Level squish, or expansion levels?

Community General Discussion
22

A level squish will completely destroy all brackets of leveling, dungeons and pvp.

They are adjusting the very foundation this game was built upon.

23

So i am just trying to work the idea here :slight_smile:
But, what it seems like to me, is you have a 1 to 70 level.
Then a 1 to 10 Xpac level, Which effectivly scales you up for that Current Xpac and its zones.
Effectively, resetting you to level 60 each time you enter a new one. without taking you back each time. Allowing a soft level reset for a new one when it comes.
This i could see Working, Its not a bad idea. It may push the level issues into gear issues, which i think may be a bit of a issue. So i would like to see something done to curb that bloat along side it.

24

Bringing up PvP is an interesting point. Instanced PvP would be simple. Everyone would be level 70 (at max level) or you would be in your standard +/- 5 level bracket they have now. Bring back PvP vendors and have expansion specific gear sets with bonuses, like raid set bonuses. Maybe have those bonuses turned off in rated content, but on in world pvp and in random bgs.

It becomes a problem when you talk about crossing over into raiding. Im not sure how PvP gear would translate with this system.

Thanks for constructive feedback.

25

I don’t think they would add in the gear.

I think they would just do the squish, and leave everyone high and dry till they hit the new cap.

This company doesn’t have the best track record on picking up loose ends.

26

Im thinking that each expac would have raid gear set bonuses that would be disabled outside of its specific expansion, making the great much less powerful from one expansion to another. Basically raid gear from BC would have similar stats to raid gear from mists (etc) but the lack of the set bonuses would make them undesirable.

Essentially at level 70 you might have like +50 to a secondary stat, and by 70+10 you might have +70, so the stats won’t really change much, but the set bonus will make large differences in power. Also, keeping a system similar to azerite, BUT ONLY ON LEVELING/ WQ GEAR, and having those bonuses deactivated outside of their specific expansion, would keep people from just using ICC raid gear (or whatever) until they got current content raid gear.

27

Fixing level scaling made simple.
Do classic (level 1-60)
Now get an xp bar FOR EACH expansion. Usually about 10 levels. And you are scaled to whatever the bar reads (so , you might be 63 in northrend because you put in a little time, 60 in Outland because you never went there, 70 in Pandaria because you full cleared it , etc etc …)

Just give them all seperate xp bars, and equipment that only works in that expansion (Pandarian plate scales down to level 60 if you’re not in Pandaria, for example, so you can still wear it to start another expansion)

This system also recycles old raids, because now ALL RAIDS (except classic) are current and will be forever more.

EDIT : Hmm…thinking about it…you’d basically didtch level equalization entirely and go back to set levels per area in this system.

EDIT TWO: Yeah ,another edit.
This opens the doors to “expansion only” talents and abilities. That only work in one expansion , or maybe they work everywhere, but you can only collect them by going to this one expansion. Lich King would see a lot of anti-undead talents (they’re the prime evil), Outland would see a lot of anti-fel demon abilities, pandaria would see a lot of anti-shaw abilities…and of course, no fel demons in pandaria ? You got those abilities but I guess there’s no fel to use them on.

The Fel in Legion and the fel in Outland would be considered different versons of fell…they made improvements in the mean time so the old anti-fel abilities don’t work on the new, etc…

thus you have the abilities at all times, but you lack enemies to use them on.

28

You’re not wrong.

I wouldn’t expect this type of system for 9.0 anyway. It would be a big rework. I would think 10.0 (a good time to do it, honestly).

Im thinking mostly that wow needs to do something different because the current model of “bandaids” every few expansions is unsustainable.

29

I am not convinced it matter to much as a whole to have raid gear last far into a leveling up experience. I think the stat bloat is far more of a issue.
So maybe have high level gear in a Xpac have a resistance like effect to the raids and dungeons of that raid. As well as a lesser effect in previous Xpacs.
So there is some progression to be had, without completely overshadowing another.
And not a huge need to carry a raid set for every group of Raids.

30

This is exactly my point. I still like level 70 being the cap because of our 7 talent tiers, but im glad someone agrees :slight_smile: