World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Launching This Summer - August 14th

[Raevenlord]

Blizzard has announced the summer release date for its latest World of Warcraft expansion, Battle for Azeroth. It's coming to users' gaming PC of choice by August 14th, just in time for those summer vacations (if most WoW players still enjoy summer vacations, that is... I know I don't).

The new WoW expansion doubles down on faction importance, as players will see never-before-deployed systems that take into account what faction they chose to align with. New areas will be available for both Horde (Zandalar) and the Alliance (Kul TIras) factions; a level-cap augment up to level 120; a 20-player co-op mode, new resources, and a slew of new loot. The game has been available for pre-order for a while now, in both Standard and Digital Deluxe editions. Better save up those vacation days for this one, folks.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[gmn 17]

Wow ... cool

 

[AlienIsGOD]

im excited i only paid $25 for BFA as i used 2 wow tokens towards b.net balance to offset costs

 

[cryohellinc]

Trash.

 

[bug]

I can't believe this is still running. I mean, betwenn release (Nov 2004) and now we're looking at over 170 months of subscription for someone to continuously play. At the standard $15 rate that's over $2.5. Even at the discounted $13 it' still over $2.2. And that does not include the price of the game and expansion packs...

 

[Vayra86]

I can't believe this is still running. I mean, betwenn release (Nov 2004) and now we're looking at over 170 months of subscription for someone to continuously play. At the standard $15 rate that's over $2.5. Even at the discounted $13 it' still over $2.2. And that does not include the price of the game and expansion packs...

There is really only one reason WoW is still running:

Its a really strong MMO and game, always has been and every expansion reinvigorates the formula in some way.

I played vanilla and went on until WotLK was released, then sold my account and earned 2x my sub money back A year ago I bought Legion and picked it back up, and the game is literally still the same at its core, but it has gained so much content over the years, its insane. And each of those bits of content is filled with superb gameplay and well designed boss fights, great balance and the grind has been significantly reduced everywhere. WoW has evolved with the times, no longer do you need to play 24/7 to stay relevant, its plug and play while maintaining great progression mechanics.

 

[Vya Domus]

and the game is literally still the same at its core

I'd argue it's not.

 

[bug]

There is really only one reason WoW is still running:

Its a really strong MMO and game, always has been and every expansion reinvigorates the formula in some way.

I played vanilla and went on until WotLK was released, then sold my account and earned 2x my sub money back A year ago I bought Legion and picked it back up, and the game is literally still the same at its core, but it has gained so much content over the years, its insane. And each of those bits of content is filled with superb gameplay and well designed boss fights, great balance and the grind has been significantly reduced everywhere. WoW has evolved with the times, no longer do you need to play 24/7 to stay relevant, its plug and play while maintaining great progression mechanics.

Yeah, I know how it is, having spent more time than I care to admit playing PoE. But paying to play each month? That's a bridge I think I'll never cross.

 

[Vayra86]

Yeah, I know how it is, having spent more time than I care to admit playing PoE. But paying to play each month? That's a bridge I think I'll never cross.

Well, consider a purchase like Far Cry 5, even if you get it on the cheap at 45 EUR. I really can't spend 3 months in that game, boring as hell. I complete the game, see the map and that's all it really is.. .40 hours tops. In WoW, I could spend that time in a single month no problem.

I'd argue it's not.

What's so different? The loot systems have been changed, but its still the same mechanics, its still global-cooldown based ability spamming, it still has 100% similar controls. What's new is the systems added on top like the artifact progression and stuff, but that's not core mechanics. Stats and character building then maybe? Its a 'same different' kinda situation, the choices are still there but just simplified a bit.

 

[bug]

Well, consider a purchase like Far Cry 5, even if you get it on the cheap at 45 EUR. I really can't spend 3 months in that game, boring as hell.



What's so different? The loot systems have been changed, but its still the same mechanics, its still global-cooldown based ability spamming, it still has 100% similar controls. What's new is the systems added on top like the artifact progression and stuff, but that's not core mechanics.

My beef is with having to purchase the game and pay a subscription on top of that. If you're confident the game is good (which obviously WoW is), then at least have the courtesy of giving the client away and collect the subscription money.
Of course, I prefer the way PoE does it, but hey, not everyone is perfect

Also, I'm not judging Blizzard, I'm just stating my personal preference here.

 

[ZoneDymo]

I dont want to live in a world where people dont play WoW anymore

 

[Vya Domus]

What's so different?

The difficulty mainly , it's like a totally different game. Leveling took months , a raid was a business that used to take an entire day. And if you've played vanilla , you must remember for sure the heinous grind for R14.

