Should Blizzard Skip 9.3?

[AkundaMrdal]

No, they should make 9.3, because it gives them more time to make anniversary 10.0 great. The last thing I want is to have rushed garbage release.

[MrLachyG]

people still belive that nonsense about 9.2 existing ?

9.1.5 is likely the last patch of expasnion

if it wasnt they would have to make SL a 3 year exapansion and this simply wont happen .

that is much more likely is they will release 9.1.5 in november and then rush 10.0 to july/august release.

in what world would including 9.2 make it a 3 year expansion? 9.2 could drop Feb/March next year, run for 9-10 months and that would be 2 years

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"Isn't even in development" - means, that 9.1.5 is in development now and it's next in queue for release, so 9.2 won't be put on PTR before 9.1.5 release.

If you'd look at 9.1.5 changes, you would notice, that they most likely were planned for 9.2 (if not even 10.0 for some of them). So for now it would be more logical to ask not about skipping 9.3 - but about skipping 9.2 instead. Because 9.1.5 can actually be last patch of this xpack, as it's only way for Blizzard to release 10.0 in time and not delay it or release another unfinished xpack due to revealing concepts only on Blizzconline.

definition of "in development": in the process of being prepared, developed, or completed https://www.merriam-webster.com/dict...%20development

if you honestly believe that absolutely zero work has been done on 9.2 then I have some imaginary fairy dust to sell you.

[Chickat]

many WOW influencer's were selling no 9.3 after patch 9.05 when players questioned 9.1 still not being out. inside word? but even those not friendly to blizzard started saying the same thing, then came the California lawsuit and alleged debauchery, abuse, etc of employees

blizz flopped back and forth on the rip cord saying yes at first and later no, when asked about the problems identified in alpha, beta, PTR, and into live. now blizzard is working on 9.15. the supposed rip cord.

will SL be dumped like MOP and WOD? they have a history of dumping expacs creating huge droughts since WOTLK for the huge next expac cash grab.

9.3 content will be a wrap up announced to be included in 9.2

They didnt dump MoP? The only expansion they have ever dumped is WoD.

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For now skipping 9.3 is inevitable, because 9.2 isn't even in development.

You are delusional if you honestly think that 9.2 isn't in development.

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If there was a 9.3 originally planned, there will be a 9.3.

If there was no 9.3 planned it's very unlikely that there will be one.

It won't be 'skipped' as such.

Why do you say that? There was absolutely more patches planned with WoD, no matter what they said.

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Why this hyperbole? We got a full raid and mega dungeon in 9.1 how the actual fuck is that a .0.5 and "no content overal"? There are valid criticism points for Shadowlands but stop with this disingenious "no content".

Yeah, 9.1 was almost as large as 7.2 is we are being honest. A larger raid, mega-dungeon, small zone. Broke shore was bigger, but id say Broken Shore and Korthia+maw revamp are comparable content-wise. The only big thing we are missing is the mage tower.

[Lahis]

Can they even skip 9.3? It's not like they can drop the whole Zovaal story or finish it all in 9.2, can they? Seems like too much and I'm sure 9.2 is pretty planned out.

Eh, they didn't start planning our 9.1 story before expansion launch, so plenty of time still for them to make up 9.2 story to end the expansion.

[Utrrabbit]

I personally doubt they can hold onto people if endwalker is good and the next expansion isn't till 2023. There is a lot of negative press because of the lawsuit and a ton of big streamers just dipping out and they need a win which I doubt a 9.3 would be.

You give streamers to much credit. Compared to the playerbase, those who follow them are small. I talk to a lot of people in game and it is common for 3/4 of them to not even know who asmon, bell or preach are. These are not casual players either, they are mythic raiders. I was in a pug mythic run yesterday and mentioned that preach stopped player. Not 1 of the other 19 players knew who he was. This is pretty common.

[WowIsDead64]

definition of "in development": in the process of being prepared, developed, or completed https://www.merriam-webster.com/dict...%20development

if you honestly believe that absolutely zero work has been done on 9.2 then I have some imaginary fairy dust to sell you.

Funny thing, but you also can't prove opposite, because you can never know, that patch is in development, till it's announced and deployed on PTR. So if it's not announced and it isn't on PTR - then there is nothing wrong in saying, that it's not in development.

