thread that's half a year old. And we already know by official sources that 9.2 is the final (content) patch of Shadowlands, so yes indeed there won't be 9.3. It's not unlikely, it has been ruled out already.

[Kralljin]

No idea why you're bumping a thread that's half a year old. And we already know by official sources that 9.2 is the final (content) patch of Shadowlands, so yes indeed there won't be 9.3. It's not unlikely, it has been ruled out already.

Personally, i enjoy reading comments like

9.3 will happen, 10.0 won't be revealed until Blizzconline 2022, and won't launch until Q1 2023.

Book it.

I do hold a belief that we'll get a 9.3.

It's like reading one of those expansion leaks that actually turned out to be real deal and everyone called it fake, except in reverse.

I, for one, am grateful for this bump, solely for entertainment value.

[Enter Name Here]

Because duh what?
Is this some kind of caveman language I am supposed to engage with?

We'll discuss this like gentleman in a year, alright?
I'll admit defeat when it happens, no worries.

so about that....?

[ashblond]

It is the right decision to keep the two years interval for each expansion release.

Over 6 months of recycled "season 4" will be suiciding.

[Amns]

I honestly wish there would be a 9.3 just to tie in Azeroth and our transition back to it. But I'd be lying if I didn't just want it for the option of new Allied Races to be added as an explanation of how the Horde and Alliance were able to fend off the unchained scourge.

[czarek]

There is nothin to predict. They said 9.2.5 is the last one. Just realese season 4 as 9.2.5 and small prelaunch patch before 10.0