Please Make Rank 2/3 Essences Account-Wide

Community General Discussion
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Look. I can understand making us unlock the first rank of essences on our alts. That is perfectly acceptable. We still have to work for it.

However, what logic is there behind making us do the massive grind for rank 2 and 3 on our alts?

For instance, why on Earth should we:

Have to grind 50,000 Honor on multiple characters to get Rank 3 Blood of the Enemy, especially when it’s Best in Slot for multiple classes?

Have to grind Exalted with Rustbolt/Ankoan/Unshackled on multiple characters, if those Essences happen to be Best in Slot for those alts, even if we already did that on our mains for Pathfinder/etc.?

Have to do 10 Weekly Call to Arms quest AFTER getting rank 2, which requires Fighting on 2 Fronts [which in itself is a chore to get] on any alt that wants Ripple in Space.

Etc. This is just a few of the many examples. Now, again, we would still have to unlock the base rank for the essence on our alts. And if we want Rank 4, we would have to do the grind on our alts, that would not be account-wide either, just rank 2-3.

Right now as it stands, Essences are extremely alt-unfriendly and I find myself with zero motivation to touch my alts.

After I finish Eternal Palace, I very well might unsubscribe until 8.3, because there’s nothing for me to do.

What I normally do, which is play my alts, I can’t do because the higher ranks of Essences are locked behind insane grinds, which I outright refuse to do a second time, and I’m not going to use rank 1 of the essences because that’s just hampering myself and I’ll be less useful to my groups than someone with a higher essence.

Even if the rank 2/3 aren’t automatically unlocked, but rather the criteria is unlocked, and we still have to manually buy/do the questline for them, that’s fine. (For instance, we can buy the Revered/Exalted Rustbolt Essence on alts even without the reputation, provided we already have rank 1, or we can start the rank 2/3 Crucible Essence quest in the Chamber of the heart even if we dont have a high enough heart level)

Just something to prevent us from having to do the insane grinds over and over. I’m not against working for things (like I said, making us work to unlock the rank 1s on every alt is fine), but making us do the insane grinds for rank 2-3 multiple times is just not okay.

But for people who want rank 4 on alts? That’s perfectly fine to make them grind for it.

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And for those saying “You don’t want alts, you want multiple mains” - For some people, that is true. Why? Because they are raiders, and for that case, they need multiple mains because their raid group requires switching when it calls for it.

And in past raids, it was perfectly possible. But the Essence system at its core completely prevents that. Without Essences, they are massively below a PuG of the same ilvl. Yes, they may be more known than the guildie, but most guilds (not mythic, obviously) will rather grab a PuG with better essences than a guildie’s alt.

And on this note, not everything is about raiding. For some of us, our endgame IS playing alts. And there’s nothing wrong with our endgame being gearing up our alts to be equal to our mains. However, when that endgame is the SAME EXACT GRIND to unlock the SAME EXACT ESSENCES on every toon, that’s a problem.

I enjoyed leveling alts and gearing them because I could do it multiple ways. Mythic Dungeons, LFR, PvP, etc. I could choose what to do. No alt ever ended up exactly the same, but they always ended up geared at a similar ilvl.

But with Essences, they are all the same exact essences and the same exact grind - there is no fun in that.

The Essence System NEEDS to be account-wide for ranks 2 and 3. Period.

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If you are fine with the unlocks for rank 1 but not the unlocks for rank 2/3 you don’t have a very consistent argument.

“It’s fine because it’s quick” can probably summarize your response but also sums up your entire argument pretty well.

You want things to be quicker and easier for no real particular reason.

If you can outline a convincing reason as to why alts you haven’t even logged into this patch with, let alone played, should get rank 3 essences because it’s what your main has, go for it.

2 Likes
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Those same alts I played consistently every day in 8.1. I haven’t touched in 8.2 and I have zero desire to because of the Essence system.

That at its core should tell you there’s something wrong.

I have more of a desire to cancel my account until 8.3 once I’ve done everything I need to do on my main than play my alts that I played every day in 8.1.

