Make it a long lasting f2p gamemode and make a few changes to it, really the only big critique point of it is probably the leveling system of afk plundering mobs and chests on the border of the map till you get lvl 7 and then just statcheck lower lvl ppl who needed to fight more early on since they were in the middle. Only 1 level gave huge advantage. Rework the leveling system or even remove it but add items (armor, weapons etc) along with the abilities for example that you could find anywhere and setup based on your build and it could be an awesome game with great potential
It was a trail testing if it was even worth it. Making it f2p and it being a flop would be a massive waste of money at least this way if they know it was a success after they can make it f2p now.
i think blizz know Plunder has to be free. the launch within wow was just a beta test and build some momentum for f2p Edit: your videos are gems! Lokking forward to the next one
Bring Plunderstorm back, it's awesome. And it should be: 1. Free to play (you can earn money on cosmetics and other things like other games do). 2. Have a separate game client (no need to download 70 gb of WoW Retail if you don't want it). 3. Added matchmaking system with rating and leaderboards. 4. Add to the game a bit more variety on how to play, so you could win by outsmarting people strategically, not just win because you are good at micro control, this would make game a bit more complex and interesting to play especially in a long term (in my opinion). 5. Start a PR company outside of just WoW players. Many PvP players from different games and genres would enjoy playing this.
That Holly girl is exactly what blizzard needed. She needs to be in every location at blizzard. She is passionate,attends all the meetings with ideas and proposals that are unique and interesting. She has knowledge of the lore and is passionate about it. And she thinks about the player as a player and not as some statistical money printer. Getting rid of the writer of all the Warcraft books was harsh but like idk what the conflict of interest must have been to fire a person who’s worked about as long, or longer than the franchise has been around. Any which way I like her she has done alot to grow the franchise and I know she is jumping up and down in her skin she can’t say it’s coming to console but she really wants to say it’s coming to console.
this is such a well made video and totally agree with all your points! I think WoW needs to try to capture modern audiences and this might be it or whatever they learn from this "test"
You're right, the average BR fan will see you need to pay $15 a month just to play Plunderstorm and they will walk away. But at the same time the idea of adding a cash shop for cosmetics really makes my stomach turn and I do not like that at all. I think the best middle ground would be make the game mode free to play, but you have to buy the battle pass every season for most of the rewards.
we already have a cash shop for cosmetics, frankly not much would be changing. What should happen is maintain WoW's character creation options in Plunderstorm which is something very few Battle Royales and MOBA's have due to buying an entire character or appearance plus a pickaxe, back bling, etc. Let people use (at least some of) their cosmetics from WoW, ESPECIALLY the free transmog set you can get on a trial account in Exile's Reach. Boom, you've got incentive for plunderstorm F2P players to try out and potentially subscribe to WoW because they want more cosmetics.
Kills off HOTS & Overwatch, expects us to trust them enough to actually do this correctly. They don’t need a younger base, they need people literally born yesterday
After hitting the million milestone on Plunderstorm, I can't help but fully support this outstanding video! As for the content, I'm completely in favor of transitioning it to a free-to-play model, even if it contradicts Blizzard's subscription-based commercial strategy. Technical inquiries, particularly regarding the game engine, should be raised to establish a shared foundation, allowing WoW to leverage the advancements made by Plunderstorm. Looking forward to meeting you soon in the lobby!
Really cool video. I wasnt aware of Plunderstorm. Been an oldschool vanilla wow player back in the day and havent been up to date about the current situation. Your point is really valid to reach a wider audience and to make it free to play.
There is absolutely no way Blizzard bought Proletariat just for a limited time event. Plunderstorm was put out there like an Alpha test, to get the feed back and find out what works. There will be more, surely….
Yall know the private server arena tournament/warmane in 2010-2020 made 800k per month just by being an instant pvp server? Meanwhile current retail blizz thinks its still fun to force pvpers into being conquest locked for months , rng weekly vaults, pveing for gear, and now you can wpvp for hundreds of hours for pvp gear that is only bis for 2 weeks
Good games originate from people with a pure vision and near infinite passion. A good game cannot come from a group of devs "listening to gamers" and trying to implement things they themselves either don't believe in or understand. The perfect example of this is From Software. Those games aren't beloved because some soulless corporate entity "listened to gamers"; they are so cherished because a single man with a pure vision carved out games the he had to make, that had to be exactly what he imagined.
Blizzard made a mistake with Dota that cost them a fortune. Plunderstorm is already made just needs a client and a store, that Blizzard already has, in order for it to be free to play to get the mass of people behind it. There is way too much potential in this and if they ignore it they will be loosing a fortune yet again which I truly believe would be the dumbest illogical move on Blizzards end. The game mode exceeded all expectations, has a big spot in ESports, is fun to watch and most importantly, it’s fun to play. This video is spot on. Some people might think that Blizzard is too late with the BR game but honestly I think there is a gap right now and it is a perfect time. It’s new, it’s fresh and something that a huge BR community needs. Blizzard take notes and make this happen. Its a win win for everyone.
