I'm doing the essence grind a third time

[Baspirath-sargeras]

The amount of work you’re needed to do to be on the same level as your main for alts has become drastically worse over the last few expansions.

Good. Because WoD, mains were entirely too quick to be done. We literally asked for this, reasons to play our mains.

The game is designed for you to focus on a primary toon. And to have content and things to work towards on that toon.

I had 4 tanks that were extremely close in power in both MoP and WoD.

Yeah, because SoO went on too long, I had like 4 alts with the Legendary cloak and no reason to log on my main like 3 months into 5.4 except to raid.

[Pandamonea-proudmoore (Pandamonea)]

‘Min maxing’ characters is not the same as having essences at the same level as your main character.

Want essences the same level as your main, put in the same work as your main.

That is how WoW has always worked.

This might come as radical suggestion but alts don’t need to feel like absolute sandbaggers.

They don’t. But if you want to 8/8M on an alt, then you’ll have to put in the same work you did on your main. Plain and simple.

Said this elsewhere - but for years wow never needed a catch up mechanic beyond ‘gear’. If your raid group wanted to help you gear up, you ran on an alt and they gave gear to you.

And no one complained.

Then legion happened with artifacts (again though - those had a pretty quick catch up mechanic built in - same as Azerite Power which isn’t what people are complaining about as by now you should be able to hit 65 in 2 weeks). Legendary drops were more of a problem but chances are you’d get SOMETHING soon after hitting 120.

This… is not the same thing. For the first time in WoW there’s a gate system that might require an alt to do hundreds of hours to catch up to a main. And one that’s time gated across weeks and weeks (mechagon, islands, rep etc).

The problem is work on your alts has never been particularly complicated beyond pushing pvp rankings. This… is. Which is why many MANY people are saying its a terrible system.

[Baspirath-sargeras]

Said this elsewhere - but for years wow never needed a catch up mechanic beyond ‘gear’. If your raid group wanted to help you gear up, you ran on an alt and they gave gear to you.

And no one complained.

Errr… I remember tons of people complaining we had no content for mains outside of Raid logging. Which was bad.

This… is not the same thing. For the first time in WoW there’s a gate system that might require an alt to do hundreds of hours to catch up to a main.

I hardly call 3 Mythic +10 dungeons in 3 weeks “hundreds of hours”.

You literally are exagerating how long essences are to get.

[Timboslizzle-frostmourne]

Good. Because WoD, mains were entirely too quick to be done. We literally asked for this, reasons to play our mains.

If you can’t figure out ways to create an incentive for people to play alts outside of grinding time gated essences which have a direct correlation with power of your alt then you’re just as clueless as blizzard.

Said this elsewhere - but for years wow never needed a catch up mechanic beyond ‘gear’. If your raid group wanted to help you gear up, you ran on an alt and they gave gear to you.

And no one complained.

Basically this,

You said people “literally asked for this” - Who? Who asked for this? People have literally always hated doing daily content and the content didn’t unlock power for your character. It was optional.

In wrath of the lich king i had 3 alts so i could get more badges for mounts/pets from the Argent Tournament. It had no effect on my power, It made me feel good getting rewards quicker than I would have vs one character and it was completely optional

[Spodge-stormreaver]

I refuse to believe anyone likes collecting Fathom Ray meat.

just don’t pick that hunter follower - I made that mistake on my first character, never again.

[Timboslizzle-frostmourne]

It’s a zone wide world quest … frequently :’(

[Pandamonea-proudmoore (Pandamonea)]

Said this elsewhere - but for years wow never needed a catch up mechanic beyond ‘gear’. If your raid group wanted to help you gear up, you ran on an alt and they gave gear to you.

And no one complained.

Errr… I remember tons of people complaining we had no content for mains outside of Raid logging. Which was bad.

This… is not the same thing. For the first time in WoW there’s a gate system that might require an alt to do hundreds of hours to catch up to a main.

I hardly call 3 Mythic +10 dungeons in 3 weeks “hundreds of hours”.

You literally are exagerating how long essences are to get.

I’m really not.

Lets say I want to make another monk. And for the sake of fairness lets assume I’m waiting till 8.3 so only need revered with Mechagon and Nazjatar

1. I need to grind azurite to 65+ to unlock the 3 slots. At a minimum I’m probably doing world quests that offer the rewards and daily 4 quest content. Probably other stuff as well.
2. I have to pvp. I need a bare minimum of 500 conquest to begin with (can’t remember what it is for rank 3). I also need to do pvp in Nazjatar and mechagon to unlock the achievement to unlock higher ranks of the other essence
3. I need to run mechagon 4? 5? times?
4. I need to do the islands for 4? weeks? So assuming I do heroic thats 4 runs - so 16 islands over 4 weeks
5. I probably need to do all the world quests in Nazjatar and do my followers quests on top of that. The second level pearl is 3000 follower experience so minimum of 10 days - I need double that and a 20 rank to get the final level 3 essence of the pearl
6. Eternal Palace - I need a lot of full runs. I can’t be bothered working out how many I need but I think its something like. 9/18/36? for the dps one. And I also have the tank and healer essences to collect - which I think are less - like. 3/9/Something? Anyway thats a LOT of runs (runs which will dry up when 8.3 happens. btw)
7. mechagon chests. so so so many chests. And a lot of galvanic oscillators. I think its something like 36 of the later PER ESSENCE to get it to level 3. So assuming I don’t get lucky - again… I need 108 days of questing in this zone to get the oscillators I need. And that’s ignoring how many chests I need to farm (something like… 64 per spec - a whopping 192 from a scarce resource)
8. Oh. and yeah - as you pointed out there’s a +4, +7 and four or so +10 mythics to get.

