wow Long-term Torghast Plans and Changes: Ion Hazzikostas Polygon Interview

[Starym 3,780]

 

As Torghast uproar reaches a fever pitch on the forums and reddit, with players very angry about the recent buffs and the difficulty of layers 7 and 8, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas talked to Polygon on the subject.

We've already seen the big changes blue post get announced, but we also got some longer term goals detailed. Then there's the high-level, long-term goals for fixes in Torghast:

1. Reduce the average length of a run
2. Tune a few specs so they have a better time in there
3. Make sure the powers are all fun and unique to Torghast, not just amped up versions of existing spells and talents.
4. Clarify explicitly how hard each layer is supposed to be and when players should try it (at which gear level)

Points one and two are the ones that will be tackled with the upcoming fixes before the weekend, while three and four will be more long-term goals.

The reasoning for the recent buffs is also interesting, as Ion explained that the buffs were meant to show players early on that they probably weren't going to be able to beat the boss, as many were wasting almost an hour getting to the end of floor 6 only to find out it was impossible.

Also, as many players mentioned, layers 7 and 8 are just not intended to be done at certain gear levels:

Quote

If layer one was like a normal dungeon, and layer two was like a heroic dungeon, but the time you’re getting up to layer six, that’s like… a Mythic +7. And layer eight is more like a Mythic +13 or +14. And there are some players who are very, very skilled and getting gear from other sources who are doing Mythic +14 dungeons this week! But for some players, they’ll never get there, and for other players it’ll be something they do four months from now when they have tons of epic gear under their belts.

This was a failure in communication, as Ion clarifies, as players just expected to be able to push through and get their Soul Ash, linearly progressing through the layers as they came in week after week, but that was never intended.

Ion also explains that the tower is ideally intended to be both a fast-paced, rapid-fire challenging rush through, as well as a more slow paced, methodical crawl, depending on your run and which part of Torghast you're doing. The Twisting Corridors especially are supposed to be aimed at players that like planning their every step, and as it will be a "one-time accomplishment for cosmetics", there shouldn't be as much pressure to "get it done" weekly.

He also talked about the future of Torghast, with potential timed and challenge modes, and more hardcore options, but the team is wary of doing anything that would feel mandatory every week.

In closing, Ion said:

Quote

We’re working actively to make things better.
And we’re not going to stop until people are having fun and it feels like, you know, a source of stories about how cool and overpowered you are.

Make sure to check out the full interview over at Polygon, as there are many more details and info in  there.

[Environment 28]

If they were wary of making something feel mandatory, why did they tie legendary item progression to this thing then?

[CTEKK 12]

3 hours ago, Environment said:

If they were wary of making something feel mandatory, why did they tie legendary item progression to this thing then?

Not for long though unless you want to max every leggy.. 

[Mishmish 65]

Im very appreciative of their intent to make it cool and fun, and i think it can be, but the soul ash grind needs to be made very easy for that to happen. 

Have partial runs. Failed run but finished floor? You get 1/5 of the soul ash if you fail. Died at boss? 4/5. Can repeat until you get the full amount. Ads catchup for alts and the mode is mostly set, maybe even make it a source of decent solo catchup gear (much less then m+ or raiding or pvp of course). 

 

It has really solid potential, but by tying soul ash to the hardest layers available before twisting corridors, you amke people frel like they "miss out" on alts or multi speccs, and its too big of a miss to sweep it by with "you'll get it later". 

[Odi 10]

13 hours ago, Environment said:

If they were wary of making something feel mandatory, why did they tie legendary item progression to this thing then?

The soul ash reward has a diminishing return as you progress higher and higher level. In case you miss out the top levels, you can easily get those shards from command table. Looking it from the gearing point of view, you are missing out much more not maxing out the M+ runs than skipping the hardest part of the tower. 

Torghast isn't supposed to be an additional weekly grind but an additional long term challenge beside the existing M+, and raid runs which scales up with your gear. It has the nice benefit that you can even enjoy soloing (probably certain classes have upper hand on that). The ever-changing floor/MOB/environment and extra powers among the way and the rng based non essential rewards, such as companions for the command table meant to increase the fun factor. 

I think people are generally confused about the purpose of the tower. Just think about it, by this time you should have at least one decent legendary and if you picked well that should be able to serve you well in the rest of the wow content. Over time you will unlock more but depending on your development, time spent in wow you may not be among the firsts.
As you unlock Venari's reputation, you will have another features to support your Torghast runs.

[Raffinaddi 18]

Wished other things dropped from there, apart from leggo stuff. An alternative progression path for us casuals bored with dungeons or something.