Thank you for making this awesome video. Very well done, and very useful. I agree with every single word you said. I have spent the last couple of days researching for an alternative Battle Royale like Plunderstorm to fill the void left.. but there is nothing like it. Realm Royale Reforged tried in the past, but didnt make it. Apex, Cod, Pubg and Fortnite require too much skill and knowledge to be competitive.. Plunderstorm is just perfect. Quick, simple, easy to learn, easy to balance, easy to watch. And the way it's made is also very easy to make it available for consoles. Enflating the playerbase with PVE andys that just wanted the rewards was a big mistake, hopefully they dont do it again. I reactivated my wow subscription just to play Plunderstorm, and cancelled the day after they removed it. Before cancelling I tried to log in my old wow character... but the time investment required is TOO MUCH. So byebye wow.. till the next Plunderstorm! Finger crossed for the future.
When I first heard the news about Plunderstorm I was confused, a new game mode that is temporary but requires subscription, it is disconnected from the rest of WoW but requires DF client and rewards cosmetics in both retail and classic WoW versions? I could not grasp the logic behind it. First things first, why is this temporary really. If blizzard wanted to experiment with new game modes and innovate that is awesome, they should be honest and announce it as an open alpha/beta test or whatever with undefined release date or w/e and let players go at it for free. But remember this is a 2 month event locked behind a sub mode that has only a 1 month, 3 month or 12 month option. Next up we have the client and cosmetics point. If Pluderstorm was supposed to be a standalone experience, then awesome! Even giving some cosmetics to a player already plays retail its fine I guess. But requiring downloading the *entire* 150gb DF client for this only to use a tiny fraction of its assets? Plunderstorm would be a great way for Blizzard to open up to a whole new audience but then again the issues stated above make this look like they wanted to siphon players already familiar with the IP to sub or re-sub and then have a 1 month sub time to kill after the event ends and an already downloaded retail client. All the while giving free cookie crumbles for dedicated WoW players to inflate Plunderstorm player numbers. This doesn't feel like an attempt to expand and innovate the IP but an attempt to innovate how to promote subbing for retail. I understand I might be a little bit unfair to Blizzard here, but considering their track record I can't be anything else but suspicious of them regarding advertising and promotion. Some people I've discussed this with usually point out that compared to past and more egregious attempts to promote the game, at least this time they did something creative that might develop into something in the future so there is nothing inherently bad here. That is a fair take but I disagree, there might be no harm done to the players but the way Blizzard handled Pluderstorm was very bad for the game-mode itself. Blizzard displayed that they are unwilling or unable to innovate without being constrained by the WoW sub numbers and their investor quarter reporting. As for the game-mode itself it came and went, no word if they are committed to develop it further or not, if they are happy with it's performance or not... it feels like for Blizz it was just an elaborate promotion.
1) Must watch for any WoW/Blizz game manager, marketer, salesperson. 2) If they are really smart company, they should even create a small Consultation Team made of Takuu, Xaryu and 1 or 2 big names in BR scene, who felt in love with Plunderstorm - it would make so much sense for Blizzard. 3) Awesome video - really well put together. 4) Fingers Crossed for Plunderstorm - it's a winning lottery ticket. It just needs a right handling - and the best part is - the GAME IS ALREADY AWESOME and all the tweaks are pretty much more doable then re-designing the whole game to "make it fun". Now its just about the F2P,, stand alone client and good marketing - which in 1st phases can easily be done through streamer community and official + community tournaments.
I played WoW in 2007-2008. I have only resubscribed twice to WoW: When Classic was released, and when Plunderstorm was released. I loved playing Plunderstorm and would 100% buy a separate game to play it, I have no interest in playing WoW. I was looking for videos throughout the entire month Plundestorm was live while also playing it. I really hope Blizzard make a game.
I had so much fun in Plunder, but once it hit 40, I felt I could no longer give myself a reason to continue after max lvl. There are other things in retail that I have to worry about. I felt a sense of loss, like, I wanted to keep playing, but couldn't.
