Brian Holinka Returns to World of Warcraft Lead Combat Designer - MMORPG.com

SBFord

Brian Holinka Returns to World of Warcraft Lead Combat Designer - MMORPG.com

Things are moving fast these days with the World of Warcraft team. It has been confirmed that Brian Holinka has returned to the WoW team as the new Lead Combat Designer. Eagle eyed users saw a post on Holinka's LinkedIn page and he later confirmed via Twitter that he has indeed returned to WoW. You may recall that Holinka was the Lead PvP Developer from 2012 to 2017. For the past year, he has been at work "on an unannounced project".

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SBFord

Well THIS came out of left field. While I had my issues with him as PvP lead, I'm pretty sure he can't hurt combat any more. There's only one direction to go: Up and let's hope we get more variety in how we play each class and spec and less homogenization. I'll be fascinated to see what he brings to the table.

Deathtognomes

WoW must be hard up to bring him back. or he needed a job...

Albatroes

SBFord said:

Well THIS came out of left field. While I had my issues with him as PvP lead, I'm pretty sure he can't hurt combat any more. There's only one direction to go: Up and let's hope we get more variety in how we play each class and spec and less homogenization. I'll be fascinated to see what he brings to the table.

Suzie....Please dont challenge Blizzard by saying they can't hurt combat anymore....I dont want bm hunter to go down to 2 button instead of 3 buttons (sometimes 4! button presses). If this guy doesn't nothing else, I hope he at least tells Ion he's a retard for the gcd change. He'd be a hero for a lot of people reverting that change.

Halibrand

I wonder if that undisclosed project he was on for the last year has something to do with WoW Classic.

MadFrenchie

I mentioned in another thread I wouldn't be surprised to see Blizzard making some moves here.  Hopefully Brian can make some improvements all around.  A lot of players still believe defensive and utility CDs shouldn't be on GCD at all.  I tend to agree.

Scorchien

SBFord said:

Well THIS came out of left field. While I had my issues with him as PvP lead, I'm pretty sure he can't hurt combat any more. There's only one direction to go: Up and let's hope we get more variety in how we play each class and spec and less homogenization. I'll be fascinated to see what he brings to the table.

Are you sure , he could nerf the Hunter MM further and just have him use 1 skill now instead of the riveting 3-4 that are viable

Albatroes

MadFrenchie said:

I mentioned in another thread I wouldn't be surprised to see Blizzard making some moves here.  Hopefully Brian can make some improvements all around.  A lot of players still believe defensive and utility CDs shouldn't be on GCD at all.  I tend to agree.

"Getting hammered on my mage! They're bursting me down! Ice block!....is on the gcd now....right....Thanks Ion!" Yet they keep disengage off the gcd....k....

SBFord

Holinka made some big mistakes towards the end of his tenure as PVP Director, but at the beginning in 2012, PvP was great (in MoP). 

He needs to address Hunters for sure. Even their last "improvements" for Marks are so tone deaf as to be beyond belief. 

Honestly, the combat team has been terrible through Legion and now in BfA -- it's gotten so simplistic that no class has much more than 3-4 buttons to press, and with GCD smacked on top of it, it's even worse. 

If he's stepping in as Combat Lead, I wonder who was leading it up to now? There hasn't been any sign of someone stepping down to make room for him so I'm kind of baffled.

Wizardry

IDK who makes the real decisions or mistakes but having pvp entirely ruins PVE because pvp needs to be balanced which is IMPOSSIBLE in a rpg.

You need to focus on PVE,if you want to add pvp then keep everything the same,don't ruin PVE combat to cater to balancing,that is just dumb.

Now that is out of the way,WOW combat is imo terrible like not even close to being average or good,more in line with repetitive and boring and VERY little thinking.
Problem is that combat cannot do it alone,the entire structure of the game,from the type of mobs,the AI,the weapon types,resistances,there is a pile of stuff that come in to play to make combat great.


The other and maybe biggest problem is lazy greed.If you feel your product will sell no matter how little effort you put into it,then guess what,you'll put little effort into it.So what is LAZY design....gear grinding...Item levels.Your abilities that go along with your class and your choices should be 90% of the combat,it shoule NEVER be about some gear score removing the player and making it all about gear.

Bottom line,i kept giving Wow a chance,kept trying different classes,the structure of Wow and the combat and everything else surrounding it,is just bad,so i became bored every time,all the time and very quickly.I personally cannot even see a fix,the structure is item levels and raiding/dungeons,there is VERY little Role playing in this role playing game and VERY little about your character but more about gear.Blizzard,this guy or whomever else would have to restructure the ENTIRE design to make at least good for starters,then work up to having a great combat system.

Thane

well, some time ago blizz made a statement about pvp, and it still sticks with me:

"we will NEVER balance our game for pvp, don't wait for it."

you guys still hoping? that actually was a blue post
(can't remember the exact words, but that was the statement)

wanna do pvp? get some pala, a dk and mb a mage, and you are set, hf

GeezerGamer

WOW! (pun intended)
There's a lot of pist players out there.
I never realized how far this game had fallen. 
I let this ship sail on without me at level 92. I'd had enough back in WOD.

Scorchien

SBFord said:

Holinka made some big mistakes towards the end of his tenure as PVP Director, but at the beginning in 2012, PvP was great (in MoP). 

He needs to address Hunters for sure. Even their last "improvements" for Marks are so tone deaf as to be beyond belief. 

Honestly, the combat team has been terrible through Legion and now in BfA -- it's gotten so simplistic that no class has much more than 3-4 buttons to press, and with GCD smacked on top of it, it's even worse. 

