Most players are in preparation for entering the Tomb of Sargeras introduced in the patch 7.2 on Mar 30 (KST).

They are progressing with various quests and scenarios in the Broken Shore, gathering resources to construct buildings which help in the fight against the Legion, and farming artifact points and gear in dungeons and raids to make their character more powerful.

However, as we proceed with these various activities, it is natural to become curious about issues in relation to newly introduced content and how the story will continue, among other things. Therefore, we visited Blizzard Korea to have an interview with World of Warcraft developers and asked comprehensive questions about the recent updates.

We had Travis M. Day, the lead producer, and Morgan Day, the lead designer, who are in charge of scenario, world quests, dungeons and raids, and systems.

Travis M. Day is the lead producer of the World of Warcraft development team and is in charge of scheduling and maintaining projects. In particular, he proceeds and supports the content, system, levels, and boss monsters with respective managers. Moreover, he performed various tasks contributing immensely to the artifact points, class orders, demon hunters and the cinematic trailer. He is now managing the content-related projects including the Tomb of Sargeras and Argus, which were updated after 7.2.

Morgan Day is the lead designer of the World of Warcraft development team and is in charge of raids and dungeons. He works closely with the team artists who deal with the appearance of the monsters, spawning location, and other essential parts.

Q. We believe the introduction of the Legion expansion to be an immersive scenario. We also think that the way the players arrive at Deliverance Point in the Broken Shore is well made. Can we expect to have similar scenario quests in the future?

Kil’Jaeden is introduced to Legion with all the demon armies aiming for an all-out assault on Dalaran. This intro leads you to another scenario where you experience the beginning of the Legion, the place where you lost impeccable heroes; Varian, Vol’jin, Tyrion, and others. With the introduction of the patch 7.2, re-assaulting the shore, the new content of class orders, the pillars of creation, and the new faction called Legionfall, this will all come together over the course of the expansion and we hope that the players win this time.

Q. The content in the Broken Shore seems to be only playable for max level players. Would you consider lifting the level cap restriction for players at 101 to 109 in the Broken Shore? We would also like to know how you would proceed with this if you consider it a positive change.

One of the things done in 7.2 is functional changes to make all play much more accessible and easier for players. The level cap in the Broken Shore seems appropriate and is unlikely to be changed.

However, for players who are not 110, we have shortened the length of the order campaign so that you can catch up more quickly. In addition, the world quests of demon assaults all across the Broken Isles are actually a bonus objective that helps you catch up quicker as well. The updates to the artifact knowledge and the artifact power system also aids the players in reaching the max level quicker than before.

Q. In the patch 7.2, players can contribute to the construction of three different buildings and each provides access to benefits of Artifact Power and World Quests, etc. Can you please explain the reasons for adding these buildings in the game and why you decided to make all players work together for construction?

Throughout the course of the Legion expansion, both the horde and alliance got destroyed, fell behind, and are now attempting to retake the Broken Shore themselves. We believe that this is the natural evolution, with emphasis on the idea that differences between factions and classes are excluded, and they must work together as a group. So we figured that it is appropriate to have buildings which are contributed to by both factions.

The interesting thing about the building system is that mechanisms similar to it have been used in different ways in the past. The system we have now is the natural evolution and expression of the emissary system introduced in the Legion world quests, combined with some of the buildings built on parts of the other expansion zones. Moreover, as you make progress with the system, it brings about change in the ecosystem around you - players know what is happening around them on a daily basis and they can get the feeling that they are contributing to the change in the environment of WoW.

Q. New legendary gear was added in the patch 7.1.5. Although some players were pleased with it, others claimed that the probability of getting their desired items becomes much more difficult. With the exception of craftable legendary items that any players can have, are you planning to add more legendary items after the patch 7.2?

We are happy with the addition of new legendary items that are craftable and also tradable with your alternative characters and other players.

The Legion legendary system is a new system. Though we had legendaries in the past, we are trying different methods in this expansion. We’ve learned a lot from it and we have been constantly making changes to the system. One of the things we actually focused on a lot with 7.2 was balancing many legendaries by buffing those that players might have thought weren’t as good as the others, so that you are happy with whatever legendaries you get. For example, we added more specification to Prydaz so that it becomes more appealing to all players.

In terms of adding more, it is a cool idea and has future aspects, but is not something we can guarantee at this point.