Hey mate, I want to preface this by saying that I appreciate the work you put into making this. The effort is clearly on show, and it's not something you see very often in the gaming space. So while I'm going to say some negative things, I've tossed you and like and sub because I'm keen to see what you do next. To be blunt, the idea that WoW should pivot to being a Fortnite-derivate belongs in 2019. Hell, your claim that WoW would benefit from going F2P is over a decade old. Those claims buy into the rhetoric that games like Fortnite and the esports industry are money printers - which they are not. This is part of the reckoning that triple AAA studios are going through right now. Games studios have been behaving like tech companies and embracing Facebook-style loss-leading. Golden Guardians is my go-to example of this. They seemed incredibly important, they were winning events and appeared to be at the peak of their powers, and then in December they were shuttered literally overnight. As it turned out, GG were never making money, and their financers got bored. Their status was illusionary, they were always a phone call away from oblivion - the product of low interest rates. Likewise, Riot laid off 11% of their workforce in January, Epic laid off 18% of their workforce in September with the chief executive telling employees saying that the company had been "spending way more money than we earn." Audiences aren't willing to pay for esports, and Fortnite's core audience are children who rely on their mum's credit card. Riot isn't broke - but Riot Forge can disappear with a single phone call. By contrast, we know how WoW makes it's money. By taking 15 bucks a month from your bank account for 20 years straight. It's been able to carve out its own niche in the market, Blizzard are the only ones capable of selling World of Warcraft to diehard WoW players like you and I, and there's enough of us to keep the game profitable for years to come. That allows WoW to be a bit shit and hostile to new players in a way that no other game could be. WoW made stupid amounts of money before the F2P live-service model existed, and there's a real chance that WoW will outlive it. WoW is profitable in a way that is difficult to truly wrap your head around. WoW doesn't need to be envious of Fortnite. And it certainly doesn't need to jeopardise it's 20 years of sustained success to chase the Fortnite dollar in 2024, at a time when Fortnite itself is fighting to stay relevant. As you aptly pointed out, WoW's core audience aren't people who play BRs. Within WoW's space, Plunderstorm was a niche product. Outside of WoW, I imagine most Fortnite players have very little interest in playing a Fortnite derivative. "Fortnite but with WoW" feels striking similar to "LoL but with WoW & friends" that we got with HotS, which was a flop because LoL players didn't want to play a LoL derivate. Plunderstorm wasn't a bad game mode, but the best decision Blizzard made for it was to remove it. Interest was clearly dwindling after a few weeks. Xaryu was one of your big examples of hypemen. Checking his VoDs, he had a single session of Plunderstorm on the day after the tournament then never touched Plunderstorm again - not even a goodbye tour before it was retired. He moved on to SoD P3, the Cata Pre-patch, even Fallout 4 - Plunderstorm was never going to be his forever game. I'm glad you and other players enjoyed Plunderstorm. I'm glad PvP got some sort of love for the first time in years. I hope we see it again in some form. But what you're taking the wrong lesson from Plunderstorm.
Hey dude thanks for your response! This is the kind of discussion I hoped this video would provoke. I think you might be misunderstanding my position slightly - I don't think WoW should be F2P at all. I want Plunderstorm to be it's own, F2P game. Completely separate from WoW. Maybe it's my fault for not communicating that clearer. When it comes to eSports, I agree it's not as lucrative as it may seem on a surface level, but companies like Riot know this. League isn't the biggest game in the world because it's the best game. It's the biggest game in the world because Riot knows how to market themselves, which is what they do with eSports. League eSports is a prime example of a loss-leader strategy. It doesn't make money directly, but it markets the game on a colossal level, driving sales in-game and elevating it's own culture massively. Also the layoffs have very little to do with esports. Mass gaming layoffs are a result of companies over-hiring during covid to meet the demand of millions of people being locked inside, only to have to layoff these positions once the demand dwindled. (I covered this in my last video) I don't think Xaryu not consistently playing Plunderstorm for the entirity of existence means what you think it does. A big part of his job is playing what's current, and with so many things happening in WoW right now I don't think you can blame him for trying everything out, even Fallout is having a resurgence right now because of the series. I can guarantee if things were quiet in WoW currently he would have played a hell of a lot more Plunderstorm. Now imagine ranked existed. How much do you think he'd have played then? This is the whole point of the video. Blizzard are doubling down on the Warcraft universe in recent years. In my opinion, Plunderstorm is the perfect avenue to get a younger generation and a broader audience integrated within that world.
Blizzard should really make it F2P, it would drive more sales of other warcraft products. Currently, the only people who play it are people who also play other versions of WoW.
Battle royal will not hold for much longer. The genres is dead already. The BR players are mostly kids, who will very soon discover some new cool thing and then bye bye battle royales
Too bad this game mode requires fun and being able to anticipate player needs, which are things Blizzard hasn't been able to do since Vanilla. I wouldn't expect anything serious from this, since the company is flailing wildly trying to redefine the remake of a remaster of a 20 year old game.
It is just sad to hear what you say at 5:00. Saying that Retail Arena is unbalanced and comparing it to Plunderstorm/SoD is extremely uninformed. Plunderstorm is a completely different game to Retail Arenas. In the AWC (Arena World Championship) last weekend, 23 out of 39 specialisations were in the top 8 on the EU and NA combined. (the 39 specialisations include tanks that are never played) Retail is extremely balanced for its complexity. Especially if you are not in the top 1% of players. I don't think in games like League 60% of the champions are played in the top 8 of the Worlds Cup. Comparing a game with 20 skill-shot abilities to a target-based game with 39 specialisations with more than 20 abilities each makes no sense. These games are not made for the same audience. Plunderstorms is easy to pick up and play for a few rounds. But it lacks the depth of WoW Arena. If you play games based on the "Viewing expierence for Esports" sure, Plunderstorm is easy to follow and accessible for new players. But that does not make the WoW Arena gameplay experience bad. Blizzard has been neglecting WoW Arena for years, so it will never appeal to a wide esport audience, but why should it? Go watch League or CS2 if you want to watch accessible esports.
