ghostcrawler
Latest
Cloud serpent riding to remain per-character
A while back Ghostcrawler let drop on Twitter that Blizzard was considering moving the cloud serpent riding to an account-wide unlock, rather than on a per-character basis. Well, it seems like that idea has been shelved. Each character will need to get the achievement in order to use cloud serpents. Ghostcrawler explains in his tweet: @Gnomerix I believe I said we could consider it. With all of the catch up mechanisms, it's pretty fast for alts to get there. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) October 3, 2013 This should also serve as a good example to folks of situations where Ghostcrawler talks about something as a possibility on Twitter, and then notes later that it doesn't become a reality. It's important to remember that Blizzard uses Twitter as an informal means of having a discussion about game mechanics -- rarely do they announce anything of importance over the medium (or at least announce it via a non-public relations/marketing channel). In other words, it's okay to be disappointed that this change didn't make it through (I am) -- but don't say that you were promised it/the pony.
We may be in debt, but the chips on our shoulders are chocolate
Actually, we are not in debt. Not us, plural, here at WoW Insider. Just Olivia. Do you see that screenshot above? That is an IOU note on the wall of the Alliance PvP room in Valley of the Four Winds, where NPC Armsmaster Holinka (named after WoW PvP Director Brian Holinka) usually stands. And the initials of the unfortunate soul who now owes him one million cookies belong to none other than our very own Olivia Grace. It all began with the following: simple tweets back in June from Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street and Brian Holinka about exciting, non gear-related PvP changes to come. And Olivia -- dear, rash Olivia -- replied to them saying that if said exciting changes were cross-realm arenas that she would bake them each 1,000,000 cookies. And now, in patch 5.4, PvP season 14, we have cross-realm arenas. Oh, Olivia! What fate has thy hasty words wrought. For now you must hold good on your promise, and Blizzard will not forget. They've written it into the very code of their biggest game, woven straight into the finality of binary, in black and white and ones and zeroes. I hope you can dual-wield your wooden spoon and spatula. No noodle cart can save you now.
What's the least fun you ever had for rewards?
Let's face it - we do stuff in game to get stuff in game. It's in our greedy little natures. So it isn't surprising to hear that players will do things they don't enjoy if they believe the reward is sufficient to warrant it, but it still has interesting things to say about us as players. Ghostcrawler tweeted the following and it got us thinking. @Baeloro1481 In fact the opposite can also be true: if we're not careful, players will engage in unfun things just for the power rewards. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) September 16, 2013 For myself I'd have to admit this is true - as just one example, I really didn't like the Isle of Quel'danas when it first came out (on my server at the time the area was extremely crowded) but my tauren needed a good shield and the expertise neck for his tank set. I didn't need the expertise proc, however, so I had to switch from Scryers (which I was exalted with) to Aldor (which I was not) at the same time I was also grinding Shattered Sun reputation to exalted. It was, frankly, agonizingly painful for me, but I did it. The best part was, of course I eventually got a better neck. But there was no way I was going to grind Scryers back up to exalted by that point, and so he remained exalted with the Aldor. So this leads to the question - what about you? Have you done something you didn't want to do or didn't enjoy purely for the reward at the end of the rainbow? Was it worth it? Or, like me, did you end up with a sour taste in your mouth (and a whole lot of trouble remembering which base in Shadowmoon Valley was safe to land in)?
The hope for more future five-mans
A common refrain among casual players this expansion has been the lament for five-man content. Mists of Pandaria hasn't added any new five-man dungeons since it launched, and for fans of that format, it's a bit of a bummer. In fact, Mists of Pandaria marks the first time that Blizzard hasn't added new dungeons post-launch. In classic WoW, Maraudon was added in patch 1.2, and the Dire Maul set in patch 1.3. The Burning Crusade saw Magister's Terrace in patch 2.4, Wrath gained the three Icecrown five-mans in patch 3.3, Cataclysm had Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub retooled as 5-mans in 4.2, plus the Well of Eternity dungeon suite in 4.3. Yes, if five-mans are your thing, Mists probably has you feeling pretty glum right about now. So maybe the following tweet from Ghostcrawler will cheer you up a bit: @GersenKirth We would like to provide more 5-player dungeons than we were able to do for MoP. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) August 25, 2013 Instead of five-man dungeons, Mists definitely saw a focus on scenarios for casual group content. And while scenarios are fun, if you're a healer or a tank, you're not really necessary for them. I personally would love to see a bit more balance in the future between implementing scenarios and implementing five-mans, so here's to a WoW future where both will shine. What about you? Are you hoping for more five-mains, or could you do without them?
