Battle for Azeroth Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Shadochi]

This is really it; I may be disappointed at the lack of information, especially about core systems, about the poor level in development of the new features but dammit Kul'tiras and Zandalar both look amazing. Plus the way they are done we can actually experience both without either area being done poorly. I mean I was not happy about a possible Kul'tiras continent because I could not see it covering 5-6 zones and I did NOT want Zandalar to be wasted in a single zone. This is the perfect combo. And I always play multiple characters anyway

My favorite part is that we're getting 2 distinct styled mini continents, and we don't have the issue of the upping either of the 2 islands into a full blown continent (which many complained about). Hopefully the different art paths keep it fresh for longer.

[Phunkle]

Oh by the way, quick question, because my stream died for about 3 minutes right when Ion was explaining this yesterday - Does the Horde ever get to see Kul'Tiras and vice versa with the Alliance and Zandalar?

I've read something about Outposts at max level, but I'm not sure.

[Shadochi]

Oh by the way, quick question, because my stream died for about 3 minutes right when Ion was explaining this yesterday - Does the Horde ever get to see Kul'Tiras and vice versa with the Alliance and Zandalar?

I've read something about Outposts at max level, but I'm not sure.

Yes, all 6 zones become available for both factions at 120

[rda]

Again, guess we just have different opinions about this.

Since I enjoy going through the stuff on foot, but by the time I start leveling my 4-5th alt and others it gets boring. And for me flying is more of a QoL feature for alts.

Cool, but the choice that you proposed - of either no flying at all or flying about a year after launch is false - and the logic based on that false choice is faulty. Which is what I said.

[Phunkle]

Yes, all 6 zones become available for both factions at 120

So it's not like Frostfire Ridge back in WoD, which was available for Alliance but hat absolutely nothing in them?

[rda]

So it's not like Frostfire Ridge back in WoD, which was available for Alliance but hat absolutely nothing in them?

I guess you won't be able to do the story lines for the other faction (just for some neutrals), but will be able to do world quests. Plus you will have part of the faction campaign happening in the enemy zones - which is likely there because there are only three zones otherwise and you will grow bored of them.

[Shadochi]

So it's not like Frostfire Ridge back in WoD, which was available for Alliance but hat absolutely nothing in them?

World quests, raids, dungeons, probably faction campaign. (reputations?professions?)

[Raetary]

So it's not like Frostfire Ridge back in WoD, which was available for Alliance but hat absolutely nothing in them?

There will be the dungeons, the raids and the world quests.

(and maybe more)

So no, its not like FFR

[Deleted]

I really can't wait for the new Hakkar model.

Sad that he has to go in the first raid, but still, nice that he is making a comeback.

Is he? In one of the VT videos they mention a Blood God but different name: G'huun.

[Fahrad Wagner]

This is really it; I may be disappointed at the lack of information, especially about core systems, about the poor level in development of the new features but dammit Kul'tiras and Zandalar both look amazing. Plus the way they are done we can actually experience both without either area being done poorly. I mean I was not happy about a possible Kul'tiras continent because I could not see it covering 5-6 zones and I did NOT want Zandalar to be wasted in a single zone. This is the perfect combo. And I always play multiple characters anyway

Exactly! So excited for those zones.

And soon I have to say goodbye to the grumpy grandad ;_;.

Pity. No stars. I hoped there'd be stars.

[Shadochi]

To be honest, I'm getting a MoP vide from BfA (with a reverse storyline)

I think in the start it'll be all out faction stuff, moving on to more focused stuff after Azshara in the first tier. MoP also in the beginning didn't have a lot of new features advertised, but had an amazing patch cycle (untill the drought) and BfA has such a broad story that it might go anywhere with patches, especially since Battle for Azeroth can mean a couple things depending how you look at it.

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Is he? In one of the VT videos they mention a Blood God but different name: G'huun.

Lol, I thought I hear C'thun but don't remember him being a blood good.

[Shadochi]

Exactly! So excited for those zones.



Pity. No stars. I hoped there'd be stars.

You stop doing that to me!!!

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Also some great artwork and screenshots here: https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/ba...-azeroth/media

[Phunkle]

Can we just talk about those Human Idle Poses in some of the videos and screenshots? I hope they make this kind of animations for all the other races, they look pretty dope.

