The Queue: In which SW:TOR's 1.7 to 1.3 million is discussed
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky (@adamholisky) will be your host today.
I think it's important to note the decline in Star Wars: The Old Republic's subscription numbers, which yesterday we found out dropped to 1.3 million, off its high of 1.7 million. Now, of course, we don't know this quarter's WoW numbers yet (and we may not, if Blizzard decides not to release them), but it's notable that this "WoW killer" isn't really turning out.
Now, I say this not as a victory dance of "we won" or some other stupid epeen contest, but as a nod to the fact that two well-produced games can survive in the same marketplace -- and that a game doesn't have to have 10 million or more players to be a success. WoW has its charm, and so does SW:TOR. Is one better than the other? In my opinion, yes -- but at the end of the day they're each different.
It should also be clear that EA feels the same way. It's going to keep supporting SW:TOR. And why not? 1.3 million people doing anything together is a cause to support.
Sixteentonsofpixels asked:
I'm aware that updated Outland and Northrend are future goals as far as Blizzard has stated but has a time table for this been released? Whenever they finally do update those zones would it be best to just revamp them across the board, making those zones match the current patch? Or would it be better if the zones leveled and changed with the player? Personally, I'd prefer the latter.
We have no indication of when Outland will happen, other than it being sometime in the future. Blizzard has said it'd be nice to update Northrend as well, but it's nowhere near as in need of an update as Outland is.
As for how the updated content will pan out, I'd have to imagine it'll be at the level 60-to-70 range; remember that you still have to go there to level up, and that's not going to change.
Childe of Chaos asked:
Do you think they might put in some form of switch to turn off account-wide achievements/mounts in case we want to actually achieve them on our alts? That would kinda nice. I mean I read an article here that brought up the thought that it might not be good for alt-making. Just curious
That's actually a really neat idea, but I'm not really sure that'd be possible under their system. We'll find out more today, when Ghostcrawler drops his piece about account-wide achievements.
Childe also asked:
I am still having a problem making ANY pre-made character on beta with the new in-game creation thing. Any suggestions?
None -- it doesn't work for me, either. But copying live-realm characters over does work, so I'd just stick with that for the time being. Remember, everyone, it's beta, and these things happen.
Dioxar asked:
Some heirlooms have +X% experience bonus. But they stop leveling with the character at some point, level 80 or 85 atm. Does the experience bonus stop working after the heirloom's max level?
Yes, the XP bonus stops working at the level specified on the gear. For instance, the shoulders only provide an XP boost up to level 80, while the helm and cloak continue to provide it until 85.
Several asked:
I can only see the first 50 comments on an article, how can I see the rest?
This appears to be happening when I use the Chrome browser. Firefox doesn't have the problem. But that said, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it was happening elsewhere, too. To fix the problem, make sure that you're logged into our comment system using one of the options.
I know, I know, some people don't find that ideal. But my hands are tied. We'll be getting another update to Livefyre soon, and from what I've seen, that'll take care of a few issues you guys have (although I don't want to go into details and promise anything, since things can and do change).
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!
