World of Warcraft patch will add fan-requested features and remove more developer credentials

After months of player feedback that seemed largely to fall on deaf ears, Blizzard is set to make major changes to many of World of Warcraft’s most important systems Shadowlands in the next patch of the game, which will include the removal of a controversial feature that has long been a source of player complaints as well as changes to in-game references to many former developers.

As stated in a statement from the WoW development team, Blizzard will be making significant changes to Shadowlands quality of life in patch 9.1.5, many of which are direct responses to comments from many players since the launch of Shadowlands.

“Over the past few weeks since we shared an update, the WoW team has focused on the immediate future, both for our employees and our workplace, and for the future of players too, ”writes the WoW team. “As part of that, the whole team came together to ask: what are the most important things we hear that keep you from having fun, and what are the most impactful changes we could make to WoW today. ‘hui to solve this problem? “

As stated by Shadowlands game director Ion Hazzikostas on Twitter, many of the changes coming in the next patch are designed to make life easier for “alt” characters. For strangers, an alt is any secondary character that a player can play after having already done the majority of the game’s content on a main, or “main” character. This is a list of changes that include the addition of new heirloom item ranks, the ability to skip Covenant campaigns on alts after completing them with another character, the ability to skip The Maw expansion introductory questline for alts, the ability to level up in Torghast, and more. According to Hazzikostas, even more user-friendly changes, such as the ability to transfer a Shadowlands-only currency called Anima between main and secondary characters, could also come in the future.

Big changes that players have long been asking for are also coming to the game’s Covenant system, including the widely hated Conduit Energy system. Blizzard removes Conduit Energy completely, writing in a forum post that the system did not go the way the developer had hoped.

“We should have heeded community feedback and taken a different direction a year ago,” the post read. “A majority of gamers largely ignore the system and are unaffected by it, while the minority who want to engage in multiple types of content competitively feel constrained by it. adds to a negative experience. Conduit Energy doesn’t really make the game any appreciably any better, so we’re removing the system altogether. “

Players who achieve a high enough fame rank will also be able to switch freely between alliances. This change is particularly significant, as Blizzard, at the start of Shadowlands, made much of the importance of a player’s choice of Pact, going so far as to punish players who later decided to switch to another Pact. With patch 9.1.5, players will be able to change Covenant as they wish without any penalties, allowing them to experiment more with different Covenant abilities without feeling stuck in a certain path.

All of this is in addition to a host of other changes, like adding new character creation options much earlier than expected, recycling legendary items, Legion time walking dungeons, unlock requirements streamlined for many of the game’s allied races, and more.

The news, via PC Gamer, is not mentioned in official Blizzard statements that the patch will remove references to former Blizzard developers Jesse McCree, Luis Barriga and Jon LeCraft, who all recently left Blizzard as a result. allegations in a state of A California lawsuit accusing Blizzard of fostering a culture of harassment and discrimination against women. The Overwatch character who shares the McCree name will also be changed in the future, and Blizzard has already removed references to former game director Alex Afrasiabi in WoW. Blizzard pointed out in its development update that the patch will provide better visibility in terms of in-game reporting as well as more severe penalties for those who violate the in-game code of conduct. A public test area for 9.1.5 where players will be able to see all the changes firsthand is expected to be released later this week.

The upcoming changes seem almost too good to be true for much of the community, and may be too little, too late for some. More than a few of WoW’s biggest content creators and streamers have moved away from the game recently, at least in part thanks to Blizzard’s lack of communication with the community, while others have left following the claims of the game. trial. Content creators who haven’t completely left the game have at least diversified their content to include rival MMOs like Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV or Amazon’s upcoming New World.