That is exactly the problem.
Many casual players want better gear to solo old content, run Torghast, or do PvP.
But game devs have decided to divorce 9.2 outdoor content from any actual power gains so that no one feels “forced” to do it.
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lol…
Everything you “grind out” in the game power wise is devalued to one extent or another when new content comes out.
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The next expansion is probably a long way away, though. That is going to be a long time for casual players to have nothing gameplay-related to work for, while they also are too weak to do whatever other content in the game they want to enjoy.
Maybe I am just a totally different kind of player, but so many people have brought up Korthian gear or similar systems and implied how it is just handed to you on a silver platter. As if it just falls into your lap as raid equivalent gear with zero effort.
I found the process to upgrade the Korthian gear to semi-competitive levels to be an absolute slog. And I do want to emphasize semi there, as it is NOT the equivalent of the gear I see people walking around with from heroic raids and decent mythic keys. Maybe I was doing something wrong? I don’t know. I wouldn’t call the process hard, but it certainly wasn’t quick and effortless…
I am less a casual and more an internet recluse. I have been burned one too many times by less-than-helpful folks in-game in grouped content that I have started to play the game in a more single player fashion. Made a different thread expanding on that, but it is just better for my mental health.
But I would still like decent rewards for my efforts, and they are efforts, beyond transmogs and the occasional mount! Heck, I would love to be able to have something that puts me a bit above bar in lower level end-game content so I can build a sense of comfort. I think the Korthia gear has done that, in my opinion to an admirable extent (though, again I want to emphasize I found the process of getting it to those levels to be taxing.)
Personally, and with admitted bias, I think the equivalent of normal level raid gear to be perfectly acceptable. And I agree with the original poster on most points. It is a shame that so many people have responded so acerbically clearly without even reading the post…
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Yup and usually raids have trinkets and weapons and stuff that are usually bis. Even if we had the same ilvl they would still get bis.
The last major patch of an expac is usually when I go wild gearing up my alts. Even in raid-or-die WoD, Tanaan Jungle was pretty good for gearing up neglected toons.
What is the point of even playing 9.2 if you don’t raid? Are the WoW devs literally trying to kill their own game, reduce it to a raiding club to cut down on dev costs?
The final outdoor zone should not be treated like Deaths of Chromie, or side content with a talent tree that primarily rewards cosmetics. The final outdoor zone is going to be the main content for a large number of players, and those players need to feel that the content is rewarding.
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The best you could get from Tanaan was 695, and that’s only if you felt like farming up tens of thousands of apexis crystals for each piece. That ilvl was on par with the Normal raid, just like the new zone’s ilvl.
There’s no difference between Tanaan and 9.2. It was comparable to Normal raid gear and required a really long grind.
Why? Rather than try to do everything and make rushed poor-quality content for everyone, Blizzard should specialize.
They are already doing this. I mean it feels rushed in quality even though it takes forever to be released.
The game does need progression systems for everyone otherwise it will continue to die.
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Like dom shards?
Wildstar tried that and failed they also tried that in WoD. The most successful MMORPG seems to be FFXIV right now and they cater to all sorts. I think WoW’s combat and aesthetics are better and would love long term growth from it. So it needs to borrow that particular point to appeal to a broader play base so it can get back to number one.
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For me there has to be more to it than just “dungeons” and raids in a mmo nowadays. A decent example of something that was pretty cool were the visions. Having dragged countless of alts through that and gearing them up through it was a bit of a chore - but it felt rewarding. Something that choreghast fails horribly at. Every single time I go into choreghast it feels like a complete waste of time and it zaps my will to play the game.
I’m not a big fan of m+ and I don’t do them with pugs. Terrible content but that’s just my opinion. As I see it m+ is an alternative(lol) path of gearing. Nothing should stop blizzard from adding more “alternatives”. It’s 2021 and not 2005 anymore. Maybe Shadowlands have change the way blizzard will proceed in the future(next expansion). If not I wouldn’t be surprised to see the game drop even more players if they continue on this path.
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Raiders have been the past 2 xpacs. Lets not forget the absolute insanity that was Titan Residuum gambling all of BFA where people went entire tiers of not getting the gear they needed.
The problem with Korthia gear is the rep for it was way too steep. If you were able to upgrade to 233 at tier 4 or 5 instead of 6 it would have been a lot more reasonable.
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You also don’t NEED to play wow at all.
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If you’re ONLY doing the content to get gear and not because it’s fun content, that’s a HUGE problem. They deserve to be obsolete at that point.
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LOL if you think the raiders/M+'ers out number the solo/casual players.
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Couldn’t say it any better. I started in Mists of Pandaria. Very first MMORPG game I’d ever played. Loved it and even up to BFA. Not so much anymore. I dont’ raid because of my bad heart, general anxiety and PTSD. I solo and can only handle world quests. Many quests require decent gear or you die! I’m going on 75yo and have been thru a lot. I can’t do much physically cause of my heart. So I play WOW. Seems to me Blizz is heading toward mostly a Raid Game. If so I’ll just bow out and leave the “raiders” to themselves. What was once a fun game is turning… I’ll see what happens in 9.2
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No it’s not. Korthia gear is too strong as it is.
It should take a very long time to get the last two ranks.
Yea Thallia established that and corrected me. I misread the comment in question 
Under normal circumstances, perhaps.
But after the most recent exodus, and people still debating whether to continue investing in this game, I doubt the activity levels will be on par with what they were in the past.