Patch 7.1 of World of Warcraft is on the horizon. But is it really “fresh content”?
The first major content patch for World of Warcraft: Legion is on the way. The update numbered 7.1 and titled “Return to Karazhan” will be rolled out on the live servers starting October 26 and will therefore be available earlier than most fans expected. Even before BlizzCon, some raid guilds feel it’s happening too quickly, as they would have liked more time in the Emerald Nightmare before the next raid appears.
With patch 7.1, Blizzard wants to prove that they can regularly create major content patches so that Legion doesn’t become a second WoD, where players have to visit the same raid for more than a year.
However, “Return to Karazhan” is not the holy grail of quick content. Patch 7.1 mainly brings back things that didn’t make it into the game at launch – at least that’s what I claim.
Especially noticeable is this in Suramar. The area, with its current scope, is definitely one of the largest (and for me the most beautiful) zones that World of Warcraft has ever seen. However, one should not forget that Suramar is not finished. The storyline involving the Nightborne will only conclude with 7.1. This is not “real fresh content” but simply things that weren’t finished by the launch of Legion. Why can I say that? Because the Night Hold has long been in the game. The raid that the story of 7.1 is building towards has already been in the game for a long time. There is simply a missing link in the story that was not ready in time for the launch.
I think it’s great that patch 7.1 is coming out soon and brings some innovations, and I am very much looking forward to most of the things. Whether Blizzard can deliver on the promise of “faster patches”, however, will be proven at the earliest by patch 7.2. Because that is not “delayed” content.