[Makorus]

Hey look it's Nzoth!

[Phunkle]

Hey look it's Nzoth!

Wanted: Ham Sandwich

Alright.

[Kazlofski]

I thought about all this uncertainty and I think we just reached a point where things are shifting gears and changing.

Releasing patches rather often (77 days?) has taken a toll on them and it also changed the dynamic of content forever from now on I think.
Instead of getting slower smaller content stuff, it's clear they are shoving in stuff like a new bg and old world scaling in a patch! features here and there that could easily count as more features of an expansion! but they are changing it so we get medium sized content gradually so what results from this?

Expansions are more about new story, continent, new dungeons and raids, new WQs and M+ from now on but they aren't going to be adding as many big features anymore and keep it smaller like this, 2-3 features I think, so stuff will be releasing sooner and we will be getting features in patches too rather than just gathering everything for bombastic expansions.

The only thing I am concerned about at the moment is, the expansion just felt so far off from how they presented it... I was expecting things to be much closer to being ready... but the way they talked about things, it felt more like concepts and early work, ambitions and what they would like to do so maybe something gets delayed or scrapped altogether...


Edit: also WQs and M+ are such big features from Legion that we expect new features to be bombastic and grand in new expansions but these things aren't going away... It's hard to grasp for me too but we are still going to play the new expansion as much as we play Legion (Lots of grind and stuff to do, only these systems make sure of that), we just need to get used to this as it's still feels weird and lacking :P

[Shadochi]

Hey look it's Nzoth!

Was expecting a certain login screen.

[Deleted]

Well, i know what my Horde DK will be wearing.

[rda]

By the way, the "innovations" in leveling are a nice illustration of what this new expansion is:

Imagine you are in MoP. But on your way to max level you only have Jade Forest + Valley of the Four Winds + Krasarang. The rest of the zones you don't have. When you quest in your three zones, sometimes you get sent to a monastery in Kun Lai or to a fisher's village in Dread Waste. You can explore a bit of the terrain there, but not much. You are on a temporary trip, kind of like that quest line when you are going with Chen to Stormstout Brewery, just outdoors, a bit longer and you can see the other players.

Imagined? Cool, let's move on. When you get to max level, you can access the remaining zones and you can quest there from your outposts or whatever. But that's just dailies / world quests and some scraps of neutral story lines. Because we are having a big war, bla bla bla bla bla bla.

And why do this? Why do six zones but restrict you to three plus a portion of the other three? Silly you. Because that way you have to roll an alt to get the full story and this is clearly delineated as you quest. And because doing the full story for three zones plus scraps of the other three is easier than doing the full story for six zones, the story can be smaller.

This is one more illustration of the super-cool design direction. Less original content compensated by heavy nudges to reroll and redo it. Reroll to another faction or you are missing on half the stories and the fact that you are missing on it is in your face, more blatant than ever. Reroll to an "allied race" or you are missing their story as well. And the effort on stories in patches is largely going into those additional stories for the allied races, obviously. We talked about splitting stories between class orders before and how bad that was. Well, we are going to have the same type of split, just with allied races. Because they want you to reroll, reroll, reroll, and keep paying for months of time you wasted doing that just to see a hundred or so of the quests unique to the new race.

[Shadochi]

Expansions are more about new story, continent, new dungeons and raids, new WQs and M+ from now on but they aren't going to be adding as many big features anymore and keep it smaller like this, 2-3 features I think, so stuff will be releasing sooner and we will be getting features in patches too rather than just gathering everything for bombastic expansions.

This, it makes way more sense to release old world scaling prior to the expansion.

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Reroll to an "allied race" or you are missing their story as well. And the effort on stories in patches is largely going into those additional stories for the allied races, obviously. We talked about splitting stories between class orders before and how bad that was. Well, we are going to have the same type of split, just with allied races. Because they want you to reroll, reroll, reroll, and keep paying for months of time you wasted doing that just to see a hundred or so of the quests unique to the new race.

How is this different from them adding regular new races? You still need to play them to get their story. So that part of the argument is invalid since it's been a part since vanilla. And the armors are cosmetic rewards if you level to max.

Faction specific stories have also been in since vanilla for a large amount of zones.