wow-classic Icy Veins WoW Classic Interview: Discoveries and Runes, LFR, ICC Nerfs and Much More

[Staff 1,189]

We had  the opportunity to talk to WoW Classic developers about all things Cataclysm, Wrath and Season of Discovery! Our own Crix dove deep into the matter with Senior Game Producer Josh Greenfield and Lead Software Engineer Nora Valletta, so let's get right to it! 

Season of Discovery

• XP gains are not being changed, so the level 25 cap should be reachable very quickly. 
• Mob damage is being increased in the open world as well to compensate for the power of runes, however, HP is not. 
• No specifics on phase 1 duration, but "a number of weeks, probably more than a month, less than 3-4 months". 
• The original unarmored racial mount models will be rewarded from the Ashenvale outdoor PvP event (but only usable in Ashenvale).
• Runes are soulbound. 
• Certain runes are only usable in certain slots (like Metamorphosis in the glove slot). 
• An example of a discovery: an object in the world giving hints of where to look for the next clues. They are not randomly generated or placed, which is why they did not want a PTR, so players could discover them on their own (for a while at least). 
• Some runes are easy to discover, like just finding a chest, but others are at the end of a chain spanning multiple zones (like Metamorphosis for example). It seems the "better" aka more impressive runes will be more difficult to find/take more time. 
• There are hundreds of discoveries to find. There will be multiple ways to find a specific rune, but the discovery method will be different. 
• You will need other players for some of the discoveries. An example given was you'd need two healers for a ritual to release a dead person's spirit to the Shadowlands, and those involved would get their own class's rune at the end. 
• There may be discoveries that take you into the Blackfathom Deeps raid. 
• Even only getting the tutorial rune will be enough to be strong enough until the level cap. 
• Warlock and Shaman tanks should be relatively as strong as other tanks, but maybe not in all situations. 
• Warsong Gulch will be part of phase 1, but you won't be able to get all the ranks. 
• There will definitely be adjustments to level 60 raids, but it's too soon to say what. 
   

Classic Era/Hardcore

• The new Self Found option won't require separate servers, it will just be an option on character creation. You can disable the option at any time, but you can't re-enable it after that.
• There will be a special badge/"buff" (presumably without any actual benefits) signifying you made it to 60 in Self Found. 
• No fresh servers planned.
   

Cataclysm Classic

• Whether LFR makes it into Cata is still being discussed. The door isn't closed, but they're prefer not to. 
• A major talent/class overhaul was considered, but probably won't happen, with smaller tactical changes more likely.
• Zul Aman and Zul Gurub will most likely come in a mid-patch update between launch and Firelands, it won't be a full phase. 
• One of the things they're most excited for is the Titan Rune implementation for Cataclysm dungeons.
• The are adjusting the cadence of patches and raid releases, speeding things up. There's an assumption that part of the reason Cataclysm was divisive was because of the slow pace of patches/raids (especially Dragon Soul). 
• They're still thinking about whether to change anything regarding the 10 vs 25 man raid difficulties, as there were many pros and cons to the system. 
• There will be changes to guilds, de-focusing the reward structure that favored mega guilds. 
   

Wrath Classic

• There are currently no plans for TBC or Wrath Classic Era, but they are open to feedback. "Never say never."
• They have not decided on when the Icecrown Citadel nerfs/ player buffs will arrive. They did it too early with Serpentshrine Cavern so they learned from that, and will wait for people to say that they're ready for them before implementing the for ICC. 
• Ruby Sanctum is coming early 2024. 

 

[Seksi 207]

Sounds great! We'll have a TON of WoW Classic (both Cata and SoD) to discover and play in the next years, love it!

[Seksi 207]

Also, 

• The are adjusting the cadence of patches and raid releases, speeding things up. There's an assumption that part of the reason Cataclysm was divisive was because of the slow pace of patches/raids (especially Dragon Soul). 

200% this, had a blast back in the day playing through the raids and content but it was the first expansion where we got very little of it when considering it needed to fill 2 years of play time.

A 1-year'ish Cataclysm would be amazing, and that's what I hope we get!