I think it is the worst system they’ve added to the game.
It just feels like a tacked on “progression” system for the sake of having one. It didn’t feel as horrible in Legion as it does now because the artifact weapon system was much better designed and implemented than the hear of azeroth / azerite system.
The best response I see people give is to just not worry about grinding it, or just do the bare minimum. But if that is a valid answer then why is it even in the game? Why is it centrally tied to all aspects of the end game?
I’d like to see this type of system scrapped for next expansion, but they seem to like these (for metrics or something, because they aren’t enjoyable to play with). Hoping they put some work and time into whatever comes next, because these systems feel really tedious until you decide they aren’t worth your time and drop out of them.
I would like it if it unlocked something interesting as it stands now its unlocking the same traits over an over again. So if they make the new necklace stuff coming in 8.2 actually worth the grind an make it rewarding to grind ap then I won’t mind it at all.
I think they way they implemented is conflicting, but overall illustrates the core issue with BfA’s content where they’re so worried about people complaining about it that they make it irrelevant. All the important traits come up first, AP has a catchup (or at least has one for now) and any grinding is a waste of time. You make the game so that no one feels forced to play it, but then make it so that you have a bunch of ‘why bother’ content padding the game in between raids/M+. It’s the same issue that’s effected gear itself making it all feel bland.
I’m curious to see what this new Azerite system is. As it is now it kind of just seems to be there with no real purpose. But I don’t expect any huge improvements until they stop trying to make everyone happy and worry about making impactful content.
The grind would be ok if the rewards were more fun. I didn’t mind in Legion when every time I leveled up I got to pick a new trait. Even if it was just a minor improvement it was more fun than earning 3 ilvls while everything around me also improved (ilvl scaling).
Grind? No, I don’t like it. If it’s close to hitting the next level, I’ll add up all the sources of AP that I can get from WQ, etc. and grind till I level up. I like seeing the stats on the neck go up and I do enjoy unlocking the relatively pointless +5 ilvl trait on my azerite armor. Since January, I’ve capped IE once. I’ll do it again this week because I’d like to hit the 50 cap before the system gets overhauled.
Yes, Blizzard will continue to give us something to grind for in each and every expansion from now on, that is progress adjacent/post our level increase.
In Legion I tried to keep it up to date and had goals, but this expansion I really don’t care at ALL. For some reason the one in Legion felt less endless to me. I don’t even know what lvl or ilvl it is rn lol
The problem with the AP grind in BFA is that the most efficient farming methods are the most mind numbing casual content. So the players who care about AP have to do this awful content they don’t want to do, and the casuals, who this content is designed for, don’t care about AP.
In Legion it wasn’t as bad because you could farm M+ and raids to get a lot of AP. In BFA these activities give next to nothing.
I don’t grind it so I dunno. There were several weeks I didn’t even do islands. Now I do the basic cap of 4 heroic islands each week and that’s it. I may do more when Jorundall is up to farm for the mount, but that’s a different thing.
I have this rule about things that I don’t find fun: I don’t do them. Sometimes an activity isn’t fun itself, but the reward is so I still chalk that up to fun. If the reward does not outweigh the lack of fun then I don’t do it. If the activity is fun and the reward is lackluster then chances are I will still do the activity.
No one is making you do anything. You are choosing to grind something that wasn’t designed for grinding.
AP is fine. It’s a reward that I gain naturally/casually by playing the game that I can use towards improving my characters.
As for will Blizzard keep adding grinds to the game. Yes, grinds have existed in game since Classic, and pretty much every other mmo. They will continue to add something to keep players playing the game. That is how these games work.
I think a big part of the problem with it feeling endless, is that we have to keep unlocking the same traits. Not getting to keep any of our progress and unlocking the same two or three “good” traits feels a lot worse than “Okay, I’ve unlocked the important stuff, now I can pick up the less important stuff over time.”
nah, it was the same thing it takes a couple weeks to unlock all the traits and then you spend the rest of the expansion grinding out either .5% dmg or a few more intellect on your concordance procs.
If we accept having the bar set low then it will continue to be set that low. So saying they have always done it, its the way it is in games, etc, means thats how it will always be.
Gaming should evolve. It’s a creative field but Blizzard isn’t being creative in a broad sense now. All it does is add more frills and sparkly things but the core aspects stay the same. They need to start thinking outside the box. Why make grinding the fallback method? Why not come up with a different way of play?
If you ask me what different way of play, the answer is I don’t know. I’m not a game developer. But they presumably have a whole bunch of creative clever people working for them and they need to sit down, strip this game down to its underwear and really work on it. Because otherwise it will devolve into being totally unfun.