Ghostcrawler on crafting professions and leveling
Sometimes I actually love Twitter for how it can bring the players and the developers together in a more immediate way. Case in point, this tweet from Ghostcrawler. When asked about crafting professions falling behind as the expansion progressed, the answer was clear and unambiguous that Blizzard agrees it's a problem. @JakeSteel423 Yes, but no immediate announcements. We agree it's a problem. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) August 23, 2013 While it's light on specifics I'm glad to see they get the problem. At this point I'm only keeping blacksmithing for the extra sockets, and I know a lot of JC's who were mighty disappointed when they found out there would be no epic gems this time around. Maybe a return to BC style scaling items is in order? Maybe not. Making my original Lionheart Blade was a pain.
Cloud Serpent riding account-wide? Yes please.
Ghostcrawler took to Twitter last week and dropped a nice little hint at his thoughts process: Cloud Serpent Riding might be going account-wide. Okay Greg, what battle pet do I have to sacrifice for this to become a reality? Do you want one of my rare drakes? You can have it. Consider it forsaken to the crab god for this bountiful gift. Just make it a reality, and not one of those forgotten ponies.* The idea that cloud serpent riding could become an account-wide thing really pleases me in so many ways. First, it opens up a handful of mounts that I really like to use on my alts, and secondly, it means that on some of my "second main" alts there's one less reputation that I will feel guilty about not leveling. I suspect that this will encourage more people to work on the reputation as well, given it's going to apply across the board. One thing that this dose beg the question though, is how easily could other reps / achievements be linked in account-wide. I'm looking at you Netherdrakes. Of course this is all just a tweet, and absolutely should not be taken as a for sure thing. Ghostcrawler and others at Blizzard get very open and philosophical about their ideas, and tweets like this do not constitute an announcement in any way, shape, or form. *Editor's Note: That paragraph might be the most confusing and awkward thing in the world to read for someone new to the game. Suffice it to say, he has not harmed any equestrians.
Dance Studio and Abyssal Maw shelved, not cancelled
Ghostcrawler tweeted a bit of information in response to some of the angst over new models only being 25% done (people are not happy they're only that far along). In a series of tweets, Ghostcrawler says: Ghostcrawler Quote: The amount of QQ over "models are ~25% done" is hurting my brain. The good news is this is something actively being worked on, not a shelved project like dance studio or abyssal maw. Also, shelved does not mean cancelled. :) source Now the important thing to remember is that last sentence: "shelved does not mean cancelled." There is still every possibility these things are going to happen, just not anytime soon. Companies commonly shelve things when there are more important priorities for departments to work on. With a graphic / modeling heavy task like redoing all the character models for WoW, that takes a lot more priority than giving people new dances. So personally I welcome this news, I'm glad to see that Blizzard is putting things in this priority order.
Blizzard livestream today at 1:30 pm Pacific time with Legendary
Patch 5.4 is just around the corner and plenty of Blizzard developers are doing the rounds of interviews. Today, at 1:30 pm Pacific time, World of Warcraft's Lead Encounter Designer Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas and Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street are going to be on Gamebreaker's Legendary livestream. We'll be watching, so you should, too.
Are passive buffs a bad thing?
Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street posted an interesting tweet today, in response to a question about warrior and DK buffs: @mrcheesedog We could turn all buffs into passive like Trueshot Aura. Is that better for the game? - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) August 16, 2013 The original question was asking why Warrior and DK buffs are only five minutes in duration, referring to spells such as Horn of Winter. His original response was that these buffs also provide resources, and therefore ought to be refreshed more regularly than things like Blessing of Kings. For example, Horn of Winter grants 10 runic power on use. So the question is whether buffs like these should be given a longer duration, or whether they should be passive altogether, like Ghostcrawler's Trueshot Aura example, or the shaman Grace of Air. While these are certainly convenient and, obviously, extremely easy to use, they do lack some flavor, some skill, and certainly some interest. Particularly as a shaman, where in the space of an expansion, we went from being able to replace just about any buff with an admittedly often slightly lesser version of our own, attached to a totem, to having just a passive buff. The old system was ridiculously complicated, but fun, and part of me misses it. What's your take? Do you prefer active, interesting buffs that have the inconvenience of complication or a regular need to re-cast, or do you think passive buffs are the way to go? And if we all have passive buffs, why bother with buffs at all?
