We’ve heard that SoD is meant to be “everything we love about classic plus so much more” but lately there has been what I perceive to be an false belief that some people keep claiming: That SoD is a “season of dads” and that all the content & grinds should be completable in 45 mins because they have kids or wife aggro. Lets be clear:
This mindset is exactly the same one that took us down a path towards retail. If you couldn’t complete a grind or take a few hours to do raids in classic, someone else would, and they had the gear and achievement to make you envious. THATS an essential aspect that makes a classic mmo. The more time you have, the more you are rewarded and can lord over others. Its social hierarchy, and what makes an mmo into a world.
The entitlement to believe WoW should change to fit your time constraints is antithetical to “the world is the main character”. If the world is the main character, you forgetting 15 honorable kills or missing out on a purple bis item is of no significance to Azeroth. We play by the world’s rules, we don’t get upset and cry until the world magically gives you what you wanted.
Most of the time, the entitlement argument also comes with this statement “classic was always designed to be casual friendly. classic raids are meant to be easy like they always were.” news flash: classic was more accessible than other MMOs of its time yes, but it still had long grinds and the average player DID struggle and wipe repeatedly in raids. if you are trying to use this argument it is a false comparison when looking at modern WoW and players of that time. You should be comparing the average players of back then to their content. If you did, you would stop parroting the talking point that classic wow raids were always a joke and therefore SoD raids should also be. (They should be nowhere near as hard as retail, but they also shouldn’t be loot piñatas.)
lets try to remember that gear and achievements in this game start to feel less and less worthwhile when every grind, every boss, is made accessible to the lowest common denominator. gear and grinds have to exist in order for things to feel like they matter. if you cut down every grind, give everyone free leveling in 3 hours to 50 from incursions, whatever you want to name, it makes the game will inevitably feel watered down and unfulfilling over time.
I hope the devs remember that if the world is the main character, Azeroth…she doesn’t care a single BEEP if you forgot to get your 15 HKs. She doesn’t give you 10 levels instantly through one Nightmare portal. And she certainly doesn’t make every raid a 40 minute toddler-safe bumper car ride.
If so many of SoD’s playerbase are really “dads”, then put on your big boy pants and remember that you aren’t owed or entitled to anything in this classic MMO you say you love!