Yeah, all the people harping on about how “Cataclysm had lovely really hard 5 mans” when all I remember them for is “you brought a hard CC or you struggled and you CC’d exactly 1 mob/pack and then it was a snorefest cause they were very long”.
And really this is the same problem I have with H+ and soon to be H++, the hardest part of the dungeon is no longer the bosses. It’s just slogging through the trash for an annoying reason.
Oh I agree completely, I’m just stating the facts of how retail became retail. People in Wrath are angry about communication, but Blizz communicating and listening to players is why retail happened the way it did. Dragonflight is the first time in WoW history is feels like Blizzard is actually listening to the entirety of the community and actually building the game around everybodies feedback rather than just the super casual open world player. It’s a nice change of pace and it’s sad that BFA/SL was so garbage cus more people should experience Blizzard actually doing a good job
I think a big problem about Cata was the content drought at the very end after Dragon Soul. Classic Cata wouldn’t have this problem so I think Blizzard should still try and implement the expansion.
The hardcore minority that wants LFR? Lmao please. Yea the content was harder, but WoW had to compete with other MMOs at the time making harder end game content than WoW. It also is considered one of the best PvP eras in WoW history.
Meh when DF is done I think it’ll change the lists for “top WoW expansions” forever. There are very few instances of WoW ever being as good as current retail.
If you aren’t actively playing it then I can see that take away. It’s not just the talent trees though; it’s the fact that the talent trees have never been better, not even close. Not in Vanilla/TBC/Wrath/Cata they were never as intricate and well designed with so many viable builds per spec as they are now. Alt friendliness is at an all time high and catching up has never been easier or more fun on alts with the forbidden reach daily quest hub which is just a ton of fun to blast through with friends. VoTI while not mechanically as crazy or difficult as most would expect is a great entrance raid for the expansion that on heroic offers a solid challenge and good loots/tmogs for everybody including older folks like myself whose aren’t as quick with the fingers as we were 10 years ago.
The PvP arena scene is incredibly balanced, arena is extremely enjoyable and so is the RBG scene albeit kinda small compared to what I remember in Cata.
The removal of FOMO mechanics and rep grinds/pathfinder achievements have made DF feel more in line with earlier versions of WoW rather than the dreadful trilogy of Legion/BfA/SL where legion despite its horrible FOMO mechanics only gets a pass for its incredible story.
I’ve hated retail since quitting in cata (for the second time) and I truly wholeheartedly believe DF may be the best iteration of WoW ever created because they are actually listening and properly implementing mechanics around the feedback they are getting.
Also the revamped crafting system is a really nice breath of fresh air in a crafting system that was pretty much sidelined for much of the last decade.
Edit: I forgot to mention the trading post system as well which acts as a free battle pass of sorts and makes grinding VoTI on your alts even more fun as you get rewarded with new tmog and amounts for doing 25 raid bosses a month etc
Edit 2: basically my time has never been more respected in WoW history and the content itself is extremely good and well designed. If it stays course DF will likely end up being my favorite iteration of WoW behind only Vanilla and maybe TBC