World of Warcraft’s 11.1.7 Patch May Be Letting The Genie Out of the Bottle

There are many reasons why World of Warcraft players should keep an eye on patch 11.1.7, coming in just a couple of days now, as it will bring many new additions, some extra content, and even a handful of cosmetics to collect. From the new Lorewalking feature to Overcharged Delves, from the Recuperate healing skill available to all classes to the return of the Greedy Emissary in World of Warcraft, patch 11.1.7 is filled to the brim, even if not all its content will drop immediately on June 17. Among these new additions are also two big features that may create a new path for the game that Blizzard may no longer be able to ignore.

Not everything that is coming with patch 11.1.7 for World of Warcraft is going to sit well with all players, though. For example, based on datamines, it’s likely that some cosmetics from the new Banshee collection may be paid only, whereas others are supposedly coming to the Trading Post. With four different color variations of the armor set, mounts, and weapons, this seems the most plausible outcome. More importantly, patch 11.1.7 will add the one-button DPS feature alongside the new combat assistant, and both are about to facilitate combat and rotation for all players who use them, even if the DPS may not be as competitive. This sets the stage for Blizzard to grant a longtime wish, though.

World of Warcraft’s 11.1.7 Update Opens a Pandora’s Box The Game Can’t Close

Some players are unhappy about the addition of one-button DPS and combat assistant (Single-Button Assistant and Assisted Highlight, officially) due to how this could affect runs in high-end content, such as Raids or Mythic+ Dungeons in World of Warcraft, which instead require better DPS numbers than the assistant or one-button systems can provide. Still, it’s a major win for accessibility, making the game more easily playable for all kinds of players. Not only that, but this could be the definitive sign that Blizzard is preparing for a World of Warcraft port on consoles.

World of Warcraft on consoles has long been requested by the community, given the game’s appeal, its long history in the industry, the Warcraft games that came before it, the spin-off projects that came after, like Hearthstone, and more. One could make a case that this is not a sign for WoW on consoles because Final Fantasy 14 already is on consoles, and it may have similar rotation-based gameplay, so if that game is fine on controller, WoW can be too. This makes sense, but Blizzard has been adding more and more accessibility features that make the game easier to get into or return to over time.

Both World of Warcraft‘s one-button DPS function and the new combat assistant would arguably make it much easier to play the game on console, given the limited number of buttons one can press there, so it does feel like a big step in that direction. Even if this is not the plan, it’s something Blizzard should consider due to how much demand there has been over the years for WoW‘s console port.

World of Warcraft May Be Setting Up an Xbox-Exclusive Console Port

There is also a non-zero chance that the highly requested World of Warcraft console port will be an Xbox exclusive, at least in the beginning. This is because Blizzard has been acquired by Microsoft, and there’s the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally handheld console, so it would make sense to promote a World of Warcraft port on Xbox there, too. One-button DPS would make playing WoW on console extremely smoother, even if it means missing out on some of the more competitive activities in the game, but it would be a dream come true for many players and potential fans out there. It remains to be seen whether this will be the case, but it would make perfect sense.