It’s a bit strange to me that my own thoughts, which I thought were pecular, have been echoed by so many others.
I too really liked Dragonflight when it launched. I still do, in theory. But I don’t know why, I just have absolutely no desire to play. The last time I logged in was for the weekly profession points, and when I got them and looked at the tree… and what random crap I could unlock with them (slightly higher chance to for some RNG crap on already useless gloves?) I just said “meh” and logged back out again.
I have never been so burnt out on a game in my life, that I couldn’t bring myself to drop points into a tree. Nothing has ever felt so unrewarding and pointless. It’s a bit sad.
I also feel like the dead zones really take the pep out of me. No one is around for group WQs and I no longer feel part of something while trying to play this game.
So yeah, like many others apparently, I have very mixed emotions now about this expansion.
I’m slightly disappointed because at first I thought OP was onto something, but seemed to skip over it right at the end.
Maybe these players aren’t lying or in denial. What if they are telling the hard, pervasive truth about this expansion? An ironic truth that that Blizzard hasn’t realized yet.
People like Dragonflight. And people WANT to WANT to play it more. But it’s the tuning in the background that ultimately makes people decide it isn’t worth their time.
I’ll go out on a limb and say this has to do with things just not feeling rewarding. I mostly PvP and have been pretty satisfied with my progression on that end, but PvE is honestly pretty lackluster in terms of rewards - and I’m assuming far more people PvE.
I gave up on the rep grinds after my 900th toy unlock - for example, and now I can’t be bothered with it - despite actually loving the Dragonscale Expedition rep and finding it one of the most entertaining reps to date. ZC actually wasn’t that bad as a concept - just implemented boringly. I don’t really raid - but even LFR is a no go for me with the lack of personal loot + tokens for reroll (a system that worked perfectly and did not need to be cut).
All this to say: I think people are, uniquely in terms of this expansion, torn in two directions at the same time. They like the expansion and the premise behind it, but the systems within the expansion just aren’t rewarding in a tangible way, in a consistent-enough fashion. And they have to pay to play to find this out.
Its quite a simple decision to make ,if you are not having fun or have other commitments to keep or have something to do that is even more fun then un sub.
lmao.
believe it or not, we’re not required to like what you like. No personal attacks on our integrity required here.
Im not playing the last few days because Ilike DF so much that I burned myself out before Beta was even over playing 12 hour days. lol.
I have played the crap out of EIGHT characters in DF content.
people who are ‘pretending’ to like something dont put that much time into
what Im tired of is people pretending they get to speak for anyone but themselves.
Im comparing it to the entire game, every expansion, which is why ive said a few times in here that DF finally gives my favorite expansion a run for its money…Mists.
Its ok that some here dont like DF.
I hated BFA and SLs.
But to come in here accusing us of lying about liking DF is seriously warranting an ignore in here.
I wouldn’t call DF the greatest thing ever, but I think a lot of people give its issues a pass simply because it’s not Shadowlands. Even so, I’ve been enjoying my time in DF, at least for the most part. Sure, I have my gripes, but I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t having fun in some capacity.
Yeah, I’m not a big fan of DF either. I think they’ve put too much time and effort into pleasing hard core players and not enough effort into pleasing casual players.
I think M+ is the only thing keeping people subbed for the most part and even that could use improvement.
Because player population is not the sole barometer for greatness.
Dragonflight is, subjectively, the best WOW has ever been.
The best flying we’ve ever had.
The best professions we’ve ever had, except alchemy experimentation.
The best gear acquisition we’ve ever had.
One of the best expansion stories (so far).
The best talent system we’ve ever had.
The most aggressive class balancing we’ve ever had.
The best M+ has ever been.
We are currently in one of the most accessible raid tiers in the history of the game.
Dragonflight is great, and while we may have had better times in other expansions with our guilds or life or families, the game itself now is better than it was at any point in it’s entire history. Full stop.
But a 20 year old game having one of it’s best years ever 20 years later doesn’t mean that it’s going to reach the same player count peaks that it used too, and being better than your previous self doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re better than others.
WoW today competes with ESO which straight up crushes WoW in lore and story and quest delivery. FF dominates WoW in many areas of player accessibility and weeb appeal. It competes with GTA Online and Diablo 4 and Destiny and Roblox and Fortnite.
These massive online games simply did not exist in WoW’s “hayday”, and as more and more games transition to “gaming as a service” models with persistent seasonal draws, the PC-online gaming community will be more and more competitive, and attaining WoW’s previous player peaks will be less and less likely.
WoW can be the best it has ever been and still be struggling because the market conditions are completely different from 10 or 20 years ago.