July 8, Blizzard held a private presentation on World of Warcraft: Shadowlands for journalists. We attended the event and asked questions to Morgan Day, the chief designer of the fighting scenes. We have no doubt left – the new addition will be incredibly cool!
->
->
->
->
Day spoke enthusiastically of a man who is deeply in love with his work, in the world of World of Warcraft in general and Shadowlands in particular – it was not for nothing that his personal NPC appeared in the MMORPG back in the days of Wrath of the Lich King. Despite the fact that journalists asked complex and deep questions about the balance of abilities of the covenants and classes, Day answered as much as possible everything – there was not enough time allotted for the interview, but each of the authors talked with the game designer on a topic of interest.
About covenants and mediums
Most of the media representatives were interested in the covenant system, the main novelty of the supplement. Covenants are the indigenous factions of the Shadowlands, with which the hero will need to conclude an agreement to receive various bonuses. There are four of them, but one to choose.
/https://hb.bizmrg.com/cybersportru-media/0b/0b9642f56600a586756a75f70a0a2557.jpg?m=e9147d854a0af117504aaa5ea764964a)
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands | Blizzard
- Kirii – residents of the location “Bastion”, both externally and internally similar to angels, humble and faithful to the order.
- Necrolords from Muldraxus. Warlike undead, skilled spies and defenders of the Dark Lands.
- Night folk from Ardenveld. Protectors of nature, who serve as guides of souls in the cycle of life and death.
- Fans, residents of the Revendreth. The same vampires in WoW that everyone was waiting for. Their main desire is to purify the souls of sinners sent to them by the Arbiter.
Because of the need to choose, many people wonder: will the bonuses of any of the covenants be too strong or mandatory for a particular class and specialization. Day assured – no, as any user will be able to choose a feature that suits him according to the style of the game, and learn previously inaccessible spells.
“The main ability of the covenant is only a small part of what they give the character and how they affect the gameplay. And to consider the advantages that these or other covenants provide, it is necessary in aggregate. During the beta test, users will be able to delve deeper into this system. One of the gameplay features will be the connection of souls – Form Soulbinds, which will give the character not only an increase in basic characteristics like health points, but also special skills that his class, in principle, could not possess. For example, Nadjia the Misblade is a wonderful duelist, she can teach the hero to parry blows, even if he never knew how. This is just part of the many possibilities that the covenant will give you. Each covenant will have these abilities unique, and everyone will be able to master them: it doesn’t matter whether you are a druid, a warlock or a warrior. ”
Form Soulbinds is a special soul connection only possible in the Shadowlands world. It will be based on a system of conductors that are inserted into the cells of the soul binding interface – players have already seen something similar in Legion, where relics could be inserted into the legendary weapon. According to Day, the guides will be mined from a wide variety of sources, including PvP and key dungeons. The talents of mediums that activate communication will be common to all classes, and the conductors will be unique to each specialization. Each covenant will have at least three mediums.
/https://hb.bizmrg.com/cybersportru-media/cd/cd910ce2510f470f83ecb8bf9e1da996.jpg?m=f51e10bfe192053ddea0cf11200afdba)
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands | Blizzard
Some users prefer to play in one class, but have not decided on specialization, from time to time playing the role of DD, as well as a tank or a doctor. The game designer was asked if specialization dictates the choice of a particular medium initially. He replied that Blizzard tried to make all Shadowlands factions attractive, but each would have both strengths and weaknesses.
“This is an issue that we have discussed a lot. We want the covenant to be multi-functional. Our goal was not to create a “convenient” covenant for a specific specialization like Ardenveld for the Mistweaver or Muldraxus for Khmelevar. ”
Each covenant will have its own chain of tasks at the maximum level, so the player will have time to get to know everyone. You can also change your selection at any time.
“Covenants can be changed. In the course of pumping, you will get acquainted with each of the covenants, with their history and abilities. Covenants are not just a skill choice. You might want to choose a kyri because they have a very interesting ENT. And when you join them, you suddenly decide that this is not what you would like, and change the covenant, for example, to venters or night folk. This is easy to do, but each will have to be downloaded separately. However, if you want to return, you will have to get the representatives of the faction again, because earlier you betrayed them. It will be difficult, but the previous progress will eventually remain. ”
In Shadowlands, Renown will also be available to players. Users will be able to increase his level weekly, collecting anima and saving souls. Naturally, all the journalists wondered if this would be another level of grind that forces fans to launch the game daily. The answer is no. Everyone can catch up, even after missing a couple of weeks in a row.
