When will we be able to make Earthen?

[Tokonoten-moon-guard]

@Ererendor-sargeras

I guess I didn’t interpret the infographic for the Earthen release correct either (I guess it’s before season 1, but it implies to me that it was with early access.)

Yeah, same. I saw “Play Earthen” under “Early Access” and “Global Launch” and assumed it’d be around Aug 22nd or Aug 26th myself.

[Lattimere-proudmoore]

@Kaivax

@Tokonoten-moon-guard

Just curious if we knew an exact date when we’d be able to unlock / create Earthen?

The requisite achievement is this one:

And that fourth storyline chapter will become available on September 3 in this region.

This is a completely stupid decision that serves no purpose except wasting time.

[Festergrin-area-52]

my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined

[Veidmann-zuljin]

Ok here is the info on the latest for Earthen

Earthen Allied Race and Final Campaign Chapter Coming September 3rd!

So one week from tomorrow

[Roosh-moon-guard]

Of course they announce this 30 min before the expansion officially goes live. It’s like the company is farming ill-will on purpose.

[Weedgoku-illidan]

why was it listed under “Early Access” then?

[Shadybolt-thrall]

@Roosh-moon-guard

Of course they announce this 30 min before the expansion officially goes live.

This was announced a while back.

[Phaeliea-nathrezim]

It’s a bad move to timegate this unlock like this. I hope you take this feedback to heart. You won’t, but I still hope

[Roosh-moon-guard]

When was it announced? Their roadmap says launch week.

[Tokonoten-moon-guard]

In the info graphic road map, “Play Earthen” was under “Early Access” and “Global Launch” - so the fact that Earthen is a week after those events is a bit surprising.

[Hirav-khazgoroth]

@Honeybunnyy-korgath

Just saw someone playing the new race…

You saw someone with a Cursed Pickaxe.

[Honeybunnyy-korgath]

tyty
10char

[Imps-area-52]

Who is making these choices?? jesus christ already time gating everything else lets pointlessly time gate the new allied race

[Roktar-altar-of-storms]

i have unlocked all of that including Merrix and Steelvein, the only thing that is not letting me unlock is the campaign. even though I completed with two toons.

SO you can complete Broken Tools, Mourning rise and Merrix and Steelvein because I already have.

[Spotemdottem-area-52]

@Kaivax

And that fourth storyline chapter will become available on September 3 in this region.

This isn’t a good idea. I hope Blizzard reconsiders delaying the expansion races after launch next time. People who planned on maining Earthen have to just twiddle their thumbs until then. What’s the point? And why wasn’t this explained weeks ago? Very not cool.

[Mafic-emerald-dream (Mafic)]

@Ererendor-sargeras

Hopefully this feedback gets actually read but, I’m a little bit frustrated as a player at the timegating on quests and things that aren’t player-power related. You’ve said in interviews since Dragonflight that you are trying to respect players time more and listen to feedback.

I’m fully on-board with the time-gating on power release schedule for gear and that sort of thing, I think that’s healthy for the actual game. I don’t think it does anything for the health of the game if I can’t see all the story until I wait to log in every week. It probably affects a weekly retention metric and possibly even makes you more money but it feels kind of bad to always log into patches and be excited and not that get to do the patch content because it’s on an arbitrary release schedule.

You’ve already increased the content delivery rate (great!) and I’d really like it if I could log in when you release new content, consume it, log in for dungeons and raiding with friends at our scheduled times, and otherwise play when I want to. If there’s going to be another patch in 8 weeks every time with another piece of story I really don’t need to be made to log in for 2-3 weeks after it comes out to carry me to the next patch. Just let me play when I want to play the gameplay, and if the gameplay isn’t holding up to keep my attention find out how to make that better.

If not letting people finish the story thats in a patch when the patch releases hurts your retention, that retention was probably artificial anyways and not what you should probably stake that players long-term retention on.

In addition to the reasons I outlined above, it’s been very confusing the last few years and especially the last 6 months on what the actual schedule is for things. Even when you publish roadmaps or things like the awakened raid schedule they don’t seem to line up with player interpretation/we don’t get an explanation for changes that are made/are told it was the plan the whole time we didn’t read it right. I guess I didn’t interpret the infographic for the Earthen release correct either (I guess it’s before season 1, but it implies to me that it was with early access.) As much as I’m overall very happy with the direction of the game since Dragonflight this feels like the dark horse creeping up from behind to wear my enjoyment of the game down.

tldr;
For things that aren’t even player power based, why all this work to just not let people play the game they’re trying to play?

Gating earthen and gating TBC normal flying with PF makes no sense IMVHO.

[Bregly-illidan]

@Phenomenon-hydraxis

Edit: I thought the team had learned against Timegating Campaigns from the oh so lovely Shadowlands expansion? – Are we reverting back to a Shadowlands mentality? Should we brace ourselves for a Korthia 2.0? Why do we always get steps forwards in QoL, just to leap backwards?

I mean, it’s just one week, so it’s not the end of the world and not anywhere near the amount of timegating in SL or even BfA.

Having said that, it’s still stupid. It feels less like a regression in design philosophy and more like an example of how much Blizzard just drops the ball on things that should be a slam dunk.

[Tuköhama-kiljaeden]

Not attempting to direct my ire towards you.

However, could you or someone else explain why I paid for an expansion set to release on a certain date just to have the content marketed and promised trickled to me?

Between almost none of the end game systems being available in early access, the promised new race now not being available until ANOTHER week, having to spend the next 2 weeks with only heroic dungeons just to then have to wait ANOTHER 2 weeks to get into M+…why in the world did I buy the xpac and game time NOW?

WoW is not Final Fantasy. Absolutely no offense whatsoever to neither any creator or developer for the game but the first phase of a campaign is simply NOT enough to warrant gating all the actual progression content behind WEEKS of waiting.

[Lightforge-shuhalo]

I must express deep frustration at this. I wanted to make an earthen and use it for the raid with my guild. Now I have to wait through the rest of my available free time prior to the school year starting (and thus my jobs resuming) so it’ll take me much longer to finish. Keep your raids closed if you must, but let us get started on the Earthen at least.

[Mafic-emerald-dream (Mafic)]

@Bregly-illidan

I mean, it’s just one week, so it’s not the end of the world and not anywhere near the amount of timegating in SL or even BfA.

Having said that, it’s still stupid. It feels less like a regression in design philosophy and more like an example of how much Blizzard just drops the ball on things that should be a slam dunk.

They are afraid of easy wins.