Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever Excludes Summoning Stones
Blizzard Entertainment says the teleport feature clashes with its design pillars, including 'World as the Main Character'.
Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed that its upcoming game World of Warcraft: Forever will not include Summoning Stones, stating that the feature conflicts with the title's core design philosophy.
The company explained that easy and quick access to teleports shrinks the world and marginalizes the identity of classes like Warlock. Blizzard said the decision was made because Summoning Stones fail to meet two of its stated design pillars: 'Nurture and Protect Social Experiences' and 'World as the Main Character'.
Four Pillars for Forever
Blizzard outlined four design pillars for World of Warcraft: Forever: Nurture and Protect Social Experiences, Approachable and Familiar, World as the Main Character, and Journey before destination. The exclusion of Summoning Stones is tied directly to the first and third pillars, according to the developer.
Summoning Stones, also known as Meeting Stones, were not an option in vanilla World of Warcraft but were added later as a convenience feature in retail World of Warcraft. Blizzard stated it has 22 years of data on how quality-of-life changes impacted the social fabric of the game.
Quick answers
Will World of Warcraft: Forever have Summoning Stones?
No. Blizzard Entertainment stated that Summoning Stones will not be included in World of Warcraft: Forever.
Why did Blizzard remove Summoning Stones from World of Warcraft: Forever?
Blizzard said easy and quick access to teleports shrinks the world and marginalizes the identity of classes like Warlock, and that the feature fails to meet its design pillars 'Nurture and Protect Social Experiences' and 'World as the Main Character'.
What are the design pillars for World of Warcraft: Forever?
Blizzard outlined four design pillars: Nurture and Protect Social Experiences, Approachable and Familiar, World as the Main Character, and Journey before destination.