WoW devs promise patch 9.1.5 will finally start tackling in-game toxicity

Bill Cooney

For weeks now WoW players have been sounding off as to what they think the MMO needs going forward, and it seems Blizzard might have been paying attention.

On August 27, the Warcraft team released a rare public announcement about the upcoming patch 9.1.5 on Twitter.

They promised changes coming to covenants, conduits, and more quality of life updates. Devs also mentioned they would be trying to “improve the game environment” by finally tackling toxicity; a major complaint from players.

WoW changes coming in 9.1.5

Monk WoW class
WoW players have been begging Blizzard for quality of life changes in recent weeks.

“A lot of what you’ll find in [patch 9.1.5] is the direct result of your collective feedback,” devs posted on WoW’s Twitter. When you look at this list of changes next to some popular community requests from players, it does seem like someone was paying attention.

We probably won’t know the exact changes until the patch comes out on the PTR, but in general, what’s happening in WoW patch 9.1.5 is as follows:

  • Easier to swap covenants and conduits
  • Updates so players don’t have to repeat covenant campaigns on alts
  • New character customization options for some races
  • More serious penalties for “disruptive behavior.”

In addition to harsher penalties for anti-social players Blizzard also promised other changes to some content to “better reflect our shared values.” They also promised “better visibility” on the impact in-game reporting has, but how this will look or operate remains to be seen.

When does WoW patch 9.1.5 come out?

Patch 9.1.5 goes live on October 5 in the main game, but like Blizzard said in their tweet, it’ll be going live on PTR servers the week of August 29 through Sept. 4. Like other Blizzard games, WoW likes to send updates on Tuesday, so August 31 could be when we see it arrive on the test realm.

The next WoW update might not fix every single problem with the game, but at least it shows developers are paying attention to what the player base is asking for. With MMO’s like New World and Final Fantasy Online getting more and more attention, staying on top of easy fixes the community is asking for could be crucial.

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