Delves are touted as a soloable alternative to Dungeons and Raids for players to gear up in but there is a issue, the way they are designed incentives group play and I think this is unfortunate. Delves present a great opportunity to teach people the game and mechanics and then walk into group content prepared for the basics but they are so punishing at the moment that the types of players they are built for will not progress in them. The only players who are going to progress them through all tiers are min/maxing raiders, gearing with 5 man groups to roll over the content for iLvl 603 loot. Its really bad for the game that they are designed this way because it doesn’t help the players that I think they really could and were said to have been made for. At the very least they should be equally difficult in either solo or in a group. I hope blizzard fixes it.
They were described as follows:
Explore bite-sized world instances, gain experience, and epic rewards! You can explore alone or with up to four additional friends, along with an NPC companion—Brann Bronzebeard…
So it’s advertised as both. Not just solo.
Brann isn’t max level, we have low ilevel gear, it’s the second day of the season.
Can we please keep in mind that tiers 1-3 are meant for story mode, tier 4 is where a bit of challenge comes in and tiers 5-8 are the challenge mode with the top gear that you can get. Tiers 9-11 are bragging rights only.
If people are not utilizing Brann to this fullest, then they will run into issues. And every spec is going to play differently in them— just like we still see with the Mage Tower.
I find it hillarious that Delves were announced as solo endgame content, but in the end are just group endgame content. Let´s be honest, you can walk into M+ solo too, but it´s still designed for groups.
Why is Blizzard so keen on adding a group option for all the content in this game? It´s impossible to balance and the solo folks always get the short end of the stick.
They should remove the group option from Delves, group players have dungeons and raids already.
Almost like its an MMO. you CAN do it without a group though, so it still qualifies as content that can be done solo.
You actually can’t. 5 people need to be present to start a key.
They also added that it was content for those who were uncomfortable in group content with strangers … an MMO-wide problem which deters many tens of hundreds of thousands from playing and an aspect FFXIV first addressed with the Trust system which is clearly the model Blizzard adopted with Followers.
Right now the game is focused on delves for gearing as people start to use the catalyst for tier pieces and get loot drops from raiding. Once people have moved on they will exist for 2 reasons - 1. They will be a game mode that people play for mounts and Tmog. 2. They will be the mode that new or slower players choose to gear before getting into the content that players are the most toxic to low level players in - M+ and raiding. If you make it so difficult for people to get gear that makes them desirable in group content then you have not succeeded in smoothing out the progression for new players or shy solo players who are trying to dip their toes into group content. This is the audience that blizzard designed them for. Its bad design.
I hope they leave it as it is.
This is an MMORPG, how is it bad that for a game mode to incentivize group play?
Because they were the content mode made for solo content.
Yes it’s just another group meta where you have to sell yourself on some bulletin board to a toxic community. I bought the game exclusively for delves to avoid this and still keep up with general efficiency. But you just get lapped by groups who can then spend their extra time getting more gear and taking care of world quests and everything else while soloists are just wallowing in delves still trying to finish the first one. It’s completely demoralizing.
You might as well be soloing normal dungeons and calling that solo content.
They need to either get rid of groups in delves, or tweak it to where it takes groups the same average amount of time it takes a soloist.
This is a challenge mode for world content players. Not a, “how fast and easy can I gear up to play my lobby game” mode.
No. This is the audience Blizzard designed them for, straight from Holly Longdale:
“So we recognize that, we’re really underserving the casual community, because they’re not getting content as frequently, or with as much replayability as the more hardcore player. We looked at what kind of features would be great for them. A lot of people with families and partners that just want to do something solo or duo with their child — but also significant enough that it feels worthwhile. There’s also a challenge component that could help it appeal to a broader audience, mid-core or so. Part of the new ethos for our team is that we should be serving all of our player segments equally. We want everyone to participate in Azeroth.”
“We wanted to make these snackable experiences that are easy to consume, that also keeps you relevant in the content, you can continue to play — but not outsize the rewards for the effort. As you get into doing more complex or more challenging versions of Delve, it will get more difficult and the rewards will increase.”
“World of Warcraft hasn’t had a great deal of meaningful content to engage and challenge solo and casual players.”
Same. I’m tired of people whining that the challenge mode is too hard. This is what people asked for and this is what we got. It’s day two of the freaking season and already the whining begins. 
Lol, ok, as they are presently designed do you think a mid-core player is going to be able to get through the entirety of the delve content in a season?
perhaps not as just solo, but the implication of it being solo is there.
Which means, forcing it to be group content is lying about the soloable part of it.
Yes. Day 1 players with a level 15 Brann can clear 8s at <590 ilvl.
Day 60 players with 610 ilvl and a level 60 Brann will completely destroy them.
People are already clearing 8s. So yes. 8 is the top tier of Delves for gear. 9-11 are only for bragging rights.
I have guildies who are clearing these on 8. One of them, who doesn’t get a lot of time to play and is absolutely casual, cleared seven of them so far in the past two days.
You have all season to do this and to get Brann to level 60. Stop trying to devour all content in a day, when we’re not even well geared, most Branns are low level and it’s day two.
As I said, it’s both. And people are absolutely capable of clearing them solo.
No one is forced.
The people clearing 8s aren’t mid-core friend.
“Mid core?” What does that even mean? I’m talking low ilevel casuals. What in God’s name is this goalpost you’re trying to ramble about?
I am quite enjoying them. Been through tier 8 so far as an Arms warrior. Had to hamstring kite bleed to finish off some of the packs. But then im only 590 ilvl and it says 600. So I think its pretty good. It is getting the to the point where I think Id just get one shot on pulls if I tried 9. Guess Ill find out.