11.0 - Reshaping of the World

[Coldkil]

I don't think a world revamp is actually needed but it makes a whole lot of sense in terms of lore and story. After all the cosmic stuff we're getting back to Azeroth, time has passed and things have obviously changed. Phasing tech is just working well so the new Kalimdor/EK can easily be a new phase of the world.

I am just of the idea that since Azeroth is so crucial in the whole Warcraft universe, we don't really need to go through dimensions to fight bad guys - people will just come at us over and over to seize control of our planet.

[Tanaria]

Didn't know you were part of the Blizzard staff?

But is he wrong though? Shadowlands was a "work from home" expansion and they don't work.

Now we don't know about Dragonflight, but does this current team have the willpower to actually go that extra mile to do a world revamp and show us an updated Azeroth, as per the Exploring Azeroth books. It's still quite disgusting how we're expected to buy those books to try and get some sort of idea on how Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms look today.

I obviously really want an updated Quel'Thalas for Blood Elf players and updated Azuremyst Isles for Draenei players.

EDIT:
I also think that if Blizzard want to make the core areas of Azeroth (Kalimdor + EK) feel alive again, then we need to have daily and world quests in 70% of the zones - daily quests also feed into bonus/world quests. It could Horde vs Alliance vs Void Lords (just speculating), but the zones are updated.
We also use other character than the racial leaders, so we use people Dark Ranger Anya, Nighthuntress Syrenne, Scout Captain Elsia etc

[Coldkil]

That pretty much mean removing it, if only the name remains. Sure, they didn't LITERALLY remove the zones, but basically they did remove most of the zones, since the content changed. Especially the ones that got biggest overhauls where even the terrain was heavily modified.

Point is, what purpose do they serve in their current state other than being an optional leveling route? Which you're not going to see for the most part actually since getting to 50 is super fast. New players literally jump to BfA immediately as Blizzard thinks is a more cohesive leveling experience.

The major "issue" with the old world is that it's HUGE AF. There's enough real estate for 2 or 3 expansions of content if we go by sheer zone size and if such zones were actually filled up with content and not just leveling routes. If they want to make proper use of them, they should basically divide them in sub-groups and revamp them one at a time to make them more consistent.

This said, i agree that preserving them would be better and we have phasing for that.

[Lochton]

But is he wrong though? Shadowlands was a "work from home" expansion and they don't work.

Now we don't know about Dragonflight, but does this current team have the willpower to actually go that extra mile to do a world revamp and show us an updated Azeroth, as per the Exploring Azeroth books. It's still quite disgusting how we're expected to buy those books to try and get some sort of idea on how Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms look today.

I obviously really want an updated Quel'Thalas for Blood Elf players and updated Azuremyst Isles for Draenei players.

EDIT:
I also think that if Blizzard want to make the core areas of Azeroth (Kalimdor + EK) feel alive again, then we need to have daily and world quests in 70% of the zones - daily quests also feed into bonus/world quests. It could Horde vs Alliance vs Void Lords (just speculating), but the zones are updated.
We also use other character than the racial leaders, so we use people Dark Ranger Anya, Nighthuntress Syrenne, Scout Captain Elsia etc

You know I'm not talking about Shadowlands, but we know jack shit about Dragonflight enough to give the verdict that is on Shadowlands. That is like calling a game shit before even trying it. Then again, that person is most likely just salty because Dragonflight doesn't seem to appear edgy enough - then again, people said that about MoP and were proven fully wrong.

[RobertMugabe]

True, but Cata removed zoned that people had emotional attachment to. I don't think people have the same attachment to cata zones.

That being said, at the time, the zone was gone for good. With the classic servers they can bring them back so it is a little a bit different.

Yeah for real, who gives a shit about the cata versions of the old world zones?

There are some cool zones relevant to the Cata lore, but most of the zones are just slightly modernized, but heavily watered down versions of the original vanilla zones. Thus changing most of them, while NOT keeping the old versions is going to work just fine.

And yeah as you said, there's Classic where people will be able to play through Cata sooner or later.

[Tanaria]

You know I'm not talking about Shadowlands, but we know jack shit about Dragonflight enough to give the verdict that is on Shadowlands. That is like calling a game shit before even trying it. Then again, that person is most likely just salty because Dragonflight doesn't seem to appear edgy enough - then again, people said that about MoP and were proven fully wrong.

I am interested in Dragonflight (not hyped for it though), but I just don't know if the current team can pull off a full revamp of the Cataclysm Azeroth world.

And it's not like they aren't aware that people want to see updates, but doing what they've done to Tirisfal and Darkshore, where you go from the BFA version back to the Cataclysm version...just feels confusing.

[TheRevenantHero]

Didn't know you were part of the Blizzard staff?

Shadowlands is absolute fucking garbage and what we've seen of Dragonflight is more of the same.

[RobertMugabe]

I am interested in Dragonflight (not hyped for it though), but I just don't know if the current team can pull off a full revamp of the Cataclysm Azeroth world.

And it's not like they aren't aware that people want to see updates, but doing what they've done to Tirisfal and Darkshore, where you go from the BFA version back to the Cataclysm version...just feels confusing.

If they wanna do things right, make all the zones feel great and be relevant for endgame, then they should pull off the revamp step-by-step or one continent first and then another for a different expansion.

- - - Updated - - -

Shadowlands is absolute fucking garbage and what we've seen of Dragonflight is more of the same.

9.2 was possibly one of the best patches ever. It was definitely a good enough patch that made me resub and I have been now enjoying SL a lot since then.
The first 2-3 months of SL were also great and full of people, so it's absolutely not "fucking garbage" (which is funny you say that, despite playing the game yourself lol).