Thanks for your comment man, though your point of Plunderstorm being a completely different game to retail is also my point exactly. MMO’s aren’t strictly PvP games, so whilst they may have improved class representation, there will always be a balancing act between different parts of the game. In Plunderstorm there is no need to balance classes because there aren’t any. Retail PvP is great for what it is, and although WoW arenas may never appeal to a wide esports league, Plunderstorm might. This is one of the main points of the video.
I dont agree. Got bored just watching it on youtube just for a couple of days. Seems the kind of game that you get bored playing super fast. despite the cool editing that gives this vibe of importance and mystery, that game is shet.
My guy, Plunderstorm was ass and didn't have an audience. WoW pve players didn't like it because it was pvp, had a fucking retarded 40 renown grind, and had a bunch of retail cosmetics locked behind that grind. WoW pvp players didn't like it because it's not WoW pvp, it's a watered down BR made with WoW assets that uses entirely separate characters. BR players don't like it because it's not Fortnite, Apex, Tarkov, etc, they just want to play their game. The only people who liked Plunderstorm were diehard Blizzard fanboys that gargle down anything Blizzard puts out, because they just like the Blizzard aesthetic and artstyle. Plunderstorm was a cute experiment, but the time and resources could have been spent elsewhere to make the actual game better. If they had just released it as a standalone thing with no retail cosmetics and tenders locked behind its grind, it would have been dead in a week. After the first few days, people figured out the fastest way to grind would be to drop in, do the wq, run into the storm and die, and go next. Every game was 85% people doing that. No one asked for this, and very few people actually liked it. They need to focus on the actual game, not side projects.
i m happy of plunderstorm success ! but strangely, i didn t enjoy it much... I like everything abt it, the universe, the pace in the game is great, the leveling is a good idea, i like br but idk... i only went to level 10 i hope the project around this event happens and that it s even better
they copied the idea from warmane p serv lol?... warmane been doing battle royale events for years and they didn't need to make some fortnite/league reskin to make it fun just like they copied SOD from Runescapes leagues/fresh start, except runescape doesn't kill off their playerbase on normal game when they drop leagues like blizzard did to HC, classic and wrath nothing they have done since recently has been original or their idea queues instapop for arena and bgs in warmane too, wonder why...
Blizzard, a Microsoft Studio, is a massive entity with very few decision makers who are gamers (and less everyday). It is incredibly unlikely that they would take the risk of investing heavily into this now. Old Bliz, yes, absolutely. This corporate Bliz, run by an Activision task-master with a Microsoft overseer. Not a chance.
i would watch this video if it was about lobsters
very well made
i spat everywhere laughing at this
They should have made Plunderstorm f2p
Make it a long lasting f2p gamemode and make a few changes to it, really the only big critique point of it is probably the leveling system of afk plundering mobs and chests on the border of the map till you get lvl 7 and then just statcheck lower lvl ppl who needed to fight more early on since they were in the middle. Only 1 level gave huge advantage. Rework the leveling system or even remove it but add items (armor, weapons etc) along with the abilities for example that you could find anywhere and setup based on your build and it could be an awesome game with great potential
I no longer play WoW... but I'd play Plunderstorm if it were free.
It was a trail testing if it was even worth it. Making it f2p and it being a flop would be a massive waste of money at least this way if they know it was a success after they can make it f2p now.
I came from Xaryu video, i came to say your story telling and editing is butter! chef's kiss! I am subbing asap!
This has made my entire year, thank you for this! Plunderstorm was a joy to work on, and the response to it was incredible.
Amazing video! I personally enjoyed plunderstorm and i really hope they do more with it in the future.
i think blizz know Plunder has to be free. the launch within wow was just a beta test and build some momentum for f2p
Edit: your videos are gems! Lokking forward to the next one
Bring Plunderstorm back, it's awesome. And it should be:
1. Free to play (you can earn money on cosmetics and other things like other games do).
2. Have a separate game client (no need to download 70 gb of WoW Retail if you don't want it).
3. Added matchmaking system with rating and leaderboards.
4. Add to the game a bit more variety on how to play, so you could win by outsmarting people strategically, not just win because you are good at micro control, this would make game a bit more complex and interesting to play especially in a long term (in my opinion).
5. Start a PR company outside of just WoW players. Many PvP players from different games and genres would enjoy playing this.
That Holly girl is exactly what blizzard needed. She needs to be in every location at blizzard. She is passionate,attends all the meetings with ideas and proposals that are unique and interesting. She has knowledge of the lore and is passionate about it. And she thinks about the player as a player and not as some statistical money printer. Getting rid of the writer of all the Warcraft books was harsh but like idk what the conflict of interest must have been to fire a person who’s worked about as long, or longer than the franchise has been around. Any which way I like her she has done alot to grow the franchise and I know she is jumping up and down in her skin she can’t say it’s coming to console but she really wants to say it’s coming to console.
