Option to disable Battle.net launcher for WoW

I'd recommend checking out the settings. There are quite a few different options to make the app work the way you want it to, including managing individual game updates yourself instead of it applying them automatically, and if you want the app to ask you for a password each time you start it.

Also, just an FYI, you can leave feedback, report bugs, and receive technical support for the app over at the Battle.net forums.

I'd recommend checking out the settings. There are quite a few different options to make the app work the way you want it to, including managing individual game updates yourself instead of it applying them automatically, and if you want the app to ask you for a password each time you start it.

Also, just an FYI, you can leave feedback, report bugs, and receive technical support for the app over at the Battle.net forums.

I'd recommend checking out the settings. There are quite a few different options to make the app work the way you want it to, including managing individual game updates yourself instead of it applying them automatically, and if you want the app to ask you for a password each time you start it.

Also, just an FYI, you can leave feedback, report bugs, and receive technical support for the app over at the Battle.net forums.

03/14/2014 01:11 PMPosted by Huggywuggles

The fact that YOU think I need MY desktop 'cleaned up' or I can't keep it organized is pretty damned infuriating and condescending, quite frankly.

I don't personally care what your desktop looks like or how many icons you have on it, or if you're able or not able to keep track of them; but icons on your desktop has little-to-nothing to do with offering a unified launcher platform. You can have the Battle.net app create a desktop icon for each game still, if that's what you want to click on.

Right now each of our games is started through a launcher. The launchers help ensure games are up to date, offer functionality to launch other versions (beta/PTR/etc.), has some file management tools (repair), provide quick links to helpful resources (support), and helps bring info front and center when starting a game like patch notes, game info, news, etc.

Instead of having separate launchers for each game, which are individually updated and maintained, and each of which also likely having different requirements and specifics for how it works and operates, it makes a lot of sense for us to have a single platform (e.g. launcher) that brings all the games together under a single roof, streamlines our platforms, and provides a single launcher--instead of many of them--to provide the same features those launchers always have, plus more, and additional flexibility to add features into the future.

If you're launching Blizzard games now, it's quite likely you're seeing a launcher, and that's not really any different than seeing the Battle.net desktop app "launcher".

03/14/2014 02:27 PMPosted by Gilloch

What the heck ever happened to just double clicking the executable and running the game.

That doesn't need "improving."

Online games, like World of Warcraft, usually require that everyone playing use the same files and file versions to ensure content parity. If you and I are playing and the information we each hold about the game differs, it becomes exceedingly difficult for the server to reconcile how those differences play out and also how the client perceives those differences. Everyone needs to be playing the same game, essentially. To help try to make that process smoother, a launcher that starts up before the game checks file versions when starting the game. If your files are not current a patch is downloaded and installed. Additionally, we've added functionality for the launcher to download future patch data ahead of time to reduce the time required on patch day to get into the game, as well as the ability to stream game data so that the entire game doesn't need to be downloaded for new players, or those just reinstalling.

World of Warcraft has had a launcher for the purposes of file version verification since at least 2003. The Battle.net desktop app is, for the purposes of this discussion, an updated launcher.

03/14/2014 03:02 PMPosted by Cyous

However: I recommend Blizzard create a list of offline games to play specifically during patch downloads.

If you used the launcher you'd have downloaded the patch data well in advance, and wouldn't need to wait. :)

03/14/2014 03:12 PMPosted by Lølumadbro

Just don't make the battle.net app mandatory in the future. I like double clicking the WoW icon from my desktop to launch WoW. Kthxbai.

You can still do that with the Battle.net app. Cya.