Another thing - if it would be in development, Blizzard would need to develop 3 things at the same time. 9.1.5, 9.2 and 10.0. It would easy to do, if 9.1.5 would be about "numbers" only. But since it will have new race customizations and Mage Tower - it also involves art and game design. So, even if 9.2 is formally "in development", i.e. they started to develop it, it's development is most likely put on hold now.

[Utrrabbit]

Eh, they didn't start planning our 9.1 story before expansion launch, so plenty of time still for them to make up 9.2 story to end the expansion.

Story points are planned out MONTHS in advace. 9.1 was most likely being worked on BEFORE launch even happened. You do know how expansions work right. They start working in the next one right around the launch of the previous. They have seperate teams working on up coming expansions while another works on the current. The storylines are put together monthes or sometimes years earlier. Cata for example was being worked on during mid TBC, even before wrath launches.

[TBCCLOL]

9.1.5 is already the 9.3


So probably they are making new stuff/system out of nowhere or scrapping 10.0 system/stuff and deploy it for 9.3 as a band-aid

[Utrrabbit]

Funny thing, but you also can't prove opposite, because you can never know, that patch is in development, till it's announced and deployed on PTR. So if it's not announced and it isn't on PTR - then there is nothing wrong in saying, that it's not in development.

Another thing - if it would be in development, Blizzard would need to develop 3 things at the same time. 9.1.5, 9.2 and 10.0. It would easy to do, if 9.1.5 would be about "numbers" only. But since it will have new race customizations and Mage Tower - it also involves art and game design. So, even if 9.2 is formally "in development", i.e. they started to develop it, it's development is most likely put on hold now.

Seperate teams blizz normally has 3 to 5 teams working on different projects. Cata for example was being developed during TBC by a seperate team than those working on TBC and another team working on wrath.

[Nzx]

Should Blizzard Skip 9.3?

Nah. Game's fine. 9.1.5 is a good patch.

Every single thing I enjoy about this game has been better since the imaginary "mass exodus" from WoW has happened, though I do very much look forward to the inevitable streamer return to WoW when they realise no one will watch their content on a weeb game for longer than a few months. I'm sure it'll come alongside some cool new buzzword too, in the vein of "class fantasy", or "agency", or "meaningful choices", and with many many "I don't condone anything that Blizzard as a company has done, but I support the developers who are just trying to make a living and this game which has been a part of my life for so long" videos to go with it.

edit: Oof. Looks like this poll isn't going the way you expected it to.

[WowIsDead64]

Seperate teams blizz normally has 3 to 5 teams working on different projects. Cata for example was being developed during TBC by a seperate team than those working on TBC and another team working on wrath.

Source, please.

What I know - is that Blizzard has current xpack team and future xpack team. That's, what can actually cause bad/good xpack interleaving. Team B - is much worse "filler" team. But 3-5 teams? Only if they temporary take developers from other projects. They claimed to have 200% developers back in Draenor, but it didn't work - they couldn't achieve xpack per year target.

[Lolites]

people say there SURELY wont be 9.3 bcs in 9.2 we will defeat zoval and thats it but... we dont have to fight zoval in 9.2, we could be totaly sidetracked, or have some "interplay"

think about warth of the lich king, the main villain and pretty much the core of expansion was lich king, who we got all around 3.0, and got to fight him in 3.3

but in 3.1 we got ulduar, which was kinda side-step from lich king, it was continuation of storm peaks story (and we can have lets say continuation of Denathrius and nathrezim story in 9.2) but it didnt realy advance fight against lich king
and in 3.2 we got tournament, which was "interplay", it was continuation of fight against LK, yet we didnt get to fight him, we only saw him, they can pull something similar too

and more currently mechagon, although it was same patch as nazjatar, it could be alone as small patch if they decided to, and it had pretty much nothing to do with bfa story...

[Kralljin]

people say there SURELY wont be 9.3 bcs in 9.2 we will defeat zoval and thats it but... we dont have to fight zoval in 9.2, we could be totaly sidetracked, or have some "interplay"

It not only makes sense because there is little story left to wrap up, but also from the sheer fact of release schedules.

