Great point. I think you are completely correct!
I would add that their esport mentality has also really changed their design focus and substantially harmed the game for most of us.
Wq’s, leveling, class uniqueness, all feel like an afterthought in SL.
sweatlords that drop group and burn your key at the first sign of trouble
LMAO.
sweatlords
It’s not really welfare gear. Not that I want it to be. But it’s not high ilvl for the season (it’s decent enough for casuals though). It’s not OP like benthic was. So they learned that lesson.
It’s basically slower grind covenant gear. So we did have this in 9.0. It just will make the progression last a little longer through the patch.
Exactly this. You should only need to play end game content to get the best type of gear for that type of content (raid/mythic+/pvp) - you should be able to just get gear normally and be decent instead of abysmally underpowered. And it’s not even welfare gear - welfare gear would be just us being mailed gear when we log in lol.
It’s nowhere near welfare gear because it seems like the korthia gear is going to be an insane grind. The gear isn’t even heroic and only 1 or 2 slots actually have dominations shards. Amazing ‘welfare gear’.
Raiding is everything was the status quo until Legion lol…
How much slower? Has anyone actually done the math on which type of gear was faster to get?
People seem to forget that the covenant set was locked behind the campaign and you were unable to upgrade until they released the story quests. It was months into the patch until we were able to upgrade to the max.
Well, to be fair, Korthia gear is aimed at people who don’t do M+ or anything above LFR, it feels like, and/or it’s alt catchup.
Assuming you don’t go above LFR, then Korthia gear lets you roflstomp open world content. Heck, my Paladin is only 193 avg. with a mish mash of covenant, world quest, and like 3 Korthia pieces and she is already roflstomping everything in the Covenants, and even the Maw is getting somewhat easy provided I don’t bite off more than I can chew.
It only takes 750 Research to go from 1->2 and that’s 207. One of my pieces, IIRC, is like either 3 or 4 and it’s 226. I already bought one such upgrade, and I can almost afford another on Day 3. I can just imagine that if I had 226 in all slots, my character would feel like a fricken goddess in open world content.
Have you been grinding mobs? That seems like a lot of research? I’ve only just now gotten to tier 2 of the rep
No. A small raiding guild isn’t going to accept nobodies at all. Guilds like that are looking for proven performers. In a larger guild, they will be lost - unless they clearly have the potential to become raiders.
When they ask in gchat if anyone wants to do their key, the only responses will be from players in the same situation: marginal, learners at best. The raiders are busy or have logged.
If you’re a star you have no trouble finding someone to run your keys with. You probably run them with the same clique every time, and have never experienced not being in demand. This is what most of those who recommend joining a guild are thinking of when they give that advice, because they have never not been in demand. They cannot imagine not being in that position or put themselves into the frame of thought of someone who might not have a clique like theirs.
This is why so many people don’t join guilds: they’ve had too many bad experiences, including those with intolerant players who mock them as their way of dealing with everyone not in their inner circle.
This is a very pessimistic view of guilds in general.
Your discussion about small raiding guilds is correct but not out of any malice. In a ten man raiding group one person who isn’t able to hold their weight is literally preventing the other 9 from killing the boss. In larger groups people who aren’t holding their weight can be carried since each individual contributes less % total effort. My guild runs normal with a larger group for the first week (we always clear normal within 3 days of release) and then pour over the logs and extend invites to the best performers based on ability to avoid and deal damage thus the heroic team is formed and then we may expand out for our mythic team.
the “clique” thing is a silly way to look at things. If you want to maximize progress you need to be familiar with the people you are playing with. Guilds often form M+ teams for this purpose. Being in a guild is itself already an act of exclusion/“clique” since the division is us (the guild) or them (non-guild).
The last guild I was in even fitted official positions based on performance. The guild master would be the best performing player and his rule could be challenged if another player seemed to surpass his/her skill and or knowledge of the game.
The officers were the committed core who could vie for leadership of the guild.
Good. /10char
Never said that was a bad thing - but casuals would also have a metric ton to do if they didn’t accelerate gearing and content thus actually removing content
No, they don’t join guilds because chuckleheads that think they know everything vomit misinformation and their own bad experiences all over the forums and try to tell everybody that it’s gospel truth.
Wrong.
Or people like you can’t imagine a world where they don’t know everything and where others have different experiences. But hey keep making incorrect , asinine assumptions about things.
And just so you know why I personally mocked you with my “big brain” comment is because you, and apparently plenty like you, have your head stuck so far up no man’s land and are so convinced of your own correctness you can’t even fathom the simplest of explanations. For example, I could be posting on an alt that isn’t guilded, or I could be in a guild but dont switch forum toons so it doesnt update character info often.
Now having said all that, fortunately I am not trying to convince you of anything. Stay in your deluded world of self righteousness. My goal of poking enough holes in what you said to illustrate to others how much you are wrong about has been accomplished. Now they can move forward and find guilds and the like and accomplish the content they want with more common sense than you clearly choose to exhibit.
I don’t think that is even yet known. People are unhappy about it for some reason. It feels like the benthic grind to me.
Sounds like a very cut throat environment where relationships are meaningless.
Life happens and miss a week - get cut
Have a bad week - get cut
Fall behind grinding - get cut
Someone joins with better logs - get cut
You’ve succeeded in making the whole thing sounds like a very unfun job where the only goal is completing mythic.
I’m sure you were very effective in smashing through mythic faster than most. Sounds like you all missed the journey. Good for you.
No, I’ve just been doing every yellow ! I see on the map.
The one I turned in earlier today gave me 250 research in just that one quest.
And I picked up a couple treasures and fought a couple rares.
That is quite the pleasant “why even try?”
Your nihilism has art to it.
Oh you mean the stuff we can’t get until we’re level 6 with this horrible new faction? I’ll tell you that I grinded to level 3 on the very first day, and I’m currently only level 4. This faction is absurd to grind rep with. No one has these pieces at 233. So again I ask where is all this free nearly heroic gear people are getting?
Yea and the ones that sit in SW talking in general chat then cry nothing to do this game sucks. 
I got half way to rank 5 in a week, it’s not hard if you actually play the game.