Season 3 Ending and Season 4 Starting Date, Unnanounced Project Careers
Gamescom - Five New Hearthstone Cards Revealed
Heroes Stream, Fenix's Future, Kael'thas Talent Changes, Starcraft Hero and More
Dev Interviews
Many other sites have had the opportunity to interview developers already! Thanks to Vanion.eu, Icy Veins, Gamona.de, Buffed.de, Gamespot, MMORPG.com, and GameStar.
You can see the facts from each interview here.
Demon Hunters
Demon Hunters will start somewhere around level 95 to 100.
Glavies are a new type of weapon that Demon Hunters use. They are a pair that comes together and fills both slots. In the future, Demon Hunters might dual wield the standard agility weapons. (Currently the class page has different information)
The Demon Hunter Artifact glaives can be see in some of the character creation screenshots for Demon Hunters.
The team talked about having the Demon Hunter wear mail, but it didn't fit the class identity.
Demon Hunters are agile, so they will be wearing leather. This isn't a huge problem now that Personal Loot is used in most places.
The Demon Hunter is going to be a very agile class, so tanks may have lots of Dodge and Parry mechanics for their tanking style.
For now, Demon Hunters are the only ones who get tattoos.
Demon Hunter has been considered since Wrath of the Lich King. It finally fit the expansion's story and theme, which is why it can be added now.
In order to fight demons, Illidan had to partner with demons. He had to sacrifice many things for great power and so do the Illidari, which is why Demon Hunters look somewhat like Illidan.
Classes
No stat squish is planned for this expansion.
The team hasn't decided if there will be another talent row or not, as the Artifact weapon will have a decent number of choices for you to make.
Survival Hunters will be a melee class with pet going forward.
Beast Mastery Hunters will fight at range with a pet.
Marksmanship Hunters will fight at range with no pet.
Survival and Marksmanship have been too similar in the past, which is why they are being changed in Legion.
Demonology Warlocks will also be getting some bigger changes, focusing more on their demons.
Demonology Warlocks will be refocused on summoning and controlling demons rather than having Metamorphosis dominate. Other specs will still have access to demons.
Discipline Priests
Disc Priests are going to be a much more offensive healer after another pass on Atonement which will make it more interactive.
They will still have heals and PW:S, but they will sustain their healing through doing DPS.
Closer to 50% damage and 50% healing spec.
In the past, when Atonement was popular you would just spam Smite and Holy Fire all fight long and use the smart healing, which wasn't very interactive. This time, you may throw out some single target heals giving players a buff. Next time you Smite, people who have that buff will get your healing, and you will have to refresh the buff periodically.
These changes should fix the absorb heavy nature of Discipline Priests.
Holy Priests will still be all about healing.
The team has learned some lessons from how Fistweaving works now and will talk about what they are doing to solve the problems with it in the future.
Dungeons
The team isn't sure how exactly they will incentivize players to keep going back to dungeons yet. Once you started to raid in Draenor, you had no reason to go back to a dungeon, which is not good. Mists of Pandaria was a better model, where you had a reward for doing a dungeon every day.
Normal and Heroic dungeons will exist in Legion, but the team isn't sure if they will do Mythic at the start. They haven't decided when they will add Mythic, but they do like it.
The team likes challenge modes and wants to try and make them more accessible. They aren't guaranteed to be added to Legion.
Artifacts and Items
You will not loot weapons in Legion.
The item bonus system (Warforged, sockets, and extra stats) worked out well, so it could be extended to have even more bonuses.
The team has a few ideas for how artifacts will work:
Your Artifact will start at epic and then there will be some way for it to become legendary over time.
Your Artifact will start as legendary.
Your artifact may not have a quality, it could just be its own thing.
The goal is for players to have an item that they are working on powering up and it can become a legendary, rewarding players who do all of the expansion's content, similar to Mists of Pandaria and Warlords.
There will be no catch up mechanics for Artifact weapons on alts.
The team doesn't want it to be too painful if you want to change specs, so there might be some kind of catch up mechanic for getting the Artifact weapon for another spec.
How we actually get the Artifact weapons from the characters currently wielding them will be revealed in the future.
Eventually you will be able to unlock every trait in the Artifact weapon tree. You may be able to take different paths to unlocking them all though.
You will be leveling the Artifact weapon throughout the entire expansion.
The Artifact weapons have Relic slots, which will determine its raw item stats (DPS, ilvl, etc.) and modifiers to the traits you've chosen, so the Artifact's stats will still improve as you defeat bosses.
Relics are things you can socket into the artifact and are rewarded from completing major quest lines, dungeons, and raids. This way you still get weapon upgrades from the same sources, but keep the same weapon.