When alt players don’t want to play their alts, there’s a serious problem. Especially when, as Blizzard learned in Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor, alt players make up the majority of the playerbase. (I seriously thought they learned this when they lost almost half their subscriber count during the first few months of Mists of Pandaria and entered Damage Control to make the game more alt friendly in the first major patch of MoP, which is what led to the reputation commendations, bonus rep in dungeons, etc. :/)

And despite your claims, not all of the rank 1 essences are a “quick” thing to do, especially on alts.

It took me almost the full 3 weeks since launch to get Blood of the Enemy Rank 1. Winning a PvP Island Expedition is insanely difficult for someone without a pre-established PvP group, ESPECIALLY on Alliance. The same goes for winning an Epic Battleground on Alliance, or any Battleground really.

For most people’s alts, it will probably take take until Heroic Versions of Operation: Mechagon are released for them to get Visions of Perfection Rank 1.

To get Honored with Rustbolt and Ankoan/Unshackled, it still takes quite a bit of grinding of World and Daily quests. It’s not something you can simply go to the zone and do in one night. It’s not something you can do quickly, you still have to put in the effort.

Same goes for the essence you receive from Jaina/Lor’themar. You still have to do 2 days of dailies with your bodyguard in order to receive Rank 1 of the Lucid Dreams Essence. (Or if you don’t want to do dailies and just get it through Mrrl, it’d require 4 days of Mrrl having the Tome available AND you have to buy the Tentacle Taco from Murloco each time, which is WAY more work and than 2 days of dailies AND you need the Benthic Cape as well)

At the rate of 3 per week of the Reliquary in LFR, it will take 3 weeks to get the Eternal Palace Rank 1.

To get the Rank 1 of the M+ Essence, your alt needs to clear a M+4. Which right now is probably not happening on your alt. Later in the expansion sure. But right now, no. I get denied for +3s and +4s at ilvl 410. I had to join a “Tank Learning” run to get my Rank 1 tonight and we barely beat the timer cause the tank didn’t realize we still needed 5% Enemy Forces at the end.

To get the Rank 1 PvP one, you need to kill 25 Alliance/Horde in Nazjatar. This one is a bit easier RIGHT NOW, but on an alt, later in the expansion, this is going to be HARD. You are going to be facing people WAY more geared than you. I should know. I tried doing Against Overwhelming Odds on a newly dinged 110 Druid at the start of 8.1.5. I got annihilated in like 3 abilities anytime I encountered Horde.

Stop acting like Rank 1 Essences are easy peasy lemon squeezy to earn just because you happened to earn them easy on your already geared characters.

They are not as easy as you think. They take time and effort to earn.

Rank 2 and 3 however, are just mindless grinds that people should NOT have to do over and over. They aren’t accomplishments, they’re grinds.

They are literally just grinds. Instead of “Win 1 PvP Island, 1 Epic BG, 1 BG” - which is something you accomplish, it’s “Get 15,000 Honor + 50,000 Honor ONLY through BGs, Epic BGs, and PvP Islands” - which is a grindfest.

Instead of “Beat a M+4 in the Time Limit” (Rank 2 for this is fine, which is a +7, it’s Rank 3 that’s the grind), it’s “Collect 15 Focused Anima from your Weekly M+ Chest” - Which is a massive grind. (especially since the essences are different for each spec, so hybrids have to do it 2-3 times)

Etc. Ranks 2 and 3 are not the same as Rank 1. Rank 1 are actual things you work towards, and take effort. Ranks 2 and 3 are just mindless grinds. There are a FEW exceptions, (like Rank 2 of the M+ one and Ranks 2-3 of the Raid one, which are just higher requirements of the Rank 1), but for the most part, rank 2-3 are mindless grinds and in no way, shape, or form, anything like rank 1.

I will gladly do Rank 1 on multiple toons because they actually feel like I’m accomplishing something when I do it. But Rank 2 and 3 just feel like pointless grinds that I’m being made to do to make me stay in the game longer.

