The next content from World of Warcraft seems doomed to fail even now. Many players would rather have what comes next.
In World of Warcraft, a rather absurd situation has arisen. Normally, players eagerly await the next big patch that brings many updates and fresh content. But in the community of Blizzard’s MMORPG, waiting for the next patch seems to only be a stepping stone. Because the anticipation for Patch 9.2 Eternity’s End does not seem to be very high.
Instead, many players are waiting for Patch 9.2 so that they can finally look forward to the new addon 10.0 after that.
Why is the anticipation for 9.2 so low? There are probably many factors that combine with Patch 9.2 all at once.
On one hand, Patch 9.2 is not particularly highly anticipated. This is because Shadowlands was generally poorly received by many players, and part of the player base just wishes that this chapter of World of Warcraft would finally come to an end. The Shadowlands were too alien, too little connected to beloved Azeroth, and the story was too grandiose, trying to condense over 20 years of Warcraft lore into one villain.
The second point is that Patch 9.2 and its content are already known and do not feel particularly fresh or new. The upcoming area Zereth Mortis simply looks like a “Korthia 2.0” at first glance, and many features there, such as the ability to equip 2 Legendaries, require farming and grinding.
The final battle against the Jailer in the Mausoleum of the First is largely known as well. It is already clear who will replace the Soul Judge and what the Jailer roughly intends with his attack.
10.0 will be the hope for remaining WoW players
What do players hope for from 10.0? A whole lot. Perhaps like never before in the history of World of Warcraft, Patch 10.0, and thus the 9th addon to WoW, is the beacon of hope that must lead Warcraft back onto a better path. The developers must prove with the upcoming expansion that they finally listen to the fans’ wishes and manage to balance the old, beloved WoW with a new, modern MMORPG that is not simply stuffed to the brim with grinding and repetitive tasks.
Especially the grind has caused issues for many players in Shadowlands. Visiting Torghast repeatedly or farming Korthia every week – possibly with multiple characters – turned out to be more of a burden than a fun factor. Particularly frustrating was that the grind was linked to character strength and therefore became a necessity.
If those features had only been necessary for cosmetic rewards, the assessment would likely have looked different.
The first leaks for WoW 10.0 – whether fake or real – definitely spark hope among players. The prospect that the next addon will again focus on Azeroth with its original areas and the Dragon Isles raises positive spirits.
At the same time, this is also the reason why there is currently such an absurd atmosphere in WoW. Many are simply waiting for Patch 9.2 as a stepping stone to then expect the announcement and release of Patch 10.0.
However, there is still no timeframe for when and if the expansion will come in 2022 – at least we can likely expect an announcement. Maybe we’ll find out soon whether the new addon is really called “The Dragon Isles”.