Artifact weapons can be transmoged into other weapons, but not the other way around.
There are weapons cooler than Benediction and Anathema for Priest Artifact weapons.
Earning the Artifact has a class and spec specific quest, but it isn't anywhere near the green fire quest in terms of scale and difficulty.
Raids
Raids today are harder than they have ever been.
Raids worked out well for the most part in Warlords, but the team has talked about how to make loot better and how to improve personal loot for Legion.
Having some encounters that favor melee and some that favor ranged is not a problem, as long as there isn't a huge gap between the two.
On rumors that Sylvanas might be a raid boss: "That's interesting".
Order Halls
Order Halls won't have an auction house or bank.
You will spend less time in your Order Hall than you did in your Garrison. You go back to do quests, work on your artifact, and interact with your champions. You will likely spend a lot of your downtime in Dalaran.
The Dalaran Sewers were mentioned as being associated with rogues when providing context for an Order Hall question.
The Order Halls may have different sections. For example, in the Paladin's Order Hall, the Blood Elf Paladins may be in a different section from The Sunwalkers, as well as the Humans and Dwarves.
The fantasy in Draenor was collecting followers to raise an army. In Legion, you are the leader of your class order and you have a smaller number of elite heroes by your side. They should complement and enhance your gameplay rather than compete with you.
PvP
The Conquest system is going away.
The goals is to remove PvP gear. There will be PvP ways to obtain gear, but the power in PvP will be about the gear you obtain and the PvP talents that you unlock.
World
The location of the Broken Isles will be revealed in the future.
The team isn't sure how they will handle Dalaran yet. They could do sanctuary areas again or split it up.
Only the raid takes place in the Emerald Nightmare, but it could be expanded on in the future.
Karazhan is an important place.
Flying
The team is happy with how flying worked out in Draenor. You will have to level up and explore the land before you are able to fly, similar to what is coming in Patch 6.2.1.
Future
The team still wants to release expansions faster.
Legion will release next year, but no specific date has been set yet.
There isn't a solid patch schedule plan for Legion yet.
The expansion after Legion is already being planned.
The cinematic isn't complete just yet.
The transmog overhaul should make it easier to use. You should be able to browse through what you have unlocked and what you could unlock for each slot, more like a dressing room than the current system.
As far as the listed social improvements go, the team has ideas on how to bring different servers together, different ways to connect to your friends, and on how to match-make friends better. Keep in mind that these are just ideas at this point.
The team strongly believes that WoW is best played with friends. It is the most fun when you can make connections with other players in game or bring in friends from outside the game and play together.
Misc
The professions team for Legion is the largest that Blizzard has ever had for WoW and lots of new things are coming. The team heard the feedback about Warlords professions.
There are a lot of surprises in store for players in Legion and the team doesn't want players to think we are just going back to the same stuff.
Patch 6.1 was not named correctly and they could have done better.
Garrisons are staying in Draenor, so you can go back and visit them if you want.
The subscriber count is more volatile than it used to be because players have gotten older and don't have as much free time anymore. As long as players are happy and enjoy the game, the team doesn't mine extreme peaks and valleys. They just want to ensure you have a great experience and feel like you got your money's worth.
The team doesn't focus on or make decisions based on what their subscriber count is. They focus on making the best game they can, learn some lessons, and keep moving forward.
Focusing an expansion on new places and characters, such as Mists of Pandaria is not a mistake. It was a nice break from having one big bad guy, with a focus on exploration and adventure.
Gamescom 2015 Legion Dev Talk - Live Stream This Sunday
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Yesterday at gamescom we unveiled World of Warcraft: Legion, the next chapter in the Warcraft saga—but that was just the beginning. Members of the development team will be jumping back onto a stream this Sunday, August 9 at 8 a.m. PDT to dive further into the expansion’s features and content.
We’ll embed the stream right here when it goes live, so set your Hearthstones to return to this article on Sunday!
Patch 6.2 Hotfixes - August 6 - 7
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Raids and Dungeons
Hellfire Citadel
Fel Lord Zakuun
Wake of Destruction should no longer multistrike and should not scale with the caster's damage modifiers.
Items
The following battle standards are no longer usable in a rated PvP environment.
Hand of the Prophet Battle Standard
Vol'jin's Headhunters Battle Standard
Order of the Awakened Battle Standard
Saberstalkers Battle Standard
Garrison
Seer Kazal is now easier to locate in Horde Garrisons during the appropriate bonus events.
Garrison Campaign
Destroying the Competition: Players that have abandoned and reacquired the quest should now be able to complete it.
