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[llien]

PC game minimum system requirements have until now prescribed minimum storage space. Blizzard's upcoming "World of Warcraft: Shadowlands" changes this, with the game specifically calling for at least 100 GB of SSD storage.

VIPs on Blizzard forums state that game is still working off normal HDD, but will be slow.

I, for one, welcome this move, provided they'll stop saving 37 copies of the same assets (to optimize loading).

 

[PuppetMaster]

Put WoW in the cloud already! If there is any good use case for some cloud service like Stadia, it is a game like WoW.

 

[cormack12]

I, for one, welcome this move, provided they'll stop saving 37 copies of the same assets (to optimize loading).

Yep, I expect this to quickly become the normal.

 

[llien]

Put WoW in the cloud already! If there is any good use case for some cloud service like Stadia, it is a game like WoW.

Would be pretty expensive as WoW gamers tend to game for many hours.

 

[nkarafo]

A 3rd gen intel CPU? A GTX 1080 as recommended?

For WoW?

I mean the graphics got better than the original release but it's still the same engine. I could run the original (and the first expansion) with a Radeon X1950 pro and a Pentium 4 CPU at 60+ fps/max settings. The Cataclysm expansion (on a private server) also runs great at max settings on my brother's Core 2 Duo with a GTX 650 card and it seems there is a lot of breathing room but i don't have an older PCI express card to test.

Cataclysm was a bigger graphics overhaul than the previous expansions and AFAIK, the rest of them only had small improvements each. So the new expansion must be an even bigger changer than Cataclysm and make WoW look 3-4 times better or something.

 

[Armorian]

First game with SSD in minimal req I think...

 

[Mokus]

So, this is the beginning. Most likely, the SSDs for a while are going to be expensive.

 

[Dampf]

This will be the standard going into next gen gaming.

 

[kraspkibble]

...and so it begins!

should've happened 10 years ago but whatever. every game going forward should make SSD mandatory.

First game with SSD in minimal req I think...

yup. Flight Simulator only has SSD for "ideal" specs.

 

[The_Mike]

Put WoW in the cloud already! If there is any good use case for some cloud service like Stadia, it is a game like WoW.

Rip for those having limit on how much they can download each month.

 

[kraspkibble]

why are the specs so high?

i mean a 6700K/8GB/GTX 1080/8GB VRAM isn't that great anymore but still quite high i'd think for a game like this.

they improving graphics with this expansion?

 

[The Cockatrice]

Probably an error. The game will run perfectly fine on a HDD. This is not some demanding next gen game/engine we're talking about here lol. Cmon people.

 

[LazyParrot]

Probably an error. The game will run perfectly fine on a HDD.

Wow performs significantly worse on HDDs. Try logging into a character standing in the middle of Stormwind or Orgrimmar on a busy server and count how long it takes for all models and assets to load. The difference is night and day.

 

[DarkestHour]

I'm not sure what school you went to that "recommended" was taught as meaning "needed".

 

[The Cockatrice]

Wow performs significantly worse on HDDs. Try logging into a character standing in the middle of Stormwind or Orgrimmar on a busy server and count how long it takes for all models and assets to load. The difference is night and day.

I've played WoW up until BFA on a HDD and had 0 issues. Unless they dramatically changed the engine it will still run fine on a good HDD. I mean the min req are 4GB of fucking RAM and a what 10 year old CPU/GPU?! People still play it on potato pc's just fine. Yes obviously running it on an SSD is better, duh, but it should not be a requirement for WoW at least.

 

[GHG]

I'm not sure what school you went to that "recommended" was taught as meaning "needed".

Are you not able to see the image in the OP or something?

Anyway, it's about time. Devs shouldn't have to worry about old mechanical drives anymore, sata SSD's are more than affordable now.

 

[TheContact]

i wonder how much duplication is going on there, and I also wonder if the 100GB is total for all xpac up to Shadowlands or just shadowlands itself

 

[LazyParrot]

People still play it on potato pc's just fine.

