Pathfinder Exists Because of Players' Lack of Moderation

[Jehoshua-ravencrest]

So in other words, instead of creating more engaging and meaningful content, they artificially extend shallow, uncreative, and lazy content so they have less work to do.

You’re assuming that the current content isn’t already “engaging and meaningful,” which it is, of course. It’s engaging because the enemies hit harder and take longer to kill, not to mention the layout of zones, like Nazjatar, are setup like navigating through a maze. It’s meaningful because WQs are there to earn rep towards factions for rewards, such as flight, recipes, and armor.

So, it has nothing to do with the devs “artificially extending shallow, uncreative, and lazy content so they have less work to do.” They are working on other projects, too, perhaps, even the beginning stages of the next expansion. But if you think you can create endgame content better than the Blizzard devs, then let’s hear your ideas instead of accusing them of not doing their job.

[Warpstone-norgannon (Warpstone)]

“see, less than 50% of players got pathfinder, this proves no one really wants to fly.”

Yep, if you do it they claim everyone loves pathfinder, if you don’t do it they claim no one wants to fly. It’s a lose/lose for the player no matter how you do it.

[Wuthappen-whisperwind (Wuthappen)]

Difficult to get? But to get Pathfinder one only needs to

• Explore the zones (everyone does that just from running around)
• Do the quests (everyone does that to unlock a bunch of other stuff)
• Earn the reps to revered (everyone does that for gear, recipes, toys and mounts)

What exactly is there in Pathfinder to make anyone stray from regular play? Pathfinder’s requirement is pretty much “do what anyone would do anyway”.

I would of done all of this at my own pace if it wasn’t for pathfinder forcing me to do it right away just for the sake of earning flying back. This is what makes it so unfun for some of us ( not all of us but some of us) and when it comes to the reps. most of them don’t have anything on the quarter master to even bother with them right away and I would do th eless useful ones last.

[Melantin-bonechewer]

So in other words, instead of creating more engaging and meaningful content, they artificially extend shallow, uncreative, and lazy content so they have less work to do.

You’re assuming that the current content isn’t already “engaging and meaningful,” which it is, of course. It’s engaging because the enemies hit harder and take longer to kill, not to mention the layout of zones, like Nazjatar, are setup like navigating through a maze. It’s meaningful because WQs are there to earn rep towards factions for rewards, such as flight, recipes, and armor.

So, it has nothing to do with the devs “artificially extending shallow, uncreative, and lazy content so they have less work to do.” They are working on other projects, too, perhaps, even the beginning stages of the next expansion. But if you think you can create endgame content better than the Blizzard devs, then let’s hear your ideas instead of accusing them of not doing their job.

Heavily disagree with that entire statement. It is lazy and it is shallow. There is nothing engaging about grinding reps. It adds nothing to the overall game, does little in terms of story, and at most only provides another form of repetitive “content” to extend the life of a patch with, when it’s broken down, has hardly anything in it.

[Jehoshua-ravencrest]

Heavily disagree with that entire statement. It is lazy and it is shallow. There is nothing engaging about grinding reps. It adds nothing to the overall game, does little in terms of story, and at most only provides another form of repetitive “content” to extend the life of a patch with, when it’s broken down, has hardly anything in it.

Let’s hear your ideas about how you would make content more engaging and meaningful, Melantin.

[Spotti-area-52 (Spotti)]

No compromise, that would entail there being an issue with input from both sides given to come to said compromise. This was an ultimatum. Pathfinder or leave, lol.

[Melantin-bonechewer]

How about making rep grinds 100% optional, a complete rework of professions, a world that is alive and useful by making if filled with active events, rares, and bosses, quests that involve using the old world more frequently, crafting materials that can be used throughout the games life by making them upgradable or used in more current creations, player housing, etc, etc, etc.

It doesn’t take a friggin’ rocket scientist to think this stuff up.

[Atalanta-trollbane (Atalanta)]

Honestly, even then part of that reason will be because people who cared enough to complain will have left ages ago.

[Jehoshua-ravencrest]

How about making rep grinds 100% optional

I like most of your ideas, but why, or in what context of gameplay, would rep grinds be optional in an MMORPG?

[Reeven-thrall (Reeven)]

How about making rep grinds 100% optional, a complete rework of professions, a world that is alive and useful by making if filled with active events, rares, and bosses, quests that involve using the old world more frequently, crafting materials that can be used throughout the games life by making them upgradable or used in more current creations, player housing, etc, etc, etc.

