The most optimal way to play the game, is to not play it

Community General Discussion
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The most optimal way to play the game, is to not play it until later after they add the obvious QOL additions that should be in each xpac from the start.

In fact I started replaying old xpacs and doing all the questlines + getting factions and transmogs. I am having way more fun due to less timegating. Notice how I said “less” because somehow in some bizaar freakshow of a way, some timegating still exists in old xpacs. Like weekly garrison campaign quests…

If I didnt have the “All The Things” addon, I wouldnt even think of pursuing this playstyle. Its like theres nothing baked into the game to get you to go and experience other “fun stuff” Especially when there is so much of it in the forms of old xpacs. Its like when a new expansion releases, the devs just write off all older content, THEY DONT EVEN TRY TO GET PLAYERS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS GOLDMINE!

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You’re not wrong. The last patch of every x-pack is always the best. Everything is refined, almost no time gating, and they usually have catch-up mechanics.

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I use World Quest Tab. It helps me optimally complete WQs of value.

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nope, that’s totally player choice.

people seem to have some weird train of thought that they’re only meant to play the most recently released content.

…which is why there are always people crying that there’s “nothing to do” and they’re “bored”.

…but when you look at what they’ve actually done, they haven’t touched the vast majority of what the game has to offer.

i pay to play the game, not a singular expansion.

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Wow, what a hero. Out there in The Barrens killing hyenas to “experience” the game, ever searching for that elusive pet battle, low-poly transmog or fruitless Reputation.

If Blizzard “encouraged” people to explore the game they wouldn’t sell level boosts, deprecate set bonuses nor make borrowed power the pillar of modern progression.

Name ONE thing you can do at level 60 outside of Shadowlands to increase your item level, hit points or mana.

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Why does wow have to be always optimal like its some form of job? Why cant players just jump on and have fun.

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you know there’s more to the game than that… right?

i enjoy collecting stuff.
i got bored with obsessing over upgrades which continually become obsolete.
i’d prefer to focus on stuff which i get to keep, and enjoy.

those fruitless reputations gave me lots of goodies, plus a Pureheart Courser.

:woman_shrugging:

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That’s cool, but you remark that people are always crying because there’s “nothing to do” and “they’re bored”. I don’t enjoy the things that you do, and doing them just because they’re there doesn’t make them fun.

WoW subscriptions spike when an expansion releases and falls shortly after. That implies that a majority of people enjoy playing current content.

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no, it implies people want to look at the things which are shiny and new.

yes.
because they choose to restrict their own game play.

so you enjoy paying for access to the entire game, and only playing a teeny part of it?

…because you don’t sound happy.

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how do i play mage tower, i skipped legion

how do i play the burning of teldrassil intro if i waited to play bfa until mid bfa, they sure had the lordaeron intro though

can you queue for lfr if you’re the level of the previous expansion content if you want to play it at its intended difficulty

how do you do battle for undercity that they removed from the wrathgate questline in wotlk

these are all unneeded except debatably the mage tower

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Because far more often than not, it really isn’t that fun until it is optimal.

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So you bought Shadowlands to play BFA? I guess you bought BFA to play Legion. You bought Legion to play Draenor…

I bet if you were here in Vanilla, you bought Vanilla to do nothing becoz you would play Vanilla on The Burning Crusade.

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how did removed content come into the convo?

if it’s not there, you can’t do it.
obviously.

that doesn’t mean the other 98% of the game doesn’t exist.
…so do it now, in case things get the Cata treatment again.
because if that happened, you’d be screaming that you “didn’t get the chance” to do it.

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blizzard wants you to play the expansions they release

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I don’t think you have a clue what people are talking about here.

It sounds like you’re allergic to having alts. So let me explain to you how it always worked until devs decided to destroy player interest in old content:

PvE twinks. People would leave a character or two in old content and do dungeons, raids, or whatever in that level appropriate expansion when they were in the mood.

It gave them something to do. Lots of people, I know it is unbelievable to you, actually don’t find that raid logging is enough to satisfy their wish to get entertainment out of the game.

Who cares about level 60? Why does it matter so much to you that you are going full control freak on strangers who are enjoying themselves wrong™? If I want to do BC professions, why does it bother you that I’m making gold selling items that are in demand?

Back when sub numbers were regularly reported, devs used to encourage people to subscribe, which meant that players who wanted to subscribe were encouraged to do so, not disrespected and shown the door if they didn’t feel like lockstep on rails following your example was right for them.

“We would rather lots of people quit than not level up.” Good thing you aren’t running a business. because you’d be running it into the ground.

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Just wait for 10.0 prepatch, to all raids in lfr, do all story without timegating, farm some rares for a month and pause until 11 prepatch

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Yup, I learned that in Legion. It was really brought home in BfA.

I’m dabbling in SL right now, but I spend the majority of my time in BfA farming pet charms. Along with reading the forums.

Eventually at the end of SL I’ll use the catch up stuff and play the last few months.

Yesterday I played my Alliance Paladin for a bit in SL. (Leveling in Ardenweald.) I saw two other chars the entire time. I saw more level 60 chars killing one World Boss elite in BfA yesterday in Vol’dun, than I have all week in SL. (Counted 15, both Horde and Alliance.) I went to Mechagon because the pet battle there had charms. Saw loads of chars hanging around for a chance at Rustfeather.

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there’s nothing stopping you from doing that.

…just like there’s nothing stopping you from doing all the other content which is available.

if they didn’t want people to play lower level content, they’d restrict access to it.

if they only wanted people to do current expansion content, they wouldn’t keep adding things to previous expansions to encourage people to go back and revisit the content.

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I’m in agreement with the OP. In fact, I haven’t touched my 60s in months. Why even bother? All that nonsense with Torghast and the Maw… it makes my stomach clench. But if I just sit on my hands for a dozen weeks or so more, I don’t even have to do it.