What you need to know
- World of Warcraft is an industry-leading MMORPG, developed by Blizzard and now owned by Microsoft as part of its gaming division.
- The game is a legend, with 20-years of ceaseless operation and non-stop content updates.
- However, finding new players has been tough for the game generally, which hasn’t had a refreshed levelling experience since Cataclysm back in 2010.
- New players now start off in the recent “Dragonflight” expansion, and players discovered that while levelling there, you, in fact, cannot die.
- I wondered if this was intended to try and make the game as easy as possible for new players even if it took all of the risk out of the game. World of Warcraft Game Director Ion Hazzikostas confirmed to me today that it is unintended, however, that players should be permanently immortal.
As a long-time aficionado of World of Warcraft, I have witnessed its evolution from a fledgling MMORPG to an industry titan, and it is with both excitement and trepidation that I approach its latest expansion, “Dragonflight.” The game’s recent update has brought forth a host of improvements, but the new player experience remains a contentious issue.
The popular and much-loved massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), World of Warcraft, which boasts millions of players, has just received a significant upgrade.
The War Within expansion added some of the best story delivery the game has ever seen, complete with high-quality in-engine and pre-rendered cinematics and new gameplay features. In my World of Warcraft: The War Within review, I noted how the game has hit a high point not seen in years, and has an incredibly bright future ahead of it. That is, if you’re an existing player.
One issue I’ve had with World of Warcraft lately is the new player experience. It doesn’t have the variety and depth that it used to during the vanilla and Cataclysm periods, which offered zones from Warcraft 3 in low-risk, culturally relevant experiences that helped players connect emotionally with their chosen race and faction. Since the 2010 overhaul of Cataclysm, World of Warcraft has struggled to provide this level of immersion for new players, despite its improved mechanics.
In my initial analysis, I proposed that the “immortality” bonus granted to fresh players in World of Warcraft might actually be a glitch, since there’s no clear explanation or guide about it. It appears that the time limit on this ability has not been programmed properly.
Ion Hazzikostas, Game Director, clarified that the extended playability in Dragonflight’s leveling process for gamers currently appears to be a glitch. He added that when they changed Dragonflight into the standard leveling experience, they encountered feedback from game testing and user focus groups indicating that certain zones and content initially designed for experienced level 70+ players might be too daunting for novice players who are still grasping the fundamentals of combat.
In our game “The War Within,” we’ve incorporated a beginner-friendly system of zone buffs inspired by the dragonflights, designed to activate if you’re playing through for the first time (that is, you haven’t used Chromie Time yet or don’t have a character at maximum level). One of these perks is an occasional “second chance” that prevents death under certain circumstances. However, there seems to be a glitch in this feature, and the cooldown isn’t functioning as intended. We’re working diligently to rectify this issue, and we anticipate a resolution within the next few days.
Will future WoW expansions revamp the new player experience?
The most recent expansion of World of Warcraft signals a resurgence in popularity for the game franchise, following several years of mostly failed attempts. Co-creator Chris Metzen is back to oversee the narrative direction of the game, and the acquisition by Microsoft has apparently reduced corporate intervention, which was reportedly prevalent under the Activision Bobby Kotick management. The War Within kickstarts a new story arc involving the Void entity Xal’atath, and Blizzard has given a sneak peek at what future expansions might entail – a first for them.
In the upcoming expansion called Midnight, events unfold within the region of Quel’thalas. Historically, this part of the Eastern Kingdoms has served as the initial zones for Blood Elf, Forsaken, and Worgen characters. I speculate that Blizzard might gradually refurbish these classic zones as part of the expansion content and later transform them into starter areas for new players. Notably, night elves received a new city called Bel’ameth during Dragonflight, which could potentially serve as an ideal starting area for fresh night elf characters too.
Reflecting on World of Warcraft as it approaches its 20th anniversary, I find myself pondering the absence of a greater push towards enhancing the immersion experience for newcomers. The Cataclysm expansion in 2010 was a commendable attempt, with revamped classic zones and updated lore for various races integrated seamlessly. However, considering the Herculean task of upgrading the entire Azerothian landscape to meet today’s technological and gameplay standards is overwhelming. As an analyst, I can only speculate from this vantage point, but it’s clear that games like these have never been more costly to produce.
At the very least, removing the “immortality” buff from Dragonflight should help keep World of Warcraft feeling “engaging” and challenging to some degree, at least in terms of gameplay. I’m still unsure how appealing it is for new players to drop randomly in the middle of a big new saga on a random island, rather than experience the lore of their chosen race as was designed back in the day. But keeping the current player base satisfied is clearly an intense amount of work. Perhaps Microsoft should throw some more investment at the game to upgrade the new player experience? Again, easy for me to say, perhaps not so easy to do.
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2024-10-02 15:09