Blizzard removes Controversial Raid Mechanic from World of Warcraft's Upcoming Patch.
The well-known massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft from Blizzard Entertainment will receive an update in the coming weeks. One of the most anticipated features of the update is the new raid tier, which promises challenging encounters for players. However, Blizzard has made an unexpected decision to remove a controversial raid mechanic from one of the upcoming raid bosses, much to the relief of the player community.
The raid in question, Aberras, The Shadowed Crucible, is scheduled to be released one week after the launch of World of Warcraft Patch 10.1 on May 9. It features nine bosses that players will have to defeat to progress through the raid. In preparation for the update, players have been testing the Aberrus raid on the public test realm (PTR) throughout the weekend. During testing, players noticed that one boss, an echo of Netherton the Earth-Warder, was missing a key mechanic from its ability list, leading them to believe that it had been removed altogether.
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| Image: Blizzard |
The mechanic in question is known as the "class call" mechanic, which was a callback to one of the oldest raid mechanics in World of Warcraft: Classic era. Nefarian, Netherton's son, would criticize certain class abilities against the raid in the 40-player Blackwing Lair raid, such as the Death Knight's Death Grip, the Shaman's totems, and the Rogue's Shadow step. This mechanic was known to be difficult to balance, as it could potentially cause wipes if specific classes were called out by Neltharion.
Given the challenges in balancing the class call mechanic for the Aberras raid encounter. Blizzard made the decision to remove it from the Neltharion encounter in Aberras and leave it as a bygone relic from days gone. While some players were saddened by the removal, many were relieved to see it gone, as they believed it could have caused issues with game balance and fairness in the raid.
Players who have tested Aberras on the PTR over the weekend took to social media to share their thoughts on the removal of the class call mechanic. Many players acknowledged that the mechanic was an interesting callback to the World of Warcraft: Classic era and fitting for Neltharion's lineage, but they also recognized the importance of game balance and a fair amount of challenge in the raid. They expressed relief that Blizzard took the feedback into consideration and made the decision to remove the mechanic.
The removal of the class call mechanic from Aberras is just one of critical challenges that Blizzard is facing in Patch 10.1. The developer has also received criticism from players regarding the difficulty of Mythic dungeon affixes and it remains to be seen how Blizzard will address these concerns before the update's release.
Blizzard's decision to remove the nostalgic yet controversial class call mechanic from the upcoming Aberras raid boss in World of Warcraft has generated mixed reactions from the player community.