The big decision about World of Warcraft Shadowlands has been made. A major wish of the players will not be fulfilled. We reveal what this means.
In recent days, there have been wild discussions surrounding the upcoming expansion Shadowlands. The hashtag #PullTheRipcord has been making the rounds and has repeatedly caused heated debates. Now the game’s Game Director, Ion Hazzikostas, has addressed a blog post and clarified Blizzard’s position. The ‘ripcord’ will not be pulled. The covenant system will remain as it is.
What was the ripcord? The term comes from an interview with the streamer Preach. It was about dissatisfaction with the current covenant system in Shadowlands, as the abilities mean a lot of power for the player characters. Since covenants cannot simply be changed – and neither can the abilities – many players wish for the covenant abilities to function like talents and be freely exchangeable. Lifting these restrictions was the “ripcord” that was to be pulled.
No ripcord, covenants remain as they are
This is what Hazzikostas has said: In a lengthy blog post, Hazzikostas explained Blizzard’s position and justified why they will not pull this ripcord. The covenant system will largely come as the players currently know it from the beta. He stated:
None of this means that the development of covenants and their functions is complete or that we are not open to further changes. We are far from it. We understand that we are offering a selection of competing covenants with strengths and weaknesses. If we are not careful, especially with regard to pressure from the community, the weaknesses can easily overshadow the strengths. The satisfaction of having an advantage in certain content does not outweigh the frustration of being completely excluded in other content.
However, while it may seem easiest to tear down the whole system to prevent a major calamity, we are committed to working with the community to ensure that all players feel viable, regardless of which covenant they have chosen.
Why is nothing changing? Hazzikostas also elaborated on various reasons. They maintain that players do not need even more decisions to adapt before each fight. With talents, specializations, gear, and conduits, they already have a wide array. However, a covenant should be part of the character’s identity and not be permanently exchangeable.
At the same time, the covenant abilities would not be systems that could be “just released” like that. Covenants and their abilities are one of the cornerstones of Shadowlands. Each covenant ability can be changed by conduits and soulbinds. That would mean that not only the abilities but also the soulbinds of all covenants would have to be made freely selectable. However, that would mean that all players would need to play through the campaigns of all covenants, as the soulbinds are unlocked through the story. The covenant system simply could not logically survive in this form.
In short, this means: If we pull this thread (or cord), it would dissolve the entire structure of the system. Even though we would take on the necessary work to renew the covenant system in this way if we agree it would be an improvement – in the end, we do not agree with this view.
Blizzard is listening, will continue to adjust: Lastly, he explained that some community concerns are indeed being heard. If, for example, the Kyrian covenant is completely unpopular for rogues because the abilities and soulbinds are not strong enough, then changes may occur. All covenants should feel equally strong. There is still a lot of balancing to be done on the actual numbers, so the current strength of the abilities is not yet representative of the final outcome.
The covenants will therefore come as they are currently in the game. There will not be a free selection of talents – at least not at the launch of World of Warcraft Shadowlands in a few weeks.
What do you think of this decision? A good choice to stick to the covenants in their form? Or is WoW digging its own grave with this?
