Patch 5.2 interview with Dave Kosak
Inside an old alt's vault
The latest patch 5.2 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsPatch 4.2: The keyring is gone. Gozer is saddened.
by Adam Holisky 
May 23rd 2011 at 12:36PM
Are you the keymaster?
Not in patch 4.2, Mr. Gozer The Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volguus Zildrohar, Gozer the Travler, Lord of the Sebouillia.
Takralus has announced on Blizzard's EU forums that come patch 4.2, the keyring will be disappearing -- a fact that many people have already noticed on the PTR. Any keys that you don't need for the game will vanish into the ether, potentially giving you a very small amount of gold, and any key that you do need to access some part of the game will be transferred to your inventory.
We bid you farewell, keyring. You've been in our toolbar since patch 1.11, and that's special.
The full blue post after the break.
Not in patch 4.2, Mr. Gozer The Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volguus Zildrohar, Gozer the Travler, Lord of the Sebouillia.
Takralus has announced on Blizzard's EU forums that come patch 4.2, the keyring will be disappearing -- a fact that many people have already noticed on the PTR. Any keys that you don't need for the game will vanish into the ether, potentially giving you a very small amount of gold, and any key that you do need to access some part of the game will be transferred to your inventory.
We bid you farewell, keyring. You've been in our toolbar since patch 1.11, and that's special.
The full blue post after the break.
Takralus
World of Warcraft has evolved quite a bit since the day the Keyring bag slot was added in patch 1.11. When implemented, this Keyring provided players with a convenient way of storing dungeon, quest, and other keys automatically. Back when the largest bag was a mind bottling 18 slots - rumoured to be bottomless - the Keyring helped save precious bag space. But as things tend to do, time went on, bags got bigger, and designs for gating content (literally and figuratively) evolved through the years.
In today's Azeroth, keys don't really serve much of a purpose except to take up physical storage space from the game (which could be used for other awesome stuff), and visual interface space on yours. Because of this, we've decided to get rid of the Keyring in order to free up some user interface space for exciting new features. This change could also potentially allow us to play around with the amount of default storage space you're allotted down the road. So, what does this mean for you and the keys you might not have looked at in the last couple expansions or so?
We're currently working on the implementation of a system in patch 4.2 which will handle the removal of the Keyring, while causing you as little hassle with keys as possible. Some keys which no longer serve a purpose in the game will automatically be removed from your inventory. In return, you'll be compensated for them with their respective vendor sell prices in gold. You might also have random leftover quest keys from outdated quests, or quests which were removed in Cataclysm. Keys that fall into this category have no use and no sell price, as they are labelled as quest items, and will be automatically removed from your inventory. Any remaining keys that might still potentially serve some use in the game will be transferred into your regular inventory. If there is not enough space in your inventory to hold any leftover keys once patch 4.2 hits live realms, the keys will be placed in a backlogged storage system. Once space is made for a backlogged key, the key will take that space after you log out or switch to a new zone (i.e. changing continents, entering a dungeon or Battleground, etc.).
We are continuing to work on new ways of allowing you to better manage the storage of various items in the game, and it is our goal to make sure the removal of the Keyring causes as little inconvenience to you as possible.
In today's Azeroth, keys don't really serve much of a purpose except to take up physical storage space from the game (which could be used for other awesome stuff), and visual interface space on yours. Because of this, we've decided to get rid of the Keyring in order to free up some user interface space for exciting new features. This change could also potentially allow us to play around with the amount of default storage space you're allotted down the road. So, what does this mean for you and the keys you might not have looked at in the last couple expansions or so?
We're currently working on the implementation of a system in patch 4.2 which will handle the removal of the Keyring, while causing you as little hassle with keys as possible. Some keys which no longer serve a purpose in the game will automatically be removed from your inventory. In return, you'll be compensated for them with their respective vendor sell prices in gold. You might also have random leftover quest keys from outdated quests, or quests which were removed in Cataclysm. Keys that fall into this category have no use and no sell price, as they are labelled as quest items, and will be automatically removed from your inventory. Any remaining keys that might still potentially serve some use in the game will be transferred into your regular inventory. If there is not enough space in your inventory to hold any leftover keys once patch 4.2 hits live realms, the keys will be placed in a backlogged storage system. Once space is made for a backlogged key, the key will take that space after you log out or switch to a new zone (i.e. changing continents, entering a dungeon or Battleground, etc.).
