Honestly, I have not read too much into this since I am coming back but I do prefer that my decisions actually mean something.
Like a premonition.
Imagine thinking that forcing people to be subpar is a good way to balance things. When are people going to realize that the reason they have such fond memories of Classic, despite its crazy restriction on swapping, is not because it was good game design. It’s not because Blizzard had some secret formula. It’s because we as players didn’t have access to the same information we have now.
If players in 2004 had the same amount of information and spreadsheets they have now, you would’ve see a lot more min-maxing. Which is ironic, because that’s what you see now in Classic. People get world buffs despite not needed them. People play the best build despite not needing it. They know and invite the best classes, which means Ret Pallies, Druids, etc., don’t get in.
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I do too. But I prefer my choices mean something on a content by content basis.
In a single player game, or an MMO with 1 type of content - sure lock us in. But WoW is too diverse to restrict players like this.
Letting players make decisions that matter from content to content is exciting and elicits strategic thinking and planning within your groups. Having covenants and conduits be swappable would allow our choices to matter.
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But we didn’t get sent to the Shadowlands by dying. We also don’t function as an “assigned soul” like the dead.
We’re a special hero, there to save the Shadowlands as a whole. To save ALL the covenants. So it’s in their interest to allow us to learn and earn power that we can use to defeat the single common enemy.
There is no “betrayal” - we’re there to save them.
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Me: Hey Mr Fae Bro. The Kryians sent me over, and I’ve been helping you guys for a while now… I noticed you’ve got a cool blessing thing going on. I think it’s really help me fight off the baddies for you. Maybe you could teach me how to use it?
Mr. Night Fae bro: …
Me: Im just saying… this maw place is pretty rough… I’m doing you a solid here.
MNFB: That’s gonna be a no for me, Dawg.
Me: …
Exactly.
MNFB: I guess I’d rather let this entire realm and everyone in it die than to let you earn and learn some of our powers to help us all by risking your life to go kill the bad guy trying to destroy everything…because reasons…
My guess is they will be denied based on their class, spec, and experience WAY before covenant.
I don’t like your definitions because the way you’ve put them forward could be interpreted as having a lot of blending between the two. An argument could be made that every part of your character since level one is “earned via in game accomplishments”-- spells from levelling, talents, everything.
I’m on board with using this bit as the separation, though, in the interest of not trying to be pedantic and just pick apart on little things:
Where “intrinsic power” affects rotation and playstyle, and “earned power” doesn’t. Can we agree there?
The rest of this post assumes we do, so if we don’t feel free to disregard.
With those definitions, the ‘earned power’ systems I can think of would be stats and, for the most part, how corruptions have played out. Everything else seems to be intrinsic, based on that separation. Talents, class abilities, essences, Azerite, Artifact Power, and upcoming Covenants. All of those things affect your rotation and playstyle. Is that fair?
If I missed anything or I’m missing the mark feel free to let me know.
I mean, that’s an RPG trope for sure, and has existed for ages. I mean, why do we have all of these gear vendors hogging all the gear, when you are this CHAMPEEN, according to Magni. You can’t spare me some gear so I can go defeat the Big Bad and his Dragon? 5k gold and a chest armor token? What do mean, a chest armor token? I get it from the Big Bad and his Dragon, and then come back to you with 5k and this token, so I can go beat them again, only better? Do you even want to be saved, bro?
But at least you can earn that gear and then swap it around how you see fit as you continue progressing through content.
The covenants go backwards. It’s like buying a healing piece of gear for one spec, but if you ever swap to dps and then swap back to healing, you have to go back to the vendor and jump through hoops just so you can use the piece of gear you’ve already earned.
Earning gear in the first place isn’t an issue - with great power comes great responsibility. So having you earn the gear makes sense in an RPG. It’s the re-earning it due to you doing things specifically intended to help kill the bad guy that’s backwards.
I’m not spiteful, and having to make hard choices on the covenants between the biggest numbers or whatever you want to go with seems fine to me.
Why? Just curious as to why you’re cool with something, that if changed, wouldn’t affect you in the slightest.
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This covenant discussion all falls on Blizzard’s ability to balance, and honestly, everyone knows how well that has gone even in the last few seasons.
If you’ve been AFK for Azerite, Essences, Corruption, etc, you’re in for a spoiler. They’re not even SLIGHTLY balanced in any way, nor did they seem to care to make them so. Don’t assume covenant abilities will be any different.
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“Haha Covenanta go fancy boom boom”
I would like to see how the current interations will work by myself. If it didnt work our for the majority of people, then go full ripcord
What a ridiculous word soup you created op.
Because I want the choice to be a weighty thing, that you have to weigh the pros and cons of. There’s already a way to change it, but it takes awhile. Why is that a bad thing?
I thought the idea of having a pool of all the abilities as talents at the bottom of our tree, with the story that we can only use so many because of the amount of anima that would run through us, while keeping transmogs covenant specific would be the easiest solution.
We are helping everyone in all covenants, why would they want to assist with that? I can see keeping the armors a prestige thing, but the abilities would lend themselves to a lot more fun, and play if they were open.
I do like the idea of choices mattering, but the abilities are too broad in terms of power. If they were all equally powerful, yeah, keep it a hard choice, but losing so much power for fun, well, it isn’t fun.
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Yes I’ve heard that before, but WHY?
Because it takes away player freedom and discourages experimentation with abilities.
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I’m pro-covenant because there’s enough flexibility for characters already and that having actual flaws that can’t be waved away instantly makes the game far more interesting than the bland ‘10 levels, three talents’ of old.
Talents are boring, no matter how many rows you get.
Come to spread your illogical nonsense around this topic? I can’t wait until people catch you contradicting yourself.