THIS is why I think benefits should be given to players that stay loyal to a covenant rather than punishing players that just want to play the game in all of its forms in a way that best serves their group/raid.
Lots of ideas were shared for this route back when covenants were announced at Blizzcon:
If your experience isn’t predicated on what others can do, and you can pick a covenant and never change it - then having a system that allows players to change up their covenant abilities doesn’t impact you.
Which is what people are asking for - and you’ve confirmed that it wouldn’t impact you.
So I don’t understand why you’re at odds with people in favor of a flexible system.
I like the idea that we have these ‘‘hard choices’’ that we have to pick and stick with. but i know they wont last because i know no matter how even the various ability’s are somebody’s going to read methods raid parses see what they’re using and copy that even if it had little to nothing to do with that parse.
Monkey see monkey do, don’t eat the red berries.
I would just like this to not impact specs/pvp. Maybe just have a station or buff aura in gameplay that makes the choice. Maybe have reskins of all abiliities for all covenants.
My favorite would be to add an expansion features tab to collections. So covenant stuff would be relevant here and have sort of a kiosk of sorts for each character. Similar to destiny. But through this interface able to change covenant abilitiies like talents. Perhaps this interface could do more like give alts access to some stuff like the ardenweild forms. Perhaps through this interface you could make glyphs to transform some class abilities to other spells. For example using the ardenweild forms as shaman spirit wolf or druid travel form.
This way you can switch soulbinds through this interface as well. And not be a burden if you have to hearth somewhere to do that in a raid night.
That or achieve perfect balance on all spells! Which hardly ever works. If this is designed to be imbalanced perhaps make the spells not very impactful so people don’t worry about it so much and don’t get pressured to think about it too much and focus on aesthetics.
I would also like to know if the covenants themselves will receive upgrades throughout the patches or will new covenant orders be introduced?
Or maybe have a way to choose different covenants for different specs if you want. Or at least the abilities/soul binds. This way at least for specs it will be less limiting.
Another thing they can do is add a weapon slot for the covenant ability and be able to collect them all. And upgrade them like essences with fast catch up on alts and options to buy skips on your main.
Hard as in fixed. Let’s not start playing word games.
And again, bad analogy. This is a choice between four commitments, not a choice between commitment and non-commitment.
It can not be a hard (as in fixed) choice and a flexible choice at the same time.
Please note: when I say hard choice that does include the option for players to switch by completing quests the same way it worked for switching in the Scryers/Aldors situation.
Someone else has already highlighted that your explanation doesn’t make sense.
And various people have already told you that you still have the ability to make the choice you want, stick with it, and gain the value/joys/benefits/RP-glory that you want from it.
A system with the ability to swap doesn’t take away your option to go down that path; the only way it does, is if you somehow need everyone else to be subjected to the same restrictions.
Like others have commented on in regards to dating/marriage - other people sleeping around willy-nilly doesn’t devalue someone’s choice to stay committed to one person. And I agree with the comment about the fact that it actually enhances the value from being committed when people can choose not to be.
That really is a harder choice as opposed to not having the choice in the first place.
Every video games has guides since all time, they were just on paper before.
You don’t want to do that, you don’t do that. Problem solved.
You don’t need to make spiteful decisions that will affect a playstyle you don’t understand.
I think what you don’t understand is that he’s actually on the side of Ralph, myself and various others - in that we derive our enjoyment of the current system because it does negatively impact others.
This guy just isn’t willing to admit it.
It’s the “it adds player agency” argument - but when it comes down to it, the only thing that adds in terms of agency is consequence, not actual choice.
In practice, the current system removes a LOT of choice and replaces it with consequence.
Players asked for agency, expecting choice. But the Djinn of Blizzard came out and said “ok, we’ll give you one choice and just ramp up the consequence and call it agency.”.
Absolutely glorious.
The best part - you people that feel bad about the system will continue to pay them money.
I appreciate that they are just saying up front “hey if it doesn’t work out we’ll just open them up.”
We need more communication like that.
I don’t know why they don’t just make the 4 covenants the 4 new reps in the expac that we need to grind for pathfinder and all that, so we can get the cosmetics and mounts and everything for grinding the rep, but then you align with one for the ability separate from the cosmetic choices.
And just put a “respec” price or a CD to swap. Like, you can only change once per week or 30 days. I dunno, something.
again, nuance is lost on many of you here, You as in General you not you personally. another modern problem people don’t understand how language works
But it’s online! you can’t comp tone in text!
How do you read books?
Inner monologue v no inner monologue
And there is no argument, i know i’m not going to get what i want because there are far more people who want everything to be equal and simple and far to few who want things to be equal or close to equal but hard locked once you make a choice.
It wouldn’t make sense for my warrior (headcannon wise anyway) to start bastion then become a Vampire just because, well that stuff is stronger so eh.
But i’m old i like those RPGs that make you make the tough choices.
Suikoden, great series but if none of the choices i made mattered in that game, what’s the point?
In game with such diverse forms of content - charging is just a milder slap in the face.
Some players are “try-hards” but only have a couple of days a week to play, and they may push some M+'s in the morning, then progression raid at night, and then push for an arena score in the evening after raid.
Having a CD impedes that tremendously - especially if you tank for the progression raids and heal/dps for the other content.
Charging a fee just punishes players for wanting to play the game. It was highly criticized in BfA, especially after tier bonuses in Legion swapped automatically when you changes specs.
And I have told them that will render the choice meaningless.
Look, I am not repeating the exact same discussion/debate with you. You clearly don’t get it and me repeating ten or more post for you that you already read, isn’t going to change that. If you have something new to add, add it. Otherwise, I will not be responding to you just repeating other people’s points.
I don’t know? How do you eat with your hands or with a fork?
Does it matter? It doesn’t.
Ah ok so your opinion is better because that’s your opinion I get it.
Ah yes we should remove all playstyle in wow that doesn’t cater to the majority, I wonder if we will even get dungeons or raids, but we can delete pvp already.
MMorpgs are diverse in playstyles, that’s what make them richer than most games.
You will be able to change covenants the question is how much it will take to switch, even the questline make you go throught all of them.
Which is fine, you can make a choice and stick with it. But this is a multiplayer game, other people don’t have the same expectation or the same playstyle as you do. This isn’t Dark souls, and it shouldn’t be. We have 4 raids difficulties to cater to different playstyles.
If you’re going to flag everybody with an opinion contrary to your own a troll you’re going to have a rough time. I’d ask you to not insult me, but i know you wont.