We are continuing to work on new ways of allowing you to better manage the storage of various items in the game, and it is our goal to make sure the removal of the Keyring causes as little inconvenience to you as possible.
Filed under: News items
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 7)
Thomas Higgins May 23rd 2011 1:58PM
I am sorry but what is the expletive deleted by sheer force of will point of this idiocy? Yet again, something that makes life a little bit easier is being yanked by Blizzard for no discernable reason. The point of the key ring is to stop the vast number of keys one gets foisted with in the game overflowing the bags you actually use, you know, to carry useful stuff in. This is complete lunacy, an eroding of the quality of life in the game and should be rethought of by Blizzard long before the change is due to go live.
Cabalier May 23rd 2011 2:00PM
Another step into a simpler and boring game.
The key ring is not something you use at all, but when you see it you know it has a lot of possibilities, and when you are in a big game like this you are sure that there is a lot of things you don’t know about and it is kind of the magic of the game.
I have been playing 1 year by now and when I enter it I feel in a rich world full of possibilities, with a lot of options, a lot of strange quest that I don’t know about, maybe if I go to a different town I get a quest for other map and get some really mystery things.
Whid cataclysm we have less quest (yes they are new but they are less), less stats, less talents, less less….
I really don’t understand why they quit something. They don’t want the chance to use it in the future?
Every day this game is become more a solo arcade game instead of the MMORPG
Mperiolat May 23rd 2011 2:08PM
I'm saddened to lose the keyring, mainly because now the keys eat my bag space. Even if keys stack for quests, it's one less slot available for my needs.
Hope Blizz reconsiders, just to make things easier on us.
Buffles May 23rd 2011 2:08PM
This was the first thing I thought of. If we have to have our keys on us the entire time, taking up our precious bagspace, thats going to be a huge inconvenience and a major annoyance.
Buffles May 23rd 2011 2:09PM
Gah, stupid reply button. This was in reference to Tarvo's question about our BC heroic keys.
Randy* May 23rd 2011 2:14PM
I can't remember the last time I used a key except maybe when my best friend and I were doing Kara mount runs before Cata hit.
As for tabards, I was running into the same problem... what to do with all those I'm not using. Finally I figured that I could get rid of them if they weren't necessary. I kept my guild tabard. I kept any rep tabard that I wasn't exalted with. I kept special tabards such as the Argent Crusade one and the Loremaster one. The rest could go. Once you have them, they count for any associated achievement anyway.
Shade May 23rd 2011 2:36PM
Out of all the keys you have, a lot of them are superfluous. Quest items you collected too much of. Keys that lost functionality when Cataclysm came out. Keys that are going to lose their functionality when 4.2 hits. Out of the other keys, a lot of them are blacksmithing keys, and there is absolutely no need to have anything other than a few Obsidium Skeleton Keys - they work on older lockboxes too.
If you want those old keys as trophies, fine - keep them with your old tier armor and early epics. The only complaints that I understand are about Blizzard removing these keys from the game. Yes the keys will take up space but if you can fill up (28 + 7(26) = ) 210 bank slots and (16 + 4(26) = ) 120 inventory slots, don't you think maybe you have too much stuff?
And about removing key requirements, what's the point in keeping key requirements for old content that no one visits anymore? Save for the players who actually visit old gated content every one or two lockouts, removing requirements isn't going to affect max-level characters. A lot of keys are from the "glory days" of BC, but can you really claim to love BC content so much if you almost never spare time to go back to it? It's irrationally selfish to want other people not to see that content because you worked to get it many years and levels ago. In Vanilla, it took a lot of effort to scrape together a thousand gold, and now it barely takes any. Yet there's comparatively little complaining about how what took a lot of effort years back is so easy today.
Think about whether this change is *really* going to destroy your WoW experience as much as everyone seems to be saying it is. Clear out a few bank slots and throw out your Arcanite Skeleton Keys and you're really not going to notice any significant difference a week down the road.
StClair May 23rd 2011 4:27PM
"too much stuff"?
I'm sorry, but I don't understand what these words mean...