[Dancaris]

We def need some zone unifications and merging. Remove much of mountains, remove some crappy borders.
Make more of visual borders. Rivers, walls, maybe subzones that are similar to both of the zones, sort of transition inbetween.
My maps, highly questionate ofc
EK
Kalimdor

[TheRevenantHero]

If they wanna do things right, make all the zones feel great and be relevant for endgame, then they should pull off the revamp step-by-step or one continent first and then another for a different expansion.

- - - Updated - - -



9.2 was possibly one of the best patches ever. It was definitely a good enough patch that made me resub and I have been now enjoying SL a lot since then.
The first 2-3 months of SL were also great and full of people, so it's absolutely not "fucking garbage" (which is funny you say that, despite playing the game yourself lol).

LOL WHAT?! You really can't be serious about 9.2 being the best patches ever. And the first 2-3 months weren't very good either.

[october breeze]

That pretty much mean removing it, if only the name remains. Sure, they didn't LITERALLY remove the zones, but basically they did remove most of the zones, since the content changed. Especially the ones that got biggest overhauls where even the terrain was heavily modified.

You can have your own interpretation. Overhaul, upgrade, revamp, or as you say remove. But the zones are technically still there.

[Lochton]

Shadowlands is absolute fucking garbage and what we've seen of Dragonflight is more of the same.

We've hardly seen anything of Dragonflight at all. I didn't argue with Shadowlands being shit (except for art and music).

[DatToffer]

• Zones are combined into mega zones to cut down on workload and to create a more cohesive experience. For example, Ashenvale, Darkshore, Felwood, Hyjal, Moonglade, Winterspring and Azshara turn into Hyjal with Nordrassil as the Night Elven capital city. Across the sea, Quel'danas, Eversong Woods, and Ghostlands turn into Quel'thalas with Silvermoon as the Blood Elven capital city. The old zones will still be represented as subzones akin to Krasarang Wilds in the Valley of the Four Winds. So all flavour is preserved, but borders between zones can look more natural.
  
• There are no longer thousands of quests and individual storylines. Instead, once you leave Exile's Reach or your race's starter area, you start a faction-specific story campaign that takes you across Azeroth. If you're Horde you primarily explore Kalimdor with occasional forays into the Eastern Kingdoms, and vice versa if you're Alliance. A bit similar to how it worked in Battle for Azeroth. What this does is it lets Blizzard replace the immense amount of old story and quest content with two new campaigns. In addition to this, there is definitely room for race- and class-specific campaigns. These could be lesser campaigns that play out alongside the main thing. There could also be a more meta-campaign for Azeroth available to both factions, but this campaign would probably be slower-paced and lurk a bit in the background until it's time to shine. Heck, it might not be available until you reach max level.
  
• The main source of content of each mega zones would be dynamic and evergreen activities such as world quests, events, temporary story quests, bounties, skirmishes, world bosses, and more. Once you complete the main campaign, you unlock dynamic world content across both continents.

Not gonna lie, these seem to me like the worst parts of the whole thing (Which is overall well thought and cool).

I'm really not sure about the megazones. Krasarang is not a subzone of the Four Winds Valley, so I don't really understand what you envision. But if it's just about making borders smoother, then yeah we can definitely cut down some of those ugly mountains, as long as each zone keeps its aesthetic and identity.

As for the questing experience, secondary quests are what truly fluff the world and make it feel alive. Getting rid of it in favor of a main storyline and several minor ones will only turn the world into the background of a roadtrip movie. I'm okay with a main questline passing by several locations who have their own content, and minor class/race specific content following other paths, but having quests focusing on the inhabitants of the place you visit is for me essential to an immersive experience.

And having the whole content being dynamic, please no. I'd rather see engaging slice of life stories told in a handful secondary quests than this kind of random events of senseless mob bashing or resource grabbing. Those are basically individual quests either completely disconnected from the story or just reminiscent of a past chapter.

I know GW2 proposes dynamic events who extends into actual secondary storylines and can even branch according to players choices. But this leaves the question of availability because as soon as one branch gives out a better reward or is deemed easier and more efficient, you're unlikely to discover the alternate paths.

Anyway, I don't believe too much in a world revamp anymore. I think the revamp will be mostly visual, replacing old assets with new ones, but nothing too deep.

[shade3891]

I would like a permanent trip to AU Azeroth where the great sundering didnt happen. And go on from there..

[tomten]

Wow! You got to play Dragonflight already? Is it as low effort as your post?

Alpha has been out for weeks now, I have 2 friends playing it regularly so not that unheard off...

[Makabreska]

Alpha has been out for weeks now, I have 2 friends playing it regularly so not that unheard off...

Keys given by working-at-Blizz uncle?

[tomten]

Keys given by working-at-Blizz uncle?

Are you saying alpha isn't out or they dont have alpha access?
Neither makes much sense?
They are both known streamers so not that unusual.

[Makabreska]

Are you saying alpha isn't out or they dont have alpha access?
Neither makes much sense?
They are both known streamers so not that unusual.

Sure pal, your both imaginary, well known streamer friends have alpha access and have been playing it for weeks.

[schwarzkopf]

Do we really need to do that again ?

Once was enough, and it destroyed my favourite place in WoW in the process.

[tomten]

Sure pal, your both imaginary, well known streamer friends have alpha access and have been playing it for weeks.

lol... You can easily check if alpha is out or not... I suggest you go do that and come back and say you're sorry for acting this way lol...