The Game Director of World of Warcraft admits to mistakes. However, the WoW chief is also optimistic, as the next patch is supposed to improve many things.
This is the current situation in WoW: The current state of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth is not the best. Many players are eagerly waiting for patch 8.2, which is supposed to fix many problems and significantly improve the MMORPG from Blizzard.
In the lead-up to the update, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas gave several interviews and addressed critical points. We summarize the most exciting statements from the interviews for you here.
Battle for Azeroth wanted too many new systems: In an interview with Buffed , Hazzikostas addressed the feedback from many players that the new systems did not feel good. Both Island Expeditions, the Heart of Azeroth, and also Warfronts did not go down well with many players.
Hazzikostas attributes this to the fact that these features were not well interconnected.
Islands and Warfronts felt “disconnected” from the rest of the gameplay experience. At the same time, the failure of the Heart of Azeroth, as a failed continuation of artifact weapons, meant that hardly anyone likes or sees any use in Islands. Because if the Heart of Azeroth is not fun, then collecting artifact power is also not fun.
Hazzikostas summarizes this point by saying that they should focus better on one or two new features and highlight these features more strongly. This is what they want to consider in the future.
Blizzard hears the fans but does not always respond: A recurring criticism is Blizzard’s communication. Developers are often accused of not responding to feedback and thereby ignoring it.
However, this is not the case, says Hazzikostas. The team simply does not present ideas for solutions with which they are not completely satisfied internally.
Because then they would raise the hopes of players who would be disappointed when a change does not come. However, they read the various forums diligently. Almost all discussions in the forums are also discussed within the development team.
Too little time spent in the beta: In an interview with PCGamer , Hazzikostas spoke out what fans had long suspected – that they spent too little time in the beta with some features.
Especially the system of Azerite traits on equipment came too late into the beta. Although it had already been tested internally, during “organic play”, when players level up to 120 and then engage with their game content every day, the feedback became significantly more negative. If they had spent more time in the beta, they could have reacted to this.
They want to address this with patch 8.2 Rise of Azshara. Then players will be able to unlock their Azerite traits on gear immediately, and the Heart of Azeroth will also be significantly overhauled.
Do you believe the words of the Game Director? Will WoW manage to turn it around and learn from its mistakes? Or is this just typical “PR talk” for you?
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