If you read the current announcement on the part of Blizzard about patch 9.1.5, you will inevitably feel reminded of a whole series of fake leaks about any patches or expansions. They simply list all the suggestions that were made in the community about any system in the game and that's it. And Blizzard is now moving in a similar direction. Apparently, they've spent the past few months going through the forums (and buffed articles) and compiling everything that players are unhappy with. Then the developers stripped away everything that couldn't be fixed quickly and easily, and what's left is the agenda for patch 9.1.5. There's hardly a customization in there that hasn't been requested by players in the same or similar form. Is this the last straw the developers are grasping at to make Shadowlands a success after all, or are they heralding the end of the expansion?
Everything less strict
WoW: Blizzard grasps at the last straw with 9.1.5 and fulfills (almost) all player wishes (1) Source: buffed So we can be happy about the fact that pact changes will soon mean much less effort. If the developers make good on their announcements, we will be able to switch back and forth several times a day in a few months, as soon as we have reached the maximum fame level, if we want to. Also unspeakable systems like the media energy, whose existence probably pleased no one, will fly out of the game completely. In addition, there are a number of smaller adjustments that are clearly aimed at making our lives easier - for example, the possibility to store our Anima directly in Korthia, the refund for Legendarys or the possibility to send Anima from one char to another. After having the impression for a long time in WoW that all systems only follow the sense of keeping players in the game as long as possible, this is now a pleasant change. And let's not forget the removal of the AoE cap for many abilities.
Twink friendliness is even more important
While Shadowlands is extremely twink-friendly compared to previous expansions, many players still didn't take the measures far enough. So the developers are making amends here as well. It will soon be possible to skip all campaigns (from the Maw introduction to the Pact campaign) - provided you've done them at least once. Threads of Fate will be pimped, Heirlooms will be made accessible, Torghast will be added as a level feature, and more.
WoW: Blizzard grasps at the last straw with 9.1.5 and fulfills (almost) all player wishes (2)
Source: buffed
I guess Blizzard finally realized that making twinks easily accessible is a longer and more effective way to retain players than forcing them into unfun grinds of some sort. The only line Blizzard won't cross is to somehow tie the twinks' gear to the main character. An accountwide mythic-plus score or reputation with the archivist codex, thanks to which twinks could upgrade their items as high as the main character, remains an oft-requested wish that finds no hearing in Irvine.
More (recycled) content
WoW: Blizzard grasps at the last straw with 9.1.5 and fulfills (almost) all player wishes (4) Source: buffed And when it comes to new content for WoW (buy now €14.99 ) Shadowlands, the developers have also taken ideas from the forums. Timewalking mythic-plus dungeons? Solo expeditions? Both ideas the developers stole from the forums - or at least took a lot of inspiration from. The path Blizzard is taking with this is so understandable that even we've predicted it in several columns. Developers take existing content and, with little effort, rebuild it to represent current content that players love to do, but don't have to do. Win-win.
And still people complain ... rightly?
Now you might actually think everyone would be happy and content with these announcements. However, that's only partially the case. While most players welcome the adjustments, there are also a number of dissenting voices in the forums and comment columns. On the one hand, there are those who chronically complain about everything. Users who were complaining a few months ago that Twinks were virtually impossible to play, and who are now complaining that Twinks get everything thrown at them - yes, both statements really do come from one and the same person.
But there are also critical voices that definitely hit a point. Because these customizations, as positive as they may be, have an aftertaste that is hard to ignore. It's a testament to the fact that the developers are listening to the players - albeit, once again, a year late. Most of these adjustments were already requested several times during the beta for Shadowlands. The developers knew better, according to their own opinion, and now have to admit that they were wrong. Sound familiar? No wonder, this game is repeated expansion after expansion.
Does patch 9.1.5 herald the end of the expansion?
But there's something else to be critical about all the announcements, and something that keeps chronic complainers flooding the comment columns. In the past, there were also patches that brought a huge amount of simplifications and quality-of-life changes. However, these usually came shortly before or shortly after the last content update of the respective expansion. Therefore, the assumption that patch 9.1.5 heralds the end of Shadowlands is not entirely unfounded. While this is of course far from proof, it is another indication that we won't see a patch 9.3 anymore and that 9.2 will be the last content update of Shadowlands. Of course, this begs the question, would that really be such a bad thing? Shadowlands has lost its reputation and it's hard to imagine that the mass of players will leave Shadowlands at the end and say: "Yup, that was an awesome expansion" - no matter how many customizations will follow. That's why I don't think a dropped content patch would be a big deal, as long as the following expansion picks up the story threads well and maybe this time the developers don't need 12 months to implement the feedback from the beta.
Support buffed - it'll only take a minute. Thanks!All readers get free daily news, articles, guides, videos, and podcasts on World of Warcraft, Pokémon Go, and other favorite games from us. Up until now, we've funded this site through advertising and kept it as free of paid articles as possible, but since COVID-19, that's become increasingly difficult. Many companies are cutting or eliminating their advertising budgets for 2020. Budgets that we unfortunately have to rely on if we want to continue offering buffed for free in the future in the form we are used to.
For this reason, we are now turning to you. You can support us as buffed supporters so that we can continue to offer our content for free in the usual form without introducing a paywall or publishing misleading news. Every contribution, big or small, is valuable. Support buffed - it only takes a minute.
Support nowWe thank you in advance
. Read also these interesting stories 0
