For 13 years, fans of World of Warcraft have enjoyed a feature. But interest is waning, says Blizzard. Is the end near?
World of Warcraft has an almost endless amount to offer. Even though it sometimes seems that the MMORPG consists only of dungeons and raids, there are many other ways to express oneself in the game. Collecting toys, hunting achievements, PvP battles, or even pet battles can entertain many for hundreds, if not thousands, of hours.
However, it is precisely pet battles that are now struggling. Blizzard states that fewer and fewer players are participating.
What has been said? In the official WoW forum, Blizzard is asking for feedback on the alpha of the upcoming expansion Midnight. They are also specifically requesting feedback on pet battles, the so-called “pet battles.” Blizzard aims to make changes that pursue the following goals:
- Those who enjoy collecting pets will be offered a significant number of pets to collect.
- For those who enjoy pet battles, this content will still be available.
- There will be a few new pets in Midnight that can battle.
- All parts of the pet battle system from previous expansions will continue to function as before.
While this sounds quite good, it also raises some concerns. Because Blizzard also writes:
“Over time, we have seen that fewer and fewer people enjoy pet battles, so this is an area we are looking into more closely.”
The end of pet battles in WoW – or a necessary new beginning?
This is how the community reacts: The fans’ concern is great that Blizzard won’t properly continue the pet battle system in Midnight. The last patch already lacked proper pet battle content, and Blizzard now stating that only “a few” pets can battle in Midnight only fuels the worries further.
Some of the comments on this, such as on wowhead, are accordingly drastic:
- “Heaven, there literally was no pet battle content on K’aresh. Of course no one can enjoy pet battles if there was literally no content for it, lol.” – dlbert2000
- “I may be an exception in saying this publicly, but one of my main motivations for still playing WoW is because of the pets and pet battles.” – TheNemeses
- “Yes, there is a good chance that pet battles will go the same way as archaeology as a side activity… it exists, but mostly in the past. I’m glad that pet collecting will be less tied to battles. The WoW system is really terrible for that… and I say that as someone who has put a lot of time into it.” – Razaria
Cortyn says: To be honest, I had already suspected something like this. The Patch 11.2 was a clear first indication. K’aresh came entirely without pet battles. Although there are many small creatures on the remnants of the planet, not a single one can be captured as a pet; they are all available as drops or quest rewards (or in some cases not available at all).
I would really miss it if Blizzard were to part ways with pet battles. For me, pet battles have always been something I liked to pursue when “the initial fire” of an expansion or a patch has subsided. Then I liked to expand my collection, level all pets to 25, and enjoy my collection.
But maybe this will actually help the developers come up with a way to make everything around pets a bit more exciting. Because some criticisms are indeed valid – over the years, the system has become a bit monotonous, and the peak of “ever tougher battles” has long been reached. Fresh wind in Midnight could ultimately be just what it needs.