Incredible video. I loved Plunderstorm, and I hope it returns. Not sure if it needs to be "bigger", but I do want more.
this is such a well made video and totally agree with all your points! I think WoW needs to try to capture modern audiences and this might be it or whatever they learn from this "test"
You're right, the average BR fan will see you need to pay $15 a month just to play Plunderstorm and they will walk away. But at the same time the idea of adding a cash shop for cosmetics really makes my stomach turn and I do not like that at all.
I think the best middle ground would be make the game mode free to play, but you have to buy the battle pass every season for most of the rewards.
we already have a cash shop for cosmetics, frankly not much would be changing.
What should happen is maintain WoW's character creation options in Plunderstorm which is something very few Battle Royales and MOBA's have due to buying an entire character or appearance plus a pickaxe, back bling, etc. Let people use (at least some of) their cosmetics from WoW, ESPECIALLY the free transmog set you can get on a trial account in Exile's Reach. Boom, you've got incentive for plunderstorm F2P players to try out and potentially subscribe to WoW because they want more cosmetics.
Lmao get a over a cash shop for cosmetics ship has sailed.
Insane video. 10/10 editing and amazing takes.
How does your channel not have more subs. Great vid! I’m super sad I missed out on Plunderstorm, I hope they bring it back
Most fun I’ve had on a game with friends since prime league of legends
Kills off HOTS & Overwatch, expects us to trust them enough to actually do this correctly. They don’t need a younger base, they need people literally born yesterday
You take being butthurt to a whole new level lol. Congrats I guess
Your editing is 10/10 taku
After hitting the million milestone on Plunderstorm, I can't help but fully support this outstanding video! As for the content, I'm completely in favor of transitioning it to a free-to-play model, even if it contradicts Blizzard's subscription-based commercial strategy. Technical inquiries, particularly regarding the game engine, should be raised to establish a shared foundation, allowing WoW to leverage the advancements made by Plunderstorm. Looking forward to meeting you soon in the lobby!
Really cool video. I wasnt aware of Plunderstorm. Been an oldschool vanilla wow player back in the day and havent been up to date about the current situation. Your point is really valid to reach a wider audience and to make it free to play.
your editing style is amazing, great video
Man, nice editing! You made me want to look into this game(mode)!
Here before Asmonbald. Great vid!
There is absolutely no way Blizzard bought Proletariat just for a limited time event. Plunderstorm was put out there like an Alpha test, to get the feed back and find out what works. There will be more, surely….
Banger video with a great point!
Dattsanother spicy meatball from ya boi Takuu, hot damn!
Yall know the private server arena tournament/warmane in 2010-2020 made 800k per month just by being an instant pvp server?
Meanwhile current retail blizz thinks its still fun to force pvpers into being conquest locked for months , rng weekly vaults, pveing for gear, and now you can wpvp for hundreds of hours for pvp gear that is only bis for 2 weeks
I was waiting for a new video from you, top content quality!
Good games originate from people with a pure vision and near infinite passion. A good game cannot come from a group of devs "listening to gamers" and trying to implement things they themselves either don't believe in or understand. The perfect example of this is From Software. Those games aren't beloved because some soulless corporate entity "listened to gamers"; they are so cherished because a single man with a pure vision carved out games the he had to make, that had to be exactly what he imagined.
Blizzard made a mistake with Dota that cost them a fortune. Plunderstorm is already made just needs a client and a store, that Blizzard already has, in order for it to be free to play to get the mass of people behind it. There is way too much potential in this and if they ignore it they will be loosing a fortune yet again which I truly believe would be the dumbest illogical move on Blizzards end. The game mode exceeded all expectations, has a big spot in ESports, is fun to watch and most importantly, it’s fun to play. This video is spot on. Some people might think that Blizzard is too late with the BR game but honestly I think there is a gap right now and it is a perfect time. It’s new, it’s fresh and something that a huge BR community needs. Blizzard take notes and make this happen. Its a win win for everyone.
My man is the king of just dropping high quality content
Classic Plus
thanks god, another takuu vid
nope. plunderstorm is the worst thing blizz have done sc "you think you do, but you really dont" its 100% toxic.
Is this “competent Blizzard” in the room with us now?
Thank you for making this awesome video. Very well done, and very useful. I agree with every single word you said.
I have spent the last couple of days researching for an alternative Battle Royale like Plunderstorm to fill the void left.. but there is nothing like it. Realm Royale Reforged tried in the past, but didnt make it.
Apex, Cod, Pubg and Fortnite require too much skill and knowledge to be competitive..
Plunderstorm is just perfect. Quick, simple, easy to learn, easy to balance, easy to watch.
And the way it's made is also very easy to make it available for consoles.
Enflating the playerbase with PVE andys that just wanted the rewards was a big mistake, hopefully they dont do it again.
I reactivated my wow subscription just to play Plunderstorm, and cancelled the day after they removed it. Before cancelling I tried to log in my old wow character... but the time investment required is TOO MUCH. So byebye wow.. till the next Plunderstorm!
Finger crossed for the future.
