Blizzard wants no spec to feel useless

No spec in WoW Forever should feel unplayable or useless, says Blizzard. Clay Stone and Holly Longdale told Inven Global how the team keeps classes distinct, why gear still gets replaced and why dungeon leveling was tuned down.

The two sat down for an online interview while they were in Australia for PAX Australia. Inven Global published it on 8 October.

Distinct classes, no meme specs

The answer differs a little per class, but the rule is the same for all of them, said Clay Stone:

While the answer varies slightly for each class, the overall philosophy is to maintain distinct class identities and avoid homogenization.

In vanilla, some specs were seen as practically unplayable because of the meta in the community. In Forever every spec should have a reason to come along:

Every spec doesn’t need to be the absolute best choice in every fight, raid, or dungeon. However, there should be a compelling reason to bring a specific spec to certain content in the game.

That is why the size of the changes differs so much per class. Classes that were already fun got small adjustments. Specs that were called meme specs get far more work. Sometimes the team went too far and pulled back, as with some racial traits. Season of Discovery pushed classes very far on purpose, and that made classes look alike in some situations. Forever tries to avoid that. How classes change after the launch was also part of the interview about Summoning Stones and races.

Simple fights, more preparation

The team loves the feel of combat in vanilla. If players put enough time into preparing, the fight itself does not need to be as complex as in modern World of Warcraft. Some dungeon bosses on the beta only have a handful of mechanics, and players respond well to that. Unless there is a good reason to change course, the team sticks with it. Combat in Forever should feel different from modern WoW on purpose.

Horizontal means a bigger world

Horizontal progression is about the world, not about gear. Forever can add zones, dungeons, raids and quests, deeper profession trees and new Legacy systems. That is what Blizzard means by growing sideways.

Gear does get stronger. A new raid tier brings a power jump, but the team wants to keep that jump as small as possible. Some best-in-slot items can come from an older raid and stay in use for a long time, until they are eventually replaced. The goal is clear:

We want to keep older content relevant for as long as possible.

That goes for older dungeons as well. Whether gear gets a soft reset at some point, it is too early to say.

Camping after level 30

The team is happy with how camping is received, and with how it gets players talking to each other. The beta stops at level 30. Blizzard wants to see how players use their camp past that level, as their professions and crafting grow. Camp objects of the higher tiers already come from blueprints, several of them dungeon drops. The team is already talking about what comes next for camping, but there is nothing to announce yet.

Dungeons are not the whole journey

The dungeon experience on the beta drew criticism. Some of the developers of the original game still work on the team, and Clay Stone does not believe they meant for players to go from level 1 to the level cap in dungeons only. World of Warcraft is a social game, and the journey through Azeroth matters.

That doesn’t mean we dislike dungeons. We love dungeons, and we love dungeon-related quests.

The numbers at the start of the beta may have leaned too far one way. Since then dungeon quests give less bonus experience, and according to Clay Stone dungeon monsters give a bit more. Blizzard expects to land on a middle ground by the launch on 4 November.

Beside Classic and modern WoW

No beta of Blizzard ever had more players taking part, and the response to almost every new feature was very positive. Clay Stone hopes Forever will stand beside Classic and modern World of Warcraft with its own identity. Holly Longdale expects the talk about what feels Classic or modern to fade over time. What counts is what Forever and its community need.