FF14 doesn’t seem to have issues with this. Can literally level every single class to 60 on the same character if you want. Change a variable for every gear slot and suddently your cloth gear is plate.
Everything about your character is just data in a spreadsheet.
Yes, this type of gameplay is possible if you design your game around it. This is not the case for WoW. Classes are not an inheritly sacred concept for any game, but for WoW, they are part of the core gameplay. Unlike covenants.
Covenants are a core gameplay aspect for Shadowlands. Devs said it themselves. Whole expansion is built around them.
It does when classes are purposely made incomplete for a terrible system in the first place.
And this is the problem. The core aspect of the expansion doesnt fit with the game. This is why people are criticizing this. It does not fit this game.
How so? Classes being a permanent choice is a perfect fit somehow but picking a sub-class isn’t?
Covenants aren’t sub classes. If they were sub classes they would persist beyond Shadowlands. So, assuming Shadowlands isn’t their death rattle, covenants are a temporary feature. Classes will continue to exist without them.
And classes are going to be rebalanced/redesigned with the fact they’re getting shelved again. Been there with Artifact Weapons already.
Artifact weapons were sub-classes?
They were a secondary levelling system basically, just like covenants are. Except this time the choice is character based instead of spec based.
And I’ll grant you, that’s an improvement. But, some of the covenant abilities don’t really function for other specs. I just don’t think I’ll be convinced that the ability to read the encounters and puzzle out which covenant ability will function the best isn’t the best way of doing things.
And this is where Conduits come into play. There’s going to be some that alter your covenant ability.
Classes should be the engine in which the game is balanced around, then tweaking mobs its a ton easier then trying to balance classes between PvP and PvE.
Borrowed power compounds all these systems and creates grief for those of us who do not enjoy farming extra stuff to have a functional character.
Hopefully it works out that way. I have my doubts, but haven’t been on beta to try, so no hard evidence one way or the other.
I’d gladly go back to pre-borrowed power days myself but that’s just not happening, so might as well let Blizzard try new stuff.
Big time agreement here.
Which is a huge difference. With artifacts, you could still play all speccs and you didnt have a system that hinders you in doing content. You had one artifact weapon for your specc. Not 4 which were exclusive to each other.
Did you play early to mid-Legion? Artifacts coupled with Legionaries literally hard-locked you into a specific spec if you wanted to be competitive.
I disagree with his stance on covenants, but this is a correct fact.
Never say never, their system failed already. Absolutely zero reason to trust that they can get it right another expansion in.