Q. It’s been said that the craftable legendary items have been added in order to revive professions that have been inactive for awhile. However, players would still prefer existing combat-related legendary items if you are not playing a newly made character. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to provide different advantages other than being able to equip them when you hit level 101, so that players find more meaning in craftable items?

As you have mentioned, we are primarily focused on making crafting skills interesting for players again, and the craftable legendary system is a part of it. In terms of whether they will be preferable; having additional legendary items would be beneficial for particular challenges you will face in the patch. For example, the mage tower challenge is as difficult as the warlock Green Fire quest, and new items will be able to help you cope with the challenges.

Q. The raid dungeon Tomb of Sargeras did not show up at the same time patch 7.2 did. Are you planning to launch the dungeon after some time, and if yes, is there a reason for it?

The Cathedral of Eternal Night was launched at the same time with 7.2. With the launch of the raid dungeon, we have a philosophy that we should release frequently but at steady pace. The Nighthold came out not long ago and many players are still enjoying the raid dungeon, so we assumed that it is a bit early to release more content at this time. We are still keeping an eye on the progress and will act based on how it goes.

Q. In the patch 7.2, players are focusing on undertaking World Quests for Legionfall War Supplies and reputation with the Armies of Legionfall. Would you consider enhancing the quality of loot even after players reach a certain reputation level, so that they can enjoy World Quests consistently?

In relation to enhancement of the items, we have already increased it from 845 to 860 in this patch. We have added tons of more quests in the Broken Shore for the consistent play. In addition to that, new buildings after the patch will provide much more new content as well. For example, the command center gives you a buff that makes you stronger across the whole of the Broken Isles including the Broken Shore. This will result in finishing quests more efficiently and gives you the impression that you are doing the quests in a way you haven’t done before.

Q. The raid dungeon Nighthold in the patch 7.1.5 is considered to be quite well made by players. Can we also expect the same from the Tomb of Sargeras? We would like to know if there will be a hidden phase like the one in mythic Gul’dan as well.

The main intent of the raid dungeon is, after you sail to the Broken Shore and set Deliverance Point, you ought to seal the tomb with the Pillars of Creation you gathered from throughout the isles. You will eventually face Kil’Jaeden in the end.

From a developer’s perspective, it is not required or deemed mandatory to make a hidden phase in each raid dungeon. Gul’dan is considered to be a cool boss with a good formality, and adding the hidden phase made sense from a story perspective, therefore it was ok for him.

However, we had a specific mythic phase with Blackhand and I don’t think that players enjoyed it from a personal perspective.

Q. The number of players gathering Nethershards for the purchase of the Dauntless and Relinquished set is increasing. It’s usually done by opening portals under the Sentinax and collecting shards by slaying monsters. However, there’s a recent issue where you cannot loot from the ones you killed if there were already 5 players who participated in killing the monsters in advance. This is similar to the problem that occurred in previous PvP World Quests. Is it possible to fix this, by uncapping the participation limit for example?

As soon as the Sentinax appeared, players gathered up to form a 40-man raid thinking that would be an optimal strategy, and it was the worst possible thing you could imagine to happen. It was not designed for that, nor was it intended.

So we prevented any loot from dropping in a 40-man raid so that players would realize that 5-man is the optimal method. The goal is to get 1 to 3 portals nearby and play, and this works much more smoothly than the 40-man raid, because you actually get all the loot from all the things you kill.

We are happy with the changes we’ve made and are keeping an eye on it, and will continue updating if necessary.

Q. The specification of items, especially trinkets, that you can get in the Nighthold differ quite heavily. For example, the trinket called Star Gate which is lootable from Star Augur Etraeus is considered worse than the items you get from ordinary dungeons. Will you reduce the gap of specifications in the Tomb of Sargeras?

The mythic+ is a new system intended to set dungeons more parallel with raids so that items are compatible. We internally call what we have now as mythic+ season 2, that is, upper and lower Karazhan, Cathedral of Eternal Night, and others.

We can’t actually speak too much about the power of each item, but we believe that different trinkets behave differently in each class as well. For example, the Draught of Souls from Gul’dan is currently the most effective trinket for the warrior but not for the paladin. We are learning as we proceed, and are certain that the Tomb of Sargeras will incorporate knowledge gained from previous stages.

Q. Do you have any last comments you wanna add for players?

We thank you guys for playing and hope that you enjoy it as much as you can. We love our community and are so proud of Legion right now. The reception has recently gotten messages from the community and they’ve been showing what the game has really been, and it was flattering and awesome.