Actually, Blizzard usually “feature locks” expansions over a year before it even hits the BTR/PTR. The core systems and features are what have to be locked down first so the layers that those systems interact with can be iterated upon. Most of the feature lock is on the technical side of things, though the core system concepts are also locked down. Feature locked components of an expansion usually get only tweaking up to launch. Shadowlands’ 9.0.2 pre-expansion launch client’s core elements were locked in place as of BfA 8.1.5.
Blizzard does their systems the opposite way most companies do. That’s why a lot of Shadowlands’ story feels “off” - they were still iterating on that aspect well after launch.
She isn’t blaming the players. Re-read what you quoted again, a bit slower this time. It’s a two-part statement. The first half points the finger squarely at Blizzard for failing to iterate with the players just what they actually need for feedback and what they don’t. The second half of what you quoted merely states that the players then become frustrated when things they gave feedback on aren’t implemented until well after the launch of the patch they provided feedback on (sometimes that feedback isn’t taken into consideration until the following expansion, as what happened with WoD going into Legion).
Not really. Mirasol will simply accept the fact and move on as she stated. The reason she doesn’t put people on ignore except in extremely rare situations is because she, like myself, prefers to read everything and take what she reads into account in a thread regardless of who is making the post(s). As for me? I have nobody on ignore, despite a few that really deserve it. Troll or not, I still view peoples’ viewpoints as valid in terms of input whether I agree with them or not.
Shadowlands didn’t fail in terms of content. The players seem to like that for the most part. It’s those core systems I mentioned before that get locked down super early that were (and IMO still are) the problem. The walkbacks we’ve seen were what most would attribute to developer hubris. It’s a common occurrence in the game industry, as many developers take offense at pushback on something they created. Grinding Gear Games is notorious for this, though they have at least had more transparency than Blizzard has over the last few years. What I wouldn’t give for Bex-level interactions here.
I suspect the only reason we got even the walkbacks we’ve seen so far is due to the fallout from the lawsuits against ABK/Blizzard and Final Fantasy XIV’s meteoric rise in popularity (it doesn’t hurt that their devs don’t constantly remove content from the game like ours keep doing here). FF 14’s devs have been keeping a finger on the community pulse and actively taking player reactions into serious consideration. The three years prior to ARR taught Squeenix a hard lesson: ignore your players at your own peril.
She’s not. Mirasol is primarily only really known by those that frequent the tech support and customer support fora. That’s where the majority of her posts are as that is what she specializes in. Just like my primary posting area is TS/Mac TS. Except on the D3 side. Mac support is all but extinct there and the few ongoing issues with D3 are beyond player control (e.g. the FMOD audio lockup).
You’re going to have one hell of a time getting a lot of things done there in Maldraxxus. The combination of most Necrolords having gotten what they wanted from the zone already + the decline in the number of players has turned that zone into a ghost town lately. About the only time it’s really active is if the Amateur Night world quest is active, and only during the day/peak hours.
Protip for spending lots of time in Maldraxxus: You will have a much easier time seeing things around you if you use an Inky Black Potion, as it removes the overpowering fog effect in many parts of the zone (the art team really went overboard on the volumetric fog effect and some of the compute effects *cough* Ardenweald *cough*).