If he's stepping in as Combat Lead, I wonder who was leading it up to now? There hasn't been any sign of someone stepping down to make room for him so I'm kind of baffled.

Its why i stopped playing my Main is Hunter MM and its shit , boring ..

Albatroes

Scorchien said:

SBFord said:

Holinka made some big mistakes towards the end of his tenure as PVP Director, but at the beginning in 2012, PvP was great (in MoP). 

He needs to address Hunters for sure. Even their last "improvements" for Marks are so tone deaf as to be beyond belief. 

Honestly, the combat team has been terrible through Legion and now in BfA -- it's gotten so simplistic that no class has much more than 3-4 buttons to press, and with GCD smacked on top of it, it's even worse. 

If he's stepping in as Combat Lead, I wonder who was leading it up to now? There hasn't been any sign of someone stepping down to make room for him so I'm kind of baffled.

Its why i stopped playing my Main is Hunter MM and its shit , boring ..

Yeah, given his tenure, I dont imagine hunter will go back, but at the very least he can do something about the gcd changes. It feels so freaking horrid still and retard Ion seems to think people wont notice it if they play it long enough. People ALWAYS notice when you take crap away. I dont honestly think he can do anything about classes anyway given how convoluted the azerite system is. People need to remember that a lot of classes were cut in terms of passives/abilities in the prepatch of legion so that the artifact system could 'fill in the gaps' which is what Ion is trying to obviously do with this crappy system. So 8.1 will be another ring with 8.2 probably a new piece like ring/trinket/cape and then 8.3 will probably be choosing 2 in a ring instead of just one. I'm also thinking Ion will bring in craftable legions probably about 8.2 if he does since they were actually successful in Legion.

sipu

I'm so happy that I quit this mess recently, Holinka was the guy who has destroyed PVP in WoW.

Thane

sipu said:

I'm so happy that I quit this mess recently, Holinka was the guy who has destroyed PVP in WoW.

ROFL

WoW always was, is and will be a pve game, and if you think WoW EVER Had a working pvp, you must be out of your mind.

your claim is pathetic, at best

Warlyx

gez holinka ? really? ><

ra123

THIS GAME MUST BE END ! then blizzard start to make real games

Viper482

Wizardry said:

IDK who makes the real decisions or mistakes but having pvp entirely ruins PVE because pvp needs to be balanced which is IMPOSSIBLE in a rpg.



You need to focus on PVE,if you want to add pvp then keep everything the same,don't ruin PVE combat to cater to balancing,that is just dumb.



.

Your opinion. Many people play for pvp, you don't say "screw them" just because you don't.

Saying that, I agree there are better ways to go about things, certainly Blizzard is clueless to that fact. I think FFXIV did the right thing when they went to universal pvp templates. Make them completely separate from pve. But you don't just dismiss it and ignore it, that's a dick move.

KalebGrayson

Can it get worse? Yes. Will it get worse? Probably

btdt

LOL, the only balance anyone wants in PVP is their chosen class being OP.  That's it.  So long as they are the FotM, they don't give a rats ass about the rest.  Been that way since inception.

The change is but one of a stream of changes being made in an effort to save BfA.  It has not been a good expansion and they are trying everything they can to try and salvage it.

Two things come to mind... did the undisclosed project get shitcanned like Titan, thus they had to move him back to WoW.  OR, is BfA is such a sad state atm that they have to put everyone they can on the project to save subs?  I think the latter is the case.  Hell the player base knows it's the case.

Remember, everyone CHEERED when he left WoW for the other project.   They CHEERED.  They aren't exactly going to cheer his return... and in fact, the forums already reflect that.  More of a well it can't get any worse sort of reaction.  That's not exactly a great endorsement.

Alomar

WoW's combat is the main reason I haven't played the last 3 expansions, and don't plan to play any future ones. Simplistic, watered down, easymode, old, dated, and boring tab target combat (all imo). Seeing as combat is one of the most important features in an mmo, If I fall asleep in the combat I can't play the game.

Scot

SBFord said:

Well THIS came out of left field. While I had my issues with him as PvP lead, I'm pretty sure he can't hurt combat any more. There's only one direction to go: Up and let's hope we get more variety in how we play each class and spec and less homogenization. I'll be fascinated to see what he brings to the table.

"He can't hurt combat anymore", not the most sterling of recommendations.

Sovrath

Wizardry said:

IDK who makes the real decisions or mistakes but having pvp entirely ruins PVE because pvp needs to be balanced which is IMPOSSIBLE in a rpg.

People say this but I don't quite understand why not make the npc's the same as the pc's except be controlled by ai?

So everyone gets balanced based on their classes or skilled and not because they are pc or npc?

GeezerGamer

The mechanics were never perfect or balanced. IF you think PVP was ruined by this, I'm guessing many of you never tried to PVP during the 2.x expansion. With Enhancement Shaman having zero CC counters. Basically the class spec was utterly useless in PVP. And as if that wasn't bad enough, someone has to remember the Resto Druid Warrior comp bullshit. I mean, come on, does anyone remember a time when PVP was actually balanced well in WoW? If you say yes, I'll call bullshit on you.

Renoaku

Maybe he will help design World OF Warcrafty 2, and fix the really outdated User Interface in the least i've tried to get into WOW since the mage nerf back in Burning Crusade, I just couldn't get back into it every time I try.

It's not that WOW is a bad game it's how the game changed so much since it's original release it just stopped having the same feeling that it did when I first started the original game before any expansions.