WoW sometimes doesn’t update properly, bricks up the game and on has on several occasions completely corrupted existing game data files when attempting to scan and repair; it would reach 80% and restart all over again, leading into an endless loop where no previous knowledge of such occurrence helped to work around the problem, resulting in having to reinstall the platform and completely redownload the game (85gb yikes). I’m yet to experience the same issue with any other game on BNet.
This all started with the first phase of pre-expansion update and judging from what I’ve seen on Reddit or US tech forums, more than a handful of users have frequently been running into the same thing over the past 2-3 weeks.
As for performance issues, I haven’t had the chance to play around the new continent yet and can’t speak as for the possible FPS losses due to graphical improvements or object clutter, but what I’m experiencing in 10 year old zones on min to medium settings is just ridiculous. The game runs mostly stable and smooth except up until a random object (lets say a basic wooden box) appears within 20 yards of my characters which makes the game stutter, repeatedly.
I believe that these problems mostly stem from the faulty UI rework. Opening certain frames puts the game to a complete halt momentarily. If I for example decide to cast a spell directly out of my character’s spellbook, game FPS tanks up to 70% for 3 seconds. That is the extent of issues brought by the UI rework, users don’t hate it for the sole lack of basic customizability, underutilized screen space or low readability with unscaleable text font size.
I’ve also played the latest PTR. Many of the issues, including random errors within the default UI have been corrected, the game runs slightly better but it is far from ideal despite several significant improvements.
Please devote some extra resources on fixing these issues and optimizing performance because zooming around at 900% speed on the back of a dragon might end up being less fun than imagined.