The requirements aren't based on performance, it's the other way around. The game has been playable on HDDs so far because Blizzard has had to factor them in during development. They've just given themselves an excuse to stop doing that. If they come up with updates now that run like shit on HDDs they're off the hook and can simply blame the players for not meeting the minimum requirements.

 

[Karlinel]

I have a laptop with a 1070 8gb and a SSD, but seeing a 1080 and 100gb of space sort of worries me.

 

[Diddy X]

Does the game look so much better now? Sorry haven't seen any trailer.

 

[DeceptiveAlarm]

They added Ray tracing shadows. They don't look worth it to me. I would guess thats why they recommend a 1080. It cuts the fps like in half from what I read.

I use a 480 and I run it at 1440p fairly hight settings at over 60fps easy.

 

[The Cockatrice]

The requirements aren't based on performance, it's the other way around. The game has been playable on HDDs so far because Blizzard has had to factor them in during development. They've just given themselves an excuse to stop doing that. If they come up with updates now that run like shit on HDDs they're off the hook and can simply blame the players for not meeting the minimum requirements.

Fair point but doesn't make sense to demand an SSD along with those other requirements which are basically almost as old as the game, unless ofc they've improved something significantly that would require an SSD which I doubt. If as you say it's an excuse, they should've just went all in.

 

[cucuchu]

I have a laptop with a 1070 8gb and a SSD, but seeing a 1080 and 100gb of space sort of worries me.

You will be more than fine. I'm pretty sure they put those recommended specs up there as what will be needed to run everything at max settings at a reasonable frame rate. I'd guess most people are running WoW on lower than these recommended specs. Most people turn graphic settings down to remove clutter during raid, pvp, etc anyways.

 

[ZippyTheOtter]

Wouldn't be surprised if FFXIV follows this. When loading into instances with other players, you can tell who has a SSD and who doesn't. For a while, due to map load times, HDD players couldn't compete with SSD players on an activity known as Hunts because the monsters would be dead by the time HDD loaded and got to the location.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Gamers are comfortable with 100gb requirements today

 

[DarkestHour]

Are you not able to see the image in the OP or something?

Anyway, it's about time. Devs shouldn't have to worry about old mechanical drives anymore, sata SSD's are more than affordable now.

I can see it perfectly fine. Have you seen the other posts in this thread though?

 

[The Cockatrice]

I can see it perfectly fine. Have you seen the other posts in this thread though?

Everyone knows you can run most games at lower than min requirements. It's common sense. Hardly the point of what we're all discussing. Someone who has that exact system from the min req is bottlenecking themselves, it makes no sense to ask for an SSD with those other specs well unless it's as LazyParrot said, and they're just making an excuse or Shadowlands has something more demanding than previous xp.

 

[BigBooper]

I think of people still playing a 16 year old game. A significant portion aren't playing modern games, so also don't have modern hardware.

I'm betting on an error or carelessness in the listing.

 

[Bonfires Down]

They most likely could make it work well with HDDs but looked at their player’s hardware and decided it’s not worth it. Laptops have come with SSDs for a very long time and if you still play WoW you probably don’t mind throwing some cash at hardware to continue.

 

[Allandor]

I really don't understand that, because wow is not a game (not even with the addon) that have so many resources (really low texture quality thx to the artwork) that an SSD would be necessary.

But maybe they want to reduce the size of wow and get rid of the packages. But well, currently it has 69GB (at least on my SSD). Really not sure why they demand an SSD.

 

[Hudo]

People without SSDs don't play WoW. They play Meridian59 or EverQuest or Ultima Online.

 

[Insane Metal]

And it's about to become the norm. Get used to it.

 

[LazyParrot]

Fair point but doesn't make sense to demand an SSD along with those other requirements which are basically almost as old as the game

Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit? When the game launched it required an 800Mhz Pentium 3 or Athlon, a GPU with 32 MB of memory and 256 MB of RAM. And I should know, because I played it on a system that barely met those specs.