NEWS DETAIL
Blizzard's Senior Game Director, ION, recently sat down with several media outlets to discuss upcoming content updates for World of Warcraft. Here is a summary of the interview:
01. Player Housing System
A Long-Term Goal: Player housing has been a long-desired feature within the World of Warcraft team—since the game’s inception. However, finding the right approach and overcoming technical challenges has delayed its implementation.
Gathering Feedback: Blizzard is eager to gather player feedback on what they would want from a housing feature, as well as aspects they would rather avoid. Although they don’t have many details to share yet, they expect to provide more information early next year.
Lessons from Garrisons: Blizzard acknowledges that Garrisons impacted the game’s social environment by creating private spaces. They aim for player housing to enhance social interactions rather than isolate players.
Not Power-Based: Unlike Garrisons, which were tied to player power, housing is envisioned as an aesthetic, social space rather than a progression or power-based feature.
Multiple Design Options: While the preview showed a “Stormwind-themed” home, this isn’t the only option Blizzard has in mind.
Ongoing Feature: The housing feature would receive continuous updates and expansions in future patches and expansions.
02. Speed and Mounts in Andermath
No Flying in Andermath: Flying mounts will not be permitted within Andermath.
High-Speed Rides: Andermath’s “driving” system offers speeds 3 to 5 times that of regular ground mounts, with an additional 10% boost from skills and bonuses.
Dense City Design: Andermath is designed as a densely populated urban space, which makes flying and other airborne activities unsuitable.
Enhanced Movement System: Drawing from the “Dragonriding” mechanic, the driving system includes dynamic, interactive riding mechanics.
Optional Use: Players who prefer their standard ground mounts over the driving system in Andermath can still use them.
Driving Not a Dungeon Mechanic: The driving system won’t be a boss mechanic in any Andermath dungeons or raids, though it may see dungeon applications in the future.
Reputation and Factions: Players’ faction reputation from WoW Classic won’t impact their initial standing with new factions in Andermath.
03. New Underground Dungeons
Multiple Dungeons: Three new dungeons will be released in the “Zekviel” style, with two regular dungeons and one “challenge” dungeon.
11.1 Patch Content: The upcoming patch will add a new storyline involving goblins within several 11.0 dungeons, although it won’t bring drastic changes to dungeon exploration.
Baine’s Companion System: Blizzard initially planned to introduce new seasonal companions but decided to continue the storyline with Baine. This approach avoids the frustration of resetting companion progression each season.
Role Flexibility for Baine: In Season 2, Baine can now be set as a tank to help healers who don’t want to switch roles for solo dungeon content.
New Companion in 12.0 Expansion: The “Shadows of Night” expansion will introduce a new dungeon companion, ending Baine’s run as the player's companion.
A System for Solo Players: The goal of the dungeon feature is to provide solo players a system to progress and feel the sense of their characters becoming stronger.
04. Raids
Flexible Raid Sizes: The team is not limiting itself to raids with 8-10 bosses. However, the 8-10 boss count aligns better with current raid timing, making it more manageable for guilds with limited time.
Experiments with Smaller Raids: Blizzard is open to experimenting with Onyxia’s Lair or Gruul’s Lair-style smaller raids in the future.
05. Dungeons and Mythic+
Possibility of Large Dungeons: The team may explore adding larger dungeons in the future.
11.1 Traditional Dungeon Addition: Rather than the formulaic x.1 patch addition of large dungeons, Blizzard decided on a standard dungeon to keep the game experience fresh.
Difficulty Balance and Progression: The team aims to address the balance and difficulty between Mythic+ and the solo dungeons, helping players transition more smoothly between these game modes.
Season 1’s Experimental Nature: The first season of the new content aimed to test changes, especially in affix structure and reward distribution.
Accessibility and Entry-Level Adjustments: Blizzard acknowledges that players progressing from solo dungeons to Mythic+ often find a sharp difficulty increase at Mythic+7. Season 2 will bring adjustments to create a smoother entry point for players.
Feedback-Driven Changes: Based on player feedback, Blizzard intends to refine certain dungeon mechanics and balance class roles better.
06. Goblin Lore in Andermath
A New Perspective on Goblins: Andermath’s design aims to reveal deeper facets of goblin culture beyond their chaotic explosions and quirky inventions, showing their heroes, struggles, and cultural intricacies.
Building on the Goblin Experience: Explosive elements of goblin culture aren’t disappearing. Instead, the storyline will add new layers and details to goblins’ existing lore.
Natural Choice for the Underground: Andermath became a focal point for this expansion not just to highlight goblins but to expand on Azeroth’s underground lore, including familiar locations like the ancient Nerubian Empire.
This interview covers Blizzard’s approach to developing World of Warcraft’s 11.1 update. With these planned features, Blizzard aims to deepen the narrative and gameplay experience while incorporating player feedback into WoW’s ever-evolving world.
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