The difference of a fresh max level and a geared max level is getting to insane levels. A level 10 feels closer to a lvl 58 than a fresh 60 does to a geared one.
For reference, the 2 WoW expansions largely considered the best, TBC and WotLK, never reached these excessive amounts of difference. In TBC the average player started at 70 around 10k HP and in endgame gear had around 20k HP. WotLK the average player atarted around 25k hp and wndgame gear goes to around 50k. Those were 200% jumps. Large jumps, but not excessive.
In recent expansions its gotten crazy though, especially Shadowlands. We all have around 20k hp when we first hit 60 and its commonplace to see people with 100k+ HP these days. Thats a 500% jump.
At the current rate the difference between a lvl 59 and a 61 is going to be over 100k. From what Ive seen of beta footage it looks like people are sitting around 150-160k. If the pattern keeps true and inflating at such a large bell curve we are going to be back around Legion levels of damage/HP at the end of Dragonflight.
I really wish Blizzard would reel things in a bit. They did a squish in Legion and in Shadowlands, but the inflation is larger than ever before with the current gear inflation
It’s really wild. I decided to make a 70 Twink in Wrath, who was decked in full 150-160ish gear from raid and pvp, and now he’s 27 with 34 ilev gear when 80 ilev is available from normal dungeons.
I agree that gear should matter, but a 15 ilvl difference shouldnt feel like a 5-10 actual level difference. I think the game would be more enjoyable if gear scaled more on a linear line rather than the absolutely insane bell curve its currently at
I can’t remember exactly when it started but at one point a common complaint was that upgrades weren’t really “felt”, and people didn’t feel motivated to stay on the ilev treadmill, so they jacked up how impactful each upgrade was.
Between borrwed stuff, tier, and the massive leap each tier it’s basically like being level 50 vs 60 when you come back to a patch late.
You’re right, it’s nutty, and largely driven by the need for so many different sub-tiers of gear within each tier.
It also has consequences in gameplay, with players on both ends of the scale being so distant from each other that a capped player in mediocre gear may as well not even be capped, which is particularly bad in PvP — where in Vanilla a player in a well selected set of dungeon blues and ZG epics could hold his own against someone decked in Tier 2, no such hope exists now. If you’re wearing something you found anywhere but top end content you’re gonna be a perpetual greasy spot in battlegrounds.
And in my opinion, it feels bad in general. It’s why it can feel like your character is outfitted in scraps you found in the garbage dump despite it all being epics.
I would say that still applies if you’re gearing up through M+. You don’t have many standout moments where equipping an upgrade has much of a tangible impact.
Thing is, SL (not counting pre-patch shenanigans), had the lowest scaling over the course of the end game (early S1 gear to late S4 gear) in terms of damage output of any expansion in recent memory.
I agree that the multiple tiers play a big effect on this issue, but I think its also an issue in just how much stats get thrown in to gear of high ilvl not being linear.
For reference, ground zero fresh lvl 60 gear (Covenant set) gloves around ilvl 158 had 38 stam on it. Fated Mythic ilvl 300+ gloves have around 315 stam on it.
You’re comparing “just hit 60 without doing any quests and thus getting 0 quest reward gear” to “patch 9.2.7 uncapped Valor, dinar gear, Mythic raids super faceroll geared” players ?
And that makes sense to you ?
In 1 week you get your wish : won’t be much difference between a fresh 70 and a “geared” 70.
I think this is an excellent point. Honor blues should be more powerful than they are. I get merit in making a fresh 60 in nothing but quest greens have to suffer a few one shots until they gear up, but at this rate full honor blues, with some upgrading, still feels like a joke compared to epic pvp gear.
The impact on the casual pvper who enjoys mostly battlegrounds is they have no hope of being competitive. That’s broken.
Im comparing the gear inflation for fresh max level to geared max level in expansions considered the best (TBC and WotLK) and comparing it to gear inflation in the expansion largely considered the worst.
A geared player being 200% stronger is a whole lot different than a geared player being 500% stronger.
Specifically Im worried if this isnt addressed its going to get even more broken in Dragonflight. Legion and SL had squishes due to insane inflation. Im worried if Blizzard doesnt tone down scaling its going to turn into a per expansion squish
Exactly. Im not saying a fresh 60 should win against geared players. I just dont think the inflation should be so high that said geared person is 500+% stronger.
We can have gear matter while keeping gear scaling on more of a flat incline rather than a mile high bell curve. WoW used to be that way. Nowadays we have a stat squish every other expansion and get back to the same place 2 years later
