Should Blizzard Skip 9.3?

[Redwyrm]

BFA had 4 major patches.

It's not just quantity of content that I am criticizing Blizzard for. It's the lack of engaging content. Content that makes you want to keep coming back day after day to having something to work towards. I used to stay subbed 100% between expansion to expansion because I always felt that my character(s) were making progress.

[sensei]

Yes, skip 9.3, because they already pissed off so many people that telling them that they are cutting their loses and asking them to give them more money sooner sounds like such a good idea. /s

If there's no 9.3 then they better damn well close shop and call 9.2 the final patch, or give everyone the next expansion for free because anything other than that will just sink them even more. It's honestly stupid and absurd that anyone honestly thinks that Blizzard in its current state, that's having trouble putting out these copy/paste patches, will actually be able to pull off an entire new expansion any time soon. Well let me rephrase that, pull off an entire new expansion that isn't horseshit and make SL look like a goddamn masterpiece by comparison. Especially taking into consideration that many of the more talented people have already left the building, either because they retired, decided to find greener pastures elsewhere or were kicked out by the angry mobs. So yeah, good luck with that.

[Raven]

Covid should have easily been adjusted around by that May at the latest. Many jobs completely unaccustomed to it adjusted to working from home and their industry could easily have done that.

The layoffs were not dev based and mostly PR/Community engagement jobs, so swing and a miss there as well.

The lawsuits are involving stuff that shouldn't even impact the current people working there as the staff there today is CLEARLY evidenced in both the ridiculous changes on the PTR as well as the accounts from devs tweeting about why they're making those changes(them making false claims that it's "residue" from the trash aka people like Alex A even though more than likely they had nothing to do with it). If the lawsuit made you stop working as a dev there, you're a problem and should be fired because you're being disingenuous to the actual work environment you fostered over the past 5-10 years doing a 180 in the opposite direction of oppression.

Now there is ONE thing you neglected to mention that did actually have an impact and that was the wildfires during covid which struck a lot of the area around the offices. However, it's no excuse in the long scheme of things and should have had recovery.

You might belive Covid should have been easily to adjust around but the game creators seem to not think so with pretty much all games that had a 2021 release date have been delayed.

[Ersula]

This really comes down to how tiers are defined. As long as we had tier sets, Highmaul & Blackrock Foundry / Emerald Nightmare & Nighthold were considered one tier. In BfA they removed tier sets, but technically only BoD, EP and Nyalotha would have been counted as tiers. Entry raids weren't counted as tier raids previously. No idea where Castle Nathria fits into that, either they skipped the entry tier in Shadowlands or they're going to skip one tier in the middle.

The detail you're omitting is Highmaul & BRF, then Emerald Nightmare & Nighthold were the same or very close in item level. That doesn't apply to Uldir.

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You might belive Covid should have been easily to adjust around but the game creators seem to not think so with pretty much all games that had a 2021 release date have been delayed.

Do you see a little circular logic in saying "They should delay the next expansion, because of Covid, but also develop an additional major content patch" You can't compare a subscription game to a AAA release

[huth]

Do you see a little circular logic in saying "They should delay the next expansion, because of Covid, but also develop an additional major content patch" You can't compare a subscription game to a AAA release

Sure... if anybody was talking about them doing a 9.4, that would be relevant.

But cutting 9.3 now that they have to have already done work on it won't achieve anything. 10.0 is also already delayed because work on it started many months ago, likely even around the time 9.0/SL was released.

[Khaza-R]

Judging by the story, I think its already been skipped. Unless there really is some truth to the Azeroth is a First One theories. Because then maybe the flow is meant to be Sanctum (9.1) -> Sepulcher (9.2) -> Back to Azeroth??? (9.3)

But that said, the pace they are moving at that seems very unlikely. There was 7 months of 9.0, looking like at least 8 months of 9.1. So at this rate that means we wouldn't see 10.0 until something like Q3 or Q4 of 2023. And given their current lack of projects slated for 2022 I find it very unlikely Activision will let them do that.