When I first heard the news about Plunderstorm I was confused, a new game mode that is temporary but requires subscription, it is disconnected from the rest of WoW but requires DF client and rewards cosmetics in both retail and classic WoW versions? I could not grasp the logic behind it.
First things first, why is this temporary really. If blizzard wanted to experiment with new game modes and innovate that is awesome, they should be honest and announce it as an open alpha/beta test or whatever with undefined release date or w/e and let players go at it for free. But remember this is a 2 month event locked behind a sub mode that has only a 1 month, 3 month or 12 month option.
Next up we have the client and cosmetics point. If Pluderstorm was supposed to be a standalone experience, then awesome! Even giving some cosmetics to a player already plays retail its fine I guess. But requiring downloading the *entire* 150gb DF client for this only to use a tiny fraction of its assets?
Plunderstorm would be a great way for Blizzard to open up to a whole new audience but then again the issues stated above make this look like they wanted to siphon players already familiar with the IP to sub or re-sub and then have a 1 month sub time to kill after the event ends and an already downloaded retail client. All the while giving free cookie crumbles for dedicated WoW players to inflate Plunderstorm player numbers. This doesn't feel like an attempt to expand and innovate the IP but an attempt to innovate how to promote subbing for retail.
I understand I might be a little bit unfair to Blizzard here, but considering their track record I can't be anything else but suspicious of them regarding advertising and promotion. Some people I've discussed this with usually point out that compared to past and more egregious attempts to promote the game, at least this time they did something creative that might develop into something in the future so there is nothing inherently bad here. That is a fair take but I disagree, there might be no harm done to the players but the way Blizzard handled Pluderstorm was very bad for the game-mode itself. Blizzard displayed that they are unwilling or unable to innovate without being constrained by the WoW sub numbers and their investor quarter reporting. As for the game-mode itself it came and went, no word if they are committed to develop it further or not, if they are happy with it's performance or not... it feels like for Blizz it was just an elaborate promotion.
1) Must watch for any WoW/Blizz game manager, marketer, salesperson.
2) If they are really smart company, they should even create a small Consultation Team made of Takuu, Xaryu and 1 or 2 big names in BR scene, who felt in love with Plunderstorm - it would make so much sense for Blizzard.
3) Awesome video - really well put together.
4) Fingers Crossed for Plunderstorm - it's a winning lottery ticket. It just needs a right handling - and the best part is - the GAME IS ALREADY AWESOME and all the tweaks are pretty much more doable then re-designing the whole game to "make it fun". Now its just about the F2P,, stand alone client and good marketing - which in 1st phases can easily be done through streamer community and official + community tournaments.
It needs to be its own standalone game for sure. Not embedded strangely into retail WoW
I played WoW in 2007-2008. I have only resubscribed twice to WoW: When Classic was released, and when Plunderstorm was released. I loved playing Plunderstorm and would 100% buy a separate game to play it, I have no interest in playing WoW. I was looking for videos throughout the entire month Plundestorm was live while also playing it. I really hope Blizzard make a game.
Biggest blizzard cope video
I gotta ask. Is this the Takuu from (if I recall correctly)? In that case, omg. Nice video btw.
yeah dude! such good times
@@takuutv woah, dude. I'm Domy. Ill dm you
@@takuutv woah dude. It's Domy here. Human mage
I had so much fun in Plunder, but once it hit 40, I felt I could no longer give myself a reason to continue after max lvl.
There are other things in retail that I have to worry about.
I felt a sense of loss, like, I wanted to keep playing, but couldn't.
9:52 np, send me my portion of the adsense
Can't even play it because I live in Australia and Blizzard cbf giving us oce servers
it is true that balancing will finally be achieved.
Great video, you hit the nail on the head
In hindsight, this was quite an optimistic take lol
I hated this game mode for the first one or two days. After that I couldn't stop playing!
Wow needs to be free for most players to even consider playing it. Fortnight and apex have 0 barrier to entry.
Such a soothing voice. Well done video! Glad you like Plunderstorm
inb4 "you play games for fun?" 😅
100% agree!
Great video. I dislike PvP in wow but I LOVED plunderstorm PvP
They will release this on xbox asap. This is their new direction
The 6k views is CRIMINAL
Isnt plunderstorm already dying?
WOW community videos are 99% copium
I hated the background noise. Especially at 1:27 painful to listen to that offtune weird sounds. Content was good and presented well though.
Yepppp gotta be super careful with overlapping frequencies, reverb, etc.
Not nice on the ears.
Another banger after banger. Please keep this up!
I hated it. Had to drag myself to renown 7 before I got bored and quit. But it's good other people enjoyed it.
Waiting for Xaryu to make a 35 minute video watching this video.
Hey mate, I want to preface this by saying that I appreciate the work you put into making this. The effort is clearly on show, and it's not something you see very often in the gaming space. So while I'm going to say some negative things, I've tossed you and like and sub because I'm keen to see what you do next.
