I just got back on retail a few weeks back after being on wotlk since the end of SL.
During SL I was a reasonable key runner, ksm every season - mainly running upto 24s/25s on 4 different chars. So I like to consider myself a reasonable player, not top tier not bottom tier.
Since I have returned, the impression that I’m getting is not only has the complexity increased, (maybe I’m just unfamiliar with all the new playstyles/talent trees) but so has the speed of the game, like the game feels super fast.
With an increasingly complex rotation + the speed that it must be executed = a higher skill gap.
Mostly what I’ve been in my lower keys while I’m getting the hang of the game again is generally dps will put out 100-150k overall, but then the next guy (in similar gear) is putting out 40k - and then every now and then you see a dedicated key runner just carry with 200k+
I know as well as anyone that overall doesn’t really matter on low keys, it’s just interesting to me to see, and yes I know a lot comes down to CD usage, timing, tank routes etc but I think some of this can be attributed to the complexity of the game now (I had a 430ilvl mage do 17k in a key, 17k?)
I just don’t remember a time where there was such a huge skill gap outside of the expected LFR vs normal v heroic v mythic and then also amongst the different keys <20s vs the >20s
It’s been a learning curve but I think personally I’m going alright, this isn’t a game 2 hard post, just curious what others think, if they agree of if my memory of the game is clouded by a 3 button wotlk rotation
Considering retails variety of difficulty levels for endgame content, id say you don’t really need to fix anything. The folks who think it’s too much can lean on passive talents and stick to levels where they don’t need Jedi speed twitch reactions to get through.
WoW is more complex because players have gotten better over the last 20 years, just as most people who do something for a long period of time will get better at it. The game’s complexity has increased to keep pace with player skill.
But it’s fine that classic is there for people who haven’t gotten better at WoW.
On the contrary though it’s seems for a vast section of the games playerbase their skill hasn’t kept up with the complexity.
Wotlk is reasonably easy from a personal responsibility/rotation perspective but a skill gap exists between top parsers and full grey parsers but that gap is dwarfed by the skill gap in retail
Suppose it depends on what you consider finishing. Most of the playerbase isn’t getting mythic, top m+, or peak PvP rank (however PvP works), so “finished” can just as easily be through LFR or KSM or a maxed profession.
Is it even possible to display the gap as accurately in LK with the significantly lower difficulty/mechanics etc?
I’m not being “edgy”, I just think people make getting better at this (or any) game out to be a bigger thing than it is.
Anybody can improve at just about anything. Especially with something as accessible as gaming. All it takes is a willingness to learn and the ability to read and listen.
You don’t have to BE good, to GET good. Anybody can learn.
Blizzard’s mistake has been adding easier and easier and easier faceroll modes to their game, rather than encouraging people to get better. That just leads to people getting bored with mega-faceroll-mode and quitting.
This isn’t new. Gary Gygax (the man who invented role-playing-games) was writing about this in the early 1970’s.
I’ve been digesting a whole bunch of guides and builds etc trying to get back into it.
A lot of people unfortunately aren’t into that, and as a result will just yolo their rotation/builds.
I get it, not everyone wants to meta game.
My personal opinion is that if you don’t pull your weight in a group activity and are a detriment on the group you should feel pretty bad for not doing the absolute minimum.
It just seems now that the skill gap is so much larger and it’s way easier to be a detriment to those around you
I don’t feel it is that complex for the most part, but then I’ve been playing the game for like half my life at this point, 18 years of getting used to the language of the game. I dunno if I could get into it that much before getting overwhelmed.
Because of my long standing relationship with the game I am comfortable pushing my limits with it. I hit 1800 in RSS on day one for the mog, and even after never touching M+ in any previous expac except maybe one +2 in Legion, I’ve been able to hit 2500 this season as a tank and it was very easy and achievable. And I am able to do a lot of +14~ on healers, a role I haven’t really played since TBC. New players will likely not feel motivated to press on things like that and try new things just for the novelty of it if they’re barely able to get ahold of the ropes.
Tracking up to 4 HoTs on 20 people along with 3 different procs, pre-moving, pre-defensiving mechanics while also spot healing 10x 800k healing absorbs while dodging fiery tornadoes with only a modicum of order as to their order and direction while also baiting lava patches. My eyes need to be in 3 different places and my movement has to account for 3 layers of inputs.
I’ve got to fit a 20s ramp into every phase while also doing all that. Knowing my character back to front is table ante.
Even up in the 20s range folks can just have off days. It doesn’t take a lot to really botch a run. You have to be on your A game with at least 10ish runs under your belt. You’re constantly learning too and that makes you a detriment to everyone.
I like a hard game but it really does feel like WoW is too hard. The funny part is the difficulty isn’t necessarily the learning curve, it’s the lucking out with 4 other decent players. Other games try to fix it with MMR. WoW just gives you an IO to evaluate.
Although your time playing classic is probably adding some contrast, performing close to optimally is harder for all the specs I play than it was in DF and especially BFA. What’s different? The answer is talent trees.
I think the main thing is there are just way too many cooldowns and mini-cooldowns on some specs. See unholy dk or holy priest for the worst offenders. What I want them to do is rebalance talents and make active talents that are disproportionately powerful cost more talent points.
Take halo/divine star node for example on priests. It’s a mini CD that costs one point, does about twice as much healing and damage (at the same time) as fillers. If you care about doing well, you’re taking it. On all three specs. I would make it cost 2 or even 2.5 points so people who really want it can use it but you’re not underpowered if you don’t take it.
That’s a neat idea and would maybe allow folks to really prune their buttons, especially if putting multiple points in any talent could boost it. But going that far would probably be a nightmare for them to balance.
