Tyrande scenario updated (spoilers)

Yeah but I was talking about fun. I am not talking about throughput.

Look, these abilities are going away in two years. It may be suboptimal but Iā€™d just say go for what you really want when it comes to the ability, armor aesthetics and storyline you want to follow. For all we know this stuff may get nerfed and buffed during course of the expansionā€™s life cycle anyway.

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This.

The cold reality is you arenā€™t doing 20 keys. You probably arenā€™t even regularly doing 15 keys. (This is a royal you, notā€¦ You knowā€¦ you in particular)

Hell, if trade chat and run sales are believed, most people struggle with 10s. Not just timing. But running at all.

A covenant ability isnt going to change that. Itā€™s not going to be the difference between life and death. Pick the covenant you like most. Screw the ability.

Unless you rank and regularly do 20+ keys and push world first mythics its not going to matter

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Iā€™m not going to get into the relative merits of how much one should or should not care about PvE here. Let it suffice that these things exist on a spectrum; you donā€™t have to be in the MDI tier of players to care about wanting to perform as best you can.

I am probably something of a rarer breed in caring both about doing relatively challenging PvE content and about the content of the story, and dislike that Iā€™ll have to follow a story I donā€™t like in order to take the best talent.

Given how hard theyā€™ve made it to change covenants, casual nerfing and buffing of Covenant abilities is going to cause complete chaos.

Youā€™re setting up a fallacy here. ā€œIf you donā€™t do the top 1% bleeding edge content then thereā€™s no point in trying to play optimallyā€. And, as I said, what is the logic in tying a story path to a PvE ability? My point is, what ability I want to have and what story I want to follow shouldnā€™t be related at all.

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Frankly this is why I expect itā€™ll happen after launch.

If Tyrandeā€™s not dead, Iā€™m good with it.

Ideally, yeah, she uses her Night Warrior powers to do to Sylvanasā€™s face what Sylavnas did to the Helm of Domination. However, thatā€™s not feeling too likely.

Yeah, I donā€™t like that Tyrandeā€™s justified desire for vengeance is being portrayed as a ā€œbad thingā€. Yeah, I donā€™t like that the aesthetically awesome night warrior ritual will have amounted to nothing substantial.

However, if Tyrande isnā€™t killed off or ā€œdriven madā€ or doomed to be a villain, Iā€™ll consider it a solid ā€œclose enoughā€.

Idk how I feel about Ctrl-Zā€™ing Teldrassil. Feels like a cop out, but honestly, might be the only thing they can do. On the whole, Baalā€™s proposal, though non-ideal, is interesting and inoffensive. Iā€™d dig it.

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Thatā€™s not a fallacy. The fact is, if you want to play ā€œoptimallyā€, you can do it regardless of whatever covenant ability as most of peopleā€™s issues is unused resources, rotational issues, etc

You canā€™t play optimally because this hotness ability is leet but then screw up everything else.

And if you donā€™t screw up anything else, then the ā€œoptimalā€ ability is much less of a big deal.

Itā€™s an imaginary problem

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For the first time, weā€™re being asked to balance RP choice and mechanics. I agree, itā€™s weird. Iā€™m the most casual player ever, basically only doing random BGs, but I can confirmā€¦ I donā€™t like getting my butt kicked, and itā€™s gonna feel bad if I get my butt kicked because I picked the covenant that made the most sense for my character.

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Look, I need all the help I can get when it comes to actually ā€œplayingā€ this game, so speak for yourself.

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That is a different matter. Then youā€™ll have to decide which is more fun, the aesthetics and story with the covenants, or the abilities they grant. That I can sympathize with, but everyone will ultimately decide which part of the fun they prioritize more. If your complaint is that Blizzard shouldnā€™t make you have to chose, I canā€™t help you there.

I do not engage with group gameplay as much as possible any more, so at best I can point out that I did both solo 5 mask Horrific Visions back in early May while at 460 ilevel and in the laziest Feral talents possible, so the covenant choice I make will ultimately not impact how well I personally can perform at PvE content.

I play a guardian druid.

My entire existence is so far from optimal the most productive thing my class discord does is post bear gifs

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As a druid mane, mood.

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Look, Iā€™m not going to sit here and say that Iā€™m some kind of cutting-edge raider. Iā€™m not. But most of the time, my guild and I shoot for getting AOTC for each raid tier, and a lot of people push to try and clear +15 keystones. (Iā€™ve been lazy this tier, I donā€™t think I have anything better than +13.) People will probably say that this is herpderp easy content you can roll face across the keyboard and window lick to get through, but itā€™s at least at a point where I want to try to do the best I can, which means picking the talents, covenant ability, and gear that gives us the best chance to succeed.

If Night Fae proves to be the clear best choice for me, then Iā€™m going to take it. Iā€™ll complain about it, Iā€™ll be annoyed at the story I have to do. Iā€™ll skip Tyrandeā€™s cut scenes, dialogue, and mute the game so I donā€™t have to hear her. But I will do it if it gives me an advantage. The question is, why set things up this way at all? Why should the PvE ability I want to chose also force me to choose a certain story?

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And Iā€™m saying you donā€™t have to choose Night Fae and probably can perform just as well as you would have if you did choose Night Fae, whether that having been you getting +13s again or +15s next time.

The ā€œadvantageā€ that simulators tell people theyā€™ll get is an illusion that probably would not impact how well they did if they picked any other layout they wanted.

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I think we should just agree to disagree, since we clearly play the game in quite a different manner.

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It could be worse, you could get stuck with Bastion.

This must be awkward for the Horde players. I wonder if the ghost Kalā€™dorei will glare or spit on the Horde player even after their souls are ā€œsaved.ā€ It would seem odd that these surviving souls which arenā€™t even the majority of the souls from Teldrassil. They were tortured in agony after burning alive. Youā€™d think Horde players would get ā€œhissedā€ or ā€œrudeā€ emotes or comments like, ā€œYou saved us?! After you set us aflame and sent us into the Maw?! Thanks, but no thanks!ā€ Seems rather weird and off putting to have Horde players saving the souls of those they damned.

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I agree. Horde should get a Volā€™jin story, and Alliance should get the Tyrande one.

Thatā€™d be ideal. The Horde want to do stuff with Volā€™jin, and want to not do stuff with Tyrande. Idc about Volā€™jin, but also likeā€¦ It feels better for the Alliance to save the night elf souls than the Horde, for the reasons you listed.

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Exactly, the Horde players are shoehorned in a very personal moment which makes even their presence a weird contradiction. If anything Tyrande upon seeing the Horde player should be flaying them with her warglaive. This saving of their souls would not be accepted by the very amalgamation of souls born from the Kalā€™dorei killed by the Hordeā€™s hands. All of it seems at best negligent to at worse almost mocking the Allianceā€™s Night Elves for forcing them to see their murderer be ā€œredeemed.ā€

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Alliance is noncanon anyways.