This isn’t true. Blizzard emphasizes game content that encourages rushing and repetition rather than socialization. That’s the game they want and they get the “community” the game deserves.
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Ppl behave when there are consequences , so I guess more disciplinary actions 
The solution now is to havhave a guilds put together events. Raid night. Mythic plus night. Free stuff night. Transmog run night.
That there would just cause more chaos and it depends on what is the rule on it. communities set guide lines to fellow.
You’re being VERY generous, there. The guild recruiting tools are still complete trash.
Data analysis has been a science for years now.
Blizzard knows when we play, what we like to do, and how far we go in our activities. With modern data management tools, it should be easy for Blizzard to point us towards groups (guilds/communities) that do the same things, at the same times, at the same skill level.
Blizzard has completely neglected this important part of the community, because they don’t give a damn. Blizzard’s revolving door of rapid staff turnover means that half the people working on the game now won’t even be there in 2 years, so they don’t care about the game’s long-term survival.
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I have to disagree with this. It’s true that we’re less social in some ways (though arguably more social in others), but that doesn’t change the very real human need for some sort of socialization. I’m one of the least social people you’ve ever met, but even I’ve come to enjoy online socialization now that I’m stuck in my own bubble much of the time.
If anything, the pandemic emphasizes the need for more online social interaction. Look at VR for example. You may say that we’re all just hardcore individualists now, and we don’t like interaction, but look at the popularity of social apps. I love jumping into VR rooms and just hanging out with people, watching a movie or what-have-you. I find it greatly boosts the mood of even a total introvert such as myself. And I’ve come to find that the “physical” aspect of being in the same area in-game is better than just a chatroom (guild chat).
The world has definitely changed, and feels like it moves faster than in 2004, but online communities still thrive where given the tools to thrive. Individualism doesn’t get in the way of that.
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I want to see them balance things out and invest in guilds. I want cosmetic rewards/titles that target time-spent. I want guilds that stay active to be rewarded, and for the members who remain in them to be rewarded as well.
Develop for longevity. Give guilds a space. Don’t hand things out to solo guilds with alts. Run some metrics.
But most of all: do something. I would never want to devolve the PuG community, but I do want Blizzard to pay equal attention to the health of guilds.
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Remove CRZ.
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We did have some of those events on our server ,actually fun and did have some laughs.
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As much as I complain about pickup groups, I’ve gained a small circle of friends through it. Sometimes you end up grouping with the same people a few times and hit it off, and once you exchange battle tags you can keep in touch. Sure, it’s not the same as running into them in world, but you can always arrange for groups later. That’s the only thing I can really suggest.
Also make dungeon finder realm based only.
Yeah. They are good times.
You forget that people get socialization outside of this game and use games to escape such things.
Perhaps for you, but not for others. Everyone is different, of course. But we need to take into consideration the changes in societal norms across the board.
I never said they didn’t. I’m simply saying that we’re seeing more and more people wanting their game time to be a quiet place unto themselves.
Remove cross realm. Problem solved.
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Ride mounts to ironforge lol slow mode!
That would make the waiting queu too long, I’m afraid. Especially on low population realms.
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That’s true too. Its too late to change things now.
I would like something that brings the servers together. Something like the gates of Ahn’Qiraj, but different. Something the server needs to come together for. Maybe make Anima more relevant by showing a total of Anima for each covenant, and bring the covenants together. Maybe have a goal each month of Anima given to the covenant by all players of that covenant, and once that goal is hit something awesome happens (Maybe something that lasts a day or two so people have a chance to experience it, like a rare world raid boss that drops something cool).
Or like that thing in Maldraxxus where you need to get just the right colors into the pool, and everyone needs to work together and communicate “just need two more reds” to get it right. Add in some safety nets (like if you go over there’s something you can add to take some away) so that a few people can’t get together and purposefully ruin it.
Or maybe something hidden, with clues that need to be found and turned in to open new clues. Think like Ready player One but something we all work together for not against each other for. Some big riddle we solve over the course of the expansion that has us exploring every inch of the zones and talking to random NPCs in hopes of finding something.
Basically server or faction or covenant wide events that span weeks, months or the whole expansion that gets us talking, communicating, and working together.
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Here’s how to do it:
- Use data-driven tools to point players towards similar players (see my post above). This is the MOST IMPORTANT thing for them to do, and they’ve neglected it for years.
- Eliminate sharding and CRZ and be extremely aggressive with server mergers.
- Make LFD and Group Finder be same-server-only (keep in mind that servers will be MUCH larger after #2, above).
- Eliminate LFR and replace it with a single-player experience like the old Battle for the Undercity. This lets casual players explore the raid content at their own pace (and without trolls) but more importantly removes the confusing line between queued/non-queued raids.
- If things don’t improve over time, remove LFD completely.
It’s a two-part problem: (a) blizzard doesn’t help people find community, and (b) blizzard actively works against community. Blizzard’s laziness is the cause of the former. Queues are the cause of the latter. Queues cause players to stop looking at others as actual people, and instead look at them as disposable cogs who are there merely to provide for your immediate needs. That needs to stop.
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Yes, but you specifically said that the pandemic has fed into social isolation, and that people prefer to be anonymous and alone. That’s the exact opposite of my experience in gaming.
Sure, everyone is different, you’re right, but I disagree with the anecdote of the antisocial gamer. For every person who logs in to play solo content, there is someone who logs in to play in a social environment. There is a time for WoW, and a time for Skyrim. MMOs are inherently social, and should facilitate social interaction.
I never said that you should be forced to do these activities. If solo is your schtick, you don’t have to participate. But to state that this is the mentality of the playerbase seems to be a matter of projection, and comes off as disingenuous.