PvP
Ashran
Increased the respawn timer for Ancient Artifact.
Bug Fix
Fixed an issue that could case players to be unable to teleport or log out after being dismounted from a multi-passenger mount.
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Burning Crusade Remake
Blizz. Love you guys, Love your games. I have since Orcs. But.... A reboot? Burning Crusade II? Come on guys.
I'm not sure how it's a reboot unless you've managed to go to the Broken Isles before or seen Aszhara before etc.
As for the Legion – we always knew they could make a return – and boy are they going to make a return...
OP is Troll. please delete thread and move on.
Perhaps, or perhaps not. I've seen more than one person make this sort of claim/statement, and it bears a rebuttal even if to just put it out there.
I am not trying to be ugly here or anything of the sort but I have to ask you a question. Why did you feel it was necessary to reply to this thread three times yet I just had to go a third party website to answer a question I posed to you directly about transmog and artifact weapons.
Let me start by saying that I come to the forums when I can, that being said, I don't always get to spend much time in them since I have other duties beyond just posting here. The question was answered on that third party site because during events like gamescom we do interviews with people on the latest information while the information is fresh and the people who want to do interviews and the people doing the interviews are in the same location. I could have pointed you to the interview and started to, but saw others had also already posted and shared it in several locations on the forums.
I also asked you about the flight meta in Legion in another thread, but I don't even expect an answer to that. The transmog answer was on Icy Veins, but what if I didn't know about Icy Veins. Third party websites should not be your primary source for giving out information.
I have no problem whatsoever with blues replying to threads like this one or the silly ones about cats wearing socks or whatever. How about also maybe answering player questions from time to time as well, maybe at least an equal rate as you all post in fluff threads. I know fluff posts are a lot easier to reply to. But this isn't your hobby, it's a job.
It's a portion of my job, a very small portion, but one I take seriously. Often, it comes in the form of the blog posts on the front page among other things. "Fluff" posts (as you put them) have their place. They lift spirits, give us a chance to interact on a human level, reaffirm we're here and reading beyond just what is going on in said "fluff" post and more. Our job is like an iceberg. You only see the tip of it but it runs much deeper under the surface.
I know not every question can get a direct a blue reply. That would not be feasible. However, you must admit that there is a very real perception that player concerns are not being addressed or even heard. Replying to more questions directly and having info on the actual game forum would go a long way to improving the situation.
I completely agree there is a perception that some people have as to what we are or are not doing, answering or not answering. I'd love to say we can answer everything, but we can't or often can't right now. That doesn't mean it may not be getting answered whether directly or some other way. We are always watching, reading, compiling feedback, watching what people are saying, and more.
I really don't mind answering this for you and explaining it a bit to you because if you're asking and wondering, others are too. This is what I can offer you right now. Just know we aren't sitting about idly waiting for something to pop up for us to do. We are always doing and planning. We'll keep on trying to keep in touch with you all on everything that we can as we can. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Feature Design
So, they add features in an expansion, they build on them in the next, or take them away and replace them with other features, it all just seems so random.
With MoP, we had Scenarios, they just got rid of them in WoD and decided we can't do them any more. Maybe just building on the infrastructure for solo scenarios during questing.
We had Sunsong Ranch where you could get mats easily, then it was built on in WoD with us being able to get Ore and Herbs easily.
We had Garrisons in WoD, and instead of building on that and giving us instanced Housing or anything in Legion, they just abandoned the concept entirely, and we get Guild Halls instead.
Some things like PvP, transmog etc. just get built on over time and just get better and better. and of course Dungeons and Raids are pretty much a constant and a success.
So why does it feel like Blizzard is just throwing Random stuff at us to see if it sticks, abandoning it if it doesn't, and trying something else?
It's never random and it's not that things are "taken away" so much as changed or just not added into the next expansion. There are generally reasons behind it all even if they aren't terribly transparent (though we try to explain what as much as we can.)
Sometimes it's an issue of compounding design that gets overly cumbersome and so it's better to move on with something newer than to keep iterating on the same thing.
Sometimes it's better to iterate on something and change it up than leave it stagnating.
Sometimes it's just a question of "does this make sense as a part of the next expansion?" If the answer is "no" and it's not part of the story and progression of that story, then it doesn't move on.
There are myriad reasons for myriad design changes and we'll keep doing what we can to answer what we can for you. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Pet Battle Bonus Event August 7-10
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Through Monday, August 10, Pet Battle experience gains are increased by +200%. There’s never been a better time to get out there and level up your mighty minions!