[huth]

Judging by the story, I think its already been skipped. Unless there really is some truth to the Azeroth is a First One theories. Because then maybe the flow is meant to be Sanctum (9.1) -> Sepulcher (9.2) -> Back to Azeroth??? (9.3)

That's presupposing we're immediately going to Zereth Mortis, rather than first finding a replacement for the Arbiter's power/weapon to use against the Jailer first. There's plenty of room still. IMO, going after him in our current state, when we just failed to do so much as inconvenience him, wouldn't achieve much.

Activision is pretty irrelevant when Blizzard doesn't have anything to release. We likely won't see 10.0 before 2023 regardless of what they do at this point.

[Nyel]

You might belive Covid should have been easily to adjust around but the game creators seem to not think so with pretty much all games that had a 2021 release date have been delayed.

Basically every MMORPG caught up to their delays and some are even creating entire expansions. The biggest MMORPG on the planet though is struggling to get more than one content patch out in a single year. Sorry, COVID is absolutely no excuse anymore for the shitty job that Blizzard is doing this year.

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The detail you're omitting is Highmaul & BRF, then Emerald Nightmare & Nighthold were the same or very close in item level. That doesn't apply to Uldir.

I really don’t think item level matters in this case. It’s about perception and how those raids are serviced and there basically was no difference between Highmaul / Emerald Nightmare / Uldir. All of them have been entry raids of the respective expansion without being part of the overarching narrative. Castle Nathria is somewhere in the middle. While it didn’t have much to do with the Jailer storyline itself, it was the final chapter of the Venthyr campaign and based on 9.1 it made sense. For the overarching narrative it was a bit too detached from the Maw storyline though.

[McNeil]

I could see 9.3 become a thing without it being that large of a patch and not even having a raid. 9.2 could be the patch where we go to the Sepulcher and Zerith Mortis where deal with the Jailer, while 9.3 could be an aftermath patch where we go back to Azeroth and deal with the Scourge threat. 9.3 could possibly introduce new features regarding the old world and leading into the next expansion.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I think the turning point in WoWs popularity (or whatever you want to call it) was when the philosophy from Blizzard changed to "we don't expect players to be continuously subbed for the duration of an expansion" That's just an excuse to release minimal content. What happened to the Blizzard who knew how to create good Skinner Box mechanics and steady progression based systems that kept you hooked?

The carrot has fallen off the stick and Blizzard seems fine with that.

I think the turning point was when hardcore raiders became a part of the lead design team.

WoW was originally made by ex-Everquest raiders who were upset with the direction of EQ. Sure, they were hardcore raiders, but they explicitly set out to create a game that avoided the mistakes of EQ1 and appealed to everyone. And they succeeded. WoW was mocked at the time for being the most casual MMO ever. The dev team continued down that road, with people who joined during Wrath being mocked as "wrath babies" because it was even more casual than Vanilla and BC. Coincidentally that was the time when WoW hit 12 million subscribers and was a cultural juggernaut. But then you started getting hardcore WoW players from Elitist Jerks joining the design team, and they started redesigning WoW to appeal to hardcore raiders with no lives like themselves. Now one such person is the director of WoW, and look at where it has ended up as: a game that appeals only to hardcore raiders and demands you to practically play WoW like a second job in order to keep up. There are so many daily chores for the ultimate end goal of raiding (which is practically the only content in the game), it makes Wildstar blush in its grave.

[hulkgor]

How can any of us have a valid opinion since we don't know what's planned or how far along it is (even 9.2), this thread just seems silly.

[Cosmic Janitor]

But cutting 9.3 now that they have to have already done work on it won't achieve anything. 10.0 is also already delayed because work on it started many months ago, likely even around the time 9.0/SL was released.

It's kinda cute that you believe they'd have any substantial work done on 9.3 now, let alone 4 months ago when it became clear this expansion wasn't going anywhere.

[SNES-1990]

The only people that don't want to end SL prematurely are those who think the box cost is a massive investment. Hundreds of hours for $60.00 isn't enough for some.

[TheRevenantHero]

Basically every MMORPG caught up to their delays and some are even creating entire expansions. The biggest MMORPG on the planet though is struggling to get more than one content patch out in a single year. Sorry, COVID is absolutely no excuse anymore for the shitty job that Blizzard is doing this year.