It doesn’t take a friggin’ rocket scientist to think this stuff up.

Ok, let’s rephrase.

Let’s hear your ideas about how you would make content more engaging and meaningful within budget and schedule, Melantin.

[Jähl-kelthuzad]

I believe Pathfinder was also created to curb most players’ appetite to consume content quickly, only to be bored because there’s “nothing left to do.”

This was never the problem people claim it to have been. They weren’t losing 5 million players in 6 months until WoD and that revolved around more than lack of content.

Truth is it has just been a lame excuse to try to extend /played through gates and pointless obstacles. In their efforts to prevent the “cyclical player,” they have created them as a consequence.

[Melantin-bonechewer]

Poor argument considering other, smaller developers do it.

[Melantin-bonechewer]

Because almost no other game has them as a requirement?

[Spotti-area-52 (Spotti)]

Why wouldn’t they be.

Rep grinds are used to prolong a certain type of game play. Some games use it to more of an extreme.

Rep grinds should make sense in game;

Want a special item from a certain faction…
Want a pet/toy/mount…
Want a recipe that only they make…

Grind their rep.

It shouldn’t be necessary for pathfinder, it’s why FOR ME it becomes very unrewarding. It makes zero sense in the grand scheme of things. Small changes go a long way.

I’m not trying to gain access to their air space so that I don’t get shot down while gliding on my wonderwing 2.0

[Wuthappen-whisperwind (Wuthappen)]

1 thing I will say is this. pathfinder would be OK if it didn’t require reps. they should be optional and never forced as some others have said they don’t make any difference for game play/story or anything they are just there like they have always been. some have them maxed out and some don’t cause they aren’t interested in that so why force it upon people via achievement to earn flying ?

small edit. yes I have 50 or so + reps maxed out but that’s from over the years of playing

[anon77481220]

Pathfinder exists because the devs are just flat out wrong about flying being bad for the game.

Hopefully one day they’ll be willing to develop flight into a more mature game system instead of just removing and replacing every expansion.

That’s some kindergarten level troubleshooting.

[Celsa-borean-tundra]

I did say nearly.

[Wuthappen-whisperwind (Wuthappen)]

Sorry, but it had the opposite effect with me. I sped up consuming content. My whole goal was to do whatever it took to get path finder done as quickly as possible. If I had the option to obtain flight at max level or even at expansion launch, then I would not even be 1/4 the way through the content. The acquisition of flight and the completion of pathfinder is the number 1 top priority, nothing else matters. Once that happens I can then go back to my preferred play style and not be the hoop chasing monkey that Ion and his team expect players to be.

I don’t know how I missed your post. but spot on with this post. I myself consume all content in front of me now just to obtain flight and then once I get it back I go and play alts and take my time doing things cause I myself already rushed everything before ( minus lvling 110-120 for the first time that took me about 2 weeks lol)

[Jehoshua-ravencrest]

Sorry, but it had the opposite effect with me. I sped up consuming content. My whole goal was to do whatever it took to get path finder done as quickly as possible. If I had the option to obtain flight at max level or even at expansion launch, then I would not even be 1/4 the way through the content. The acquisition of flight and the completion of pathfinder is the number 1 top priority, nothing else matters. Once that happens I can then go back to my preferred play style and not be the hoop chasing monkey that Ion and his team expect players to be.

The funny thing is most players who zoomed through content to earn flight didn’t have the satisfaction of continuing on current content, due to frustration and exhaustion. In fact, there have been threads in these forums expressing that very sentiment that earning flight didn’t feel rewarding.

Now, I understand that it was because it was time-gated, but it also reveals that people aren’t necessarily playing an MMORPG to immerse themselves in its narratives, which is what an MMORPG is based on (no matter what your opinion of the story is). Players want the convenience of flight before the storyline to engage themselves in the gameplay, which speaks to another issue that has nothing to do with the time-gating of flight.

[Melantin-bonechewer]

Now, I understand that it was because it was time-gated, but it also reveals that people aren’t necessarily playing an MMORPG to immerse themselves in its narratives, which is what an MMORPG is based on (no matter what your opinion of the story is).

What narratives am I immersed in by doing the same world quests over and over? The actual story content is long over before the grind for flight starts.