Stop removing portals

[Irisse-maelstrom]

Mages should have portals to places for which static portals don’t already exist. Let them keep the city portals for self use – but if you want to keep mages’ portal abilities relevant in a world where portal rooms are offered at the main cities (SW/Org) then mages should have portals to other areas.

Mage portals are fine. They are a convenience for returns from adventure locations - for example, after an Alliance invasion of Orgrimmar - without being an absolute necessity. I always appreciate them, even just coming back from a dungeon.

[Felryn-area-52 (Felryn)]

Incursions are some of the best pieces of content I’ve experienced in this game due to the addition of Warmode. I see no reason to take this and expand it in other zones.

In Eastern Kingdom, Kalimdor, Pandaria (mostly Jade Forest/Kasarang), Outland, and even Northrend.

[Azreluna-mannoroth (Azreluna)]

Why would Orgrimmar or Stormwind have a portal to the Caverns of Time? The only reason Shattrath did was because the content was released during that expansion but it was on a completely different continent.

You don’t really need one for Kara or BL or HFP, either.

[Leiloni-area-52]

I understand that changes can throw people off a bit at first, but I also think they help keep the world of Azeroth feeling alive. When there are fewer portals, does the world feel a bit bigger to you? Do you like that? How difficult is it to get to the locations you mentioned without a direct portal (talking to everybody who isn’t a mage here ) ?

Sure the world feels bigger, but spending God only know how long in the air on my flying mount with my auto run on, high above the ground and any other players that may exist, doesn’t add to my gameplay. It doesn’t make the world feel busier, just more tedious.

[Azreluna-mannoroth (Azreluna)]

Well, how about the fact that there’s no reason to go to any of those?

[Mossclaw-wyrmrest-accord (Mossclaw)]

Honestly, it just means when I plan my play time and events I won’t be considering places that are difficult/time consuming to reach. ie: business as usual, but now with more areas not to travel to added.

So, if you mean to make it a bigger world by removing traffic from those areas - good start.

The worst is the loss of the Shrine. Such a lovely patio with seating. Ah well. Nevermore.

[Azreluna-mannoroth (Azreluna)]

Good reason to remove flying, it sounds like.

[Dryëlle-azralon]

For the first time, I am tempted to cancel my sub, all seven accounts. Not only they remove things we earned ingame, they send blues to mock us. This is insanity. The portal hub was supposed to be a good thing if they kept the other ones, not the way they are doing. We are not dumb, do not send someone to sell this as a good ideia. Removing the other portals is a terrible ideia. We are really doomed with the lack of communication on their end.

[Draneira-khaz-modan (Draneira)]

Did you really ask this question? Fewer portals make the world feel more “alive”? Is this how out of touch you all are?

Wow. Portal takes a few seconds… traveling to a city, to take a flight, or find a portal = minutes.

Yeah - your cute wink isn’t cute.

Why do you make it harder, rather than easier, to get around? You think it’s fun? Adds to time played? You do realize over time you;re really pissing most of us off. Keep stacking that camels’ back.

[Azreluna-mannoroth (Azreluna)]

Too bad you can’t use them in the Battle for Dazar’alor.

[Taivora-dark-iron]

At least we know this concern is being acknowledged by Blizz. A lot better than silence.

[Felryn-area-52 (Felryn)]

Well then there’s no reason to go to any of the current ones either now is there?

[Heartblossom-kargath (Heartblossom)]

When there are fewer portals, the world seems no bigger, but it does seem much uglier because the developer-gods are revealed to be inimical to my enjoyment of the world.

[Kiwì-dentarg (Kiwì)]

I understand that changes can throw people off a bit at first, but I also think they help keep the world of Azeroth feeling alive. When there are fewer portals, does the world feel a bit bigger to you?

The answer is no, and I do not understand why the developers make such changes when it is very clear that the player base does not want them. Each player uses the portal system for different reasons. When you add things to the game and then you remove them, you anger people. Not sure why this isn’t understood.

[Eiry-azjolnerub (Eiry)]

At least we know this concern is being acknowledged by Blizz. A lot better than silence.

No, honestly, its worse than silence. Until now I was able to fool myself that it was a mistake and would be fixed at some point, but now we have a Blue telling us how great it is and how it totally makes the world feel bigger.

[Azreluna-mannoroth (Azreluna)]

Why are any of you going to Stormwind or any of the places the portals take you anyway?

[Beeftank-drenden]

When there are fewer portals, does the world feel a bit bigger to you?

No, it just feels way more obnoxious to get around. Some examples:

• When I go to Pandaria, I’m usually working on something on the Isle of Thunder or (yes, still) Getting Around with the Shado-pan. I now have to fly twice as long to get there because the new Horde portal goes to Honeydew Village, a place that is useless to return to almost before you ever leave the Jade Forest.
• The Horde portal to the Broken Isles is in Azsuna? Really? At least ours goes to a quest/daily area; the Alliance’s goes to Nar’thalas Academy for some reason. Blatant Horde bias works out for once.
• There is only one remotely convenient way to get to the Caverns of Time now, and it requires a specific rep grind.

No one wants the world “to feel bigger” except Blizzard, frankly. Travel restrictions in new content are okay at the time, sure, and we’ve all settled on Pathfinder as a good compromise between immersion and convenience. Removing old portals that weren’t doing anything, and rerouting teleports to entire chunks of content so that they point to weird, out-of-the-way places is just … a really bad decision, I don’t know any other way of putting it. Please undo this.

[Syward-blades-edge (Syward)]

I understand that changes can throw people off a bit at first, but I also think they help keep the world of Azeroth feeling alive.

(0_o) IMO, that’s a generic & canned response. Removal of QoL features like this doesn’t do anything to make the world feel more alive. It’s just an unnecessary time sink.

When there are fewer portals, does the world feel a bit bigger to you? Do you like that?

No. It doesn’t make the world feel bigger. It just makes traveling to where you want to go to do what you actually want to do more tedious. And no, we don’t like that…

How difficult is it to get to the locations you mentioned without a direct portal

Difficulty =/= Unnecessary time sink. No, it’s not technically difficult to get where we want to go. However players would rather spend their time actually doing the activities that they’re trying to do rather than spending that time traveling to get to those activities. These types of changes give the impression that either Blizzard isn’t thinking things though, or they’re intentionally trying to make things more cumbersome and time consuming. (Which, FYI - isn’t a good way to retain/attract players)

[Muster-black-dragonflight]

Just because it takes longer to get somewhere doesn’t automatically mean it’s better. Ignoring convenience, you’re forcing people to run around, catch boats or flight points, and only engaging with the world every couple minutes. What’s the point? Does that really make the world feel big and alive? I don’t think that it does.

Time spent tabbed-out reading reddit doesn’t really immerse me in the game world.

[Sorelai-wyrmrest-accord (Sorelai)]

Would like to add that maintaining the portals in older expansions doesn’t diminish the new portal room. The portal rooms are great. However providing options for your devoted customers is a better solution.

If people want to use the Shrines, Dalaran (Broken Isles), or Dalaran (Northrend) as their base of operations, they should be able to do so and still have access to the conveniences provided when they were current cities.