Tigole leaves WoW, Blue posts, Fan Arts

[Boubouille]

We had a few hours of downtime in the morning, like all the time I'll pretend that it was a perfectly scheduled downtime and that our SQL Database didn't crash for some funny reason.

Tigole: Till We Meet Again
This was announced 2 days ago but I didn't want to mix it up with the Dual-Spec Q&A. Jeffrey Kaplan is no longer part of the World of Warcraft developement team, don't worry he didn't go too far and will work on Blizzard's upcoming unanounced MMO. Tigole was the Lead Game designer of World of Warcraft and played a huge role in its success, it's sad to know that he won't be working actively on WoW anymore, but definitely a good news to hear that the unanounced MMO is in good hands.

I wanted to take a moment to let the community know that I’ve switched roles here at Blizzard to work on our upcoming, unannounced MMO. World of Warcraft has been such a central part of my life these past six and a half years, and it’s success would not have been possible without the tremendous community around it, so I wanted to say thank you to all our players who’ve shared this amazing experience with us so far. Also, while I have served as the spokesperson and Game Director for World of Warcraft on Wrath of the Lich King, by no means would WoW be where it is today without the dedicated team that we have in place. The WoW development team is comprised of some of the most talented and experienced game developers in the world, and it was an absolute honor to serve amongst them, and they will continue to make WoW better than ever. I still plan to be very involved with the future course of World of Warcraft, but will leave the day to day operations of World of Warcraft to my partners in crime, Tom Chilton and J. Allen Brack.

When all is said and done, WoW is still my favorite game. I play it every day. None of that passion is gone. If anything, it fuels the challenge of making our next MMO even better. We know we have some big shoes to fill. So thank you to everyone who has been so supportive over the years, and likewise, thanks to those who have given us pointed feedback on all areas of the game. Without all of the feedback and participation, WoW would not be the game that it has grown to be. Azeroth truly belongs to you and we’re lucky to have shared in your journey. And as always, I’ll still be lurking on the forums and in the game.
Mostly, I just wanted to say thanks. It has been an absolute honor.

Jeffrey Kaplan

Blue posts

Cutting the leveling time in the future
Our goal is to continue moving forward with World of Warcraft. That doesn't necessarily mean it should be taken for granted that players will have 10 levels to go every time an expansion comes out. On a similar note, if we feel leveling a character from 1 to max level becomes too daunting the further along we get, we're not opposed to addressing that in ways other than simply adjusting the experience curve.

It's too early on in Wrath's history to begin discussing any details though, as we're still weighing all options. (Source)

Dual-specialization Goals
The goal was never to allow players to switch specializations on a whim. Having a specific talent set-up should still mean something. Our goal with this system is two-fold:

1) Allow players to switch to a secondary preferred spec/glyph set-up without having to go through the process of re-specializing, setting up action bars, purchasing new glyphs, etc.

2) Allow raid groups more flexibility by giving individuals the option of flipping to a secondary skill set to accommodate the group.

Yes, it will mean there is another reagent players have to bring. We're expecting this feature to be extremely popular though, and I seriously doubt you're going to find yourself with nine to twenty-four other people who have all forgotten to bring Lexicons of Power to the raid.

Dual-specialization at lower levels
You do make a great point, Cvarto. This is ultimately while the option is still on the table, though the feature is not likely to launch this way.

I think Ghostcrawler was speaking more about new players leveling. If someone is new to WoW, new to MMOs, or even new to RPGs, talents alone can be a bit overwhelming. Trial and error, and learning the basic damage rotations are very integral aspects of learning the game. Giving players the option of flipping between two specializations when they haven't figured out how the core of the class operates may be a deterrent.

Like I said though, it's still something we're considering, and I think you've presented a good case for why it's in consideration. (Source)

Dual-specialization ability cost
We do want to inform our players about what the final cost will be, but that is still under discussion. (Source)

Mana regeneration and monotonous healing
Out of casting regen can be a significant source of mana, but this is complicated by the fact that it can also be really random due to clearcast procs and the nature of the fight itself. Something like Loatheb can be easier than intended because the fight asks you to pause a lot.

Now I remember the long ago healing strat guides and how clever they can make it sound to try and delay a heal to earn more mana. It sounds cool on paper. But the reality was things like stopcasting macros because you couldn't afford to wait a couple of seconds to see if the heal was needed.

We actually want for healing to be less spammy and more about decisions and coordination. But if we did that sans other changes, everyone would be out of fsr even more and the content would be too easy. Make sense? Making regen more consistent is also the key to making healing more tactical and less monotonous and frenetic. (Source)

Love is in the Air!
Bag of Candies
The Bag of Candies had a fairly reasonable drop rate and was in no way bugged; however, due to the random aspect of the achievement, we discussed it and did hotfix an increase in last night. While I'm aware that some of you dislike the chance aspect of this achievement, it will remain in the meta.

And just to dispel all the superstition around it, no NPC has a greater chance of giving out candies. They're all equal. (Source)

Bouquet of Red Roses back in the game!
I'll pop in to confirm that we did hotfix in a chance for the Red Roses to drop off the same bosses who are dropping the Ebon Roses. Enjoy your bouquets! (Source)

Druid (Skills List / Talent + Glyph Calc.)
Survival of the Fittest
Assume SotF would lose about half its current armor, putting it at 11/22/33% if I recall correctly and subject to additional testing. (Source)

New Fan Art
The official site has been updated with 4 new fan art.

Blizzard Valentine's Day - Starcraft 2 Wallpapers
I know, this isn't WoW related but Blizzard released 3 wallpapers and they're awesome enough to be posted here today. If you're not into Starcraft, don't worry, love is everywhere! Even on Left 4 Dead.

