Chilly reaction from Blizzard

Now on WoW Insider, also while sitting at work, I see that Hunter's Wing Clip can be spammed to get guaranteed weapon skill ups. I have to wonder a little if this too will be hot fixed by the time I get home tonight? Does Blizzard have a group of employees who just surf fan sites and blogs to find the latest tricks and tips for possible exploits? Now, this might be a bit of an unfair assessment, it may be noticeable shifts in player travel, it could be GM tickets, or something we know little or nothing about that Blizzard watches over.

I guess the stories of hotfixes for problems seem to have grown more numerous, and possibly embittered me a little, because I am beginning to see things from a perspective I didn't think I would. As a blogger, podcaster, and huge fan of WoW, I try to help my friends and guild mates by pointing them to upcoming stuff from PTR notes, and advising them of changes to stuff that affects them. A lot of the time I am met in my excitement with what could be best described as well practiced boredom.

These people have been playing a long time, often as long as me, and have gone through the patch and fix and hotfix cycle more times than they want to remember. Blizzard releases a patch to the PTR that is drool worthy, then realizes a mistake or a miscalculation and pulls the reigns back, taking back the ground that was gained. They have become cynical, and I feel the tinge of the cynic creeping up on me. I don't like it, but there it is, the bare truth for all to see.

Now in all fairness, it is not Blizzard's fault that I work 10 hour to 12 hour shifts at my job, nor that the stuff is discovered during these work days. It is their fault that the bugs are there, but again, they are just fixing bugs that are in the game when they are discovered. This NPC is not a mistake, I think, especially since he was out there, has emotes programmed in, and responds to the player in a way that can only be programmed.

The suggestion a few made was that since the Zul'Aman patch also brought in a few Valentines features ahead of time like the Love Rocket and Romantic Basket, and this NPC could be a part of that, accidentally brought in with no expectation that someone would randomly /kiss the troll. All guessing and opinions aside, the main reaction people are having to this is anger that larger, more game breaking issues are going unpatched for months at a time, while small things like the Ghost wolf and the little Mojo get immediate fixes, even late on a Sunday.

Some of the points that I have seen are sinking in as perhaps more than just anger filled rants. Here are a few question that have been plaguing my mind. Why does it feel to some that Blizzard is making a high priority out of taking fun out of the game that has no effect on game balance? Does Blizzard have such low content release plans that they have to put content into the patches months ahead of time, just in case? Where is The Ashbringer?