So im sure this will go nowhere. But using my own thoughts and experiences and making my wording not sound like a 5th grader with GPT’s help I want to lay out the case why I think banning GDKPS is the wrong decision going forward in Classic.
I believe that the decision to ban GDKPs is misguided and will be harmful to the game’s community and overall player experience for several reasons:
Reduction in PUG Quality: Without GDKPs, pick-up groups are likely to suffer in terms of efficiency and player satisfaction. In traditional PUGs, top-tier items are often reserved, which can lead to frustration from players. This has already been seen over and over again in Season of Discovery. The PUG scene there is just awful. Moreover, these groups tend to take longer than well-organized GDKP or guild runs. GDKPs ensure that players are incentivized to complete runs since they are guaranteed some gold at the end, encouraging persistence and participation.
Diminished Incentive for Raid Leadership: As the operator of a large PUG Discord, I’ve observed that many raid leaders find the motivation to organize and lead groups significantly reduced in the absence of GDKPs. Without the gold incentive, organizing PUGs can feel more like charity than a rewarding endeavor, potentially leading to much fewer organized runs.
Potential Rise in Botting and Gold Buying: The removal of GDKPs might unintentionally boost the appeal of botting and buying gold. The increased grind for raid consumables, which in Classic WoW are notably expensive, might drive players towards these illicit activities as a means to shortcut the gold grind process.
Decreased Alt Play: Alts play a vital role in the community’s engagement with the game. GDKPs allowed players to gear up their alts efficiently, fostering more social interaction and gameplay variety. Without this system, the high cost and effort of gearing and maintaining alts might discourage players from engaging with multiple characters, potentially reducing overall playtime and community interaction.
In summary, while the intention behind banning GDKPs might be to foster a different type of player interaction, it overlooks the practical benefits this systems brought to the game. This decision could make endgame content feel more monotonous and less rewarding, while also burning players out more quickly.
And yea i know the GDKP hate train will come out of the woodwork here. I just want to say I have played classic since og release, re-release since launch up until cata (quit prior to firelands launch) and currently am playing SOD(even with the GDKP ban).
If this is the route blizzard takes going forward so be it, but I think its the wrong move and thought it worth at least adding my voice to all the people yelling about it on either side
The gold aspect isnt even the worst part. The pug aspect is. The PUGs in SOD have been truly bad in comparison to my experience with gdkps in vanilla->tbc->wotlk->cata
I played SoD phase 1, and I mostly did non-GDKP pugs, though I did a bunch of GDKPs too. The idea that banning GDKPs somehow caused SR pugs to suck is a farce.
It’s not like the GDKP enjoyers stopped playing the game. They didn’t become bad at the game just because there’s no gold pot at the end.
The casual andys mad about gdkps are the same ones that gripe that no guild will take them (its a skill issue they wont admit that though) and that pugs are bad nowadays.
Also, GDKP expands potential of the meme spec players and non-meta comps that as has been demonstrated to me by GDKP gives them the chance to raid with a suboptimal spec.
Not personally my cup o tea, but glad they can.
Also one massive advantage of GDKP are these two:
GDKP promotes players to stay in raid instead of dropping out after their target loot is or is not acquired.
GDKP is basically traditional DKP that is usable in any GDKP run making the player more likely to raid optimally /world buffs / consumes / skill improvement, than the normal pugger trash tier run than is often a horrible run.
High performing players are less incentivised to go into a raid where they need no gear to carry the worse players. So your in a raid with everyone around the same gear level to get an item which makes it worse
I personally never buy gold, infact i laugh at people who do because it simply isn’t needed; especially with GDKP raids that pay out so well even if I get no loot I still get more than enough gold to pay for more consumes and in my case buy consumes for WSG to use only vs the sweaty. I generally do not consume vs pugs out of respect for the game.
Pugging in 2019 classic was fine until the GDKP runs showed up.
Suddenly, you couldn’t pug anymore for gear, instead all the gear got funneled to the person that made the top dollar.
My own guild that did runs on the side, to help people get what they needed, suddenly switched to only doing GDKP runs on the side, meaning all of us in the guild now had only one run a week where loot could be obtained without getting gold.
YOU PEOPLE RUINED THE GAME FOR ME!
You took what was a fun and social game where I could do multiple runs a week to where everything was all about getting gold and never getting gear, as to get gear, the price bids would get higher and higher, meaning you either did RMT or you got not no gear.
Seriously, come at me BRO, because you people massively ruined the game for me and it was the response from so many like myself that led to its banning.
EVery pug became GDKP runs, including off-runs by your guild.
Meaning you could only get gear by outbidding others.
I was a top 50 holy palladin on pagle, top of the meters, but the only way to get gear was paying gold because pugs stopped every doing runs with /roll. Then the prices got so high, it was obvious that RMT was rampant.