To be blunt, the idea that WoW should pivot to being a Fortnite-derivate belongs in 2019. Hell, your claim that WoW would benefit from going F2P is over a decade old. Those claims buy into the rhetoric that games like Fortnite and the esports industry are money printers - which they are not. This is part of the reckoning that triple AAA studios are going through right now. Games studios have been behaving like tech companies and embracing Facebook-style loss-leading.
Golden Guardians is my go-to example of this. They seemed incredibly important, they were winning events and appeared to be at the peak of their powers, and then in December they were shuttered literally overnight. As it turned out, GG were never making money, and their financers got bored. Their status was illusionary, they were always a phone call away from oblivion - the product of low interest rates. Likewise, Riot laid off 11% of their workforce in January, Epic laid off 18% of their workforce in September with the chief executive telling employees saying that the company had been "spending way more money than we earn." Audiences aren't willing to pay for esports, and Fortnite's core audience are children who rely on their mum's credit card. Riot isn't broke - but Riot Forge can disappear with a single phone call.
By contrast, we know how WoW makes it's money. By taking 15 bucks a month from your bank account for 20 years straight. It's been able to carve out its own niche in the market, Blizzard are the only ones capable of selling World of Warcraft to diehard WoW players like you and I, and there's enough of us to keep the game profitable for years to come. That allows WoW to be a bit shit and hostile to new players in a way that no other game could be. WoW made stupid amounts of money before the F2P live-service model existed, and there's a real chance that WoW will outlive it. WoW is profitable in a way that is difficult to truly wrap your head around.
WoW doesn't need to be envious of Fortnite. And it certainly doesn't need to jeopardise it's 20 years of sustained success to chase the Fortnite dollar in 2024, at a time when Fortnite itself is fighting to stay relevant.
As you aptly pointed out, WoW's core audience aren't people who play BRs. Within WoW's space, Plunderstorm was a niche product. Outside of WoW, I imagine most Fortnite players have very little interest in playing a Fortnite derivative. "Fortnite but with WoW" feels striking similar to "LoL but with WoW & friends" that we got with HotS, which was a flop because LoL players didn't want to play a LoL derivate.
Plunderstorm wasn't a bad game mode, but the best decision Blizzard made for it was to remove it. Interest was clearly dwindling after a few weeks. Xaryu was one of your big examples of hypemen. Checking his VoDs, he had a single session of Plunderstorm on the day after the tournament then never touched Plunderstorm again - not even a goodbye tour before it was retired. He moved on to SoD P3, the Cata Pre-patch, even Fallout 4 - Plunderstorm was never going to be his forever game.
I'm glad you and other players enjoyed Plunderstorm. I'm glad PvP got some sort of love for the first time in years. I hope we see it again in some form. But what you're taking the wrong lesson from Plunderstorm.
Hey dude thanks for your response! This is the kind of discussion I hoped this video would provoke.
I think you might be misunderstanding my position slightly - I don't think WoW should be F2P at all. I want Plunderstorm to be it's own, F2P game. Completely separate from WoW. Maybe it's my fault for not communicating that clearer.
When it comes to eSports, I agree it's not as lucrative as it may seem on a surface level, but companies like Riot know this. League isn't the biggest game in the world because it's the best game. It's the biggest game in the world because Riot knows how to market themselves, which is what they do with eSports. League eSports is a prime example of a loss-leader strategy. It doesn't make money directly, but it markets the game on a colossal level, driving sales in-game and elevating it's own culture massively.
Also the layoffs have very little to do with esports. Mass gaming layoffs are a result of companies over-hiring during covid to meet the demand of millions of people being locked inside, only to have to layoff these positions once the demand dwindled. (I covered this in my last video)
I don't think Xaryu not consistently playing Plunderstorm for the entirity of existence means what you think it does. A big part of his job is playing what's current, and with so many things happening in WoW right now I don't think you can blame him for trying everything out, even Fallout is having a resurgence right now because of the series. I can guarantee if things were quiet in WoW currently he would have played a hell of a lot more Plunderstorm. Now imagine ranked existed. How much do you think he'd have played then? This is the whole point of the video.
Blizzard are doubling down on the Warcraft universe in recent years. In my opinion, Plunderstorm is the perfect avenue to get a younger generation and a broader audience integrated within that world.
Blizzard should really make it F2P, it would drive more sales of other warcraft products. Currently, the only people who play it are people who also play other versions of WoW.
MMORPG's declined because of the terrible devs.
For it to work it NEEDS world wide server hosting. Playing it with 100ms+ spoils the experience.
Battle royal will not hold for much longer. The genres is dead already. The BR players are mostly kids, who will very soon discover some new cool thing and then bye bye battle royales
Not going to happen that i will pay for WoW ever again as long as Blizzard owns the franchise...
Asmon needs to see this video. So the internet can see it!
Great video!
Strong Video mate. Keep it up.
Too bad this game mode requires fun and being able to anticipate player needs, which are things Blizzard hasn't been able to do since Vanilla. I wouldn't expect anything serious from this, since the company is flailing wildly trying to redefine the remake of a remaster of a 20 year old game.
