The entire argument of degrees of difficulty is content completely falls apart when you consider the following hypothetical: What would happen if blizz scrapped the next 3 expansions and instead rolled out updates that just changed the way we interact with the content we already have? Imagine if they tripled all open world mobs HP and quadrupled their damage. No new dungeons or raids, just added more mechanics, HP and damage. No new cosmetics. Just more varying degrees of difficulty.
You and I both know exactly what would happen. There would be mass outcry and an even greater exodus out the door as the game population plummeted to the point of Blizz selling off the IP to make a final few bucks as the 75% of servers got shut down and the devs shifted to maintenance mode.
Imagine if MoP remix had none of the cosmetics to farm. You’d have people try it and then 99% of its population would evaporate over the course of a couple weeks. How many people would actually participate in Plunderstorm with none of its new cosmetics to farm? Not many.
The point I’m making is that degrees of difficulty is not content and never has been. It allows you to re-expereince the same content in a different way, sure (and that might be enough for a many people…for a little while). Nobody is disputing that. But content in and of itself? No. That it is not.
Group and solo content CAN exist. In fact I want it to exist because jt isn’t logical or feasible to make the entire game group content BUT the solo content should not EVER reward you as much as grouped content. I am fine with Delves because I would argue it’s grouped content but you can choose to do it solo, and I am fine with that too. What most of us that pkay grouped content are saying is that doing a Mythic raid, finding 19 other players to do these bosses and work together, is far more difficult than the current iteration of delves even at it’s highest level and therefore should not ever award gear that is equal to that of Mythic Raid or the hardest Mythic + tiers. That gear shouls be reserved for the players who choose to go and seek a greater challenge. Delves are just not that challenge.
The issue happens when players, normally older players but not always the case, say that Delves are just as hard to THEM. And while that MAY be true, there isn’t really a difficulty slider for the game and it has to be kept as fair and general as possible or it risks the standard od the game collapsing on itself. Older players who do struggle, like my father for has played for 18 years, which is only 2 years less than me, sometimes struggle with even the most basic of things in the game and if we turned that dial down to their level then we’d be able to clear all levels of content with baby gear from leveling, zero effort from the player, and no real purpose because it would end in a week. My father isn’t a keyboard turner or anything like that, but when we explain boss battles to him, he says he gets it then promptly stands in the GIANT FLASHING RED circle and gets obliterated and then gets frustrated because he said he wasn’t in it but he was clearly in the circle. Then the next day, same dungeon, same boss, he asks for the explanation again and again and again. We cover up his shortcomings so that he can enjoy the game at it’s base level and we even get him AotC. He is now 624 ilvl and he says it feels great but it doesnt make sense because he doesnt need that level of gear to do what he normally does - solo content. He could have done it at 610 ilvl or even 619.
My father is not the example, but he is part of the solo side of the game and we (my guild and my family) take it upon ourselves tk help him enjoy the game and it’s a LARGE endeavor that requires patience and understanding for him but when it comes to Mythic raid, he bows out and even when we all ask him to show up, he refuses because he does not want to be a burden when he knows it requires greater skill than he can muster.
So when I hear or see solo players say they want Mythic track gear, I say, show me. Show me that you have the competence and the skill to do the harder content regardless of what anyone else says. Games as a whoke were made not just for fun, but the challenge ans it’s a mix of both that has to happen. If Delves are challenging to you right now, then you are being the appropriate gear. If it becomes a joke to you and you can clear the highest levels without giving a care in the world, upgrade your play and go do something like M+ or Raid but if you CHOOSE to stunt your growth, you should not and would not ever be rewarded for that.
I personally have never asked for the best gear in the game. I agree if I want that gear I need to do that level of content. Which I will not do because I lack the skill to do it. I’m not the best player but I’m also not the worst.
I play solo because of physical and health limitations. I don’t want to spoil anyone else’s playtime just so I can have fun.
Raids should be hard. Normal being the new mythic would be fine with me. They could keep LFR for people who either can’t hack it or just don’t have the time anymore.
The playerbase was fine without it…before it even existed…think of it that way…
I think what blizzard should have done is made it into its own stand alone game in its own server.make it a server m+ all dungeons and raid…
That way if you want the do that content it would have nothing to do with the main game…just like the whatt there doing plunderstorm…it’s a totally different thing…
Overall I would agree with this premise, but there are some pretty big instances where I don’t think this is a fair assessment. Specifically when it comes to certain mechanics that are added to the higher difficulties. For instance, I don’t know how a phase that only exists on a boss at mythic difficulty wouldn’t count as content.
Then there are a handful of mechanics every season for M+ where a fight is nearly unrecognizable on mythic compared to on difficulties that don’t have those mechanics. This one I’m less confident in calling content, but would lean that direction given just how much those new mechanics alter the experience.
More content is always Good, more ways for people to play the game is always good, catering to one specific group of players that is by and far not your largest is not healthy for the game (That would be casuals), but having content for the more hardcore/sweaty crowd is not inherently bad for the game, just like solo-delves arent bad for the game, just like raids arent bad for the game, just like PVP isnt bad for the game (And theirs a healthy contingent who think it should also just be removed outright), the less people playing retail, the more likely wow is to not get another expansion and eventually shut down, so shunting all the hardcore players off into a completely separate entity? not a great idea.
I am just waiting for the day when we can solo queue M+ with the Dungeon Finder. I would actually take part in pve if that was the way to do it. I don’t do the group finder stuff, i don’t want to manually look and talk to people I just want to press a button and there i go.
I remember trying to tank in Wrath. I wanted to learn how to and I eventually quit because before I could even type “Hey I’m a new tank so please be patient” dps were racing ahead and pulling everything. People have always been like this.
Removing content is bad hehe. Fools be asking for that.
M+ just needs some work. I did it bacl in Legion into BFA and stopped mid Shadowlands. It just got to be too much. I was never pro pushing keys. So even “baby” keys just got to be no fun too hard and not worth it.
TWW i came bacl for the delves and i think they are good.
There just needs to be fun activities for everyone to engage in.