What was the design goal of the Broken Shore in WoW? Will the Tomb of Sargeras get a cinematic? Our interview has the answers.
In recent weeks, we had the opportunity to ask the developers at Blizzard some questions related to Patch 7.2. We caught up with Travis Day, the Senior Producer of World of Warcraft at Blizzard. We have already discussed some parts of the interview in smaller articles – such as the Bad Luck Protection concerning the Gear Tokens – you can now find the complete interview here.
Mein-MMO: Players have been waiting for the Tomb of Sargeras since the days of the Warcraft games. Who and what exactly do we encounter in the tomb? How long is the raid supposed to remain relevant? And will there be an epic cinematic at the end again?
Travis Day: Players will ultimately be able to venture into the Tomb of Sargeras, but the first step will be the new dungeon, the Cathedral of Eternal Night. The Cathedral is available immediately, while the Tomb will be opened later in the storyline.
Both during the dungeon and during the raid, players will be accompanied by Maiev and Illidan, who – as you can imagine – have a lot to say due to their shared past. Players will not only learn the background story of the tomb but also what happened here in Warcraft III: Frozen Throne and at the beginning of Legion.
With Legion, we wanted to offer a variety of content, but always at the right time. We are very satisfied with the structuring of the raids in Legion so far. Many guilds are still struggling through the Nighthold, which is why we thought it was too early to open the Tomb directly with Patch 7.2.
And: We are glad that the final cinematic of the Nighthold was so well-received! While I won’t spoil the end of the raid, yes, there will be a finale – and it will be epic.
The hunt for secrets like Kosumoth or the Long Forgotten Hippogryph has given WoW a new aspect of exploration that is now associated with high expectations for future secrets. Have the developers snuck in a few things in the patch that were not visible on the PTR?
Day: It has been really fun to watch people solve the puzzles. We don’t have anything of that scale [Kosumoth] in Patch 7.2, but there are definitely some things we intentionally didn’t have on the PTR and that haven’t been publicly discussed. Players will have to figure those out themselves.
With Patch 7.2 and the tokens for gear, players can work towards legendary items of a specific slot. Isn’t that dangerous, as players might be tempted to do nothing but farm nether shards for the tokens? Doesn’t that also increase players’ fears of getting the “wrong” legendary if they do something else other than buying the corresponding token?
Day: The tokens for gear at the Broken Shore are an evolution of the vendors from Tanaan and the Timeless Isle. The main purpose is that players can quickly gear up their off-characters or get an upgrade for their main character. With Legion, we implemented a legendary system that can grant such an item in almost any type of content. Including this in the tokens seemed like the logical step to continue developing our vendors. Besides, these tokens are separate from the “Bad Luck Protection” for legendary items. They are separate and do not affect each other.
Many players compare the Broken Shore to Tanaan, as many mechanics are similar. Some players fear that the shore will just be a “Grindy Tanaan 2.0”. What has been done to prevent this? Where do the differences lie between Tanaan and the Broken Shore from a gameplay perspective?
Day: A new feature on the shore is building structures. Players of both factions can construct buildings that vary depending on the region (America, Europe, China, etc.). Once the buildings are completed, they provide bonuses, but the Legion destroys them after a while. As different buildings with different gameplay elements are always active, it keeps everything dynamic.
On the Broken Shore, we have expanded the world quest system so that areas have different enemy types at different times when new quests become available. Additionally, there are class-specific world quests.
These are just a few examples of ideas that have flowed into the Broken Shore. The zone benefits from our experience from previous patches and zones, ensuring that there are many new and refined systems. The main goal for the Broken Shore was to create a dynamic experience so that there is always something else to do. We are always looking for new ways to make Azeroth a living world.
Which feature or content from Patch 7.2 had you the biggest concern about players’ reactions? Was there anything where you thought, “Oh my, I hope players see the good in this change and don’t rage in the forums”?
Day: One of the biggest changes involves the artifact weapon. Here we changed how the “Infinite” trait behaves in Patch 7.2. The goal is still to view artifact power as a relevant method of character enhancement, even if the item level doesn’t increase.
Before the patch, players could reach the cap of 54 artifact traits. It required some work, but it wasn’t impossible – and that’s why many players felt it was “necessary” to get all 54 traits.
With Patch 7.2, we adjusted the “infinite” trait so that there is no reachable maximum, and the power increase becomes smaller over time. This way, the last trait doesn’t feel “necessary” and the whole system is meant to run more in the background.
The interview was conducted in written form.
