Sorry to add to the recent delve spam, just wanted to emphasize this aspect. I really don’t understand why delves are allowed to be run in groups. If this is the design, then what is the point of having them? They will always have to be balanced as a solo experience vs group experience, i.e., like a dungeon. If Blizzard has to basically treat them as dungeons for tuning purposes, then why do they even exist? Conversely, why not just have dungeons be soloable?
The whole point of delves is they are an alternative to dungeons. If they can be run in groups, developer effort will be FLOODED with treating them like dungeons, tuning them like dungeons, and struggling to not have them steamrolled by gigachad comps.
If it can be easier than a M+ and give comparable loot, people WILL run it as a group and even instead of M+, and then the discussion and tuning will always revolve around “delves vs dungeons”, “this week it’s dungeons guys”, “oh this week delves are tuned down, run this comp, easy loot!!”, “Top Tank/Healer/DPS rankings for Delve Groups” shudder.
And in all that, the solo player is just nowhere to be found or considered.
I really was excited for delves and think they are a fantastic addition to the game. But Blizzard has to put a fast & decisive full on 180 on this being playable as a group in any way, shape, or form. Otherwise, delves will be dead and may even drag down M+ or the entire expac if left unchecked.
its an MMO. Everything about this genre is about grouping up with friends. The hot fixes made them just as ridic for solo as they did for groups for champion track rewards.
The intention was clearly just to make doing Delves in a group harder.
This is likely why the hotfix was rushed out to nerf it for groups, M+ is set to release early next week.
I think that Blizzard has given themselves a really tough task in trying to create an endgame system that’s as flexible as they seemingly want Delves to be.
Once you throw tangible progression into the mix in the form of gear you pull the system out of its vacuum and it then has to be considered against the other avenues of gearing for PvE. Which for Delves does put them directly at odds with dungeons, which are the other form of small group endgame content.
Personally I do think I’d have preferred Delves to just be a solo-oriented form of progression that was focused on providing an endgame system centred around solo play - I think that’s something that WoW doesn’t have anything for, while dungeons are small group endgame content and raids are large group endgame content.
Then maybe dungeons could have been given some sort of flex option, like they did for raids.
their MMO competitors are eating Blizzard’s lunch when it comes to catering to solo players.
TWW was Blizzard trying to show they’re competitive in that market space.
They clearly are not.
May not affect you and your playstyle directly but it’s going to cost them dearly.
They can’t keep growing their revenue with just group players, they’ve already hit capacity on what you’re willing to pay and when the profits don’t continue to grow quarter after quarter in the earnings calls, there’ll be (more) cuts handed down from on high. Or your sub price may finally rise after 20 years.