Quixota Jun 4th 2011 9:07AM
It's not "old content" if you're a new player, or do you think the player base has stagnated to the point of all "new" toons just being alt's? Personally, I think new players are being short-changed these days with the reduction in the epic feel of WoW... no story-rich class or mount quest chains anymore... Sunken Temple is more Shrunken Temple now than the rite of passage it used to be, the Scholo key quest-chain was a great explore once upon a time, and that royal "booting" you got from the NE girlie in Azshara all the way to EPL was just awesome (and a little bit pants-wetting) before it became just a teleport /sigh.
I do like the suggestion that attunements and keys become another tab on the professions/mounts/companions page... I've really been enjoying getting those rep's on my lvl 70's rogue and druid for the Outland H keys and hope that you still at least have to get to Honoured with those factions to enter those H's with the patch changes. Come on, just to Honoured really only involves doing the zone quests and maybe a couple of dungeons. If you're that cranky about the "time-sink" why are you bothering to play a game you're obviously not really enjoying to immerse yourselves in any more? And if you just want to get to "end-game" yet again, levelling is so fast now that you can just sit in one of the capitals complaining between lfg dungeon runs for hardly any time at all before you're 85.
Arrohon May 23rd 2011 2:54PM
Time to start going through my 10 stacks of skeleton keys...
PeeWee May 23rd 2011 3:05PM
Bigger backpack, sure! For PREMIUM accounts, I bet. -.-
Xeph May 23rd 2011 3:06PM
Yes Blizzard, bags have gotten bigger over time, but over time people need or collect more things which fills up those extra few extra slots pretty darn fast. On my main, I had to store my tank gear, my DPS gear, my PvP gear, some extra gear to swap out on certain fights, potions, flasks, gems, some mats, and a ton of soulbound items that I can't get again due to them being from events, quests, or some raid no one runs anymore. Between all that I don't have the spare room to accommodate a half-dozen or dozen keys.
The key ring was hurting no one and was benefiting many. If the keyring was to be removed, then the keys should have been turned into spells or something so that they don't take up bag slots.
Not to mention that this could mean that you need a key in your inventory to get into some places, meaning a lot of people are going to be stuck running to a bank and back because they forgot their key was in the bank. Unless Blizzard removes the need for all keys, that is.
I don't understand the logic behind this decision at all =/
Krytture May 23rd 2011 3:21PM
That comes to 44GB if everyone only has 1 toon.
I will donate 2 1TB drives to Blizzard if thats the only thing pushing this issue. That should be plenty of space to store our Key Bag info.
Don't try and make it sound like its a lot of info, its not. its in no way effecting anything. The only possible deal could be they want that tiny square next to your bags for something. As thats the only real thing they will be gaining.
Personally, I think they should add another page to our Skill/Profession/Mount/Pet book thing. It could store our Attunments and Keys There. Since we don't actually need a "physical" key. We just need a spell effect type thing. This would be a good place to show/list those.
Kemilev May 23rd 2011 3:22PM
Some folks collect mounts, or pets, or tabards, or even pocket lint... I collect keys. This news really makes me unhappy. Almost as unhappy as the removal of The Keymaster achievement.
Change is inevitable I guess, but I really wish Blizzard would have made that achievement a feat of strength.
Evyloo May 23rd 2011 4:02PM
All I can say is they'd better be putting something totally awesome in its place. That loss of bag space is gonna hurt.
Suzaku May 24th 2011 11:30AM
Clickable icons for the Raid Browser and Encounter Journal.
I'm not kidding. That's what they needed the UI space for. They're also shrinking the backpack icon to the same size as the other four bags.
visuallynoisy May 23rd 2011 4:07PM
"Back when the largest bag was a mind bottling 18 slots - rumoured to be bottomless - the Keyring helped save precious bag space."
Mind bottling? This reminds me of something on television from a few years back and I can't remember what it was. Two characters arguing between mind-bottling and mind-boggling... damn it, this is going to drive me nuts.
visuallynoisy May 23rd 2011 4:08PM
BLADES OF GLORY! YUSSSSS. CASE SOLVED.
Haimdall May 23rd 2011 4:23PM
I'll never give up my keys, Blizzard.
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH
Jastaa-Hydraxis May 23rd 2011 4:29PM
Everyone speaks of a tabard slot. How about a tabard AND shirt spot!
We need achievements for trying on new shirts since they are the ultimate in fashion.
I'm thinking something along the lines of:
Shirtload of Clothes
Equip 50 different shirts.