Warcraft 3: Reforged is out, and the response has not been kind. User scores suggest that it’s the literal worst game ever, and while that’s certainly hyperbolic, a number of disappointments have ensured that the remake is not living up to expectations. Now Blizzard has issued a statement on the current state of the game. It’s far from comprehensive, but it does detail a few updates and changes that are coming in the near future.
Leaderboards and clans disappeared from Reforged, and the loss of the Warcraft 3 Classic client ensured that nobody has access to them anymore. Blizzard says “as with [StarCraft] Remastered, these and other features will be included in a major patch for Reforged, which will also address the issue for players of the original game.”
We’ll find out more about that update in the “coming weeks,” but we will get a smaller patch this week which will fix visual glitches with classic mode graphics. “The patch will also address many other known issues, such as fixing some portrait animations and audio bugs, implementing some UI fixes, and more.”
The improved cutscenes we saw when Reforged was first unveiled, however, are still not coming. Blizzard says “the campaigns tell one of the classic stories in Warcraft history, and we want to preserve the true spirit of Warcraft III and allow players to relive these unforgettable moments as they were (albeit rebuilt with new animations and the higher fidelity art).”
Blizzard was clear at the Reforged’s last BlizzCon showing that the revamped cutscenes would no longer be part of the game – but as fans have now repeatedly noted, some of those now-unused cutscenes are still shown in promotional material on the official site.
As Rich notes in his overview of Warcraft 3: Reforged, the remaster isn’t really a disaster for casual players – at a minimum, it’s a fine way to access a classic RTS campaign. But it’s the game’s longtime fans who have the most reason to be dissatisfied – and given the focus on fresh online features, it seems that’s the audience Blizzard is most keen to serve here.