I have a genetic connective tissue disorder. I used to be able to play WoW at a high level, but after Wrath, it got increasingly physically painful and fatiguing. First I quit raiding. Then I had to quit dungeons - forget even thinking about mythics. Now, even content meant to be soloable has been given the elitest touch (Choregast timers).
My hands literally stop responding due to the intensity of group/timed play, and the pain is excruciating. Each year my situation gets a bit worse, and each year, Ion makes more and more of the game completely inaccessible to me. He also makes it take longer and longer to go back and solo old dungeons and raids - something I used to enjoy because I could manage it alone, at my own pace, to collect mounts and 'mog.
The slime mount only being available in non-lfr raids was so needlessly ableist and petty. I COULD have managed LFR, albeit Iād be lucky if I could use my hands for the rest of the day after just one wing. What I can NOT manage under any circumstances is a several boss raid - even in a carry.
I used to embroider - had to quit. I used to make jewelry, I had to quit. I used to love doing creative projects and basic home improvements, but I had to quit. I used to build my own PCs, and had to quit. I used to console game, but the controllers make my thumbs dislocate, so I had to quit.
Casual PC gaming as an altoholic and pet/mount/toy/mog collector is the last hobby I have beyond reading ebooks and passively watching TV or movies. WoW has been THE game I play since late Vanilla. But I refunded my Dragonflight Epic purchase, and cancelled my three game subs that end this month, because it appears Iāve finally reached the end of the line thanks to Ion, and his hatred and contempt for both casuals and the disabled.
Some of us CANāT do multiplayer content because of disabilities, and the fact that said content is rushed through whether or not itās timed, in conjunction with a toxic player base that group kicks even if the run is still going smoothly (despite oneās non-epic game play).
I canāt do content that wonāt let me stop when I need to, which is depressingly often.
This is ridiculous because itās someone unable to play (physically) but still wants the game to change somehow? Thereās easy as hell stuff for collectors (but probably right difficulty for you.)
This has nothing to do with Ion and his design decisions.
You arenāt the brightest, are you? The point is that I try to stick to content that is in my (physical) wheelhouse, but the devs force unnecessary/impossible content on casual players because of an elitest, ableist mindset.
There is no reason to force dungeons and raids on casual players that are simply following along the the expansions open world/casual story chain. Blizz can make the dungeons/raids voluntary. They can make an additional, alternate path that is soloable by casual players. Nope, they force dungeons on you, or you have to opt not to complete the story line/covenant. The fact that I had to do dungeons as part of solo covenant stuff really screwed me over, because I couldnāt get it done. I tried, but even doing normals, with OK dps, I kept running into this issue of abusive players that for NO reason would arrange things such that I would be kicked from the group just as the final boss died. So I waited in a super long queue, did the whole damn dungeon, IN PAIN, and didnāt get quest completion, because I couldnāt loot the item from the final boss. Ion considers that the kick system working as intended. It is a broken system. A broken GAME.
Was there a compelling reason to make me do the dungeon? NO. Devs (Ion) just wanted to force dungeons on players whether they want to do them or not. This with no consideration for how their āelitist jerkā attitudes have encouraged worse toxicity in dungeons than Iāve ever experienced in my entire time in the game. I started playing WoW in late Vanilla on a PvP realm.
You arenāt the brightest, are you? The point is that I try to stick to content that is in my (physical) wheelhouse , but the devs force unnecessary/impossible content on casual players because of an elitest, ableist mindset.
And people have to use abilities to play WOW, oh no, think of the blind people. It should just be auto-play like those idle games.
Dungeons are casual content. Thereās LFR for storymode tourism.
If physical limitations are such a problem, donāt play the game? Itās not ableist to have group activities in this game.
Not every game is for everyone.
And for games that I find are too much of a hassle play, crank up āletās playā on youtube and just watch the lore or skip to the ending.
Dungeons that donāt relate to story would detract from the experience.
Like every expansion tied dungeons with story quests. Every single one.
May I suggest idle champions of the forgotten realms? Where you just watch the game play itself.
I think her issue is more she can play, but the time she can without needing a break has gotten shorter and shorter due to her condition.
But it might be such to not have alternative ways, even say a team of NPCs one can use to do dungeons for quests/story and ONLY those. But that aside, who is ablest. the devs who design the content, or the players who expect everyone to be able to play at a certain level even in lesser content?
In fact, there is only one thing you have said that is technically correct:
It has more to do with how PLAYERS use the decisions. I mean in the case she presents:
Is this more on Ion or the players, and Ion is just the scape goat for what the players do?
May I suggest you break your hands and then try to do things in a game you WANT to play but feel like you CANāT. It is one thing to argue on rewards or whatever, but all this person is asking for is the ability to experience the story what could be considered first hand.
How about instead imagining it as an accessibility option.
So wanting accessibility options for a bare minimum amount of content, I.E. story, is expecting the entire game to change? This is the kind of argument that makes people look like idiots.
I mean the one you were talking to pretty much said they played at a high level once, but had to quit raiding, then dungeons. They even say they could manage LFR but might be lucky to use their hands the rest of the day after just one wing.
She is not asking for the whole game to change, just for the ability to do what she can enjoy with her disability.
So wanting accessibility options for a bare minimum amount of content, I.E. story, is expecting the entire game to change? This is the kind of argument that makes people look like idiots.
Turning wow into an idle game is not the answer. The bar for a normal dungeon is so low, that you shouldnāt lower it further.
The solution to much of the gameās problems can be solved by having the best gear in the game be obtainable by solo queuing large pvp games, or solo questing. Raid rewards can be decent. But you can have titles if you feel you deserve recognition for memorizing choreography. The biggest rewards in an MMO should be based on time+effort mixed with competence.
This forum could do with a word limitation per post, by Thaurissanās beard!
Also, there is little need for heroic-quality gear if youāre not even going to do any content that requires high ilvl gear such as raids, M+, and rated BGs - all of which is group content.
If Dragonflight does not focus on solo content. I will give it time after release, but if they force group content as the only end game. I will be happy, because my husband and I will at last be done with wow.
A good mmo has many paths for players to enjoy, and to gain power in. Since gear is thrown away all the time. It should not be something that only group players can enjoy. So if they canāt get something as simple as that. I have no faith at all how they manage the future.
I am on a wait and see type thing. The release at the start is not always the best to judge something. If they keep doing this war on soloers. Business will not be doing well for them.
Maybe it would not be asked to be done if people were more understanding. I mean it seems she can do dungeons and such for story, but she does the work for nothing because she canāt get credit for it due to how other players act.
It seems to me she has a legitimate complaint, but some are acting like the kind of people that would take a disabled persons tools (wheelchair, cane, etc) and use their issues doing things as reason to deny them something, and you are sounding like such is AOK.