Will we see an ability purge?
A fact of any MMO is that over time, as we get expansions to the game, we get more abilities, talents, and spells and as a result, our bars get complicated. Cynwise in his recent return to blogging (hopefully a long return) pointed out this exact issue recently, and now Ghostcrawler has tweeted a response to a question about ability bloat that has me wondering. Clearly, the easiest way to reduce the number of spells on the action bar is to remove some of them. Either fold separate attacks/spells into a smaller amount, combining them or just flat out removing ones that see less use. We saw some of this moving into Mists of Pandaria (one example that springs to mind is the folding of Deep Wounds and Rend into one ability) and we could always see more. Of course, the concern is always that you're getting rid of someone's favorites in the process. At any rate, we have only the idea that there are plans out there, and that they will cause some crying. Keep an eye out, folks.
Dev Watercooler: On patch 5.4 class changes
It's been a little while since we've last seen any Dev Watercoolers, but boy, was this one ever worth the wait. Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street lays out, in reasonable detail, the general thoughts and ideas behind many of the class changes coming in the next WoW patch, starting with Death Knights and going the whole way down the list. Paladins and Hunters especially have a lot of meat to their discussion sections, as Ghostcrawler explains, because many of the changes coming to those classes are relatively complex and require greater explanation to fully understand. Overall, classes and specs facing significant changes are blood DKs, resto druids, all hunter specs, frost mages, mistweaver monks, all paladin specs, combat rogues, affliction warlocks, and protection warriors. In addition, there are many changes to talents and glyphs for all classes and specs. As a raiding restoration druid, I personally am very happy about a lot of the changes coming our way. Making Nature's Swiftness a base resto ability in particular is a nice return to some Good Ol' Days, and now I'll have to decide whether I want the new Ysera's Gift talent, or Cenarion Ward (for now I'm leaning Cenarion Ward). I also--from the perspective of a resto druid--find the discussion on the state of holy paladins, and the changes coming their way, to be interesting as well. Ghostcrawler talks a bit about the way the developers at Blizzard believe paladin healing should feel, and specifically contrast it against druid healing. Many players have long pointed out how druid healing and paladin healing were basically opposites on a spectrum--the former being primarily pre-emptive, healing over time focused, and the other being primarily reactive, direct healing focused--and it's fascinating to read about the official thoughts on just those differences. The full blue post is after the break.
Twizzcast live interview with Ghostcrawler at 3:00 p.m. EDT
Watch live video from Twizzcast! on www.twitch.tv At 3:00 p.m. EDT today, August 12th, Twizzcast of BlizzPro will be holding a live interview on Twitch.tv with Blizzard Entertainment's Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street. The interview is scheduled to last about half an hour, and hopes to cover topics on patch 5.4 and the Mists of Pandaria expansion overall, as well as potential future developments in the game. We have it embedded above, but if you can't watch it live, make sure to check BlizzPro's homepage for a YouTube link later tonight.
My greatest strength is knowing my weaknesses
My warrior is different than my friend's warlock. This might seem like a rather basic and unimportant statement to a lot of people, especially those reading a WoW blog, but examine it further to draw some conclusions: The way I approach encounters will be different The way I approach the game will be different I can do things my friend's warlock cannot My friend's warlock can do things I cannot Okay, so now we're a little deeper. The underlying premise of different classes is that the game becomes a different experience. When you play a game that's forced with one-on-one direct combat, versus indirect combat, the stress is changed a lot. You have to actually walk to to an enemy and shout in their face, while on a warlock you can just sit back and laugh at them making jokes about how they look and smell like a paladin while your pet takes the brunt of it all (and complains rightly so). So what am I getting at?
