Well, come midnight tonight, the NDA on last week's Mists of Pandaria Press Tour will have been lifted. The only things I've seen are vague "there were some big surprises" sort of statements and a couple of leaked videos that, while cool looking, don't tell us a huge amount without any commentary to explain them.
This will basically be the first time Blizzard has done a big reveal of Mists of Pandaria information since Blizzcon - other than a few "Watercooler" posts. Obviously, MoP is going to be slightly different from the last time we saw it. Some features will have been dropped, while others might appear.
Regarding which features we'll likely see dropped, I figure we should look at each new feature and see how to classify them: Crucial, Major, or Minor.
Crucial features are really the expansion-defining features. For example, Wrath's crucial features were the Northrend zones and dungeons, as well as the Death Knight class. Those were the two things that, without which, Wrath would not have really been Wrath. Cataclysm's crucial features were the updated 1-60 zones, the Goblin and Worgen races, the new race/class combos, and the 80-85 zones and dungeons.
Mists of Pandaria's Crucial Features - the ones that I would be absolutely shocked to see dropped, and basically think Blizzard cannot do so - are: Pandaria, with its 85-90 zones and instances, the Pandaren race, and the Monk class. These are all sort of "non-negotiable."
Major features are big changes that are certainly something to get excited about, but if they wind up dropped, it's not the end of the world. This is where I'd put, for example, Cataclysm's talent spec redesign, or Wrath's introduction of heirloom items. Mists actually has a lot of these sorts of features. PvE scenarios, Pet Battles, Challenge Mode dungeons, as well as the new Talent/Spec redesign that is already pretty visible and therefore pretty much guaranteed.
Honestly, PvE scenarios are probably the one I'm most excited for, but also the one that we've heard the least about. This has me worried, because if there's any major feature that looks like it would be cut, it's these. Though not as bad as Path of the Titans, Scenarios are in a hazy space since Blizzcon. We still don't really know how you start them, how often you can do them, or what the rewards might be. So if we're going to see a major feature cut, expect it to be this.
Pet Battles, on the other hand, seem like something they're pretty committed to. This was one of those features that came completely out of the blue for me, and while I imagine I'll dabble in it, it wasn't something I was yearning for.
Challenge modes actually seem relatively simple to implement, if you can build a sophisticated iLevel-reducer. How exactly is it going to deal with things like hit and expertise? If your crit goes down a bit, it means slightly lower dps, but if you keep yourself just barely hit capped, are you suddenly going to be missing a whole lot? Beyond this hurdle, though, Challenge Mode seems like it just requires attaching a timer to the dungeon and then you're good to go.
Minor features are the ones that you're not going to be all that worried about. These are the things like Barbershops, or Dance Studios (sorry to those of you who want this, but really, are you all that upset about not being able to change your dance? How often do you /dance?) Little fluff features that might make you go "neat," but aren't going to determine if you fork over the $50 for the expansion.
So there's your "score card." In a little under 12 hours, we'll find out how much of this stuff is sticking. Expect the most volatility in the Major features. And I'll see you on the other side.
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