One of the biggest problems with M+ currently is there is a strong lack of social incentives. It’s all completely disposable interactions, which is fine to some degree and makes it very PUG friendly, but I feel like the “social fabric” of M+ is missing. Right now raids overshadow M+ in terms of rewards, so most social circles revolve around guilds, and you can’t be part of more than one guild in World of Warcraft, meaning that your primary social circle is hooked into this “guild” thing.
As a result, and the fact that most raiders do not make solid M+ peers, many M+ players end up going off on their own and playing fully in PUGs, which I think is not ideal and results in a lot of these “feel bad” scenarios. M+ is the most fun when you make friends and play with friends, but M+ fails to, on the lower end, properly incentivize partnering up with players. Players “optimize the fun out of the game” and actually optimize to a local maxima that results in them having less success. It isn’t something players will solve on their own for the most part.
An easy solution -
Award players a cache of Wyrm Crest Fragments for playing four keys with the same party of players.
This bonus isn’t overpowered enough that it demands the entire playerbase shift their behavior, as you can get Wyrm Crests easily enough if you target them, but it does encourage players to meet other players who are interested in repeat play. If you find a smooth group that can quickly complete four keys each week, you might be incentivized to put them on your friends list and party up with them again next week. If someone is a slightly underperformer, on the lower end you’re also more willing to put up with them over a few keys and then party up with the other players next week. And again, if the group is fundamentally flawed you aren’t losing anything crazy.
I just feel that something like this could go a long way towards remedying a perceived problem with M+, which is that you’re constantly just sitting in line waiting to get into the next group and these are all disposable interactions. Encourage players to team up and work together.
Not for me, I already play with friends regularly. I just look at the gap in the community, I see people fully PUGing and not making an effort to make friends, making the experience worse for themselves and I think to myself “well this problem could be solved with a carrot”.
It’s not like Blizzard doesn’t manipulate player behavior. The Mythic lockout is not for the good of any one player, it’s to keep guilds alive artificially by forcing players to play with the same group. FFXIV or any other MMO or any other difficulty setting doesn’t use ID lock - it exists to prop up guilds. No reason why we can’t have a new system that is actually good for players.
Issue isnt lack of incentive. It is just that people cant be asked to deal with pugs… Make friends etc anymore… Its an older player base with low tolerance for anything. So forced… Or nudge nudge interactions never end well because ultimately it is the reward that drives them and not the want of making said social interaction.
It isnt just exclusive to m+… This whole game is devoid of genuine interaction… Want of being a team. We are all disposable and we have evolved to a point where expectations are “me me me” and if one issue arises… They know they can just find another group if even after 30 min.
B) I’m a tank and I have friends so I’m not the one in need here.
Look at these forums. Look at the crying. Tell me there is no need for these people to stop fully pugging. PUGing is ruining the game for them because they refuse to make friends on their own.
Fun idea, but I’m questioning its feasibility as anyone being late in the week would find it increasingly harder to get 4 players that haven’t already met that criteria.
Thats disingenuous.
I tried all of legion when I started and guilds were almost always clique y … Someone i knew said pugging soured my perspective and that is correct.
This game has some horrible personalities and unhinged folks.
I didnt even encounter this many “kill yourself” remarks when I used to play counter strike.
can we get free mythic loot for completing 4 with 4 different people in every one as well? It’d incentivize people to socialize more bringing more people to mythic plus!
I agree with that. And to be honest, what you’re proposing wouldn’t break anything. I wouldn’t care that other players are taking advantage of it. I wouldn’t feel forced to do it because I really don’t need wyrm crests.
The part I take objection to is the premise.
Blockquote
“lack of social incentives. It’s all completely disposable interactions, which is fine to some degree and makes it very PUG friendly, but I feel like the “social fabric” of M+ is missing.”
I have plenty of forced social interactions in my life. I don’t log into this game to be forced into more of them. I never want to feel pressured to spend time with people I’m not enjoying spending time around.
I realize there are people out there who have unmet needs…People who REALLY need other people to listen, care, etc. People who are so desperate for attention…They’ll do anything for it, even if the attention is negative.
I really don’t need to spend more time around these people.
If I want to spend more time with the PUGs I have just met. I am and have been able to add them to a friends list, join a community with them, or stay in a party/raid with them and do more content. We are already quite rewarded by enjoying each other AND having more success. If a person becomes toxic in any way. I can just drop them without hesitation. I don’t need to tolerate them for “just one more M+”
Wyrm Crests are the most used crest for upgrades so I believe it would indeed be a bigger deal than you make it out to be. It would be a free upgrade for anyone already doing them as an organized group (me included) and yet be a tough one to fill for the more casual groups, those that can’t even do heroic or m+11 and higher but still get a wyrm crest. Just look at the many threads of outdoor content players complaining about being unable to upgrade champion items.
