Will professional guilds in World of Warcraft soon have their own servers for raids and “first kill” races? Blizzard is considering it.
With the regular releases of new raids in World of Warcraft: Legion, the race for the first kills of the toughest bosses has regained the spotlight. Some large guilds have already thrown in the towel, while others are still pushing through and planning the conquest of the Tomb of Sargeras.
However, many raiders and some fans wish that Blizzard would place a stronger focus on the competition among professional guilds and perhaps even provide rewards or major events to ensure that the weeks of effort are more appreciated. The colleagues at PCGamesN interviewed Kim Phan, the head of Blizzard’s eSports department, about this.
“We definitely see this as an opportunity. Whether you call it eSports or not is another matter, but there is a clear competitive element, and my team shows great interest in it.”
A major criticism is often the chance-based inequality that exists between different guilds. If a character has the “wrong” legendary items or constantly has bad luck with loot distribution, they fall behind. The random factor often determines which guild starts with a slight advantage.
“I think it is important that in the end there is integrity in the competitive environment.” This clearly points to tournament servers that are used for many other games and create fair conditions for all participants.
“To be able to support this more extensively, especially if it is to be big and successful, we will start with a test to see how it goes, send out some broadcasts, and collect feedback from everyone. Do people enjoy watching it? Is it fun? Do we have the tools to support it?”
This is all but a promise that Blizzard will now pay more attention to “eSports in raiding,” but at least the developers have it on their radar and are planning. Whether this bears fruit will probably only show over months or even years.
The PvP lead of WoW is also leaving – if you want to pay him.
