Patch 9.2 of World of Warcraft was introduced – and there is a lot of criticism. The forums are overflowing with memes and negative headlines.
Yesterday, Blizzard presented the next major update of World of Warcraft. The Patch 9.2 titled “The End of Eternity” brings a whole series of changes that were introduced in the video or at least teased. This was accompanied by statements from the developers explaining the development process.
However, there is a lot of mockery and ridicule on the World of Warcraft subreddit. Numerous memes and discussions make it clear: Patch 9.2 is not to everyone’s taste, and what the developers say is even less so.
We would like to briefly present the main points of contention.
Zereth Mortis does not look alien enough
The new area “Zereth Mortis” was described by the developers as alien. Like something you have simply never seen before. Various things were described such as water that you can walk on or strange flying stones and trees. Even though these were just examples, all of this has already been seen in World of Warcraft. Nagrand consisted of flying rocks and trees, and water that you can walk on was already present in Bastion.
This leads to memes like this one:
A joke you can tell yourself
There is also a lot of support for a Reddit thread that has now received over 5,000 upvotes, titled “‘The Final Chapter’, ‘Tying Up Threads’, ‘3-Act Drama’ and other jokes you can tell yourself”.
The developers claimed in the video that with Patch 9.2, a story that has already been told in Warcraft III is coming to an end. They give the impression that it was already planned back in the days of Warcraft III to make the Jailer appear.
However, many players doubt that. For most, “Legion” was the expansion that concluded a story – namely that of the Burning Legion.
Shot_Substance_9210 sarcastically writes:
Since the moment I started Warcraft III, I wanted to finally challenge the secret bad guy who was secretly behind the Lich King and whom we didn’t even know about. No, not Sargeras, but the guy who is even more secret and was so secret that even the story writers didn’t know him 20 years ago.
Much more drastically, kamsheen writes:
It makes me mad when people treat me like an idiot. It makes me even angrier when the people who try to do that are idiots themselves.
Old skeletons and new skins
Another point of criticism is the design of the creatures in Zereth Mortis. They are basically all just familiar beings using old “skeletons” that have been in the game for a long time. The actual textures may be new, but in some cases, they’re just recolors. This angers some players, as they expected completely new creatures that they do not already know.
However, players also note that it makes sense for Zereth Mortis to mainly feature familiar forms. After all, Zereth Mortis is the place where all the realms of the Shadowlands were created. The beings here are essentially the prototypes from which the realms of Shadowlands were later shaped. So it only makes sense and is logical that the creatures bear a strong resemblance to already known creatures.
Tier sets “requested by the developers”
Many appreciate the return of tier sets, but not what the developers say about it. According to the developers, “players have long wished for the return of tier sets. We as developers are also, which is why we are excited to bring them back in Patch 9.2.”
However, some players note that this cannot be true. After all, the tier sets were discontinued because they simply had no design ideas left after over 20 different variants of class sets.
On one hand, this is understandable, because after answering the question “What should a well-equipped mage in WoW look like” for the 20th time, the concept really becomes a bit more challenging. Yet, the developers now claiming that they have long been looking forward to the tier sets, when they were the ones who banished these sets from the game, is displeasing to many.
What else is being criticized? A whole lot. The community is also upset about many smaller things and has written many topics:
- The tier sets are not well-received. The first impression is that the sets are just upgraded versions of the Kyrian sets and do not match their concept art.
- The fact that no new dungeon is being introduced also bothers some players.
- Many doubt that Patch 9.2 was really always planned as the last patch, even if Blizzard is now selling it that way.
- The cipher system looks to many like the same time-gating that they did not like before.
Of course, this is – as is usual on Reddit – only the loud part of the player base. Whether this disappointment applies to the broader audience will likely become clearer in the coming weeks and months.
What do you think of Patch 9.2 and what has been revealed so far?
