World of Warcraft rewards players who interact with others. Social aspects are also expected to be a stronger focus in the future.
The colleagues from Gamespot have had the opportunity to conduct an extensive interview with the developers of World of Warcraft in recent days. This mainly focused on patch 7.1.5 and the intentions that the developers pursue with the “small” patches.
The focus of the small patches is to bring gameplay content and improvements that are not directly related to the current story. This is also the reason why features like the Brawlers Guild and timewalking for Pandaria are included in patch 7.1.5. It wouldn’t have been a problem if these features weren’t complete – they could simply have been moved to 7.2 or 7.2.5.
“Instead of having to deliver five things that we want to have in a patch, we can perhaps only bring four if a feature needs more time.” Thus, they can bring completed content to the players more quickly without having to wait for “delayed features.”
According to the developers, it is not important that the 0.5 patches have a lot of content, but rather that they exist at all. This way, they can address the most pressing needs of the community while also bringing smaller features that have been completed in the meantime.
With patch 7.1.5, the main goal has been to make World of Warcraft more social again. Many aspects of the game were oriented towards competition with other players before Legion. Two players of the same faction could “tap away” mobs, allowing only one of them to receive loot and quest progress. With Legion, you should always be pleased to see other players – this is especially evident in the Brawler’s Guild.
More players would mean longer wait times for battles, but also more conveniences. Almost all purchasable buffs from the Brawler’s Guild are improvements for all players, such as a temporary graveyard right next to the battle arena or exciting group fights where all players can join in.
Similar ideas have been implemented with the “Micro-Holidays.” These do not offer large rewards but are intended to revive social interactions between players. During the “Balloon Day,” for example, players line up to experience a tour over the various zones of the world. Each balloon gondola includes an NPC and three players – who are randomly assigned. Occasionally, the NPC speaks and tells a short story, then encourages the players to interact. “Hey, have you heard this joke? Hahaha. Do you know any good jokes too?” – followed by a pause.
Perhaps, the developers hope that this way, people will get to know each other and later become good friends.
You can see the complete interview in the original English in our sources.
