News
120-player “megaraids” in WoW Forever? Blizzard isn’t ruling anything out
The sixth episode of the official podcast, released on 29 October, was all about tech. Joining host Countdown To Classic were Josh “Aggrend” Greenfield, senior game designer; Ana Resendez, software engineering manager; Frank Williams, principal software engineer; and creator Shobek, an RP-PvP guild leader.
Shobek asked the awkward question: is the 40-player cap final? He suggested groups of 80 to 120 players. His argument fits in one sentence: large battles and player-organised gatherings become a pain when everyone is split across separate raids. Aggrend confirmed that the team is thinking about a “megaraid” of 80 to 120 players, or an alliance linking several raid groups.
No announcement, though. The developers say they have nothing to announce, but a whiteboard titled “megaraid” might be lying around somewhere in their offices. According to Aggrend, the topic will only move to the front burner once the game is well established.
Why the question comes up
The team closely studied the large world PvP battles during the beta. The beta also exposed the limits of layering: chaotic zone transitions, players vanishing mid-fight. Forever has no realms. All players on the same ruleset share the world, spread across layers to preserve performance.
Frank Williams mentioned tools that could automatically detect a large-scale battle. Blizzard is also looking at the community add-ons used to organise these clashes, with the idea of building some of their features into the game.
What changes at launch
One concrete fix, however, is confirmed. During the beta, joining a group or even just receiving an invite could switch you to another layer at the worst possible moment. Blizzard calls it a bug: at launch, joining a group or guild will display a prompt with a timer, so you change layers when you’re ready. Servers open on 5 November at 00:01 Paris time.
What it doesn’t change
We’re not talking about a 120-player boss. A larger group interface doesn’t mean a new instanced raid for 120 players. Raids keep fixed sizes: no additional difficulties planned, and no scaling to the number of players present. With 21 for Hyjal Summit, one player stays outside. The first phase opens on 9 December: Barrow Deeps for 10, Hyjal Summit for 20, Onyxia’s Lair for 40.
The precedent that gets people dreaming
The Ahn’Qiraj war effort in WoW Classic saw the community gather resources before the opening of the gates triggered a huge world event. A 120-player army would really come into its own at that kind of event.
Jobwow's take
A 120-player army? Count me in. But not to whack a boss.
What I’ve missed since Vanilla isn’t a bigger raid. It’s being able to lead a real battle without it descending into chaos the moment we go past 40. Mounting an offensive on an enemy camp today means three raids, three leaders, three channels and coordination by guesswork. A single group with shared command, shared markers and an overview changes everything.
Blizzard is right to look at add-ons. Players have already invented the tool; it just needs to go into the game so everyone has access to it, not only those who tinker with their UI.
One caveat, though. A 120-player army is useless if half of it lands on another layer. The group invite fix is the first stone; as long as the world’s layering isn’t under control, the megaraid will stay on the whiteboard. And that’s probably for the best: I’d rather have a feature that holds up under load than an announcement that makes a lot of noise.
My wish for what comes next: an Ahn’Qiraj-style war effort, designed for Forever, where an entire army has an objective to defend together. The day it arrives, I’ll take my place in the ranks.
What about you: up for a 120-player army, or sticking with your 40?
— Jobwow, behind the bar of the Tavern
Translated from the French article, written and reviewed by Jobwow.
A week of WoW Forever, every Sunday at 10 am. Jobwow's column, the five news to remember and a gameplay tip.
- megaraid
- world pvp
- official podcast
- layering
- under consideration