Disclaimer: My opinion is mine and mine alone. Some may have the same view as mine, some may not. Regardless, if the community of GD decides to pull out their torches and pitchforks and decides to flag in an unjustified manner, you are part of the reason why the devs will not listen to us.
I still can’t believe I’m making this topic.
Warlords of Draenor, also known as WoD, came up with a new type of hub that players were forced into – yes, “forced”. Those hubs were called garrisons. Garrisons allowed the new or experienced player to take on the role of Commander and grow their own mining shafts and garden for their professions. It also allowed the player to construct new buildings in accordance to their crafting professions. There were additional features, such as a small playground for battle pets, or a fishing hole.
Further along in the expansion, players were given the choice (and if they grinded hard enough) to build their own auction house within their garrison. That IS if they had the correct building.
“Wow! This all sounds amazing! Can I get one of these?”
Well, you can. You would just have to play the WoD campaign on a twink (I think it would also be possible on a 70 toon). If you don’t know what a twink is, it is a toon that disables earning experience. You can activate it from this NPC:
“Awesome. Thanks Attimis! But… why can’t we have garrisons in future expansions?”
Ah. See that’s the thing. WoD wasn’t so much a great expansion for a few reasons. Despite I still had fun with it (since I have an addiction to Mythic+), many players came up with all sorts of critical problems.
- Since gathering professions was given to everybody in this expansion, the WoW economy got shot in the head.
- Unless you were in a party, nobody could see your garrison. Includes guildies.
- Since garrisons were the main hub, you couldn’t see anybody else. Includes guildies.
- You cannot progress in the campaign unless you own a garrison. (This is the ‘forced’ part).
“Oh…”
When you get done with a storyline, a dungeon, or a raid, you return to a hub containing NPCs that appear to congratulate you on your mission… or your recent pet battle victory. Whatever you did.
“So how about we get something else that doesn’t feel forced? How about… player housing?”
Sigh. Well, its an option. It’s also been asked around a lot. The problem is, the only benefit I would personally see with player housing is a new RP element. And don’t get me wrong – I like RP. But I have a gnawing theory:
If player housing were to be introduced into the World of Warcraft, there are two conditions that will already take effect: One condition where, if Blizzard developers greenlights player housing ONLY for RP purposes, the budget for that expansion will be shorter – and we might miss out on other components to the game. The other condition is that, if Blizzard developers greenlights player housing and includes some features from a garrison, then we have a WoD 2.0
Both outcomes will cause the forums to blow up in a negative way, but that shouldn’t be a surprise.
“It’s optional! You don’t have to do it!”
I know I don’t. I don’t want to, either. But what I’m trying to avoid is people getting brainwashed by a feature that would promote an empty city. I actually like it when I see players walking around doing their errands in the city. I actually like it when there is social interaction in Valdrakken. In WoD, you hardly get any of that. Player housing could potentially do the same thing, with or without RP elements or garrison features.
“Your opinion is wrong and you don’t get to dictate how others play! FLAGS POST”
I hope you have a great day. If you have any concerns, I’ll see if I can address them.