Will Wrath really be ready by November 13?
by Zach Yonzon 
Sep 25th 2008 at 7:00PM
This time around, though, 'soon' is actually November 13, Wrath of the Lich King's shipping date. The announcement came as a surprise to some of us, specially those who were in the Beta and knew a lot of the classes still needed balancing. But a confirmed release date is always exciting and I suppose that overshadowed whatever doubts we might have had about Wrath being ready in time. And then yesterday, Koraa posted something over at the Hunter forums that greatly disturbed me. Talking about Trap Mastery, he said: "this will now be the 41-point Survival talent. Granted, not very sexy for a 41-pointer but we'll do some changes there in a future patch (after WOLK ships)."
Did I read that right? Did Koraa actually admit that they'll be shipping Wrath of the Lich King with a Hunter talent they know isn't ready for primetime? Didn't he essentially say, "we know it doesn't work, but we'll fix it after we release it"? I don't know about you, but that just doesn't sound like the Blizzard we've all come to know and love. Even Ghostcrawler mentioned that the 51-point talent Riptide wasn't going to ship with the intended sounds and animation. Am I supposed to be apprehensive now? Because honestly, I am.We're about a month and two weeks away from Wrath. The golden master of the game should be pressed really soon, shouldn't it? This means we actually have just a couple more weeks, maybe less, to straighten things out before all that code is compiled and pressed into DVDs, packed into those nifty little boxes, and shipped out to where we can get our greedy hands on them. So how come things don't feel as ready as what Blizzard usually describes as "ready"?
Don't get me wrong, I like what I've seen so far in Beta. The game looks great, the story is shaping up phenomenally, and even the little touches -- especially the little touches -- are wonderful. But there's obviously a lot more work to be done. I'm very hopeful that things will balance out in the end, but Koraa's post really upset me. It indicates that Blizzard is willing to put out a game that they know isn't finished, and that's extremely unsettling. Blizzard has never been a slave to release dates and it's always worked to their advantage. If it means getting a better game, this is one instance where I'd rather have Wrath shipped later rather than sooner.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Wrath of the Lich King, Forums, Polls
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Mybones Sep 25th 2008 7:05PM
I don't see too much of a problem with releasing the game with a few small problems and nothing game breaking. Had it been, "Well, we know Utgarde Keep is one of our new instances, but half of the entire instance map is missing" then I would see pushing it back. The riptide animation/sound not being as it should be will no way break the game and make it unenjoyable, although the hunter talent is a little overboard, but still, nothing game breaking that will keep people from experiencing content on an equal level.
darian Sep 25th 2008 7:51PM
People forget that both Vanilla and BC launched the same way. There were small bugs and minor issues, but 95% of the game worked as it should.
You shouldn't allow for more than a few extremely minor problems, but at the same time waiting "until it's ready" means you end up in a Duke Nukem Forever type situation.
Is WotLK ready as it is now? No way, and it's possible it won't improve sufficiently by Nov. 13th. I, however, have faith that Blizzard knows what they're doing enough to delay the game if it comes to that.
Jack Sep 25th 2008 10:57PM
I guess it depends on your definition of "small problems." Well, and what class you play.
If you're a Hunter you shouldn't even buy the expansion until they are done working on Hunters. They said LoS was a huge problem and that two new abilities were in the works. Not only have they not made it into the game, they haven't even been discussed in the months since.
Pets scale horribly, and Blizzard talks about fixing them so they aren't killed in three hits. So far nearly nothing has been done.
Blizzard said they were going to buff Hunter melee (Why, who knows, but that's what they said.) So far they nerfed Hunter dodge by around 5%, they nerfed Kill Command into uselessness, and they removed a few +AP talents. But hey, at least we get 10% AP on Aspect of the Beast and Mongoose Bite no longer requires dodge!
AotV is in a painfully weak state for PvP, and Blizzard even acknowledged it. Will they fix it before release? Who know, they said they were going to, but apparently there is some big bad problem with putting a simple regen on it. So most likely it will also go live in a gimped state.
Blizzard also said they agreed trap mechanics were a problem, and they would be worked on, but they didn't want to make traps throw-able. Well, after months of next to no changes to traps (Arming time was reduced by 1 sec, Freezing Trap takes a little damage before breaking) Blizzard is now experimenting with shootable traps *caugh*throw-able*caugh*.
Now Hunters are told their talent trees are going to be majorly reorganized again, only 6 weeks before release.
