I present a discussion for the Community Council’s consideration regarding the reintroduction of removed content/FOMO items. This discussion aims to be entirely constructive and discuss what, if anything, should be done with removed content/FOMO.
Content removal from a video game, which costs both a box price and a subscription fee, is viewed by many as detrimental to the long-term player experience. While removed content/FOMO is often used to try to keep players engaged, long-term damage is ultimately imposed. This damage affects both veteran completionists who simply were unable to complete the content at the time, as well as new players who will never be able to experience the content or achieve any such rewards.
Examples of removed content/FOMO in WoW are as follows:
- Pandarian Legendary Cloak Questline:
The legendary cloak questline in Pandaria wrapped up the storyline for Mists of Pandaria. Not only was a transmog item removed, but so was access to a world boss and a considerable chunk of the Mists of Pandaria storyline. Contrast this to the legendary cloak in BFA, which is still around and thus its entire story was rightfully kept in the game.
- Legendary WoD Ring Questline:
The legendary WoD ring questline. Again, a considerable chunk of an expansion story was removed. The story once again feels very disjointed, especially for returning or new players.
- Mage Tower artifact appearances:
This is contested on both sides but presents a non-storyline based facet. An argument is made by Blizzard that bringing the appearances back would “diminish player efforts”; however, difficulty was maintained (in fact, it’s arguably much harder than originally). In addition, there are many areas in the game that players once had to put forth considerable effort to get, only for such things to receive nerfs via the passage of time (legacy raids) or nerfs intentionally placed by Blizzard (e.g., Mecha-Done, Flying in WoD/Legion zones). Let us not forget that the Mage Tower was originally gated by time AND currency. For something like this, a strong argument can be made for the creation of an artifact ensemble that is locked behind the 36-challenge Feat of Strength.
- Gold-sink Items:
Long-term gold sink items, e.g., Mighty Caravan Brutosaur. It’s up for debate whether this item should’ve ever been removed from the vendor, although I think at a bare minimum many can agree that Blizzard’s late announcement regarding its removal was unfair to the general player base. I would love to see consideration on bringing the mount back in some manner (e.g., when BFA Timewalking is created) that still maintains the “sinkiness” factor of obtaining it, without relying on RNG BMAH crates. (Yes, I’m aware it’s supposedly on the BMAH rotation, but it’s prone to being gold-capped AND it hasn’t shown in the rotation since the July 14th crate hotfix [viewed as a potential bug by many]. That’s a whole separate discussion though).
- PvP Items:
This is an interesting one. PvP seasonal mounts are often reintroduced an expansion later, locked by Vicious Saddles. We’ve also seen Elite appearances reintroduced in PvE content (e.g. the Hunter Legion Timewalking bow). A big issue with PvP is that class balance and gear progression can wildly change, putting classes in a see-saw of major disadvantages and require either a “re-roll” or simply sitting on the bench. An argument can be made to introduce a currency system to allow previous Elite appearances to be purchased by players who win games while above the current season’s 2100 bracket; the same argument could be made for gladiator as well, with wins in the 2400 brackets. This, again, will allow players, both old and new, to put for the effort and work towards additional cosmetic rewards.
Removed content/FOMO also creates an “us vs. them” mentality that fractures the player base. For example, new players who want an appearance no longer in the game may be told “you can’t get that because you weren’t here at the time”. There are also players in the community who will use the FOMO items that they obtained to “lord over” others. Removed content/FOMO breeds a level of toxicity that the WoW community could absolutely do without.
My personal stance on removed content/FOMO, if it must be done, is this: if FOMO is used, it should be temporary, and any removed content should be introduced once the FOMO content’s expansion is considered legacy content. Using the Pandaria cloak questline as an example, the questline could’ve been “removed” from the game for WoD, and then reintroduced into the game at the start of Legion as that would signify MoP becoming regarded as “legacy content”.
On a case-by-case basis, it makes perfect sense to also require the same level, or greater, difficulty (the timewalking Mage Tower difficulty is a great example of this being possible). It also makes sense, depending on the content, to simply put it in BMAH if it’s done in good faith. (Waiting to announce the removal of a very pricey item near the final patch of an expansion is not in good faith from my view). There is also absolutely nothing wrong with putting reintroduced content/rewards behind a currency that absolutely ensures players are putting in an equivalent/meaningful level of effort to obtain such rewards.
I don’t think it’s ever too late for Blizzard to reintroduce FOMO content, especially when a period of time has passed and players who acquired rewards from such content have been able to enjoy them during that time. We really should avoid the “us versus them” mentality that divides the community and allow all players who put in the effort to obtain the rewards.