Blizzard plans to make big changes to the UI ofWorld of Warcraft, leading up to the eventual block of combat-related mods. The classic fantasy MMO is still going strong over 20 years later, and like many PC and especially massively multiplayer titles, the title has a bustling modding community. While Blizzard is generally fine with players modding its title,the next update will take the first steps toward rendering combat mods unnecessary.
The latest WowCast, shared on the officialWorld of WarcraftYouTube (spotted byPC Gamer), spotlights the wayWoWis improving its UI. In the video,World of Warcraftsenior game director Ion Hazzikostas speaks about the game’s relationship with modding to help in battles, and how the upcoming Patch 11.1.7:Legacy of Arathorwill begin a push to make it possible to play and enjoy the game without needing to use any mods for battles and raids.
World of Warcraft Wants To Render Combat Mods Unnecessary
Next Patch Introduces Rotation Assist Feature
Hazzikostas is aware that at the moment,combat mods are filling in for missing features from the base game. Players who want to fill their role in a team battle almost have to get certain mods to play their part, which is something that Blizzard wants to change. Hazzikostas says:
“We can probably all agree that today if you really want to be the best you may, if you want to play competitive content, there are certain add-ons that are required, that are simply going to improve your success over not having them, period.We would like to get away from that being the case.”
This means implementing the missing features into the actual game and smoothing out gameplay, to make combat-oriented mods unnecessary. Hazzikostas stresses that this meansmaking the UI and battle system less complex,not easier. “We would have to change it to still keep it the same level of challenging,” he says, “but without that same automation assistance.”
The eventual goal is to implement “broader restrictions” on allowing mods to access real-time combat events. Although the game is still far from actually making these changes,Patch 11.1.7 is taking the first step by introducing a Rotation Assist feature,which will highlight a suggested next action based on class and the current in-game situation. There will also be abeginner-friendly version of this featureto help those who are still learning, choosing the proper next cast for them and allowing them to cast it with just one button.
Blizzard Has No Plans To Go After Cosmetic Mods
Only Combat Mods Are Being Targeted
Modding is now and will continue to be an important part of theWoWcommunity, andBlizzard has no plans to go after any other kinds of mods. According to Hazzikostas, cosmetic, assists, accessibility, and other types of mods will remain an integral part of the game, as the company only has plans to remove access to combat-related mods that use real-time event information. “There’s nothing harmful whatsoever about any of them,” says Hazzikostas in reference to non-combat mods like trackers, quest helpers, RP addons, and other non-combat mods.
In the end, it’s all about actually having fun while playing the game, not letting a computer do the playing for you. Part of the fun ofplaying the long-running game, explains Hazzikostas, is the “coordination, communication, feeling like everyone’s working together to overcome some challenge in front of them.” To that end, he wants to get back to a more “organic collaboration as opposed to it just being like regimented and solved by an external tool.“World of WarcraftPatch 11.1.7:Legacy of Arathor,coming soon, will be the first step by Blizzard toward addressing the issues that combat mods currently aim to resolve.
