Are X.1 Patches getting worse?

#1 - Dec. 4, 2012, 1:36 a.m.

So patch 1.1 gave us Onixia, Patch 2.1 Gave us Black Temple, Patch 3.1 Gave us Ulduar. These back in the day were three great raids. Then Cata come out and we spend way too long between the 4.0 raids and firelands but at least we get the Zandalari Dungeons with 4.1 (although I hated these with a passion).

But now that 5.1 is out I am very underwhelmed by it. We get a fer more dailies (because we werent already bashing our heads against the wall doing the 40 odd availible each day. We get no reason to keep running dungeons, we get 1 scenario and we get an upgrade to pet battles which were added to work as a filler while we were queing for dungeons. Oh yeah we get the brawler's guild... which we have to wait for until the people who have over 9 million gold (or buy of of chinise gold farmers) are finished with it.

I am still doing my dalies on my main untill I hit valor cap and running a dungeon or two before hitting the cap but seriously this patch gives us very little content. I know that the solution posed to stopping people from unsubbing from wow was to release more content more quickly but for that to work you actually need to release content in these patches.

TBH I wouldnt mind at all if this was a minor patch like 5.0.7 or something but Blizzard are treating it like a Major content patch despite the fact it only contains minor content.

Bashiok

Community Manager

#44 - Dec. 4, 2012, 8:41 p.m.

You forgot to mention those patches took months(I think ulduar was 5 month after Wrath launch) where as 5.1 was release in 2 months time.

This was never meant to be a raid teir especially considering most people have not even downed most of the normal/heroic bosses.

Yeah, the main difference is really timing. In our quest to provide content faster we've been shaking up the patch cycles and how we approach our content roll out through the life of an expansion. Not wanting to speak too soon, but it looks like the cadence of this expansion is a lot closer to what we've been promising for years. It makes sense to me that if most people are not progressed through the initial content that the first x.1 patch (if it's going to arrive as quickly as 5.1 did) doesn't include an additional tier. And if that then means there are regular content releases thereafter... I don't know, at least for as much time I have to play and as progressed as I am, it sounds pretty good to me.

Bashiok

Community Manager

#45 - Dec. 4, 2012, 8:43 p.m.

Let's look at these patches you refer to a little closer:
The game was released November of 2004.
Patch 1.1 was actually the release patch. It came with Molten Core and Onyxia's lair.
1.6 was the first raid content added (BWL) in July 2005. The 4 prior added a couple of 5 mans and the BGs and honor system. (1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5)
1.7 released ZG in September 2005. It also added AB for PvPers.
1.8 (October) released the green dragon storyline and the start of the SIlithus buildup to...
1.9 (January 2006) released the AQs
1.11 (June 2006) Naxx (1.10 just added the dungeon set 2 upgrades, weather)

Yeah, not a lot of actual content upgrades, and the first raid upgrade was almost 9 months after launch (granted, leveling was still happening a lot during that time). Then it was only 2 months for the next, 4 months, 6 months, then a whopping 6 more months to....

2.0.3 January 2007 - BURNING CRUSADE RELEASED!
-Came with all the T4, T5, and MH already in the game)
2.1 May 2007 - BT released. Nothing in between (that's 5 months, for those counting)
2.2 September - voice chat (cause that works well)
2.3 November - ZA released! After 6 MORE months, a 10 man raid was added!
2.4 March 2008 - Sunwell! Only 4 months this time, and a massive content patch of a new questing area, new 5 man, new raid, etc etc.
This is all we have for 8 months until
3.0.2 in October for the November release of WRATH!!!!! Then it's
3.1 April 2009, a scant 6 months after Wrath, we get our first content patch!
3.2 August - crusader coliseum (4 months for those keeping track)
3.2.2 September - as a special event for the anniversary, they retune Onyxia to level 80.
3.3 December (looking at 4 months since the rush coliseum, but 8 months since Ulduar) we get ICC. Then all the way too....
4.0.1 the CATACLYSM PATCH... in OCTOBER 2010! A Whopping 10 months after ICC released, we finally have the new xpac. The only thing to tide us over there? A small content patch adding the Ruby Sanctum, a single boss fight.

So... i think that releasing something like this only 2 months in, not too shabby considering what we've had in the past.

lul

Thanks for that. And the memories (painful and otherwise).