Streaming destroyed MMORPG's btw
The bald one needs to see this
Problem is Plunderstorm got old after 2 days because it devolved into the same build insta winning and them not adjusting anything
Takuu Time lets go
Then they followed it with MoP remix yikes! 😬
classic + is the gold strike
we need it.
I don't agree on all fronts, but this is still a great video, man. Thumbs up.
It is just sad to hear what you say at 5:00.
Saying that Retail Arena is unbalanced and comparing it to Plunderstorm/SoD is extremely uninformed. Plunderstorm is a completely different game to Retail Arenas.
In the AWC (Arena World Championship) last weekend, 23 out of 39 specialisations were in the top 8 on the EU and NA combined. (the 39 specialisations include tanks that are never played)
Retail is extremely balanced for its complexity. Especially if you are not in the top 1% of players. I don't think in games like League 60% of the champions are played in the top 8 of the Worlds Cup.
Comparing a game with 20 skill-shot abilities to a target-based game with 39 specialisations with more than 20 abilities each makes no sense. These games are not made for the same audience. Plunderstorms is easy to pick up and play for a few rounds. But it lacks the depth of WoW Arena. If you play games based on the "Viewing expierence for Esports" sure, Plunderstorm is easy to follow and accessible for new players. But that does not make the WoW Arena gameplay experience bad.
Blizzard has been neglecting WoW Arena for years, so it will never appeal to a wide esport audience, but why should it? Go watch League or CS2 if you want to watch accessible esports.
Thanks for your comment man, though your point of Plunderstorm being a completely different game to retail is also my point exactly.
MMO’s aren’t strictly PvP games, so whilst they may have improved class representation, there will always be a balancing act between different parts of the game. In Plunderstorm there is no need to balance classes because there aren’t any.
Retail PvP is great for what it is, and although WoW arenas may never appeal to a wide esports league, Plunderstorm might. This is one of the main points of the video.
Great vid. I miss Plunder.
You’re the goat WoW creator
this'll age like sour milk lol
came from Xaryu, well made piece!
Hope we can make it happen
I dont agree. Got bored just watching it on youtube just for a couple of days. Seems the kind of game that you get bored playing super fast. despite the cool editing that gives this vibe of importance and mystery, that game is shet.
great video. liked and subbed right away :)
True and Real
Totally on it Takuu 😁
Thing is, plunderstorm feels like retail. It didnt connect to me as a Classic Andy at all
Most retail players didn't like it either. 40 renown for mounts and pets from a limited time event is mental illness.
@@premiumfruits3528casual pve players who just want rewards didnt sure. ppl who simply like to have fun seemed to enjoy it
My guy, Plunderstorm was ass and didn't have an audience. WoW pve players didn't like it because it was pvp, had a fucking retarded 40 renown grind, and had a bunch of retail cosmetics locked behind that grind. WoW pvp players didn't like it because it's not WoW pvp, it's a watered down BR made with WoW assets that uses entirely separate characters. BR players don't like it because it's not Fortnite, Apex, Tarkov, etc, they just want to play their game. The only people who liked Plunderstorm were diehard Blizzard fanboys that gargle down anything Blizzard puts out, because they just like the Blizzard aesthetic and artstyle. Plunderstorm was a cute experiment, but the time and resources could have been spent elsewhere to make the actual game better. If they had just released it as a standalone thing with no retail cosmetics and tenders locked behind its grind, it would have been dead in a week. After the first few days, people figured out the fastest way to grind would be to drop in, do the wq, run into the storm and die, and go next. Every game was 85% people doing that. No one asked for this, and very few people actually liked it. They need to focus on the actual game, not side projects.
I need to make a video about eve online with your level of editing
As a wow player i have never even installed plunderstorm.
It just does not look fun to me.
i m happy of plunderstorm success ! but strangely, i didn t enjoy it much... I like everything abt it, the universe, the pace in the game is great, the leveling is a good idea, i like br but idk...
i only went to level 10
i hope the project around this event happens and that it s even better
isnt plunderstorm already dying?
Nice video. Plunder was Kinda meh imo.
would prefer a standalone Arena game instead of plunder.
SO GOOD!
they copied the idea from warmane p serv lol?... warmane been doing battle royale events for years and they didn't need to make some fortnite/league reskin to make it fun
just like they copied SOD from Runescapes leagues/fresh start, except runescape doesn't kill off their playerbase on normal game when they drop leagues like blizzard did to HC, classic and wrath
nothing they have done since recently has been original or their idea
queues instapop for arena and bgs in warmane too, wonder why...
Blizzard, a Microsoft Studio, is a massive entity with very few decision makers who are gamers (and less everyday). It is incredibly unlikely that they would take the risk of investing heavily into this now. Old Bliz, yes, absolutely. This corporate Bliz, run by an Activision task-master with a Microsoft overseer. Not a chance.
Solid analysis. Hey Asmon get in here!
great video
engagement pog
why not realise the roots of what a battle royale is instead of applying it to everything.
banger video
couldn't disagree more, but the editing of this video is absolutely magnificent.