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Developers interviewed: no modernized classes, no summoning stones, secret items

· by Davina Asaria

WoW executive producer Holly Longdale and associate production director Clay Stone gave a series of interviews about WoW: Forever. Here are the most important points from all three.

TechRadar: classes, races and summoning stones

Classes

  • The classes will not be modernized. Blizzard doesn't want to overhaul the Classic classes everyone knows.
  • Classes should be simple, but with real depth, and they like the pace and combat speed of the original game.
  • Respecs stay expensive: the price climbs fast and resets once a week.

Dungeons and raids

  • The encounter team played a lot of Classic dungeons and raids to get the feel right. Classic fights were very approachable.
  • They still want to surprise players, but always within those core pillars.

Races

  • There are no plans for retail races such as Goblins or Vulpera. Forever builds on the original lore.

No summoning stones

  • Quick teleports make the world smaller, and they take away part of what makes the Warlock special.

JackedIQ: collections, Shaman tanks and secrets

  • Collections: a retail feature, but in Forever you only see what you have already found. There is a lot hidden in the world, and Blizzard wants the community to discover it, not hand it all out.
  • Shaman tanks: a hot topic within the team, but not something they are working on right now.
  • Items that change your playstyle: there are things in the game that will only be found after launch and change how you play your class. One example is a sword that turns a Mage into a battle-mage. There may be more of those.
  • New zones: Northrend and Pandaria are not ruled out, but the focus is on the best story to tell. The original continents can change too, so there is a lifetime of content in those two.

Inven Global: beta, camping and class design

  • This is Blizzard's largest beta ever in number of players, with an overwhelmingly positive response.
  • They love how camping brings players together, and are already thinking about camping after level 30.
  • Class design: keep classes distinct and avoid them becoming the same. No spec should feel useless; not every spec has to be best everywhere, but every spec should have a reason to be brought.
  • "Horizontal" means making the world bigger: new professions, zones, dungeons, raids and quests. Gear does still get stronger, but they want the power jumps as small as possible, and older content should stay useful for a long time. Best in slot gear can come from an older raid. Whether there will ever be a soft reset, it is too early to say.
  • Dungeons: some original WoW developers are still on the team, and they don't think 1 to 60 was meant to be dungeons only. WoW is social and you should make memories out in the world. That is why they lowered dungeon quest experience and raised mob experience.

What this means for Legends of Azeroth

Good news for anyone who loves Classic: the feel stays, the depth goes up, and there are secrets to find after launch. A guild that explores together finds more!