Now that we all have our starter gear and have dome some M+, we get to face the real endgame boss - Forced Grouping. Waiting in Valdrakken to be accepted into yet another pug group that will probably disperse after one boss kill.
Would I rather be doing anything else? Yeah. But at this point, set pieces are the biggest upgrade for me, and getting that far with a fresh pug is a total crap shoot. The other option is to dissect your raid into one boss at a time, hoping to find a group that will do the following:
- Accept your ilvl if it’s below 385 (or even above)
- Stay grouped after a single boss clear
- Actually clear the boss in the first place
- Find a group that will let you in without posting previous kills… on week 2.
I have a guild. A great one, but we are all adults, and devoting two nights per week to raiding is difficult for some. I can, others can’t. So I’m forced to find pug groups that are either already full, filled with people doing 10k dps, or any other number of things that are not conducive to progress.
I simply spend more time WAITING than doing anything fun or productive. That kinda sucks. And it’s been a repeated issue in every expansion. After 18 years, Blizz has finally allowed us to craft set pieces. And that’d be great… if it didn’t force us to wait 6 weeks for them. If bosses can drop it, we should be able to craft it. Or did I miss the memo where Terros, despite not having opposable thumbs, was able to make his own rings and loot? No? Then somebody made it.
All I am asking is to once and for all get rid of forced grouping as the only means to progress. We need more ways to allow solo players to progress ON PACE with others who group. A single person can do a heck of a lot with the right amount of dedication. It’s time to honor that.
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Come on you can be social it won’t kill you.
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it’s been the same since legion? I don’t think there’s more optimal way to make a group for HARD endgame content.
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There’s nothing social about raiding unless it’s with your own guild and even then that’s only twice per week.
I feel less social in raids than anywhere else tbh. Unless it’s with my guild.
Also, in fairness, I’ve spent the past 20+ years working in music. Socializing isn’t an issue. I play WoW and other games to take a break from all that, but that’s just me.
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Had a mog run in heroic sepulcher before reset this week and it was hilarious…
Current content raids? Nah it’s just people flexing AOTC from past expacs to get into groups and shaming people that aren’t 8/8 on week 2.
Blizz what’s your answer to this mentality?
Also short answer people give is make your own groups but pretty quickly you’ll be nit picking classes and checking people’s gear like the groups that decline you before. It’s already happening to me for 10-15’s in M+…
If they don’t have correct trinkets or stats on gear and don’t have timed clears on pushing keys I don’t invite them anymore… I use to inv low ilvl and help people catch up but it’s impossible sometimes to teach them how to interrupt and do mechanics without it turning into an egotistic fight.
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I guess what I’m getting at is - why not give us a serious questline or mat reqs for crafted set gear? Or any gear really?
Add a feature like the trading post. You can redeem 1-2 pieces per week and you have to work hard for them. Quests, crafting stuff, whatever. This would allow you to being a ton of new life back into the old worlds too. Quests all over Azeroth and beyond for each piece.
Make it fun. Anything is better than sitting in town waiting for premades.
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Brad McQuaid and John Smedley’s legacy on MMORPGs will never die. ESO, GW2, and FF14 sought to destroy it, and it looks like the market has accepted that change. But WoW will never let this go and that’s why it’s just never going to regain top title status again.
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Let WoW be the last bastion of hope when it comes to a company never crumbling to those wanting to solo in an MMOrpg. Sorry, I’ll die on this hill.
I also play D3, D2R, and other similar games at times if I want solo content. But I don’t go to those games wishing they were WoW.
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None of that stuff usually evens out in difficulty to the group content that rewards better gear though. Blizz would need to add some actual challenging solo progression, which would make a lot of casual/solo players mad because Blizz favors the elites
Complaining about forced grouping in WoW is like complaining about jump scares in Silent Hill.
so, you mean, mage towers and torghast then?
eh, why not. seems fine to me. mage towers were plenty popular and torghast was… well… it was okay with room for improvement
Do you think there might be a connection between you not being social in raids and not having a steady raid group.
I’ve had pugs in our guilds raids that were social and got along with people. You know what? We invited them back the next week.
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But I’m not saying make it one or the other. All I’m saying is, give us options.
Lore-wise, it makes zero sense for a dragon, a tree monster, a possessed bear, a giant eye, or anything else to just have gear. Where did that gear come from? Someone made it, right? Why can’t that someone be us?
If people prefer to raid and get it, fine. If people prefer to solo craft it that should also be fine. There can be both ways and everyone would be happier.
There’s a lot of people who want group centric games. Unfortunately as long as they play WoW they likely won’t get it.
Actually, I’m suggesting a trading post-style thing where we can go on adventures and craft stuff.
The content is already there (all of Azeroth). So are the NPCs. Just attach quests to them.
I would gladly go to Outland, Draenor, wherever to do an epic questline all over and craft things all week. That sounds WAY better than what we currently have as the only choice.
Also, we could still do it in groups for socializing if we chose to.
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That actually sound pretty cool. I would abandon wow if not for solo que. Raid and mythic plus just wasnt worth putting the time in for.
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Didn’t say you said that. 
Yes, but those options need to be comparable in difficulty if the rewards are comparable.
Fine. Make them hard. Where did I say at any point to make this a cakewalk?
Make them twice as hard. Idc. I’ve spent easily 6 hours sitting in town waiting this week. 6. Hours. Use that 6 hours on a hard questline instead and tell me which is more fun.
Also, the sense of accomplishment is matched, if not exceeded by solo crafting. you travel all over Azeroth and do some serious work, you’re gonna feel as good about that as you do when you beat a raid boss. I promise.
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Get a guild
Makes everything significantly easier, I don’t like pugging at all but feels significantly nicer to “pug” people in your own guild even if you never talked to them before
Not sure why you’re talking this so personally. I’m just pointing out some complaints your idea is going to get from both sides. I have no problem with a solo progression system if it’s done well, I’d engage with it as well.
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