/https://hb.bizmrg.com/cybersportru-media/50/50cf268501828f3f567d389eec82fc77.jpg?m=c15805c1751bc41b2a3e74a153a57387)
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands | Blizzard
About exploring the world and flying
One of the frequently asked questions about World of Warcraft: Shadowlands – what will be the flight system? In addition to Warlords of Draenor, developers have introduced a phased system for unlocking movements in air transport: a player must have a very difficult achievement, requiring not only to look at all corners of current locations, but also to pump a reputation with several factions to the maximum level. I experienced this “sudden hardcore” on myself – my character never learned to fly in Draenor. Then it was necessary not to miss a single patch during the addition in order to get the privilege of flights on time. After WoD, the system was eased a little, but boosting your reputation still became a sticking point in both Legion and Battle for Azeroth.
“We talked a lot about the study of the game world. This is what excites many. Shadowlands is an unusual fantastic place, the rules there are not the same as in Azeroth. We get a feedback that boosting reputation is the main drawback of the flight unlocking system, it is a complex and lengthy process that not everyone liked. We are really looking for other ways to unlock flights, but at the moment I can’t reveal the details. ”
About PvP Features
WoW is a multifaceted game where everyone can find something to their liking. It is globally accepted to divide players into PvE- and PvP-oriented. Many users complained that in Battle for Azeroth fans of battles with players are also required to go through epic dungeons and even raids in order to get good equipment.
“In Shadowlands, we plan to add a PvP equipment merchant who was last added to Warlords of Draenor.”
In Shadowlands, currency for purchasing items for battles with players will be credited every week, depending on the progress in PvP. With its help it will be possible not only to purchase equipment, but also to improve the current one. Blizzard does not want to create barriers between PvP and PvE-oriented users, they will be able to combine equipment. For example, many of the accessories in Battle for Azeroth that could be obtained in raids were very good for PvP, and at the beginning of the expansion, many users produced powerful weapons in the arena – and with their help they killed bosses in the raid. According to Morgan Day, this is a healthy system that equally encourages both aspects of the game.
Medium in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands | Blizzard
In Shadowlands, developers will add “runic powers” that can be assigned to legendary items. According to Day, Blizzard received many positive reviews about the Legion Legendary item system. The users liked it because of the unique effects that affect the gameplay, whether it be PvP in the open world, dungeons, arenas or raids. However, many complained that they could not get the necessary item, because in Legion they fell out by accident. The game designer believes that there should be a more understandable way to get specific equipment – this is the main advantage of the “runic forces”.
“Regarding the balance of legendary items in PvP, the main difference between the Shadowlands system and Legion is that before a player, in addition to weapons, could carry as many as two incredibly powerful artifacts that greatly affect the gameplay. In the new addition, you can only wear one – but they will have different options: not only for damage, but also for survival and control, which is important in PvP. We tried to keep this in mind while working on the creation of legendary objects. “
About the beautiful – music and cosmetics
Of course, I did not miss the opportunity to ask about the latest transmog features in Shadowlands. Some players will remember that Blizzard has already added premium hats to the in-game store, such as Eternal Winter Crown and Firelord Tiara. January 6, 2019 they were removed from the list of goods, but the final set called “See you again!” made me believe that cosmetic items would still return to the shelves of the Blizzard store. It seems that not this time.
“I am glad to hear a question about transmog. Many players seek to find a unique image that suits their character, often conquer old raids only in order to get a suitable item for a transmog set. I can’t say anything about the appearance of items in the in-game store, but we came up with something. Now players cannot enchant Legion artifacts for another specialization – for example, being a paladin tank, you need to change the specialization to “Light” to get the desired look of the weapon. But in Shadowlands this will be possible – you just need to get the appropriate artifact. “
My colleague, Vyacheslav pilotbaker Ipatov, asked if Blizzard plans to continue to produce stunning music content directly related to the characters in the fantasy universe. As an example, he cited the song “Daughter of the Seas”, which in Russian localization was performed by Natalia “Helavisa” O’Shea and Mikhail Maslovsky. This cinematic entered Battle for Azeroth – and for many became an occasion to return to the game.
o.addEventListener('load', function () { callback(); }, false);
s.parentNode.insertBefore(o, s); } }
asyncLoad( 'https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js', function () { window.instgrm.Embeds.process(); }, !!window.instgrm );
asyncLoad( 'https://cdn.playbuzz.com/widget/feed.js', function () {
}, !!window.PlayBuzz );
asyncLoad( 'https://static.apester.com/js/sdk/v2.0/apester-javascript-sdk.min.js', function () {
}, !!window.APESTER );
asyncLoad( 'https://wtrfall.com/widget.js', function () { if (!window.WTF || !WTF.bootstrap || !WTF.bootstrap("wtf-broadcast")) { setTimeout(arguments.callee, 50); } }, !!window.WTF );
asyncLoad( '//vk.com/js/api/openapi.js?147', function() { if (!window.$ || !window.VK || !VK.Widgets || !VK.Widgets.Post) { setTimeout(arguments.callee, 50);
return; }
$('.vk_post').each(function(i, elm) { var post = $(elm).data();
VK.Widgets.Post($(elm).attr('id'), post.userId, post.id, post.hash); }); }, !!window.VK ); })(); });
