I suppose I missed most of that. They have apologized for not listening to feedback a bit, but not an across the board way.
But I think making the process public is as much of a mea culpa as we are going t get about the last time.
Which is what makes me…open but cynical, about this project. I think that’s fair, honestly. Blizz shouldnt be upset or surprised if the council comes to them in a cynical state of mind but willing to put themselves out there AGAIN and try and work at it with the devs.
1 Like
That is fair. I just fear that too much cynicism could spoil the process before it even begins. If we go in thinking nothing will change, we could end up being equal partners in the blame for the non-change.
I think that is my issue in general. No one wants to take responsibility for the communication breakdown. The fans want to be able to communicate in any way they want, and the devs won’t hear feedback if the players don’t phrase it correctly.
I’m going into this hopeful that cooler heads will prevail this time.
1 Like
They quite literally cried because the feedback “hurt their feelings”. This time will be no different, except now they’ll have all blue hairs on the “Council” to argue with each other over what is an appropriate way to say something, thus nothing will in fact be said.
3 Likes
This is something I hadn’t thought about that hits home hard, honestly. Any of us still here are happier with the game than those who have left. None of our voices are as important as theirs.
On the other hand, only examining the planes that made it back ultimately revealed what was wrong with those that didn’t. I imagine the VAST majority of us still here have dozens of friends who’ve left over the years, and that we know why, and that many of those friends enjoyed the same aspects of the game. I mean, I known that I can tell Blizzard several different reasons why RPers are(/have been for 8+ years) fleeing the game in droves.
What players can tell them about their lost comrades and what can be done about it may be the most important thing Council members can offer the devs, right now.
i have had the occasional new player ask me about raids. like less than 10 but a few.
I am really appreciating this plane diagnostic metaphor. I think it makes sense to look hard at all of the problems with the game, and not just the most obvious. Of course this will inspire cries of “Why are you fixing X instead of Y?” which we will all just need to weather.
The appropriate way to say something is important though. It is basic psychology. Human beings are hardwired to reject input that counters what they already believe. If you go into the conversation with the stance of antagonism you are instantly activating the “reject this” trigger. You have lost the battle before you have even begun. Even a well-reasoned, clear, and concise post is at risk of being ignored if conflicts with a core belief the developers have.
So in order to actually make progress, we as the ones who want the devs to change their minds is establish common ground first, then move onto the criticism with an eye for making it better. Otherwise the result will just be hurt feelings and no change.
1 Like
Curiously, there was no annoucements regarding this council on the European side. I wonder why.
Well, i tried my luck but as i’m only interested in the lore and the roleplay, i’m not exactly the type of player that Blizzard want to see in its council.
I’m not sure why you say that when Ion himself said he wanted role players in the video.
I admit to some skepticism the opinions of these players will actually be valued but I’m not sure why everyone on the forums keep saying that they didn’t say they wanted them because they were specifically named in the video and they are a selectable category of the type of player you are in the application.
1 Like
Several factors, among them i was very critical about their work on the lore and how they have managed it.
I doubt that they are looking for someone who is not a “Yes man”.
Another one is that there wasn’t any advertisements of the council in Europe, telling me that we are “unwanted”
Add that i’m French, a country that does not enjoy a good reputation in the USA (and many anglo-saxon countries to be honest).
I could have lied regarding this part but i’m too honest to be able to lie.
There’re others but i will not list everything ^^
1 Like
The development team already have tons of feedback from its’ community through multiple sources…be they game forums or content creator videos.
You already had a ‘WoW Community Council Discord’ and have for years.
To be abundantly clear- you already have the information you need and you’ve had other iterations of this ‘council’ system for years. This new ‘WoW Community Council Video’ just reeks of PR and damage control.
Pretty much the only person who came across as someone I could have an authentic conversation with in that video was Tina. Everybody else felt like someone who was putting on a show and or had been staked out on the front lines (for the public) to try and humanize the development team to the customer base.
I wouldn’t even bother trying to have a dialogue with Ion.
I spend a lot of time talking with / negotiating with attorneys for living. Most are pretty articulate in addition to usually having a pretty strong grasp of whatever type of law they specialize in (provided they’ve been practicing long enough).
Usually though, the conversations boil down to who has a better fact pattern and more leverage in the negotiation.
The problem isn’t that you haven’t received feedback. You have the information you need already. The problem is that you have not communicated with your community in good faith for years- and now you are paying for it and will continue to until you demonstrate sustained changes in-game that people care about. After hemorrhaging a large chunk of your subscriber base, you are now in a bad position with less margin for error.
It has come to the point where if you don’t know how to fix your’ own product at this late hour and cannot put out game content that people find compelling and worth engaging with, the management at Blizzard (or Activision) is going to start replacing team members.
I would legitimately be afraid and looking for another job if I was a member of the WoW team associated with anything other than art design.
The WoW art team is amazing and clearly has a lot of passionate people working on it.
I also get the sense that team of people listens to feedback based on what I see materialize within the actual game.
7 Likes
Yes! 100000% agree. How can you say you’re giving the players power when you have the requirement of being a big time streamer? Not okay bliz! I’ve been playing since 2006, but I don’t speak much unless I feel something needs to be said. Where’s my representation in this council?! Why can’t I apply?!
3 Likes
…because that’s exactly what it is.
Bravo… Bravo… 
Agree. They have been ignoring our feedback for very long. With two failed expansion in a row, really bad lawsuit, everyone leaving for FF/Neworld, and with OW 2 and D4 being delay until 2023, Blizzard is really in bad spot right now. while I think WoW community council is a good idea…but idk how effect it will be. I am sure they’re going have to listen what community have to say this pretty much their last chance for WoW and they mess it up again, GG EZ.
I’m somewhat tempted to apply, but at the end of the day I think it’s a useless gesture. I’ve been playing WoW for 15 years, and I’ve constantly submitted feedback on quests, bugs, feature suggestions, etc. Either that info is not getting to the right people, my feedback and ideas represent a minority of players, or the feedback is just flat-out being ignored. If the council appears to work as intended, maybe I’ll sign up next year. Otherwise, this whole thing just smacks of “damage control” on Blizzard’s part.
4 Likes
The video suggests it’s simply too much to sift through. Which is really funny…cause I never have a problem finding something to read, reply to, or create a thread for when there’s a topic or issue going in that I’m interested in.
It takes like no time, and a search, if it’s not prominent on the forum page.
I see no reason they can’t just start threads asking for feedback on what’s wrong with aspects of the game…besides perhaps that they may still be unable to SEE that anything is wrong and so dont see the point in asking.
This is pointless. I have a solution you don’t need 100 players. Take a step back in the WOTLK and Cata direction. Problem solved! You’re welcome. Where is my loot?
1 Like
Late BC/Early Wrath would be great. Whoever decided in late Wrath that mandatory specs, being allowed to roll both factions on the same server, and lfg were a good idea started a downward spiral from which the game has never recovered.
1 Like
hey so my response is the same as this dude in this video.
4 Likes
I dont care if y’all are players or devs, y’all need to watch that video and accept it and absorb it.
1 Like