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I really don’t think item level matters in this case. It’s about perception and how those raids are serviced and there basically was no difference between Highmaul / Emerald Nightmare / Uldir. All of them have been entry raids of the respective expansion without being part of the overarching narrative. Castle Nathria is somewhere in the middle. While it didn’t have much to do with the Jailer storyline itself, it was the final chapter of the Venthyr campaign and based on 9.1 it made sense. For the overarching narrative it was a bit too detached from the Maw storyline though.

Bungie has a fraction of Blizzard's manpower and they got both an expansion and three seasons completed during covid. Anyone using covid as an excuse is full of it and are just refusing to take responsibility for their laziness. This is really a matter of Blizzard really not giving a shit about WoW like they used to. I'm beginning to think they're actively trying to kill the game now so they can do something else because the passion for it is utterly gone.

[callipygoustp]

Should skip forward to 11.0 imo.

[Redwyrm]

I think the turning point was when hardcore raiders became a part of the lead design team.

WoW was originally made by ex-Everquest raiders who were upset with the direction of EQ. Sure, they were hardcore raiders, but they explicitly set out to create a game that avoided the mistakes of EQ1 and appealed to everyone. And they succeeded. WoW was mocked at the time for being the most casual MMO ever. The dev team continued down that road, with people who joined during Wrath being mocked as "wrath babies" because it was even more casual than Vanilla and BC. Coincidentally that was the time when WoW hit 12 million subscribers and was a cultural juggernaut. But then you started getting hardcore WoW players from Elitist Jerks joining the design team, and they started redesigning WoW to appeal to hardcore raiders with no lives like themselves. Now one such person is the director of WoW, and look at where it has ended up as: a game that appeals only to hardcore raiders and demands you to practically play WoW like a second job in order to keep up. There are so many daily chores for the ultimate end goal of raiding (which is practically the only content in the game), it makes Wildstar blush in its grave.

You have a valid point and I cannot disagree with it. I am a "casual" player. Started in WoW a few months after initial launch on the recommendation of a friend and enjoyed my solo journey through the world. It was just me and my paladin discovering new lands (The paladin hammer questline is one of my fondest memories). I didn't raid until Mop and using raid finder for ToT. But raiding wasn't my main focus. I liked farming for mounts, rolling alts, exploring, etc.

But somewhere during BfA I had a hard time justifying my time in the game. I got rare mounts I would forget about weeks after getting them. Leveling alts became a chore and the old content had been lost. I didn't come back for Classic even though it seems it would have been a perfect fit. Nostalgia only goes so far sadly.

[Soon-TM]

I could see 9.3 become a thing without it being that large of a patch and not even having a raid. 9.2 could be the patch where we go to the Sepulcher and Zerith Mortis where deal with the Jailer, while 9.3 could be an aftermath patch where we go back to Azeroth and deal with the Scourge threat. 9.3 could possibly introduce new features regarding the old world and leading into the next expansion.

Well, if @huth is right and there is no 10.0 until 2023, I could see something like this happening. Us being more or less 'trapped' in the SL delivering the infinity stones sigils to Thanos the Blue Man and bidding our sweet time to hear Sylvie's erratic/nonsensical antics, all while our world is being overrun by an unbridled Scourge is a quite unsettling thought, to say the least.

[Palapop]

If you think they are working hard on 9.3, you are SO WRONG.


This is how "wow devs" spend their free time:

https://twitter.com/trulyaliem/statu...95769168125954

spent most of the night watching Netflix and leveling Weaver in FFXIV.

and frankly I'm disappointed in myself for only learning recently just how amazing Gillian Anderson talking about sex with a British accent really is.

Some of wow devs (1 of loudest about removing old-school "non-woke" slurs from the game) spend more time playing Final fantasy than WOW.

[Soon-TM]

Some of wow devs (1 of loudest about removing old-school "non-woke" slurs from the game) spend more time playing Final fantasy than WOW.

Actually that might be a good thing... If they took one or two pages from 14, especially when it comes to progression systems. And in any case, the irony is just delicious

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Actually that might be a good thing... If they took one or two pages from 14, especially when it comes to progression systems. And in any case, the irony is just delicious

I like FFXIV but I have little confidence that Blizzard will take the right lessons from it.