Before you head out into the wild with your lower-level wild things, make sure you pick up the quest “The Very Best”. Because you’re the best – around – you’ll want to queue up for PvP Pet Battles with a team of three level-25 pets. After only five wins during the event, you’ll be rewarded with an Ultimate Battle-Training Stone, which means another level 25 is on its way to your collection.
A few days ago, we listed some of the most-favored Battle Pets in the game and asked you to choose only one. There’s still time to cast your vote!
What’s your team for PvP Pet Battles? We’d like to know, so tell us about it in the comments below.
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Classes
AMS has lower priority than healers' absorbs. I have to /cancelaura those to gain RP, kinda silly. Is it intended?
Absorbs are checked and consumed from smallest to largest, and AMS is a large absorb. Intended, but yes, kinda silly. (WarcraftDevs)
If Death Strike shields are AM, why isn't Brewmaster Shuffle? Same exact premise, or Guard for that matter?@WarcraftDevs
The official Active Mitigation mechanics are timing-based/reactive. Shuffle can be up nearly full-time. (WarcraftDevs)
Character / Items
"Wild Gladiator's Insignia of Conquest" not accurately giving agility. Grants a little over 1000 not 1259. Please fix
These items are giving the intended amount of stats; the tooltip is incorrect. This will be fixed in a future patch. (WarcraftDevs)
PvP
Pvp is about beating better players. If i get stuck because i can't beat worse players that play better classes i want change
Yeah, I think reaching a skill level goes hand in hand with investment. I've spent time on this, I don't want to be cheated. (craig_amai)
with the whole mercenary thing is it auto assigned race or can I choose?
Your mercenary race is auto-assigned. (WarcraftDevs)
With the incoming nerf to healing in PvP are there any plans to compensate Ret Paladins who rely on self healing for defense?
No, we felt healing in the game in general needed to be reduced. (WarcraftDevs)
Lore
Hey is Zandalar still sinking or has it already sunk. Contradicting information in game makes it unclear.
Still sinking last we heard. Complete disaster area! (DaveKosak)
I have a question relating to one I asked a couple of days ago. Since shaman manipulate chi per Kosak would former shaman still be able to manipulate chi?
"Chi" is just the Pandaren term for the life force that Shaman manipulate. Same stuff. (DaveKosak)
World
Indeed. As leveling content I think treasures / rares worked very well. Addon or not they drove exploration.
Glad you liked the new rare and treasure treatments. I was very eager to get those systems in to encourage exploration more. (craig_amai)
personally, Wrath style leveling with rates / treasures would be the ideal. Looking forward to seeing that stuff in future lvlng
I'm curious, what about wrath-style leveling stands out to you as an ideal? (craig_amai)
So I think Wrath's quest flow & choice nailed the RPG in mmorpg & that the exploration mechanics would accompany that very well.
I do think there's some value in advancing the tone of how the player is regarded in a new expansion... (craig_amai)
...for the sake of preventing things from feeling stale if nothing else. (craig_amai)
But I generally agree that I like that big open-world RPG feel most. A surprisingly divisive topic in my experience. (craig_amai)
Garrisons
Are the shipyard blueprint drops added in yesterdays hotfix the unobtainable ones? (ammo reserves, extra quarters, etc) thanks
No, we have no plans to make these blueprints available. (WarcraftDevs)
PTR
Lots and lots of updates to bugs reported for 6.2.1, thanks for all of the reports! Should now also be able to fly in Stormshield/Warspear. (Muffinus)
since its a small area I'm not sure flying should be a thing there, but thanks for the update! Can't wait for it to go live!
It was a pain to be able to fly there only to be dismounted at the last second in the water. Let us know if there are issues. (Muffinus)
To curb speculation: Swift Spectral Rylak, like Swift Spectral Gryphon, is a "while you're dead" flying mount, not an obtainable mount. (Muffinus)
Misc
so whats up with all the stuff being added to the game but not added to the game?
All the things? Is there anything else? (Muffinus)
Tune-o-Tron Micro I found Pepe seems like things are added on the front end then forgotten the carrot is there and then taken away
Tune-o-tron micro is the port. audiophone it was just added twice by accident and the old name was left in. (Muffinus)
Not every thing that is datamined as in the game is in the game, you can find tons of items that are never dropped. (Muffinus)
its not about data mining. Those two are listed in game, toybox and achievements
Heroes of the Storm - Gamescom Preview
Blizzard showed off some of the heroes, skins, and mounts currently in development at Gamescom today.
Legion Artwork
The press kit contains a nice high res version of the Legion artwork. You can find different size wallpapers using the same artwork on the official site.