there is going to be several issue’s looking down the road if Phase 4 and Phase 5 content is not merged, here i hope to start a discussion regarding this to avoid the impending “content drought” that will arise if something is not changed about this.
My Proposal is to Merge Phase 4 and Phase 5 Content but give it a staggered release so that each particular facet can be enjoyed on its own merit. With that in mind a plan for a Merged P4+P5 would look like this:
Phase 4 week 1
- Zul’Aman released (let the mount farm and sales begin)
- Isle of Quel’danas (opening of Sunwell) content released (started)
Phase 4 week 3
- Magister’s terrace released (let the trinket farm begin)
- Arena Season 4 starts (or 3.5 whatever you want to call it)
Phase 4 week 5/6
- Sunwell released
of course there will be advantages and disadvantages to this type of release schedule for the final Phase of TBCC here i intend to list what Pros/Cons to this might arise.
Pros
- Phase 4 is no longer a barebones patch only housing a single 10 man raid in ZA
- Phase 5 is no longer a barebones patch only housing a 6 boss raid in Sunwell with MgT dungeon
- There is no Arena Season gear (from original TBC) if they dont do a consolidation of the last 2 phases (season 3 will start in Phase 3, and so there is no arena season gear for a Phase 4 and 5 release, only season 3.5 gear)
- staggered release will keep people engaged with the phase as a whole as ZA mount farms and MgT trinket farms knowing the next bit of content is 2/3 weeks away rather than 4-5 months if Phase 4 is treated like a full phase of content.
- staggered release of Sunwell a month into the phase acts as a build up and 1 month of prep (gearing) for guilds struggling with BT/Hyjal (rather than introducing phase nerfs early to the content leaving many bored like the current P2->P3 transition)
Cons
- with the consolidation of P4+P5 some will inevitably feel TBCC ended to quickly no matter what type of staggering you do ( i would still argue its better for TBCC to end on a high note rather than a drip feed of content in a separate p4 and P5)
- Wrath is released that much quicker ( A negative to some no matter how you try and explain it)
- this time line might cause some overlap with SoM season 2 and Wrath Classic
Ultimately i think merging the last 2 phases of TBCC is the best way to have a steady flow of content to end the expansion on a hight note along with a phase that has no arena season to correspond with it… it gives players time to enjoy ZA for a Month before Sunwell comes out and to enjoy MgT and the Isle unlock content prio to the final raid as well.