How would you solve this then? Just all the fun and interesting abilities they could add through this system are removed? Covs are reduced down to mog farms?
What would become of those abilities? Do you think they should be universal? Changeable on a whim? Or merely never implemented?
Why do you feel that cosmetics and player power should be directly connected?
If your character looks cool but is completely useless (they wonât be, but appealing to extremes for the sake of discussion) whatâs the point?
Sure. Why not. You want something for character flavor, leave it as character flavor. Want to still have the abilities, well they love having pointless random talent trees everywhere⌠put them in one of those. Or still have them attached to the covenants but you get to choose any one of them. Maybe depending on covenant, give the exact same spell different names and animations depending on what covenant it came from.
Whereâs the fun in that? Then the covs just become pointless mog-mills. A few extra shinnies that all do the same thing.
Iâd rather each cov have its own distinct flavor and feel. Something that sets them apart more than just what mog they give me. Since, after all, by the time youâve leveled a few alts youâll have all the mogs anyway.
I love the fact this choice matters. I plan to pick Night Fae cause it feels right for Shaman and canât wait to get my fancy back mog. Each cov is different and to me thatâs a good thing.
You want a game where you donât have to make any choices? Go play FFXIV. No choices at all.
âchoices should matterâ
remember that next time you start a thread begging for the mage tower weapons you didnt get
Nah - Choices actually matter when you can think, strategize, and work as a team to play the game and complete content, based on the kind of content youâre running; of which there are MANY different kinds.
But Iâm actually for punishing players by not letting them switch once theyâve chosen their covenant.
These players come on these forums and cry and whine - but guess what, Blizzard wonât change the system, and theyâll keep paying Blizzard their sub money. Suffering the entire time. AddictsâŚtheir suffering brings me joy.
I assume you enjoy their suffering too - donât hide it behind some empty argument about choices mattering when you only give players a single choice when thereâs so many kinds of content in this game.
Why is it so fun to have your characterâs power connected to how they look? I donât think itâs fun to be told âif you want to be able to do (thing you need here) then you have to look like thisâ. I prefer to be able to separately choose.
Just because YOU arenât interested in something that is only a transmog doesnât mean others arenât interested.
Optimising VS wearing a snazzy uniform to identify with a group? 
bold of you to assume there arenât a boatload of people on the spectrum that donât highly value both
And just because you are interested in being a min-maxer doesnât mean others are interested.
This is not the logic game you should wish to play, because all it will do is run us in circles. It is not a debate tactic, it is an invitation to get stuck in a feedback loop. So please, let us avoid that insipid tautology.
Because it punishes players.
If they favor looks - then thereâs likely a chance that their performance will suffer.
If they play multiple roles, especially tanks that like to play other forms of content - then they suffer.
Some of us just enjoy the fact that players keep getting hazed by Blizzard but still keep paying them money.
Youâre the one who started it. âWhereâs the fun in that?â is a snooty way of inferring thereâs no possible other opinion than your own. You have not given any valid reason why player power and how a player looks, which are two completely separate things, should be connected in any way whatsoever.
Besides, if the spells are called different things and have different animations depending on what covenant they came from, where is the loss of âdistinct flavor and feelâ youâre wanting? The numbers connected to what a character can do arenât âflavor and feelâ theyâre âfunctionality of the gameâ.
The more imbalance the better imo.
This will make more people upset with the whole system in general.
Iâm looking beyond looks.
I want the abilities themselves to be distinct, and to have the choices be meaningful for what character you slot into what cov. Beyond just aesthetics. The abilities should feel like they are from that cov. Which goes beyond visuals. It is a matter of everything from function to damage type.
I would prefer all the abilities be side-grades, sure. But, ultimately, there will always be a âbest pathâ. And, honestly, Iâd rather there be a system that offers lots of distinction, difference, and purposefulness than one that only rewards visuals. Regardless of the effect on the meta game.
It is, ultimately, a subjective opinion. As is yours. Neither of us have any real strong footing upon which to stand. I value choice, difference, and variety even if it comes at the expense of player-power. You are the opposite, you believe player power is the more pressing matter, and that it should not be tied to visual and lore systems.
Make no mistake, I have not being trying to convince you to side with me. Merely engaging in a debate of opinion.
Are you saying that you want everyone to quit the game or that you want the current iteration of the system to be replaced with something better?
If the latter, I agree.
But you donât, because you are advocating instead of having TWO choices (one for the look you want and one for the ability you need) everyone should only have ONE. You get to pick a look or pick an ability and the other one is then chosen FOR you. Thatâs not valuing choice.
Is the current plan still that Covenant choice cannot be changed afterwards?
Or did they backtrack on that?
I disagree, for you are misunderstanding when I say I value âchoiceâ.
As the very act of picking a cov is a choice, one that should have meaning behind it.
More choices are not inherently more good. Which is why I used other words in there like âpurposefulnessâ, âdistinctionâ, and âdifferenceâ. A more impactful choice, to me, weighs more than a bunch of watered down ones.
By making it so that all the covs act the same, are you really making a choice? No, you are picking between 4 colors of ice cream that are all the same flavor. Iâd rather think hard, pick vanilla, and yet occasionally pine for strawberry, than be saddled with 4 different colors of coconut.
But again, this is just my opinion on the matter.
I think the covenants should be close enough, power wise, that those who are not strict min/maxxers can still get into groups and do content, yet far enough apart that those who do min/max will be able to do so.
Mainly, I am just trying to forestall the âyou are a mage and choose THAT covenant? delete your toon noobâ situations.
That was never the case. They said you could change your Covenant, but it wouldnât be easy to do because they wanted your choice and investment in the Covenant to matter.