Patch 11.1 Liberation of Undermine: Blizzard may limit addons usage
World of Warcraft’s new raid, “Liberation of Undermine,” launches in early 2025 with fresh mechanics and challenges. Ion Hazzikostas talks about the evolving raid design and that addons may be limited.
Table of Contents
World of Warcraft’s upcoming raid, “Liberation of Undermine,” part of the “Undermine(d)” update of patch 11.1, will build on 20 years of raid design with a mix of new and familiar mechanics. While addons have made specific raid mechanics easier, Blizzard will respond by creating more complex encounters, which can sometimes make the game less engaging without these tools.
Game director Ion Hazzikostas mentioned that future raids of War Within, starting from patch 11.1, may limit addon functionality to keep the gameplay challenging and immersive. The raid will also feature environmental mechanics, such as unique locations like the Grand Casino, adding new layers of complexity to encounters.
Liberation of Undermine
World of Warcraft is about to launch a new raid called “Liberation of Undermine” in early 2025. This raid will be part of the Undermine(d) update in the latest expansion, The War Within, patch 11.1. It will continue the game’s tradition of challenging, large-group adventures and introduce new ideas players haven’t seen before. For a deeper dive into the upcoming raid, check out our Liberation of Undermine article to uncover all the exciting details and gameplay mechanics ahead of its launch.
If you want to learn more about the patch 11.1 update, be sure to check our Overview article:
Game director Ion Hazzikostas says the raid will blend older raid mechanics with fresh twists. Raids in World of Warcraft have changed a lot over the last twenty years, as have the tools players use to beat them. Players now rely on addons, like WeakAuras, which help track raid mechanics and tell them when to react. This has made the game easier for experienced players but also created a problem.
In Classic Era raids, players had to figure out complex mechanics without much help. Hazzikostas recalls when he first entered Molten Core, saying, “None of us knew what we were doing,” as players struggled even with the first few enemies. Today, players are much better at handling raid bosses, thanks to guides and addons. If you want to know more about the best addons of Classic Era, check out our top 10 addons for WoW Classic Fresh. We also got a guide on War Within best addons for M+.
This created another problem: modern players could quickly finish raids on their release. This problem is fixed in Season of Discovery versions of WoW that modify old bosses. They even add new types of difficulties, like with the “Descent into Madness” mod in SoD Phase 6.
Players vs Blizzard developers
This has led to an “arms race” between players and developers. When Blizzard makes a fight more complicated, players use addons to simplify it. This can make encounters less challenging because players don’t have to think as much. For example, in a current Nerub’ar raid, players need to stack at specific locations to complete an objective. With addons, it’s easier to manage.
Addons make the challenging task of finishing raids easier and less fun for some players. Players may not even finish raids without the addons, making high-end content inaccessible for casual players. Sometimes, over-complicating the boss mechanics and desync problems on Blizzard’s behalf may put down your entire raid group.
If you still need help with Nerub’ar Palace, check our guide or consider getting a Nerub’ar Palace boost.
Ion Hazzikostas opinion
However, Hazzikostas explained, “We can’t be ignorant to the fact that many of our players are using addons.” Blizzard has noticed that some mechanics have become too reliant on addons, leading to less engaging gameplay. He said, “A player might say this was a boring encounter because I was doing my DPS rotation for three minutes except for the one time my addon told me to do something.”
To fix this, Blizzard plans to limit addons functionality in future raids of War Within so players can enjoy the challenge without relying too much on external tools. Hazzikostas wants the game’s base mechanics to provide enough information to make encounters exciting and engaging. We will see them in action in Patch 11.1.
However, it is still being determined whether addons won’t find a way to bypass this limiter. We need to know how Blizzard will limit addons usage in the game. In the near future, we may see some addons to be forbidden to use, or have premium functionality that could circumvent these changes. This may spark a lot of community discussion, with players concerned about losing features they’ve relied on for years.
While some players think WoW would be better without addons, others have become too reliant on them. Without them, they may find raid encounters even more complicated. Regardless of the addons future, we should discuss the possibilities of such a future being the case.
Liberation of Undermine new mechanics
The new raid will also feature environment-based mechanics, such as in the Grand Casino of Undermine, where the location itself affects how players fight. The bosses will challenge players’ skills and ability to adapt to changing surroundings.
Hazzikostas is excited about the raid and the new challenges it will bring. He believes these new approaches will make the raid feel unique and fresh while building on the lessons learned from 20 years of raid design.
Conclusion
As the raid evolves, players can expect to face new mechanics, unexpected challenges, and more dynamic environments, keeping the long-running series of encounters exciting and ever-changing. Players have been going a long way from Classic Era Molten Core raids to the current War Within Nerub’ar Palace raid. Let’s hope that Liberation of Undermine will engage us more in Patch 11.1!
What do you think can be done with raids in patch 11.1? Share your thoughts in the comment section!
Comments
well, use weak aura then!
So they’re releasing this early 2024?
yeah, using a time machine to go back in time ^_^