Every new expansion sees the same complains about tanks rushing towards the end of the dungeon as fast as possible. Dragonflight is not new to these complaints. But they do suddenly seem inflated based on a few things. But whether or not tanks need nerfs, or healers need nerfs, or any of that is irrelevant to the point I would like to address.
The mentality of tanks rushing has mostly originated from the M+ timer. Tanks have been pre conditioned for years now that they have to set an incredibly strong pace to finish the dungeon in time otherwise it always essentially gets blamed on them somehow.
The M+ timer is toxic in a lot of ways. It encourages people to be angry and rude to one another. To leave keys if people view it as being “bricked” it encourages a lot of other things, some of which I’m going to leave out here because I do not want to shift the focus.
One thing I noticed in my own M0 groups in DF is that because I’m not incredibly toxic in terms of tanking (i don’t rush as fast as humanly possible, i personally like to pull 2 groups, bust cooldowns and sit still in one place then move on to the next packs) is that people are a lot nicer in M0 because there are no timers, and because if you wipe you can give it another go until you finish.
I’ve given some thought and I think M+ should have two ratings, not just one rating. A personal rating (like we currently have) and a seasonal rating.
M+ dungeons are incredibly difficult for players who haven’t been playing for 3+ years in a non casual sense. I think M+ needs an overhaul and this is what I personally think would make M+ a better place.
1.) Make all normal rewards (end of run loot, valor points, and personal rating) dependent only on finishing the dungeon. Have a set score and you either finish or you don’t. 0 rating for not finishing and full rating for finishing. The affixes + mechanics are already incredibly good pace for this, and anyone should be able to get KSM + Mount + gear. Your personal rating is NOT affected by the timer in this case.
2.) Have the timer provide a piece of bonus loot and also a SEASONAL rating. It’s identical to personal rating but you get a secondary rating for finishing the dungeon in time, and bonus ratings for +2 and +3.
This would make it so that people can form groups based on “completion” or “seasonal push”. That would make it so that anyone joining a “seasonal push” group is basically in it for the seasonal awards (such as the seasonal title that something like 0.01% of players get awarded) and maybe give them a special armor transmog or weapon enchant.
The base level of M+ would be far more of a good environment where the vast majority of people who only care about KSM and Seasonal Mount and gearing up can play, and the “extremely hardcore” can form groups based on seasonal ratings. This way the “unspoken expectations” of players to perform phenomenal can generally be expected in the latter groups, without the pressure to timer perform in the first group.
This would alleviate the bricking of keys etc because a lot of players like me do not care to push for the ultimate seasonal awards or anything above +15 or +16 we just want seasonal mounts at a fair difficulty rating, which is something the dungeons provide as you move up with increased damage and mob health + affixes.
I’ve found even in M0 that players are willing to help others learn mechanics and stick around because the rewards are there at the end of the run. But the second the run is viewed as a “loss” by at least one player, the run is over.
These thoughts are my own personal opinion, but to me, pose the best answer that would let the average player pursue seasonal gear and awards in a much less toxic environment while allowing the ultra “hardcore” the ability to get rewarded for completing the timer.
Obviously it’s too late for this season, but hopefully developers will consider in nearby seasons to come.