Blizzard has released sign up information for its WoW Tournament; how do you think the community will react to this years event and what turn out are you expecting?

The community’s reaction has been very positive so far. We’ve used the feedback from last year’s event to refine this year’s structure, and we’re expecting a strong turnout for the tournament.

Blizzard’s tournament last year was the focus of the WoW competitive scene, are you hoping for a similar focus on this years Blizzard tournament?

We aim to hold premiere events every year, and this year is no different. Our intention is to continue running topnotch competitive events that players want to take part in and spectators want to watch.

The idea of “eSports” has been a big part of Blizzard’s corporate strategy, what impact do you think eSports has on the success from a business side for Blizzard and other game developers? We understand that Blizzard has established a dedicated eSports group. Could you comment on what that group is chartered to do?

For our company, eSports has been a key to the longevity of several of our titles. With StarCraft celebrating its 10th anniversary, there are still active communities and eSports organizations that support it along with our other titles. The Blizzard eSports group is responsible for developing Blizzard Entertainment’s presence in the increasingly popular eSports scene. Its main role consists of preparing and operating tournaments around the world. Additionally, it provides third-party support for various eSports leagues and communicates balance feedback to the developers.

Blizzard has benefited greatly in Starcraft, Warcraft and other games from its backing by the eSports movement; is Blizzard committed to making WoW as popular in the eSports genre as its other game platforms?

We feel that the introduction of the Arena system created a viable platform for competitive PvP and eSports in World of Warcraft. Since their introduction, the Arenas have remained very popular, and we plan to continue enhancing and building on that aspect of the game.

A big part of “eSports” is the concept of balanced play, level playing field. Yet WoW seems to have an opposite view where it tries to encourage players to spend additional time playing the game and then rewards them for it. How does Blizzard balance these two conflicting situations and will we continue to see this idea of separation of professional players on to “tournament realms”?

We received a lot of feedback from last year’s tournament indicating that players wanted to be able to compete effectively without spending the time to level and equip multiple characters. We used template characters for some of the third-party events we supported last year and eventually developed the format you see in this year’s tournament, in which players create and customize tournament-ready characters. At the end of this year’s tournament, we’ll take all of the feedback we’ve received over the year and make improvements for future tournaments.

It was stated in forum posts that Blizzard doesn’t see all classes and all specs for each classes ever being equally viable in arena/pvp play. With that said, what other changes to character classes is Blizzard considering working on in terms of PVP and arena play?

We’ll continue to work on refining competitive balance and addressing any valid concerns we may find in terms of PvP and Arena play. There are many aspects to the World of Warcraft universe, and we have to be careful that changes made in response to one area of play do not adversely affect other parts of the game. Without going into specifics on upcoming changes, we can say that we constantly evaluate the current state of game balance, as well as how it will be altered by the inclusion of new content, such as the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

How about the effects any changes could have on PVE play; how does Blizzard balance these two potentially conflicting styles of play?

We have a dedicated team of designers focused on providing the best possible gaming experience for both PvP and PvE aspects of the game. When changes are implemented, they are extensively tested internally and then externally, when we go through our public testing phases on our public test realms (PTRs). These multiple layers of testing and feedback help avoid unwanted consequences when making balance changes.

Where is Blizzard’s priority when it comes to changes made between class dynamics; PVE or PVP?

We strive to evaluate all aspects of World of Warcraft evenly in terms of class dynamics. We want every class to feel unique and useful in instances, raids, Battlegrounds, and Arena play. Ideally, no matter what class a player chooses, he or she will be able to experience and enjoy all aspects of World of Warcraft in one form or another. Players should be able to customize characters by changing equipment, talents, or play styles to correspond to the type of game experience they prefer.

The issue of what race certain characters are makes a big deal in Arena play. Has Blizzard considered any change to the use of racial abilities in Arena and the idea of being “racial’d”?

We like the uniqueness and differentiation that racial abilities add to the conflict and gameplay found in World of Warcraft. However, we’ll continue to evaluate their effect on specific areas of gameplay such as competitive play and make any necessary adjustments. Additionally, with the new tournament format, players can choose any race as part of customizing for tournament play.

*Interview continued on next page.


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