Makes me somewhat heartened to have someone also see the problem with expansion-specific alternative progression systems. Since Legion, they’ve really seemed to latch onto these hard as short-term retention mechanics without realizing what a mess it makes for the game long-term.
Heck, we’ve even gotten three of the darn things in BfA, one hitting every single patch now (Benthic, Essences, Corrupted). They’re overly complex and convoluted compared to just a straight up gearing system which had worked for every expansion prior (and which also gave consistency across expansions). As I heard Bellular remark in a recent video, Blizzard lately seems to have a knack for “arbitrary player punishment” when it comes to gearing systems.
Haven’t Pre-Ordered yet. I will though. The transmog set is cool enough, but the weapon enchant looks really awesome. I like that a lot. I could take or leave the mount or pet. I’ll probably never use the mount. Might use the pet if it’s involved in some pet battle world quest strats.
In all fairness, though… video games were costing 40 dollars like decades ago. I get pissed when I look at the business model that is so pervasive and predatory these days, but it’s at least partially a response to the fact that the base game prices haven’t really kept up with inflation.
