The developers of WoW are bringing back armor sets designed for individual classes with update 9.2. The tier sets are a feature that players have missed since the successful WoW expansion Legion. The developers explain what they are thinking.
What is it with class sets and WoW?
- Class sets or “tier sets” have been an important part of what made World of Warcraft for many years. The armor pieces were rewards from raids.
- Each class had specially designed armors that granted a “set bonus” when players wore multiple pieces of that armor. The “set bonuses” were unique enhancements that determined the play style of a class and specialization.
- The design of the armors has been legendary over the years, with individual armors shaping the look of a class.
Why did these tier sets disappear? There are various reasons why Blizzard stopped creating the classic tier sets for all classes after Legion. Already in “Battle for Azeroth”, the tier sets were abolished:
- One reason is that tier sets practically forced players to raid – The alternative play option of just running Mythic+ dungeons was effectively blocked.
- Tier sets also limited “build diversity”: Because of the sets, numerous armor slots of a hero were fixed, as those who wanted to play optimally had to take the set bonuses.
- Furthermore, Blizzard stated that they did not want to see the “thirtieth presentation of a mage-specific set” – they simply seemed to be running out of ideas on how to create new variants of the sets.
But months ago, Blizzard announced that tier sets would return with patch 9.2.
New approach should consider class fantasy and the origin of the set
This is what Blizzard now says about the sets: The developers say in an interview with PcGamesN that they actually only want to listen to the players and fulfill their wishes. However, they want to do some things differently now:
“The class sets in Legion and before were extremely focused on what the idea of the class was. It didn’t feel like they had much to do with the content where you earned the armor. When we moved away from tier sets, we focused on the question: Okay, where does the armor actually come from?”
Lead Game Designer Morgan Day
Therefore, the armors in “Battle for Azeroth” then had the appearance of the Old Gods, even though the specific class had nothing to do with Old Gods.
Apparently, this new approach was also not the philosopher’s stone, as seen in the fans’ desire to reintroduce tier sets.
With the new class sets, Blizzard wants to take a new hybrid approach. The background from where the armor comes will be considered, but the tier set should also reflect the “power fantasy” of the class.
An old problem from before, that tier sets “forced” players into raids, will also be addressed in the new variant. While there will still be tier sets in the new raid “Mausoleum of the First”, they can also be earned through PvP and Mythic+ dungeons.
This is behind it: That Blizzard will bring back tier sets has been known for a while. However, it fits well into the current wave of “rethinking” taking place in WoW. In recent months, it has become clear that Blizzard is striving to regain lost trust and sympathy from fans, which is why they are questioning decisions that seemed unassailable just a few weeks ago.
There really was no reason to break with the established system of tier sets in the past – and there is really no reason to bring them back right now either.
Hazikostas’ statement that they did not want to see the thirtieth variation of a mage-specific set sounds like: “We were tired of having to come up with new ideas every few months” – perhaps the WoW team just needed a multi-year break from tier sets to recharge creatively.
An interesting article about the backgrounds of MMORPG systems:
