I’m going to preface this by saying I have a terrible disdain for someone trying to control my gaming experiences outside the content I decide to delve into. My thoughts after being apart of several threads and reading a magnitude of opinions I find myself questioning the development team and agreeing with a lit bit of everybody.
The Engine that drives WoW should be classes and here’s why
Classes are the only true constant while you play WoW. This game offers a wide range of content and not everyone is going to enjoy every bit of content ordered and that should be respected. People can disagree on how that respect is achieved, but it is definitely important and should take priority.
With that said, the game is creating incredibly too much side work for a lot of different people. If you want to be a 1%r, that’s good, it’s a persons playstyle, encourage it; it is okay to be optimal. If you want to be an average Joe and having meaningful decisions, that’s also good, go for it. Classes being the engine of the game is the way to achieve that.
But PvE implications often get in the way of PvP. So for someone like me, whos PvP first, PvE second and looks at PvE as a mog dispensary, I’m not interested most of the time, many others are very similar. Raids are important so are dungeons, but I would prefer not to partake in them over PvP. Similarly, I do not want to be hindered by my time spent farming the best conduit or any borrowed power. I do not like that, that is too much time spent in PvE and not enough time spent in PvP.
The same goes for those opposite of me, someone who wants nothing to do with PvP should never have to go into PvP for anything that affects them. Heres a theoretical I ask myself, “What would people do if all the conduits were locked behind PvP only progression.” I know the answer to this, Shadowlands would tank.
I often think to myself, “man if I’m this way and I can only imagine how everyone else feels.” I actually cannot being to fathom how every player of WoW feels, but I know I do not control factors into my gameplay.
I support peoples desire to add individuality and uniqueness to their characters, it is an awesome and there is a great system in place with the in the forms of glyphs that can be expanded upon, if the Covenants for example have new spells, there’s nothing wrong with requiring players to stay in a covenant for a length of time to earn a glyph that can augment their visuals.
There is everything wrong with forcing people to go through a playstyle they don’t like just to get to what they do like. Just let them enjoy their way of doing things, conduits and soulbinds are a lot of noise and interruption, just as Artifact Power and Azerite where, someone like me could be PvPing and not getting killed by the WoW version of another companies Proc Set Apocalypse. Just like I also don’t want to deal with that same companies version of lateral progression Champion Stars because it’s a nuisance and gives the server hamsters strokes.
I agree with a sentiment from the people whom been in opposition to removing borrowed power, that really is that content should not be designed around M+, there are way more people than just M+ raiders, I myself being one of them. As I said before, I also respect M+ raiders right to want to optimize for top PvE spot.
With borrowed power, conduits, and forcing it on people; the argument itself honorably consumes itself, that reason being is again, catering to a specific play style at the sacrifice of another. Which is the purpose of meaningful decisions. Its a self defeating purpose and drags a lot of people into it who do not appreciate being drug.
Instead I offer solutions that keeps classes the engine that drives WoW. Use all of the different technologies in this game and stop neglecting them and return meaningful choices in a different way, I will go from meaningful choices to technologies.
Meaningful choices:
-Factions, server locks provided an incredibly meaningful choice and used to instill a sense of pride in a faction, they can always be returned to PVP servers even if it’s a select few.
-The return of servers, I think phasing is good for a few but a disaster for well established servers that had their entire identity stripped from them such as mine, Emerald Dream. I feel the better option is for smaller servers to be merged to balance out the faction imbalance.
-Races and Names, I remember a time where we couldn’t race change or name change and it meant something in a community. This was an awesome choice that dictated most peoples behavior and created an incredible sense of identity.
These are some examples, but the convenience that has been added to the game has stripped away where the meaningful choices where in the first place and diluted it. So I don’t disagree with meaningful choices, I just want them in their proper places.
In those conveniences, there are systems that could be expanded upon to add more depth and layers to the game.
Flying and probably one of my favourite parts about this game also has made it incredibly small. There are systems that require flying that could greatly be expanded upon, such as the aerial combat in the game that would add a massive layer and dimension, instead of everything being in the ground.
Instead of one or two quests that offer some of my favourite experiences in the game, why not expand an entire system that allows players to upgrade their most beloved mounts.
Instead of mounts just aimlessly swimming through the air, there’s another layer that could be added to wPvP, people upgrading their favorite mounts, shooting fireballs, rockets, acid attacks, lightning attacks, knocking people off their mounts and onto the ground below.
On the ground, could be Engineering built player made tanks with upgrades blowing up players and other tanks?
On the water there could be player boats blowing each other up and taking the fight into the water, the water which most MMOs dont have the dimension to that WoW does.
This is just my favourite example, adding depth and dimension to Azeroth. More of the systems I’ve seen added just in BFA that I really loved was the technology that was put into Warfronts (not its implementation).
I love that we can actually knock down trees and beat up huge rocks and they disappear, I’ve always loved that about the harvesting system. The fact the technology exists and there are destructible elements. They could be used to making a living and breathing Azeroth, keeping it up to date with the latest textures, making the world interactive.
I will always hold out hope that Azeroth could truly become a vast seamless place and explored the way it deserves to be explored.
World quests were some of the best additions to the game, it doesn’t feel like the world is dried up. Darkshore and Arathi Basins overhauls are my favourite elements of BFA.
With classes being the engine that drives WoW, professions can expand to not just PvErs, but PvP because there would be no need for PvE or PvP only stats and all it would take is a players preferred method of gathering their materials to create, improve, and customize their gear to their liking and the same could be said for consumables.
I think everyone loves to progress and that should be respected, but if everything is designed around classes then there’s more potential for the type of content for players to progress in that does not interfere with each other.
Classes being the engine that drives WoW, is that way. With content surrounding classes and their identity, Raids difficulty can be properly adjusted instead of classes being adjusted so heavily and when it comes to PvP minute adjustments in classes would create a better balance and way to do things for everyone.