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Main is a Main
Alt is an Alt

No MMORPG should be about atlholics.

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If you don’t raid, why do you need rank 3 essences?

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It’s almost like there’s other parts of this game that require high level gear. gasp

And Rank 3 Essences are necessary in said parts of the game. Again, NOT EVERYTHING IN THIS GAME REVOLVES AROUND RAIDING. Mythic Dungeons Exist. PvP Exists. Etc.

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You said your endgame was playing alts. That implies those characters are less geared than your main and do less challenging content, such as lower key. If your main has level 3 essences to do the more serious content, why do your alts need the same? You want it to be a cake walk to level and gear up an alt for some reason.

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Some and maybe even lots of players are playing the game in a wider approach.
We have lots of alts of different class and different factions.
We never focus on single character.
Those players wants alt-friendly features the most.

However, Blizzard thinks differently.

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Not gonna happen. Activision wants you in-game as much as possible. The time metric thingy.

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I have 2 mains, one Alliance and one Horde. Sadly, my horde main will not be getting rank 3+ because I hate the grind now, and have had to choose my Alliance main to focus on because she raids heroic. My Horde toon won’t be raiding anymore because of these grinds.

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just don’t make alts and play only one character.

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If anything, they should make rank 4 essences account-wide. Those are the real grinds.

My poor DH is 40k honor away from Battlefield Master.

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Idk OP. It feels like Blizzard has been trying to ween the community away from creating competitive alts.

Since they didn’t do it for Balance of Power in Legion, I wouldn’t expect this. But i do agree.

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If its BiS you work for it. Thats what people asked for, no freebies allowed, especially not the good gear. Welcome to the consequences of peoples feedback.

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Essences are really alt unfriendly. Agreed with op 100%

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Nah, making Essences BoA is the start of the slippery slope that is BoA power progression, which is highly detrimental for a MMO like WoW.

Plus it reinforces the RPG part of the MMO_RPG_ WoW is, and we need more of that, not less. Blizzard is clearly telegraphing with this change that they want individual characters to matter more, instead of being part of a proverbial Swiss Army Knife. Ontop of that unless your doing high key M+, high end arena, or Mythic raiding, basic lvl 1 Essences are all you need to get stuff done.

If you want Rank 3 on multiple characters, then go do it, that’s a choice you’ve made for wanting to have multiple characters with rank 2:3 Essences.

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Not playing alts this patch, thanks to elite pvp armor being a complete recolor of the raid set (and doesn’t even look good), and the essences. I’ve got 5 rank 3s here and I’m not grinding it again.

Thats 10 characters weekly into 1, my playtime has correspondingly changed.

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The fact that you don’t want to play you’re alts should tell us there is something wrong with the game?

What the heck?

I played Warlock heavily in MoP, don’t play Warlock heavily now.

/silly
There must be something wrong with warlock!
/sillyend

Your complaints about the Rank 1 Essences unlocks I find entirely ridiculous.
You over dramatize easy to obtain essences, like the PvP Island win and M+4, for no good reason while making up entirely hypothetical problems that may or many not actually occur in the future regarding Ripple in Space.
:rofl: You plan to use that on every alt and feel some kind of dire need to obtain it in short order? I don’t really know what to say to you about that.

Wanting to collect every essence on every character in you’re army of alts is a personal problem you’ve created for yourself. They don’t design the game around every player having 24+ characters. You can only slot 3 essences. There is absolutely no practical need to collect them all on every character. Collect the ones you plan to use. On top of all that many of the essences will become available to you by simply playing your Alts, if you continue to play the game you will eventually time an M+4 and earn your essence. None of this is difficult.

They are not difficult. The bar for Rank 1 is set low, intentionally. Everyone is capable of earning the rank 1 essence in the current game with very minimal effort. If you are finding Rank 1 unlocks difficult, it may be a sign that you need to improve yourself and get better at playing the game. Hard to hear, but that is really the truth of the matter when it comes to things of this nature. The bar can’t realistically be set lower than it already has been.