In World of Warcraft, the wishes of the players are finally being heard. But one thing remains poor: Blizzard’s communication with the players.
Those who have been visiting the official forums of World of Warcraft or the relevant subreddit in recent weeks and months will have noticed the negative general mood: criticism was plentiful regarding Battle for Azeroth.
Many of the endgame systems in WoW were not polished and were riddled with bugs or just a pure “RNG-fest”.
The mood in the community turned, and the attempts of Game Director Ion Hazzikostas to engage directly in dialogue failed. For most players, it resulted in nothing more than “PR talk” that left no one satisfied.
Changes in Response to Community Wishes
Now, however, the developers are responding to much of the criticism and are effectively incorporating the community’s feedback into Patch 8.1 Tides of Vengeance. Here are just a few features and adjustments that will come in the next update:
- A vendor for Azerite gear that can be farmed
- A new currency in Warfronts with some rewards
- A vendor with rewards for Seafarer Doubloons
- Decision-making freedom “Pro and Contra Sylvanas”
These and other changes were all initiated by the community or were already requested during the beta of Battle for Azeroth.
That these improvements are finally coming is, of course, pleasing and an important step in the right direction to satisfy the WoW player base again.
The Communication is Dreadful
However, there is a criticism that has not been resolved by this: Blizzard’s communication with the players.
It is virtually nonexistent.
Although the community managers have been reiterating for years that they try to mediate between the developers and the players, respond to feedback, and consider ideas – players experience very little of this.
While other developers almost daily release statements about specific circumstances in the game or discuss changes, Blizzard remains silent.
At Blizzard, there is occasionally a post from the community manager or the monthly “Developer Q&A” where Blizzard responds to questions and answers them in a stream. However, most of the questions asked there are too trivial for the “hardcore” fans who care about mechanics and details.
These streams are clearly aimed at “casuals” who do not follow fan sites and do not search for the latest information every day.
It is, of course, good that the Game Director addresses and informs the players via a stream. However, for “hardcore” players, it is extremely frustrating to see Hazzikostas only in this stream, where he only answers “minor” questions.
Is it Blizzard’s duty to discuss and debate every major change with the community in advance? Definitely not, at the end of the day, it is still “their game” and they decide the development.
But would it help to win back the players' trust? I am sure of that.
A Little More Dialogue Would Have Helped
All the recent months of discontent and negativity (which surely drove some players away) could have been avoided. Blizzard could have simply acknowledged after one or two weeks of intense feedback:
“Yes, we understand your criticisms. The Azerite system has weaknesses. We are currently considering implementing a vendor that you can specifically work towards items. However, this will take until Patch 8.1.”
Just with these two sentences, they could have certainly mitigated and prevented 50% of the negative mood. Because having a change in sight is far better than the months of silence regarding the issue.
What do you think about the current way Blizzard communicates with the players and when?
