Until Classic launched, we were always in a situation where we never knew if WoW’s number had dropped due to all of the changes made to retail over the years. Now we know. I’ve talked to many in-game who say their sub is specifically because of Classic. People are burning for BC and Wrath servers. People aren’t burning for a WoD server.
So, it would appear, yes, Blizzard listened to some folks and drove others away in so doing. Some wanted queues to be the focus of retail and now it is. Every decision is made to populate those stupid queues. Nerfed professions for people who loathe PUGs and don’t care to be in a massive guild. No Blacklist for BG queues, which makes the queues nearly worthless, and I ignore them now that there are more ways to grind out Conquest as much as I can. I dislike queueing for epics in particular, and it’s worse now with Ashran back (Tol Barad is still liked AND is part Kul Tiran, WHY ASHRAN?).
Blizzard assumed we all wanted a Diablo phone game. WRONG!
Blizzard assumed we DIDN’T want Classic. We DID, and it’s part nostalgia and part going back to an honest game that, as another player pointed out, isn’t filled with grinding filler content to the point of sheer boredom – in these gorgeous locations.
Ion Hazzikostas says we don’t want Blizzard spending money on new zones. Um, excuse me? I would trade every useless Draenor zone from WoD for a redo of the six most trash N64-looking zones we have to frequent – and avoid because they’re so ugly. I spend more time in the new Darkshore than in Zandalar or Drustvar.
Not sure we do. I figure we have a couple months before we can really tell how ‘sticky’ classic is. It was hugely hyped and exciting as an event, but it’s not at all clear that it’s ‘what people want’.
We know the initial reaction was massive. We know Classic set a record for most Twitch viewers in some category (over a million). We don’t know its longevity yet, true, and I did think that as I wrote it.
It takes … something … to make an entire game (phone Diablo) that the community hates. Hmmm. Focus groups much? How is it that a company that does so many things professionally do so many other things in such an amateur fashion?
EDIT: I took “maybe ask us?” out of the OP because I don’t want people focusing on it. But, they did ask us about level squishing.
IDK. There have been a ton of threads on it over the years if you search.
The tech they are introducing that lets you group with lower level players seems like maybe it is exploring a different direction.
that’s kind of the problem - so many players want so many different things. at the end of the day any change is going to piss a ton of people off while making many others happy.
What? Not looking forward to “World of Mobile Warcraft”? I hear there is a discount on every new dungeon at $14.99 per run with guaranteed opportunities to purchase loot boxes if you actually finish the run! Be sure to thank you Activision Blizzard rep because they are here to entertain you!
Seriously, Blizzard has fallen into the trap that every major game company has fallen into. Their marketing division has become more creative than the development teams. Blizzard has made my favorite games in the past. WoW, StarCraft II, and Diablo III. But they have turned these games into esports cash cows and huge marketing ploys and in the process they have spent less time making a compelling game. That’s why BFA has suffered. That’s why patch after patch feels empty for all three games. What I miss about the way Blizzard was before the buyout was that Blizzard put the product first. Unfortunately, game developers that do that are increasingly rare.
What’s with all these Blizzard and BFA praise threads? How much does Blizzard pay their social media and on-line marketing team to post praise about them? If you guys toned it down a little it wouldn’t be so obvious.