Legion Game Systems

Suzie Ford Posted: Nov 7, 2015 10:55 AM ET
Category: News 0

As the final day of Blizzcon 2015 gets underway, we're here to provide the most up-to-the-minute details from the World of Warcraft panels. Today's include a look at Legion's game systems and an open developer Q&A to round out the annual convention. Read it all here as it happens!

And here we go!

Artifacts

At an example, the team is showing the Deadwind Harvester, an artifact for Affliction Warlocks. Players are sent on a quest beneath Karazhan.

In Broken Isles, to gain Artifact Powers to unlock abilities

quest bosses
rare spawns
rare drops
dungeon bosses
raid bosses
battlegrounds

With power, the artifact tree unlocks, the first of which is an ability to be placed on your skill bar. Some skills can be "leveled" up to three times, others only once that may be a passive, for instance. Modifiers are also included that can enhance traits.

There is progression long past player level 110. This is end game progression, months into the expansion to fully unlock the weapon tree.

Players will also pick up Relics, special items to socket into the artifact to increase power of the artifact. These give bonus ranks in traits. It's a form of specialization for the type of gameplay that's most interesting. Artifacts will get a major upgrade at max level that unlocks a new model. Each weapon can get several different looks and many colors to further customize.

Class Halls

Locations should represent the class. A group that can welcome in the greatest variety of members of that class. A cause dedicated to defeating the Legion.

Druids' home - The Dreamgrove - where the veil between the Emerald Dream & Azeroth is at its thinnest.

Class Hall features

empower artifacts
class champions - will unfold their back stories
interacting with table quests where you choose what zone you want to explore
class content - major artifact lines, intermittent flavorful things for specific classes
class features and bonuses

Demon Hunters

choose horns, blindfold, tattoos, skin textures
Havoc - DPS melee spec with an emphasis on mobility. "Fight fire with more fire". Fury is its custom resource. Metamorphosis - Leap into the air and land with explosive force. Player transforms to demon form in mid-air. Landing with 100% life leech.
Vengeance - a Demon Inquisitor - protective spells, inflicts pain. A strong defensive cooldown for metamorphosis -- like making it an immovable object.

Items

Rare items that can drop from anywhere
Power is relevant throughout the expansion because they're rare
Unique effects
These items are "Legion-dary" -- not just one for the entire expansion

Every item that drops in the game can scale up to the best items in the game.

Transmogrification

help clean up bank and inventory
expand customization options
collections

Wardrobe Collection

Item appearances are automatically added to the wardrobe
You can toss the item once unlocked
ACCOUNT WIDE

Outfits: save and share outfits to save as a "shopping list"

All item appearances in your bank, void storage and inventory are automatically unlocked. Also items awarded from every quest you've ever completed will be added including items you may not have chosen! Save different looks per class specialization. When you change specs, it'll keep up with you. You can hide slots INCLUDING SHOULDERS!

Three new transmoggable slots: Shirts, tabards and weapon effects

Professions

We want to give you more stuff to do, more content. Recipe acquisition is content-specific. It's important that players get out into the world, meeting epic characters, learning the backstory of the characters you meet.

Mining and herbalism nodes will be shared.

Recipes can 'level up' - rank them up from one star, two stars, three stars.

Trade skill UI has been expanded and overhauled. Reorder the recipes based on the ones you want to see. Learned & unlearned tabs.

Crafted gear should be special. Crafted jewelry comes with a guaranteed socket that can be class-specific. It should not be a carbon copy of raid gear.

Major glyphs have been removed from the game for Inscription. Minor glyphs will be applied to spells directly in the spellbook rather than an overall. Other runes are time-limited, say one week.

BACON is coming to LEGION!

Classes

Class fantasy is central to Legion. Take a hard look at classes and make them deliver on the fantasy.

Immersive
Distinct
Empowering

How we made the more empowering: No more staring at the UI to use the skills you want to use when you want to use them.

Major Talent Revisions - fewer theme rows; more choices that matter; more spec-specific talents; hundreds of new talents.

Suzie Ford

Suzie is the former Associate Editor and News Manager at MMORPG.com. Follow her on Twitter @MMORPGMom