With a small teleport, World of Warcraft aims to ensure that returning players can find their way around right away. Cool thing or “supervised play”?
The World of Warcraft is vast – really vast. With now eight expansions and a ninth one practically on the way, it’s easy to get lost in the numerous worlds, continents, and islands. Apparently, the confusion can be so great that players can’t even find their way to the current content. Blizzard is now stepping in and providing returning characters with an easy way out – wherever they may be.
What has been discovered? An interesting message directed at returning characters who haven’t logged into World of Warcraft for a while was found on the PTR for the pre-patch of the new expansion Dragonflight. When they enter the game world after a long break, a large message appears in the middle of the screen:
We haven’t seen you in a while!
Would you like to be teleported to your capital city Stormwind?
A question that can be answered with “Yes” or “No” to accept an immediate teleportation.
Who does this help? Most players will probably just give such a feature a weary smile, as most WoW veterans can simply use their hearthstone to get to the nearest capital.
However, those who may have started playing WoW at some point over the last two decades and then lost interest might have their hearthstone “somewhere in the wilderness” or may not even know how to get back to the capital with all the changes.
Just imagine a character wandering around in the Maw or lost somewhere in Nazjatar, possibly having bound their hearthstone there. Anyone who first has to research for ages on how to “escape” the area may not have the energy left to continue playing WoW afterwards.
Why is Blizzard doing this? The reason is likely obvious. WoW is a pretty large and complex game that often makes it difficult for newcomers or returning players to find their footing – especially after taking a break of several years.
To avoid losing returnees right away because they can’t even get to the current content out of frustration, this teleportation to the capital will now be available. From there, the questline for the latest expansion usually starts automatically, allowing for a relatively smooth introduction to the new content.
It’s one of many small improvements designed to facilitate a smooth return to Azeroth.
What do you think about this? A good, sensible improvement? Or should one not play WoW if one can’t even find their way back to the capital alone?
Are you just starting to play WoW again? Then we have 5 things you should take care of before the launch of Dragonflight.