Things Ghostcrawler did not confirm yesterday
These two articles, one from an interview with 2P, and another from an interview with QQ, made the rounds yesterday. They're interesting quotes and information from Ghostcrawler talking with people overseas at Chinajoy. In the interviews Ghostcrawler goes on, as he is often wont to do, about WoW and the decision making behind their changes. The reaction to these articles created a lot of confusion. So I thought it'd be worth noting the things that Ghostcrawler confirmed and did not confirm. I've made a list: Confirmed Confirmed Loosely Not Confirmed Ghostcrawler was at Chinajoy Blizzard thinks WoW can handle another class/role beyond DPS/Healing/Tanking -- a "buffer" Naga Playable Content areas available to explore the lore in: Trolls, Burning Legion, Emerald Dream It surprised me to see the numbers of comments around the interweb saying that Ghostcrawler outright confirmed the next expansion, or that he said Naga were going to be a playable race. The new translation posted by 2P outright kills any idea of that, yet even the original interview never said that (just that they were thinking of it at one point, which was incorrect). The only thing that was confirmed is stuff I've spoken to Blizzard about personally, and that was that Ghostcrawler was at Chinajoy, a big game conference. The "Confirmed Loosely" category is for things that were explicitly stated in the original interview articles, which we had translated by multiple reliable sources -- however Blizzard has not come outright and said them again. And that's okay -- we work with Blizzard and their folks to bring you the news; however when something is said (as was the case about a buff class/role) we'll run with it. But even in that bit of news, no where did Ghostcrawler say that it's happening. The things in the "Confirmed Loosely" category should also not come as a shock to anyone. A new class? It's not like that hasn't happened twice before. And more Troll lore? Check. Burning Legion and Emerald Dream? There's already books about them and tons of hints dropped by Wrathion about the return of the Legion. None of this is ground breaking. Ghostcrawler thinks of a lot of things. WoW, ponies, gin in coffee, etc... Take it for what it is, and don't make it more than that. Update: We are issuing a correction. Ghostcrawler does not put gin in his coffee, he drinks gin out of a coffee cup. WoW Insider apologizes for any confusion this may have caused. Dear WoW Insider, I don't put gin in my coffee. I drink gin from a coffee mug. The latter conveys world-weariness. The former is just weird. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) July 27, 2013
New World of Warcraft class coming? Ghostcrawler drops a hint
In an interview with the Chinese gaming site QQ during Chinajoy, World of Warcraft Lead System Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street let drop that a new class is being considered, one that is focused on buffs. This has been speculated about for a long time, and previous comments by Blizzard designers have indicated they believe there's room for another class. However, this is the first time we've heard what they're considering implementing. A buff class would, well, give out buffs to other players increasing their abilities. We don't know anything more beyond that, however Blizzard has had buffs as a major component of classes before in the early (Pre-Burning Crusade) designs of Paladins and Warlocks. Please keep in mind that this is an interview conducted in another language, and while we've acquired a human translation of this particular part of the interview, it is possible things have been lost in translation. Many thanks to Spoiledleftie on Twitter for assisting with the translation.
Ghostcrawler, potentially, details the future of WoW at Chinajoy [UPDATED]
There are some eyebrow-raising bits in a foreign Ghostcrawler interview, and we caution everyone that none of this has been confirmed with Blizzard (we reached out earlier today), and we have a feeling that a good deal of nuance may have been lost in translation. That being said, if the interview is correct, it gives us some fascinating hints as to the directions that Blizzard may be exploring for future WoW content. Apparently Blizzard either was or has been considering the Naga as an addition to the playable races, though their lack of legs is a big hurdle to overcome for things like armor design. In terms of future plot, the interview seems to imply that following Mists of Pandaria we will be headed back into mainland Azeroth, and that further story lines involving the trolls, the Burning Legion, and the Emerald Dream are slated to "gradually develop". Now, we know that an Emerald Dream expansion is something that many fans have been hankering after for a good long time, so this kind of news would be very much welcome to hear. Here I feel compelled to state that again, there is no official confirmation for any of this. However, there is one bit about the lore that I feel relatively confident is accurate, and that's Ghostcrawler's assertion that the relationship and conflict between the mogu, the Old Gods, and the Titans will be revealed in patch 5.4. Happy speculations, everyone! Update 10:42 p.m. EDT: 2P, the Chinese gaming site, has updated their English translation of the article noting that Naga will not be the next playable race. They also modified the way in which the next areas of WoW's content were talked about; however the three big areas (Trolls, Burning Legion, and Emerald Dream) are still areas in which Ghostcrawler noted content can expand into.