 

[Divide Overflow]

I dont want to live in a world where people dont play WoW anymore

This must be why those with similar feelings for Ultima Online now have Legends of Aria and Shroud of the Avatar.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

But paying to play each month? That's a bridge I think I'll never cross.

y'all are uninformed then i paid last in Aug 17 when i resubbed, since then I have bought WoW tokens with gold from the AH. I dont know too many ppl who actually pay the sub fee since the tokens came out. Also like i stated earlier tokens can also be redeemed for b.net balance money with a total of 36 Tokens every 24 months may be purchased for gold via the Auction House, to be used for game time.

 

[Vayra86]

The difficulty mainly , it's like a totally different game. Leveling took months , a raid was a business that used to take an entire day. And if you've played vanilla , you must remember for sure the heinous grind for R14.

Yes it is true. But there is Mythic now and that still requires a pretty high level of skill and group coordination, I'd say todays' Mythic matches the regular vanilla content back then.

But let's face it, was it really so great that it took days to even get the smallest thing done? That's what I mean, WoW has evolved with the times, today no single gamer would take the grind of back when for granted. I like the new balance of things, you can see all the content, and only if you 'git gud' you can tackle the highest difficulties.

Also, time spent =/= difficulty... its just time spent - or wasted, for some.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

Yes it is true. But there is Mythic now and that still requires a pretty high level of skill and group coordination, I'd say todays' Mythic matches the regular vanilla content back then.

But let's face it, was it really so great that it took days to even get the smallest thing done? That's what I mean, WoW has evolved with the times, today no single gamer would take the grind of back when for granted. I like the new balance of things, you can see all the content, and only if you 'git gud' you can tackle the highest difficulties.

Also, time spent =/= difficulty... its just time spent - or wasted, for some.

agreed, even Heroic raids require a bit more coordination i do normal and heroic and we attempt mythic each new raid but we havent cleared any M raids yet

 

[Vayra86]

agreed, even Heroic raids require a bit more coordination i do normal and heroic and we attempt mythic each new raid but we havent cleared any M raids yet

One fight at a time, and if you want my advice: play Mythic dungeons with your core raid setup divided into teams, make it a contest in your guild to see who can push the highest Mythic + each week. You'll be owning Mythic raids in no time. M+ teaches you the finer mechanics of boss fights and classes that you need for raids and you get nice gear score-stuff to push the numbers up as well.

For Legion, I managed to down everything up unto Mythic Gul Dan. Now thát is a fight you'll come to hate. (I unsubbed before they released the last raid)

 

[AlienIsGOD]

One fight at a time, and if you want my advice: play Mythic dungeons with your core raid setup divided into teams, make it a contest in your guild to see who can push the highest Mythic + each week. You'll be owning Mythic raids in no time.

For Legion, I managed to down everything up unto Mythic Gul Dan. Now thát is a fight you'll come to hate.

im in a smaller guild, 25 or 30 ppl isnt always attainable lol. Im content with Heroic for now as i really like the guild im in and the ppl in it

 

[Vayra86]

im in a smaller guild, 25 or 30 ppl isnt always attainable lol. Im content with Heroic for now as i really like the guild im in and the ppl in it

Yeah its true, the people requirement is harsh beyond Heroic. Still you can do the M+ with two or three core groups, its great fun too and you will noticeably improve your gameplay.

 

[Vya Domus]

But let's face it, was it really so great that it took days to even get the smallest thing done?

Maybe not but they took it too far in the other direction in order to gain a bigger and bigger player base.

I like the new balance of things, you can see all the content, and only if you 'git gud' you can tackle the highest difficulties.

It became too balanced for me , I gave up around Cataclysm when class choice became pretty much irrelevant for the most part. Everyone can do everything , no class is truly unique anymore apart from the caster/melee differentiation. It's too dumbed down and too casual for me. I get the itch from time to time to get back into it but every time I end up playing on a vanilla server , goes to show how enticing the new content is , for me at least.

I think it's time for Blizzard to let go of WoW and develop something entirely new. Of course they wont , there is still cash to milk from it but one can only hope.

 

[Vayra86]

Can't agree more with that, WoW definitely feels 'old'. Its a blessing and a curse...

And you're def right about class differentiation too.

 

[dj-electric]

Why WoW survived so much? because it can't get dethroned. That's why.
Every good MMORPG maker has to ruin it with P2W mechanics.

 

[xytras]

Not buying it. I usually get all the xpacks for wow... but not this time. Remake the game!

 

[InVasMani]

I dont want to live in a world where people dont play WoW anymore

Too late...

 

[Xzibit]

Am I the only one disturbed on how burly and tall the dwarf is and how short Greymane is in this picture. Greymane should be the tallest one

Also disturbed how short the Tauren is compared to the other races. There the tallest (playable) race and are suppose to be 2-3 ft taller then trolls-orcs.

Anyhow they will sucker me in for a few months until i come to my senses