9.2 will not happen until early 2022, i don't see this patch coming out in 2021 unless Blizzard really fixed their production cycle, which is unlikely considering the current circumstances.
If you want a proper 9.3, you have to add another 5-6 months to it at the very least, then you throw in like ~10 months for the next expansion and that means the next expansion will not come out until mid 2023 - that would turn SL into an expansion that would've lasted for like 2,5 Years, far longer than any previous expansion.

If it wasn't for massive delays in production, the concept of a 9.2 as intermission and 9.3 as finale has some hope, but considering how far Blizzard has fallen behind, this is not a realistic scenario.

but in 3.1 we got ulduar, which was kinda side-step from lich king, it was continuation of storm peaks story (and we can have lets say continuation of Denathrius and nathrezim story in 9.2) but it didnt realy advance fight against lich king
and in 3.2 we got tournament, which was "interplay", it was continuation of fight against LK, yet we didnt get to fight him, we only saw him, they can pull something similar too

The difference is that the Lich King didn't escape to some magical realm where he can acquire the power to literally reshape reality, so this whole thing certainly has to sell that we're working on a timer, any return to a B plot would be a massive distraction.

The Lich King was a looming threat, sitting on a throne, waiting for us, the Jailer by the end of 9.1 is no longer a looming threat but one that needs to be dealt with ASAP.

[MoanaLisa]

Why do you say that? There was absolutely more patches planned with WoD, no matter what they said.

I don't know that that is true. Warlords was supposed to be the first of their 'yearly' expansions. That idea was one of the more hilarious failures in Blizzard's history but it explains a lot about the expansion. There is this near-myth that they stopped work early but if it's true that it was originally planned for a year then the amount of content was about right for that. We'll never really know for sure unless someone breaks an NDA.

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What I know - is that Blizzard has current xpack team and future xpack team. That's, what can actually cause bad/good xpack interleaving. Team B - is much worse "filler" team. But 3-5 teams? Only if they temporary take developers from other projects. They claimed to have 200% developers back in Draenor, but it didn't work - they couldn't achieve xpack per year target.

The top people, team leads and managers are the same though which is why I think this good/bad explanation is bullshit.*




*So ShadowLands is the good expansion?

[WowIsDead64]

The top people, team leads and managers are the same though which is why I think this good/bad explanation is bullshit.*




*So ShadowLands is the good expansion?

There are many factors, that can possibly affect quality of xpack. And top people can know about it. They just try to use available resources.

No, SL isn't good. But that's another thing. Recently things started to get worse. We can't even be sure, that Wow isn't outsourced now.

[Hitei]

Source, please.

What I know - is that Blizzard has current xpack team and future xpack team. That's, what can actually cause bad/good xpack interleaving. Team B - is much worse "filler" team.

Even some really basic critical thinking should tell you this is wrong.

[Resheph]

Whether they should or shouldn't do a 9.3 is irrelevant. There simply wont be a 9.3, because every hint and sign under the sun says so.

And with every hint and sign you mean "the 50-odd ex players on MMO champ that are always circle jerking say so, and so do a few random no-life streamers with 0 industry connections"?

Right....

[Hardwing]

Since 9.2. is probably rather far in development ... too far to apply the lessons they seem to have learned in 9.1.5. ... 9.3. could really help close the story in a dignified manner. A real conclusion with consequences rather than "Draenor is free". A patch with systems to keep the player engaged for the long draught we all fear until the next expansion arrives.

Also they really could expand the world here more ... far more than Korthia. Give us hints of more exotic afterlives, like one for the Dragons, the engineers ... the Shadowlands are supposed to be vast, but so far it was rather limited. Again, WoD for example was more promising, too with Farahlon, the Ogre Continent.

Also a few more characters. A sane Neltharion and Malygos would be my favorites. Arthas appeareance is pretty much promised by now.

[mojusk]

They have most likely made a big part of 9.3 already at this point. Would be dumb to scrap it now.
Shadowlands has been a bit rough, but 9.1.5 looks promising.

[Raisei]

Even some really basic critical thinking should tell you this is wrong.

They need a source to believe that a game development company that has been developing the game for 17 years is currently developing the game. While claiming that the opposite is just as likely, because of course a company can just stop working for 3 month without any problems.

Feels like logical arguments are kinda useless at this point. Some people just want to see the the game burn and will imagine the most creative nonsense to make others believe it.