So yeah - hundreds of hours.

[Timboslizzle-frostmourne]

You claim to be 8/8, but you don’t actually have CE Azshara on that particular account.

I am curious Baspirath do you have a dog in this race? Do you have any alts?

That alt you’re posting from has basically nothing so I’m just not sure.

[Baspirath-sargeras]

If you can’t figure out ways to create an incentive for people to play alts outside of grinding time gated essences which have a direct correlation with power of your alt then you’re just as clueless as blizzard.

It’s not so much about reasons to play alts, as it is to give lasting content for mains, something to work towards for more than just “log on, raid, log out”.

eed to grind azurite to 65+ to unlock the 3 slots. At a minimum I’m probably doing world quests that offer the rewards and daily 4 quest content. Probably other stuff as well.

65 is dumb easy to get. Please. I think my Rogue was 65 in all but 2 weeks.

I have to pvp. I need a bare minimum of 500 conquest to begin with (can’t remember what it is for rank 3).

Don’t need Rank 3 Conflict and Strife for Hot Trub. In fact, don’t need Hot Trub at all, it’s a gimmick.

I need to run mechagon 4? 5? times?

Vision of Perfection on a monk ? If you say so.

I need to do the islands for 4? weeks? So assuming I do heroic thats 4 runs - so 16 islands over 4 weeks

For what ?

I probably need to do all the world quests in Nazjatar and do my followers quests on top of that.

Lucid Dream on a monk ? 3 weeks anyway.

Eternal Palace - I need a lot of full runs.

Uh ? You need to do a single full clear of Heroic for Rank 2. Another full clear will get you Rank 3.

2 whole weeks. Of Heroic. Geez, “work”.

mechagon chests. so so so many chests. And a lot of galvanic oscillators. I think its something like 36 of the later PER ESSENCE to get it to level 3.

Rank 3 is only a DPS upgrade.

Oh. and yeah - as you pointed out there’s a +4, +7 and four or so +10 mythics to get

3 +10s ?

I don’t see “hundreds of hours”. I see like 2-3 hours per day for 3 weeks. At best, call it 42 hours.

[Baspirath-sargeras]

I am curious Baspirath do you have a dog in this race? Do you have any alts?

My main, 448 Paladin, 70 neck. 444 BM Monk, 68 neck. 435 Rogue, 68 neck too.

All have Rank 3s.

Was gonna work on the DK next, but I’m doing a Priest now, just dinged 120 last night on it, it’s fresh out of the upgrade mill. It’s my 9th 120.

[Pandamonea-proudmoore (Pandamonea)]

So. - post on that? I want to be awed. I was at the original posters efforts.

Also a bunch of the things you responded to are stuff like ‘its just a dps increase’. Well… yes. Yes it is. Why wouldn’t I want that? Or conflict and strife not being valuable for monks when… yeah it is. Especially if 8.3 changes to mistweaver go live.

If you want rank 3 across the board its a LOT of work.

[Timboslizzle-frostmourne]

conflict and strife not being valuable for monks when… yeah it is.

C/S is the most important essence for monks. yea.

[Itlatn-illidan]

C/S is arguably the most important secondary essence for every spec in the game.
I just hate the way you have to get it.
500 Conquest. ICK

Did that grind on my DK. Not doing it again

[Spodge-stormreaver]

Yes but you can just skip that. For essences on my alts, all I do daily in Nazjatar is the two puzzle quests and the odd time the pet quest (aside from the follower).

[Spodge-stormreaver]

500 conquest is nothing. Comp stomp is coming up next week, that is a good place to earn C/S on alts if you don’t normally PvP.

Plus there are a couple of quests in the PvP section for conquest points in warmode if your alts haven’t done them.

[Elynos-sargeras (Elynos)]

pvp islands is also a super underrated way to cap conquest. It is really fast with a decent grp and even if you lose you get a decent amount

[Valendin-proudmoore]

I dinged 120 on my shaman last night by doing Korrak stuff. It just kinda happened by accident. Then I realized what was ahead of me. Poor girl never had a chance.

[Itlatn-illidan]

ugh it just doesnt appeal to me =(

[Spodge-stormreaver]

Then don’t do it. Lots of content doesn’t appeal to me so I don’t do it but I don’t expect to get the reward if I don’t.

In any case, lots of ways to get conquest points some of them mentioned in this thread, if none appeal to you then see above.

[Itlatn-illidan]

Hence why I said I don’t?
That I’ve only done it once?

=\