[Deleted]

sad that he leavs. Hoppe he weill do a great jobb fore the new mmo game

[Deleted]

Those Valentine wallpapers are the bomb.
My life for Aiur!

[Numsu]

mm... cant wait to know what will the new MMO game will be.

[Elementium]

"If anything, it fuels the challenge of making our next MMO even better. We know we have some big shoes to fill."

Possibly meaning WoW will end before they release this new MMO? I know it's over analyzing but 1. They want it to be better than WoW 2. hard to fill shoes with feet already in them!

[icecold]

I thought i was going to die cause mmo champion was saying it couldn't be displayed :-[

[Dr. D]

Love is in the Air!
Bag of Candies
The Bag of Candies had a fairly reasonable drop rate and was in no way bugged; however, due to the random aspect of the achievement, we discussed it and did hotfix an increase in last night. While I'm aware that some of you dislike the chance aspect of this achievement, it will remain in the meta.

And just to dispel all the superstition around it, no NPC has a greater chance of giving out candies. They're all equal.

GG Blizz, saying its working as intended and still hotfixing it. That what you'll do with the Brewfest Membership in a few months.

[Biznick]

honestly, the druid sotf nerf for crit/ap bubble sounds horrible.

[Caronwyn]

Nerfing healing mana regeneration = less players will play their healer = further lack of healers = bad. Don't nerf something that the game already lacks please.

[Knightsun]

Those Wallpapers remind me of the DK's Blood, Unholy, and Frost presences.

[stupid11]

Ah, unannounced MMO. It's going to be strange to see WoW die. For the past 2-3 years, every new hyped up game/MMO that's come out has been the "WoW killer" and in the end, the only thing that will kill WoW is Blizzard themselves. Starcraft 2, Diablo III, and this new MMO.

P.S. I guess you Tigole lovers play pure classes. I played a Hybrid in early BC. Any well informed hybrid player hates Tigole & Furor with good reason. Wrath has been much kinder than WoW was in the past to Hybrids, it's impressive that they're finally trying to achieve some modicum of balance. It bears remembering the comments that have been made in the past though (like those 2 developers' rants against Hybrids in Everquest).

GG Blizz, saying its working as intended and still hotfixing it. That what you'll do with the Brewfest Membership in a few months.

yup. I already had my 3rd bag of candy and just finished the meta last night though. Now how am I supposed to get this fucking black dress?

[Mahtamori]

Nerfing healing mana regeneration = less players will play their healer = further lack of healers = bad. Don't nerf something that the game already lacks please.

You may not believe this, but it works the other way around. Buff a class too much, and you start losing players.

You see, once the joy settles down over being awesome, players start looking for a challenge. No challenge, no fun - and they really over-did the mana regen buff back in TBC.

[SFJake]

^He's actually right. WotLK is a big fail ...

...for 1% of the population.

As far as the majority is concerned, they seem to like it a lot.

Oh, and yeah the new MMO will kill WoW. Obviously not. Geeze, do people ever THINK or what.

[Dr. D]

...for 1% of the population.

As far as the majority is concerned, they seem to like it a lot.

Oh, and yeah the new MMO will kill WoW. Obviously not. Geeze, do people ever THINK or what.

Not really. Even casuals on my server are quitting because the game became too easy - nothing left to achieve. It's like 70:30 ...

[Zghuk]

Tigole will leave WoW?

What shall this mean to us? He was a major person in the development of WoW and this development began about 2 years before WoW starts officially. That means in 2 years WoW will be dead because Blizzard will have a new MMORPG...

2 years... that is 1,5 or 2 addons... warcraft 3-content is almost clear for now... maybe something about emerald dream and the fate of aszhara and the old gods. then is the warcraft story over.

well, nice... all energy we had invest in this game... all senseless... fu blizzard...

[Nozuka]

Tigole will leave WoW?

What shall this mean to us? He was a major person in the development of WoW and this development began about 2 years before WoW starts officially. That means in 2 years WoW will be dead because Blizzard will have a new MMORPG...

2 years... that is 1,5 or 2 addons... warcraft 3-content is almost clear for now... maybe something about emerald dream and the fate of aszhara and the old gods. then is the warcraft story over.

well, nice... all energy we had invest in this game... all senseless... fu blizzard...

are you sure it was only 2 years? not more like 4?

edit:
and rofl @ "well, nice... all energy we had invest in this game... all senseless... fu blizzard..."

i'm sorry you dont play to have fun..

[fendrix]

Ah, unannounced MMO. It's going to be strange to see WoW die. For the past 2-3 years, every new hyped up game/MMO that's come out has been the "WoW killer" and in the end, the only thing that will kill WoW is Blizzard themselves. Starcraft 2, Diablo III, and this new MMO.

WoW is to big to be killed by anyone. There are to many people playing with to much time invested into it for it to die.

People still play DAoC, EQ, UO, CS1.6, ext, despite the companys or original creators making sequels, literal or spiritual.

Also, Blizz would be stupid to do anything that would hurt the cash flow of WoW. It wouldn't make any sense from a business perspective to end it.

If anything, their new MMO is going to be less involving and have a different play style and theme so people can play (and pay) for both.

[Pumps]

We had a few hours of downtime in the morning, like all the time I'll pretend that it was a perfectly scheduled downtime and that our SQL Database didn't crash for some funny reason.

Ah! SQL Injection! Hackers! Virus! Trojan!
[me=Pumps]hides.[/me]

[Jukaï]

except that whats happening to WoW is the opposite of this story.

Exactly, so take his cartoon with a [i]huge grain of salt.

[nemesisevil]

Christ people love to exaggerate and act like they KNOW the future. All I know is I'm enjoying WotLK so far, I think WoW will continue to be well made for the next few years as it's not dieing of popularity and Blizzard know how to please the majority of the player base.