Loooong post incoming:
I’m DONE trying to ration out solutions to fix this awful game mode.
I’m sure other players, forum readers, content creators, discord servers, guilds, communities and all other WoW-related social platforms are fed up too. Yes, I know I said the ‘S’ word, but the social aspect used to be at the forefront of the game, not competitiveness.
We pay you a monthly sub, we do PTR testing, we do Beta/Early Access testing THAT WE PAY FOR, we make countless reviews and videos talking about all the flaws of the game, big or small. (Quazii, Marcelian, and Comeback Kids come to mind.) It’s not our job but we love the core of the game so much we do it. There is absolutely NO excuse why it should be even remotely this bad.
Dungeons are supposed to be small-scale content to bust out on a weeknight with your friends just having a good time. Maybe an hour each night, or maybe 3 hours once a week. I’m sure most M+ participants want to share a celebratory high-five with their buddies (virtual or IRL) in honor of a fun 3k season and reminisce about some crazy pulls that happened a few of those nights. All while maintaining excitement for the next season; but it’s just not possible for the average to above average player now. Those potential moments are now a pipe dream for most.
It’s supposed to be less of a commitment than raiding. Meeting new people, laughing, living your class fantasy, bringing unique utility and showcasing your knowledge of your rotation/class; slowly progressing your character to become stronger, BUT; having fun ALWAYS came first.
But now even as a tank/healer main, I spend 20-30 minutes to get invited to a key of my level. The gatekeeping is absurd. I even have a 630ish Prot Pally (the current meta tank at the time of this post) with a good IO score, and still not getting invited to anything above an +8. I’d rather boot up Marvel Rivals Competitive and be on in less than <5 min.
I understand you want content to scale and for some reason want to push the competitive scene. It’ll never work… but cool, you do you. Just save that for the people pushing 20+ keys, not 80% of your player base or people with normal lives. Look at the general speed-running community. The sweats will always find a way to sweat, no need to make the sweatshop for them at the cost of the players. The catering to the top 0.0001% of players is sickening and breeds resentment from the everyday person. A trivial slip up from 1 person in 35 minutes shouldn’t guarantee a bricked key, but here we are.
Just got done with a +8 MoTS key, usually heal, but tried out tanking after a break, went fine. Fellow Mistweaver did fine, but all the DPS stood in the last boss swirlies and got one shot. So, me and the healer killed the boss together after fighting it and its little buddies for 5+ min straight. I don’t care, it was goofy, but me and my fellow monk felt like gods. I was ready to laugh it off and be on my way, they then ALL proceeded to flame the healer for not healing, calling them names, slurs, and everything a now-typical WoW player would do. I defended the healer but it still left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
For reference, if the same situation happened in FFXIV, everyone would’ve made light of the situation, and we could’ve even exchanged BattleNet IDs and became friends! It’s a nice thought from a wholesome standpoint, but to translate in Blizzard language: 3 more people I lost as potential friends that would keep me paying and subscribed to the game. But no, immediate hostility.
To say I’m utterly disgusted with this toxic player-base and community would be an understatement, and YOU breeded it, Blizzard. I will never blame another player for your shortcomings. Swirlie-standing or not, mistakes happen, we are human. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a filthy Moon Guard RPer, I don’t mean all aspects of the game and subcommunities of it, I strictly mean anything remotely competitive like M+.
I want this game to succeed and do well, I grew up with it since 2005. It has impacted me in more way than I can describe in a single forum post, but it is NOT the same game I grew up with. Dragonflight as an artistic expansion, and mythic+ seasons 3+4 were absolutely amazing and the best I remember this game since the old days. But with not being heard time after time, I just can’t do it anymore. I haven’t had fun in weeks.
I know Blizz is hurting with Marvel Rivals and PoE2, but once Riot releases their MMO, maybe then we’ll get change. Probably not, because humility is the #1 thing lacking at this company. They’re always right, we’re always wrong.
Thank you all so much for reading. I love and cherish each one of you, I just hate that the environment we meet drives us apart from the get-go.
<3 Tandao
To address all the guaranteed negative replies coming my way.
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No, I’m not a terrible player, but I’m no Yoda. I tank/heal and am roughly 630+ ilvl and 2600+ on my toons. I like watching high key runs in my free time. It’s like watching football, sure I could never do it, but I like watching. It doesn’t mean every gym near me should be catered to football players.
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No I’m not going to look up top MDI strats of how to run a key, I have a life. Same with 400 addons/weakauras.
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Yes, I know those two contradict each other, it shouldn’t have to come to that to complete a key at this point, much less on time. I’ve done approx 11 keys this week, only completed two, overtime. Most DPS ragequit, some DCs.
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No I’m not going to chase the meta to push keys, the highest keys I’ll probably ever do is a 13. I like the classes I play. Unfortunately, even I as a meta-denier can feel the difference between specs.
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Yes, I know I can opt out of M+, and I will now. But if WoW is a buffet, I want a little of this, a little of that. It’s what makes it immersive, fun and cozy. Just like my character in RP grows, so too I want it to grow in dungeons.
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“Just unsub bro” Unfortunately I was riding the high of Dragonflight and was promised by Blizzcon that WoW was only going to get better, so I have like 9 months of sub time to go.