Edit added after Cartel chip dropped: At launch, only Mythic track gear is locked behind killing the specific boss, instead of the hero track. Mythic track M+ is locked behind timing a 12+ key. The change is great and moves the Cartel Chip into a more “progression” based incentive and less of consolation prize. Good move Blizzard.
- The question:
Is gearing meant to help progression? Or,
Is gearing meant as a reward for progression?
The problem is that I don’t think Blizzard knows.
- The issue:
If gearing up is meant for progression, meaning meant to help reach a goal (AOTC, a specific M+ score, downing the Mythic raid) Then locking the optimal gear for achieving that goal behind two obstacles (the difficulty of the fight itself and the RNG related to loot drops) is counter-intuitive. Needing to attain the goal before accessing the items that are meant to help you progress the goal means they’re not meant for progression at all.
If gearing is a reward for progressing, then the only purpose BiS serves is cosmetic. It’s a temporary flex roughly equal to a title, only awarded based on RNG or rules of probability, meaning the more time you have, the higher the chance you will see the reward. The problem, is that it’s also a superficial flex. I know a Paladin player who is easily a better player than I am, but due to time constraints and bad RNG, he never won the item for the Fyrakk Legendary, his BiS. I play way more at a lower skill level and had it on all three classes that could wield it. I was rewarded for playing the game more, not better.
- Bad luck protection muddies the water:
A quick history of bad luck protection:
Justice Points/Loot vendor = chore not fun
Bonus rolls = gambling with bad RNG
Great Vault = gambling tied to more content, with a side of player choice.
Dinar = BLP like Justice Points only limited to select slots within the players current progression level. (Normal = Normal, Heroic = Heroic, Mythic = Mythic and only for raiders. Limited upgrade potential with progression.)
Bronze Bullion = BLP, with the potential to upgrade to higher progression levels.
Puzzling Cartel Chip = Dinar system, with a little more options outside of Raid, and upgrading only within the level of progression you obtained the item in.
So what is the point of BLP, to fill a slot on my character sheet, or to get that really strong item that will help me progress further before the end of a season?
If gear is meant to help with progression, then BLP should award stronger items earlier, that can then be upgraded through progression.
If gear is a reward for progressing, then why bother with BLP at all. The game is gambling at this point and the rules are probability. BiS becomes a cosmetic concept and the different difficulties are just flexes.
For my money, I preferred the Bronze Bullion system. It may have been a bit too generous but it was a shortened season and mostly we were retreading older content. However, the getting a really powerful item early on that could become progressively stronger as I progressed through the season, felt better than the temporary instant gratification of getting my BiS trinket a week before the season ended.
- Conclusion:
The negative response to the Puzzling Cartel Chip announcement clearly spotlights a divide between how some of the development team views loot rewards and what the players see as loot rewards.
To further complicate that divide, we can look at the M+ system, which can become infinitely more difficult, but stops rewarding gear upgrades at the Item level cap. The players that want to “flex” their skill don’t stop once they no longer receive gear.
Another anomaly in the gearing world is the tier piece reward for completing the raid at different difficulties. Before this was a token that had to be converted, which often was useless because most players would have their 4 piece tier by this point, or as a consolation prize to those players that this was as far as they were going to go. Now it’s a catalyst charge, which is better because if I continue to progress and get a Mythic non-tier piece, then I can use the charge to upgrade it. But why even bother with all the extra steps? Instead, why not award a single piece of tier for the next difficulty level. I complete LFR, give me a Normal tier piece to get me started on progressing normal. Normal a heroic, heroic a mythic.
For me personally, I prefer the concept of gearing as a part of progression, not a reward for progressing. The temporary excitement of getting a drop (even a rare legendary one) was never as satisfying as the feeling I have when my guild finally wrecks a boss we’ve been attempting for weeks, or finally timing that higher key, etc… I’m pretty confident that there are a lot of players who agree with me.
A final example I’d like to offer is the Mage Tower. Those were hard fights, that tons of players logged hours upon hours on. There were no gear rewards for that, only cool cosmetics.
I’ve yet to meet a mythic raider that thought getting their BiS trinket off a boss kill was a better feeling than the feeling for getting the kill itself. Getting a strong piece of gear might just be the catalyst that pushes a LFR raider into Normal, or a Normal Raider into Heroic, or even a Heroic into Mythic. I know, I was one of those LFR players.
I’m not advocating that the hardest bosses shouldn’t drop the highest rewards. If you can beat Mythic Gallywix without the BiS trinket he drops, what’s the point of the mythic BiS trinket after he’s dead? My guess is to drive that player to engage in other ways, maybe push higher keys now.
Would be a shame to throw away the joy of a MMO, because of some arbitrary ideas about gear as loot.
P.S. There are way too many trinkets on the loot tables this season. Most have nominal affect on gameplay and mostly become vendor trash or disenchanted. Thank god for the new crafting system, the real BLP of modern WoW.