Greg Street and Marco Koegler Korean Q&A on WoW and its future
Some very interesting things were revealed in this Q&A from Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street and WoW Technical Director Marco Koegler. The interview was conducted in Korea, so there's a bit of down time while translations are being made between interviewers and interviewees, but the hour-long video is worth watching for a few meaty tidbits. In particular, Ghostcrawler has essentially stated that Garrosh will not be replaced at the end of patch 5.4. Oh, his days as warchief will be over for sure, but the patch is intended to end with his defeat at the hands of the players. These actions will set in motion a chain of events which will lead to the new warchief's implementation--but not in patch 5.4. So it seems that the mystery of who will next lead the Horde draws on! Other bits of information worth noting include the confirmation that patch 5.4 will be the final raid patch of Mists of Pandaria, which leads us here at WoW Insider to speculate on the timeline of the next expansion. Considering that traditionally new WoW expansions have been announced at Blizzcon--still a few months away--and given that the next warchief will not be revealed quite as soon as we expected, it seems reasonable to speculate that there might be a non-raid 5.5 patch in the works to take us through to 6.0. However, there is no mention of that in the Q&A and really, it's just idle speculation on my part. Still, I'm now more fascinated than ever to see what the future holds in store for us denizens of Azeroth! How about you?
Preparation, Readiness, and other cooldown resetting abilities may have grim future
Classes with cooldown resetting abilities probably won't find one of Ghostcrawler's most recent tweet all that surprising. The abilities (Preparation, Readiness, etc.) have been targeted by several nerfs and changes this expansion. Ghostcrawler wrote the following in reply to a tweet that said it may be time to stop adding cooldown resetting abilities to the game if they're constantly going to be nerfed. @Divine_Namjoo We agree. I'm not sure that design angle has payed out well. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) July 16, 2013 The abilities are particularly problematic in PvP, where players can chain several attacks or crowd control abilities together within a short period of time. What do you think? Do cooldown resetting abilities belong in the game? Are they overpowered?
Ghostcrawler might be having Zarhym's baby
Gather round, and let me tell you a story. A story about a crab and a floating skull. A love story. It all started yesterday, when a warrior called Rendan posted that the reason Ghostcrawler no longer frequents the forums is that he has fallen pregnant with Zarhym's baby. Senior Community Rep Zarhym was first to weigh in on the thread. He told the story of how he wooed Ghostcrawler with Al Green's Let's Stay Together, and things rapidly escalated from there. A Doodle Gnome by the name of Paululum provided a first image of the happy family, as can be seen to the right, and the thread went on with what must be a record number of blue posts detailing little Zarcrawler's godfather, babysitters of dubious quality, and his various other relatives. Rygarius even managed to tear himself away from patch notes to join in the fun. Paululum the Doodle Gnome continued to document little Zarcrawler's early days, depicting everything from the infant's first words, through the terrible twos and the tough love, the games of peek-a-boo and the pictures. Zarcrawler's awkward questions, first outings, and nerf bat training, all documented by one talented gnome! WoW Insider wishes Ghostcrawler, Zarhym, and little Zarcrawler all the best for their future together.
Patch 5.4 PTR: Virtual Realms announced
What, you may ask, are virtual realms? Well, they're a very interesting new feature (and if you choose, you can pretend they're the new feature Ghostcrawler mentioned for 5.4) that will have quite an impact on how we play the game. To quote the patch notes: Rygarius - Patch 5.4 Coming Soon! Virtual Realms are sets of realms that are fused together, and will behave exactly as if they were one cohesive realm. Players on the same Virtual Realm will be able to join guilds, access a single Auction House, join arena teams and raids, as well run dungeons or group up to complete quests. source This is basically the first step in the creation of a unified, single realm across whole regions of World of Warcraft. Similar in concept to a PvP Battlegroup, this basically allows you to treat players from other realms in the shared virtual realm as if they were on your selfsame realm, including all the benefits of guilding, grouping and raiding.; This is an enormous game changer, and I admit, I don't think I ever expected to see it happen. For guilds on low pop servers, this drastically increases the potential player base that you can recruit, for just one potential benefit. Do remember, however, that this is the PTR. As Ghostcrawler says: Take data-mining and even PTR itself with a grain of salt. PTR is our Petri dish and not every experiment works. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) June 12, 2013 Stay tuned for more news -- this is definitely an exciting change.
