As Blizzard gears up for launch, the developer has confirmed that World of Warcraft: Forever controller support is even more extensive than during beta.
As Blizzard teases a future where World of Warcraft: Forever may be playable on console, controller support for the Classic+ MMORPG is more essential than ever. Even without console ports, controller support makes the game more playable on PC gaming handhelds, and gives players more choice.
During the game’s beta last month, Blizzard introduced controller support to the game. However, this support, while pretty good, was still missing functionality in some areas. On launch, though, players will be able to make use of an upgraded controller support feature that covers almost everything.
In a statement by the studio, Blizzard confirmed that launch players will be treated to an upgraded and expanded version of controller support. The feature now covers “all major gameplay and core user interface experiences… including movement, spells, interactions, UI navigation, etc.”
The new gamepad support features now include class-specific flyouts added to the action bar of some classes, including a shapeshift flyout for druifs, pet control and pet spell flyouts for Hunters and Warlocks, Aura flyout for Paladins, and a stance flyout for Warriors.
There’s also a number of new options available for players on controller including a “use compact action bar” function which “only shows the currently active action bar at any given time”. Blizzard has also made a number of tweaks to auto-targeting on controllers that should make the game feel better on a pad.
While some will still balk at the idea of playing WoW, or any MMO, with a controller, it’s clear that Blizzard is giving the feature major attention. While controller support should be much better than beta, the developer also isn’t finished tweaking and improving it with plans to continue making the entire game more functional on a gamepad.
Despite all of these changes, World of Warcraft: Forever controller support is still clearly labelled as being in “alpha”. This means that the studio could still introduce major changes and alterations to the feature as it continues with the game’s post-launch content.
Speaking of post-launch content, Blizzard has confirmed that new updates for the MMO will be “more laid back” than retail. While the studio is working on new classes for players to explore, there’s no word on when the game will see its first major expansion.