Hunters shouldn't complain though, it's not like they are on the bottom of nearly every single Arena Bracket for all 4 seasons now...
kabshiel Sep 25th 2008 9:32PM
Vanilla WoW was released with some classes that just sucked and needed to be heavily reworked later. It's not a new thing.
slimj091 Sep 25th 2008 9:39PM
"If you're a Hunter you shouldn't even buy the expansion until they are done working on Hunters."
a few months of no hunter's would be the most beautiful gift blizzard could ever give the rest of it's non-hunter player's. I certainly hope it pans out the way you suggest it should. :D
Turtlehead Sep 26th 2008 12:34AM
"Well, and what class you play.
If you're a Hunter you shouldn't even buy the expansion until they are done working on Hunters."
And if you only care about arena which apparently is what you mean.
Hunters have gotten a ridiculous amount of love so far PvE solo/small group. True tanking? okay AoE? Heck, even for PvP: a disarming pet is not trivial. The arrow trap isn't fantastic but it's not bad (for PvE), allows lots of new tricks for specialty circumstances which can easily be arranged.
I tooled mine around on beta and it was sickeningly good. Not raided with it yet, so mana may still be a big issue. Otherwise, they're fine--and, sadly, may replace my beloved main (mage; that class is getting more of the same but not enough of it either) and maybe main alt (warlock; confused state right now but generally fine...they really need to work on destro though. Making fire the way to go through complicated gimmick casting won't work any better than it did for BC arcane mages; that the tree is still great is more about how strong it started than good new directions).
Okay, I say fine...BM domination is still an issue, though survival has some sweet new tricks.
On the broader issue, meh. Yeah, some things are a mess. Same was true with BC. I'm mostly worried the pacing will be off. I hated all the attunement hoops as much as anyone but they did serve a purpose, especially coupled to the bigger gear reset. Lich is going to hit with a better geared player base and less of a reset AND no roadblocks...it's going to be stripmined content-wise in short order.
YouHaveBeenRickrolled Sep 26th 2008 5:21AM
WotLK is going to patched so much and so often they might as well ship a Rickroll video in the box instead of any software.
joggoms Sep 26th 2008 11:51AM
BC is so boring and so over-played I just want the expansion. I'll live with bugs and multiple patches...as long as the game is playable.
Me wants new contents!
Stephen Sep 26th 2008 3:21PM
I’m a prot warrior and I’m not sure I’m going to continue when WotLk hits the shops, not that I couldn’t tank with the way the talents are now, just that there is no class balance.
infection Sep 26th 2008 5:22PM
you do realize that they have to make around 10 million cd's....
if they try to fix every single thing in the game.. we would never get it.
Chilblain Sep 25th 2008 7:06PM
Blame Activision.
Sean Riley Sep 25th 2008 7:10PM
I'm trying to convince myself you don't have the right answer here.
Kloepta Sep 26th 2008 12:19AM
My immediate reaction was this as well. Activision's influence is being felt here I think.
Jacob Sep 25th 2008 7:42PM
I have to agree. Activison most likely changed Blizzard's normal policy of "when its ready" to setting a more concrete shipping date. It just seems that they tend to run their business a bit differently than Blizzard does
Cowbane Sep 25th 2008 8:00PM
Blame Activision: New Catchphrase. Nerf to your class? Blame Activision. Other class has an awesome buff? Blame Activision. Are the servers down for rolling restarts? Blame Activision.
nojak Sep 25th 2008 8:22PM
I agree, I think Activision, although not publicly saying so, is pushing Blizzard for a release date. I also think, in part, it's the conglomerate fear of Activision and Blizzard about War Hammer Online, and get out the competition of WotLK as soon as possible that adds to this. Normally, I don't think we'd see this from Blizzard, but due to the merger, and circumstances of War Hammer Online already being release, things are different this time around.
I don't think (and I hope we don't) see too much more of this in the future. The "It's done when it's done" philosophy is something they need to stick to and other developers (EA, you hear me?) need to learn.
Chilblain Sep 25th 2008 11:33PM
Look, I'm excited for Wrath too. I have no doubt that Blizzard will put the polish on it through patches and stuff... I mean, it's an MMO so it's constantly evolving anyway. But I think we all know this is a money/shareholder decision (Activision was counting on 4th qtr WotLK revenue since, what, June?) and it is a little sad. Not for Wrath so much, but for the future. What else will Blizzard do because Activision makes them?
AndKalgan Sep 26th 2008 5:03AM
Really what a pile of BS, how can they possibly balance classes without finished talents?!!!!!!
And not only will they not be finished for expansion, they won't be finished for the patch.
I think it about time blizzard stops blowing smoke up our butts.
Lies, damn lies, and Kalgan.
Oz Sep 26th 2008 9:44AM
It is not Activision, it is the almighty dollar that led to the timing of the release date.
Angry Joe Sep 26th 2008 2:21PM
Actually, blame Warhammer.