Classic WoW

The interviewed opened with a question about more Classic information, like a release date or test realms. Blizzard didn't really have anything new to share at this point, but highlighted the recent increase in Classic blue posts these last few weeks. They're continuing to work on Classic and restore old systems.

Lore and Story

When asked about Azshara's role in the conflict between the Alliance and Horde, Ion emphasized that she will play a major role, with a surprising turn of events we won't expect.Previously, the Wowhead team imagined potential plot twists with Azshara and the Crucible of Storms. In N'Zoth Wants Us to Win: Our Test in the Crucible of Storms, we speculate that N'Zoth and Azshara are not working together, and he wants to trick us into defeating her. In The Price of Power: Relics Within the Crucible of Storms, we speculate on the malicious uses of these relics and what mastering them means.

Classes

The same classes being used during the MDI isn't a surprise, due to the nature of tournament realms, available classes, and items, as well as the mindset to do whatever it takes to have the most optimal group in a competitive setting. However, Blizzard would like to see more class diversity in high-end Mythics, especially in various affixes, and will keep this in mind when designing future affixes.

No additional per-class 4th specializations are planned in the near-future, because balancing 36 specs is already a challenge for developers, creating specs that feel unique, with specific strengths and weaknesses. It can also be difficult for new players to learn dozens of specs, each with different rotations, talents, cooldowns, etc.

To get to a point where more specializations would be considered, the existing specializations have to feel more distinctive and less homogenized--this could take the form of adding new abilities that heighten some strengths and weaknesses.

BFA Features

Mechagon is smaller than Nazjatar, but is still filled with content. It will be slightly bigger than the Timeless Isle in Mists of Pandaria.

Nazjatar will be a large open-world zone culminating in us confronting Queen Azshara.

Nothing more to share on the future of fighting AI NPCs in more battlegrounds, besides the existing Arathi Basin brawl.

Legion and Warlords included features that tied in seamlessly with other game content--for example, the Order Hall furthered the story of the Artifact Weapon. A flaw of Battle for Azeroth was the disconnect between the different systems, which in turn did not make players feel they were playing a personalized story. For example, farming Azerite on Island Expeditions felt unsatisfying and disconnected from a real story.

Similar to the PC Gamer Interview, Ion talked about the design flaws behind the Azerite system, pointing to a desire to add more choice when picking traits which was lacking in Artifacts after the first few months. Ion now admits that getting new Azerite in BFA felt like a loss instead of a win. In 8.2, the Heart of Azeroth should feel more like the Artifact system, with goals throughout the expansion to reach.

Blizzard is still committed to improving the gameplay and making BFA great throughout the rest of the expansion.

Communication

Blizzard spends a lot of time reading the forums, Twitter, Reddit, videos, etc. A challenge with communication is remembering that most players are not on social media for Warcraft discussion, remaining silent, and accounting for their opinions and playstyles when making big changes. They also don't want to announce things too quickly, having to roll things back, as that would cause disappointment.

Leveling

Following up on the March Q&A discussing flaws with leveling, Ion once again stated that they want to get back to a point where every level has an impact on the character, admitting that in BFA, players didn't have much to look forward to and just got weaker every level.

When asked about implementing systems like Guild Wars or Elder Scrolls Online, which had no levels, he replied that leveling and character progression is an important part of an RPG--WoW's roots.

The Buffed.de Interview