Early Morning Blues and Fan Comics
Today there's a couple of blue posts and two amusing comics available. Hopefully there will be more news throughout the day!
Early Morning Blues
PTR 2.4.2 has been extended and there's a discussion about why there's such a lack of info about Wrath of the Lich King. Also, concerned players ask why WoW is becoming the main focus of esports and arena's "only".
2.4.2 PTR extended
We have decided to put the 2.4.2 PTR up for some additional testing. The realms should once again be available for play.
[Source]
Lack of Wrath of the Lich King information
I can assure people that Wrath of the Lich King is coming along very well. But despite those assurances, people will always be looking for the proof. We'll get that to you when we can, however, and you'll be able to decide for yourselves. I'd like to think that from my own experiences, many people will be pleased with the results.
Do you think that enough news about the expansion has been conveyed to the playerbase to date?
Enough news? I don't think there is such thing as enough for the community until we've revealed everything we have up our sleeves. I doubt even that will be enough for people until they can experience it. I do believe there is a method to the madness on the release of information, however. I respect it and I look forward to the excitement that comes with it. It wouldn't do to release information before it's ready and we're ready both.
I think you also mistake my humor this morning for mocking. I would mock if I didn't care about the community, but that is far from true. I absolutely care about the community, but that's just my nature. I genuinely like people. I'm a bit crazy like that.
We've given everyone tastes of what is to come where we can. We've had updates on the Wrath site that give a bit more information on some of the areas people will find and the creatures in Northrend as well.
We'll have more to share and much like a large boulder, it's hard to get rolling sometimes, but all that will happen once it does, is it will pick up speed. I hope everyone is ready for it.
Information readiness depends on many internal factors of which I can't go into detail on, but much of it depends on whether we feel that what we have to share or show is at a point where we feel it's ready to be talked about or shown. We allow some wiggle room for things to change, but try to show things that are in a state of readiness and make sure it's known there is still room for change. We'd like to make sure that wiggle room isn't moshing room though. If you can grok the difference there.
We are Blizzard Entertainment, and we tend to do things that meet our own internal standards of readiness before we show it to other people or discuss it. Contrary to what people may believe, we don't like letting down our friends, family, or community as a whole by giving less than 150% of ourselves.
The Community may be ready, but we aren't quite there yet. Though, I don't think people should despair. We've come a long way now and we're full steam ahead.
Why is esport and arena the focus of the game?
Players are concerned about the esport because its contrary to what an MMO should be about.
If PvP was the focus of the game, why has a new island with new dungeons, new daily quests, and a server-wide event been added to the game recently?
World of Warcraft simply has many things happening in it. Just because we are running the 2008 WoW Arena Tournament doesn't mean everything else has stopped or been derailed because I can guarantee you, this isn't the case. All changes can easily be seen from just one personal perspective which causes confusion but we do take the whole game into consideration when making changes to it.
I understand your concern on the subject, when we have more details to share on the new zones, dungeons, and abilities that are part of the upcoming expansion, (and I'm assuming are what an MMO should be about) we'll let you know.
Comics
First comic is a honorable mention in the WoW Comic Contest.
Second one is pretty neat, it's illustrating how to beat the Illidan Stormrage encounter in Black Temple! Thanks to a friend who sent me this.
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luchdiorI don't know if I buy it. A lot of times it seems that Blizzard Employees are well versed in Double Speak. In the three years I've played this game, I've noticed from almost every blue post you read its full of words, but lacking in anything real. "Contrary to what people may believe..." That quote is just rubbish. If they cared, they'd respond with real answers to the concerns of the classes out there. We are the player base and the community, yet we get double speak rhetoric.
Seriously, when is Blizzard going to get back to gaming. Remember when games were fun. The Developers were friendly to the player base. Now we as players usually get smart aleck type answers and it's all about "having fun with the community". It's just a way for the Blue's to spread more double speak. The WoW player base is disenfranchised right now and why is that? I have two names for you, bet you can guess them.
Arena as an esport. The problem with that is that not everyone has an equal chance to win. You can take almost any FPS or Sports game and every toon you play has an equal chance, your success comes down to your skill as gamer. But in WoW, your success in the arena comes down to class design. Chilton himself has said he is "okay" with some classes not doing well in the arena. How can Blizzard expect WoW to succeed as game that pits players skills against each other when the game is clearly is biased towards certain classes in the arena. C'mon, anyone who buys WoW as a viable Epsort is smoking something.