Why not bring out new content for some of your worlds? Why the constant rehash?
Opening Ceremony
Diablo Immortal shows that Blizzard have lost their heart and creativity. They have lost base with their players, who have waited and waited for the next step in the story of Sanctuary—why go back past Diablo III all the way back to Diablo II? Why pigeonhole yourselves into telling stories from that era, instead of trying to create new stories and new IP. Diablo Immortal is a reskin of NetEase Games’s Crusaders of Light, which honestly is a shame. Why make this announcement the biggest of the “next big things” coming from Blizzard and the world of Sanctuary, when you know the majority of your player base chooses to play your games on PC?
Warcraft III Reforged – I am sure that there are some who will be happy about this and that’s fine. My question is why not create a Warcraft IV in this new world that they supposedly are creating with Battle for Azeroth? Why do the devs of Blizzard feel that they have to keep going back to the well of Warcraft III, when they can create a new story within this BFA world that we WoW players live in now? With the current rehash of lore that WoW brought us with their chronicles, I’m sure there are many stories that can be told—new stories.
Starcraft II Rehash – Why aren’t they making the next game and story in the Starcraft Universe. I would assume the universe of Starcraft didn’t end with SCII: Legacy of the Void. Starcraft II has been out for eight years. I’m not really a fan of Starcraft, but I would think it’s time for a new story from this universe in the form of Starcraft III?
I like that they are adding original characters to Heroes of the Storm. Orphea seems interesting. Ashe, the newest character added to the ranks of Overwatch is badass and I can’t wait to try her out. The devs over at Hearthstone have done it again with their newest addition to the game, Rastakhan’s Rumble. The Art division at Blizzard kicked ass yet again with all the cinematics that debuted today at Blizzcon, proving once again why they are and continue to be top notch.
As a long-time player of Blizzard games, as I see it, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch and Hearthstone are the only games that Blizzard seem to truly care about adding creative content to, because they have completely passed the buck with Diablo and Starcraft, and they are headed that way with WoW in terms of many of the failing in game systems.
WoW: What’s Next
8.1 comes out Dec 11th in the US. Raid won’t drop until 2019. Why not drop it for the holidays, when people are available to play more? Kul’Tirans and Zandalari don’t come out until 8.1.5…why? I do love that Arathi Basin and Warsong Gulch will get upgrades in 8.2.5. If I have to play PvP, I very much prefer AB and WS, along with Strand of the Ancients and Wintergrasp (when it was viable). Also, I love that they are adding vs AI modes to PvP with Arathi Comp Stomp Brawl. I would actually try that out, when it hits the PTR. We finally get Nazjatar in 8.2. To be honest, Ashara could have been an expansion all her own, but it is what it is. I didn’t expect Mechagon, but I can see mechagnomes being one of the next playable races. I just hope that when 8.1 is released, it doesn’t have as many bugs as 8.0 did. I love that the redesigns of the Goblin and Worgen models are finally coming out.
As a long-time WoW player, I have no problem with the devs adding auto loot, area loot, shared mobs, and shared material nodes into Classic. I also like that they added the option for players to switch between old and updated graphics in game. I truly miss the old talent trees that allow me as a player to customize my character to my play-style. I also miss when professions actually mattered in game, and weren’t just fodder to waste time. I can’t wait to play it, when it comes out Summer 2019.
All in all, I honestly think that the developers of especially WoW and Diablo have isolated themselves so much from their customers, that they really don’t know what the majority of their player base (outside of Mythic raiders and Mythic+ dungeoneers) wants from the aforementioned games. Also fans of Starcraft, I honestly feel sorry for y’all, because it seems that your fun has become an afterthought in many respects.
What did you think about the announcements made today at Blizzcon 2018? Were you excited or disappointed? Let me know in the comments.
