Though the nextWorld of Warcraftupdate is not releasing for a few weeks, Blizzard has already started balancing the upcoming raid tier by removing a controversial mechanic from a specific boss encounter. While the mechanic in question was considered a callback to one of the oldest raid mechanics inWorld of Warcraft, Blizzard decided to omit it from the upcoming raid to the relief of players that saw it as potentially problematic.
The raid in question, Aberrus, The Shadowed Crucible, will be released one week afterthe launch ofWorld of WarcraftPatch 10.1. While it will play host to nine bosses, the raid itself will not launch until May 9. In the meantime,World of Warcraftplayers have tested the Aberrus raid on the public test realm (PTR) throughout the weekend. Players noted that one boss, in particular, was missing a key mechanic from the testing period, leading them to believe it had been removed altogether.
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Thepenultimate boss of Aberrus, an echo of Neltharion the Earth-Warder, had the “class call” mechanic removed from its ability list in a recent update to the PTR. The mechanic would, in short, turn specific class abilities against the raid, such as the Death Knight’s Death Grip, the Shaman’s totems, and the Rogue’s Shadowstep. The mechanic first appeared back in theWorld of Warcraft: Classicera, in the 40-player Blackwing Lair raid. Unsurprisingly, Neltharion’s son, Nefarian, was the one that put the class call mechanic on the radar, albeit in a different capacity. Given that the class call mechanic was difficult to balance in its planned iteration, and would potentially cause wipes if specific classes were called out by Neltharion, Blizzard saw fit to scrap it from the Neltharion encounter in Aberrus and leave it as a bygone relic from days gone.
On social media, players that havetested Aberrus this weekendwere both saddened yet relieved to see the class call mechanic was cut from the raid. While they admitted that the mechanic was an interesting callback to both theWorld of Warcraft: Classicera and fitting for Neltharion’s line, players stated that game balance and a fair amount of challenge are what matter more compared toWorld of Warcraftnostalgia.
As for game balance in Patch 10.1, Blizzard still has the unenviable task of tuning Mythic dungeon affixes after receivingcriticism fromWorld of Warcraftplayersover their difficulty. Only time will tell what Blizzard will do to address these concerns ahead of the update’s release.
